Every story has an origin. For me, this is it.
Before Vanguards: Elite, before Daniel and the world of camaraderie and conflict, there was this man—the one they called "Devil." He was not born out of the desire to write another high school story, nor to follow the footsteps of genre giants. He was the first spark, the shadow that planted itself in my imagination and refused to leave.
In the earliest days, Daniel was never meant to carry the story. He was just a fragment, a fleeting figure in the Devil's journey—a mirror, a reminder, a moment of truth. But as the world expanded, I realized something: Daniel had his own voice, his own path. From there Vanguards: Elite was born, and through it, the world of Mystic Rift Saga began to breathe.
But this man—the Devil—remained at its heart. He was the blueprint, the axis on which everything else turned. His presence defined the stakes, his silence shaped the tone, and his story paved the way for everything that followed. Without him, there would be no saga.
Devil's Maniac is not simply an origin story. It is a descent into perception, into the weight of truth too heavy for most to carry. It is a tale of how a man, scarred by silence and loss, came to embody something greater—and darker—than himself. This is not a story about being chosen. This is about carving a path where none existed, and facing the devils that live not just in others, but within ourselves.
For me as a writer, this project is deeply personal. It is the first world I ever built, the first character who ever looked back at me and demanded a story. Every idea that has come since has grown from his shadow. And so, returning to him now feels like completing a circle—one that started years ago, in my late teens, when I first began to wonder what lies behind the masks people wear.
So, to you—the reader—I say this: you are not just entering another tale in the saga. You are stepping into the foundation itself. The core. The place where it all began.
Thank you for walking this road with me.This is Devil's Maniac.