Prologue: Who can say no to reincarnation?

Peter Parker closed his eyes, hearing the cacophony of noise around him gradually getting smaller.

Then it was gone.

The embrace of death is cold. It's lonely, it's empty.

It's hollow. Not much different from the hell he went through before this, but the revelation didn't give him any comfort.

So he curled himself as he was robbed of his senses, as he gritted his teeth in the shivering depth of the void.

'I just…want to go home.'

A thought flashed through his head, and Peter felt his eyes glisten in regret.

No way home. Not anymore.

"Hey-"

A soft female voice.

"…wake up!"

It jolted him awake. Peter finally managed to open his eyes once again.

A pair of golden eyes stared at him, and Peter quickly rolled back, keeping his distance.

There's something unnatural about those eyes.

"Oh. Um…glad you're awake. You must be having a really bad dream." The girl said, fidgeting with her hand shyly.

He took a look around, seeing endless darkness everywhere he saw, the atmosphere was suffocating, and his senses were going haywires at the seemingly invisible pressure.

Something's not right…

"You felt that, didn't you? That there's something…unsettling, about this place." The girl asked, and Peter nodded in response. "But as far as I can see, there's no escape. Believe me, I have searched. Every direction led me back here…and now you're here."

Peter looked around in skepticism, but it didn't take long to convince him that the girl was telling the truth. Dr. Strange's mirror dimension bore resemblances to reality and thus can be solvable. But this endless darkness? Something purely magic can't be solved by scientific solutions.

"Um…you're okay?" Those confused golden eyes once again look at him, and Peter could only shrug in response.

"...My name is Frisk, by the way. Nice to you, uh…"

"Call me Peter."

"Okay, Peter. I don't think there's much we can do here. Um…let me show you."

Frisk snapped her finger, and a miniature glowing star appeared on her hand, gentle warmth radiating from it.

A magic user. A novelty, he supposed. Once upon a time, he tried to manifest magic. Peter supposed he was desperate at that time, finding anything to tip the scale in his favor. That was when he was still somewhat humane in his way.

That was a long time ago.

He watched as the star was sent through the darkness, and it was soon swallowed, no longer seen. Then just as suddenly, he felt heat behind his back and sure enough, the little star was hovering behind him.

"As expected…" She said somewhat dejectedly "Can you offer any solution?"

Peter closed his eyes and his spider sense was heightened to the max. An oppressing force that just scream dangers covered him and Frisk, but it didn't take long for him to find a gap in the dark miasma.

"I think…I sensed something. Follow me." He said, not bothering to explain any further. Frisk didn't ask any questions, just quietly trailed behind him.

"Wait." Frisk summoned a stationary star where they stood "A mark. Make sure we don't circle."

They walked together for a while, and the uneasy feeling of having his vision covered started to creep up on him. Paranoia, whispering voices clouded his mind.

"Peter." A familiar yet odd voice called out to him, and Peter was tempted to follow-

"Peter!" He opened his eyes to the voice, and Frisk was looking at him with a concerned look.

"You feeling alright?" She asked, "You look...disturbed."

"I'm fine...just got distracted for a moment."

"Keep whatever you're doing. I will keep an eye out, got it?"

"Okay, sound like a plan."

They kept walking for who-know-how-long. It drained his will just to focus, but Frisk was determined and jolted him awake every time he felt disoriented.

"Look! Something is over there!" Frisk pointed forward, an expression of relief on her face.

Peter followed her finger and saw a crack in the void, light was seeping out of it.

"Come on, let's check it out."

Peter wordlessly followed the girl, his spider-sense was strangely calm.

"Uh…should we like, touch it?"

"Your senses. Are they warning you anything?"

"No. They are calm."

Frisk wasted no time and put her hand over the crack. The space rumbled violently, as the crack started to get bigger, and the darkness was blown away, replaced by a blinding pure white.

With some difficulties, Peter finally managed to open his eyes.

Now that he could see clearly, he saw a young girl with a striped turtle-neck sweater, with her eyes closed and short brown hair, her features were something of kindness, yet it was fragile and mournful.

"Am I…dreaming? Is this what the afterlife looks like?" Frisk uttered, her eyes carried a hint of terror. "…I think I'm gonna be sick."

Peter looked to see what has terrified her so much.

There's a dark corner, riddled with countless images. He saw death within its grasp.

There were images of Frisk, but each was shrouded in gruesome demise.

Bleeding out, half her face melting, turning to ash, getting stabbed, her head decapitated, pierced by thousands of sharp bones…

And he saw images of himself, too.

Those times he jumped down the roof, wanting to end the timeline early, his corpse mangled for everyone to see.

Those times he died utterly alone, poison in his hand in the middle of a forest, tranquility filled with panic as his life slowly faded.

Those times he died trying to fight Thanos, suffering a grim fate under Tony's horrified look.

He took a step back, mortified. What's this? Is this some kind of sick joke? He didn't ask for any of this-

"I wouldn't keep looking at them if I were you!" He turned back to see a boy standing behind them this whole time. "Seeing your death, when taken into perspective can be quite frightening."

