Minato was breathing, he could see, he had all his memories, yet his life was a complete and utter nightmare. For the past several decades, he was trapped in a vicious cycle of death and rebirth. It started in the monorail and ended at the place where he was chained. The Great Seal.

"..." The pain of constantly losing his friends and dying had reduced the 17 year old to a shell of what he once was. He thought it was his duty to uphold the seal and guard humanity from Nyx, but going through the never ending cycle had turned Minato nearly insane.

Memories of his time with his multiple girlfriends and life long friends flooded into his brain once again. Normally, he would smile but this time, he felt numb. Completely numb.

He really didn't give a shit about them anymore.

He wanted out. He wanted out of the seal. He wanted out of the cycle. He wanted to go to hell. Hell seemed a far better place than the Great Seal.

As Erebus geared up for another blow to the Seal, Minato let out a sorrowful sigh and dropped his head low. This fucking curse was his to bear.

...

...

He didn't feel the punch. He didn't feel pain. What was going on?

Minato slowly opened his eyes to see Erebus disappearing into black-red mist. The massive beast was growling. Someone had defeated him? That couldn't be.

"Hello," This was a fucking surprise. Last voice he heard belonged to Aigis. This was different.

"Huh?" Minato blinked, seeing the outline of what seemed to be an old man in the blinding light.

Minato delved deep into his soul, using the power of the Universe Arcana to rationalize the situation. "HM?" He soon came to a conclusion. He lifted his head once more to face an aged, balding man with a walking cane for support.

The old man was grinning.

"Nyarlathotep," Minato said slowly. "The ancient evil. I thought you were banished forever."

Those words knocked the smile out of his face. "... I thought you were smarter than that, fool."

Minato grunted. "State your business."

The cold smile returned to his features. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," Minato replied bluntly. And it was true.

The ancient evil laughed. "I can understand that. The ever perpetuating cycle of death and rebirth. You must have no hope left."

"... I feel numb," Minato replied.

"What about the bonds you've forged?"

"What bonds? If their love for me was that strong, then they wouldn't forget every damn time," Minato spat. "Every damn female tells me that she'll love me through eternity and yet, next time I'm there, they don't remember!"

Minato tried to struggle out of his chains, even though he knew his efforts were futile. "DAMN THEM!" He let out a shout of pure frustration and depression which greatly pleased the faceless one.

"Hahahah," Nyarlathotep laughed in amusement. "Would you trade away the world for an attempt at freedom?"

"Huh?" Minato blinked. "Freedom?"

"You can be released from this cycle," Those words were music to his ears.

"HOW!?" Minato yelled.

The faceless one laughed again. "You'll have to complete The Journey once again." Minato's lip quivered but Nyarlathotep soon cut in. "The final one. If you can do the impossible then your soul will be free."

"The impossible?" Minato repeated.

"On the world opposite of yours, there is someone who shares a similar fate," The demon started. "She will be going through The Journey as well."

"She?" Minato repeated.

"Yes, she's a female," Nyarlathotep replied. "A Wild Card as well."

"What about her?" Minato asked again.

"The two of you are linked. She may have the opposite gender but she will go through the same obstacles that you went through countless times," He continued. "Both of you are similar beings, but you are The Original One."

"Pft," Minato blew a raspberry. "I don't give a shit."

"Do you know that your current world remembers you as a Savior?"

"I still don't give a shit," Minato shot back.

Nyarlathotep was pleased once again. "That's the spirit."

"What do I have to do now?" Minato asked again.

The faceless demon held out his hand. "Join me," He said with a crazed grin. "Reject Philemon. Reject the contract. Defy fate and you will be free."

"Will I go to hell after that?"

"Yes,"

"So be it," Minato spat.

"Excellent," The demon snickered. "You must break her."

"Break?"

"Flesh burns, bones shatter but to crush a man's spirit is to utterly break him," He said with another laugh.

Minato smirked. "I accept your offer."

As soon as he said that, a blackish mist began to rise up from the ground in the God-forsaken desert. It surrounded the two as Nyarlathotep's laugh echoed. It was horrifying and demented but Minato found himself laughing as well.

An end to The Cycle.

The Final Journey.

He sensed some high level magic going around in the background along with some demonic roars and portals opening. Soon, the fallen Messiah blackened out and the final thing he heard was another laugh.

...

...

Minato opened his eyes and let out a low growl. He was back at the fucking monorail. He was clad in the usual winter wear for Gekkoukan High School and still had his treasured MP3 player and those headphones.

He saw the usual bunch of people on the monorail. He gazed around and then his sight fell on an interesting someone.

Just opposite to him was a female. She was clad in the female uniform, had striking red eyes and auburn hair styled into one messy ponytail. She had the same headphones and MP3 player as his but the color was different. It was red like her eyes.

He felt a connection to her and he could feel the presence of Death flowing through her veins. He could also sense her soon to be awakened Wild Card.

Likewise, the girl could feel something with the strange yet handsome blue haired teenager sitting opposite to her.

Minato put on a fake smile and stood up. The female gave a small smile and a nod when Minato asked if he could sit next to her. The blue haired teenager sat next to her and took a long deep breath. So this was his prey?

"Are you going to Gekkoukan too?" Minato asked politely and with a small smile.

The girl nodded cheerfully. "Yup! I'm so excited."

"My name is Minato Arisato," He introduced.

The girl let out a small gasp but she ended up giggling. "My name is Hamuko Arisato," She introduced herself with a warm smile. "Funny our names are similar, huh?"

"Hahaha, must be fate," Minato commented slyly.

Hamuko giggled again. "Hahah, funny."

The two shared a smile once again but underneath that warm smile of Minato was a predator and a man with nothing to lose. He sized Hamuko up and laughed inwardly. "This will be easy."

Had this sitting around catching dust. Quite an interesting idea, wouldn't you say? Yeah, Minato is a real antagonist here and I mean it. We're really unsure about this project and I really don't know where this will end up.

Minato has max charm, max courage and intelligence, he's powerful (level 70 or something, don't know for sure) and he's aware of what's to come. He's a man on a fucking mission. He's a full blown psychopath due to the cycle.

What about Hamuko? You'll see. Again, tell me what pairings should I go with and welp, usual give me your thoughts.

Later.