Supernova
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Summary: He burned, and burned, and it felt like his body exploded. First came darkness, then came the blinding brightness, and a new being came to be. He was still who he was, but at the same time not, but if there was one thing he was certain of, he would still put his family above all other. [Reincarnation!RenKoumei!]
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Prologue
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00. Once Again
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The pain that bloomed from his chest was unbearable, it was burning, it was electrocuting, and it hurt.
Koumei wasn't the least bit surprised, about the excruciating pain and the attack.
It was rather logical to kill one of the generals first, since chaos was soon to follow. A long-range attack from somewhere beyond the immediate area, it was an attack from a Djinn Equip he suspected, and vainly hoped to be, since it would be embarrassing if it wasn't.
It was absolutely horrifying that Kouha was beside him when the attack landed on his person, and rather alarming that his death might cause his brother and king to go berserk, Koumei just hoped that neither parties would do something horribly rash. Everybody died in the long run, his death would just be one along many, and while his death was rather early, he made preparations for such a thing. Now, if only his brother and king would follow it, and the others would do the same...
Koumei was rather certain that they would try to follow it, somewhat, afterall it was what he left for them to do. The research might help them, it was nearing the completion of transportation circles, having Dantalion as his djinn was a great help for the idea itself and the development.
Ren Koumei rather doubted it would go as smoothly as that though, his brother and king was a person that valued family over anything else, even his pursuit for knowledge, he might get angry but he should know that his feelings had no place in war. Kouha, would probably blame himself, his apparent death did happen right in front of him and Koumei wouldn't be surprised if thoughts like 'I could've done something' or 'If I didn't let my guard down this wouldn't have happened' swirled through his mind.
Kougyoku would most likely go with what his brother and king wants, or try to calm him, either of the two really.
Lady Hakuei, on the other hand, Koumei would admit they were quite close when they were children, only when they were children. Even if it was embarrassing that the former First Imperial Princess was stronger than him at that time, it was something that a certain man always insulted him with.
Hakuryuu's thought on the matter, Koumei supposed he'd be glad, it was another person out of the way and that was always a plus. Shame though, that the sweet kid he knew when he was younger was a little bit psychotic now, but it seemed to run in the family.
Other than them, and Chuu'un, he really didn't think that his death would cause too much trouble, or violent response. He had other relatives, yes, but he didn't spend time with them so it would be understandable if they had no reaction whatsoever.
Ren Koumei was full of regrets, truly, he wanted to see the world when it reached the point where peace was everywhere, where everybody lived freely with no inhibitions, and maybe where everyone in his family was happy, excluding Ren Gyokuen, also known as Arba.
He was feeling drowsy now, and he couldn't even hear properly, but he could still read the lips of Kouha over his prone body, begging him to wait for En-nii, and were those tears on his face?
Koumei frowned deeper, and even when his vision blurred to the point he could see was a pink blob he urged his arm to move, to lay his hand on his brother's hair.
And even if it felt like shards of glass buried itself in his throat even if he only made a small sound, he took a deep breathe. His lungs burning, burning, burning and spoke.
"Li-ive," Koumei croaked out, "ha-ppi-ly."
Darkness took over soon after.
...
What happened after death was a topic many philosophers either studied with avid interest, or avoided as much as possible. Koumei would admit with no ounce of shame that it was a topic he deemed unworthy of his attention, and focused on stratagems instead.
In his own thoughts, death was the end and his rukh would be part of something called the 'Great Flow', and with his rukh was also his spirit.
He couldn't come up with anything more than that.
But apparently, he would be a witness of what will happen after death. His eldest brother would probably be excited if this were to happen to him, knowing the event that took place when one took his or her last breath that many could only speculate about, Koumei could just see the smirk that would grace his eldest brother's face if that were to happen.
He, on the other hand, couldn't care less.
It didn't really affect him that much since he mainly focused on what he could do in the living world and strategies, and if there was one thing that he could appreciate from Reim it was the Method of Ioci which helped him store important knowledge and memories in an organized manner.
