Darkness.
For quite a while too.
Hours maybe?
Days?
Honestly, I had no fucking idea.
I am not Dr. Stone. I wasn't counting every second while dramatically calculating time in my head.
At first, there was nothing.
Then eventually, I noticed warmth.
Pressure too.
And after some time, there was movement.
A strange pushing sensation surrounded me from every direction.
'...Wait a minute.'
Then realization struck me.
'Oh shit.'
I was in a womb.
And judging by the increasing pressure around me, I was about to be born.
Honestly, that was both comforting and horrifying at the same time.
Comforting because technically, this meant I wasn't stealing Riser's body or hijacking his life halfway through. I was literally being born as him.
Not that I would've cared that much either way, but still. Sometimes people get those random 3 a.m. moral thoughts.
The horrifying part?
Toddler life.
I was really not looking forward to becoming a baby.
No freedom.
No money.
No sex.
No alcohol.
No internet.
Just shitting yourself and crying for assistance like a malfunctioning potato.
Truly tragic.
Still, I didn't exactly have a choice here.
Then suddenly, the pressure intensified.
And intensified.
And intensified even more.
'What the fuck...?'
A squeezing force pushed against me from every direction.
At that point, I realized something horrifying.
Childbirth looked painful for the mother.
Nobody talked enough about how awful it probably felt for the baby too.
After what felt like several gruesome hours of suffering, squeezing, and confusion that I absolutely refuse to describe in detail...
I was finally born.
And the first thing I did was:
"My name is Phenex. Riser Phenex."
...
Just kidding.
I cried like a normal fucking baby.
Well, mostly normal.
The moment I opened my mouth, flames exploded around me.
A wave of golden-red fire burst out of my tiny body, sweeping through the room like a miniature solar storm.
Heat surged everywhere.
The air distorted violently.
And then...
I started floating.
Honestly, saying my name dramatically like Anos Voldigoad would've probably looked cooler.
That bastard walked immediately after birth.
Meanwhile, I floated.
Clearly, I was superior.
The room instantly descended into chaos.
I couldn't see properly yet because newborn eyes are complete garbage, but even through the blurry mess, I could tell people were panicking hard.
Someone screamed.
Another person dropped something metal.
The smell of burned cloth spread through the room.
"S... SUPER DEVIL!!!"
That shout echoed especially loudly.
Then came more gasps.
More shouting.
More panic.
Honestly, everybody was being very dramatic about the whole thing.
Sure, I was a floating flaming baby radiating cosmic fire like some demonic sun god infant, but still.
No need to overreact.
Now, despite how calm I sound narrating all this, let me make one thing very clear.
I was panicking as fuck internally.
I wasn't used to having powers.
One second I was a rich degenerate eating poisoned pizza.
The next second I was a burning levitating baby in the Underworld.
Anybody claiming they would stay calm in that situation is either lying or mentally ill.
Still...
The flames weren't hurting me.
Actually, they felt warm.
Comfortable.
Like an extension of myself.
And floating?
Honestly, floating was kind of fun.
I could understand why powerful people became arrogant now.
Shit felt amazing.
Unfortunately, being born apparently consumed a lot of energy.
Because after my brief accidental terror attack on the delivery room, exhaustion hit me like a truck.
The flames weakened.
My floating stopped.
Then I slowly drifted back onto the bed.
I vaguely felt someone picking me up afterward.
Warmth surrounded me.
Softness too.
A strange feeling spread through my chest.
Comforting.
Safe.
Foreign.
It took me a few moments to realize what it probably was.
Maternal affection.
Huh.
That was new.
I had never really experienced something like that in my previous life.
It was...
Nice.
Comfortable enough that I ended up falling asleep almost immediately.
As for the political shitstorm my birth was definitely causing right now?
Didn't care.
Not like baby-me could attend political meetings anyway.
And honestly, the worst-case scenario was probably assassination attempts.
Which wasn't exactly terrifying considering I was practically immortal already.
Phenex regeneration itself was ridiculous enough.
Now amplify that with the fucking Phoenix Force.
Yeah.
Good luck killing me.
And just like that...
Five years passed.
Why skip five years?
Because apparently the author didn't want to spend twenty chapters describing toddler life.
Though honestly?
Toddler life was surprisingly enjoyable.
You sleep sixteen hours a day.
People feed you constantly.
You get carried everywhere.
And whenever you're hungry, you just suck tits peacefully while existing with absolutely zero responsibilities.
Peak existence.
Human civilization honestly goes downhill after infancy.
Though after leaving toddlerhood, things became slightly less fun.
Mostly because people start expecting things from you.
Still, life in general remained pretty enjoyable.
Especially the family part.
That was... strange.
In a good way.
Having parents.
Having siblings.
Having people who genuinely cared about me without wanting money, status, or sex in return.
Honestly, I adapted surprisingly quickly.
I wasn't one of those weird reincarnation protagonists constantly going:
"I already had parents in my previous life, therefore I cannot emotionally connect with these new ones."
Nah.
That shit sounded exhausting.
Mom was adorable, and I loved her.
Not in the weird way, you degenerates. Calm down.
She spoiled me relentlessly.
Constant hugs.
Constant affection.
Constant praise.
Honestly, I could see how people ended up becoming mama's boys.
As for my father...
