Chapter 1: The Fabled Cliche
Laying comfortably within the confines of my room, I was rudely woken up by the sound of my alarm blaring with a red light. Annoyed, I grumbled before sitting up and looking at the alarm. I promptly turned it off and stood up.
Going through the regular motions of hygiene and dressing up, I quickly made my way downstairs and was met with the sight of my mother sitting at the table, chatting with my brother.Smiling, I went over to them.
My mother greeted me with a smile, which I returned. Instead of a warm greeting from my brother, I received a mere glance before he continued munching loudly on his scrambled eggs.
'Should I throw him in front of a truck?' I thought, the idea sounding strangely appealing."Come, dear, take a seat," my mom said, and I complied with a curt nod.Sitting down, I noticed my brother was almost finished with his food.
My mom sat at the head of the table, and I sighed before looking at my plate.Two sardines and rice with a brown sauce and bits of beef.
Praying briefly before eating, I crossed myself and began my meal. It was delicious as always—my mother truly had a talent for cooking.
Finishing his meal, my brother stood up and thanked my mother for the food before attempting to go out the door. My mother stopped him by grabbing his white shirt.
"Go with your brother, Nathan. You're having your first year there, and this is his last year. He'll introduce you to everything, right, honey?"While I was finishing my lunch, I felt her slightly ominous glare directed at me.
'Do I have a choice?' I thought as I heard my brother quietly protest.
"I'll be... fine on my own," he said, but my mother gave him a sweet smile, which was more sinister than anything.My brother Nathan was pretty nervous about going to school.
He had a lot of friends in his old school, but unlike me, none of the friends he knew before were going to the same high school. My mother was concerned that he might not fit in, and I was left to take care of his sorry ass.
That's the life of an older brother, after all.Letting out a sigh, I finished my meal quickly before standing up and looking at my mother with a somewhat exhausted smile.
"It's not a problem, but I don't really think he'll fit in with that bratty attitude," I added sarcastically, earning a glare from Nathan, while my mom's smile only grew wider, causing me to shiver slightly before coughing.
"Come on, you li- little brother, I'll introduce you to the good life."Abruptly coughing, I put on my shoes and left the house. My brother and I said bye to our mom. Walking down the street, we had only left the house a few minutes before my brother posed a question.
"You were gonna call me little shit, weren't you?"
"I was,"
I responded, turning and waiting for a green light."You're still mad that I snitched on you about having a girlfriend," he said as we both waited side by side.I was a foot taller than him and had to look down on him.
He looked at me with no hint of emotion, but I knew him his whole life, so I could tell he was feeling guilty.Though he did mess up my chance with a girl I really liked, I wasn't mad at all. He was my little brother, after all.
It's not like I could hold it against him.The light turned green, but before he could walk, I grabbed him by the shoulder. Spooked, he perked his head up and looked at me with surprise.
"Not mad at you, just a little annoyed. I'm not holding it against you; just hope you don't do something like that to anyone else." Finished with what I had to say, I let go of his shoulder and walked across the street.Nathan followed behind me.
Slowing my pace a little, I looked down at him before seeing a smile cross his face. I grinned, and he looked up at me before frowning."You're not planning something... right?" He stopped in the middle of the road and looked at me suspiciously.
'Why is he standing there like a duck? There are cars around, moron—huh, why is he look--!!!' I saw Nathan looking to his right, and a speeding bus was speeding toward him. Noticing this, I looked at him standing there, frozen in place.
"Move, idiot!" I screamed, but he only looked at me confused. The bus was speeding toward him; he couldn't evade it even if he tried.
'Damn it!'Rushing at him with full speed, I crashed into him, pushing him out of the way of the oncoming bus.He fell a few feet away, landing safely onto the ground.I on the other hand wasn't so blessed, the bus driver was looking at me in horror, his face pale.
The wheel in his hand was completely off where it should have been, and there was seemingly no way he could avoid hitting me.
Accepting my fate, I got a glimpse of Nathan standing a few feet away, just enough to not get hit by the bus.
