“I learned to recognise the thorough and primitive duality of man; I saw that, of the two natures that contended in the field of my consciousness, even if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both.”

This was undoubtedly true for each and every one of us out there. The quote from a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson tells the tragic and horrifying tale of how a man defied the logic of men by splitting off from his vices with a strange potion he conducted. The very same potion transformed him from a well-mannered gentleman into a ragged manifestation of his sins. And this was all because he wanted to indulge in his vices without the fear of ruining his public reputation. This led to a fatal consequence that ruined his future forever, leading him to no other path but his own demise.

In the end, his refusal to hold accountability for his actions due to his pride, and the ticking time of his deteriorating facade killed him until only his vices remained dying and the protagonist we followed could do nothing but witness a brilliant scientist's self-destruction.

However, there was another element that drove Henry Jekyll to the path of self-destruction. It was that the image one projected to the world was everything in his time. Anything that would break it would tarnish their reputation, along with spelling the end of their careers as gentlemen and ladies of good faith. Public outcries were very fickle and could happen at any moment. Everyone there thought they had a right to judge others for slight mishaps and scandals. Whether it was based on their race, past actions, or even first impressions, everyone walked on a tightrope. People would do anything to save face, even if it meant lying and bottling up their frustrations and dislikes that caused their scenes.

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It isn't impossible to have vices. But it depends if one has the willpower to resist the temptations and pressure from the public. I do have a few vices that I have no shame in showing, but I still have enough resistance to resist others that would harm me and others near me.

However, I did witness several instances that were influenced by the mentalities of the public vs private identities. Some destroyed others and some destroyed themselves.

Humanity can be fickle and even if I was part of it, I can't deny that they are unpredictable in terms of morals. I wish they weren't, but that's how reality works.

Then again, this wasn't like any reality I know. And then again, I don't recall what my previous reality looked like before I was reborn.

Yes, you heard it right. Reborn, not 'reincarnated' like the others who found themselves in this reality.

But I'm getting way ahead of myself. How about a story for you to know more about me and my views of the world?

How about I tell you the story of a mortal from another world? A mortal who was cursed to lose his humanity yet managed to retain some of it through his darkest self.

This is the story of how I became from a mere human to a lower-ranked demon who travels through another world, my new home, as an adventurer.

And it started when I almost had a brush with death...