Peter stepped back, alarmed. His sense didn't warn him anything about this new variable, and his mind was still on edge from seeing his deaths replaying over and over again.

"Easy there, I'm not looking for a fight right now." The boy sighed "Listen, I know we're in a very stressful situation right now, but you need to calm down. Judging by the fact we're all here, we have dealt with worse. I think you know what I'm talking about, right?"

The boy has unruly black hair, and his hazel eyes looked as if they were glaring at him, but tiredness filled his features. He was wearing an orange cape, contrasted with his black attire.

"Anyway, I'm Subaru, nice to meet both of you." Subaru gave them a weary smile.

"Uh…hi. I'm Peter, and this is Frisk."

"Oh. Yeah. I'm Frisk, nice to meet you, too."

Peter couldn't help but look back to the dark corner, and sure enough, he saw images of Subaru. His expression was painful and filled with fear in many images, as his death was much gorier, and Peter could almost hear the agonizing scream in each of them.

He decided not to look anymore.

"Yeah...not that pretty, isn't it?" He laughed tastelessly "But it does explain why we're here, though."

"Is it because we all died?" Frisk asked, and Peter could hear the erratic heartbeat, and her hands were shaking.

"Multiple times, I might add." Subaru nodded in response "It seems that we all possess the ability to turn back time upon our deaths."

"Seems about right." Peter shuddered. Perhaps he should take solace in the fact that he wasn't alone in his suffering, but thinking like that felt kind of scummy.

The feeling seemed to be mutual, though.

"I can't believe it…you guys have determination, too?" Frisk asked

"Yeah, well, I don't know what that is but…in my case, it was a curse. Or a blessing, it went either way. My ability was bestowed by a witch." Subaru explained

"Really, not because of the power of…your soul?"

"Afraid not."

"A witch? She must be powerful, then." Peter's mind wandered to the Scarlet Witch, which is plenty powerful, but not enough to pull off something like this "In my case, I embedded a time stone in my heart that allowed me to go back time when it stopped beating."

"Time stone? That's such…a generic name."

"Deal with it." Peter rolled his eyes "No offense, this was mind-opening, but what do we do now?"

"Now that you said it-"

The void behind them was ruptured, and something seeped through the crack.

"I gave you mortals time to get acquainted with each other. Isn't that generous of me?" The void was disrupted with a booming voice, and all three of them tensed, as they looked around in confusion. A black orb was floating in the air before them, and within it were hundreds of voices mashed together "Hm...perhaps this might make it easier for your mind to comprehend."

The black sphere shifted, turning into a faceless girl with black hair.

"Welcome to my domain, Timers." A silky female voice said, "Call me Rue if you will."

"Are we some kind of ticking bomb? What's with the name?" Peter couldn't help but asked, earning an unnerving chuckle in response.

"In a sense, yes. You all bend the timeline to your will, to the point that events that weren't supposed to happen, happened." She explained "I must say, it was amusing seeing your journey. Sadly, your world can't comprehend your existence, so you must be cast away. A shame."

"That doesn't explain why we're here." Frisk narrowed her eyes

"Ah, how could I forget? Are you familiar with the term 'reincarnation'?"

"Such clique words. Hasn't it happened before, to me I think?" Subaru raised his brow "What, we're going on some grand quest to defeat the demon lord or something? Because I'm not interested."

"Wait-! Hold up, can you explain?" Frisk held out her hand in confusion.

"Of course, the term reincarnation typically meant you will be reborn in another world. Subaru here got transported to another world, you see. But he was still alive by that point, big difference." The enigma muttered in an amused tone "You're all death, and your soul are all unique that repel my magic. But I can give you another shot at life. Isn't this too big of an opportunity?"

"Sounds too good to be true," Peter said, to this the entity simply gave them a façade of a smile.

"Perhaps, but I got no reason to trick you. My domain is penitence, unlike that trickster god in your world, Peter."

"Why're you doing this?" Frisk piped in, her golden eyes tried to comprehend the shapeless god, but to no avail.

"Why yes, of course. It's because your suffering was…delicious. Every one of you has grief that reached far beyond ordinary mortals. As it is, I'm inclined to give you a chance, to instead live a somewhat normal life."

"Well, what's the catch?" Subaru asked

"You're going to keep your old memories, every moment of it. Also, I will disable your time-loop abilities. Don't want whatever world you hopped in to be messy, you see."

"That's… quite reasonable." Subaru nodded in response

"Yeah, yeah, praise me your merciful goddess. On a serious note, though, it might be difficult starting a new life with what you have been through. Not that it's my problem, but oh well." She laughed in delight "So, do you three accept my offer? I will reincarnate you close to each other so that you have somewhat of a familiar face around."

"…I accept." Peter was the first person to agree.

His time in his world is over, after all. No need to cling to something so out of reach.

"Me too…" Frisk raised her hand "But I'm curious. What will happen if I refuse."

"Well, since your action with time has caused quite a stir, you all will be scattered across space and time, your consciousness fades to dust and nobody will remember you. Not a fate you want, I promise."

