A white, clean and orderly office. That's what comes to mind when I look around the space I suddenly found myself in. I just popped onto the chair sitting in front of the desk of a 'person' in a white suit with a handsome, androgynous face.

The person seems to be waiting for me to speak to him, that's the gender I assume the person has at least because he simply observes me while I am looking at my surroundings. Focusing on him I start speaking.

"So I am either dreaming and it's a semi-lucid one because I can't control it but I am aware of what's happening or I am dead and you're going to explain to me what's going to happen next. The fact that I am not freaking out at least a little bit and the calm I am feeling is probably thanks to you as well I presume?"

He seems to be amused a little bit since he smiles a bit and answers. "Yes, you're right. You're calm because we don't want you to be panicking and unnecessarily prolonging the process. We may have all the time we need, but that does not mean we should waste time on unnecessary things that can be avoided. You are also right about the dead part. You died and now you're here so we can get you assigned to your afterlife category so that you can be on your way."

Alright. So I am dead and I am going to be told where I am going next. That's okay. I seem to be strangely accepting of the fact. That probably has to do with them as well, a little bit creepy with the emotional control, but ultimately okay with me, because that's better than mindless panic.

Hopefully, I get to go to heaven. At least if I have to make a judgement of myself I will put myself as generally a good guy or at least an okayish guy at worst. Concentrating on the guy sitting in front of me he should be an angel or at least an equivalent of sorts. Time to ask him some questions.

"So how does this work? What are my options for the afterlife? And how do you judge a person here?

As I finished asking those questions a book materialised between us. The androgynous man opened the book and started talking.

"First thing you need to know about this omniverse is that you are not special. Countless beings have sat on this chair that you are occupying now. So no need for you to be cocky about it. Secondly, you must realise an omnipotent rule wherever you go is that there is always a price to pay for things you take or, what you mortals call an 'equivalent exchange' there is no free lunch in this world. Do you understand?" He asked in a serious tone.

Seeing his expectant but firm look I answered in affirmative. I started pondering his words and contemplating the meaning behind it. As I was wondering about the words he had spoken to me. The man had turned to a specific page in his book and began an exposition about my afterlife options.

"Your afterlife is based on your karma and your beliefs. Every person starts with zero karma and the actions they take in life whether they be good or bad and the sincerity behind them make up for the path they get in the afterlife. Your beliefs play also a part in your afterlife as someone who believes in reincarnation will get that whereas a person with Christian beliefs will get heaven or hell."

The man then turned his visage from the book to the mortal and said.

"You, however, have only one option 'reincarnation' as that is something that you believe in and also because you are an atheist. You have some positive amount of karma which you can spend on your next life. An interesting fact though is that atheists are commonly sent to the afterlife they are related to or something they believe in. Interesting isn't it?"

The man seemed amused about something as he gave the mortal some space to digest the words. As I kept thinking about how I should not have started reading the Isekai genres and fanfiction as reincarnation is unknown territory to me at least I have a basic grasp on what happens in hell or heaven but now this is an unknown that I was terrified of. Still, I didn't lose myself in my thoughts due to the calmness prevailing inside me. So I steeled myself and asked.

"How does reincarnation work exactly? Where would I be going? and are there any other options for me to choose from?"

The man joined his hands and started addressing "With your small amount of karma you could reincarnate into a similar world such as yours and probably live a comfortable life for yourself or". He smiled deviously and said, "You could live in an extraordinary world where fantasies are made real. Your choice of course."

Seeing the amused bastard I started thinking to myself about my choices. This reminded me of the beginning scene of Matrix, the conversation between Morpheus and Neo and how similar my situation is to it. I have already decided anyways, the second option is the one I will choose as I have already lived a comfortable normal life and I was frankly tired of the mundanity. So I replied.

"I choose the second option". With my answer, the man looked unsurprised as if he already knew it but he answered anyways.

"Wonderful, A life of excitement for you it is. Well, you can use your karma as a currency if you want a golden finger but remember you only have a small amount of it. So spend wisely,"

I answered without any pause as I had always contemplated this question when I read fanfics so I replied.

"I want to transmigrate with my memories of all my fictional knowledge. And a gacha system from the entire omniverse with increasing stats, quests and an AI."

The man sighed at his response as he started speaking. "Did you not understand the term equivalent exchange as I had previously mentioned? Granting you these wishes will make your karmic balance exceedingly negative. You would probably spend zillions of lifetimes in hell for your second wish. As for the first wish, it can be granted to you but know this granting your first wish would make your total karmic balance zero. And any subsequent wish will give you negative karma. So choose wisely."

