This was a random idea that I somehow developed into a story.
Heroes and Heralds
Chapter 01
The Being Called God and Reincarnation
"It is quite unfortunate, but all of you have died."
He didn't really get it but that was the first words I heard when he 'opened' his eyes. No wait, that doesn't really work, how do you open your eyes when you can't even 'see'? It's like he's 'seeing' but without actually 'looking', how does that work?! He's heard of blind people being able to 'see' the world even without being able to actually 'see' it, is that how that actually feels?
Ah, wait, he's dead? They're all dead?! That's a lot to unpackage there!? What even happened!? How did they all die!?
He somehow could feel that outrage also erupted from the 'others', not so much that he could 'hear' whatever they were saying, nor could he even 'see' where they all are, but he could 'feel' that they were somewhere near.
Aaaaah! None of this made sense! Someone please explain what is happening!
"Simply put, I am God." The being that he could 'see' clearly declared, revealing his visage for them all to see. And he might be straight, but even he could tell that the being that proclaimed himself as 'God' was the epitome of beauty.
Fair skin without scars or marks, clean and symmetrical as if he was sculpted. Golden blonde hair that shone with whatever unnatural light was shining upon him, and paired with his sky blue eyes with a supernatural glint in them, he truly was a being that could be called 'God' especially with the regal clothing that he wore.
Ah, so 'God' was real, so that means that religion is real huh. Wait, which one? He's God right? So that means that whatever religion that worshipped him was the real and legit religion, huh, guess he should have prayed more when he was alive.
"It is quite sad. You had all died of a natural disaster. After all, no humans of your time could ever expect that an earthquake that would bring down your class that you were all in would suddenly happen after all." The God said with a sad frown, wiping what 'seemed' to be a drop of tear from marring his beautiful features.
Ah, yeah, that he remembered it now. There was a huge shake before he arrived 'here', wherever 'here' is, and he remembered a lot of people in his class screaming and shouting as the walls came down around them.
How many had died from that disaster? If the earthquake was enough to destroy the whole school, that means that hundreds upon thousands of people should have died right? Because if an earthquake could destroy a whole school, then that means that the places around them should be destroyed too right?
What magnitude of earthquake would be needed to destroy a whole highschool? Then that probably means that there should be a lot of people dead right?
… so what was it that as far as he could 'see', there were only around 30 or so 'people' in wherever this is, a number that is disturbingly the exact number of the students in his class.
The God spread out both of his hands forwards, not moving a single inch from his marble throne. "But rejoice! For this God has taken an interest in you all!" He said with a blinding smile.
"I shall give you all a choice, you can all return to the cycle of reincarnation of your own world, being reborn with all your memories erased and becoming a blank slate." He presented the first choice as he raised his right hand.
"Or," The being that called himself God, presented his left hand forward. "You can all be reincarnated in a world of swords and magic, a world where the supernatural exists! An exciting world of treasures and adventures! Of kings and queens, princes and princesses, angels and devils! A world of great magic!"
The God then waved his hand towards 'them'. "You are all untapped potential. Untapped potential whose life and glory were sadly cut short. But! If you were to take my second choice, then I can grant you another life! One where I shall grant you boons for your adventures!"
He's a skeptic, he totally admits that. That's the reason why he doesn't have many friends in the first place. He's extremely skeptical of shaddy scammers and random people that he hasn't known of just yet. And the person in front of them, the God that was giving them the choice to reincarnate in another world with new powers, was undoubtedly, the shadiest person that he has ever met. Ever. Of all time.
He could 'hear' that the others were murmuring around themselves. Uuh sure, that sounds good and all, being reborn in a world where magic and magical items and all, but that's scary! Real scary! Isn't that a world setting where people can basically be killed at any time?!
Not to mention that it's set in a medieval period time set, doesn't that mean that there's bound to be one or two places that specifically hates magic? That would literally be witch hunts wouldn't there? And doesn't that also mean that if he learnt magic that he would be hunted to if magic was deemed heretical?
Ah wait, that isn't guaranteed though. If the world and society was just one that was built around magic and was kept to a medieval level and no further technological advancement, then those kinds of witch hunts shouldn't happen often, but there's probably one or two places that would hate it though.
Without even letting them chose, the God continued his speech. "And fret not of the matters of magic!" The God proclaimed, gaining his attention once more. "For I am a generous God, and as I said, I shall bestow upon you all a boon, abilities that you all can choose from the lists of skills!"
And so, right before him, a strange screen appeared, listing an incredible number of these so-called 'skills' that the God would grant them upon their… were they going to get reincarnated? Or are they just getting sent to another world?
There's a lot of things listed on the screen in front of him that he could move with his mind, because he didn't exactly have a 'body' right now, was he currently just a soul? What was his soul like then? Just a floating orb of light?
