Honored One?

There was no presence of divinity here as the rivers of blood flowing from the mouth of one Satoru Gojo only reflected man's mortality. A weak smile formed on his crimson stained lips. Even in death's embrace, Gojo was able to find humor within himself as he supposed he could no longer regard himself as the strongest. Maybe it's because I'm half the man I used to be… Victory had gone to the King of Curses, the abomination that was Sukuna, while Gojo lay on the ground defeated, his torso completely bisected from his lower body. Still, there were no regrets in this loss. Nor was there any fear of his impending demise.

Gojo was satisfied. There was nothing to mourn over when the greatest sorcerer was defeated by a being that surpassed him in strength. Better to die in combat against a superior foe than old age, I suppose. It was not the fate of Gojo to destroy humanity's accursed monster Sukuna. Gojo would leave Sukuna's vanquishment to the hands of his students. That much was certain in his mind. This world no longer needs a Satoru Gojo.

With one last parting grin, Gojo breathed his last.

Guarded by a sword that burned for eternity, a garden of ethereal beauty existed in total stasis as events unfolded in Heaven and Hell. A realm that was paradoxically both a part of the Earth and separate. There were no forms of sentient life in this paradise aside from its sole resident. A young woman with a fair complexion and pure black hair. The ravages of time had done nothing to mar her extraordinary beauty or wit. She no longer knew how much time had passed since her creation in this place. The millenia all seemed to blur together after so long. At least she had human company for the first few years of her life, no matter how infuriatingly boorish and unpleasant he had been. Would it be fair to say now that she would have been satisfied even with his presence just for some form of company? Fuck no. I'm not crossing that bridge ever again. She was certain Adam would have driven her insane within the first few minutes of any reunion. There was an audible huff of annoyance. The only good thing to have come from that man were her children, and their descendants that included all of humanity.

Lying down on a bed of gorgeous pink and lavender flowers, Eve stared at the stagnant azure sky contemplating the words from her recent visitor. Of course, the angels stopped by from time to time to check in on her and keep her company for brief periods. But her latest guest was not what Eve had expected. Lilith. Of course, Eve had been well aware of Adam's "first wife," and her fall from God's favor as she had chosen Lucifer. Though there was a time early on as Adam's second wife that Eve felt some jealousy toward Lilith, at this point, there was only curiosity. Why had Lilith come to see her, now? Eve understood enough about Lilith's power to not be surprised that the Queen of Hell had somehow slipped past the angelic defenses protecting the Garden of Eden from the rest of reality. Their conversation had been relatively short, but enlightening for Eve.

The present system was failing. The forces of Heaven continued to lose strength as the number of righteous souls ascending gradually declined because of sin and its temptations. And whose fault was that, Lilith? Meanwhile, the denizens of Hell only grew in size, leading to the empowerment of its Hellborn nobility and overlords. Heaven could not allow such a reality to stand, resorting to ruthless purges of Hell's population of sinners. Lilith had pleaded with Eve to intercede, not for the sake of Lilith's subjects in Hell, but on behalf of humanity. This cycle of violence between Heaven and Hell would only continue to escalate, until the inevitable war broke out. It was only a matter of time, Lilith argued, until either the inhabitants of Hell had enough of the exterminations and rebelled or the forces of Heaven decided sooner or later to annihilate all sinners. And humanity would be caught in the middle. Regardless of which side, Heaven or Hell, won in the end, humans would suffer the most in the crossfire. Eve could not bear such a tragic future for mankind, and Lilith knew it. That was why Lilith had visited Eve to make her case. A mother's duty was to protect all of her children, and Eve would not allow humanity to perish in a conflict between Heaven and Hell.

But what could the humans do against the overwhelmingly superior powers of angels and demons? They possessed no natural magic or divine weapons that could harm such supernatural beings. Eve would have to intervene to help mankind but could not do so directly. She was forever tied to the Garden of Eden and could never leave, so Eve needed a proxy. The endless knowledge she gained from the forbidden fruit allowed Eve to understand that there were other realities God had created… other worlds filled with humans who possessed powerful abilities. She closed her eyes, focusing on potential candidates.

A straw hat.

No, he was too unintelligent.