'At least he'll live. He'll have one hell of a story to tell in high school,' was my last thought as I felt a terrifying force hit me. Feeling my body no longer on the ground, I realized I was flying through the air.
Only moments passed, and while flying, I felt my lungs get pierced by what I could only guess was my ribcage.
Slamming onto the ground, I felt the bones in my arms and legs pierce through the flesh, and my joints had also become nothing but bones piercing my flesh.Blood—or what I assumed was blood—began to flood my lungs, and I finally crashed into something like a metal rod, what I could only assume was a pole.
Feeling all the blood in my body rush out, it felt excruciating.Every moment that passed, I could feel the air leave my lungs slowly. My ears were ruptured, and a constant pulse of sound assaulted my brain.
What felt like hours of pain was likely only a second in the outside world.With my last breaths, the pain suddenly halted.
The thought of dying came to mind, but it quickly faded as I felt a throbbing in my head.After the pain began to rise to an unbearable high, I tried to open my eyes. To my surprise, I managed to open them.
What I saw was a tapestry of blurry colors that seemed both illusory and out of this world. Pain began to elude me as I focused on the illusory colors becoming less so.
And after only about ten seconds, the noise stopped, and the colors were gone, replaced by a black void.My mind came to a halt, and I reached a pretty obvious realization.'I'm dead.'The thought came to my mind, and I imagined the crying faces of my mother and father.
I had only been able to see my brother and mother; dad was at work, and I couldn't see him.
No goodbye, no contact before I passed, no last words, no apologizing for my mistakes, no thanking him or mom for what they'd done for me, nothing whatsoever was said before my passing.
'Damn it all!'I cursed as I slammed my fist into nothing. Then I realized something.Looking down, I saw myself—or rather what became of me.
Completely in the nude, I had the same well-built body I did before, but now, it was almost transparent.
Studying the foreign feeling of just floating there, I tried to walk across the void.Alas, no matter how hard I tried, I just wobbled in the air like an idiot.
'I must look ridiculous,' I thought to myself.
"Oh, believe me, you do. It's almost cute," a booming voice said, startling me.
Looking all over the place, I saw a small white dot filling the empty black void. It began to approach me—no, I was wrong.It widened and widened.
The previous dot was replaced by a brilliant white light with small black dots filling through it. From the middle of it, shining white ash exited and began to spiral, enveloping me completely.
Fear gripped me as the white ash spiraled around me, pulling me towards the brilliant light.
Struggling to comprehend what was happening, I fought against the pull, but my efforts were in vain. The light engulfed me, and everything went white.
Suddenly, I found myself standing in an enormous hall.The ceiling stretched high above, disappearing into the clouds.
Pillars of pure marble lined the hall, each intricately carved with scenes of humans and mythical creatures.The floor beneath my feet was cold and polished, reflecting the soft glow of the torches mounted on the walls.
Ahead of me stood a colossal throne made of gleaming gold and precious gems. Seated upon it was an imposing figure draped in a robe that shimmered like the stars.
His eyes were like twin suns, radiating a warmth that belied the stern expression on his face.
"Welcome," the figure said, his voice echoing through the hall.
"You have arrived in the Hall of Judgment."I swallowed hard, trying to find my voice.
"Am I... dead?"The figure nodded slowly.
"Indeed, you are. But your journey does not end here."After he said those words, my mind stopped in its tracks.
Only after a few seconds did I finally understand what had happened. What else could it be but a way for me to get a second chance at life?
Even if I should have been excited, a melancholy took over instead. My death was going to affect my family greatly.
'Mom will be heartbroken, dad will be completely destroyed and might not be able to work and earn money for Mom and Nathan, and Nathan will probably blame himself.'Only the worst thoughts came to mind. Someone might end their life, and what if Nathan blames himself for my death for the rest of his life?
Going through these depressing thoughts only soured my mood even further. But a hand gripped my shoulder, causing me to look up and gaze upon the two blazing suns shining right in front of me.
His gaze held pity and nearly as much warmth as my mother's did. His grip was tight but gentle at the same time; it felt reassuring to have someone to console me.