Anyway, there's a lot of things that are listed on the screen before him, things like Fire Magic, Water Magic, and the likes. Sword Skill, Axe Skill, Bow Skill. There's boons like a Strong Constitution and Extreme Magic, things that would raise your physical and magical capabilities.
There's even options to decide what race, and even gender, that you could go into. There's races like Elf, Beastmen, and of course Humans, but there's some strange one like Youkai Vampire, Dhampir, Angel, Fallen Angel, Devil, the latter parts really rang some warning bells inside of him.
There's even some items that he could only refer to as actual magical weapons. There's a flaming sword, ice sword, an enchanted bow, a named weapon, it all seemed that the system that the God presented to them all also allows them to buy weapons and armors to start with.
Each and everyone of the skills and items that were presented in the screen before him cost points, points which he saw were listed in the top right of the screen, his listed 100.
It was enough if he were to buy some magic or enchantment, and maybe some other equipment, but...
"I am a generous God you see, so I am willing to even listen if any of you have any suggestion to add." The God said offhandedly, and a new option flashed onto the scream before him, a button that read [EXCHANGE] in all caps and bold.
"With the [EXCHANGE] I shall allow you all to suggest an addition to the roster of skills or items that you all could purchase with the points that you have, that and of course, you can exchange what you already have for more points." The God explained.
The God then smiled towards them, waving his hand. "Although what you have exchanged through [EXCHANGE] cannot be granted to you back. So do decide for it carefully."
Exchange what we already have for points? He didn't quite understand what that meant, did that mean that he could trade back skills that he already bought for points again? He doubts that it'll be a 100% return though, so that's probably a bad choice to exchange them again.
But still, he felt that something was off. No, something definitely was totally off with all of this.
He saw that a bunch of things started to sprout out from the screen, more skills suddenly appeared on the board, presumably from the suggestions that were given by the others that God accepted.
There's Skill Steal, Ability Copy, Invulnerability, Beauty, a whole lot of absurd skills just suddenly appeared forth, and a lot of them were all out of his own price range, reaching over 100 points, and some even costing exactly that.
Uhh, yeah, he probably won't be buying those skills thank you very much. Even if they sounded like what is basically a super cheat on paper.
Ah, he found an answer for a question at least. It seems that there's a full on choice to either be reincarnated as a baby or be transmigrated as the teenager that they were, each has their own merits and demerits of course.
If you're a person that's fully reincarnated as a baby then you'll be a person who would be born into a society, you'll have a solid background and everything. And since there's added choices of either being born as a royalty, noble, and all that jazz, then there's certainly merits to choosing that option.
And since they are born as a part of the society, then they have quite a long time to ease themselves into said society while they're a baby, not a lot of people would take immediate notice of a baby doing weird things after all.
Except of course, if said society or group of people were a bunch of extremely paranoid people who would go and conclude that their child was possessed or something. He hoped that if anyone choose to reincarnate, they won't meet that kind of fate.
Except Aruto, knowing the extremely open masochistic boy he would probably revel in an environment like that. He certainly hopes that he doesn't ask this God for something specific like that.
But of course there's a demerits, those choices would let them be thrown right into the den of aristocracy and a noble lifestyle.
Ah, that's definitely a bad one. He's read that the lives of nobles are filled with political intrigue and all, and a whole lot of people would definitely be always out for their heads just because they're nobles. That's certainly a landmine, no doubt about it.
But what about being simply transmigrated? Lets see, they can immediately travel or do whatever they want, be it train or travel and see the world and all. They'll probably be transported somewhere near or in a settlement, definitely a kingdom or something since this was probably a medieval kind of setting, but what then?
There's certainly cases where they would admit outsiders, but in a real setting, outsiders are usually treated extremely badly by a closed community, especially in the medieval era where wars are waged almost every few decades.
They could choose to be a hermit, live their lives by choosing self-sufficient skills in a mountain where no one comes near too. But being honest, they were all teenagers in the height of adolescence, none of them would ever want to torture themselves by doing farming repeatedly until they grew old and wrinkly.
Well, now that he thinks about this clearly, a lot of these things are a landmine aren't they? Sure there's a whole lot of choice for them that allows the use of magic, but how does magic even work? Will they naturally understand how to do magic? WIll the knowledge instantly appear in their heads?
And also those absurd skills that appeared on the board once the [EXCHANGE] option came in, is there a limitation to them? Like a restriction for their activation and what not, because if not then they most definitely would not be worth a skill that costs ten times the cost of a healthy body that doesn't get sick.
He… still hasn't decided on purchasing anything. Does this have a time limit? He sure hopes not because he's an incredibly indecisive person, and he most definitely is not going to shotgun choices that would most certainly decide for what is most possibly his new second life.
Even if he has a sliver of doubt regarding that.
He pressed the [EXCHANGE] button, looking to see what the screen holds, and saw a choice that was undoubtedly something that he would not want to do, though it certainly put some light into what the God said earlier of exchanging what you already have.
