Prologue

Arise from the dream, oh dreamer.

Another day. That's my first thought as I slowly wake up from another night of restless dreams and sleep. I am ready for yet another boring day of work. Then a little bit of relaxing with my small group of friends via online stuff. Before going back to sleep for the next day at my boring but safe job. Something I have been doing for over a decade nonstop.

I slowly opened my eyes and groggily looked around the room. It's strange. It's not my room that I have had for five years in the apartment I have. It's like being in a teen's room again, and I'm not that young. I'm in my late twenties. That scene and the sun slowly peeking in through a window made me jump awake and gaze around the room more quickly. What the? There is a poster of some anime show on the wall to my right that looks like Dragon Ball Z. That's extremely weird because I'm not that deep in the culture of anime to have a poster. I look around and see the typical messy room of a teenager. Clothes were lying everywhere, and an old takeout plastic box was on an oak desk near the door. That instantly makes me move unconsciously to clean that up. I'm not a pig. I had long outgrown being a pig like that. But as I pass my closet. I finally see myself, and that makes me freak out again.

There is a mirror on the door. It shows me a reflection of myself as If I was when I was in my teens. Except I have of all thing's green hair. What the fuck. I was dressed in an anime shirt and shorts, and I'm not old. I'm young again. That makes me freak out a bit because this is not me at all. My original hair was black, with the ever-growing white creeping in. My eyes were not the hazel of my mom. Here, they are pure red. I don't have the scar that was over my right eye I got when I was fifteen from a small accident at a family member's house where I had been extremely stupid with fireworks. I'm still freaking out because this is like a strange fever dream. I'm so lost and confused. Where the fuck am I? I try to stay calm, but internally, I'm hyperventilating. To keep me calm, I just focus on cleaning the room to keep me from a full-blown panic attack. Because this dream, whatever this was, kinda scaring the crap out of me.

I finished cleaning the room, and that was in only five minutes. Still freaking but less than before. I finally calmed down enough to try and figure out where the hell I was. I went to the bathroom connected to my bedroom. Inside is a shower and a toilet with a sink and full mirror. I stare at my reflection again, and I don't know what to say because I am lost. I decided to take a hot shower to try to relax. That shower did relax me enough to come up with a basic plan. Upon exiting the shower, I reentered the room and began to look for a computer. Five minutes later, and I don't see a computer in the bedroom; that leads me to the next thing. I prepare to find one in the rest of the house after dressing in what looks like clothes from the early 2010s, a black shirt, and blue jeans.

I, out of a long-established habit, check for my wallet and don't feel it. That makes me worried before I scramble, looking harder for a wallet. After looking for five minutes, I found it in an old pair of pants in the hamper and finally found a bit of information. There is an ID card. But that is not my name. I'm not Alex. My name is Gregor. The card says my last name is Mason, and that is not mine either. I'm now ultra-confused because this dream is getting weirder and weirder. I exit the room and begin to look harder for a computer or anything to figure out what the fuck is going on.

There is no one in the house besides me. That's not good. Well, it was somewhat good because I was used to living alone. But it's bad because of my supposed current age. I looked seventeen, yet my card says I'm sixteen. Further investigation of the house shows it was small while modest and was okay in its furnishings. The total number of rooms in the home was my room, bathroom, living room, basement, and finally, a kitchen that was stocked with food. I have no idea where the fuck I am. Or why anything at all. I don't find notes or anything in the house; I don't see any weird shit that you might see in this situation that leaves hints of the person here. I'm so damn confused, and the confusion keeps mounting. I need to find information. Why I prepared to find a computer outside the house. I moved to the door to the outside and, upon opening it, exited before locking the door.

Outside, it is an early morning in a middle-class neighborhood. The homes look weirdly old-fashioned and not the sleeker modern design I'm used to. But where am I? I slowly walked down the sidewalk from my home towards a signpost at the end of the street. It's thankfully for my very bum American self in English. Wait. The letters are not the ones I know. Is that Japanese? Why is it coming off as English?

