Chapter 1 – The Hero a New World Needs
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Death and destruction, that was all could be seen for as far as the eye could see. The Beast of the Apocalypse, Trihexa had been released by the terrorist Rizevim Lucifer, the son of the original Lucifer and Lilith.
In a morbid sense, it was funny that Rizevim didn't survive to see his work come to fruition as he put a failsafe in place that if he died his soul would be the final piece of the puzzle that would awaken the Great Beast. The Beast laid waste to Agreas before splitting up with the Qlippoth to cause more destruction to other planes of existence.
It had only been a few days and nearly everyone was dead, Sirzechs Lucifer was laid on the ground after he went up against the Beast, even his true form the Aura of Destruction wasn't enough to take that thing down. With great difficulty Sirzechs lifted his head and looked around the area in abhorrence and repugnance. His wife; Grayfia and sister; Rias, along with most of her peerage were dead and the Beast didn't even have a scratch on it.
Sirzechs looking even farther up the source of all this came into his view and saw his would-be brother-in-law, Issei, fighting a pointless attack against Trihexa. The teen was in his Diabolos Dragon form, his most powerful form and even this wasn't enough.
Seeing the pointless endeavour made it painfully clear to Sirzechs that this was all pointless and that Qlippoth had won, they had won the moment that monstrosity had opened its eyes for the first time since being sealed away be God of the Bible. He tried to think of any possible way for them to come out victorious, though if he were honest with himself he didn't really want to live in a world where his dear wife, precious sister and his pride and joy son were dead.
Ophis stood no chance against it with her and Lilth still being two separate beings, so the Dragon God wasn't at her highest potential. If she were she may have stood a chance but Sirzechs didn't know that for sure.
Great Red was out of the question as he was one of the reason why they were fighting against Trihexa in the first place. While Great Red could possibly take the Beast out, the fight those two would have will be enough to destroy any world they are on anyway so that would just be defeating the purpose of them trying to stop the Beast from destroying everything.
With those two out of the question, that means that there is no being on Earth, the Underworld, Heaven or anywhere else in the known existence who could stop this thing.
While he was musing, he noticed his preverbally saving grace as it were in the form of the corpse of Valerie Tepes, the Dhampir head of the vampiric House of Tepes. In the once beautiful young woman's limp hand was one of her Holy Grails from her Sacred Gear, [Sephiroth Graal].
The Sacred Gear was one of the most powerful, even among the thirteen Longinus. It was also known as one of the Holy Relics that were connected to Christ. It allowed the user of it to contact the Principle of Life, being told how life and the soul are created.
However, the part that Sirzechs was interested in was the idea of bring people back from the dead, just like when Rizevim used it to bring the Evil Dragon back to life. He knew the basics of how it worked from his sister, who in turn had learnt it from Issei, who got the info from Valerie herself.
The distance between them was doable in his current state but he would have to drag himself as he couldn't feel his legs and he was missing his left arm from the elbow, down. So, mustering all the strength his failing body had left and yanked himself along the rumble and towards the Dhampir. It was like his body had a second burst of energy when he thought that if he succeeded he would be with his wife and child again, he never realized how much he missed his wife berating him for being childish and slacking off on his work.
It took him a while but he reached his destination, taking a quick glance up he saw Issei still going at Trihexa. He let a weak smile, this would all be over soon. Looking at his target he now noticed that Gasper was also with Valerie. Sirzechs surmised that they must have died in each other's arms.
He shook off the side tracking thought to get back to his main objective, reaching out he seized possession of the mythical golden chalice. Knowing what he had to do, Sirzechs pushed what little magic he had left into the cup and did the closest thing he could do to praying that it worked.
He waited a few moments and nothing happened, this was in the back of his mind that it wouldn't work. Sacred Gears were complicated things and sometimes other people apart from their user could use them and other times they couldn't be used. This was one of those times in which it couldn't be used.
Seeing nothing happen, he saw his last small glimmer of hope die and the lives of every person in existence end when the Beast inevitably comes to them. Letting out the air of hope he had, he let the muscles in his neck go limp and let his head fall to the floor, closing his eyes on the way down.
