Young Justice: Doom and Rebirth

by Spaceman

SIOC. I died and was reincarnated. I'm not a Hero. I'm not a Villain. I am a Monster. I woke up in the World of Young Justice as Doomsday. I'm about to destroy Canon and cause Chaos. I'm not Alone. Knowledge is Power, Power is Responsibility, Sharing my Knowledge shall Set Me Free. Made in collaboration with NewMystery356. Updated Bi-Monthly.

34. Chapter 34

[Young Justice: Doom & Rebirth]

by Spaceman

Start: July 6. 2022

(Split from previous chapter)

DISCLAIMER

I do not own Young Justice or any of the related characters. The Young Justice series is by Brandon Vietti and Greg Weisman and owned by DC Comics. This story is a work of fanfiction and is for entertainment only. I am not making profit from this story. All rights of Young Justice belong to DC Comics. All other characters other an OCs beyond to their respective creators and owners. This is a fanfiction for non-profit entertainment.

Notes:

Ideas and Creative Comments are Welcomes. Flames will be Ignored.

There will be NO Revisions/Rewrites.

Not that while I'm Posting Chapter 34, I'm currently writing Chapter 44.

Chapters range from over ten thousand to over twenty thousand words.

It will take time to reach ideas.

Thanks to NewMystery356 and check out his stories. I helped him work on his most recent stories.

Reviews

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark - The Reflections of Infinity are basically story ideas that I've had transformed into chapters.

Alan – Yes.

coldblue2015 (fav) - (1) The epilogue. (2) They don't go to the Multiverse; the Multiverse comes to them. (3) Maybe.

shadowfire003 & Guest – bag of the rubber king and wooded sword are original ideas that I based on general Isekai. If they exist, I wouldn't be surprised.

I remember reading a VR game story in which the protagonist upgraded a wooded sword to an absurd level and cut the planet, so I got an idea. Rubber King is based on Luffy (One Piece) and the thousands of adventurer/hunter stories I have read.

(Quick Rant – Reincarnated as Woman (MtF), Nobleman (multiple), Slave, Elf, Orc, Goblin (multiple), Sword, Dragon, Artificial Human, Werewolf, Slime (multiple), Onset, Spirit Plant, Insect, Monster Tree, Robot, Skeleton (multiple), Demon (general), Demon Lord (specific), Succubus (MtF), Fenrir/Doggy, Behemoth/Housecat, Magic Wand, Skeleton Knight, Suit of Armor, Vending Machine, Virus, NPC, etc. People that are reincarnations of reincarnated Heroes. Iori Yagami (King of Fighters), Deadpool (Marvel), and Other Isekai and Gamer characters have been Isekai'd. Even Truck-kun got reincarnated!

(Sound Weak OP Powers that range from Healing. Farming, Walking, Sleeping, Breathing, Drawing, Cooking, Cleaning, etc. Even the dumbest weakest sounding powers can be absurdly lethal. For example, there is a novel in which is a woman who can only summon a perfect cup of tea took out a fireball throwing maniac – she made a cup of tea appear in the fire user's lung!

THANKS TO EVERYONE!

*DOOM*

Chapter 34 –Reflections of Infinity – Part 2

Rorschach's Inkwell

[After the previous Chapter]

3POV

Ash and Rorschach continue to watch their alternate selves in the worlds of Earth-DR multiverse. They find it mildly entertaining, and they might learn something useful for the future.

Ash has taken some time to grab some snacks and a more comfortable chair. Rorschach is doing the same thing.

*DOOM*

[DR-Earth-3 – Fantasy (Sword & Sorcery)]

Immense mountains filled with fantastic metals and crystals created by the flows of magic beneath the Earth. Immense primordial forests dominated by impossibly giant trees. Deep oceans filled with life including massive serpentine forms. Endless natural beauty enhanced and altered by the mysterious magical particles flowing in the Earth and filling the atmosphere. There are magical plants, giant magical animals, and demonic beasts that resemble fusions of multiple beasts.

There are many sentient sapient races dominating the world. The prolific and adaptive humans, the various types of long-lived agile elves, the powerful and creative dwarves, the tribes of people with animal features, the mysterious fairy folk, and the massive dragons that are the supreme living beings and apex predators of the world. The Final race shown are the demon race, who are similar to beast people, only they are fused with chimeric demonic beasts instead of mere magical animals.

"Thousands of years ago, a god of magic was driven mad by a cosmic horror and became the evil god of demon kind. The magic king linked to the corrupted god was transformed into the first demon king. The other gods could only empower heroes to stop the demon king, starting the endless cycle."

My counterpart is only 200 cm tall (6'7) with a lean muscular build with silver eyes, grayish-white skin, and short curly black hair. He has black sclera, pointed ears, and horns that remind me of a mountain goat. He also has sharp black nails (claws?) and black and white markings on his skin. The markings are black branch-like markings, while the others are pure white, resembling Lichtenberg figures (branching electric discharge that sometimes appears on the surface or in the interior of insulating materials.) He's dressed in white shirt and pants with black boots, all decorated with gold. He also wears a gold crown and white cape that marks him as a King.

[Ashura Greystone – Demon Hero King]

The only person near him is a tall, curvy woman with gold eyes, pale skin, and long flowing black hair that reaches her ankles. She has black lips and nails, and is dressed in a tight white dress that hugs the woman's curves. She is also wearing a wide brim hat.

[Eve – Abyss Slime]

They are in a throne room on the top of an immense tower of crystal and stone. The floor is polished black stone, the walls are black pillars and clear crystal windows. Outside, the world above the clouds can be seen.

New Images appear showing a "younger" Ashura with a leaner body and lacking the markings on his grey skin. The younger version is only dressed in black pants with wrappings around the waist and ankles. He also has a black metal collar around his neck marked with turquoise symbols.

Ashura Graystone was considered a weak demon because he lacked offensive magic, but in reality, he possessed an Interesting Skill. The more damage he took from magic and magical items, the more resistant he became to the magic and items. Ashura didn't discover the depths of his Skill until he was betrayed by his commander, captured by humans, and sent to magic guild for study. As they experimented on him, he healed faster and faster, adapting to all their attacks.

The images show a much more muscular Ashura running down the halls of a medical facility/fortress. Next to him is a younger, smaller Eve, who is naked except for a stolen lab coat. There is a scientist screaming for their capture and a group of armored knights and magic users in dark robes attempt to block his path.

He doesn't slow down, even when they launch all manner of spells at him. Those spells could reduce a man to bones, but barely scratch Ashura. When Ashura reaches the knights, their magic-enhanced blades fail to pierce or cut. Ashura's claws easily tear through the knight armor and its soft contents. The magic users attempt to flee, but they are also grabbed and torn apart.

The main scientist is surprisingly agile and escapes Ashura's claws, only for Eve to grab him with a long black tentacle made of a dark protoplasmic liquid. The scientist screams in pain as the tentacle holding him tightly is producing corrosive acid. It melts through his coat and clothing, "burning" through his skin and muscles. Ashura says something to the scientist who looks like he's begging for his life. Then, Eve whips her tentacle like a bullwhip. The tip moving at supersonic speeds smashes the scientist into the stone floor. The former scientist makes a large blood stain.

"They should have realized that if Ashura became immune to most magics, he would escape his bonds and the magics that held him. After a month of torturous experimentation, he escaped the research facility, slaughtering the scientists, and freeing the other demons. One of them being the Abyss Slime who he named Eve."

"Why does she look like a woman?"

"She can take the form of anything she consumes. She apparently consumed a female knight and a sorceress when she was first discovered."

Fifteen images appear on screen in a five by three grid. They show Ashura and Eve fighting monsters in what appear to be ruined temples or dungeons.

"It was Eve that told Ashura the complete history of the world and Ashura went on a Quest to break the cycle."

*Click*

A theropod dinosaur, resembling a Tyrannosaurus Rex, only without the shrink wrapping. Instead of skinny scaly reptiles pictured in Jurassic Park, this creature has more fat and muscle, making it look bigger and healthier. It also has a layer of dark red and black pseudo-feathers that adds to its menace. It's larger than a "normal" Tyrannosaurus and its mouth of dagger-like teeth can bite look like they can bite with greater force.

[Crimson King – Tyrant King of Beasts]

"Each of the fifteen temples were protected by a different type of monster, which the first being protected by beasts. The Demon King augmented on Tyrannosaurus to be stronger and smarter."

The image changes to a video that shows an injured Ashura being healed by Eve, while the Crimson King lies in a pool of crimson. The liquid has stopped gushing from the creature's neck with the stop of the creature's heart. The healed Ashura then pulls its sword from the neck wound.

*Click*

The next picture is a Treant, like the Ents from Lord of the Rings only nastier. A massive tree with thick verdant canopy, thick dark brown bark, and thick spiraling black roots split into two legs. It has multiple tree limbs forming long thick arms with sharp branches acting as claws. The bark on the upper tree forms a humanoid face distorted with rage and there are several dark amber gemstones embedded in the dark bark. It's surrounded by half a dozen animated trees that act as their minions.

[Nameless King of the Forest]

"The second Temple was deep inside a primeval forest loaded with plant monsters and poisonous insects. This Boss could not only attack with its wooded limbs, throw rocks, and animate other trees to do the same. Thanks to the Demon King it has been able to produce various deadly poisons ranging from throwable thorns to corrosive sap sprays to poison pollen clouds. Those gemstones also render the tree immune to fire as long as they remain intact."

The image changes to the Nameless King of the Forest crying out in pain, it's battered body covered in supernatural fire. Ashura holds up the last gemstone, the others missing or broken. He crushes it between his fingers as Eve finishes her spell and releases a bright, fast fireball that blasts clean through the Treant, creating a cone-shaped exit explosion and leaving a burning basketball size hole. Smoke and embers billow from the Treant's "mouth" as it collapses to the ground. Ashura is whispering "Timber".

*Click*

The next picture is a massive amorphous blob of dark blood red goo with numerous dark pseudopods. Over three hundred pounds of corrosive goo and generating thirteen minions from its gelatinous mass connected by tendrils. Some of the minions are small agile rats, but three are humanoid mercenaries armed with odd-looking weapons.

[Elder Oblex Guardian]

"A chaotic evil slime that devours any would be adventures that reaches the Temple. Not easy since the third Temple was in the heart of a poisonous swamp filled with equally toxic creatures. Any adventure it consumed was added to its collection of possible puppets. The Demon King gave the Elder a collection of magical weapons that not only enhanced the combat abilities of its puppets but also negate fire spells."

The picture changes to a video of Oblex's defeat which looks like a horror movie. Ashura was following a strategy of severing the lines connecting the clones to the main body, causing the clones to burst into goo. He also tossed the enchanted weapons into his inventory to prevent the blob king from recovering them and their anti-flame effect. Then. Eve attacked Oblex from behind, which doesn't make sense since slimes have blind vision, they don't need eyes to see! When the Oblex slime attempted to consume her, she turned into a black liquid that spread through the red ooze until only black remained. A screaming humanoid face attempted to escape only to be pulled back in like the melting of the T-1000 at the end of the second Terminator movie. Ashura just looks slacked jaw at the curvier Eve.

*Click*

The next image is a floating ball of purple flesh with a menacing cyclopic gold eye with slant pupil, a mouth of long sharp fangs, and long fleshy tentacles ending in creepy gold eyeballs. Ashura's clothing is burning away, but his skin is unharmed. If he was a normal adventurer, he would have been completely disintegrated by the Aberration.

[Shall'thon – The Beholder King]

"This Beholder was the final boss of the Fourth Temple, which was located on a plateau. The Temple has infested with creatures of chaos, but thankfully Eve has able to help cloak your counterpart."

The image shifts to a video of the battle. Ashura is becoming more tanker with time and the arrogant beholder is becoming enraged. All Beholders believe themselves to be superior to all race and that the individual Beholder is the most superior. Charm, Paralyze, Fear, Slowing, Necrotic Enervation, Telekinesis, Sleep, Petrification, Disintegration, and even the Death Ray all fail! It's charging at Ashura when a powerful magical attack smashes into its back, severely injuring it and propelling it toward to get impaled on Ashura's enchanted sword! A lighting spell then strikes the tip of the blade which has emerged from the back of the Beholder and the Beholder becomes a charred shish kabob.

*Click*

The guardian of the Fifth Temple is a feline fiend. An anthropomorphic Bengal Tiger with a tall muscular body, striped fur, sharp claws, and teeth of a predatory cat. He's dressed in red-and-black medieval clothing and armor similar to Medieval Indian Rajput warrior. The massive tiger man is roaring with rage as magic crackles around him.

[Judos – The Rahkasha Magic Swordsman]

"The Fifth Temple is located in the heart of a thick jungle that appeared when the Temple was captured by the Demon King. The Jungle and temple were filled with camouflage cultists armed with poisoned and cursed weaponry. Eve kept the cultists away, while Ashura and the cat man had a duel"

The video shows Ashura and Judros locking magical swords. The clash of the two blades creates streams of iridescent silver energy. They go back and forth demonstrating their skills and experience in swordsmanship. What's interesting is there is full sound in this video.

"You're amazing, Judos. I have never enjoyed a better fight."

"Thank you, Ashura. You are quite skilled yourself and your companion is also impressive." says Judos, having a deep voice you would expect from a Tiger man, but also having a Hindi accent. "I do have unfortunate news for you."

"What would that be?"

"I'm not left-handed." says the Tiger man as he switches hands and begins to dominate the sword fight.

"Son of a.." says Ashura, "Well, Judos, I have something to tell you?"

"Are you not right-handed?"

"No." says Ashura as he suddenly lets Judos' sword strike him, which bounces off his gray skin. Ashura takes advantage of the split-second hesitation to deliver his own sword slash to Judos' neck. There is a spray of blood and both combatants know their duel is over.

"I'm immune to magical weapons."

The Tiger man has a smile on his face. He then leaps forward with a roar, glowing with a fiery light. There is a massive explosion and when the smoke clears, a blackened Ashura falls out of a crater he made in the wall. Not a trace of bone or fragment of magic metal remains of tiger fiend swordsman, only a huge crater in the ground.

"Sore loser."