Well, there goes my plan to be op from the start to the drain. Realty is often disappointing as they say. I started nerfing the hell out of my Gacha system and started thinking of different ways to limit it. The man provided me with a holographic image of my system and the karmic prices related to each of their features. First I removed the Omniverse feature and limited it to the prime universe then I entirely removed the gacha system altogether. I also removed the quest feature and all the perks that come with a typical system. Next, I removed the stats and the AI, leaving me with a template feature of the bare bones of the system. I also heavily limited my template feature to provide me with a template once a decade of a known character in the prime universe. Seeing I was done I gave it to the man so he could review it if he wanted to. The man just disinterestedly looked at the product adjusting something before turning to me and saying.

"Good enough. Now your karmic balance is in the negatives so now it is time to give you vices. Choose."

[Marked: Your arrival has caught the attention of some less-than-savoury groups. Three very powerful organisations would be out for your blood.]

[Illness: You have contracted a very painful disease which can never be cured. You will live your whole life with it.]

[Castrated: Your PP is cut off. You will even feel it being cut off. It will never grow back and this vice will ensure that you will remember it for all of your eternity.]

[Enemy: You have an enemy that hates you with a passion of a thousand fairy suns. He would be op and you would never know his identity until he reveals himself.]

[Everything changes for the worst: Something random changes within your world settings which causes everything to spiral towards chaos. From zombies coming to love craft abominations invading everything would take a turn for the worse.]

[Death Worlds: One of the least punishing ones. You can choose a death world for yourself like Bloodborne or dark souls. Alternatively, you can also choose a crossover between two high-tiered worlds.]

Seeing all the vices given to me I knew that I would probably not have an easy life ahead of me. Out of all of them only marked and death worlds were better. At least in the death worlds I can at least plan and survive accordingly it also allows me to choose my world instead of a world that is given to me randomly which is a huge bonus for me. As for 'Mark' would be much more difficult as these organisations could be a doomsday cult for all I care not to mention their unknown nature which is much more terrifying. So coming to a conclusion I chose Death World as my option.

"Going for the easiest one eh? Where is your sense of adventure?" He said jokingly before moving to the holographic screen and giving me a list of death worlds and all the crossover high-tiered ones and said.

"Here is the list of all the worlds you can transmigrate to. So choose carefully." He said seriously before going back to his book. I took the offered list and saw all the death worlds like SCP, Lovecraft and My Little Pony (Eldritch Abomination Mode) etc, to choose from. I also carefully looked at the crossover section to see the less hazardous worlds for me and found one from which I have good knowledge and one from where I could live relatively safely and said

"I choose this one" while pointing to the DC and Marvel crossover multiverse. Interestingly, for the first time, the man seems surprised. "Very well. You can either choose a character you would transmigrate to or you could get a character randomly. But remember you can only choose a character with no powers innately."

I didn't even have to think about it as the second option was far worse. Yes, I could in theory transmigrate into an op character like Franklin Richards or as a Kryptonian but the chances of that happening are a lot slimmer as I could just transmigrate into a random Joe or worse transmigrate into a woman that would give me a gender bender which was not what I wanted.

"I choose the first option" I replied.

"Leaving nothing to chances. A good personality trait I guess. Well, tell me about the character you want to transmigrate into." the man replied.

I thought about all the innately non-superpowered heroes and villains. I wanted a character who was not as famous. As fame draws the wrong kind of attention towards you. Eg, Bruce Wayne. The Court of Owls, cults trying to sacrifice him for an evil bat god. And god knows what other organisations targeting him. And with this crossover, it will probably be much more than that. If he wasn't Batman I am sure he would be fucked.

So, after weighing all my options I chose Peter Parker for the simple reason that he would not draw attention to him that early. And yes his parents may have worked on secret projects for the shield but it was not worth all that much considering the arms race, mutants and all the other shit going on in the background. So I selected him. And told him my choice.

"You would be in an alternative universe so you have the freedom to customise your face as well as choose a name that resonates with you. But in return, you would be a normal human. No X-gene or homo magic bloodline possibility would be available to you." The man replied serenely.

I sighed at his words but moved on. I would have to think of different ways to get superpowers. The holographic display showed me the face of Peter Parker. First I changed his hazel eyes to stormy deep grey ones. Changed his brown hair to a raven-black colour. Gave my face some sharp masculine edges. The overall display showed a handsome visage which is what I had in mind. I then typed the name, Daniel Benjamin Parker. With that done I looked at the man in front of me and asked a question that had been plaguing my mind for some time.

"Can someone read my mind to know the meta-knowledge that I possess? And what about the cosmic-level beings out there should I worry about them?"

The man replied "You should not have much to worry about. No one can read your meta-knowledge, not even the presence. But this protection does not extend to your next life as Daniel. As for all the cosmic-level beings, they will not even look at you. Because you are nothing but an ant compared to them. So there is no need to be concerned. After all, there are a lot of people there living normally."

I saw the logic behind those words and knew he was right after all I could live my life in relative safety. So I steeled myself and said, "I am ready"

"I wish you good luck in your journey" the man replied as he saw the mortal fading away.

--

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