Memories, he would erase a part of your memories and in exchange you could get points. The more dear and more vivid memories that you exchanged, the more points that you will get from the exchange.
Nope,nope,nope,nope, that's a big NO from him thank you very much! He doesn't want to allow someone, or anyone for that matter, to mess with his head and memories. Nor will he ever give anyone the permission to do so!
He 'saw' that a few orbs of light had disappeared, perhaps a sign that some of them had already decided to either return back to the original world's cycle of reincarnation, or to be isekaied in a wild world of swords and magic.
Though considering that they were mere teenagers who most definitely does not want their existence to be rewritten, he could guess which one they chose-
Ah. He got it now. Yep, he totally gets it now.
This thing, this whole reincarnation to another world with a boon and a system thing, it's most definitely a scam.
They were teenagers, adolescent teenagers who were merely grasping the thoughts and matters of responsibility, they haven't even reached the stage of adulthood quite yet, and some of them clearly were day dreamers who wished that their life was just 'more'.
And he appeared, the being that proclaimed itself as God, declaring that they had all died in a tragic natural disaster that collapsed their class, which would also mean other classes and the school building, a natural disaster that would surely take the lives of more than just a single class of highschool students.
No, this God deliberately chose them, he said that he chose them all because they were all 'untapped potential whose life was cut short' but he also doubted that. The thing before them, before him, was God, a being that could take their literal souls and even reincarnate them while also granting them powers while he does so.
Surely there should be other groups that deserve to be reincarnated too. What about the children? The elderly? The adults? Did this God give them the choice to transmigrate and reincarnate in the other world, or did they get returned to our world's own cycle of reincarnation that he mentioned earlier.
Or were they just souls that he randomly picked up and thought of as interesting, and decided to reincarnate just as a source of entertainment?
The being proclaimed itself as God, but not his actual name. There's lots of gods, and lots of religions across the world, each having their own gods, goddesses and beliefs.
He wasn't a pure atheist, he believed in the existence of a higher being, the big bang had to happen because of something after all, and he thought that existence known as 'God' was the cause of an event that was as massive as that.
But which god did it? Every religion had a different god, so which one was true? From what pantheon, what religion, did the God in front of him come from?
The moment that he introduced himself as God, he immediately went to the God that was written in the good book, but that wasn't right was it?
The God before him gave the choice of returning to the cycle of reincarnation that the world he came from already has, or to be reincarnated in another world. Both were options that completely went against most, if not every, religion that he remembered existed in his world.
Especially since the Biblical God goes on about the matters of Heaven and Hell in the good bible, there was no way that the God before him was the same.
The being certainly was not any of the gods of the religion that integrated the concept of reincarnation in their religion too. Because those religions always put the concept of reincarnation as a wipe into a clean slate, not remembering your past life the moment you were born, and certainly none of them talked about being reincarnated in a whole other world of swords and magic, let alone receiving gifts and boons.
Which brought him to the one and only conclusion, one that he was quite scared of if he was being honest, that the being in front of him, that this God, was a being that was not recorded in history, an existence that did not have religion or anything of the sort that was common knowledge in his world.
The being in front of him could just possibly be an Outer God, and that scared the absolute jinkies out of him.
He didn't know how, but he 'shuddered' when he thought of that. And for the shortest of seconds he thought that the God's eyes were locked to his own, and the God's smile turned into one that clearly, most definitely, unnerved him.
Nope,nope,nope,NOPE! Yep, he's totally out of this! He totally was not going to pick any of those landmine skills, heck, he'll evade the whole thing entirely!
He doesn't want this! Not this whole reincarnation mumbo jumbo! Nor did he even want to die in the first place!
What about his family? His dad, his mom, his cat, were they alive? Were they safe? Did they survive the supposed earthquake that the God mentioned, or was that just indeed a mere fabrication that the God made.
He 'gulped' even though he had no mouth or throat, and went to the [EXCHANGE] menu and inserted his question. 'What truly happened to us? Did we really die? Or did you simply pluck our souls?' he 'typed' with his mind, and submitted the question.
At this point, he was the only one remaining in the empty white place, all his classmates undoubtedly already finished with their own 'character building' and went on to be reincarnated or transmigrated, after all, none of them would want to be thrown into the cycle of reincarnation and lose all their memories, basically erasing their existence.
The God that watched over him grinned, and a new skill then appeared on the screen that the God presented.
Just the name itself brought 'shivers' down his nonexistent spine. A skill that only he would ever have, as everyone else had already departed on their journey and could not buy it. It is a skill dubbed [Truth], and it costs a whopping 0 points to acquire.
He hesitated, did he even want to know the truth? He could just use his untouched points to choose some skills and live out a life that his parents would be proud of, maybe save a princess or too, get a harem, find happiness and all that.