*Click*

The guardian of the Sixth Temple is a Giant. A giant humanoid standing eight meters tall (over 26 feet). It's a massive warrior with eyes that glow like lightning, blue gray skin, and a long beard the color of storm clouds. He's wearing fur and studded leather armor and a Roman style helmet. He carries a massive heavy two-handed Great sword with a strange wavy blade.

[Storm Giant Zuthos]

"The Sixth Temple was on a floating island in the sky surrounded by never ending storm of hurricane force slicing winds, endless freezing rain, and lightning. The only way to release the storm was to defeat the Storm Giant that acted as it's guardian. Thankfully, he didn't have any giant minions."

The video is a little strange. The normally chaotic good giant runs towards Ashura after numerous lightning barrage fail to do anything more than burn clothing and Ashura continues to taunt the giant. The giant is about to swing its great sword, when Eve disguised as the ground underneath the Giant moves. Zuthos loses his footing and falls to the ground hard, hitting his head on a rock that suddenly pops out of the ground. When Storm Giant manages to open its eyes in time to see Ashura descending from the air and driving the tip of Zuthos' own sword into the giant's head.

"I can't believe that shit worked.", says both Ashura and me at the same time.

*Click*

A humanoid construct composed of lustrous gray iron and standing three point seven meters (12') tall. It's designed to resemble a knight holding a sword and eyes glowing like the fires of a forge. There are many scratches on its surface colored by a red-brown patina, making it look like scarred warrior. Scars that only exist on its front because it never allowed the enemy to pass.

[Commander Ferrum Ragnar - Iron Golem Knight Commander]

"The Seventh Temple was guarded by a small army of construct monsters. Shield guardians, clay golems, stone golems, mechanical spiders, and other Iron Golems all ruled by their Commander. The Temple originally belonged to the God of Blacksmithing and Craftsman worshipped by the Dwarves and was located deep inside a mountain which had become infested with monsters."

The video activates to show the inside of Forger's Temple. The inside of the Seventh Temple featured a lot of fire, which due to the Golem's [Fire Absorption] allowed the Golems to regain health. Iron Golems can't be transmuted, are resistant to magic, and all of their magic become magic weapons. The last point proves to be a problem as the more damage Ashura takes magical items, the more resistant he became to those items. So instead of slicing him in half like a normal sword he's batted around. The poison they spew also fails to damage Ashura.

Eve then appears in front of Commander Ferrum Ragnar and uses a thin green ray from her pointer finger - Disintegration spell. The golem almost has a look of surprise as he crumbles into pile of fine gray dust. A few magical items clatter to the ground, landing in the fine dust.

"I noticed that some of the Golems were smoking from acid damage, I'm guessing Eve's corrosive? Why did she use the same thing on the Commander? Also, I thought Iron Golems were immune to Acid for some reason."

"The other Iron Golems were vulnerable to acid damage because unlike the commander they didn't require acid to release poisonous gases, instead using a metal-based poison. The commander's poison is corrosive, hence it's immunity to acid."

*Click*

A female elf standing 1.5 meters tall (4'11) with pale skin, long flowing snow-white hair, and solid blue eyes. She is dressed in blue-gray robes meant for freezing cold weather. As she moves, she embodies the unforgiving cold of blizzards and the heart of winter. There are dozens of victims in her ice caverns, frozen solid with looks of fear and despair.

[The Lady of Ice and Snow]

"The Eighth Temple was hidden in the mountains covered by a thick layer of ice and snow. This ice and snow were generated by the very embodiment of winter, who had been corrupted by the Demon King."

The picture shifts, but instead of showing a video it shows Ashura and the Lady of Ice in a warm bed, no indication of any clothing. It's clear what activities they have been up to. Eve is also standing nearby, in only a apron holding what appears to breakfast.

"You were able to identify the magic item that the Demon King was using to control her and freed her. She was very grateful."

"No kidding."

*Click*

An evil elf matriarch with red eyes, black skin, and long white hair. She is dressed in flowing black clothing and cape, holding a long black staff that could also double as a polearm. Her clothing has a distinctive spider theme, which suits the absolute ruler of her clan of murderous assassins. From the shadows, more blacks-skinned elves dressed as assassins emerge.

[Kiadreza Daevyr – Matriarch of the Drow Clan Daeyyr]

"An evil dark elf matriarch and her clan of assassins, elite warriors, and mages. She and her clan had been exiled from her own world, but they still had a connection to their demon goddess of spiders. The Demon King recruited them and supplied them with numerous resources. You didn't seduce this one."

"I can't imagine why. Oh wait. Could it be because they are a bunch of matriarchal demon-worshipping sadists who have a culture based on treachery and routinely sacrifice males to the Demon Spider?"

The video shows Ashura and Eve standing around the corpses of the Drow. While the matriarch was able to boost the power of her clan, they were no match against an Abyss slime immune to magic and demon who has leveled up from fighting some of the most powerful monsters (and is nearly as immune). Most of the hundred black-skinned elves have been killed by sword or piercing black tentacle, Tho some are charred by fire spells or melted by acid.

Eve finishes off lesser demons summoned by the matriarch. Each of the demons stood 2.1 meters tall (7') composed of constantly melting yellow ooze like a sickening yellow candle. Each with eight writhing, powerful tentacles and a pillar-like main body with a single, sinister, scarlet eye in the middle. These Yochlol are demons known as the handmaidens of Lolth, but they might as well be called food to the Abyss Slime known as Eve.

A smoking, injured Ashura pulls his cracked sword from Kiadreza Daevyr's corpse and lets it collapse to the ground. He then performs another sword strike severing her head.

"I'm not taking any chances."

*Click*

A flying hooded humanoid and Ashura is not doing well. The warrior is dressed in shining silver-and-white armor with his head covered with a white hood and a crown of black thorns. Only it's glowing white eyes and a few lochs of white hair can be scene. He has multiple pairs of giant eagle wings and holds a sword with a blade covered in ethereal white flames. Ashura is missing an arm and had several deep cuts that are smoking.

[Arc - The Fallen Knight of Heavens]

"A Celestial warrior that fell from the heavens and was captured by the Demon King and transformed into a puppet to Guard the Temple of Light. Ashura had a very hard time fighting since demons have a natural weakness to holy energy. He was only able to counteract when he finally became immune to holy energy."

The video shows Ashura holding onto the Fallen Knight, who he has pierced with a black dagger. The dagger possesses necrotic magic and is rotting the flesh around it, preventing the angelic warrior from healing. It makes sense that necrotic damage would slow or stop the regeneration of Celestials, the same way Radiant damage weakens the regeneration of undead creatures. The angel's hood has fallen away to show an inhumanly beautiful face surrounded by snow-white hair. The angel's blue eyes are glowing, but they are slowly fading.

"What do you … hope to accomplice, Ashura Graystone? Why do you... defy your King and seek the Temples like a Chosen Hero?" he whispers with his harmonious voice.

Ashura whispers the answer in the Angel's ear and the dying Celestial's eyes open wide.

"I... Pray for... Your Success." says the Celestial before the light fades completely and his body collapses into vanishing white particles.

*Click*

At one time he must have been a powerful and wealthy individual dressed in flowing red and gold robes decorated further with black-and-gold. He even has a tall red/gold hat, gold jewelry with numerous gemstones, and holds a leather book and magic staff decorated with gold. You can't tell what he looked like in life because his face is now blackened bone without a trace of flesh and eyes that glow like embers of hell's fire. The Lich is surrounded by an army of skeletons armed with black swords and black bows loaded with glowing arrows. He's also protected by a pair of undead knights in skeleton themed armor – Death Knights.

[Racraus The Lich– The Seeker of Knowledge]

"He was once a famous archmagi that fought alongside the Hero against the Demon King. He was obsessed with gained mystical knowledge in hope of ending the cycle. In order to continue his research, he even transformed himself into an undead to continue his research. He was corrupted when he obtained a cursed Grimoire belonging to the Demon King. What made him a difficult opponent has locating his soul container, his Phylactery"

The video shows the upper body of Racraus crawling across the ground, trying to reach Ashura. Ashura stands on an immense pile of broken bones and scattered weapons. Ashura pulls the fiery Celestial Blade from the Death Knight. The action generates sparks and droplets of molten metal. The Death Knight finally collapses into a pile of dust and metal. The sword is immensely powerful as only the strong undead don't turn to ash before it's radiance.

"You can't win. I searched for centuries trying to find the answer. I searched every tomb of mortal lore, but nothing could break the cycle!" says Racraus

"It's a good think my Lore does come from a mortal."

Eve appears from the ground holding a distinctive red-and-black amulet.

"That's Impossible! How did you find it!?" yells the Lich on the ground.

"The numerous traps were interesting. Spikes, poisoned needles, a level submerged in acid, slashing blades, and that other lich you had enslaved to guard your treasure. Curses that shatter bones, boil blood, blind, and remove air from a person's lung. All useless against a member of the ooze."

Ashura takes the amulet from Eve, tosses it into the air, and slashes at it with the Fallen Knight of Heaven's Celestial Blade. There is an explosion of fire and dark magic as the amulet shatters. Ashura is hit by cursed fire, magical lighting, and a thousand different curses, which burns away his clothing and leaves him covered in burns. He survives due to his magical resistance and immunity to certain forms of magic, his smoking wounds already beginning to heal.

As for the Lich with the breaking of Phylactery – the repository for his soul – his body glows a faint white light. Then he crumbles to fine dust, disintegrating completely, as both nature and his own rebound curses take effect. You can almost hear the "NOOOOOO!"

*Click*

The Kraken is a monstrous legendary titan that looks like an unholy union of cephalopod and fish. Its upper body is large-mouth fish with thick scales, sharp quilled fins, and a mouth of sharp teeth with a beard of feelers. Its lower body is the tentacles of a giant squid, strong and numerous barbed suckers.

[The Kraken – The Titan of the Ocean]

"The Kraken is a legendary monster, the titan of the ocean. The Water Temple was already one of the hardest Temples to access since the Demon King sank the island to the bottom of the ocean, but the Kraken made it near impossible."

The video shows Ashura wearing a black armored costume that covers his entire body. He's standing on a beach, facing a dark gray ocean and equally dark stormy sky, which is crackling with lightning. The monstrous Kraken is creating immense waves that erode the sea shore and the nearby lighthouse does little to help.

It takes me a second to realize Ashura is wearing Eve, like Eddie Brock and his Venom symbiote or any host and Klyntar Symbiote. I'm about to ask why the other version of me is wearing a slime girl, when he's whipped by one the Kraken's tentacles. He goes tumbling through the air and smashes completely through a lighthouse, causing it to collapse. Ashura manages to get back up due to Eve's assistance.

Suddenly, the Kraken begins to inflate while glowing, light and steam pouring from its mouth. In less than a minute, it's reached its limit and violently explodes, covering the entire bay in Tyrian purple blood, jet black poisonous ink, and rubbery bits of gore.

"What the hell was that?"

"That would be a combination of magic research and otherworldly knowledge of physics. You 'other self' somehow develop a transmutation field that compresses matter into a hyper-dense mass of transuranic heavy elements before releasing the instability."

"He made a magical nuke!?"

"Bingo. Ashura also managed to get the Kraken to swallow one."

"How long was this Epic Quest?"

"Seven Years. He only had magical immunity, so he couldn't tank everything like you can."

"What about the radiation?"

"Eve not only provides physical protection, but protection from heat, light, and various forms of radiation. I managed to get a sample of her biomass and it was fascinating."

"Save it for your next Product. I want to see the end of this?"

*Click*

It's a red dragon. An immense bright red Western dragon with hard red scales on top, bronze scales on its underside, steel-rending sharp claws, and a row of short spines going from its reptilian head to the tip of its muscular tail. It also has two horns curving back and two immense bat-like wings with tattered edges. As it roars, the inside of its throat is illuminated with a fiery gold light, A warning that it can unleash its destructive fire breath.

[Ignus, Dragon Lord of Fire]

"The Fire Temple is located in the caldera of a volcano. Most adventurers would burst into flames just entering this area and the poisonous air would finish off those with heat resistance. It's a place with magical fountains filled with brightly glowing lava instead of water. Then an Ancient Red Dragon shows up as a Boss."

Ashura clad in Black Knight armor descends from the sky with Ignus the Dragon Lord of Fire. Ignus has lost the battle with its wings shredded, its fire extinguished, and its magic useless. Wings shredded by fragmentation grenades, its flames extinguished by ice grenades, and its magic ruined by abyssal magic circles painted on his scales where Ignus can't see.

Ashura has driven his lightning sword into Red Dragon, piercing the tungsten-hard scales where they grew differently because of the neck's underside. They fall from cloud height towards the caldera of the volcano. The dragon struggles to claw at Ashura only the inky black material of his armor (Eve) to flow down the blade into the wound and explode into sharp spikes. The armor then forms a pair of giant wings to act as a parachute, while the Dragon hits the lava.

Ashura the Black Knight looks down at the fallen Ancient Red Dragon, floating on the surface of the boiling lava. Despite what the movies will show, most organic creatures don't sink in molten rock because of their lower density. Instead, most animals would be incinerated by the heat. Parts of the dragon are even floating on the steam created by the boi9ling blood and other fluids, like water on a hot grill. Ashura pulls out a grappling line.

"Is he trying to retrieve the Dragon?"

"Those Dragon parts are worth a lot of money. Especially an Ancient Red Dragon."

"Is he greedy?"

"Epic adventures cost money and former members of demon lord army can't become adventurers. Especially with the 1 million gold bounty."

"A million gold?"

"A janitor survived Ashura's escape from the research facility and talked to the authorities."

"How much is a Dragon worth?"

Rorschach shows me the total number and I can almost feel my jaw hit the floor.

*Click*

It's an amphibious dragon-like water elemental resembling an Eastern Dragon with powerful jaws. Powerful legs meant for swimming with their long, webbed claws resemble flippers. A long tail and neck, bony blue-green scales, and boney spikes on its back. Its immense jaws are filled with sharp teeth, jaws that can swallow people whole or release a breath of flesh-melting steam.

[Leviathan – Primal Conqueror of Water]

"A SECOND Underwater Temple. This one at an even greater depth and guarded by Leviathan, a monster that could easily make a meal out of the Kraken."

The video does not show the epic battle. Instead, it shows Leviathan using steam breath to launch Ashura. He's sent flying by the flesh-melting steam jet, while normal humans would melt, I half expect to hear a star tinkle like Team Rocket Blasted Off.