Taking advantage of the method, Koumei made sure he remembered tactics, strategies, strengths that could turn to weaknesses and vice versa. Everything concerning war, and how to win one, it was stored in the deep recesses of his brain.
Not to say that those were the only things in his mind, Koumei also had a treasure trove of psychology notes, notes on behavior, notes to tell the weather, notes how to create boats to houses, notes on how to survive. His mind was filled with the truly important things down to mundane things, mundane things that his brothers often questioned about and if it will happen to help them in the long run.
Concerning the topic what happened after death, all notes or any book he read about such a thing, if he read anything about it all, was promptly thrown away to a deep corner in his mind.
So, imagine his surprise when pure white light assaulted his eyes, and he promptly raised his djinn equip to block out the sudden brightness.
(It only took a few seconds for his mind,
-'was it my mind?' Koumei wondered, 'was the spirit connected to my mind? Or was it my rukh that was connected to my mind? Can my mind function rationally at all on this moment?'-
to notice if there was anything wrong with his body. His clothes seemed to be the same, even his fan was in his hand, the wounds that caused his death didn't seem to be aching. Koumei suspected the wound vanished completely or was completely healed, but he did not know the reason as to why it occurred, or how it occurred.
Understandably, after the light appeared he knew that there was somebody there, and that somebody was most likely King Solomon.
Seeing the unmistakable blue hair that only two individual had, Koumei confirmed his suspicions.)
"Your Majesty," Koumei greeted politely, his face indifferent, and gave a small nod. "I give my greetings to you."
Sharp sapphire eyes were unreadable, and his lips were twitching, if it were to form a smile or a frown, Koumei didn't bother to predict which one. His braided navy hair whipped around with the force of something that Koumei couldn't feel, clothes of white, gold, and red moving along. His third eye barely hidden with his short navy locks, and a simple crescent gold headpiece was above it, with a dark red jewel in the middle.
King Solomon looked just like who he was before his mind was taken away.
"Ren Koumei," the redhead merely raised an eyebrow, at the characteristic low voice that all males shared. Though, he couldn't ignore how it was tinged with something else, something that he heard often from his brother, charisma and determination. A voice often used to command the battlefield and raise the spirit of the people. "You're dead."
Koumei was severely unimpressed, for the rather mundane use of it.
...
Abraham Jehoahaz Solomon would admit he had favorites, every deity had one. The deity of another world where magoi was called magic to them, named Death, favored a certain emerald eyed glasses wearing boy. Another deity of another world favored a blond blue eyed boy, that had a unique entity within him. One deity that Solomon often spent time with, had many favorites, among them were certain people bearing a name that he once had.
(He was one of the few human turned deity, and Solomon could fully appreciate his antics, Solomon was one of the few actually. The others were too serious about what they have done, or too certain that they knew the best, that they were uncomfortable to be with.)
Solomon tried to hide it as much as possible to remain somewhat partial.
When one of his favorites died when it was not meant to be, well, he threw something equivalent to a fit. He even went as far as summoning all of his favorite's rukh to the place where human turned divine entities, or just plain divine entities of each world gathered for a friendly chat.
The deadpan look Solomon received when he told him he was dead, was utterly priceless. It was a shame that he reigned his expression quickly, his face taking on a blank mask for the sake of being polite.
Ren Koumei really needed to relax for a moment, to just let go. Even his older brother had times when he broke out of his facade, and never bothered taking it up again.
"I was aware," the redhead answered, voice void of emotion.
Solomon just smiled, a smile too wide that it made the corner of his eyes crinkle and cheeks ache. Anything, anything, to avoid the eyes that reminded him too much of her.
"I am not aware of your age, your majesty, but if I may ask?"
That came out of nowhere, and Solomon had to stop himself from blinking owlishly in response. Technically speaking, he was older than their world itself, and when he was about to answer the redhead spoke once again.
"The age of your death," Ren Koumei clarified.
Well, that one could be easily answered.
"My death occurred the very moment my mind was gone from my body, as far as I'm concerned, somewhere between twenty-two years old and twenty-six." Solomon answered frankly, and mused about the past. "Everything became a blur concerning my time in our world, truthfully speaking."
