Vale

In times immemorial, four Shinjins born of the same growing tree were tasked to govern the souls of the dead and guide them appropriately to the afterlife. As they carried their duties across the cosmos, each of the four overseers began to grow intrigued by the lowly mortal races thriving down below. Each of them, in their own way, developed a particularity by witnessing life unfolding before their eyes. Particularities that clashed against the ethics of Shinjins as a whole and certainly unbecoming of divine beings tasked with helping the souls carry over to the afterlife. Whereas Cyprus coveted about everything, Vale became absorbed by something else entirely.

It was death that caught his attention. In the beginning, it was the process of death that fascinated the Shinjin. The way the body withered with time before finally giving out, a last breath before the soul was expelled from it, rejoining in the endless cycle. Since his own mortality and that of his species was barely questioned, he observed the mortal races, how they made the most -or not- of their lives before meeting their demise. Then, it was the occultism surrounding it that garnered his attention. The rituals, the fear, the celebration of someone passing, how it was interpreted in various species across the galaxy as well as the meaning they gave it. How weird was it for these lower species to create truths to fit their narrow view of the universe, to make sense of it.

Eventually, he was drawn by the flaws of the mortal races. How they would bring upon death to satisfy their own desires, their own agenda. How much their individuality would lead them to atrocities in the name of their own justice. First, among each other, then nations, then entire planets. How creative they grew to make their enemies suffer.

Enthralled by such a spectacle, Vale began infiltrating these populations, scheming with them against fake enemies just to see them wage wars against each other. Taking on multiple personas throughout time, he taught multiple civilizations the art of killing with style, how to best bring about the devastation, all in order to see death, in all of its g(l)ory bloom on the battlefield. Enthralled by the sight, he began treating the lives of mortals as mere entertainment, a show about pitiful souls and how they hanged on their insignificant lives.

As expected, other Shinjins didn’t see eye to eye with him on this matter and so, finding no support in the realms above, he began establishing relationships with the people below. Demons, onis and other flavorful individuals with whom he elaborated the most perfect plans to see civilizations kill each other. Seeking inspiration from his fellow family members, he talked monarchs into waging wars, taught new-and-coming dictatorships the subtle art of torture and sparked feuds between rival families. For his own sadistic pleasure as well as the one of his newfound friends. It had become a game amongst certain circles, to see which side would come out the victor. And it went on, for a while, certainly.

With the restructuring of the Afterlife and the coming of ogres to supervise the souls, Vale, along with the three other shinjins, were promptly removed from their job. Following that, they chose to keep doing whatever they were doing, without the guise of performing an important duty. It went on for several centuries and with time, Vale grew bolder, finding new avenues to be as creative as possible when bringing death upon the lower civilizations.

The Kais had grown weary of their shenanigans and ordered that a stop was put on their actions. Realizing that they couldn’t get away for eternity, Vale struck a deal with a powerful demon of Hell. Should he find himself sealed away, he would task him to find a way to free him, no matter how much time it took. If he happened to die, then his heirs would carry on the task of liberating him. In turn, he would bring him the demon lord, Sha, back to life alongside him.

Eventually, he surrendered himself to the Kais and alongside Cyprus and the others, he was sealed away for millions upon millions of years, stuck in dormancy… Until he wasn’t. A young Demon managed to break past the containment gates, past the guards to finally free him. It was later revealed to Vale that his liberator was a descendant of Demon Lord Sha, so far down the line that it would take years just to scroll up the family tree back to him.

He remained in isolation for a few years, gaining knowledge of how the world had changed during his containment. During that time, he also learned that his brother, Cyprus, had been freed 500 years before him. Joining up with him, he assisted him on his newfound quest to spread fear and pilfer all around the galaxy. Inspired by him and regaining a joy for the smaller things in life, Vale decided it wouldn’t be so bad to take part in this grand quest. Keeping his promises, he managed to find the soul of Demon Lord Sha, forever casted into oblivion following quite the heavy portfolio of crimes and villainy. Using his powers, Vale created the husk of a Majin (after learning that they somehow learned how to make more of themselves on their own, to his surprise), in which he incorporated the soul of the fallen Demon Lord, granting him a new body. To perform this task, Vale sacrificed all of his power to feed it into the Majin, preferring a role in the backline, this time.

And with that, he was ready to take the universe by storm, one death at a time.