The second video has Ashura in the mouth of Leviathan. Eve barely holding the mouth open, while Ashura drops a spherical device down the throat. Seconds later, steam and plasma emerge from the throat and launch the black-clad Ashura into heavens.

The third video shows a very tired looking Ashura in his black eve armor returning to the shore. Leviathan's corpse has washed up on the shore like a beached whale, stilling steaming and probably insanely radioactive. Ashura promptly gives Leviathan the Finger.

"I can only imagine the smell." I say to Neo, "When I was young a porpoise beached itself in the bay and it was one of the worst things I have ever smelled, and it was half a mile away."

"You find a lot of stuff in the beach?"

"Dead crabs. Jellyfish. A broken doll. The creepiest thing is the corpse of a dead dog. Every time I went beach combing, it became more and more skeletal. Gross."

*Click*

[Final Battle]

[Video]

The video opens to reveal a plateau whose surface rests above the clouds. The surface of the plateau is completely smooth as if polished and the same dull gray as the mountain. In the center is perfectly circular crater, that is like a crystal mirror. Above that crater, a mysterious object floats above the surface of the crater. It's a black crystal, a regular icosahedron (a convex polyhedron with 20 faces), covered in strange glowing runes, a different one for each face.

Ashura is his Black Eve Armor stands before the Demon King.

The previous Demon King resembled a classic Greek statue brought to life. A tall, muscular, and unnaturally beautiful body with gold eyes, skin the color of white marble, and short curly ink-black hair. Dressed in white robes and a simple gold circlet around his head, some would mistake him for a child of a god.

"This is the mountain of beginning, where the twenty gods of our world emerged." says Ashura.

"Why have you called me to this place."

"To free our god from the prison he is held in."

"Our Great God already has a great plan."

"For you to die at the hands of hero over and over again, each time a fragment escaping the seal to join with you."

"You know the plan? Strange, only my great generals should know the plan, not someone who was tossed away. How do you know, Ashura Greystone?" says the demon king, eyes narrow and glowing.

"I have my sources and they told me a quicker way. I gathered what I needed and fought against the guardians of the temples to obtain them. I only need one thing from you, your majesty."

"What is that?"

"The Primaeval Rune of Magic."

The Demon King laughs at Ashura, but it's not a mocking laugh or mad laugh. It's a laugh of admiration at Ashura's sheer daring.

"I have fought many Heroes blessed by the other gods and you show far braver. I've only shown my Rune to my Generals." says the Demon King, as a glowing symbol appears on the back of his right hand. "If you can withstand the power of the Rune, you shall become my newest General. If you are weak, it will tear your soul apart. Are you willing to accept my power?"

Ashura's black armor opens up to reveal his bare chest. The Demon King smiles, then releases the Rune into his chest as Purple Lightning. There is a lot of screaming, but when the light show ends Ashura now has the same black-and-white markings as his future self. Ashura then points his hand at the black crystal and releases his own purple lightning into it. A glowing magic circle appears on the ground, its outer ring containing the same twenty runes that are on the crystal's surface.

The crystal begins to move like rolling dice. As it stops on one Rune, an orb of prismatic light descends from the heavens and takes its place at the edge of circle above its corresponding rune. The crystal moves again and roles the next rune. This happens for a grand total of five times.

"The Five Gods that were killed when the God of Magic was corrupted. Who sacrificed themselves to seal the Evil God he became."

The crystal rolls another fourteen times and the orbs that appear are different. As they reach their symbols, they show the Gods that they represent as ghostly images.

A beautiful nude, green-skinned elf, her only modesty being what her vine-like hair covers. The Goddess of Forests, Farms, and all that is Green.

A handsome young man with red skin, a wild mane of hair, and the horns of an animal. The God of Beasts and all animals that walk the land.

A beautiful elven woman with blue skin, flowing water for hair, and the lower body of an opalescent silver scaled fish. The Goddess of the Oceans, and all the animals and plants within.

A black-haired grey-skinned Dwarf with fire in his eyes and holding a mighty hammer. The Dwarven God of Fire, Metalwork, and Craftsmanship.

I don't bother remembering the rest as I'm most curious about what comes after.

The Fourteen Gods of the Fourteen Temples.

Then, the Dice rolls the Fifteenth Primeval Rune – The Rune of Magic. As it does, the sky darkens and there are fourteen shooting stars that dart across the heavens as a howling wind blows across the Plateau. Then an orb of prismatic light descends from the heavens, heading towards the Demon King. The Demon King raises his arms to welcome its other self. As the orb sinks into the Demon King's chest, his face is filled with a combination of pain and pleasure.

Then the orb emerges from his back in an explosion of red-black particles and flies to where the last rune of the circle is located. The ghost-like image of the God of Magic appears. He's a tall, thin demon with long white hair, dark skin, and silver eyes with black sclera that shine like the moon. He has horns and a long beard, and is dressed in dark robes covered in stars

"What is happening?" says the Demon King as his skin becomes covered in glowing cracks.

"The cycle is broken. The Age of the Demon King is over. A New Age of New Gods is about to Begin." states Ashura as the twenty orbs glow bright as stars before streaking back to the heavens. At the same time, the Demon King roars in pain and there is an explosion that nearly throws Ashura off the Plateau.

The Demon King's new form is far from the sculpturesque pictures of absolute beauty. The white marble skin is gone to reveal dark purple tendrils woven together to form the muscles of a man. Tendrils whose outer layers pulsate and wriggle like worms and centipedes. Amongst the purple fleshy tendrils are moving eyeballs with yellow irises that shine like molten gold. Its once divine body made subtle changes to the environment, but now it releases a mist of dark red and purple particles that pollutes the world around it. Even the ground beneath its feet is darkened with glowing purple cracks spread out like veins.

" A̸͓̮̩̫̱̘͔̼͋͒́̊̈̾͗̀̀͘ͅs̵̡̢̘͔̞̘̘̝̊̌̽͑̀̽̈́̍͆̒̕h̶̛̛́͂̉̑̃͐̋ͅů̵̪̲͓̭̘̳̺͕͓̻̼̿̐͑͑̿̿̑̅͆̀͐̈̋̕r̸̦̂̾̆̉̀a̷̰͈̯̟̝͇̘̜̹̘͉͙̳̗̍̓̈͐ ̷͚̯̬̩̻̍̾̽͒̓͌̓̾̊͐̌̑̚̕͠Ģ̴̣̯̪̞͚̺̩̮̾r̴̜̗̱̟̮͈̖̙̒̽̓̓͒͂̓͋̿ͅͅą̶̨̥̘̞͔̱̹̲̻̣͎̬̲̯̀́̎̊̄̐y̴̨̻̪̟͕̰̩̮̏s̶̡͙̰̳̰̬̥͎̳̘̺̩͎̠̫͆̓̀͝͝ẗ̶̥̥̰̱̹̼̰͈́́̑͋̌̾̽̅̈́̿̔͊̚̕ó̵̢̝͉̻̪̩̠n̴͙̠̟̭̖̭̤̲̎̊͛͆̌̌̐̕͝e̸̡̡̢̢̛̺̼͕̙͈̺̩͈͉͈̽̈̓̅͐̿̒̄̎͘̚͘"

Where there was a once a supernaturally beautiful male face there is now a black void with glowing white eyes.

"What is the Demon King without the power of the Gods or the soul of a King?"

Ashura pulls out his lightning and raises it to the sky. It's crackling with lightning and producing a column of light. If he wasn't concentrating hard on channeling his new power, I'm sure he would be yelling out a quote from a cartoon or anime. Ashura brings the sword down and the brilliant sword beam comes down to split the degenerating Demon King in half. The Demon King can do nothing but roar in pain as he is blasted into red-black particles that are then destroyed by the white light.

[The Video Ends]

"The Demon King came to the ritual site believing they were going to free and summon the demon god, which is what happened. What he didn't know was that it was only part of the Ritual."

"So, what was the Ritual?"

Text appears on the screen.

Hundreds of thousands of years ago, a single god-like being appeared on this world and split into two beings – a god of light and a god of darkness. The god of light created that which physical exists. He altered the world and created various races to live on the world. The god of darkness created the immaterial - spirits, the cycle of rebirth, and the realm of dreams. Together they created souls to link the two realms together and to balance them, they also created the Primal Runes to represent all things.

These Runes would be this world's origin of magic. They would also be used by the first grand sorcerers to transcend humanity and become the New Gods of the world. Since they were once mortals, they knew they were flawed and could succumb to madness, so every thousand years they force themselves to be reborn and become new incarnations. Ashura gathered the Runes from the Temples.

The Demon God was purified and returned to the cycle of reincarnation. What remained of the Demon King's original soul was cleansed and sent into the cycle of rebirth. All that remained was the corrupt being destroyed by the ritual and the Demon King's power which flowed into the successor.

Eve is a fragment of the creature of chaos that fought against the God of Magic and led to the God becoming corrupted by chaos. The various fragments became various things including Dungeon Cores, monster spawners, and independent entities.

"Who wrote this?"

"A Historian. A nerdy half-elf girl managed to get pass all of your defenses, just to write your biography."

*DOOM*

"What about your counterpart." I ask Neo, who is eating a Wrap.

The images displayed show various non-human humanoids enslaved. Once noble people with their own cultures stripped of everything, they own, and magical collars around their necks. Elf women and girls forced to work in brothels or as servants of a nobleman. Dwarves were forced to create armor and weapons for their enslavers with no reward. People with the traits of animals are forced to work like animals to sustain farmlands, while nearly starving themselves.

"The Holy Light Kingdom – a human supremacist Kingdom run by a corrupt church, one that wishes the enslavement or destruction of the other races. They believed themselves to be the chosen of their God and superior to all other races. "

[The Story of Mystery the Bard/ Harlequinn Noir]

[Rebellious Hero disguised as Fool.]

The photo on the screen shows a collection of adventurers standing before a Royal family.

The King a tall, lean man with shoulder-length white hair and long thick beard. He may have been handsome in his youth, but his face is gaunt with dark sunken eyes. He is dressed in fine clothing, expensive jewelry, and a fancy gold crown, but it looks heavy on his head. He's far from the warrior-king who founded the empire, whose painting can be seen in the background.

[King Alexander Sanctus Lux XII – Holy Light Kingdom]

His wife – The Queen – is far younger than her husband, no older than forty at most to her husband's aged look. She is a beautiful woman with blue eyes, flawless skin, and long curly black hair. She also has huge breasts barely held by her fancy dress. She also wears gold jewelry, even more than her husband.

[Queen Maria IV – Holy Light Kingdom]

The Princess is a young woman barely out of her teens with the same blue eyes, flawless skin, and curves of her mother, but she has golden ringlets instead of black hair like her mother. She is dressed in a fancier dress with fewer jewelry

[Princess Alexandra II – Holy Light Kingdom]

On the other side is the Hero.

He's a very generic looking Hero – a tall, lean muscular man with a handsome face, blue eyes, short messy gold-blonde hair, and a confident smile. He's dressed in opalescent white knight armor with a dark blue cape, a jeweled headband, and a very fancy sword that wouldn't look out of place in a Type-Moon Fate series.

[Leon- The Hero - Fighter/Knight/Hero]

The illegitimate son of [Duke Cross] and a slave-maid, a former noblewoman of a conquered country, he was educated in swordsmanship and other matters, but it was clear that the duke's official son would be the heir and he was just a spare. Then [Leon] became the Hero and things changed. Due to the investigations by the Church, His half-brother was arrested for numerous crimes, and he became the sole Heir. He hides his mother's elven blood, and he sees the Quest to kill the Demon King as a way to obtain wealth and power, even a chance to marry the Princess and become the King.

Next member of the Hero's Party is a very tall, very muscular Paladin with green eyes and a beard, dressed in thick knight armor the color of polished bronze. He carries a huge shield and a polearm. Scrolls of scripture hang over his pauldrons and from his waist.

[Reinhart - The Fortress - Paladin/Sentinel]

[General Reinhart] is a decorated soldier and war hero from a long family of military men. Even the women in the family were involved with many battlefield healers, merchants providing logistics, and even rare female knights. He earned honor on the bloodstained battlefield and as a sailor on Navy ships. He serves as the Hero's mentor, shield, and connection to the Military Faction.

The Next member of the Hero's Party is a female monk. She looks like a very beautiful Asian woman with amber eyes and long flowing black hair tied in a braid. She is dressed in saffron and red clothing decorated with blue with detailed bronze bracers and gold-decorated green boots.

[Xiaodan - The Fire Snake - Monk]

The [Sect] was a group of warrior monks belonging to the Eastern lands of [Shen]. When the Kingdom conquered those lands, the sect was allowed to continue because they swore loyalty to the Kingdom and their teachings did not contrast with the teaching of the Church. As an assimilated people, they are considered traitors by the former nobles of the dead nation. As a Master, she seeks to obtain the rank of Grandmaster by helping a Hero and increase her sect's influence in the Kingdom.

The next member of the Hero's Party is the Rogue. He's a vaguely Italian-looking man with brown eyes and black hair dressed in black clothing rimmed with gold and a tricorn hat. Hes carrying a pair of MagiTech pistols in his holsters. He even has a black eyepatch that makes him look like a pirate.

[Jack Archer - The Gunslinger – Rogue/Gunslinger Assassin]

[Jack] was a man that started with nothing, just another war orphan who stole to survive. One day, he killed a nobleman who was trying to kill him. He was seen by an assassin sent to kill the nobleman, who took [Jack] to the Assassin's Guild. He was trained to be assassin, while disguised as a mercenary of the adventurer's guild. He was very active during the war eliminating threats to the Kingdom, both internal and external. He is the Hero's official connection to the Adventurer's Guild and unofficial connection to the Assassin's Guild.

The next member of the Hero's Party is the Wizard. He's a tall man in his forties with dark eyes, pale sunless skin, graying black hair reaching his shoulders, and a goatee. He's dressed in the hooded dark blue robe of a wizard with bracelets, rings, necklace, and a circlet on his head. He also carries a huge leatherbound book and a staff.