A crimson gauntlet.

No, he was too perverted.

A bald head.

No, he was too bored.

Time passed as Eve considered and rejected thousands of potential individuals usually because they were still too connected to the destinies of their respective worlds. She sighed in frustration. Was there truly no human hero who fulfilled my conditions for a champion? Maybe I should consider that bald headed hero again… Wait. What about him?

He was no Believer, but that was not a requirement for Eve. The man understood the supernatural world, and that would be enough. His abilities and personality were of immense intrigue to her, but most important was the fact that he was apparently no longer attached to his reality. Plus, he was quite easy on the eyes… Not that it mattered! Nope. Totally not the reason. Maybe it really was too long since Eve last had some company, she was getting desperate. Anyways… He was the perfect man- ahem!- candidate. Satoru Gojo…

Was not what Eve expected at all. I didn't think he'd be dead! Her vast knowledge gained from the forbidden fruit unfortunately could not account for Eve's natural lack of common sense. "Not being attached to his reality" should have been a clear enough red flag for the Mother of Humanity that this Satoru Gojo was deceased. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?! Eve internally panicked as pools of crimson blood stained the vibrant green grass and colorful flowers. This was a terrible idea! He's not even in one piece! Was it too late to change her choice? Eve had used up most of her energy to bring Gojo into this reality. Unless God decided to grant her some miracle, this corpse was all Eve had to protect humanity from Heaven and Hell.

Wait, God's miracle? That's it! Eve, you're a genius! Eve grinned as she realized the solution was right here in the Garden of Eden. Leaving behind the two halves of Gojo, Eve ran over to the tree in the center of the garden. At the base of the tree trunk, there was a single red apple. There was no sign of decay whatsoever other than the fact that it was half eaten. Eve grabbed the fruit and rushed back to the site of Gojo's body. She knelt before the face of her chosen hero, breaking off a tiny piece of what was the forbidden fruit. Using her hands, Eve opened Gojo's mouth, placing the bit of apple in his mouth and then closing it. Would this even work? It's not like he can chew or digest it…

Eve's concerns disappeared as Gojo's body, both halves, emanated a bright white glow. The light increased in intensity until Eve had to avert her eyes. After a few moments, Eve's eyes opened to an absolutely delightful sight. God had granted Eve a miracle after all as Gojo was whole once more. Any signs of Gojo's blood were also completely gone. Eve pressed the side of her head to his chest. She could hear the heartbeats strong and clear. Satoru Gojo was alive once more. Eve was practically giddy. Taking a more careful look at Gojo's face, Eve noticed the more youthful appearance as though the forbidden fruit had restored Gojo to his physical apex, now looking to be in his early twenties. Okay, fine, I admit it. He's totally my type… er… of proxy! Yeah, that's it… He was still not conscious yet, but Eve supposed that it was only a matter of time until Gojo awakened.

The sudden blaring sound of heavenly trumpets startled Eve, causing an immediate end to her jubilation for Gojo's resurrection. No. Are you freaking serious? Not now. An angel had arrived in the Garden of Eden. Heaven could not discover what she had done for the sake of humanity's future. She could not allow her chosen hero to fall into the hands of either Heaven or Hell. There was no choice. She would have to use the last of her magical energy. Eve placed her right hand on the still unconscious Gojo's forehead. I'm sorry, Satoru Gojo, I'll have to send you away somewhere on Earth, so I won't be here when you wake up. But your story will not end in this garden.

"I'm placing my trust and faith in you, Satoru Gojo. Please balance the scales of power."

While he was not a religious person by any means, Gojo did wonder at times if an afterlife existed, and if so, would he be able to see his loved ones and comrades again? Specifically, would Gojo reunite with his best friend Suguru Geto as he once knew him, before Geto's descent into evil? Well, such questions would have to wait for another time, as Satoru Gojo most definitely did not feel dead. A salty breeze washed against his face and the soothing sounds of ocean waves filled his ears.