He gave up, he was just going to lie here and wait for the sweet release of death to usher him away from this accursed mortal coil and into the loving arms of his silver haired eternal love and son.
"So, this is what the leader of one of the most powerful factions has been reduced to by a Beast that knows nothing but destruction?" A weird voice rhetorically asked.
Sirzechs just ignored the voice, he didn't care anymore, he just wanted to be left alone. However, a strange force compelled him to look up. Not having the will power left, he succumbed to the force and looked up to the source of the voice.
He was confused with what he saw, or lack thereof as everything was gone; Trihexa, Issei, the bodies of the people he knew and even the ground and sky. All that was left was darkness, a never-ending darkness and a one sole being.
This being was completely white humanoid with no defining features, only a wide grinning mouth. The being was squatting in front of the downed Satan as if he was examining what was left of Sirzechs.
"Who, who are… you?" Sirzechs rasped out.
The being cocked his head slightly to side with the question, "I would have thought you'd know who I am, considering you were the one who sought me out." The being replied.
Sirzechs was shocked, this is the being that was connected to the [Sephiroth Graal] "You're the, the Principle of Life?"
The being gave a slow clap that echoed throughout the vast nothingness, "Give the man a medal." It said, stopping clapping.
"I'm guessing you know about what's happening."
"I know everything, so yes. However, it was not meant to go this way."
Sirzechs was confused with what the being said, of course it was meant to happen because it did. "What are you talking about? Of course, it was meant to happen! My family is dead!" The red head shouted.
"No it wasn't. Something has messed with the timeline and caused a different outcome. You along with a couple of others were meant to seal the Beast away and save everyone but that didn't happen this time." The being explained.
"So does that mean you can change what happened?" Sirzechs asked.
"Yes and no."
"What's that supposed to mean!? You either can or you can't!" The downed Devil roared.
The Principle was losing his patience with the Devil, "Is that anyway to talk to the being that can help you." It growled.
Sirzechs sighed, he didn't want to piss off possibility the one being who could help him. "I'm sorry, it's just I have seen too many of my loved ones die today."
The Principle just waved his hand, "Its fine, I have seen what you've been through and it's to be expected."
The waving of the hand also served a second purpose as Sirzechs felt some of his energy return to him, at least enough for him to shakenly stand.
"So how can you help?"
"I myself can't help as there's a universal law that prohibits me from doing it."
"Then how can you?"
"As you know the Sacred Gear I have a connection what was it called, the [Sephiroth Graal] was it? Anyway it has the ability to bring people back from the dead. That is just a portion of my power, I can bring a hero back to the world that will be powerful enough to take on this Beast." The Principle explained.
Sirzechs thought about what the Principle was saying but he couldn't believe it, there was a person in the past who was powerful enough to take on that monstrosity. He had lived long enough to know or know of most of the strongest beings in existence and he didn't think any of them apart from Ophis and Great Red could take on the Beast, "Who? I don't know of anyone who could take on that Beast."
"I'm not surprised as this person is from a time before any you have ever heard of. You see your existence wasn't the first one to govern that space, there was a time before that, a past universe. It was known as the Elemental Nations." The Principle explained.
This news perplexed him with the new information, he had never heard of a place called the Elemental Nations or that it occupied the same area in space that their own existence did. But if it helped them then he would do it. "Who is this person?"
"A person by the name of Naruto Uzumaki. He was known as the Hero of the World during his life when he saved the Earth multiple times from people that rival you in terms of power and speed." The Principle saw the speculation on the Devil's face and it understood the reason for the it so it decided instead of telling him to show him.
It raised its hand to the side and created a spatial rift just in front of his palm. It noticed that Sirzechs went on guard when he noticed the rift, if it wasn't so observant then it would have never noticed the very subtle movements the Satan did.
"If you don't believe me, just watch." The Principle said, directing Sirzechs attention towards the rift.