[Magnus - The Wiseman – Wizard/Lore Master]

[Magnus] is a Wizard dedicated to two things – survival and pursuit of arcane knowledge. He's a completely amoral magic user who is willing to do anything for his two goals. He would let an innocent family burn to death to rescue a tome of magic and would perform experiments on non-humans to prove his research. Some of his experiments needed to be covered up, which is why he agreed to join the Hero's Party. He also knows the Demons have access to arcane knowledge dating back thousands of years. He also acts as the Hero's connection to Mage Tower and magical community.

The Sixth member of the Hero's Party is the Cleric. A beautiful woman with blue eyes and long golden hair reaching her waist. She also has huge breasts of a fantasy healer. She is dressed in white dress covered by gold-decorated red robe with holy items and ring of regeneration.

[Maria - The Holy Maiden – Cleric/Fighter - God of Light]

[Maria] is a fanatically loyal member of the Holy Light Church and possesses the strongest Holy magic potential. Even at a young age, she could heal others and drive away dark spirits. This is why she was taken from her parents and raised to become the Chruch's greatest warrior of God. When the Hero appeared, she became obsessed with him as he was Chosen by her God. She is his lover and Hero's connection to the Church.

The Seventh and final member is Rorschach's counterpart Mystery the Bard. He's a tall, lean athletic man with brown eyes, dark islander skin, and short wavy black hair. He's dressed in fancy silk clothing covered by decorated leather. He's dressed in the clothing of an entertainer, carrying a musical instrument.

[Mystery - The Bard – Bard/Harlequin/Real Hero]

Mystery is a mystery. Rumor is he's the son of merchant family's heiress who was seduced by a Bard (a common story). He grew up a poor urchin on the streets but was blessed with luck. He was taught by entertainers and bards, eventually joining Adventurer parties. His impressive magical power and business skills led to him becoming part of the Hero's party. While the Hero Party doesn't consider him a combat asset, they do exploit his ability to negotiate. Despite him acting like a fool at times, he's the Hero's connection to the Merchant Guild and negotiating with commoners.

"The Seven Heroes."

"So, what did the 'foolish' Bard do?"

"As the Bard, he was an agile, charismatic entertainer who could cast magic using voice and indestructible magic instrument. He charmed enemies, detected traps, buffed his comrades, and even cast Thunderwave."

Mystery dances around playing his guitar, while a huge muscular troll dances to the music. The massive ugly brute is very clumsy, and its club and big feet smash many familiar goblins into paste. One shaman, the Troll's former master, is stepped on and it's almost like tube of toothpaste. The next scene is Mystery navigating a Dungeon detected hidden magic traps. He tosses an apple into a beam of light that the Hero was near, and it's pierced by a dozen barbed iron darts coated in oily poison. The last scene is Mystery playing his instrument while sitting on a rock and lightning flashing. A giant bird crashes into the ground next to him, looking charred from having its feathers burnt off by the bolts.

"He did get away with a few pranks. With expert timing he got the Hero to walk in on Cleric while she was bathing in a river. Then, while the two were having wild sex, he arranged for a spy to witness them, which led to rumors spreading across the Kingdom."

Images of the Hero and Cleric looking very embarrassed, but grateful to Mystery.

"He partially replaced one of the Wizard's potion ingredients with a similar herb. The resulting potion still restored the Wizard's magic but turned his hair curly and cotton candy pink."

Images of the Wizard with his hair lengthened into curls and ringlets, and a shade of pink you wouldn't find outside of anime. He is seen yelling at an apothecary, believing they are the ones who mixed up the herbs.

"He also tricked the Paladin into spending a thousand gold on a Ring that increases his defense immensely, but also slower than a turtle in winter. Despite people laughing at the General, Mystery convinced the Paladin he made the right decision because the Paladin was the Tank of the group." says Rorschach, "The Monk girl and the Gunslinger also got super intoxicated and had to pay damages..."

"He did more than pranks, didn't he?"

The screen shifts to show Mystery dressed in a different outfit. It's a black-and-white Harlequin costume with a droopy jester's hat and a skull face carnival mask. He's dancing around with daggers in his hands, and I can tell that he's extremely dangerous. He's the kind of killer clown that would set off anyone with a phobia like encountering Hisoka from Hunter x Hunter.

"Harlequinn is unique combination of Rogue and Martial Caster. He can move with unnatural agility, jumping high and running on walls. Deadly Flow Mastery means he weaves his attacks into a brutal yet graceful chain with cumulative damage. He can dodge attacks that shouldn't be dodge able and his Vicious mockery causes Psychic damage to his opponents."

The Hero's Party, minus Mystery, face Harlequinn in a blood-soaked ballroom. The floor is covered by the corpses of numerous rich and corrupt noblemen and noblewomen. There are also numerous dead knights, most of them looking surprised at their own deaths. Harlequin dances, doing tricks with his knife

The Hero's Party attacks, but Harlequinn dodges. The swords of the Hero and Paladin, the fists and kicks of Monk girl, the bullets of the Gunslinger, and the Wizard's bolts of magic. He dodges all attacks and delivers blows that send them tumbling. The Hero roars in anger and glows with power, but Harlequinn easily dodges the predictable strike, delivering blow after blow, that increase power with every blow. The final kick sends the Hero flying across the ballroom, smashing into the wall hard enough to crater it. The chest plate of the Hero's shining armor is caved in and glowing with heat.

"That's right. I'm strong." taunts Harlequinn as he looks down at the Hero, before vanishing.

"How did Mystery explain his disappearance?"

"They found him in a room with half a dozen naked maids. All they said was 'Damn Perverted Bards.'"

"So, how did this mess end?"

"It didn't. While your analogue's rise to power is complete, Mystery is still eroding the Hero's Party. Recently, Demon King Ashura has been supporting the Holy Light Kingdom's various enemies and rebellions within the Kingdom. He even had his servants develop a spell that could break the slave collars used by the Kingdom on a massive scale."

*DOOM*

Commercial #1

A group of animated characters walk down a path in the woods when they reach a fork in the road. Oen sign says "Traditional" and the other is marked with the "Cognito Inc" symbol. Weird Science Rick appears from the glowing portal.

"Magic is not just something you find in fiction. In our ridiculous comic book world with superheroes and alien invasions, we also have magic. Magic that can be tested, researched, and improved like all disciplines.

Two glowing windows open to reveal possible futures.

In the Traditional Future, it shows how things could go wrong. A young wizard fails to create a proper barrier and is injured. An attempt to transform a block of metal into another shape causing it to explode, blackening cartoon faces. One Conjurer is chased by the bat-winged red demon he summoned.

"Magic started with religious practices and superstitions. They managed to call on mystical forces and then built beliefs around them."

One Diviner is messing with a Ouija board only for a ghost that looks like Sadako Yamamura from The Ring to appear. A sleezy looking enchanter is hypnotizing the young girls in his class. A young man attempts to toss a fireball, only for it to explode and send him into a wall.

"A traditionalist would say magic has always worked this way and it's how it should work."

In the Cognito Future, it shows modern magic at use. A young woman dressed in body armor clicks an armband and a perfect barrier made of glowing hexagons appears. A gun is fired, and the bullet is stopped, falling limply to the ground. A young man designs a statue on a laptop, then clicks a app. A block of stone is shaped by computer-controlled magic into a perfect statue. In a classroom with many sealed enclosures, people summon fluffy magical animals which are analyzed for safety reasons before they can be hugged by their owners.

"Cognito Inc believes in Solutions. Why use unpredictable potentially dangerous elements, when those elements can be refined, and magic transformed into a science."

Cognito students use armbands or caster units resembling armbands or guns, instead of wands and stuff. They hit their targets with perfect accuracy and their control is absolute, so it doesn't spill outside the test area.

"Arthur C. Clarke's First Law is 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'" says Weird Science Rick, "Larry Niven's First Law is 'Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.'. At Cognito Inc, we have both. So, for a better future, make the right choice."

"META/STAR ACADEMIES – A New Era of Science and Magic."

*DOOM*

[DR-Earth-4 – The Game of Heroes]

"No connection to Game of Thrones?"

"Nope."

The video that appears is a Chinese News video. It shows an alternate Shanghai of twenty-first century, but the sky has turned an unnatural red and brilliant lightning flashes and the Earth shakes. Neither lightning nor earthquakes is natural, as the lightning causes what it strikes to shatter into particles and there are no faults where the vibrations are coming from. One reporter is rendered speechless when a lightning bolt hits a skyscraper, causing glowing cracks to spread across its surface before the entire building and everything inside it dissolves into glowing particles and vanishes. A swirling dark blue-purple portal explodes into existence creating a shockwave.

There is a pause, a quiet before the storm. Then monsters emerge from the portals and begin to flood into the city. The most common type of monster are three-meter-tall muscular humanoids with gray skin, sharp claws, maws of sharp teeth, and large tusks. I would compare them to Ogres if they didn't lack a certain facial feature. They completely lack any form of eyes, indicating they are nocturnal or from a very dark world. Considering the hideous roars, they are making, it's possible they use some form of echolocation. The second type of monster is tall, thin boney reptilian creatures with long tails, leathery wings that can also act as forelegs and a mass of tentacles like a cuttlefish instead of a head. Many of these abyss-faced wyverns take to the skies, but some of them spread their tentacles and fire brilliant energy beams from their maws. The reporter and cameraman are running, but one of the beams hits the reporter and incinerates him!

Other News channels are shown, revealing the opening of portals in other countries and the different monsters. The City of New York is being attacked by purple lizard men and giant armored worms that spray poison and acid. Los Angelas is being attacked by what appear to be white spheres with feathery white wings and the upper torsos of naked female humanoids. As they sing, people either die, collapse in pain, or attack each other in a mindless rage. In Moscow, the monsters are made of stone and debris around black cores. They are silent, but smash buildings and vehicles. In Sydney, Australia, monstrous amphibious hybrids of poisonous predatory fish and man emerge from an underwater Portal.

I can see why humans are having such trouble against the monsters, be they military, police, or average heavily armed American. The bullets hit a barrier before they can hit flesh and turn into liquid. When one crazy man attempts to drive a fire axe into one monster, the axe head comes apart like melted ice-cream bar. There is even a fat monster climbing on top of a tank and it comes apart like wet clay. It's almost identical to Rorschach's anti-metal field

"Long ago, portals to other worlds began to appear around the world. These worlds contained monsters that couldn't be harmed by conventional weapons. Monsters that began to flood out the portals. In less than a week, ten percent of the world's population died." says Rorschach, telling the Lore of the world, "It was a civilian who became the first Hero, defeating the "boss", and awakening the powers of humanity. It's said the Hero was a Gamer, which is why his gift to humanity came in tit's current form. All those who awakened since have RPG-style Gamer abilities and some can reach legendary levels."

Doomsday (DR-Earth-4) - Shuang Jin – The Monstrous Hero

The screen shifts to show a series of images.

The first video is my counterpart – Shuang Jin - working in an office building. The Chinese version of me isn't very impressive. He's tall, around six-foot compared to the average 5 ft 7.6 in and slightly overweight, with dark eyes behind glasses and short dark hair. He, like my original self, takes after our mother in facial features. He's currently in a business suit working on computer designing graphics for the company advertisements.

The second video is Jin standing in a strange chamber with torn dirty clothing. The walls are ancient gray stone brick covered in dark purple vines. The reason his clothing is dirty is because he's soaked in the blood of a monster. The humanoid monster is only the size of a small child, but it had a maw of sharp teeth and sharp claws. The corpses of numerous other office workers can attest to this. Even working together, they only managed to injury it before being killed. Jin hits the monster in the head with a stone from the Dungeon and kept hitting it, until its head was flattened. He then used one of the creature's own claws to cut open its chest and remove the monster's core.

"Jin was once a normal office worker. He possessed memories of his past life and even this wasn't unique in this world, but what was unique is they were of another world where the Event never occurred, and he was Canadian. Then, a portal opened in his office building and while trying to survive, he awoke as a Hunter."

The third video shows a collection of scenes. Jin dressed in Hunting gear which consists of an armored body suit, a hooded coat, utility belt, and a combination of knife and spear.

"There are some Hunters that trigger with Production Skills enabling them to create weapons, tools, and armor from the materials taken from monsters. The material conducts the Hunter's power allowing it to pierce through the monster's barriers."

"So, there are no guns? For monster hunting I mean?"

"There are some American Hunters that can make Infused Ammo that can hurt monsters, but they are rare. Most guns are just magic wands that you aim better and bludgeon people if you need to."

The fourth video is interesting as it shows Jin swallowing the core crystal of a monster. He then cries out in pain as steam rises from his body. His numerous injuries heal, leaving only the drying blood. His skin reddens and his muscles pulsate, but they soon return to normal. The difference is he's lost a good portion of his body fat and gained a lot of muscle.

""His Unique Skill is [Devourer of Darkness] - He has the ability to consume the magic crystals of monsters and items of dungeons, gaining the corresponding skills."

In the first video, Jin is cutting apart the corpse of a 4-meter-tall monster and removing their cores, while other people dismantle the monsters for parts. Jin, while making sure no one is looking, places a core in his pocket instead of the carrying bag. He clearly doesn't want the fancier looking Hunters to notice, especially since they are the ones killing the monsters mostly with fire.

"In the beginning, you weren't the most skilled Hunter, so you occasionally stole crystals. During a Troll hunt, you and some other low-level Hunters were helping clean up the bodies, while the high-level Hunters cut down the monsters. You swiped a crystal, but because nobody found crystals on your person, and you never tried to sell a Troll crystal (same with the others) it was believed to be misplaced. If crystals are not harvested, other monsters will consume them for a powerup." says Rorschach, "You got [Troll Regeneration] from that crystal so I think it was worth it."

The next video is Jin bursting from the chest of monster in a spray of blood and gore. The monster is a massive reptilian creature with four legs ending in sharp claws, a long tail ending in toxic barbs, and eight eyeless heads at the end of eight serpentine necks, each one having a mouth of venom fangs. It was swimming in a swamp before Jin did an impression of angry xenomorph chest buster. Jin's body, horribly burnt from the corrosive toxic blood of the Hydra begins to regenerate and he also regrows his legs. It reminds me of the Titan Shifters from Attack on Titan, only way faster.

"Hydra. The most toxic monster ever recorded. It has venomous fangs, can spray venom into a toxic cloud or a corrosive spray, and even coming in contact with its oily skin is dangerous. It's got so much poison, even its day-old footsteps will kill other creatures. Jin accidentally encountered one while running and couldn't escape." says Rorschach, "Running low on Poison Removal Potions and your Troll Regeneration struggling, you came up with a crazy solution. You got yourself swallowed and cut out the stone from the inside.