"Worry not, young man. Your family will grieve, yes, but I assure you that they will only strive to be better and succeed. Although that is not to say that they will forget you. No, in fact, they will live just to help others."
Hearing those words made me feel relieved. Following the relief were tears. Although I didn't know how I could cry, I was glad to let all the pain out in the presence of this man.I don't remember how long I cried, but eventually, I wiped my tears away and prostrated myself.
The man never once seemed to be annoyed or bothered by me, always holding that gentle and kind smile.
"I'm ready," I proclaimed as I closed my eyes, ready to embrace what was to happen.
Yet, after a few moments of nothing, I opened my eyes slightly and looked at the man, who was looking at me with a confused smile.
Equally confused, I opened my eyes fully and looked around before posing a question.
"So... do I get a second chance at life, or... do I go to the afterlife?"
"It's up to you," the man said as the marble floor began to quake, and from the ground, a large wheel emerged.
"If you decide to pass on, I'll put you to eternal rest. Conversely, if you choose to reincarnate, I'll put you into a different world, though it will be a fictional one."He pointed to the wheel.
It was massive, bigger than most of the suburban houses I had seen in my eighteen years of life.
"Also, if you decide to go to a different world, I can reincarnate you as a baby or transmigrate you there. You can also gain a unique power of your choosing."As he finished, he looked at me and awaited my response.
'Seriously?' I thought and began to think up a plan. 'Reincarnating means I'll be a baby. Not going through puberty again sounds nice, so I'll transmigrate instead. But for the power...'
"Can I have Omnipotence?"
"No," he responded with the same kind smile.
'Figures, I guess,' I thought, mulling over various powers. There was no clear answer. After minutes of waiting, I decided to do something different.
"Can I spin the wheel first?"
"I'm afraid that you can't. It's been a tradition to first pick the power. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience."Shaking my hands, I quickly apologized and thought up of multiple powers.
Powers that could help me greatly. I could pick any power except Omnipotence and likely Nigh-omnipotence.
After another few minutes, I decided to not let the kind man wait and picked a power that could help me just as well as omnipotence.
"I've decided... I want the power of Absolute Ability Creation."As I said so, the man smiled and nodded.
'I've actually got it!' After that thought, the man approached the wheel, and with a simple movement of his fingers, the wheel spun.
It spun and spun. Moments passed, and its speed didn't stop. Even after ten minutes, it was still going at about the same speed.
The ground shook slightly, and I looked back. A marble chair appeared. Looking at the man, he was sitting comfortably on the chair and nodded at me. I sat and waited.
Waiting and waiting, I soon grew a little bored and looked around. After studying every detail of the majestic hall, I focused on the wheel once more.
And after hours of waiting, the wheel began to slow down. After a few more minutes, it finally stopped.Excited, I looked at the wheel and saw just some words.
The wheel was so big that the amount of supposed worlds was completely incomprehensible to me. I looked over at the man and saw him with an uncharacteristic grimace.
'It's not Attack on Titan, right!' I panicked before jumping from my chair. As soon as I did so, the ground beneath me began to crack, and white particles began to erupt from it. The man stood up and looked at me with a sad smile.
"It would seem that luck isn't on your side this time. Well, I know you'll manage to survive."
"Survive! It's not Berserk... right?" The man looked down and ignored my pleas, and soon the particles devoured my form, and I lost consciousness.
-----
After however much time passed, I was able to see the world. I was in a white padded room with fluorescent lights surrounding me.
Trying to look around, I couldn't feel my body, and after seconds, my sight adjusted. I was finally able to see clearly.My gaze fell on a beautiful woman with pale skin that fit her raven-black hair perfectly.
The most striking part, however, were her icy blue eyes.
'What is she wearing?' I thought as I tried to look at her completely, and my body complied only a second later, as if I wasn't in control of my own body.
"What are you looking at?" the woman spoke, and immediately after, another voice came from the spot I was in.
However, I didn't intend to speak.
"Your breasts."My heart dropped at the words, and a feeling of dread came over me.
'This... this can't be... right.'After that train of thought, I noticed the woman smile before swiftly slapping me.
'....No..No. NOOOOOO!'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone