History
History: Before the Conception, Nitta Isamu was nobody. He was a barely average student with a few friends and a mild life, easily other face in the Tokyo crowd. There were only two people close to him in his life, a girl- Chiaki- and a boy- Naoki. They were his true friends, the ones he spent most of his time with, both in school and out, and they made up a large part of his world. For a while, he’d made a few passes at Chiaki, but when he was only returned with her usual cool disinterest, Isamu directed his attention to a different woman- Takao Yuko, their teacher. She wasn’t very keen on him as a student, but when she was hospitalized, Isamu didn’t need any persuading to go and see her.
After meeting up with Chiaki, the two idled at a station for a while before continuing on to the Shinjuku Medical Center when it was obvious Naoki was going to be late. When he did show up, it was to an empty hospital- no one but the three could be found. Isamu had already gone off to check the rooms in search of Yuko, eventually running into Naoki when he entered a room Isamu was looking through. They headed to the lobby to report back to Chiaki, eventually deciding on sending Naoki down to the basement to make sure their teacher hadn’t, for whatever reason, gone down there. Providing the older boy with a card he’d swiped from an empty room, they sent him down to the basement and waited.
After several minutes, Naoki didn’t return. Growing restless, Chiaki excused herself and stepped outside, still feeling an odd sense of unease around the hospital. Moments later, a bright light filled the sky and shook the ground, breaking the world and folding what remained in on itself. The Conception had occurred at last.
When he woke, Isamu found himself alone outside the building. When the shock and initial confusion wore off, he attempted to get back into the hospital and to Yuko, but one door was blocked by a partial cave-in and the other was being guarded by a large manta-like demon. In fear, he fled the area, eventually making his way across the barren landscape and into Ikebukuro, gathering rumors about Yuko along the way.
When he arrived in what was left of the area, he went straight for the Mantra headquarters located there. Just as he was staring down the demon Thor, Naoki- now the Demi-Fiend- came in. Isamu mistook him for another Mantra demon for a moment before recognizing him. He planned to tell him what he’d discovered about Yuko, but just as he opened his mouth, Thor brought his hammer down, knocking Isamu to the side. Before he even had a chance to discern what had happened, the demon placed a hand against his head and draining almost every single drop of his life energy for himself. Weak and barely alive, Isamu collapsed and was placed in a Mantra jail cell.
It would be days later when he finally woke up again, somehow alive. As it turns out, he had been kept by the Mantra to generate Magatsuhi- life energy- as humans were an amazing source of it, and demons craved it. Unfortunately, he had little choice but to remain locked in the cell until several days passed and Naoki comes to free him and the Manikins imprisoned there. Isamu tells the Demi-Fiend all he knows: that Yuko is the Maiden, the one who caused the Conception, and is working for the Assembly of Nihilo, as well as the fact that the Mantra plan on attacking the Nihilo and killing her if they find her. Still desperate to find her, he asks Naoki to save her if they do attack, and he agrees.
Now free, he quickly left the Mantra HQ, following the trails of rumor and story to find his missing teacher. Finding nothing, he returned to Ikebukuro after a while, seeking a sort of super-Manikin that had predicted the fall of the Mantra- which had happened when the Nihilo drained the Magatsuhi out of Ikebukuro’s demons with their Nightmare System. It was in the basement he met up with Naoki again, telling him of the Manikin and his fate of being locked up in the Kabukicho Prison to the east. Instead of going with Naoki, however, Isamu states he wants to find his own way there, regardless of the danger. He also tells Naoki of his disappointment that the Demi-Fiend failed to save Yuko as promised before leaving.
When he makes it to the Kabukicho Prison, he is taken prisoner by the Nagi who torments the Manikin prisoners there.Before long, Naoki arrives and defeats the Nagi and the Mizuchi in charge of the prison, freeing the Manikins and their leader, the ‘super-Manikin’ prophet Futomimi. When Naoki comes to the room Isamu was locked in, he is met only with a simple, “Did you come to save me?” while messing with an Amala Network terminal located in the room. He shows no relief or gratefulness for the Demi-Fiend’s help, and insists on doing things for himself now, and that he doesn’t want to rely on Naoki or Yuko anymore. A voice spoke to him and told him to “seek the truth,” which he didn’t understand until becoming trapped in Kabukicho, and that he opened his own way, finding what he needed within the Amala Network. Using the terminal, he teleports away.
In truth, he never honestly left, but simply traveled into the Amala Network, exploring the paths that connect the terminals all over the Vortex World and learning more and more about the Network, eventually deciding to reside within it. There was the danger of being absorbed or spit out by the Network, but Isamu didn’t care. Within the space, he finds his answer- and his Reason. Just as he begins to merge with the Network, Naoki finds him, apparently having come to save him from being destroyed. Isamu tells him he doesn’t need his help, nor does he need anyone at all. In his opinion, no one ever really cared about him, but at the same time, he claims he never cared for anyone either, though it wasn’t true. He had cared for Naoki and Chiaki, and a part of him still did, but he couldn’t stand to rely on them anymore, as he honestly had begun to see them as traitors to his friendship and thinking they had abandoned him.
“The aimlessly wandering Isamu is dead,” he tells him, showing his former friend what he had become once his merge with the Network was complete. For that moment, he stood for the first time as Amala, a demon of the Network who had crossed through Isamu during the merge and become a part of him. Isamu takes control without realizing it, unfazed by the faces growing from his chest, and confronts Naoki, telling him more about his Reason and wondering if the Demi-Fiend agrees. When he says he understands how Isamu feels, Isamu tells him that his new state of mind is what is allowing him to forgive Naoki for being unable to save him before vanishing again, further into the Network with his new half-demon body.
For a time, he drifted through the digital pathways, exploring his newly gained power and planning the summoning of his Guardian deity so Musubi can become a true Reason. With the strange second entity inside him, Isamu found himself filled by electricity, able to twist the element to his will, even when he pushed Amala into the very back of himself and regained the form he had before merging with the Network. When Amala was in control, it was as though Isamu was just hovering right on the edge of sleep and wakefulness, feeling all his other was doing without being completely present. It was during one of these times that Amala reacted violently, pulling in a man named Hijiri who claimed to be the true master of the Amala Network into the Network himself. Though Hijiri fought back, Amala sucked him in, prepared to kill the man. Isamu regained control before could, however, and plotted to use Hijiri to summon his Guardian.
This plan would go unfulfilled, however, as Isamu found himself yanked from the Network and in a strange white room with no Hijiri in sight. All that remained was himself- and Amala.
After meeting up with Chiaki, the two idled at a station for a while before continuing on to the Shinjuku Medical Center when it was obvious Naoki was going to be late. When he did show up, it was to an empty hospital- no one but the three could be found. Isamu had already gone off to check the rooms in search of Yuko, eventually running into Naoki when he entered a room Isamu was looking through. They headed to the lobby to report back to Chiaki, eventually deciding on sending Naoki down to the basement to make sure their teacher hadn’t, for whatever reason, gone down there. Providing the older boy with a card he’d swiped from an empty room, they sent him down to the basement and waited.
After several minutes, Naoki didn’t return. Growing restless, Chiaki excused herself and stepped outside, still feeling an odd sense of unease around the hospital. Moments later, a bright light filled the sky and shook the ground, breaking the world and folding what remained in on itself. The Conception had occurred at last.
When he woke, Isamu found himself alone outside the building. When the shock and initial confusion wore off, he attempted to get back into the hospital and to Yuko, but one door was blocked by a partial cave-in and the other was being guarded by a large manta-like demon. In fear, he fled the area, eventually making his way across the barren landscape and into Ikebukuro, gathering rumors about Yuko along the way.
When he arrived in what was left of the area, he went straight for the Mantra headquarters located there. Just as he was staring down the demon Thor, Naoki- now the Demi-Fiend- came in. Isamu mistook him for another Mantra demon for a moment before recognizing him. He planned to tell him what he’d discovered about Yuko, but just as he opened his mouth, Thor brought his hammer down, knocking Isamu to the side. Before he even had a chance to discern what had happened, the demon placed a hand against his head and draining almost every single drop of his life energy for himself. Weak and barely alive, Isamu collapsed and was placed in a Mantra jail cell.
It would be days later when he finally woke up again, somehow alive. As it turns out, he had been kept by the Mantra to generate Magatsuhi- life energy- as humans were an amazing source of it, and demons craved it. Unfortunately, he had little choice but to remain locked in the cell until several days passed and Naoki comes to free him and the Manikins imprisoned there. Isamu tells the Demi-Fiend all he knows: that Yuko is the Maiden, the one who caused the Conception, and is working for the Assembly of Nihilo, as well as the fact that the Mantra plan on attacking the Nihilo and killing her if they find her. Still desperate to find her, he asks Naoki to save her if they do attack, and he agrees.
Now free, he quickly left the Mantra HQ, following the trails of rumor and story to find his missing teacher. Finding nothing, he returned to Ikebukuro after a while, seeking a sort of super-Manikin that had predicted the fall of the Mantra- which had happened when the Nihilo drained the Magatsuhi out of Ikebukuro’s demons with their Nightmare System. It was in the basement he met up with Naoki again, telling him of the Manikin and his fate of being locked up in the Kabukicho Prison to the east. Instead of going with Naoki, however, Isamu states he wants to find his own way there, regardless of the danger. He also tells Naoki of his disappointment that the Demi-Fiend failed to save Yuko as promised before leaving.
When he makes it to the Kabukicho Prison, he is taken prisoner by the Nagi who torments the Manikin prisoners there.Before long, Naoki arrives and defeats the Nagi and the Mizuchi in charge of the prison, freeing the Manikins and their leader, the ‘super-Manikin’ prophet Futomimi. When Naoki comes to the room Isamu was locked in, he is met only with a simple, “Did you come to save me?” while messing with an Amala Network terminal located in the room. He shows no relief or gratefulness for the Demi-Fiend’s help, and insists on doing things for himself now, and that he doesn’t want to rely on Naoki or Yuko anymore. A voice spoke to him and told him to “seek the truth,” which he didn’t understand until becoming trapped in Kabukicho, and that he opened his own way, finding what he needed within the Amala Network. Using the terminal, he teleports away.
In truth, he never honestly left, but simply traveled into the Amala Network, exploring the paths that connect the terminals all over the Vortex World and learning more and more about the Network, eventually deciding to reside within it. There was the danger of being absorbed or spit out by the Network, but Isamu didn’t care. Within the space, he finds his answer- and his Reason. Just as he begins to merge with the Network, Naoki finds him, apparently having come to save him from being destroyed. Isamu tells him he doesn’t need his help, nor does he need anyone at all. In his opinion, no one ever really cared about him, but at the same time, he claims he never cared for anyone either, though it wasn’t true. He had cared for Naoki and Chiaki, and a part of him still did, but he couldn’t stand to rely on them anymore, as he honestly had begun to see them as traitors to his friendship and thinking they had abandoned him.
“The aimlessly wandering Isamu is dead,” he tells him, showing his former friend what he had become once his merge with the Network was complete. For that moment, he stood for the first time as Amala, a demon of the Network who had crossed through Isamu during the merge and become a part of him. Isamu takes control without realizing it, unfazed by the faces growing from his chest, and confronts Naoki, telling him more about his Reason and wondering if the Demi-Fiend agrees. When he says he understands how Isamu feels, Isamu tells him that his new state of mind is what is allowing him to forgive Naoki for being unable to save him before vanishing again, further into the Network with his new half-demon body.
For a time, he drifted through the digital pathways, exploring his newly gained power and planning the summoning of his Guardian deity so Musubi can become a true Reason. With the strange second entity inside him, Isamu found himself filled by electricity, able to twist the element to his will, even when he pushed Amala into the very back of himself and regained the form he had before merging with the Network. When Amala was in control, it was as though Isamu was just hovering right on the edge of sleep and wakefulness, feeling all his other was doing without being completely present. It was during one of these times that Amala reacted violently, pulling in a man named Hijiri who claimed to be the true master of the Amala Network into the Network himself. Though Hijiri fought back, Amala sucked him in, prepared to kill the man. Isamu regained control before could, however, and plotted to use Hijiri to summon his Guardian.
This plan would go unfulfilled, however, as Isamu found himself yanked from the Network and in a strange white room with no Hijiri in sight. All that remained was himself- and Amala.