The third Video is Jin facing another Hunter. The other Hunter is a lean man of average Chinese height with a narrow face, wild eyes, and messy black hair. He's also holding a knife, while looking at Jin in disbelief. Jin is holding a fancy looking knife – a black karambit with red rune-like markings. He has taken a bite out of the metal blade and now proceeds to eat the entire knife.

"The other guy was a serial killer who liked to rob other Hunters. His precious knife was made from the materials of a monster that could produce lightning, so the other you gained an electricity skill."

"How was I able to bite through a metal blade. He doesn't look like he has the jaws."

"Your saliva is as corrosive as hydra venom when it needs to be. It's nastier than industrial acid."

"So, what about your counterpart?"

Rorschach (DR-Earth-4) - Jiang Tian - Legendary Blacksmith

The Chinese version of Rorschach doesn't look very impressive, an average-looking young Chinese man with wild black hair and goggles on his forehead. He's dressed in work clothing with steel-toed boots and thick gloves that make him look like an Engineer. The photo has him holding a huge wrench and smiling at the camera.

"Reborn in the world of portals, adventurers, and monsters, he awakened at a very young age. If he had received the skills of a warrior, he would have been considered a prodigy and received praise and support from many. Instead, he gained the Skill to break and repair equipment, which was considered useless since you couldn't kill monsters to level it up (and nobody wants to party with a leech)."

The video has Tian facing an absolutely massive golem. The feared Iron Golems of Dungeons & Dragons are 3.7 m (12 ft) tall and are crafted to resemble intimidating knights. The Golem monster that the terrified Tian is facing is over 4 meters (over 13') tall made of blackened bronze color metal that looks far stronger than patina-coated iron. It even looks to be Knight of far higher rank with decoration on the helmet, chest plate, and pauldrons. The fight can't really be called a fight, as Tian is basically running while the Knight Golem calls him a coward and attempts to kill him.

Then a miracle happens. Tian touches the immense sword that almost sliced him in half and currently imbedded in the floor. A wave of electricity ripples across the blade, then glowing cracks cover its surface. The sword shatters into vanishing glowing particles which causes the golem to stumble. Taking advantage of the golem's confusion, he grabs one of its feet and pours everything into his skill. The Golem kicks Tian into the wall hard enough to leave a blood stain, but it's already too late for the mechanical titan as the energy ripples across its body and its entire body cracks. It reaches towards the severely injured Tian as its body begins to crumble and disappear. He finally shatters and vanishes completely when he's less than a meter from Tian. Tian is lucky that his body heals when he levels up as he was less than a minute from death according to the blood splatter.

"Things changed when he encountered and defeated an [Automatous Knight Commander] - a Legendary-level Automaton Boss and began to level up. While his ability wasn't able to kill most monsters, unable to effect living flesh, he was the walking bane of all artificial creatures – the Constructs. From the lowest homunculi to strongest golems, he began to make progress. He began his true career as the man who can create legends."

Images flash on the screen. Images of Rorschach's counterpart destroying living dolls, animated suits of armor, animated weapons, mechanical spiders, and other types of golems. There are even constructs that look like mechanical Xenomorphs and mechanical monstrosities with glowing cycloptic eyes. One golem looks like a super-advance robot complete with a cycloptic laser eye that leaves burning trails as Tian dodges. Tian destroys these constructs using his skill, even making a mana-conductive blade and chain to conduct his skill and give him some reach.

Rorschach pauses one video so me and him can see Tian's Gamer screen.

[Breaker Touch]

The user can destroy every type of object that can be considered as equipment (armor, clothes, weapons, jewels, etc.) by touch. The destruction can be partial, complete or just enough to make the item unusable.

"It was considered useless because most monsters don't have equipment and those that do aren't reliant on them at stronger levels. Nobody realized that Construct monsters would be extremely vulnerable."

[Restoration]

The user can restore any damaged/destroyed type of object that can be considered as equipment (armor, clothes, weapons, jewels, etc.) by touch.

"It's useful in a repair shop, but at low level it can only repair low-level mundane equipment. Since he couldn't kill monsters with his skill, they didn't think he could level it up."

"Did you cheese it?"

"What?"

"I read a manga in which an Adventurer killed a single monster and then cut off and restored the horn over and over again, so he could get the money for twenty of them. Did you... the other you, do something similar?"

"What do you think?"

"I am thinking..., Yes."

"Hunters are known for being Greedy."

[Restorative Augmentation]

The power to restore living or non-living things with heightened efficiency.

"An example being he could take a dull blade and break-and-restore it until it was highest quality sharpness blade for his current level." says Rorschach, "Originally, it could only be used on non-living things. It's extremely risky to use this ability on a living person because you can't control what qualities will be augmented."

An image shows a small store with enough weapons and armor to make a Fantasy Dwarf envious. There are shining swords, daggers, polearms, axes, and maces. There are suits of armor ranging from high-tech to medieval fantasy. There are shields of all types and crossbows. There are even a few things that are hard to describe.

"Once Tian was at a high enough level, he was able to take trash and make it literally better than new. A rusty broken sword could easily become a magical iron sword worth a small fortune. A shield that couldn't stop a goblin's spear, could now stop a dragon's claw."

The next video shows Tian and Jin meeting and working together.

"We meet again." I comment.

"This actually happens in most universes. ", says Rorschach, "In the Marvel Universe, Armstrong and Conquest became allies with Armstrong financing Hero Academies similar to those of My Hero Academia. With better public relations and government interaction, they were better than Xavier's secretive school. In the Fantasy world, once Mystery and Demon King Ashura meet each other, it was at the end of the Kingdom of Light."

The final video shows Tian and Jin working together with a team to hunt high level monsters. The group is clearly full of irregular hunters.

A young man with gold eyes, dark skin, and wild red hair. He's dressed in fancy red-and-bronze armor with a sword in a black sheath by his side and a black shaft spear with red metal tip. The brilliant scarlet red metal makes the armor look like it's made of frozen fire and the polished dark bronze color metal looks imposing.

"Feng, The Flame Edge. – Many years ago, he was a famous S-Rank Hunter, but he and his group encountered a unique monster. It would petrify its targets, shatter their stone forms, and then reverse them to consume them. For some reason, Feng minus his arms and legs was left petrified for years buried under rubble. Jin, immune to petrification, then entered the Dungeon and slaughtered the beast. Consuming its crystal allowed Jin to de-petrify victims and my counterpart made him magical prosthetics and armor made of Hihi'irokane and Orichalcum."

Hihi'irokane is a legendary Japanese metal said to shine brightly in a way that resembles flames. Orichalcum is a legendary precious metal that was mentioned by Plato as used in Atlantis. Both are metals used in Fantasy to make objects superior to mundane metals.

A young woman with gold eyes, dark skin, and long black hair tied in a ponytail. She is dressed in a form-fitting black jumpsuit with black armor. She is carrying a magi-tech sword that wouldn't look out of place in Rwby or Final Fantasy.

"Fenfang - The Blade of Fire Flower. Feng's daughter, who was a small child when her father disappeared. She became a Huntress and entered the portals with groups to find out what happened to her father. During one trip with your analogue, they encountered the beast. She didn't expect to rescue her father.

The next is a very young-looking girl with pink eyes, light skin, and snow-white hair tied in ox-horns with pink/white flower. She is dressed in a protective red/pink bodysuit with a hooded white fur coat. She is clearly a monster tamer as she's currently sitting on a very large, white-furred creature. It has a round body with thick arms and legs and a long bushy tail. It doesn't appear to have a head, just a round black tip in the front of its body.

"Meili - The Monster Tamer. It's a rare ability in this world and she was lucky to tame Máo qiú."

"Hairball?" I ask at the translation of the name.

"She was only six at the time. She awakened by being close to this Higher-tier Beast. My other self actually made her protective coat from Máo qiú's shed fur and it's better than most body armor."

The final member is another woman with brown eyes, light skin, and long straight black hair. She is dressed in dark clothing with a hooded black cloak.

"Ai - The Doll. She was an accident of Jiang Tian. He was doing an experiment, destroying and restoring a construct monster called a Living Doll repeatedly, enhancing it each time. Then a Legendary crystal was knocked into the reaction. The result was a fully sentient life-like doll capable of acting like a normal human or a huntress."

The demonstration of the team is also impressive. They are fighting a group of Ogre variants; they are 2.5 meters tall (8'2) with prominent bull horns. Very muscular bodies, and tiger-striped skin. They also wield spiked iron clubs, which is rare for physically powerful monsters. The onscreen text indicates they are higher species of Ogre called Oni, named by the Japanese Hunters that first discovered them.

The leader of the Oni and "Boss Monster" is far taller standing 15 meters tall (50') with dark red skin five horns instead of two arranged like a crown. Its legs are covered in black-and-white tattoo-like markings, while his arms are yellow-and-blue looking either armored or mechanical. I'm reminded Ōeyama Ekotoba version of the Legend of Shuten-dōji, only this "red boy" doesn't have fifteen eyes. Like most monsters of this bizarre world, it has no eyes.

AI moves far faster than any human could achieve, a result of magic granted the equivalent to superhuman strength to a being whose body is far lighter and flexible than a human body. An Oni swings it's iron club at her, but she jumps over it and lands on the Oni's chest, driving a thin needle-like blade into the beast's chest. She then flips away before the Oni can react to her sting. The Oni attempts to rise to its feet, but it collapses. The poison she injected does its wicked work. She then avoids a fireball and clings to a pillar of stone using four robotic spider legs that emerge from her back.

"Ai's special ability is [Construct Transformation]. This means she can take on the form and properties of any construct she has encountered. This means she can have the strength and fire absorption of an Iron Golem, the dexterity of a metal spider, and even inbuilt weaponry of the rarer constructs."

Ai's opponent gathers another fireball, but one of Ai's eyes change into opalescent crystal and releases a laser that goes straight through the Oni Mage's transparent shield and hits its forehead. The immensely powerful magic-fueled laser burns through the Oni's skull and out the back, boiling the brain in the process.

Máo qiú, the ball of white fur, runs towards a group of Oni like a rampaging bull. The Oni look ready to kill the overgrown plushy, until all of Máo's fur stands on end, harder than metal. The now sharp quills driven by its weight and speed pierce the Oni. Many of the Oni die instantly from the sheer number of puncture wounds, while the others are left stuck. It then slides to stop using retractable claws and flings the bodies off. The bodies with the hundreds of thousands of wounds now unblocked burst like ruptured water balloons when they hit the ground.

"Máo's long fur is soft as Chinchilla, but when aggressive it becomes harder than steel and insanely sharp. These deadly venomous quills can be extended to pierce targets or launched as projectiles. This creature also has a lightning quick tail, sharp retractable claws, and a mouth of Lovecraftian tentacles that can eat anything."

The tentacles that emerge from Máo's mouth are terrifying. They are long and reddish-purple with barbed suction cups and small mouths of blunt human-like teeth. The latter is horrific as you realize they don't cut off the flesh of fresh but grind the flesh off living prey. An Oni Mage is screaming in pain as it's pulled in, it even tries to rip out its own throat with its claws to end the pain.

Meili may be a small girl, but she is far from weak. As Oni attempts to eliminate her, hoping to rid themselves of furry abomination impaling and devouring them, she becomes a blur of speed. She strikes one of the Oni with her whip and almost immediately a glowing crest appears on its forehead. The crested Oni then attacks its former comrade with far greater strength than it originally possessed. The sound of breaking bone fills the air as the crested Oni's club hits with far more precision than normal.

"Meili is a Monster Tamer that can command, heal, and enhance various monsters. While she can permanently augment and control the development of her bonded monster - Máo, she can forcibly take control of other monsters. She also has a skill that enables her to mimic her bonded monster's abilities."

Finally, one lucky Oni strikes the crested Oni in the back causing it to fall face first to the ground. Which gives another Oni enough time to cave in the down Oni's head with its club. As the Oni dies the Crest fades away, but another crest appears on its killer's head, which then continues to kill the other Oni.

Fengfei gets into a classic Iaido position, where is swordsman is preparing to draw their sword. She then becomes a blur of speed and appears with her sword returning to the sheath. There are embers in the heated air behind her and the Onis have burning cuts on their bodies. Those Oni then come apart, as fire and heat explosively separates the severed parts.

"Fengfei's a Master Swordswoman. Hie sword is unique in that the blade is ethereal, meaning it passes through normal matter like a ghost. Instead of cutting, it leaves behind a magical effect that causes the atomic bonds to break, turning solid matter into plasma which creates flames in the air."

One Oni Mage attempts to curse Fengfei, but before he can finish his chant, her blade pierces his chest. The Oni if it had eyes, would be filled with fear. Its body swells, the mouth of sharp teeth glows, and a burning light glows inside, bright enough to illuminate bones. Brilliant fire explodes from its mouth into the air and its chest bursts open. It then drops to the ground looking "deflated".

"A core of a monster is magically dense enough to affect the blade, even stop it if the blade is too slow. If the blade successfully passes through a core, it essentially creates a fireball inside the monster powered by its own magic."

Feng is laughing as he runs around the chamber at superhuman speed, spinning and slashing with his weapons. It's almost like he's dancing with passion to the beats of an unearthly song he can only hear. His movements leave behind a trail of fire and his slashes are also infused with magical flame. He slices, pierces, and burns his enemies in rapid succession. He occasionally generates shockwaves like an exploding red-and-gold firework, blasting away any enemies that get too close.

"Feng was a legend among Hunters known for immeasurable speed. He moved faster than a human eye could track and delivered so many fiery slashes, that most monsters were completely incinerated by his attack combos. His new prosthetics made of scarlet metal don't slow him down. Instead, his hollow limbs and lighter armor make him far faster."

The last Oni Mage releases a massive fireball that hits where Feng is standing. Instead of being damaged, he continues to laugh as the flames are absorbed by his body. He then tosses his spear into the air and appears in front of the mage. He delivers fiery punches, which rapidly increase in speed and heat. The Oni Mage can't even scream as his chest becomes a bonfire under the blows. Feng then delivers a final blow, that blows the Oni back and blows a hole through it. Due to the explosion, Feng slides back and catches his spear.

Fengfei looks embarrassed at her young crazy showoff father.

"She grew up hearing people talk about her legendary father, the S-Class Hunters. She forgot all the S-Class Hunters are either greedy a-holes or eccentric weirdos."

Tian stands dressed in full-body suit of black armor with numerous glowing gemstones covered by transparent crystal shells. The reason the Oni aren't attacking him is the chamber contains dozens of Tians, which are illusions. One Oni waves his iron club through one of them, watching it flicker and fade. With the magi dead, they can't find the real one if there is a real one.

"Tian doesn't need to continue as a Hunter as with his skills we could make a fortune supplying the best of best equipment to best of the best Hunters. He could even do what rich kids do and have monsters subjugated and brought to him to raise his level. Instead, he made a suit of the ultimate armor and joined his friends in the Hunt."

The Real Tian clicks a button and the Oni hear a beeping sound before magitech bombs detonate. Most of the Oni are blown to pieces by the normal explosion, but some of the bombs have more exotic effects. Bombs that cause the targets in range to burn to ash and Bombs that cause targets to freeze solid. Bombs that fry the nervous systems of the targets with electricity and Bombs that cause one poor Oni literally rot and melt while alive!

Jin is facing the Boss, who has risen from its throne. The giant Oni Boss is six times the size of a normal Oni, nearly reaching the ceiling of the chamber. It holds its oddly colored limbs at its side, which are now covered in flowing light in patterns of veins. Spheres of magical power gather in its palms, then the Oni Boss points its arms unleashing hundreds of magical fireballs. Jin's team have to rapidly dodge as the fireballs explode around them, filling the air with smoke and debris, and turning parts of the floor into lava.

The Oni Boss chants and releases bolts of magical lightning at Jin's team, but Feng and his daughter dodge the bolts, furball blocks with his fur and protects its little master, and Tian's armor absorbs the lightning before releasing a beam that slices off some of the Boss's horns.

It suddenly breathes out poison and fire from its mouth with any chant or set up. This toxic fire would reduce most Hunters to ash, but Jin is not damaged. Part of his clothing is burnt off. But Jin begins to grow. He becomes taller and muscular covered by metallic gray fur. He also has a mane of sharp golden spikes, sharp claws, sharp teeth, and numerous metallic spikes.

"Jin like you and your other selves is terrifying. He can call upon the skills and traits of the most terrifying and powerful monsters to slaughter monsters. As he kills different monsters, his powers continue to grow. "

The Oni Boss roars in pain as the now spiky Hunter hits him in the chest and he feels barbed spikes pierce his chest. He tries to grab his attacker, only for Jin to extend his hair like a sea urchin, then release a massive surge of electricity. The Boss is paralyzed by the electricity, unable to move as Jin continues to fry him. Jin rams his clawed hand into the Oni Boss's chest and rips out the core. The loss of the core is too much for the Oni Boss, whose body ignites.

Jin lands next to his teammates holding the core crystal and the smoking skull of Oni Boss landing next to him.

*DOOM*

(break)

BREAKING NEWS

"This is Summer Gleeson at the scene of a violent conflict between the Radiant Dragons Triad and Gotham Guardians. Both groups are the result of the immigration of Chinese SPBs with the former being part of the Triads attempting to fill the vacuum of Gotham's criminal underworld and the latter being a loose group of vigilantes that declared independency from Batman's rule."

In the background, injured civilians are being evacuated to medical facilities. The criminals, both the formerly armed thugs and SPB wannabe villains are secured. There are many dead as well, being carted away in body bags. There are many vigilantes also in restraints identical to the criminals, complete with power suppression collars. Some of them are shooting about the unfairness.

"The battle quickly escalated and threatened civilians, when the corporate heroes of Cognito stepped into contain the situation led by Wild Tiger. Wild Tiger, can you explain why you arrested the vigilantes with the criminals?"

Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, also known as Wild Tiger, in his Cognito-built enhanced armor, takes the mic.

"Miss Gleeson – vigilantism has become a major problem. The number of SPBs is rising faster than most countries can safely handle. These vigilantes see themselves as the heroes of the new age, but they lack the training and discipline needed to do the job safely. There are places that could turn them into Real Heroes like META STAR Academies and the Justice League, but as they are now, they could escalate things into disasters."

"You mean like the recent Detroit Incident."

"Yes. Two vigilantes fought each other, eventually causing a building to collapse. Many were injured and if it hadn't been for the Autobots there would have been dozens killed."

"What is your opinion on Proposal of Licensed Heroes?"

"It could work if you have smart people in charge of it instead of politicians. All-Might's world had licensed heroes and they were good when you removed the poorly trained greedy fame and glory hogs. Great Power comes with Great Responsibility." says Wild Tiger, "The last thing the world needs is violent meta vigilantes escalating things to the point the government would nuke the lot of them."

*DOOM*

Commercial #2

The opening image shows a glowing Chinese acupuncture chart with the Chakras (energy vortices located along the spine) glowing different colors. It's followed by images of an old master practicing Tai Chi, a meditating monk, and an Asian man getting moxibustion.

"Qi is the circulating life force whose existence and properties are the basis of much Chinese philosophy and medicine. For many years, the public believed that Qi only appeared in unprovable beliefs and works of fiction. With the age of superpowered beings, the truth of Qi was slowly revealed."

A video of an Asian hero hopping from rooftop to rooftop, before coming down with a glowing fist on a bunch of masked thugs. Images of a monk gathering a glowing mist between his palms before tossing it at a huge Buddhist bell making it ring. A Chinese Hero protects civilians using Qi magic talismans to create a barrier.

"Qi exists and anything that exists can be studied, researched, and developed with SCIENCE." says Weird Science Rick, "Do you want to know more about your own Qi? Do you want to develop your Qi like Pro Athletes develop their bodies? Cognito has both knowledge and resources. We have solutions for everything."

"META/STAR ACADEMIES – A New Era of Learning."

*DOOM*

[DR-Earth-5] - Xianxia World (Immortal Heroes & monsters)

Rorschach and I are impressed by the scenery in the next world. It shows dozens of pictures displaying jade green forests, gray stone pillars topped with emerald greenery, deep valleys, sparkling lakes and rivers, and vast farmlands out of Ancient China.

There are many animals, ranging from common farm animals found on Earth-1 to immense animals such as giant wolves and boars. Some of the more mystical animals include a leafy green deer with golden branches for antlers, a white fox-squirrel creature whose body emits ethereal white flames, and gem-color insects that leave trails of light particles

There are also pictures of many people in various homes. There are common villagers doing mundane things, common for Han Dynasty China. There are also many schools of martial arts, where children are taught before they are recruited by Sects. The Cultivator Sects live in secluded areas protected by tall mountains or deep valleys. They are places where ancient masters command the elements, skilled students fly on flying swords, and otherworldly beautiful women called fairies dance on trees and clouds.

"A world of gods, immortals, ghosts, monsters, magical treasures, immortal items, medicinal pills, and the like. A world of cultivation, where humans defy the laws of heaven to become immortals and where the strong rule over the weak. A world where people without power fear and revere those who have transcended humanity with their own efforts and defied the Heavens. "

The scenes depict two distinctive groups of cultivators, from different social classes.

The one thing that cultivators require to succeed is [Fortune].

The first group are clearly from noble families dressed in fine robes, fancy armor, and magical jewelry. They walk around with a sense of pride and arrogance, some of them looking down on the weaker, while others not even giving them notice. They can be seen giving merchants and alchemists piles of gold and being trained by numerous ancient masters and beautiful fairies.

"Some people are born lucky with great talent, connections to great masters, and the wealth to acquire pills, elixirs, and magic items needed to reach the height of power. Their Fortune is materialistic, everything given to them through their bloodline and measured in gold and gemstones."

The second group look far poorer dressed in simple clothing of outer sect members and even servants. They are at first bullied by everyone, from the rich and powerful, to simply older and stronger students of the Sect. Then something happens to each one. A young man with dark blue hair holds up an old dusty manual of martial arts. A young girl with long pink hair holds up a golden ring and the ghost of beautiful woman appears. A young man with red-black hair soaked in blood holds an object he pulled from a dead demon's body.

"Some people are born with a Hero's Luck. They either start weak or are reduced to trash by an unfortunate event, are treated as garbage by the strong, and thought as a mere steppingstone for the strong. Then an event occurs to change everything – acquiring a lost art, a divine item, or even a ghostly master, that begins the cultivator's transformation from zero to hero. "

"So, what was my alternate self's luck in life?"

*DOOM*

[Kowloon LI – Poison King]

The image shows a young boy with green eyes, tan skin, and short black hair. He's dressed in the green-and-brown clothing of a low-level student instead of the robes of a dedicated cultivator. The dark green and brown is camouflage for searching for spirit grass and magic herbs, hiding an unskilled person from the mystical animals that devour the grasses and the demonic beasts that devour them.

He carries a bag of items to his master. His Master is a short man with blue eyes, light skin, and long flowing white hair done in a top knot. He also has a long white beard decorated with beads, thick bushy eyebrows, and long Buddha ears. He's dressed in white robes of someone renown and wealthy, with numerous rings and a Chinese gourd bottle of something clearly alcoholic.

"Long ago, Li was taken in by the Master of Potions, an alchemist who was famed for his poisons and medicines. Li was weak, only possessing a weak cultivation base, but he was exceptionally intelligent and made a good assistant. Li was eventually used to test a Pill that granted immunity to all poisons and for helping him perfect his life work, Li became a surrogate son and was sent to a Sect."

The images now show a completely bald Li with acid green eyes. The images include Li looking embarrassed as he's hugged by the crying drunk Master and Li arriving at a Sect and receiving his brown uniform. There are images of Li practicing martial arts with the other students and receiving moderate grades. There are also images of Li meditating in the solitude of his own room.

"His master's life work was a pill that granted Li a Divine Poison Body, a body immune to all poisons of heaven, earth, and the netherworld. He can consume medicines, poisons, pills, and even the toxic raw ingredients of monsters, and always grow stronger. While in the Eternal Sky Sect, he would consume various poisonous plants and failed pills in return for money. He wasn't bullied as much as some others because he served as a different form of entertainment."

A group of older, stronger looking boys watch in amusement as Li consumes a purplish-red herb. Li clearly doesn't like the taste with the look of disgust on his face. He looks like he's barely preventing himself from vomiting. As he finishes, the boys laugh and toss money to him like a circus freak. As they leave, they don't see Li smile and hold up one of the metal coins. He casually crushes the metal coin.

The next image shows an older Li wearing higher rank robes sparring with a young man with messy chocolate brown hair. Li is now taller and more muscular without losing any of his agility. I notice that Li is wearing a mask that covers his lower face (much like my Covid Mask in my original world), a bandana on his head, and his hands having wrappings, which his opponent isn't wearing.

"Why am I... Why is Li wearing a black face mask?"

"After so many years of eating alchemic ingredients, you can generate poison. There was a case where a larger, older boy attempted to bully Li and Li put him into a coma with his bad breath. Ever since then the Masters have demanded the other you wear a face mask. Even with the mask, some boys don't aim for his face out of fear of his saliva rotting their fingers." explains Rorschach, "One of the Elders said he had the potential for Poison Element, so he wears hand protection to calm his opponents."

The images show him walking through an ancient structure with cold stone walls coated in thorny red-purple vines, a wet stone ground covered by thick mist, and the only illumination being magical, purple-flamed black candles. The ground is littered with skeletal remains of past explorers. He dodges when he accidentally triggers a pressure trap, and the barbed needles projectiles shoot from the walls. He manages to avoid most of them, but a couple pierce his arm. Swearing, he pulls out some pale gray pills and swallows them, before ripping out the arrows. Seconds later, the bleeding stops and the wounds close.

"Normally, unless the pill is high tier consuming so many pills would be toxic. The impurities would block the flow of qi in the body and cause various other negative effects. Li's Poison Body treats the impurities as poison, so he gets all of the benefits and none of the side effects, even if he consumes the lowest quality or even failed pills."

Li finally reaches the center of the structure and opens a huge black stone tomb. Inside the tomb is the mummified corpse of an ancient master. Due to the toxins in the body, it's untouched by insects, mold, or bacteria, making it look like he died a month ago instead of a millennia ago. Li loots the old master's body including a dimensional storage ring loaded with the master's treasures and a book of secrets.

"He was able to brave the tombs of ancient assassins to retrieve books of poison martial arts and lost treasures. The Poison Emperor's Tomb has taken the lives of many cultivators and assassins for centuries, even members of the grandmaster's own Poison Sect who were trained since birth to withstand poisons. Li's Poison Body allowed him to survive and greatly stronger in that environment."

"I wonder how he would react to my Ultimate Poison?"

"I suspect he would either die or ascend to godhood. You don't do moderate."

The last scene shows relaxing on a beach next to three otherworldly beautiful women.

"He also attracted the attention of the Princess of a Poison Sect, an assassin of a Demon Cult, and a Dragon Princess. "

One is a young almost frail-looking beauty with purple eyes, pale flawless skin, and long silky snow-white hair reaching her waist. She is wearing loose white martial arts clothing with butterfly imagery and her back exposed. A back which has black markings almost resembling a tattoo.

"The Princess Lanfen of the Poison Sect. For generations the chosen of the Poison Sect have cultivated their Poison Bodies. For most of their lives they consume poisonous plants in increasing amounts to the point a kiss of their lips is lethal, and a cup of their blood could kill all life in a lake. When they reach a certain stage, they consume a pill made with Gu Poison that causes a metamorphosis. If they survive, they emerge as a beautiful incarnation of poison and death."

A small video shows Li standing in a dark chamber staring at the naked white-haired princess, who has emerged from a white silk cocoon. Her body is covered in the clear fluids of the cocoon and from her back emerges immense butterfly wings made iridescent energy. Lanfen becomes aware of presence, lets out a scream of embarrassment and releases a wave of purple smoke from her wings. The wave of mystical poison decays the stone floor of the chamber and melts off Li's clothing, but he's unharmed. She then covers her eyes and her body at his nudism, while he does the same.

"Your old master, the alchemist, created the Myriad Poison Pill for Princess Lanfen and had your other self deliver it. The Poison Sect assumed Li was a simple sacrifice, so locked him in with the Princess. Lanfen. She swallowed the pill and went through the transformation, but when she emerged from the cocoon, she found him still alive. He spent 72 hours (about 3 days) waiting for her emergence, since he couldn't get the chamber doors open. Thankfully, he stashed some water and food in the storage ring."