But he also had a deep sense of curiosity in him, one that told him that this was his one and only chance at actually finding out what truly happened to them all, what truly happened to him.
He had picked up the tellatale clues laid all around, he was sure of that. What else would this 'God' make a whole skill dubbed [Truth] for if not for a shocking and groundbreaking information that could possibly show him that all of this reincarnation transmigration thing was a big fat sham.
And so, hesitantly, he made his decision. His sense of curiosity and need to know the truth overpowered his cowardice. He pressed the button on the screen that asked for confirmation to acquire the skill, and the knowledge of the truth flooded into his mind.
He broke.
Ah, it made him want to laugh. So it was like that huh. Can he cry? He didn't have a physical body at the moment, but could you give him a moment so that he could cry? At least give me the capability to cry out and scream in despair!
He didn't doubt that the others were already off going on their adventures, that or being reborn as a baby, possibly wailing and waiting to be declared as a child prodigy or something, oblivious of the reasons as to why they were there and how exactly they were even there in the first place.
The being, the God who had stood up from its throne to directly stand right in front of him, was an Outer God, one that had messed with the random souls of a class of high schoolers and through some godly powers that it has, created a full blown copy of them, created fabricated vivid memories to implant in their heads that they had indeed perished.
Ah, at least he doesn't have to worry about his, well, his 'original's' parents then. It's incredibly strange, now that he knows that he's merely a copy created out of Nothingness, he couldn't really find that he cared much about them, that means that even if he was transported into another world then it would be fine right? He wouldn't bother anyone that way right?
After all he's just a copy, one that not even his 'original' knew of. For all intents and purposes, none of the 'original' thirty or so students would ever notice that anything happened to them other than just a normal day of their normal ordinary life.
Ah, then he was basically free from any lingering attachments huh? That's something at least. Hopefully something that he finds in the next world would be enough to stop him from being crushed by existential dread.
"Fufu, it seems that I picked up quite the specimen this time." The God said as he eyed him, looking like a child that had found a new favourite toy. Which he basically was wasn't he? Ah, should he call him 'dad'? He did create him, even if he was a copy.
"Refer to me with whatever moniker you wish." The God said as he waved his hand. "If you must now, I have not revealed my true name as it cannot be comprehended by your mortal soul. Simply uttering it would break the barriers that keep you away from insanity, and render your soul into unsalvageable pieces."
Ouh, yeah, he definitely does not want that. He likes his made up soul to be intact thank you very much. The God chuckled, of course reacting to the thoughts that went through his soul-mind, whatever you want to call it.
"Yes, you truly are an interesting specimen. For you and you alone, I shall give you a special treatment." The God then spread both of his arms wide. "I shall grant you one wish! Anything that you want, I shall grant upon you! One that is not limited like the ones I've granted towards your friends, none that would cost anything in return! And in turn you shall give me a good show as long as you live! A life of adventure and debauchery, how does that sound?"
Well, it certainly doesn't seem like he can say no. "Indeed, you cannot." Yeah, thought so. He would have 'sighed' if he was able, but he definitely couldn't do that, so let's just think. What answer would please an Outer God that could create souls out of Nothingness, grant them special abilities, and throw them into completely different dimensions?
The only good answer is an answer that would please him, that would make him look like an interesting toy that he would want to play with so that he doesn't get 'discarded'. An answer that would grant him a good show.
...Before he decides, can he use the [EXCHANGE] menu? "Hmm?" The God raised an eyebrow, seemingly not reading what his mind was thinking of doing. "I shall allow it. You still haven't spent even a single point that your soul was worth, truly an interesting specimen. Now then, I shall hear your plea, and what shall you exchange it for?"
Then he'll ask for a healthy body, one that is completely different from the one that my 'original' has, was what he asked. And if possible Kami-sama, could you also make it so that he could find a purpose to live in that new world? He's certain that he couldn't quite make do with his own dreams of making enough money to make his parents life leisurely there.
He wants something to do when he is sent there. No, he needs it. He desperately needed something, anything, that would take his mind out of the line of thought that would lead him into devolving into an existential and identity crisis.
He had the memories of the 'original' Rintaro Okubo, all the things that had gone through his life in high school and his earliest memories since he could coherently speak, but what did that make him? As a mere copy of the boy?
Was he also 'Rintaro Okubo'? He could most likely assume his identity if he wanted, after all in that other world the person 'Rintaro Okubo' does not exist, he could simply fill in and parade as him, and no one would notice a difference, not even his 'classmates'.
But no, he couldn't do that, not because he shouldn't because it was identity theft that only he and this Outer God before him would know, but because his psyche probably wouldn't stand with that nagging thought stuck in the back of his head should he reincarnate or transmigrate.
He needed to become someone different, he couldn't become 'Ritanto Okubo', not after getting the [Truth] out of the Outer God, and so he asked to look completely different, do further detach himself from his 'original' self.