That worried me further what the fuck is going on! This must be dreaming logic. I look around and see no one out and about in this neighborhood yet. It's still early morning, and that's horrible because I'm a night owl. The sun burns those of us of the night. I'm not anywhere I'm used to, and I might possibly be in Japan. I just walked down the street, and I'm surprised by how easy this is. I'm not fatigued, and I'm not wheezing much. I was not horribly out of shape; however, this is weird because I would be wheezing by now because I had two extremely strong cases of pneumonia in my childhood. One case, right after the other, made my lungs shit, and they never really recovered. The walk continued with next to no people out and about on this summer day. I finally saw a library in a small business area that was fifteen minutes from my home. I look around again before going to enter the old building through rough blue wooden doors. It's there I finally see another person.

It's a kind-faced middle-aged woman who is very clearly Japanese, but her hair, like mine, is extremely weird. It's purple. I thought maybe perhaps I dyed my hair this color, but now I'm more concerned. Am I in an anime universe dream? Her eyes are thankfully a warm brown, and once she sees me, she smiles and greets me.

"Good morning, young man. How may I help you today?"

I nervously looked around the entrance room and freaked out a bit more because that was said in English. More dream logic, I'm guessing. But she's clearly not American. That's made very clear by the several other things on her greeting desk. There was a flag for Japan and a traditional Japanese art piece. I'm still so lost. I met her eyes, which had grown a bit worried seeing how nervous I was, and I replied back with a smile.

"Good morning, librarian-san. I'm wondering if you have a computer I can use by chance. I promise to be quiet and quick."

The woman is less worried now but is surprised by the manners. She clearly must not be used to that from people my age. That's fair because most teens are snot-nose brats the vast majority of the time. She smiled softly and got up from behind her desk. I noticed she was wearing a conservative dress and skirt that was an earthy brown, and she answered while gesturing me to follow.

"We have several computers, young man. I'll show you to them."

I followed behind her, and I saw that this library was old but well-maintained and clean. The woman led me to several computers that were very old-fashioned in a very big room with many bookshelves. The computers are still in good working order. They are extremely weird because they have disk drives. That is not a standard issue thing anymore. She smiled again.

"Here they are. If you have any other questions, dear, I'm happy to answer them."

I smile, still nervous, but nod my head in respect for that. But I do ask.

"I have a few librarian-san. What year is it, and what town or city am I in?"

The woman looks at me strangely at the first question and more confused at the second. She tilted her head and replied.

"The year is 2012, and we are in the city of Kuoh, Japan."

I had been sitting down on a well-worn chair when she replied, and that saved me from losing the strength in my legs. I'm in 2012? In a place called Kuoh? I vaguely remember a place like that, but I can't put a finger on where I heard that before. This dream is incredibly weird. The woman is now looking at me worriedly.

"Are you okay, young man? You seem like you're not well."

I opened up the computer to the main screen but turned to the woman and faked it till I made it.

"I am. Just had a very weird morning. Thank you for helping me."

The woman was clearly not buying that, but she also was not too worried about me. Just kept looking at me strangely. Before she heard the bell above the entrance of the building go off, she went to help the next person. The computer opened, and I immediately clicked the internet button and began to search for information.

This dream world is weird while also very similar to reality. Nine-eleven happened, as did the Iraq war. But there are lots of weird events, too. Like the fact, the Cold War didn't end in the nineties. It ended a decade earlier when the Russians overthrew the Soviet Union. They now have a Tsar again, but he's like the queen of England in being a figurehead. That's very concerning in multiple ways. Because I was born only a few years after the Soviet Union fell. They never had a Tsar. There are more weird things, too. The United States has another state more than I remember. We apparently have land that was in Canada, but I don't remember us having land before. The state of Vancouver. That's weird, also. I'm lost and continue to be lost. I look up more things, and more things don't make sense. Like how France was currently in the sixth republic. Not the fifth.