If this were eternal paradise, then Gojo found the environment uncomfortable. Sand was not his favorite, even if Gojo's ability usually ensured that not a single grain made actual contact with his skin. It was the principle! Sand was itchy. Yet, such irritation was a sensation that only the living could possibly experience. Not to mention that the earthly raucousness of partying beachgoers made the situation very clear to Gojo that he was somehow alive. Well, it's nice being whole again. Whatever grievous injury Sukuna had inflicted upon him was undoubtedly healed. Gojo had double checked. There was not a single scratch or scar along his torso. How many people could say they survived bifurcation? Gojo grinned at the thought. Though, he did still wonder how his outfit remained intact as well, but Gojo would not question such a boon too deeply. These clothes were expensive after all! In fact, he felt better than ever.

"Heads up, bro!"

Despite comprehending the words, Gojo had not moved a muscle as the familiar shape of a white volleyball darted through the air toward him. Rather than colliding directly with the back of Gojo's head, the ball appeared to completely halt centimeters away from contact as if suspended in animation. In actuality, such a strange phenomenon was simply a result of Gojo's innate Limitless ability in its most neutral form, manipulating the infinite space between him and his environment, so that nothing could touch him unless he explicitly willed it.

"Damn, sorry dude. Good thing you seem to have such a hard head. I think?" The muscular college-aged redhead apologized sheepishly. His flushed face was more than enough confirmation of his abject drunkenness. There still was an expression of confusion as the individual had seen what appeared to be his volleyball stopping midair, in the end chalking it up to the alcohol playing tricks on his vision.

"No problem. Here you go. Just make sure to be more careful next time." Gojo grabbed the ball with his right hand, lightly tossing it to the still confused individual.

"Sorry again, dude." The bumbling oaf of a man apologized one last time before hurrying to return to his game of beach volleyball with his friends.

Gojo paid no attention to him as he contemplated a strange realization from this single interaction. Hold on. Since when was I able to understand or speak any English? Gojo was highly intelligent, but multilingualism was not remotely an area of strength. Though if he were to be completely honest, Gojo was often fast asleep at his desk during the foreign language lessons back in high school. This isn't a coincidence. His healing from certain death and the sudden ability to be fluent in an unrelated language were surely linked. I just don't know how. Not to mention, Gojo felt a strange sense of vigor and strength that seemed to just flow within him. His perception also seemed sharper, more cognizant than ever before even when his blindfold was off. Speaking of which. A crooked grin etched on his face as Gojo pulled up the opaque blindfold that hung around his neck to cover his eyes. Thankfully, this thing was intact too. From the levels of cursed energy he could sense around him, there was no need to have his gaze unveiled for so long. Nothing in this area posed even a remote threat to Gojo. No need to tire myself out when I don't have to. Hm. Maybe I should explore where I am. There was a sudden audible rumbling in his stomach. But food comes first! It's so nice having a whole stomach again. Now what's around this beach?

This trip had been a mistake.

It was supposed to be a chance for her to keep tabs with social media here on Earth. Humans, as stupid as they were in her honest opinion, sometimes made entertaining breakthroughs, especially in fashion, that even had some positive influence in her next endeavors. Plus, a sizable percentage of her millions of followers back in the nine circles liked to view the trappings of the human world. So, she used the chance to increase her followers and give them a digital taste of what they wanted. It was not surprising so many ordinary sinners missed earthly pleasures, that was why most of them fell in the first place, and the fact that they could never return to Earth by their own means was probably a contributing factor in their envy.

Through her influence as one of the Overlords of Hell, traveling to the human world was always simple. The only inconvenience, and a small one at that, was the requirement to transform into a human disguise to blend in. Those higher up on the totem pole of Hell's hierarchy had made it very clear that any demons cavorting on Earth were to take precautions and not panic the natives with their more devilish attributes. Plus, it made making deals with idiotic and desperate humans a whole lot easier if demons appeared more like those mortals. Though with what she had seen on human social media alone and what freaks were into nowadays, she would not be surprised in the slightest if quite a number of humans would actually welcome such demonic physical characteristics. A bunch of sickos, those lot.

