? POV

Lounging languidly in an endless void, a lone figure was going through a crisis. Boredom. That was all the figure could feel at the moment. It was almost funny, by now the being had existed for what seemed like eternity. Worlds have come and gone, and they have long since obtained god-like power.

Yet despite everything they have been through boredom was something they could never seem to escape. After a while, going on adventures lost its luster, so it turned to looking for entertainment in the adventures of others. Like watching a show or reading a book, one could find bursts of entertainment in immersing oneself in the stories of others.

So the being chose to follow a common trope. It would pick out souls that had the potential to make interesting stories, grant them the tools needed to live out their fantasies, and observe them, looking for entertainment, for something to stave off the boredom. However, even that became tedious.

Looking at the latest soul it has chosen, the Being couldn't help but feel disappointed. The new soul seemed to be somewhat genre savvy, having consumed media that followed a similar premise. A person dies and their soul is chosen by an omnipotent being to reincarnate into a new world with incredible powers. In this case, the soul that was picked by the Being chose the world of Remnant.

The Being patiently listened as the chosen soul began making choices that would customize their reincarnation. The chosen soul wished to remove the Brother Gods, Salem, Ozma, and their whole Shadow War. This was done by having the Brother Gods die along with Salem when she first unites humanity against them. With the Gods dead there would be no one to revive Ozma, and the creation of Remnant can still be achieved via the devastation caused by the battle between Humanity led by Salem and the Brother Gods.

Of course this would still result in countless instances of the Butterfly Effect taking place but the chosen soul didn't seem to care much about that. Speaking of the chosen soul, they had made another significant change.

They felt that the concept of Aura in Remnant was too vague and inconsistent despite being such a crucial mechanic of the world. They were insistent that Aura be more clearly defined and less vague but instead of remaking the system themselves they decided they wanted to borrow from another series they enjoyed. This also created butterfly effects as it changed the capabilities of the people of Remnant.

Normally, having to cater to such specific changes for someone who had already been given the privilege of a second life would probably be annoying. But for the Being that was overseeing this chosen soul, they only felt amusement. They had worked with countless disrespectful souls, one more wasn't going to tip them over the edge. Besides, the Being cared far more about alleviating their boredom and this chosen soul was at least somewhat entertaining. Not only that but part way through the process, the Being noticed something that genuinely caught its attention.

After the changes were complete and the soul finished creating their ideal form, the Being bid them farewell and wished them luck in their second life. For a person like that, the System gifted to them as a boon would be their lifeline. Only time would tell though if the boon would become a tool to elevate them or a crutch they became dependent on. However, rather than wonder about that, the Being had something far more interesting to focus on now. Turning to an Extra Soul that had somehow wandered into this domain, the Being grinned in excitement.

"Now, what to do with you?"

-Linebreak-

"Azure!"

Azure woke up with a start. Rubbing his eyes and getting his bearings he realized that he had fallen asleep in class. Turning to look at the person who called him he couldn't help but wince. Summer Rose loomed over him looking every bit like the perfect fusion of a stern teacher and a disapproving mother.

"Awake now Azure? I'm sorry if my class is boring you, but Dust Theory is important to your development as future Hunters." She lectured in a scolding tone.

The young teen couldn't help but feel embarrassed, getting scolded by his teacher in the middle of the classroom. He could already see his classmates trying to hold in their laughter. He'd lament about his lost dignity if he felt he had any to lose at this point. As it was, he just tried to focus on what Summer was saying with the hopes she wouldn't get any more upset with him.

"-and I know you're usually better than this so I can only assume you haven't been getting proper sleep, and if THAT'S the case then that's just another reason for me to worry about you Azure. Now do you understand why what you did was wrong?" She asked with an expectant look on her face.

Azure would sigh softly before replying to her. "Yes Professor, I'm sorry and I'll try not to let it happen again."

Unfortunately, she seemed far from convinced, looking at him with half lidded eyes and an unimpressed expression on her face. Eventually she just gave a small exasperated sigh of her own. "Honestly, this isn't the first time you've done this, I'm starting to really worry about you Azure. Just try to get some proper sleep so you can actually get through the day. This isn't healthy, you know." She would say before returning to the front of the room.

"Alright class, we're just about done for the day but before we dismiss class I'll go over the homework one last time. You have a week to work on an essay based on the basics of Dust Theory that we covered in class today.

I want you to go over your interpretations of how Dust functions and try to present some applications for Dust in today's society. You can use already existing examples but if you can come up with something original that would at least technically work using the principles we discussed then I'll give you some bonus marks. Now remember, your examples for possible applications can be either for Hunters or for civilian use. As long as it's something applicable to modern society I'll count it." Summer would explain before dismissing us.

The moment we were given the go ahead, the majority of the students flooded out of the room like they were trying to escape prison. Some lingered to talk with their friends and I could see from the corner of my vision, Ruby Rose skipping over to Summer chatting about something with the enthusiasm of a puppy dog on super crack. Azure took the opportunity to slip away and think about his life till now.

He could still remember it, the day he was "reborn" in Remnant. The god like Being and the original Chosen Soul that this world was made for. His existence as a simple "extra soul", given a new life on a whim because it was amusing. No special powers or boons beyond his memories of his past life and a larger Aura due to his status as a reincarnated soul.