That's definitely not normal. That was a big thing to miss out on, as was the Tsar being back. I'm getting more and more convinced this isn't my world, and I'm having a very realistic fever dream. This is also scaring the crap out of me. Where the fuck am I? But I catch something out of the corner of my eye. A young woman wearing a strangely familiar school uniform of white with a black skirt is looking at a book in her hands near a shelf by the entrance. She is about my age with long black hair, with her back turned to me. Something about that uniform is raising alarm bells in my head. It looks so familiar. I go back to searching for information. I look up the city of Kuoh because that, too, is raising alarm bells. I swear I have heard that name before.

I see a few pages of the history of the city. Nothing special about here. Just another city, but my unease continued to grow. Because I'm convinced now this is a very weird dream world. Given how real it feels, I might not be dreaming. We had fifty states, not fifty-one. We didn't have a reunited Ireland till much later in my life. We most certainly did not have a few other things that were mentioned. What the hell is going on? I finally, however, clicked on a hyperlink to the city's most famous attractions and locations and froze, seeing the name of a school along with its picture.

Kuoh Academy. Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no. That finally kickstarted a memory. That's the name of a location in an anime series my friends had urged me to see. They said it was good, and the fuckers had left out it was pretty much a porn series. Cool world and concepts, but not a cool protagonist. Fucking a pervert with his stupid power-ups. This can't be real. This school. Oh shit. That couldn't mean, could it? I froze badly because I remembered more of that series. There was a supernatural world, and humans were at the bottom of the pole. Kuoh had devils in it. Actual monsters of sin and stupid quirks like being a fucking magic girl. Or being a devil king, that's a massive fucking sis-con. Oh, fucking shit. I look out of the corner of my eyes to see the schoolgirl putting her book away and turning back towards me. I froze there. Because she has two different eye colors and glasses. I recognized her. That's Tsubaki Shinra. Queen of Sona Sitri's devil peerage. She doesn't notice me and continues down the bookshelf towards another section of the library.

Oh shit. That's not good. That's really not good. I am now ultra scared because that is horrible to even consider. I'm possibly in a very weird dream in a weird universe with a supernatural world that is hostile towards humans like me. I froze harder than ever before. Because if this is not a dream. Ophis is real, thus the Chaos Brigade is real. I gulped badly, remembering something worse than Ophis. Trihexia is real. Oh shit. I log off the computer and get up from the chair. Internally screaming. I slowly moved towards the library entrance, and after passing the front desk, I bowed to the librarian and thanked her.

"Thank you for your help today, librarian-san."

The purple-haired woman was looking at me, extremely worried.

"You're welcome, young man. Have a good rest of your day."

I smile again, turning and backing up to the door. Opening it and closing it. Before taking off in a full-speed run towards my home. I'm freaking out worse internally because this is the scariest shit in my entire life! I might be in a fucking almost hentai universe, and there are things that are beyond my strength to even have a hint of even fighting! I'm just a fucking regular human! How the hell am I going to even stand against a single pawn devil if they decide to go after me! I get to my home, unlock the front, and then barricade the front door with my modest couch and chairs. That won't do anything against a real foe like a devil, but it's the basic thought and helps settle a tiny bit of fear. I ran frantically towards my room and then began to look for something, anything that could explain who I was. To help settle the fear by even a tiny bit more. This is a dream it must be.

I find hints of it in an old box in the closet. I'm an orphan. My parents were a Japanese-American couple that had apparently gotten together when the Cold War ended. There are several pictures of them. I got the hair from my dad, and my mom gave me the eyes. They apparently died earlier this year, leaving me with very limited money because it was being held in a trust fund by my mom. Digging through a folder on my desk further made me discover that I was on a stipend from the government. I was emancipated, but that could easily be revoked. The money my family had was being held till I reached a majority and fulfilled certain conditions from my mom's will. I don't like the thoughts I'm having about this situation. Where was my dad's will? Why was he seemingly absent? I don't like the thought that crossed my mind. If this is real. Did I kill the original person of this body? That troubled me more. Because that brings up horrible questions. I learned more about who I am, apparently, in this dream. Finally, after learning all I could easily from the box and folder, I felt my stomach rumbling, and I couldn't believe anything anymore. I put the items away on my bed and go make myself breakfast.