"What about going to the bathroom?"

"With your special body and meditation, you didn't need to go." says Rorschach, "When the Elders of the Poison Sect learned you survived the Awakened Princess's transcendent poison, they immediately forced you to marry her. As you can imagine, producing heirs is difficult for the Poison Sect. The Eternal Sky Sect supported the union for political reasons and It's possible the Old Master planned the whole thing."

"I bet the old coot was laughing his drunken ass of."

"That he was."

The second is young woman with dark eyes, light skin, and long black hair. She is dressed in dark casual clothing that makes her look like a merchant's daughter, but it's clear by the way she moves and scans her surroundings she is an assassin. It's the same kind of movement I see the more martial members of the League of Shadows

"Xiang of the Assassin Sect. One of the Elders of the Assassin Sect saw the Poison Sect gaining a groom as a threat to their Sect, despite the two having an alliance. He sent a team of assassins to kill Li, ones with the highest resistance to poison, but then they learned what happens when the other you absorb poison from netherworld."

"Why did they use Poison? I mean Li married into the POISON Sect."

"It was apparently standard for elite assassin weapons."

A transformed Li stands in the blood-stained room laughing maniacally. Li's transformation has darkened his skin to pitch black, made his eyes glow with a ghost light, and is now generating a raging dark aura. In his hands are two struggling assassins held by their throats and around them are the corpses of the various assassins torn apart by the berserk Li. Li squeezes the necks of his two victims as they struggle, ignoring wounds done by their poison daggers. The wounds heal almost instantly as he continues to squeeze harder and harder, even as the movements of the assassins stop, and bones of their spines crack under the pressure.

"Princess Lanfen had to use a magical spell to prevent herself from being attacked by her berserk husband. A smell that transformed rage and bloodlust into sexual lust and spread it to all those affected. The last surviving Elite Assassin Xiang was caught in the effect and ended up joining the husband and wife."

A nude Li wakes up to nude Princess Lanfen and an equally nude Xiang. Xiang is covering face in embarrassment and crying, while the other two look awkward. My lip reading is pretty good, and I think she is talking about it. It's very clear what activities they have been up to.

"An Alliance of Poison, Assassin, and Eternal Sky Sects wiped out the evil Elder's faction and to resolve some issues, Xiang became Li's second wife." says Rorschach, "You meet your fiancées in the strangest manner."

"Like your one to talk."

The Third is tall, athletic, Amazonian woman with gold eyes, dark olive skin, and wild red-black hair reaching her shoulders. She also has small bull horns, pointed ears, sharp canine teeth, sharp black nails, and an impressive six-pack stomach. She's dressed in the light armor of warrior, but it leaves her stomach exposed like in fantasy armor.

"Li's final bride isn't human. In this world, there are many intelligent beings that transcend their limitations and reach for the heavens. The Dragons are the strongest of those races, known for their severity of their emotions and power. "

The video is almost comical. A severely injured Li is being healed by Princess Lanfen and Xiang is defending them. Li is missing part of one of his arms and his toxic blood is everywhere. Dark blood that burns everything that it touches.

In her dragon form looks like a mixture of Eastern and Western dragon with a long serpentine form covered in dark red-and-black scales, powerful limbs ending in sharp claws, a long muscular tail, and huge webbed wings. She also has a mane of spiky red fur and fine red fur going from the base of her head to the tip of tail. The dragon would be supremely menacing with horns, sharp teeth, and the ability to fire an insanely destructive blast from her mouth. Currently, she looks miserable, curled on the ground and occasionally vomiting.

"It turns out that while most dragons are immune to poison, there is a limit. During a Quest to kill a poisonous monster, Li encountered Shihong and there was a misunderstanding. After she ate your counterpart's arm, she was in no condition to fight."

The scene changes to show Poison Warrior Li, Poison Princess Lanfen, Assassin Xiang, and Dragon Princess Shihong face an immense draconic monster. This dark purple monster is far more serpentine than Shihong's true form with eight eye-less heads on eight long necks, four thick limbs, and eight long reptilian tails ending in sword-like spikes.

"Hydra was the name that Li gave it and apparently it didn't possess a name pronounceable to humans before. The Hydra was the secret weapon on the Assassin Sect Elder and responsible for the deaths of many people – both cultivators and humans. Shihong was after it because the Assassin Sect faction murdered her grandfather to get the materials to power up the beast."

The four work together to take down the "Hydra". Xiang uses her blades to make thousands of cuts, indicating the weak points in the Hydra's armor-like scales. Lanfen creates a web of sticky silk threads that bind the Hydra's movements long enough for Li to make deeper cuts at those weak spots. He's completely unconcerned by the beast's toxic corrosive blood and his enchanted blade taken from the Poison Emperor's Tomb seems to glow and fed on the blood. Xiang and Shihong then come in with bombs and explosive fireballs that widen those cuts.

After thirty minutes, the last head of the Hydra is separated from its neck. Unable to regenerate any of its head due to Shihong's fire, the body attempted to self-destruct, but that just told the four where its core was located. Li dove into the gore and cut out the core before it could explode. Without the core the monster's body finally collapsed to the ground dead.

"What happened after this?

"This is where I or at least my counterpart joined your life."

*DOOM*

"This is my counterpart in this world – Acacia."

A tall and muscular light-skinned man with long brown hair which he keeps tied in a ponytail. He has pale amber colored eyes and is dressed in black form-fitting clothing covered by a white cloth and a bandana on his head. He's also holding a fancy solid black knife that looks incredibly sharp

"He looks like the guy from Toriko. The Gourmet God or Bishokushin."

"He's also all about Gourmet Food."

The video begins showing a much smaller and younger version of Acacia in the brown/yellow robes of a Sect's outer disciples. He doesn't look strong and some of the bigger students look at him with disdain. He doesn't show any negativity and instead gives thanks for his meager meal.

There is someone watching him without disdain. A tall, slightly overweight man with dark eyes, tan skin, and long graying black hair tied back in a tight ponytail. He's dressed in the white clothing of a professional chef. He walks up to the boy after he finishes eating and talks to the boy.

"Acacia, named after the tree, that he was found under, was brought to the sect at a young age by the elder who found him. After some time, he was believed to be a talentless outer sect disciple, but the Master Chef took a liking to the boy for his kind words and food honor. While the boy lacked talent as a cultivator, he proved he had skill with food. Even his former bullies became friendly due to his food."

The next few scenes tell a tragic story.

An ancient distinguished elder with white hair and a long flowing beard is smiling at the Master Chef, only to collapse when he tries to drink more of Chef's delicious-looking soup. The Master Chef watches in horror as the leader of the sect coughs up blood. Another elder, this one looking far less trustworthy, points his finger at the Master Chef in accusation.

The next scene is Acacia, his master, and their comrades being tossed into a supernatural ravine. A very deep, narrow gorge with steep dark sides and a dark miasma rising from its depths. There are numerous stones and papers on trees marked with magical symbols, preventing the miasma from spreading and what else is in the ravine from escaping. Some of the younger members have enough martial arts to escape the throw but they impaled on spears and arrows before they can get far.

At the bottom of Ravine, Acacia hides in narrow crack in the wall, which protects him from the demonic horrors feeding on the corpses of his friends and master. The demonic beasts are gorging themselves on human flesh before turning on each other. The bottom of the ravine is littered with broken chewed bones of both humans and demonic beasts. Acacia finally falls backward into a cavern.

Acacia devours a strange creature that looks like a bioluminescent cross between a jellyfish and cephalopod. It looks like translucent purple jelly with tentacles and pulsating lights. Acacia looks feverish after eating the disgusting thing, but he continues to eat to survive

"Life was good until his master was falsely accused of attempting to poison an important member of the sect. Acacia, his master, and the fellow students were tossed into a ravine filled with ravenous monsters. Acacia was the only person to survive longer than an hour by hiding inside a crack in the wall, which led to the cave system. He devoured what he could find to survive, becoming stronger until he eventually escaped the ravine."

Acacia emerges from the ravine, looking far stronger than he did when he was tossed in. The dirty remains of his uniform are barely hanging onto his expanded form.

"After finding the evidence that proved his master's innocence, the Sect leader gave the young chef money as compensation and Acacia began his travels."

"So, what powers does this guy have?"

"Inside the caverns, he devoured a demonic beast containing the equivalent of Gourmet cells and grew strong by devouring the monsters. He now travels hunting ingredients that help himself and others reach new levels of cultivation. In time, he would become friends with Li – the only other person to be able to eat [Poison Medicinal Cooking]."

The final scene shows Li and Acacia sitting around a table covered in delicious looking food.

The Hors d'Oeuvre is a bowl of some sort of nuts. They resemble salted cashews, but they are darker with stripe-like markings.

"Life Burst Nuts" explains Rorschach, "The regular kind are used by assassins in place of cyanide pills"

The Soup is strange as it's an opaque, opalescent white and thick as a cream soup. The herb that floats in the center doesn't sink into its surface.

"White Death Soup" explains Rorschach, "A normal person's flesh would rot, but Li ended up with flexibility and soft smooth skin."

The Fish is an appetizing dark golden brown, the fish's head used as decoration is like something out of nightmare. The fish head has dark purple-gray scales, white eyes that look blind, numerous spines, and a mouth of sharp teeth. It's also big enough to swallow a small child whole.

"Deep Abyss Venom Fish" says Rorschach, "The poison normally paralyses the victim until they die of suffocation, while giving them horrific hallucinations. In Li's case he got heightened senses and reflexes."

The Meat Dish is some form of barbeque. The ribs of a giant ancient beast that, due to its use of supernatural abilities, doesn't have the sinewy tough muscles of wild animals. Instead, the thick fat-marbled meat looks higher quality than the most expensive cuts of Wagyu beef. It's been glazed with a rich dark sauce.

"Poison Forest King Barbeque with Netherworld Spices" says Rorschach, "The Poison Forest is an immense cursed forest in which all plants and animals contain deadly toxins. Toxins that become stronger and stronger as you go up the food chain. The Forest King was a massive omnivorous bovine that ruled the Forest."

The Main Course is also some meat. It's a huge piece of meat that must have come from a very large beast. It has the same magical marbled look as the other animal, but it's a darker brown and very juicy. What's strange is tray holding it is made of dark metal and more than an inch thick.

"Hydra Steak – the main reason they were reunited. The other you needed someone to cook the Hydra meat and the other me was the only person who could do it. Both meats made Li very strong."

The Salad is a mixture of the leaves of normal looking leafy plants and some far more exotic plants. Some of the exotic plants are even bioluminescent, emitting a faint light in their bowl. The dressing on them is transparent and sparkling.

"Nine Poison Devil Salad." explains Rorschach, "Any one of the plants known as the nine poison devils could end a cultivator's career even if it didn't kill them. Li's cultivation on the other hand was super accelerated."

The Desert looks like a glass of dark pudding. It looks like a normal desert pudding, if it wasn't a dark shade of violet and emitting ominous sounds.

"Underwood's Greeting Pudding. One taste and you will meet the God of Death. What Li gained is hard to explain and you wouldn't be interested in the long explanation."

The Drink looks like Milk, but considering the rest of the food, I'm not too sure.

"Milk."

"Milk?"

"It's specifically Goat Milk from a farm of the Poison Sect. The special Goats eat the same herbs as their special members and Lanfen grew up drinking the stuff. Li was actually lactose intolerant until he swallowed the Master of Potion's pill."

"That poor bastard."

My love of dairy was famous in my past life and still holds true in this life.

*DOOM*

[HERO BBS]

[Topic - Unwritten Rules]

The Unwritten Rules of Earth Bet, home of insect-manipulating heroine Skitter.

[Downloadable Document]

[Page 2]

#23 - [Flash][JLA]

I can see why some of the Rules would be relevant in our world. Not going after families of capes, no killing, no mind control.

#23 - [Batman][JLA]

They are meant to prevent escalation in a world where the heroes were slowly losing. Anyone breaking those rules could have led to full on gang wars.

#24 - [Wild Tiger] [Cognito]

Cognito has a solution that they didn't have. We can remove the powers of those who abuse them. It's no longer an endless cycle of superheroes and super villains, but superheroes eliminating villains.

#25 - [Kid Flash] [JLA]

Who gives Cognito the authority to judge all metahumans?

#26 - [Wild Tiger] [Cognito]

The World. People are sick of the same villains committing the same crimes over and over again. When a super villain loses his powers, he's just another criminal that mundane police can capture.

#27 - [Artemis] [JLA]

What about the reformation? There are villains that could reform and become Heroes.

#28 - [Pip] [Cognito]

We don't just capture every supervillain and depower them. We actually scan their minds. Those that have potential to be heroes are sent to psychology and then sent to the Academies. Most super villains don't want to change, so most are reduced to the people they were before they became criminals.

#29 - [Klarion] [The Light]

You Heroes take away all the fun toys, but I forgive you. You provide the best Weed. Pretty Lights. WFPJTltYtFLtKAa3SIPjjCrbLbUjZwrthKrnerA4Z2qDMVSTXo.

#30 - [Administration]

We apologize, but a high Chaos Lord is hacking the BBS. The board will be closed for maintenance.

*CLICK*

Other Topics

[Topic - Licensed Heroes]

In the past people became Masked Heroes because they wanted to help people and didn't believe in the authorities. Now the authorities and heroes are working together to raise the standards. Heroes are getting an education and support from others, so they can be productive members of society. Licensed Heroes will be trusted by the public, because the system will introduce standards in their career.

[Topic - Money, Power, and Fame]

Corporate Heroes are New Age Heroes that have the financing and support of companies. The problem is there is a difference between Heroes who go corporate so they can be Hero without worrying about their social life and finances, and there are SPBs that become Corporate purely for money, power, and fame.

[Topic – Young Justice Divide]

As the Young Justice Team under the banner of the Justice League has grown, a divide has formed between those "Legacy" Heroes and "New School" Heroes. Those Legacy Heroes are Heroes with connections to older Heroes of the Justice League and Justice Society who tend to stick with traditional heroing. The New School Heroes like Gen13 are breaking away to become Corporate Heroes.