Yet, despite his rather fantastical origins Azure held no illusions of grandeur regarding his existence. He was an extra who was dropped into the story for entertainment, a DLC NPC. Rather than wake up in a new body, he was born in Remnant as a baby and had to experience a whole new life.

But things couldn't be simple, no that would be too boring apparently. Instead he was abandoned from birth and grew up an orphan. And because he couldn't really relate with the kids his age he became a quick target of bullying. Kids really were cruel bastards. It was even more annoying having to live with the fact that he legitimately couldn't even fight back most times. Just because he had Meta Knowledge didn't mean he could translate that into action. He didn't have a bullshit Gamer System to give him mastery of skills instantly or the power to just distribute points to get better stats. He was a kid getting ganged up on by a bunch of other kids.

Azure let out another sigh as he kept walking. He should probably think about something else, people already thought he was a weird edgelord and brooding about his life would just add more fuel to that fire. Luckily for him, Meta Knowledge at least meant he could get exceptional grades for his age which allowed him to enter the local Hunter Academy on scholarship.

While you could technically get into a Hunter Academy without paying money, the fact is you needed money for supplies. This meant people who came from poor backgrounds tended to flounder a bit because they couldn't get a reliable weapon or because they were stuck using low grade Dust.

A scholarship meant that you were recognized as having enough talent for the Kingdoms to invest in your development. While Azure was pretty average in combat, his Meta Knowledge has given him the ability to surpass his peers in regards to theoretical work. The stipend he gets from the Vale government wasn't too much but it was enough to live off of while saving money for supplies.

If he played his cards right, he could coast through the Academies, train up away from the chaos that was the plot, and get strong enough to survive in the death world and live out his life peacefully in a place far from the canon crew. He could probably stick around in Patch. He was born here, no one would question his choice, and the place was peaceful enough that he probably wouldn't die horribly. At least, if this was canon.

That's right, Azure remembered how the Chosen Soul made changes to Remnant to make things "better". They got rid of Salem, the Brother Gods, Ozma, and the whole Shadow War nonsense. They also changed how Aura worked, which was another reason he managed to get a scholarship-he recognized the series the "Chosen Soul" ripped off to "fix" Aura. At the very least, Azure could admit that the "Chosen Soul" had some taste. Hunter x Hunter was a great series and luckily for him, it spent a lot of time and effort to explain how Nen and the various techniques revolving around it worked. But now canon is probably dead because the butterfly effect went wild on everything.

Summer was alive, Raven apparently never left, Yang and Ruby aren't even sisters anymore, they were cousins now because apparently Summer got together with Qrow. And this was just stuff that had changed in Patch.

Azure wasn't too sure how different things were in other Kingdoms, at least not the full extent of the changes but some things were too big to miss. Like how Menagerie wasn't called Menagerie anymore. Apparently the Faunus this time around were smart enough to not live on an island that was essentially named "zoo". Plus, this time around the Kingdoms DIDN'T drain the whole place of all its natural resources before trying to stuff the Faunus there. As a result, the Island Kingdom of Arcadia was now considered a tropical island paradise and a popular vacation spot.

Lost in thought he almost missed a commotion in the hallway he was about to walk in. Hiding behind the corner he peeked out to see a student getting harassed by some bullies. Narrowing his eyes he quickly spotted a head of overflowing blond hair. Yang Xiaolong. Since Raven never left, Yang was partly raised by Raven and Summer was only a cool aunt to her. So while Raven mellowed out a bit, Yang became more of a bitch. She was always depicted as a wild party girl in the show and she could be rowdy as well.

Her trailer had her destroy a bar because they didn't have the information she wanted, she likes to poke fun at people, if you touch her hair she'll violently assault you. However, these negative traits were generally overlooked because they were balanced out by her positive traits. Raven's influence hasn't fully negated that but it has caused Yang to grow up with her more negative traits emphasized.

She grew up with the importance of being strong drilled into her. If people wanted to complain then they should get strong enough to do something about it. If they can't handle her "pranks" or if they cry just because she's "joking around" then clearly, they weren't cut out to be Hunters in the first place.

Despite the fact that she's the school's biggest bully, she's also still the most popular student in Signal. Her appearance combined with her combat talent makes people flock to her and because her father is a Professor she ends up getting away with a lot more than she should, even if Summer tries to correct things.

Azure finally got out of his thoughts to focus on what was happening in the hall again. From what he could tell, the student getting harassed had bumped into Yang and now he was being cornered for his "disrespect". They'll probably taunt him and rough him up a bit before taking his lunch money or something.

Now while Azure acknowledged what they were doing was wrong, he also knew he wasn't getting anywhere near that. He wasn't some shonen hero who would confront every injustice he saw. He had no reason to stick his neck out for this guy, especially since he knew no one would do the same for him. Even Ruby, the supposed "Main Character" of the setting, would just stand to the side fidgeting uncomfortably. The only reason she isn't a target for the bullies is because she was still Yang's cousin and while they might not be nearly as close they still liked each other enough despite their differences.

Azure sighed before turning to leave a different way. It would definitely take longer but at least he could get to his dorm room in peace. He could blitz through his homework and focus on training for the rest of his time. Just another day in the life of an NPC.

-Author's Note-

A bit shorter than the Yugioh GX snippet but that's partially cuz this one was written first!