Well, he was another matter entirely.
Lord Phenex was a politician first and a father second.
Not a bad person exactly.
Just... very political.
Everything became strategy with him.
Every interaction.
Every alliance.
Every conversation.
And unfortunately, my existence had become the biggest political weapon House Phenex possessed.
After all...
I was a Super Devil.
That title wasn't just important.
It was monstrous.
Super Devils among devils were basically what Jesus would be for humans.
Symbols.
Monsters.
Living legends.
Just attaching my name to a political discussion was enough to massively shift opinions in the Devil Council.
Even older high-ranking devils became cautious around me.
And honestly?
I could understand why my father became addicted to using that influence.
Power was one hell of a drug.
As for what happened after my birth?
Chaos.
Absolute chaos.
Almost every noble house with daughters remotely close to my age started sending marriage proposals immediately.
Alliance requests flooded House Phenex nonstop.
Gifts piled up endlessly.
Treasures.
Artifacts.
Rare resources.
Even entire territories were subtly offered as political bait.
And naturally...
There were assassination attempts too.
Twelve in total over the past five years.
Honestly, only twelve was lower than expected.
Ten failed before even reaching me.
The remaining two?
Actually managed to get close.
One infiltrated disguised as household staff.
The other tried attacking during a public gathering.
Neither survived for more than a few seconds.
Turns out unleashing cosmic phoenix fire solves most life problems rather efficiently.
The first assassin burned so completely that not even ashes remained.
The second survived long enough to start screaming before turning into a living torch.
Apparently, that terrified everybody enough to discourage further attempts.
Which honestly was for the best.
Because while I enjoyed violence conceptually, I wasn't interested in spending my childhood dealing with weekly murder attempts.
There was also massive conflict politically regarding which faction I would eventually support.
The Great King Faction wanted me desperately.
Which made sense.
The Satan Faction already possessed two Super Devils.
Sirzechs Lucifer.
Ajuka Beelzebub.
If another Super Devil joined them too, then any future political resistance would become completely hopeless.
The Great King Faction understood that very well.
To them, I wasn't just a child.
I was balance.
A weapon.
A symbol.
Hope.
Unfortunately for them, my father leaned heavily toward the Satan Faction.
And honestly?
I agreed with him completely.
Why would I oppose two absurdly overpowered Super Devils just to support a bunch of bitter old nobles clinging desperately to dying influence?
That sounded stupid.
Very stupid.
The Satans already held most of the power.
Joining them peacefully seemed vastly preferable to starting unnecessary conflict.
Besides, the Great King Faction clearly wanted to use me as a political tool anyway.
At least the Satans had competence backing their authority.
So naturally, House Phenex gradually aligned itself more closely with the Satan faction.
Which meant the assassination attempts mostly came from:
extremists within the Great King faction,
or leftover Old Satan trash still coping over losing the civil war centuries ago.
Honestly, Underworld politics sounded exhausting.
And then came the latest development.
My engagement.
Yes.
At five years old.
Apparently devil nobles believed toddlers needed arranged marriages immediately.
The proposal came from House Gremory.
Specifically...
Rias Gremory.
My original canon fiancée.
Honestly, it almost felt fated.
Though unlike canon Riser, I wasn't some arrogant mid-tier idiot relying entirely on Phenex regeneration.
I was a literal cosmic entity wearing devil skin.
Slight difference there.
And honestly?
Rias was absolutely top-tier waifu material.
Beautiful.
Strong bloodline.
Good personality.
Great body.
Amazing future potential.
I definitely wasn't against the marriage.
Though unlike original Riser, I would actually put effort into the relationship.
Dates.
Affection.
Emotional connection.
Basic things that prevent your fiancée from hating your existence.
Crazy concept, I know.
Besides, marriage options among high-ranking devil nobility weren't exactly endless anyway.
Sona Sitri?
Not my type.
Flat ain't justice.
Seekvaira Agares?
Now that was a plausible option.
The rest?
Not really worth considering.
Still, Rias was literally a toddler right now.
So there was no point obsessing over marriage for at least another decade.
Instead...
Far more important matters deserved my attention.
Like future peerage members.
Or more specifically...
Hot women who could be added to my peerage.
Much more productive topic.
And considering I was a massive DxD fan in my previous life, I already knew exactly who I wanted.
Lavinia Reni.
Valerie Tepes.
Kuroka.
Three choices I had already decided on completely.
Lavinia was in Italy.
Finding her wouldn't be difficult.
Valerie was with the vampires.
But honestly?
Vampires in DxD were kind of trash overall.
The strongest among them barely reached Ultimate-class.
Most were much weaker.
Hardly threatening.
As for House Naberius?
Please.
Did anyone seriously think I would care about some minor devil clan once I fully matured?
Not happening.
"Hmm... who else should I recruit later...?"
My thoughts were interrupted as the door suddenly opened.
"Riser dear~ what are you doing? It's time for dinner. Come with mommy!"
I looked up immediately.
And there she was.
My mother.
Beautiful blonde hair.
Gentle smile.
Warm eyes.
Honestly, seeing her automatically improved my mood a little.
Weird.
I smiled back instinctively.
"Yes, Mom. I was just browsing Devilnet."
Yes.
The Underworld had internet too.
And honestly?
The quality was way better than Earth's.
Another Devil W.