Velvette sighed. She was totally bored out of her fucking mind. Wasn't this supposed to be the most popular beach in Florida? Instead she was surrounded by imbeciles and drunk idiots trying to get it on during the spring break season. It was a place of college hormones and bad life choices more suitable for her fellow member of The Vees, Valentino, than her. I'm sure he'd have a blast here. While Velvette was not a prude by any stretch, she was picky, and there was no human here that could possibly meet her high standards in a partner. She was hoping for chaos or something remotely entertaining. Hell, she would even accept a natural disaster. Instead she was in a place filled 24/7 with lame pop tunes and the smell of cheap booze and sex. So, she had smartly found refuge away from the beach in a small tropical themed cafe called "Dagon's Juice Store."

At least they make a killer spiked strawberry smoothie. Velvette thought as she slurped her concoction, enjoying the mild burning taste from the alcohol. At this point, Velvette had already downed a little over a dozen of the drinks, not even buzzed in the slightest. The cafe employees were surprised to see the tall, slender young woman be able to handle such quantities of alcohol. Earlier, one of the staff, out of concern for Velvette's health and safety, had decided to lessen the amount of alcohol in her fifth drink. The good Samaritan quickly learned the error of her ways. Velvette had immediately noticed the disparity, and the savage vitriol spewed from her sharp tongue led the hapless employee to flee to the kitchen in uncontrollable sobs. The rest of the staff on the floor learned to not pull such a stunt ever again, lest they be Velvette's next victim.

As she sipped on the red straw, Velvette boredly scrolled through her Voxtagram. Nothing really caught her eye, it was the same old shit that filled her screen daily. Hundreds of thousands of follow requests, which of course she never even bothered to check, Vox's annoying commercials for his latest technological products, and advertisements for Valentino's… Shit. I forgot to block all that again. She hastily made sure to do so. Velvette was in no mood to be bombarded with her colleague's preferred form of entertainment. Coming up to the earthly plane must have somehow reset her phone's settings. Either that, or Vox thought it would be funny to remotely alter her account's preferences again. If the latter were true, Velvette would make sure to get back at Vox twice over. No one would ever disagree that she was no less sadistic than the other Vees in her payback; in fact, Velvette herself would argue that she was the most creative.

Going back to her feed, a headline briefly flashed across her screen that was of some interest to Velvette:

"Hell's Own Princess to Reveal Latest Project to Revitalize Hell."

From what the Overlord could read from the article, Lucifer's daughter would make an appearance on the broadcast network 666 News in the next few days for some big proposal. The details were scant, but Velvette clicked her tongue in disapproval. As the darling of Hell's social media scene, Velvette had nothing but utter contempt for all forms of traditional media. It was so boring and mind-numbingly slow just like the senile idiots who still watched broadcast programming. Hell's princess should have known better than to use a news station to get her message across. Whatever the project was, Velvette was certain it was doomed to fail just from its poor marketing campaign alone. Maybe I can turn this situation to my benefit? When the interview ended in disaster, as Velvette expected it would, she could offer the wayward princess help with the messaging aspect with her expertise. From Velvette's perspective, having a favor owed to her from the King of Hell's own daughter would be worth whatever effort in itself. An actual sealed deal would be priceless. I doubt though she'd be that fucking stupid, as naive as this girl seems. There was a light chime of bells as the door at the front of the cafe opened. Preoccupied with her current scheming and scrolling through other linked articles about the upcoming interview with Hell's princess, Velvette did not bother to look up at who had entered. A shadow briefly hovered over her table as the figure made its way toward the register.

"Hi! Welcome to Dagon's Juice Store! How can I help you?" The cheery words from the female cashier barely registered in Velvette's ears.

"Hey! I'd like a… hm, I guess I'm not really that familiar with American food…"

"Um. Sir? Would you like to take that off?" The polite, but puzzled tone was quite clear in the employee's tone.

"Don't worry, it's fine. Let me see, how about… one American cheeseburger with a side of fries!"

"... Sir. This is a juice store."

"Right. And your finest orange juice along with the burger!"

"... I don't get paid enough to deal with this shit." She muttered under breath. "Fine then. An orange juice, plus a club sandwich. That'll be $16.00, sir."

"Wait, what about the burger and fries?"

"We're all out of burgers and fries. $16.00, sir, is your charge."

There was a sigh of disappointment. "And here I thought I'd finally be able to try my first American burger. I wonder if my card will still work. Hopefully that didn't get sliced in half too." A light ruffling was heard as the individual reached into his right pocket for his wallet.