The redhead nodded in acquisition of an answer, and Solomon was lost on how to say that the man wasn't supposed to die, when the redhead spoke once again.
"Is this what happens after death?"
"Not at all," Solomon answered promptly, "your rukh is supposed to join the Great Flow, but before that, you would enter the Sacred Palace that Ugo is taking care of."
"You weren't even supposed to die yet."
...
Koumei didn't expect that, he never really believed in fate, he thought that life was sorely based on your own hands. This incident just managed to cement that belief in his mind.
"I see," he replied, for the sake of avoiding the stifling silence that was about to be borne. Truly, whilst he tried to tell the truth as often as he can, what he said at this moment was a complete and utter lie.
Koumei couldn't see what King Solomon was talking about.
If he wasn't supposed to die, then why did he die- his fault perhaps- but did someone truly die when it was their time? Koumei thought about his cousins, his cousins as dear as brothers, and while his heart clenched at the very thought of them did they too, die before their time?
He wouldn't be surprised if that was what happened.
(Koumei ignored the fact that if they were alive, Hakuyuu would've been Emperor and he and his sibling wouldn't be living the lives they had now. En-nii didn't want to be an Emperor, he was just fine bearing the responsibility that would be given to him by Hakuyuu-niisama. Their lives might have been even easier if they were still alive.
He would never know though.)
"You should've had a years and years of being alive," King Solomon continued. "You would have been the Emperor of Kou-"
"Pardon," Koumei interrupted, sounding almost alarmed. Later on he would realize, he was slowly forgetting to act like how he usually was in their world, where he was only the nephew of the former Emperor turned second prince, and certain characteristics were expected from him. "May I ask you to repeat that?"
A navy eyebrow was raised, and Koumei ignored the faint amusement wafting of from the man, more focused on what, arguably the King of their World, said.
"You would have been the Emperor," the King repeated offhandedly, like he was talking about the weather. "Sure there would be some trouble along the way, but you would eventually be the Emperor. You would have had children, but they were born from a loveless marriage, and you knew they weren't fit to be rulers so you gave the title to one of the sons of your cousins turned adopted siblings."
Koumei didn't know what to think of that, so that information was assimilated, filed, put into a box, and pushed to the farthest corners of his mind.
King Solomon just continued, ignoring the fact that Koumei was about to have trouble thinking coherently because of the information he was giving.
"-it was even a well-known fact that you were the best ruler the world has ever seen," The man smiled in self-depreciation. "Even better than myself."
"That's a lie," Koumei quickly replied, knowing that it was one in the bottom of his heart, even if he were still alive that will never happen. "I am not fit to be an Emperor, my brother and king is, and I doubt anybody could match you King Solomon."
Said man shook his head in response, "I could argue with you, but you have the stubbornness that's a characteristic trait shared within your family, and seeing that you have somehow bent your siblings countless times to your will... I'm afraid any argument we will have would last for a long time."
"My brother and king would be Emperor," Koumei firmly spoke, each syllable ringing with certainty. "And so will anyone he deems worthy, if the time to choose an heir comes to pass, many people would help him towards his goal."
King Solomon pursed his lips, opened his mouth to say something, but thought better of it. A rueful smile then formed on his face.
"Stubborn aren't you?" He mused, and his sapphire eyes darkened to a deep twilight blue, edged with a dark blue almost black. Koumei felt apprehensive, his brother had the same thing happen to him often, where his rage was burning but he needed to contain it, his eyes would take a deep burgundy color, the edges bright scarlet.
The Second Imperial Prince was always the one who cleaned up his brother's messes after one of those moods.
"Why didn't you stay alive?" The magician mused. "Don't answer that question," King Solomon warned, when Koumei was about to open his mouth to reply, his mind quickly forming the appropriate response.
"See," the navyhead continued, "your stubborness would have made you hold out until somebody healed you. Kouen would have arrived in time, Hakuryuu would have made sure you were alive, for the sake of having you live through worse."
'That was rather nice to know,' Koumei thought blankly, his face not moving an inch at the thought that his youngest cousin would've made him go through torturous ordeals.