[Topic – Digital Heroes]

The Cyberverse has introduced many new Heroes from various digital worlds, ranging from super sentai hero Gridman to Elder Tale RPG Heroes of Theldesia. Due to advancements in magitech, these Heroes are now able to leave the virtual worlds and appear in our physical world.

[Isekai Heroes?]

There have been cases of people from Earth ending up in other worlds as Heroes. There are cases of people dying under some circumstance on Earth, notably vehicular accidents, and their souls being transferred to other worlds. These souls are either reincarnated with their memories intact or given completely new bodies by an agent of the Divine. There are also cases of people being kidnapped by the people of other worlds using ritualistic magic. Opinions on Returners are Mixed.

*DOOM*

[Back in the Inkwell]

I sent a message to my family that I'll be a little late tonight.

[DR-Earth-6] Urban Supernatural (Monsters & Magic)

The video begins by showing an image of Earth surrounded by glowing figures resembling the gods of various pantheons. Then slowly those figures fade away and the screen zooms in on America. It zooms in until it shows a mostly deserted city street in America. The camera follows one man as he goes into a dark alley and a glowing portal appears on a brick wall. As he goes through the portal, he's now in a different version of the city inhabited by beings that don't look human.

"The Age of Gods has ended and great magics of the world have faded. While Gods have vanished from the mortal plane and the faery have disappeared into their other worlds, there are magical communities that still exist hidden in pocket dimensions and still connected to the world of men. They are the monsters."

The scene shifts to show two figures passionately kissing each other.

One is a supernaturally beautiful woman with a build that is both athletic like a gymnast. She has pale blue eyes, pale skin, and long snow-white hair. She is dressed in a flowing black dress that looks a little old fashioned. Her only inhuman trait is her canine are very sharp, which makes me believe she is a vampire.

One is tall, lean muscular man with golden eyes, dark skin, and thick wild silver-gray hair. He also has sharp canine teeth, slightly pointed ears, thick eyebrows, and thick sideburns like a certain Marvel mutant. While she is dressed like royalty, he's dressed in dark shirt and pants with boots and leather jacket with fake fur collar.

Their kiss is interrupted by her son. He looks like a younger version of his father, only more attractive due to his mother's facial structure, thinner eyebrows, and snow-white hair. He's dressed in a gray shirt, black pants, and black-and-white sneakers. He also wears a gray hooded jacket. He looks embarrassed at his parents.

Doomsday (DR-Earth-6) - Ashton Greystone.

"Long ago, a member of vampire nobility ran away from an arranged marriage. She was helped by her bodyguard, a member of the Lycan Guard. It took years for the nobles and guards to find them, but by then they had already gotten together and had three kids. Now, the oldest is being sent to The Academy – a "all-ghoul school" a school for monsters meant to facilitate peace between races. "

"So, the other me is a Vaewolf?"

Vaewolf is a hybrid of Vampire and Werewolf, possessing all the strengths and none of the weaknesses.

"Vaewolf Lord."

Vaewolf Lord is the Mythic/Monster Lord variant of Vaewolf. Vaewolf Lords are about as superior to ordinary vaewolves as vaewolves are to werewolves and vampires. They have greatly augmented abilities and little to none of their respective weaknesses.

"How broken is he?"

"If the bullets aren't silver, his father can regenerate faster than the bullets can damage him. Ashton lacks the silver weakness. His mother is immune to physical damage during the night because she can turn parts or her entire body into mist. She can only be killed during the sunny day by piercing the heart or decapitation, and even then, she can resurrect in three days. Ashton is far more durable."

The video shifts to show a training video.

Ashton is running across a simulated battlefield fighting animated dolls. At close range, the dolls don't stand a chance and are quickly dismembered. The only one Ashton is worried about is the one in the back armed with a magical sniper rifle. Suddenly, Ashton becomes a glowing cloud that flows across the battlefield at impossible speed. He reforms above the sniper coming down hard!

"Vampires are able to transform into mist to avoid physical damage, calling it Misty Escape. They can also use it to travel quickly outside of animal forms or flight." says Rorschach, "The mist is vulnerable to sunlight, which is why it's a weakness. Unlike some vampires, Mrs. Graystone isn't harmed by sunlight outside her mist form."

"It kind of reminds me of The Captain from Hellsing." I comment remembering the stoic werewolf soldier of the Millenium who only laughed when he was killed by the vampire Seras Victoria.

"He leads the Hybrids – a small gang of monster hybrids, who while persecuted by pure blood and old traditionalist families, possess superior abilities."

The first photo is a beautiful young woman with very impressive curves and large breasts, but looking very shy dressed in sweater, jeans, and sneakers that don't show off her curves. She has green eyes behind glasses, light skin with freckles, and short bright red hair reaching her shoulders. The second photo shows her with small horns, sharp claws, a spade tail, and large bat-like wings.

The third photo shows her parents. Her father is a tall lean man with green eyes, messy black hair, and a nervous grin. Her mother is a supernatural beauty with red eyes, light skin, and fiery red hair going down to her waist. She's dressed in a very tight revealing dress. She also has long curved horns, bat-like wings, spade-tipped tail, and claws.

"Meridiana Cross. Mary to her friends. Cambion Sorceress and Smart Guy of the group. Father was a geeky sorcerer who summoned a succubus to lose his virginity and impressed her. A few months later, she showed up pregnant and ready to kill him. Instead, he stopped her and proposed. Mary was a normal girl, living in the mundane world, but now her magic and body are maturing. With her succubus charm she could cause a school of mundane humans to slaughter each other trying to claim her."

The next subject is a very tall, very muscular Japanese man who looks ready to play Professional American Football. He has dark brown eyes, tan skin, and short black hair. He's dressed in white shirt, black pants, and sneakers with a letterman jacket. His monster form photo shows him without his jacket with dark red skin, long spiky black hair, the horns and ears of a bovine, sharp teeth including tusks, and sharp black claws on his fingers. He also looks like he gained an extra dozen pounds in muscle.

His parent photos are very different. His mother is a very beautiful Japanese woman with long black hair and impressive breasts, dressed in the traditional attire of a miko (Shinto shrine maiden) - a pair of red hakama (divided, pleated trousers), a white kosode (a predecessor of the kimono), and some red hair ribbons. She has a very cold stoic look on her face. His father on the other hand is huge, muscular humanoid standing 2.5 meters tall (over 8 feet) with glowing yellow eyes, dark red skin, and a thick mane of black hair. He's dressed only in a tiger-striped loincloth, sitting on a throne. He also has the horns and ears of a bull, sharp claw-like nails, and sharp fangs of an Oni (a Japanese Ogre).

"Yasuo Yamamiya is a Kijin Hanyō, a half-blood of higher species Oni. He's the Big Guy of the group. Long ago, a hidden village made a deal with a Kijin. In return for being only benign, they would supply the best food, the best liqueur, and the best women (the last every thirty years). His mother possessed great spiritual power, so instead of becoming a brainless toy for occasionally birthing minion, she was a rare one and gave birth to proper son. A son that required education."

The next member of the Gang is a small, lean Goth girl with purple eyes, pale skin, and shoulder-length wild curly jet-black hair. She is dressed in dark Goth clothing with black lips, dark eyeshadow, and black nails. The only thing that doesn't suit her dark gothic look is the mysterious smile on her lips. The photo of her true form nearly sets off my defenses. Her clothing has become a long black dress that moves like it's a living shadow and her hair has become a mass of black tentacles reaching the floor. The dress and tentacles produce a dark mist and stars and glowing eyes can be seen.

The only parent picture is the mother, who looks completely normal. A normal attractive woman in her thirties with chocolate brown eyes and long chestnut brown hair. She is dressed in a business suit and is apparently the manager of a store. The only thing unusual about her is a necklace with an odd religious symbol hanging from her neck.

"Angel is a Humanoid Abomination and is strangely the heart of the group. Long ago, her runaway mother joined a sex cult. It was fun with uplifting prayers, orgies, and growing interesting plants, until the place was raided by the government. It was already too late, as her mother have birth to the child of her god. Angel is a nice girl, but she has sent three babysitters to mental hospitals and caused a bully to paint a monochrome Mona Lisa using his own blood. He actually survived the experience and got money for his artwork, which pays for his psychologist. "

The last member of the gang is a young, lean muscular man standing a little shorter than Graystone. He has amber eyes, light skin, and long white hair tied back in a ponytail. He's dress in a loose white shirt with long sleeves, loose black pants, and black shoes. His monster form photo is bizarre as it resembles a werewolf (furry body with wolf head and tail plus claws), but its fur is fluffier than a Samoyed puppy and sparkling. It's ears and tail are also super long.

The Parents raise even more questions. The father is a tall muscular man standing 2.4 m (8') and resembling a classical Greek god come to life. A Vitruvian Man with gold eyes, dark olive skin, perfect teeth, long lustrous black flowing down his back. The mother on the other hand is barely 1.4 m (4'7) with opalescent silver eyes, pale skin, and long silver hair that sparkles and shines with the same opalescence. She also has pointed ears and is dressed in a white gossamer dress.

"Liam Lowell is the Lancer of the group and only known Faery-Werewolf.'

"A What?"

"His father is a Flesh Golem (Frankenstein's Monster) created to explore faery realm by mad alchemist. He was found by a fairy maiden, who was able to bring forth emotions and freewill. Years later, they learned the alchemist had used monster parts in the Golem's creation and the alchemist learned his creation's reproductive organs came from a Werewolf. "

"Sounds complicated."

"Especially since he's technically Ashton's cousin as the balls came from his late uncle."

I must have the WTF look on my face.

"So where is the Sixth Ranger?"

Rorschach (DR-Earth-6) - -Raju

The screen shifts to show someone that looks suspiciously like Jin Mori from God of Highschool. He is of average height and has an athletic build. He has black eyes with wild dark brown hair. He's dressed in a loose white shirt, black pants, and red-white sneakers. He's also wearing an unmarked headband and armbands that make him look more athletic.

His transformation is legendary. His face is more ape-like with gold eyes that burn like fire and a monkey's tail coming out his rear. He also has ethereal armor resembling a phoenix feather cap, golden chainmail armor over a silk shirt, a tiger skin kilt, and lotus root-colored boots. He also has a golden fillet made of light around his head. He carries a red staff with golden caps. He's the spitting image of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King of the famous sixteenth century novel Journey to the West.

A photo of a village of anthropomorphic monkey people dressed like the people of India. While the adults act more human doing chores, the children look like they are climbing everywhere. Some of them are in incomplete human forms, while others are in full human form. The incomplete forms remind me of Saiyans from DBZ.

"It's said the monkey yokai of India are descendants of the Vanara - a race of semi-divine, forest or mountain dwelling monkeys, who played a very important role in the Ramayana when they helped Rama, the 7th avatar of Vishnu, fight the deadly battle against the asura/rakshasa king. Some clans even claimed that they were descended from the Hindu Deity Hanuman and/or Sun Wukong who came to India to retrieve sacred scrolls."

A picture of a painting depicting a legend. A red/gold monkey with tiger kilt fighting horrific demons using a red staff. There is a also a woman covered in a hooded cloak who in the first scene is directing the warrior and in another scene is being embraced by the warrior.

"One Legend is centuries ago; a sorceress saved her tribe from an invasion of demons by summoning the Heroic Spirit of the Monkey King. It was also at this time did the sorceress become pregnant. This descended clan of monkey spirits possessed immense fighting potential."

A picture of a young Raju standing in the middle of an arena dressed in dirty, torn training clothing. Around him are the unconscious bodies of the other students. The other students are covered in bruises and lacerations with possible broken bones. The elderly master looks at Raju with disbelief while Raju has the cheeky grin only a monkey can pull off.

"My analogue Raju grew up hearing the stories and dreaming of being the Monkey King. While all monkeys are naturally clever (if somewhat lazy at times), Raju was born with the memories of his past life giving him an edge. His teachers often called him a prodigy – the one who had awakened their divine blood. "

The last is a video of Raju fighting a horde of demonic creatures. They are fierce-looking, enormous monstrous-looking creatures, with two fangs protruding from the top of the mouth and having sharp, claw-like fingernails. They look vaguely like tiger-men dressed as warriors. When a group of children are about to be killed, Raju emits a holy light that makes the entire horde pause. Then they watch in disbelief as an immense red tower descends from the heavens and pierces the ground hard enough to create a tremor. As Raju places his hand on the surface of the pillar, the phantasmic clothing of the Fighting Buddha appears, and the pillar shrinks to the size of a staff. Raju then proceeds to beat the invading embodiments of evil.

"When demons threatened his people, he fought to defend them. He was almost killed, but he summoned the Ruyi Jingu Bang and became the temporary avatar of Sun Wukong. The demons were annihilated, but having the power of Victorious Fighting Buddha almost wrecked his "mortal" body. He was in magical healing sleep for a year, while reliving the memories of Sun Wukong from the moment monkey emerged from the stone egg to when he and his companions arrived in India. When he awoke, the village elder told him he was meant for greatness that he couldn't find in a tiny village."

*DOOM*

Commercial #3

"Cognito Cable the World's Greatest Provider of Award-winning Animated Content, now introduce Cognito Original Animation with the Otherworld Heroes."

[Tales of Varia: Ashura's Quest] - D&D Fantasy

[Tales of Varia: Mystery of the Harlequinn] - D&D Fantasy

[Game of Heroes: A Tale of Hunters] - Urban Fantasy

[The Devouring Dragons] - Xianxia

[The Big Wolf of Monster Academy] -Urban Fantasy/Horror

"Thousands of years ago, a god of magic was driven mad by a cosmic horror and became the evil god of demon kind. The magic king linked to the corrupted god was transformed into the first demon king. The other gods could only empower heroes to stop the demon king, starting the endless cycle. It's up to the young demon Ashura to break the cycle and free demons and the world."

*DOOM*

END OF CHAPTER 34

"So, how are the next set of worlds different from the previous ones?"

"They appear to be crossovers of existing fictional worlds. Instead of merely theme worlds."

"So, Fanfiction crossovers instead of Wattpad originals?" asks Ash. "Wait a minute. World 2 was a Marvel Universe!"

"Yes, but DC and Marvel are like a pair of conjoined twins. They are separate from others."

Crossover Worlds are Next!

Chapter 35 –Reflections of Infinity – Part 3

June 3, 2023