The God looked at him once more, his grin became wider and wider, to the point that it was now a full blown smile. "Kuku. Kukuku. KUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The God did a full blown three stage laugh, throwing his head back as he palmed his face from the answer that he gave.
"I see! I see, I see! So you would give up the boon of a System given by an Outer God, along with points which could be spent for any powers that you wish, and you would exchange it all for a healthy body and a purpose!" The God spun around in a circle excitedly, his eyes looking over him with a shining hint of interest.
"I shall grant it! I shall bestow upon you a body which is immune to sickness and all those that are similar to it, and I shall make it that the future you lead shall be one where you can find a purpose in." The God said as he snapped his fingers, and he could feel that space itself groaned as 'something' happened. He supposed that the God had just decided his fate, or at least, paths to the future that he could take.
Ah, the menu and the screen all disappeared. Guess the [EXCHANGE] totally did take the System and all of his points.
Well he did ask for it, he shouldn't punch a gift horse in the mouth. At least with this, he'll be able to differentiate himself from his original, it doesn't feel right since he was a copy after all. And at least he would hopefully find a way to go and find something to do after reincarnating.
He… didn't want to take this 'second' life that the Outer God gave him lightly, having the System with him, a System that would treat this whole new life as ones and zeroes, one that would let him treat himself and others as a living and walking compilation of skills.
No, he definitely does not want that. He most certainly does not want to see this new life of his as a game. Even if the System would grant him powers beyond his wildest dreams, it would be something that would twist his morality and sense of self sooner or later. And that's not mentioning the fact that Truth had shown her that it was a method for the Outer God in front of him to monitor his classmates.
Hopefully it's nothing too extreme like becoming the world's ruler or spreading the name of the Outer God.
The God's smile twitched, and placed a hand on his chin. "Hmm, but this does pose a problem. The System was something that was needed for a soul to pass through the Dimensional Gap."
Ah, so it was an actually important thing? He could decipher from its name that the Dimensional Gap was a gap space between dimensions, but a normal soul can't just pass through it huh. Not even a copy of a soul made out of Nothingness by an Outer god, sounds like an extremely dangerous place.
"Indeed it is. It is a dwelling of two incredibly strong dragons that stands as the physical representation of two concepts, and though an Outer God such as myself can face them, I myself would prefer not to." The God said off handedly.
"The System that I had given to you and your fellows would protect your soul from the Gap where the concept of time and space was irrelevant until you reach your destination, and to hide your presence from the eyes of the two dragons. You haven exchanged your own, and so it is now quite the predicament that you've created."
O-ou. Is that so? M-maybe you can give me the System back again Kami-sama? To his question, the God shook his head in response. "No, as you have given away the privilege in exchange for something of equal worth, I cannot grant it again. Such were the rules of [EXCHANGE] after all."
Ah right, there was a clause in the end that Kami-sama had explained earlier that you can't get what you had exchanged. So that meant that he couldn't get the System back, how was he supposed to go through this Dimensional gap then?
To answer his question, the Outer God smiled a truly disturbing smile for the first time that he's ever 'seen'. "Fret not, I shall deal with that problem later." He waved the problem nonchalantly. "Now, I still have not granted you a wish. Declare a wish, any wish, and I shall grant it!"
Ah right, what kind of thing should he wish for? He could wish for an extremely strong weapon or magic, maybe even invulnerability and all that, but…
Ah, then he'll ask that Kami-sama to do him a favour, can you do that Kami-sama? Can he ask that you'll help when he meets a problem that he couldn't actually deal with
The Outer God's smile was wide enough to reach his ears, but he held himself back from outright laughing this time. Though the projected body that the Outer God had was visibly shaking.
"Kuku. Kukuku! So not only do you reject a boon given by an Outer God that could elevate a human to the realm of the gods, but you are also bold enough to ask a favour from an Outer God..." The Outer God smiled at him, one that he remembered seeing on kids and children who was truly having fun.
"I shall allow it! I shall bestow upon you, not only my boon as my herald and kin, but also a favour that you can ask for whenever you wish! This Kami-sama declares so!" He declared as he brandished his hands upwards, and the plane of existence that they are in shifted again.
Alright. Cool, cool, cool, cool. What was that thing about being your kin?! He's pretty sure he never agreed to anything of the sort?!
The Outer God smiled, and he could feel that he might have accidentally bitten off more than he could chew from acquiring Truth. He saw a faint light emitting from him, and he started to actually 'feel' something physically again.
"Of course. You had exchanged 100 points and your own System, a fragment of an Outer God's powers, for the sake of gaining a body which was immune to sickness and poison, and as equal exchange, I granted you a body befitting in exchange for those two, along with a few nudges here and there in the future to give you that reason to life that you are searching for." The Outer God explained.
Ah, so in exchange for a System that was a fragment of an Outer God, one that could elevate everyone that had it to the level of gods, you immediately made me a kin of yours, your herald in that new world, a direct representative unlike the others who were mere fragments of your existence.
