The Price For Immortality
is a Beyblade Burst fanfic written by NekoVi.
In the eponymous world of magic spinning tops, everybody knows that the Supreme Four are a group consisting of the four strongest Bladers in Japan. But, what if there was more to that than just winning Beybattles? What if, in order to join this elite group, you had to give up something in exchange for untold godlike powers? What if that something was a part of you? And is that price you pay to achieve that power truly worth it?
This story puts a much darker and more mature spin on the otherwise lighthearted and kid-friendly Beyblade Burst series and explores the idea of Beys possessing powers beyond the human imagination. It also delves into NekoVi's headcanon that the Supreme Four are not who they seem, and how Lui became the menacing Blader he is now. The story mainly centers around Valt Aoi as he attempts to join the Supreme Four, and soon learns a dark side to the world of Beyblade. Contains mentions of violence, swearing, blood, gore, killing, and death.
As per usual, NekoVi incoporates head canons and higher thinking in most of her stories, and is an incredible author. She portrays the characters in her stories very close to their originals, while at the same time adding a little bit of her own spin to their character.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: In the show, Lui was at his worst was an arrogant jerk whose only real bad deed was scarring Shu. Here, he's portrayed as an outright sadistic monster who brutally tortures and kills his victims when they fail to make the cut for joining the Supreme Four.
- Darker and Edgier: A fanfic that focuses on topics such as death & murder in a kid-friendly anime show.
- Deal with the Devil: More like, "Deal with the Bey". In order to achieve ultimate power and therefore immortality, the Blader can perform a "Blader's Deal", in which they give up a part of themself (like a personality trait).
- Easily Forgiven: As per Valt's character, he immediately forgives Lui after he is freed from Luinor's power in spite of all the horrible things he's done.
- The Hidden Hour: 3:00 AM, aka the "Blading Hour", which is when Bladers are able to activate their Bey powers.
- He Knows Too Much: The Supreme Four (especially Lui) have this mentality regarding anybody who tries and fails to join the Supreme Four, as they feel that the only to prevent them from ever telling anybody else is to kill them.
- Stepford Smiler:
- This fic paints Zac as one. He seems to be living the high life as a pop star, but he’s constantly worrying about his team, given that Lui is always looking to hurt and torture them.
- In a way, Xander is one too, since on the surface he appears as his usual laughing self, but due to having given up his freedom, is always forced to bend to Lui's will.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Shu briefly goes mad with power just from touching Luinor's Nine disc, since its spirit is sealed inside.
- Wrecked Weapon: The only way a Blader can take back what they gave up for power is to destroy the Beyblade. The latter act of the story involves the gang resolving to break the Supreme Four's Beys in order to give back what they lost.