…

More ruffling as he searched his left pocket.

…

…

"Sir?" The female employee asked.

"... I… uh… seem to have lost my wallet somewhere…" Was the sheepish admission.

"I'm sorry, sir. I can't fulfill your order if you have no form of payment." Was her curt statement.

There was a loud thud as knees made contact with the cafe's wooden floor. "Please, have mercy. I haven't had anything to eat since the day before the fight. I was half the man I used to be just a little while ago. I just need something, anything to eat."

"I can't sir. I'm sorry."

Velvette had paid no attention to the current situation unfolding in the cafe as she was focused on the contents within her Voxtagram. That was, until she noticed a dark shadow looming over her table. White irises looked away from the bright screen of her phone to glance at the figure that had suddenly appeared next to her table. It was a young man. He was handsome enough for a stupid human, she supposed. The white hair and weird bandana over his eyes had briefly caught her eye. What does this fucker want? "Not interested, I'm busy. Now, get the hell away from me." Velvette waved her free hand dismissively in a shoo motion, wanting to get back to scrolling through social media unbothered.

"Hey. Sorry to bother you, but would I be able to borrow $16.00 to pay for my food? I seem to have lost my wallet. I'll pay you back somehow." He said, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment at the admission.

Velvette's mood soured even further, and she was getting irritated. This guy doesn't have any shame now, does he? Asking a complete stranger for money. "Not my problem. Get lost, you git." With a snap of her fingers, she could just incinerate the annoyance in front of her. But that would mean also getting rid of any witnesses to her power: the employees of the cafe. And at least for the moment, her desire to drink more spiked strawberry smoothies outweighed her disdain. Though that could quickly change.

"... Git?" Rather than offended, he sounded genuinely confused hearing the word.

"Listen here, you halfwit. I'm having a fairly nice time with my drinks on this shithole of a planet, so I'm feeling generous. I'll give you five seconds to get out of my face before I make you regret it. Five."

"Halfwit? I'm not familiar with English slang, but it feels like an insult."

"Four."

There was a sigh. "One of the first people I meet here in America, and she's more irritable than Kugisaki…"

"Three."

Velvette's right middle finger and thumb pressed against each other in preparation for a snap. In an instant, the guy bothering her would be engulfed in hellfire alongside the six employees in the cafe.

"Two."

It was a real shame to lose her drinks. She did want another few rounds of that spiked strawberry smoothie. But this human was getting on her nerves. Oh well.

"One." Velvette smirked sadistically as she could not wait to see the human burn alive. I hope he screams plenty. Her hellish magic gathered around all her targets.

"... But if you're going to start something here, you're going to get hurt, miss."

Velvette froze. There was nothing stopping her from going through with her threat toward the human annoyance. So, why could she not just casually snap her fingers and incinerate every mortal in this cafe, beginning with the man who just spoke to her? The answer was simple, really. Though, Velvette could never admit to the foreign feeling aloud. Absolute fear… something so primal that she had not experienced since she first entered Hell as a lowly sinner and encountered the Overlord that was known as the Radio Demon. Since she had climbed the ranks of Hell's hierarchy and became an Overlord herself, Velvette had never feared anyone, not even her fellow Overlords that she disparagingly referred to as senile cowards. But now, that instinctive feeling she had buried so long ago was back. All because of the smirking white haired human before her. I'll wipe that smug look off his face! I'll flay him alive. I'll crucify the bastard. I'll rip his fucking heart out. I'll… I'll… She did absolutely nothing. Velvette did not know how or why she understood this. Her supernatural instincts informed her of one certainty in this encounter. If I snap, then I die.

Whatever this man was, his presence was an aberration. Unnatural. Was he just another Overlord in human disguise toying with her? A Goetia? Such thoughts enraged her. I don't give a shit if he's Lucifer himself! No one looked down on Velvette. She was an Overlord. "The Queen" by her devoted followers. The very foundation of the Vees. "THE #BITCH" of Hell. "... And who the fuck do you think you are?" The demonic vitriol was seething from Velvette's lips.

"Me? Just someone who's stronger than you."