The Outer God smiled as he nodded his head in confirmation. "Indeed. Truth had shown you that you and your fellows were mere copies I birthed out of Nothingness, copies that I shall send to that world as my indirect vanguard to prepare the world for my arrival. Disposable pieces made to entertain me."
Yeah, he totally did learn that after he got the Truth. He learnt that their reason to be sent in that world was to be sent as pseudo heralds, ones that would unknowingly herald the arrival of the Outer God before me into that new world.
"But you are special!" The Outer God declared, spreading his arms wide. "Your existence is different from theirs! From today onwards and until the end of time, you shall be my kin! My brethren! An existence that can carry my name! The herald that will herald the coming of Ä̶̡̦̘̰̱̦̹́̆̀́͂̒̅͛̈z̷͎͚̻̹̼̦̖͐͆̄̈́̎͒̄͂̉͋̀̚̕ͅạ̷͎͕͚̩͚̺͖̝̺̇ͅt̸̥̻̻̿̉̂̄͘͝h̴͔̞̭͙̲̤͓̹͆͋̅̈́͆͐͑̓̏̕̕o̷̡̡̭͙͓̘̹̹̺̦̒ͅt̴̤͈̼̻̐̂̃̃́͐̇̅̏̐͝͝͝͠͝h̵̫̥̰̦̺̲̹̪̝͂̀͊̈́͗͑̕͘͝! And to commemorate this occasion, I shall bestow upon you your new name! One that would befit that of my herald and new favourite toy!"
He felt his very being, his own soul shift and turn, somehow it felt like he was being ripped apart and made anew like a mold of clay being formed by the very being before him. Ah… he probably won't be able to do a good job on spreading your name though Kami-sama… he's kind of a recluse that doesn't do human interaction well after all...
"That is fine. Though you shall be a herald of mine, you do not need to spread my name." The Outer God said as he waved his hand. "No normal human could possibly stand even hearing my name after all. Your existence has changed as you have become my herald, but as I had said before, normal humans would be driven into insanity the moment a single syllable of my name is uttered. Such is the nature of the true names of an Outer God such as myself."
Ah, so it was like then. Then even though he would be your herald, he wouldn't be one that would be like one that spreads the good word or your name for that matter. Well, he'll enjoy this new, no, he'll enjoy this life that you've given him, Kami-sama
He felt that his consciousness was starting to fade away, that he was starting to be sent to that new world and was going to be sent through the Dimensional Gap that the Outer God had talked of. He tried to keep his consciousness, but it was slipping away.
"Go forth my brethren! My kin! My eyes in a world where gods and goddesses reign and magic is spread! My true spawn born from Nothingness itself! I bestow the name Astolorin upon you, and you shall herald my coming!"
The world that the Outer God chose was one in the age of turmoil, one in a great age that was near a change that would shake the world itself.
An age where supernatural creatures, supernatural monsters, could roam the world freely, an age where magic and sorcery along with the order of the sword was the rule of the world, where power was everything.
A world where the strong devours the weak, an unbroken rule which was set in stone since the world itself was created.
In a single day, a single moment, the world itself shifted and turned, obeying the words of a being, a god, whose existence outside of the world, exists outside of its rules and laws. And that same god had sent not only copied souls born from Nothingness, but also a herald of his own.
Many noticed the distortion of time and space, gods, magicians, supernatural creatures alike noticed it. Many performed their investigations to find the source of the distortion, to figure out where they came from, and what they brought.
None was able to truly decipher who or what was the source of the distortions. Some made conjectures that it was a failed magical ritual, an act done by a god or goddess of magic, the work of one of the two dragons who resided in the Gap, but none had thought that it was the work of an Outer God.
As such, none had also noticed the 30 or so souls that had entered the world's system, all spread around the world and the many dimensions and realms that it encompasses. And though some of the souls took longer as they wandered around the world to be reincarnated, it was a given that the souls chosen by an Outer God would become characters who would carve themselves into history.
The thought that a direct herald of an Outer God in question descending into their world never crossed their mind, nor did the residents of the Underworld.
And thus from that day onwards, a new age began. One spearheaded by none other than the kin of the Outer God Azathoth.
When he opened his eyes, he immediately shut them off once again, not even bothering to try and standing up from where Kami-sama had thrown him as he instantly felt an extreme form of disorientation and sensory overload.
That brief second where he opened his eyes, he could immediately see… he couldn't really describe what he saw, or rather he couldn't exactly describe what he didn't see. He was pretty sure he didn't ask for an ability to see… Well, see anything and everything that's happening.
Simply put, he threw up. It was also a reason why he was heaving heavily, trying to gain back his breath as he held his head with both of his hands while writhing in agony on wherever the actual hell he was.
