Prologue

"Everyone! Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, fellow sacks of flesh. It seems that our run has come to an end but we've already done what we can. We've left a lasting impression on this planet. In the coming millenia, the world will speak tales about us as if we were gods! Except for you Ronald." The old man chuckled at his last statement. This elicited a laugh from the whole group as well.

Fifty or so people clamored about in the dark and dim room drinking wine and eating sweets. Well, all of them except one. The only one who was not enjoying the sweet alcoholic beverages and delicious desserts was Ronald.

Ronald, or Ron, as most of his friends would call him, was currently chained to the wall behind the old speaker. Ron didn't even look up from the chains he was hanging from. Not like he had the energy in him anyway. His body was emaciated, bruised, and battered. Anybody, besides the current spectators, who looked at him would think him dead or dying. The fact that he was still clinging onto life proved something. Granted that "something" didn't give him anything more than laughter and malice from the spectators below.

The old man looked back at Ron and gave him a wink.

"Don't you think you've had enough Ronald? Aren't you tired? If I were you, I would have given up lonnnnnnng ago!" He was definitely enjoying this.

"Oh wait! That's right, you can't! You're our most successful experiment!" He went on to gloat.

"You're our most prized and cherished possession. You're almost as responsible for the future, just as much as I am! Honestly if we didn't have you, then none of this would have happened in time. Everyone, can we give a warm and merry toast to our dear, friend, Ronald?"

Every word in that last sentence seemed to get louder and louder in Ron's ears. He hated the way the old man said his name. He hated the way the audience punched him and spat on him and used him as their toy. He hated the men in the crowd, but he hated the women even more. Some of their nails were like talons as they scratched him over and over again. And yet, none of their marks kept. None of the cuts, scratches, burns, or other unpleasant sensations lasted on him. They all seemed to fade away after a day or two. This was their gift.

Ron remembered like it was just yesterday when he was asked to join their experiment. He was in his final year of high school when he realized that he wouldn't make it to college. An enticing offer from a beautiful woman got him into an experiment. He was promised money and a home.

Sure enough the tests were easy! It started with a blood test, then a psych evaluation, and finally a few minor nerve tests. He was shocked a little but nothing intense. He would only flinch when he was on the last setting, but even then it was nothing he couldn't bear.

Finally it was announced that he was the winner out of all the participants. He would be transported to a foreign country and given a new life. It was on the plane ride though that everything went wrong. There were a couple of things that seemed off that he should have noticed but didn't.

One, he was alone on this flight. And two, the seemingly small plane was going overseas. Now he didn't know much about planes or flying, but he was sure that if he was going over the ocean, the plane would need a lot more fuel than what that small plane could probably carry. He did his best to not worry about it and try to fall asleep. Honestly falling asleep was much easier than he thought. He simply closed his eyes and he was out. He did, however, wake up when he noticed that the cabin was shaking intensely.

After a series of drastically unfortunate events that involved a plane crash into the ocean, some near death experiences with a couple of sharks, and nearly drowning, he made his way onto an island. Little did he know that that was only the beginning of his nightmare.

The old man looked at Ron very closely and decided to get really close to his face. Ron had his eyes closed but even from a far distance one could tell how much pain this person had taken. "Look at me Ronald." It was almost a whisper and yet not. He almost seemed polite, but he wasn't very patient it seemed. It had only been a couple of seconds when he screamed almost demonically into Ron's face, "LOOK AT ME!"

Ron lifted his face and opened his eyes to meet the old man's. Ron's iris were black and brown with everything else being bloodshot.. Just seemingly average eyes. The old man's eyes were drastically different though. There was no pupil, no iris. Nothing but pitch black. If a regular person were to look at him, they might scream and call him the boogeyman, but Ron had seen these eyes before. Out of all the people he hated, the old man was the one who he hated the absolute most.

To the old man, Ron was nothing but dirt. A tool. An insect. Nothing but more than an experiment that just wouldn't die. Or rather, couldn't die. Ron, however, had a different opinion about the old man. To him, the old man was practically a god. He was God. The old man had created miracles, and yet he had a demonic personality and an obsession that transcended the heavens. His only desire had seemingly been to create chaos. Yet anyone who knew him knew that wasn't his real desire. And yes, Ronald knew him. He knew exactly what he was after. He knew what he was after, because Ronald was the experiment of his tastes.

The old man might seem godlike, but he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. He was a demon, an asura, a madman, but not insane. No, he wasn't insane. He was a genius. A genius that was granted a world changing miracle. A madman who wanted nothing more than immortality. A demon who craved everlasting rule and control. Ronald was the perfect toy for someone like him.

Unfortunately for the old man, this life wasn't destined for him, and he knew that.

"Ronald, you and I are friends right?" He waited for Ron to give him and answer but unfortunately he didn't receive one.

"Oh Ronald, why aren't we friends? I thought you and I were as close as clams? Two peas in a pod? Best buddies? Anything?" Ron refused to answer. He just stared into the old man's black, demonic eyes as if nothing else existed.

"Oh well, maybe next time!" He threw up his hands and looked back at his partying guests.

At this time the whole room started to shake. Consecutive "booms" kept getting louder and the room continued to vibrate and shake. No one seemed to care though as they continued laughing and eating.

Ron looked up and his eyes lit up with hope. For the first time in years, Ron finally had a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He knew what was coming and at this point couldn't wait any longer. Finally after so long, he would be freed from his torture. The old man however noticed the faint glimmer and grinned.

