You know, I've never really been one to dwell on what happens after death, but I'd expected something a bit flashier if I'm being honest. An all-encompassing void of black and white permeated my vision. Or at least that's what I thought it was.
My perception has been kinda wonky since I 'arrived' here. Time could've been short or long, what I thought I was sensing around me could have all been an illusion of what I think I can comprehend. Being here was throwing me off in every sense of the word and I was starting to get a little uneasy.
I began contemplating if this is what my being would amount to forever when all of a sudden I could feel a presence nearby. There was no grand flash or anything signifying an arrival, yet I knew for a fact someone, or something, was somewhere around me.
'My greetings child,' a voice spoke into my head.
Barring the notion of someone speaking directly into my head, it was incredibly perplexing to hear the voice. Words can't really describe how it sounds. It was like an amalgamation of noise fused together, yet for whatever reason, I could understand it perfectly.
'Ah yes, lower beings such as yourself cannot comprehend the tongue of my kind without being given direct assistance, which is what I am currently doing.'
'Just, what are you? Where is this place? Why am I here? Am I trapped here forever?' I blurted out. I can't take this anymore! I'm not sure of what's going on, but I do know for a fact that this isn't where I'm meant to be.
'Calm yourself young one. I know you have many questions and they shall be answered in due time. However, I believe that an explanation of why you're here is warranted. I trust that it will lessen the questions brewing within you.'
While I'd like to be answered immediately, I reluctantly nodded since it's willing to share information that will likely shed some light on my current situation.
'First of all, you died. Although, I sense that you may have guessed as much. As for where we are, you could describe it as a medium between worlds, a crossroads if you would. I am something akin to what you would call a ferryman, someone who transports souls to a new life. Every so often, a soul will be summoned to my domain, which is where I reside.
However, such souls require prerequisites in order to be summoned. The 2 main qualities one must have is retaining little to no worldly attachments and being in a euthymic state. You have no ambition in life, simply moving along, yet something within calls you to be more, to be greater than what you are.
For reasons I do not know, The Creator has made it so that souls can be born anew in order to truly live up to their true potentials.
That is why you are here.'
Huh.
That is one hell of an info dump.
Like what am I supposed to make out of all this!
Incredulity permeated my entire being at the sheer thought of these claims being true.
'So let me get this straight,' I said, 'Since I died and met all the requirements of being summoned, I'm now eligible to be reincarnated into some random world because a higher power of the universe thought that people like me should be able to live up to our so called potential. Oh yeah, and before I forget, you're some kind of entity that just sits here and sends people on their merry way after giving some scuffed rundown.'
'While crude of you, that is correct.'
I took a few deep mental breaths to calm myself down.
'Well, now that I have a much larger scope of what's going on now, this isn't so bad,' I said. All things considered, this isn't the worst outcome. I've played with the idea of reincarnation, but I never actually thought it'd happen to me.
What he said was true though. I don't remember certain things such as relatives because I've been an orphan my whole life, not even with a foster family. What I do remember is that my life, for a lack of better terms, was boring and absolutely plain. I have no qualms admitting that I had a very lackluster life. There was nothing that stood out about me, I had mainly acquaintances and a couple of good friends, I was kind of a nerd-
You get the point.
To be given a one in a million chance… I'd be an idiot to pass this up. This is an opportunity for me to do something with meaning. Coupled with the incentive of going to a different world, how can I say no!
Steeling myself, 'Alright, I'm ready.'
'No questions? How surprising. Very well then, let me keep you no longer than necessary.'
'Actually, there are two tidbits that I'm curious about. Is it really random as to which world I'll be sent to or is there some determination process and will I keep my memories after reincarnation?'
'You will retain your memories with selective amnesia so as to not keep you too anchored to the past and there is indeed a determination process as you said. Put simply, I will scan your soul and memories, fully realizing your intent so I can send you to a world best suited to optimize your growth as an person. The few worlds you may be sent to will be organized and chosen from. Would you like to see?'
'If you would, yes please.'
What I thought was a wheel manifested spinning rapidly, showing a variety of literature and pop culture from my original life. I could make out Marvel, DC, Naruto, Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Bleach, DxD, Pokemon, Star Wa-wait is that SpongeBob?!
Man, I really hope I don't get something lame.
All of a sudden the wheel came to a halt and only one image was shown upon it
'My Hero Academia huh,' I said not too surprised.
I've always had an admiration for heroes in any kind of story, but My Hero really struck a chord within me. There is no one true way to be a hero and really everyone can be in their own way. At least that's what I got from it.
The verse isn't that high on the danger meter either which is a nice plus. Hey, before you My Hero weebs start throwing tomatoes at me, hear me out. There are a lot of strong individuals don't get me wrong, but there aren't really any world or universe destroying threats.
Sure it would've been cool to be reincarnated somewhere like Marvel or DxD, but there are just so many people who can destroy me with the blink of an eye, that my survival chances are going to be shot to hell without some divine intervention. I got really lucky with this chance alone and I'd rather not die so soon.
'Since you will be sent to a world of power, you will be granted a single choice of power within the standards of the world. Also, take note that while most of the power will be the same, not everything will be as you envision.'
That's kinda vague but I think I get it, nothing too overpowered or extraordinary and that the power I choose won't be exactly what I think it is. Makes sense, being the most powerful removes the purpose of my reincarnation, growth as an individual.
After much contemplation, I finally knew what I wanted.
'I'd like to have the power of the boosted gear,' I said.
'Very well then,' the voice acquiesced after a moment.
Now you may be wondering, why would I choose such a power and why would it be accepted?Well there's a few reasons for that actually.
As those who know about DxD may know, the boosted gear's intrinsic ability is to double one's power in intervals, supposedly without bound. However, what most people forget is that the amount of boosts you're able to stack is directly related to the vessel's constitution.
Sure I may be able to boost a handful of times which should increase my power by a large amount, but most definitely not to the extent of Issei.
Many factors led Issei to become as strong as he is, ones that I won't be able to acquire. The main glaring difference is in our physiologies. Issei was able to gain a much stronger body near the beginning of DxD by becoming a devil coupled with 8 pawn pieces of power. Promotion was also another thing to consider since he could boost his stats exponentially by promoting to any other piece really, especially a queen. Not to mention him also gaining partial draconic physiology from the two dragon gods.
Sorry, went on a tangent there for a second. Bottom line, I'm most likely going to be given a vessel that won't be able to measure up to Issei's level of strength.
As for it being an acceptable power, that's another important point.
The whole reasoning behind the boosted gear being a god killer was due to juggernaut drive. That's another thing, Ddraig most likely won't be with me, therefore taking juggernaut and scale mail away from me along with any other draconic abilities.
It's a very powerful ability, but every other contributing aspect is important to evaluate. There's a reason why it's only considered a mid-tier longinus.
'Everything is set for your departure, are you ready?' the being asked.
Guess this is really happening huh.
'Ready as I'll ever be,' I said wryly.
Whenever you do something for the first time, you're bound to make mistakes along the way. You'll be going in blind, stumbling around and falling on your face. However, that's where you learn to grow and be better, so when you try things the second time around…
A bright light impacted my eyes, a cacophony of noise permeated the air. The smell of metal and antiseptic penetrated my nostrils.
"Welcome to the world Randell-kun," I distantly heard.
You'll do it right.
AN: Welcome to my first story ever! I've never tried to do any form of creative writing before so expect mistakes along the way. I welcome any kind of constructive criticism and will be reading reviews. I'm also open to suggestions for the story's direction. That's all I got to say, thanks for reading! I OWN NOTHING EXCEPT FOR THIS STORY AND MY OC.