I make a ham and cheese sandwich. Had plenty of the needed stuff for it. But as I am eating, I'm still freaking. I'm possible in a universe where everything is against humans. Gods are real. Dragons are real, and probably the most horrific thing I can think of is real. That fucking idiot pervert that powers up from breasts is real. The world is screwed. Because he had fucking plot armor out the ass. But that might not save the world here. We are not a TV show or book series. Plot armor is not there for reality. I'm not a hero. I can't save shit. If I could not save the best relationship of my life with my girlfriend of ten years, what hope would I have in saving this universe? I'm not special. I'm not a devil or angel or fallen angel. I'm not a hero descendant, and I hope I don't have sacred gear because that is what got the pervert killed in the first place. This has to be a dream, but the dread builds again.

We are so boned if his plot armor doesn't apply here. Kokabiel is a disgusting person who wants a new war. There are worse things out there than him. Trihexia is a pure destructive force only held at bay, and that takes gods, the Satans, and more to keep it at a standstill in a time loop. Not defeated at a standstill. Then there are the pricks in the Chaos Brigade. Some of whom want to find Trihexia. Rizevim and Cao Cao. Euclid, the fucking degenerate that wants his sister. Ophis the damn emotionless lizard that doesn't care about humans. We are so screwed. I don't know how to feel, hoping the fucking idiot can save us. Because that is horrific, and his goals are so damn stupid unless it's that social dragon thing, people speculate he has. This is a dream. I'll wake up soon. Just wait it out. Focus on my hate of him.

I don't want a harem, unlike the idiot.

I'm not a pervert. Yeah, I like sex, but you should not be peeping on women or men, dude. More plot armor bullshit that really makes me nervous. The three of them should have been removed after the second peeping, yet that was apparently so well known that the kendo club had plans to kick their ass constantly. Oh god, we are so screwed if the plot armor isn't real. I am extremely worried because I'm here in a city with him and the two major pillars of team DXD. Not a huge fan of Rias. I like Sona more than Rias, but Rias and her peerage are the powerhouses while Sona and hers are the strategic minds. Everything happens here, and I want no part of that. I'm not going to that school unless I have to, which, if this isn't a dream, looks incredibly likely because that's a condition of my emancipation. We are in trouble. So much trouble if it's real.

I finish my breakfast, then go to a corner of my home and sit there freaking longer. Oh, how this dream day is cursed. We are in so much trouble, and I'm a year early to the boat paddling up shit creek. I'm going to die. It's as simple as that. Death is coming for an entire world in a very vivid dream, and I still have no idea why or how I'm here and not in my real home. I stayed there for about three hours, just freaking out. Each hour increases the dread. Oh, how I wish I was not here. I finally found the barest hint of courage and went out again to buy things. Like food. Along with a computer to do more research because the damn GI Joes are right. Knowing is half the battle. And I don't want to freak out publicly near a public computer.

I ran till I bought a computer at a business a half hour away from my home. A decent one, too. Then I hit a grocery store nearby and get the cheapest stuff I can find that is easy to make at home. I carried it all home because it was a laptop, and once home, I immediately did more research at my desk in my room. I look for everything I can about the world I might be in if real. I need to know everything. That takes me to the early evening of this day, which was Friday. The dream isn't done yet. There are so many weird things about this world. I don't know where to even begin.

I make another ham and cheese sandwich for dinner and keep researching. I am trying to think of anything that can help me and can't see even a hint of a potential plan that looks more and more likely needed. Oh, how I'm so dead. I finally get off the computer and then hide in the bathroom and look at myself again in the mirror. I'm ready to faint. This must be a dream. This can't be real. Is this a punishment? I must wake up!