"Oh Ronald, do you really think that the coming missile will save you? Do you think that you'll be freed from this?" The old man enjoyed every second he got a chance to mock Ron. That was his favorite thing about Ron. He could take as much mockery and as much pain as all of them could give him, and he still wouldn't break. He was a delightful toy.

"I've actually prepared a special gift for you. Georgie! Please come give our a favorite plaything his gift. I know how much he enjoyed our previous gift to him. He'll love this one." Soon after a lumbering giant came onto the stage. His face was pretty stoic, but there was definitely a mocking gleam in his eyes as well. He seemed to especially enjoy tormenting Ron.

He walked up in a black and white tuxedo that looked like it would burst any minute. If he flexed once his clothes might rip and tear. He walked slowly until he was only a few feet away. On his hairy and huge hand was a platter with a cover on it. He lowered it to the old man's level and opened the platter.

For the first time in a long time, a look of fear came in Ron's eyes. He saw what was on the platter and prayed to whatever deity was out there that the missiles would come faster. The shaking had gotten so intense now that the guests on the floor seemed to have trouble maintaining their balance. That didn't stop their laughing though. They weren't drunk though. They were having a good time, looking forward to what came next.

The old man saw the look of dread on Ron's face and cackle maniacally.

"What's wrong Ronald?! Aren't you excited to join us? Aren't you excited for the fun to continue? Aren't you excited for another lifetime with us?"

On the platter was a fruit. It looked like a mixture between an apple and a plum. It's ripe and juicy look was tantalizing. What made the fruit so special though, wasn't its color or its juiciness, it was the nine golden rings that were on it. From the top to the bottom, nine rings appeared on the skin of the fruit. They slightly protruded almost looking like they were delicately put on it.

Once the spectators noticed the fruit, they almost seemed to drool, but none of them charged up to grab it. They all had their fill previously and now were looking at Ron with schadenfreude. It looked like Ron wasn't leaving them just yet.

The fruit had an eerie glow about it as Ron looked. His mouth had been agape the whole time and as soon as he was about to shut it, a large hand quickly grabbed ahold of his jaws and forced his mouth open. The pain was slightly bearable, but the fear within him was not. He struggled as hard as he could but he couldn't control his jaw or his face really. He doubted he would be able to resist Georgie even if he had been at full strength. Georgie was a monster. He would grab Ron by his feet and swing him just to see how far he could be thrown. Sure enough, it was incredibly far.

The old man used his nimble fingers to grab the fruit and started to cut it into slices.

"We must be quick now as we're running out of time. Felicia could you please come up here as well? I fear that Georgia won't be able to make him chew and swallow. However, I know with your particular skill set you would be able to help."

A ravishing woman walked onto the stage with tall stilettos and a red dazzling dress. Her long blonde hair ran to her waist. She quickly stepped up onto the stage. Opening her mouth, her tongue seemed to roll out of her mouth as she grabbed the slices of fruit with her tongue and wiggled it in the air.

Georgie held Ron's mouth open as wide as he could when Felicia shot her tongue into Ron's mouth and down his throat. The slimy feeling of someone's tongue going down his throat was unsettling to the point where he wanted to vomit, but he couldn't. There was nothing in his system to vomit. Any food that might have had, had been ingested and digested days ago. He was starving but he definitely didn't want to be forced to eat that fruit.

It was too late though. When she pulled her tongue out, she had already shoved another slice deep into his stomach. He didn't even have time to gag before it continued again and again until every piece of the fruit was inside of him.

The minute she let go of the last piece, a burning sensation entered his stomach. It was too late now. The burning meant the fruit had already been dissolved and entered not only his system, but his soul! He only knew this because it had happened once before.

Once he finally made it to the island, he was imprisoned almost immediately. Georgie was one of the first people to greet him. Soon followed by the old man and then the rest of the inhabitants of the island. In his dark and dirty cell, he was given a similar fruit. That one was the same color as the current one, but it only had one ring, not nine. But that one-ringed fruit changed everything. The sensation back then was not nearly as strong as now. That one was a slight tingling sensation. This one was burning his whole body.

He screamed out in agony. His voice was hoarse and cracked, but anyone who listened could tell that this was a scream filled with pain and torment. The trio on stage looked at him with delight. They loved every second they got hearing him in pain. Most people who were tortured gave in quickly and died shortly afterwards. Ron was different. The fruit he ate gave him an incredible amount of endurance and stamina. It also kept him alive, for better or for worse.

The concrete ceiling began to crack as the trembling quakes reached their maximum intensity. None of that mattered to Ron anymore. He was absolutely filled with despair. He didn't know what he could do. Nothing mattered anymore. He tried so hard to kill himself before but nothing worked. His own methods didn't work and the physical and mental torture given by his captors would always put him on the brink of death, but it would never kill him. He always seemed to come back.

The old man stared hard into Ron's eyes with an evil grin. At this point the shaking seemed to stop. The Earth settled it's apocalyptic quakes, but Ron and the old man just stared at each other. One was full of complete malice, and the other was full of fear.

"See you in the next life, Ronald." The whisper seemed like it was directly into his ear.

"I can't wait to see what we'll accomplish," and then red and white light filled the room as Ron felt an intense head for a split second, and finally everything went dark.