"But somebody interfered," King Solomon darkly said, voice threatening, "and I am less than pleased."
The strategist blinked, "Is something so small as one person's death enough to make you act like this?" Koumei wondered, "Perhaps, I do not have that much of a role to play in the future, which is the reason why somebody else removed myself from my world."
The King just gave him a look, and gave a long suffering sigh.
...
'Why can't he understand?' Solomon thought in frustration, barely stopping himself from groaning at the redhead.
Ren Koumei didn't seem to understand that he had a role to fulfill, a big role that his eldest brother knew he would flourish at. Kouen knew that he was only fit for war, and acknowledged the fact. He was a man of action and not one to make plans, unless it involved the battlefield. He knew he could be a leader, but he knew he could not be an Emperor.
It was a fact.
Kouen cared for the people in his country, yes, but he knew he wasn't the person fit for the job of leading them. One that knew the ins and outs, one he knew how to change the flow of not only battles but trades, one that knew how to handle war times and peace times, one who had wisdom and kindness, patience and cunning, he knew that was the kind of man for the job.
That was the qualities he knew his younger brother had.
Even, Kouha, the youngest brother, knew that they weren't fighting for his eldest brother to be on the throne, but for his elder one, because he knows what he can do.
The redhead in front of him just couldn't see that.
Sure he had edges that still needs to be polished, but it was there, and he would grow as time passed.
All of the battles waged, all of the people that would be left in ditches, all of the people that would perish... if he wasn't the Emperor.
It was frightening amount, countless countries would have a hard time regaining their former glory after all that.
All because of a deity that wanted to mess with his world.
Solomon could just see a certain somebody's handprints all over this mess, and he couldn't wait to deal out a most appropriate punishment.
"I'm waiting my friend," Solomon almost growled, "answer me, why have you take one of my people, which in turn has doomed the life of others?"
His magoi ruffled his clothes, with his hair whipping wildly behind him. His staff appeared suddenly in his hand, rivaling his height, forming an ornate orb and having a point in the end.
He was furious, and he would let everyone know.
His world was not to be trifled with, nor be played with, by himself nor by others.
Solomon felt that other deities needed to be reminded of this.
"If you have no appropriate answer," irises darkened till they were as dark as an abyss. "Well," eyes were narrowed, "just hope it doesn't come to that."
...
His temple was throbbing with agitation, and if he had less self-control than he had, nobody would be surprised if he would be gnashing his teeth together in irritation.
"What do you mean you want to change-!?"
A figure wearing clothes that seemed to be somewhat prestigious yet at the same time looked like it was for commoners had a huge smile on his face, his whole atmosphere merry. His very presence smelling much like the sea.
"Exactly what it means~! I'm rather fond of him, he reminds me of someone."
A calm collected voice, completely controlled, cut in.
"Do I not have a say in this?"
The two men who spoke earlier looked at each other, one wearing a garb akin to those who lived in the desert, the other had clothing never before seen. Uttering the same answer, at the exact same time.
"No."
A long suffering sigh was heard, and voice completely bland.
"I see."
A series of more arguments, one that sounded to tedious to listen to, and not worthwhile.
"Fine! I agree to your decisions, the kid still has his 'noble blood', load of bull by the way. Tragic past, sure why not? Nice parents? I can make it work... but I think his uncle has a screw lose somewhere-"
"What-!?"
"-it's exactly the same as what he's been through! Hell, it's better! At the very least his soon-to-be father's not an asshole."
"... fine, the other conditions?"
"Oh, he'll have a family alright. Hell, he might even get nakama, you'd like that don't you?"
"A nakama?"
"You'll know it later."
"Almost every condition is appropriately met," a voice glumly replied.
"Of course!" Another voice replied boisterously, "now, if you don't mind, I need to make some changes to his soul's components and what-not. Your world's weird you know that?"
A snort. "Like you're one to talk, I don't have 'devil fruits', as the occupants of your world call it, in my world."
"Your world have 'djinn vessels'."
"It isn't a power easily gained by just eating a fruit, no matter how disgusting I might add."
"Hmph."
"Is my soul not suitable for your world?"
"Eh, I guess? I think some of your magoi is going to be left behind, and I still have to fix the circumstances of your birth."
"Circumstances?"
"See, they were supposed to end up together, your soon-to-be parents. A deity messed with all that though, a shame really. But now! Now I have you, I just need to do a little tweaks and put your soul in your container. I'd like you to remember, train your body alright? I mean don't just focus on strategy, because sometimes you need strength as well. My world's rather... rough?"
A certain redhead almost sighed at the unsure tone the man used.
"...duly-noted."
"Good lad!"
"Is that really a requirement for him? Being physically strong?"
"Of course it is! And hell, I know you agree."
"Will I still have my memories?"
Both men paused.
"Kind of?"
"Oi!"
"I mean rosie here would still have his memories from the past, he can't help my favorites if that were the case, but you would feel- detached, from it all."
"... as informative as that is, those weren't the memories I was speaking of. I suppose it was rather nice to know that I'm just a tool to help your 'favorites'."
"Others would do anything for a chance like this y'know?"
"As you might see, I do not count among those 'others' you speak of. That and the memories I was speaking of was my time here... wherever this place is."
Stifled laughter was heard, while another had a face that donned a grimace crossed with amusement.
"I can see that. And no, I think it would be better if you had no memories of your time here in our... what do we call this place again?"
"I'd like to call it a playroom, a place where deities mess with other worlds."
"Close. Since you asked, you'll have no memories of your time here."
"Why? How could I help your favorites if I won't know it's the reason why I was killed before my time, and brought back to life albeit in another world altogether?"
"... are you angry?"
"What do you think?"
"Sorry, but I'm pretty sure you'd enjoy your time in my world more than what's waiting for you in the future in your world. Because... well, I can't say anything about that matter."
"You still haven't answered one of his questions."
"Hm? Oh, about that no memories here? I thought my favorites should earn your help."
"Then what's the point of bringing me to your world if I can't fulfill the duty that made you do so?"
A boisterous laugh was his answer.
"I can see what you mean Solomon, he really needs to lighten up."
A bluehead nodded his head in agreement, ignoring the pointed look directed at him.
"He truly does."
"Rosie, I enjoy freedom, hell, every single person does. I fought for my freedom, and other countless others'. You think I'd prevent somebody to have the freedom to choose who they want to help?"
"It's an illogical decision."
"Who cares?"
"I do!"
"Look, I like you. You might as well be a favorite of mine as well, and your future? Sure it's great and all, but it only came to be because the others choose their path for you. You didn't become Emperor because you wanted to, you became the emperor because of the sense of duty you had."
"For my family, for my people, I'd do anything."
"That's good and all, admirable even. But, you can be so much more. You could have made your own country, solve problems earlier if you broke out of the mold pressed into you!"
"You should ponder on that, Ren Koumei."
"You really should."
"... I see."
"There done!"
"Already?"
"Yeah. I really hope we won't see each other until much, much later rosie."
"Farewell, and may you live your new life to the fullest."
"... I can try."
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In the Holy Land of Mariejois, where families were woven in a rather intricate and complicated tapestry, where every World Noble was related one way or another, and where a certain prince took his first breath in his new world.
Where he was a prince no more, and instead one higher than any other that didn't hold their rank.
Where his locks became more pink than magenta, and his pink spinel irises became morganite.
Where he had no siblings, and instead had a long string of cousins.
Where he had no mold to fit, no obligations to anyone.
Where he was free.
...
I own nothing from One Piece.
I own nothing from Magi.
...
So, I'd really like to think that I'm not the only one who was drastically affected with a certain blond's death in One Piece. And concerning Ren Koumei, a character from Magi, he is a character I immensely like, I also think that he deserves more screen time.
I decided to hit two birds with one stone, and this is a story with two characters I favor. Immensely.
The story mainly happens, from here on out, in the One Piece Universe. The only thing I wish to change, is the death of said blond, and that's the only concrete thing in the plot.
..I'll work it out somehow.
RichInsanity... OUT!