For a while Sirzechs watched a blonde teen, where he looked to be about sixteen in some and eighteen in others, fight against multiple people and win eventually. Every single one of them had powers that he had never seen before and didn't even think were possible, this was coming from a guy who could turn his entire body to a mass of destructive energy.
He guessed it was the blonde teen that was this Naruto Uzumaki, he was the one overcome all of these adversities and would still be fighting on. He also noticed that the other people in the events would rally behind the blonde against these threats, he had to smirk at this. It took a great deal of leadership, power and care to have that many people follow you willingly.
Once the rift had finished showing the images it faded to black and the fabric of space began to stitch itself back up and before long it was like it was never even there.
"Do you believe the power of this individual now?" The Principle asked.
Sirzechs nodded, "I do. So what now?"
"I shall bring Naruto Uzumaki here for us to explain what is happening and ask for his help."
"Ask?"
"Yes, I want to give him the choice in the matter. He suffered so much for his world and I will not pull him from his rewarded peace without giving him a choice. He deserves at least that much."
Sirzechs got the reasoning behind why the Principle wasn't going to force this Naruto into anything. "Ok."
The Principle placed his two hands just in front of him, where the floor would be and created yet another rift. However, this rift was different from the last as a blinding light poured out of this one as it pierced its way through the darkness and continued upwards as if it had no limit.
Sirzechs was on guard with this light and backed himself up, the light that was coming from this rift was very similar to that of the Holy Light that bathed Heaven since its creation nearly an existence ago. But this light was different, it was so much stronger and pure than Heaven's light, which was something he thought to be impossible.
"Where does that lead?" The man asked.
"To a place called the Pure Land. It is the afterlife for that existence and the place Naruto Uzumaki has spent his time."
Sirzechs watched in amazement as Naruto Uzumaki at the age of eighteen rose form the rift. The Principle had manifested him at that age to make it easier to talk to him and not as an old man when he died.
Once the aged man turned teen was fully out of the rift he looked around. The last thing he remembered was dying of old age as the Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure. His eyes guided their way to his hands and noticed the lack of wrinkles on them. Quickly bringing his hands to his face he felt the smooth skin that he lost with age. His hands travelled down to his torso and the muscles he had in his youth.
"What the hell?" He asked, not expecting an answer.
"Welcome Mr. Uzumaki." The Principle greeted.
Naruto used the reflexes he had developed over a lifetime of being a shinobi and soldier of Konoha to pivot around on his heel, all the while preparing a Rasengan within a second. His ability to create the attack were leaps and bounds ahead from when he first learnt it from Jiraiya in his youth, now it was second nature to him and he could create the spiralling ball almost instantaneous.
Sirzechs saw the movement and was extremely impressed with it, he almost didn't catch the subtle movements the blonde did to create the ball of energy. The speed of this person reminded him a lot of his [Knight], Souji Okita. He may even be faster than him and that was no small feat by any means. The energy he felt from the ball felt very familiar to him, it took a few moments but he finally recognized it as Senjustu. The reason it took him a while as it seemed to be a variation on it or in this case a predecessor to it if the man standing in front of him was as old as the Principle of Life claimed him to be.
"Who are you? Where am I? And what the hell happened to me?" Naruto quick fired the questions.
My, my. Everyone is full of questions." The Principle mused.
It was weird for Naruto, now he wasn't as shocked about being where ever the hell he is. He noticed that the thing, that was the best was he could describe what was in front of him, with no features was talking in a different language. But what really made Naruto's brain go into overtime to figure out was, he understood what it as saying.
He had never heard this language before, as he couldn't recall anyone in the Elemental Nations that he came across that spoke the language which would be the reason he could understand it, but he understood every single word.
"Are you listening?" The Principle asked.
The question knocked the retired Hokage from his musings and brought his mind back on track, "Yes, now do you mind answering my questions." He replied in the tone he used during his time as the leader of is village.
"Of course, well in the order you asked. I, myself am what is known as the Principle of Life and this here is Sirzechs Lucifer, the most powerful Devil." The Principle answered and was amused by the reaction of the blonde.