I slap myself multiple times to try and free myself from this nightmare of unequal proportions, and I'm horrified more when I don't wake up in my old apartment. I'm still here. I jabbed my knee in an attempt at a hypnic jerk and just hurt myself. And I didn't wake up to my now very, very overwhelming horror. I kept freaking out. I'm so fucking screwed if this is real. And it's looking to be real. I'm terrified beyond reason. I'm not a fucking hero. I'm not a gamer, you see in the fan stuff. I'm just a regular dude with nothing. I continue freaking, and that finally does something that is another strange thing on a day of strange things. An anvil and a hammer suddenly appeared next to me, and on my right hand, there was a ring. What the fuck?

Only one thing makes even a hint of sense. It's extremely unlikely. Do I have sacred gear? I hope to god not because that paints a target on my head. I know that Asia has something similar with twilight healing with rings but what the fuck? I studied the ring for a second before the ring, the hammer and anvil disappeared. I frown and then say screw it. I'll try to summon it again. It took twenty minutes of pure focus and gritting my teeth before they returned; I had hoped it wasn't really like this place. It sadly is. I studied the ring again and finally saw something that I recognized after a morning of not recognizing anything.

On the ring, which is a color of silver with a red ruby, I see the motif. That's the emblem of the Cult Mechanicus. The skull split down the middle with half machine and human. This is extremely weird because another strange part about this world is that there is no Warhammer fantasy or Warhammer 40000. There is no Games Workshop. Just a very interesting World War One company that fills that niche incredibly well based in France. I look at the anvil and then the ring. What the fuck is even happening anymore. Today is a ride of pure horror, and now shit makes even less sense. Why the fuck is that there. The ring and anvil disappeared again. I am seriously considering not trying again for the anvil and ring. But maybe this could help? Probably get me killed, but I'm very likely in a dark forest, like 40k. Just has more tits and magic girls. I shiver thinking of Serafall. Oh, by the Machine God, please let me never meet her. I'll die from cringe. Actually, that's probably the least painful way to die here. But I take the plunge.

I concentrated on the feeling that had summoned the objects. Building. The ring and anvil returned again faster this time. I look at the anvil, and I now am so very confused. What does this mean? Is this sacred gear? But I think of something that I had long wanted to hold, from the hobby that saved me from a serious permanent depression. I pick up the hammer and feel it weighing nothing. I looked at the hammer and then the anvil again before I suddenly moved unconsciously. I pictured the object and then tapped the anvil, making a small clang.

There is a brief bright light that blinds me, making me close my eyes, and then it disappears. I open my eyes again. I look in wonder at the new item on the anvil. A las gun. A triplex model las gun. It's not ghostly like the anvil and the hammer. My other hand reached for the gun, and I picked it up. It's real. A lightweight red gun that has the symbol of the Mechanicus on it.

The anvil and hammer disappeared. But the las gun doesn't disappear. I hold my las gun up. I look at it in pure amazement. I keep touching it, and then I don't know what to think. I point it at the wall, and then I focus on a small part of the wall. Maybe this is an equalizer that will help me live longer? I then pull the trigger, and there is a snap-hiss crack with a red light flying out of the gun. It hits the wall, leaving a small scorch mark.

I am looking in wide-eyed shock. I look at the wall, then at the gun again. I checked the gun setting to see it on a low power setting. I was not religious much before. I am a loose agnostic on the best of days. But I'm now down with the Machine God completely because this is a fucking miracle! Praise the Omnissiah! I have something to defend myself against them! I'll probably still die quickly, but it's better than nothing! How long does the construct last? Can I make anything I want? Because the possibility of anything from a universe that was fucking stupid and over the top might save my ass here in another universe that also was stupid and over the top. And possibly the fucking world if the stupid pervert doesn't have plot armor in a world that is looking more and more likely to be real. I need a possible plan. And by the Omnissiah and Machine God, hallowed be thy names, I might have something that can help me.

I quickly hide the gun in my closet, and I need to find another way to hide it more effectively. I'm too awake now with adrenaline, and people are right. It's a hell of a drug. I then sat down and started making a possible plan. And a list of things I need to do and make. I finally passed out around three in the morning when the adrenaline rush finally died. My last thought before the black was that this might not be totally hopeless, just mostly. Slapping my head against my pillow, I get a night of dreamless sleep. It's finally over this dream of fear.