Even when his eyes was closed, he could still 'see' what his surroundings were, in incredibly vivid detail he might add. He could see the atoms, the particles around, the unnatural energy that he has never seen before wafting in the air. He was also looking at every single corner in the… where was he exactly?
He didn't know how long it had taken him, maybe it was a mere few seconds, minutes, maybe even hours, the concept of time was quite iffy when you could basically see everything and anything, even with his eyes closed and senses basically halved, but he eventually stood up shakily with his eyes closed.
He was still incredibly disoriented, his head was still spinning, working overtime simply trying to regulate his own body to just stand up correctly and trying to focus on the area around him and not something around 10 kilometers away.
He absently wondered on how the actual hell was he going to sleep now, but shoved the train of thought into a corner of his mind to deal with later,
He tried to focus and limit his newly gained extremely enhanced senses so that he could only see the things around him, and now things and people that are a whole seven kilometers away, even going through walls.
This wasn't just a level of enhanced sense of sight anymore. Wasn't this already at a level of omniscience?!
…Kami-sama had mentioned that he would become his eyes in this world, was this also a boon that he gave him then? An ability of sight that was bordering on omniscience? Or was this an effect that was ingrained on his soul after she acquired Truth?
A mix of both? That was a possibility too, one that he couldn't really determine in any way.
He'll chuck it as a blessing that he could at least see, even if this was all giving him a problem of having to greatly focus just to see only what was around him. It was then that he noticed where he was, a strange alley in the middle of somewhere filled with trash.
Not plastic trash or anything, but just a whole lot of food waste and rotten things, that and poop and dirt. Lots and lots of poop and dirt all around. "Uwaaa… this is disgusting…" He let out, in a voice that was different from the one that his 'original' had, the difference being the incredibly high pitch that it had.
Immediately he felt that something was wrong, and checked his body that Kami-sama had given to him to live in this new world. The first thing that he noticed was that he was wearing a dress, a one piece pastel colored dress, one which covered his shoulders and was long enough to reach his knees.
He noted how he was barefoot, something that he MUST fix as soon as possible, especially because he does not want to step on any of the disgusting things that were around him. But before that his hands went downwards, searching for a familiar feeling that he had felt from his 'original's' memory, only to find that the feeling, or rather the appendage, was not there.
He(?) felt that his(?) eye twitched as he found that true to his word, Kami-sama made this new body to be one that was completely different from his(?) 'original' body. In more ways then one.
"Kami-sama… is this perhaps one of your hobbies? Or was it a sort of humour that you find interesting?" He-no, she said aloud with an incredibly strained smile and a twitching eye, with a voice that was still off pitch to the voice that the 'original' had. He-she, gosh isn't that going to take a long time to get used to, took a deep breath and let out an incredibly long sigh.
"Well, this might help me in one way or another delaying an existential crisis attack… or will it just be a trigger for it?" He-she grumbled, Kami-sama, this was annoying! He-she damnit! Is going to have to get used to this. Alright let's get this right this time, she decided that her first goal was to get some footwear, because she was most definitely not going to be walking barefoot in a place like this.
She scowled as attempted to tip toe out of wherever she was, she dared no to attempt releasing the extreme focus that she currently had on her newly gained omniscience, as the information and sensory overload would most definitely leave her immoble, or worse, it would make her fall unconscious.
She would not like any of the two to ever happen while she was being surrounded by literal piles of trash and garbage.
Eventually, she saw light in the end of the alleyway, one that thankfully was not filled with litter and trash. And as she reached the end of the alleyway and began to look at the surroundings without being hit by a sensory overload, she was hammered once more of the fact that this was truly a whole new world.
The surroundings truly were not something that one would find in the world where their 'originals' were from. After all, in that world, you would not find a city where monsters and supernatural creatures mingle like everyday people.
Goblins, orcs, there's some lizardmen, and people with horns and bat wings, devils probably, here too, ah was that a werewolf or a beastman? Is there even a difference? Perhaps that was something that she could find out.
The architecture around her was medieval, at least as far as she knew it was medieval, she didn't have much knowledge of those periods of time other than from manga and light novels, though most of what her 'original' read was probably not all that accurate.
Most of the buildings were made out of stone and wood, though there were some that were made out of timber from what she could see. How did she even know that it was timber? She doesn't even know.
Alright, first of all, where in Kami-sama true name which she could not actually pronounce with her vocal cords was this? There's a lot of creatures that fall under the designation of monsters, so was this a monster town? A monster capital? A side of the world where humans are treated as slaves and monsters rule? The Underworld?
She guessed the last one because of the unnatural lighting that this place was. She could see clearly like it was the height of day, but there were sources of light everywhere around here, be it lanterns or unnatural glowing orbs or stones that she chalks up as magic.
It was as if this was a place where the sun doesn't shine. Like it doesn't reach this side of the world, or this was a whole other dimension than the overworld, or human world and what you want to call it, where the sun existed.