The arm holding the Rasengan and Naruto's jaw dropped, the loss of concentration caused the Rasengan to burn itself out. He had gone up against people and lived in a world full of people with supernatural abilities, monolithic beasts made entirely of chakra, people who have eyes that can transport people to different dimensions and see through solid objects and even a self-proclaimed God. But here he was standing in front of the literal embodiment of life itself and a Devil.
He didn't want to mess with either of them as the power he felt from the Principle of Life dwarfed everyone he had gone up against while the Devil maybe on par Madara as the Ten Tails Jinchūriki but not as powerful as Kaguya and the other members of the Ōtsutsuki but these two were still more powerful than them.
He did feel a slight twinge of pain at the term Devil. It stemmed from when he was in his much younger years and he was hated for housing Kurama in his seal. While he hid it from nearly everyone, the memories of those times still haunted him from time to time. The only person he let in on the secret was his wife Hinata.
Taking a moment to compose himself, Naruto looked at the two beings and spoke, "Continue."
"You accepted that quite quickly." The Principle remarked.
"When you live in a world full of basically super humans, giant animals and self-proclaimed Gods you kinda learn to roll with things. Now please continue."
The Principle nodded, "Very well. To answer your second question of where are you I have to pair it with the answer of your third question, you are in my own dimension that is closed off from any other. You are here as I have a request for you."
The Principle waited for a second for Naruto to reply to this and got what it was waiting for when Naruto nodded for the being to continue.
"Now this part may be hard for you to hear. Your world has been gone for more than an eon. You have been at rest for longer in the Pure World however the world that grew after yours needs your help. Something has gone wrong with their timeline and because of it a countless number of innocent people have and will be needlessly killed without fulfilling their full potential. So, they need your help to fix things." The Principle explained.
Naruto absorbed the information in for a minute, so he had died he just couldn't remember it. That was plausible as the legend goes that the Pure Land is such a paradise to anyone that lays eyes on it that as soon as they are denied the constant stimuli of its beauty the person instantly forget it and everything they did there.
"So you have brought me here to help save this world from whatever has posed a threat against it?" Naruto summed up.
"Yes." This time it was Sirzechs who answered, Naruto turned to him for the first time in the conversation. "I know I have no right to ask to this but we need your help. Trihexa is a beast that destroys everything it sees, I watched my wife, son and everyone I know and love die in front of my eyes to this thing. I will help you in any way that I can." He begged.
Naruto looked at the Devil and felt sorry for the man. His keen eyes pinpointed the markers of a man who had lost everything and has nothing to lose. He kinda knew what the man was going through as he experienced a similar feeling when everyone was trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi and on the day Hinata died.
He spent a few more moments to think over the answer, although he knew what he was going to do.
"Ok, I'll help. What do I need to do?" Naruto enquired.
Sirzechs smiled at the young man's answer, "Thank you."
Naruto looked to him and smiled, "Of course." He said, looking back at the Principle and waited for it to talk.
"So, I will be sending you a while before Trihexa is released. You will need to establish yourself and get to work making sure everything goes the way it should. I will implant memories in your head that will help you know what is to happen but it must be you who is at the for front of them and do what the Failed Hero couldn't." It said before turning to Sirzechs, "For that I will need your soul."
This request shocked the other parties that were there.
"Why do you need my soul?" Sirzechs asked.
"I don't want anyone to die for me to help." Naruto added.
"It's the only way, I need a basis to establish these memories from. Also with me sending him back you will have no memories of what happened. Is that ok with you?" The Principle answered.
After hearing the reason as to why his soul is needed Sirzechs nodded, if sacrificing himself meant that his wife and child could live then he would gladly give his life. Also, his past self would be alive and well.
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked.
"Positive. Thank you for your concern." Sirzechs replied before turning to the Principle, "So you are going to be using my memories to give Naruto an understanding of the world as well I'm guessing."
"That would be correct." The Principle nodded.
"Then may you erase my more personal and intimate memories I have had with my wife. I'd like to respect our privacy." Sirzechs requested.