"So no choice, after all?" Subaru eyed her suspiciously, but the entity remained silent, almost as if mocking him "Fine…reincarnate me, or whatever." Subaru sighed

"So you all have agreed, good. Now, to the last part." The voice turned dramatically

"There's something you haven't told us?" Subaru asked

"Yes, it's appearance! You know, what will look like in your next life."

"Is it that important?" Frisk raised her brow

"Of course, my frisky dear. Let's see, one demand, how do you plan to look in your next life?"

A moment of silence, and Frisk was the first to break it.

"Different from this life. I don't want…to look like this, yes, I would like to look different." Frisk said, her head kept low from the questioning gaze.

"Interesting option. Now to you, Peter."

"I just want…to look normal, I suppose?" The goddess immediately scoffed, but otherwise makes no further suggestion

"I want my look to remind me of my past. I'm not ready to forget just yet." Subaru answered earnestly

"Aw, how touching. Still, you all don't possess any imagination, do you? You know, I guess that's fair. Hopefully, you can learn to utilize it, with time of course."

"Is there anything else?" Peter asked, seemingly annoyed

"You seem much more temperament before Strange's fiasco. But I suppose I can't blame you for that." The goddess shrugged, before a massive circle appeared under their feet, and felt themselves getting lighter "Farewell, Timers. Don't waste this chance I have imparted upon you."

Their consciousness was getting clouded, and then darkness embraced them once again.

"She looked gorgeous, just like you, Sonya." The man in the business attire whispered to his wife.

In her arm was their daughter, their precious baby girl.

"Hm…she has your blue eyes, John. Come on, take her for a bit." The woman said, tired, but she was smiling.

"Of course, of course. She has your hair, you see? She's an angel!" John said, smiling as he took their angel in his hand. Her chubby, adorable face caused his heart to overload for a moment

"What do you think…about naming her?"

"Freya." He smiled gently "Freya Ivory. What do you think?"

"My family name?"

"Of course. It's because she looks like you so much." He chuckled "Why? You don't like it?"

"I think…it's a wonderful name. I love it."

"Yes, it's the name I came up with, after all." He grinned, poking into the chubby cheek a bit. The baby giggled in his hand "Sleep Sonya, you need to rest. I will look out for her."

"Mhm…"

"It's a twin, after all." The woman with braided white hair muttered "Congratulation, Rin! Those adorable eyes, it's wonderful!"

Two babies were in her arm. One with black hair, a tiny horn sprouted on his forehead, and one with white hair, a pair of black spider fangs on his mouth.

"They are my kids, after all. No surprise here." Rin chuckled "But they sure took long enough to get out."

The woman, her best friend Mary just raised her brow, seeming weirded out.

"Hm… have you come up with names yet?"

"A good question." Rin muttered, pointing to the little one with a horn "I used to have a fascination with the stars in my childhood. Subaru will be a wonderful name for my boy."

"And the other one?" Mary quirked her eyebrows

"I don't know. Hope you will be able to help me with that, though."

"I'm not good with names-"

"I would have named him Mary if he was a girl." Rin said, scratching her hand "You are my best friend, you have helped me a lot, supported me when I was alone."

"What that gotta do with naming?!"

"You got to name him! Please! I can't live with myself, otherwise." Rin finished, her eyes determined "Please?"

"…fine. Don't you regret it!"

Mary sighed in defeat. Her thought suddenly drifted to a distant memory.

"…how about Peter?"

"Peter?"

"Yes...that was our mentor's name. He looked out for us both, Rin. I want something to remember him by. He gave us a second chance to start our new life, you know?"

"Of course, you would be the sentimental one. I guess that old man deserves some credit, those." Rin smiled softly "Subaru Sasaki and Peter Sasaki. Grow well and happy, boys."

"Well, isn't that touching?" Mary smirked. A suddenly thought flashed through her head, and she sighed.

"What's wrong, Mary?"

"I'm sorry, about Jorugumo, I mean. You shouldn't have been dealing with this alone."

"It's his choice to leave. Considering his attitude, he won't be up to the task either way."

"It will be difficult."

"But you will be with me, won't you?" Rin eyed her expectantly

"Of course, you dork. Sworn sisters and all that, how could I leave?"

"Pft…you big softie." Rin giggled, as Mary quickly turned away, face bright red. She nervously twirled her white braided hair.

"Sure, sure. Here, let me take him for a bit. You go rest up, it has been a long day. Get your beauty sleep, Rin."

"Glad you got my back, Mary."

"Of course." Mary sighed in response "Can't imagine Bloodhorn Rhino to make such a statement one day, though."

"I have given up on that identity, Mary, you know that. I don't him want them to grow up like me."

"Of course, Rin. I understand." Mary carried the two babies gently "Hear that, little fellas. Don't you dare make your Ma worry, okay?"

The babies shifted slightly to her touch, and Mary giggled at the sight.

"May life treat you with kindness, my boys," Rin murmured, her eyes were full of hope before she drifted off to sleep.