Annoyingly, he-she damnit! doesn't have enough information to actually deign where the actual hell she was. Maybe if she walks around a bit then she could actually find out?
"But I still have to find something to wear..." She let out the still unfamiliar voice, as she turned her head around to try and find something to wear over her feet. And what do you know, somehow she found that there was an old and worn boots right next to the end of the alley, thrown alongside a pile of garbage of course.
Oh, there's that. Well, she'll take it as a blessing from Kami-sama, even though he probably could have given this to her from the start. She clasped her hands together and gave a short prayer to the Outer God. "I thank you for this blessing Kami-sama. I'll be sure to treasure these worn and torn boots." She said sarcastically as she lifted the boots.
The boots were… strange? She didn't quite know how to describe how they feel with words, just like how she couldn't exactly describe whether or not she still had any remaining bits of sanity left, they were simply strange.
It was as if they had something invisible attached to them, something lingering in them. But as soon as she held them up, that feeling vanished entirely.
She disregarded the oddity, and put them on without any complaints, these were probably a gift from Kami-sama after all, and strangely enough, the worn and torn boots that seemed to be a few sizes bigger than her own foot size fit snugly.
She didn't complain, nor did she comment on how simply wrong that was, she just chalked it up as being something that Kami-sama did and moved on.
She proceeded to walk around the place, marvelling at her surroundings and gawking, albeit she did her best to hide it, at the sheer unnatural feeling of being surrounded by creatures of which she only knows from fictional books.
But wasn't her whole existence up till this point all but fiction? Ah well, the her now was quite real, in fact she could be deemed an existence that's the most real in this world probably, what with her whole being an Outer God's herald and all.
At one point of her single person tour of wherever she had ended up on, she found a puddle of water in which she took interest in, or rather what took her interest was the reflection that was reflected on it.
She couldn't really tell how tall she was, especially when the reflection that the puddle reflected came from below, especially considering that the people around her were all monsters whose height she couldn't quite decipher, what with none of them being humans and all.
But she seemed to not be as tall as her 'original' was, probably a head shorter. Another difference that she now had was how her hair was ink black, which somehow turned and faded into white in the tips, reaching her shoulders.
Paired with her porcelain, doll-like skin and stature, she certainly does look like a life-like doll. It certainly helped that her current body lacked some certain… assets that women would usually have.
Kami-sama, she doesn't know if this was merely your preference, or if this was because you wanted her to have something that was similar in her new body, but if she actually had what was called 'girl's pride', then she might be slightly angry you know? But since she wasn't actually one, she'll take this as a blessing on not having to have back pains anytime soon.
She still had her eyes closed, not quite sure if she would even be able to focus on only the reflective puddle or if her consciousness would be pulled a million directions to anything and everything that was around her, but she still did so anyway, just so that she could see what exactly was her eyes, or rather Kami-sama's eyes look like in this physical plane of existence.
The nauseating feeling returned, and her vision was once more refracted to see even the smallest of atoms of all the things that exist. She tried to reign in the nausea, attempting to focus her vision to only see what was in front of her, focusing on the reflective puddle that was physically in front of her.
And though it was merely a glimpse, she managed to see it, the Eyes of the Outer God that Kami-sama had lent to her. It was certainly a look that would drive lesser beings to insanity if one were to look directly at what was now her eyes for too long.
Her sclera was fully black, like an unending void that absorbed light itself, and in contrast her iris was like the kaleidoscope, in the short glimpse that she saw it, she saw its color changing form one to another, never deciding on any color, always changing, always spinning.
She was quite thankful that she had only gotten merely a glimpse of it before her vision was drowned by the fractured images of everything else that drove her insane less, had she seen it for even longer than she might have lost the last bits of her sanity that she had left.
She shut her eyes, and limited her vision back to merely see her surroundings. She still felt incredibly nauseous, and the few steps that she took after performing that stunt was quite wobbly, but she quickly recovered herself.
She held a hand over her mouth and leaned on a building while attempting to recover herself, she could certainly feel an incredible amount of stares aimed towards her, but none dared to come near her.
Which she noted, was strange. Certainly if one were to find a human in the midst of a supernatural city where humans were not a part of the populace, then surely one would confront them wouldn't they? She was certainly an oddity in this society, so she expected for someone to already face her.
Ah, was it because she wasn't technically a 'human'? That made her wonder what category she fell into. She might be able to find out if she finds someone who was 'reincarnated' like herself, someone who has an ability that could see another person's status that is, an ability that she was quite sure a lot of her classmates would choose.
But for now she should focus on searching for a place to rest, preferably a clean one. That and perhaps some food and other livelihood things like food and clothing, those are certainly important things that she would need for the future.
And so the newest herald of an Outer God walked through the streets of the slums of the Underworld, oblivious of the pure energy of wrongness that she amaneted as she continued her aimless journey.