Naruto nodded at this, if he were in Sirzechs shoes then he wouldn't want someone having the memories of what he and Hinata got up to behind closed doors and on some occasions out in the open. His remembered his wife coming out of her shell on a few occasions and wanting to try more promiscuous things.
"That is a reasonable request and I can honour it." The Principle agreed before turning to Naruto, "Is there anything I can do for you Mr Uzumaki?"
Naruto shook his head, "No thank you, I'd like to remember my wife, children and grandchildren. However, is it possible to keep this form? This is from my prime and it would make it easier for me to help."
Before the Principle could answer Sirzechs did first, "I have a way we could do that along with you gathering a group of close allies. However, it would mean becoming a Devil."
Naruto cocked his eyebrow in interest, "I'm listening."
"We Devils have a system to turn humans into Devils. It's called the Evil Piece system and was developed by my friend Ajuka Beelzebub. He designed it to help our dwindling population. He based of the game of chess."
"Chess? What's Chess?" Naruto asked.
"It's similar to the game of Shogi you're used to." The Principle clarified.
Naruto 'Ahed' in realization, as he remembered the game Shikamaru would often play and even himself from time to time after he became Hokage. "Sorry, continue."
"Well each set has a [King] that is given to a High-Class Devil to have their own peerage. However, we have nine [Kings] and sets that are unused as myself and the other Maou deemed them too powerful and dangerous for any Devil to use. I will give you one and you can create your own peerage to help." Sirzechs finished explaining.
Naruto nodded at this, "Ok, I will do it."
"One last thing." The Principle spoke, getting the two's attention, "Naruto seems as you are going to meet up with Sirzechs in the past you need to establish a way so he knows to trust you."
Sirzechs nodded, "That would be a good idea. The four Maou each have a phrase that they use for people who they trust, I can't guarantee I won't question you but just say, 'When the Brains and Brute fought the Beauty. The Brute was stuck with the most powerful hit he ever knew.' You will have my memories, so explain what to my past self happened at the end. You also won't be able to get to the Underworld by normal means, use my memories to find one of the hidden passages."
Naruto nodded, "That all?"
"Yes." Sirzechs answered and turned to the Principle, "I'm ready."
The Principle nodded, "You are an exceptional man Sirzechs and your sacrifice will not be in vain."
"Thank you." Sirzechs bowed his head.
The Principle placed his hand on the top of Sirzechs head. Naruto watched in amazement as Sirzechs started to glow black as particles rose from him and into the Principle's hand. It continued for a minute before Sirzechs was completely gone but not before flashing smile to Naruto and mouthing what Naruto interpreted as, "Stay strong."
Once he was gone the Principle flipped his palm upwards as he manifested a ball of black energy with a wispy essence rising from it. Naruto recognized it as Sirzech's soul from the power coming off of it.
"Step forward." The Principle said, "I must warn you this will hurt."
Naruto nodded and did as he said, the Principle reached out the hand with Sirzech's soul in. Once it was outstretched the soul took on a life of its own as it hovered out of his hand and directly into Naruto's chest.
It took a few moments before his head flared up with pain as he was flooded with new information and memories of a life; past, present and future that wasn't his own. He saw hundreds of years' worth of information and feelings that he felt in seconds.
It didn't last long however as the pain quickly died down and Naruto could think and see clearly again. He looked to the Principle and asked one final question, "What happens when I change these events and Sirzechs no longer comes here for help? Will I just be erased from time?"
The Principle shook his head, "No, while I can't directly influence events and the world I can protect you from time's effects so you will be safe from it. I will come to you when you have completed this task and ask you if you want to return to the Pure Land or stay. Don't answer now as your answer may change. Now are you ready?"
Naruto nodded, "Yes, let's get this started."
"Very well. Good luck, Naruto Uzumaki." The Principle wished before opening a final rift under Naruto, who fell into it and to begin his mission of rebirth.
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End of Chapter 1
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Author Notes – I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter. It was a bit slow but it's how the story starts.
Please leave a review, telling me what you thought be it good or bad.