Chương 1: A Talk With God
Sitting atop a boulder in the middle of a small lake surrounded by roaring waterfalls that glistened with rainbows in the sunlight, a man sighed in boredom as he watched all manner of wildlife run, fly, and swim through the misty paradise. He dropped the line of his bamboo fishing pole into the water and waited to see if something would bite the naked string today.
Heaven was nice and all but after two hundred years, he'd seen and done almost everything out there that interested him. It was times like these that he thought he'd have been better off ending up somewhere like Valhalla or Elysium, if they even existed, maybe they would have suited him better.
The thought led him to often wonder if he'd been brought here by mistake after he died, having never met anyone with the same issues as himself. Though, he assumed that all those who did might have already gone through the Veil of Reincarnation, losing their memories and starting another life reborn anew.
His problem was, he didn't have the desire to do that whatsoever. It felt far too much like dying again for his liking and his first experience was not enjoyable to say the least. He still got the occasional shivers when he thought about it.
It wasn't that he disliked Heaven either, it was literally heaven after all. Everyone was kind and you never needed for anything, it was just… stale. There was no excitement, never anything new besides the occasional arrival of someone interesting. Most were apparently content with an afterlife like this but to him, it was almost worse than his life back on Earth. At least there he had more options for entertainment.
He sighed once again at the loss of anime, manga, video games and the like. He lamented never being able to finish One Piece or play the next Elder Scrolls game, he'd died back in 2035 and it still hadn't come out yet. Seeing how Todd Howard didn't end up here, that was probably his biggest sin contributing to going down.
The man was so deep into his musings that he didn't detect the person approaching until they sat right next to him and dangled their feet into the water. He would've been startled at the new arrival had it not been for the calming aura that seemed to radiate out from their being.
Looking up, he was startled to recognize the visitor. It was a very famous black man with grey and black hair and a white beard. He was dressed in a pure white long sleeved shirt with matching pants that were rolled halfway up his calves so as to not get wet. Black eyes stared down into the man's own as he smiled at him with pure white teeth.
"Morgan Freeman?" The man asked, confused. "How are you here? I thought you entered the Veil twenty years ago?"
The new arrival chuckled to himself as he shook his head. He leaned back on his palms and looked away towards the waterfalls before speaking in probably the most recognizable voice back on Earth, "You'd be surprised how often I get asked that son, but no. You only see me as him because that's what you believe I should look like, so I do."
"It was actually quite funny when I met the guy," he laughed, "we walked around for a whole day and a lot of people thought there were two of him."
"What I believe you look like…" muttered the man to himself before his eyes went wide. "Holy-!"
"Holy indeed," God confirmed as he smirked and raised an amused eyebrow.
The man almost rolled his eyes at the pun but stopped when a realization struck him, "Wait, does that mean that I never met-"
"Yes you met Morgan," God interrupted, rolling his own eyes. "We've only met once before this, though it was quite amusing when you asked me for his autograph."
The man's brain froze at the realization that God and Morgan Freeman really did team up just to mess with people. He kinda wished the other man was still here so he could congratulate him.
"And you were just thinking that Heaven was boring," God said with mirth.
The man sighed at being called out before deciding to just speak his mind on the matter, "Honestly? It still is. I don't mean to disparage your creation, it's truly a paradise but…"
"It's not a place you see yourself staying in for eternity?" God asked, his tone calming and nonjudgmental. "Many come to find themselves in similar situations, that's why I created the Veil. I don't think them any lesser for it."
"I know," the man said in a small voice while feeling ashamed and unappreciative despite God's words. He looked away, unable to meet his creator's eyes as he spoke, "I just…I just can't bring myself to do that either."
"I know," God said with a smile that conveyed he understood all the man's feelings and didn't fault him for them. He put a hand on the man's shoulder and turned him back to face him as he continued, "Your not the only child of mine who views the Veil as another form of death, it's perfectly natural to have those feelings. For the ones who eventually come to accept the Veil and all it entails, I leave them be till that time comes.
But, for those who neither have, nor will, ever be able to be at peace with either the Veil or remaining here, I try to find a way to satisfy them while remaining within the rules I've created. In fact, it's the reason why I've come to find you today."
"Really?" The man asked, his eyes lighting up with hope.
"Of course," God chuckled. "No parent wants to see their child suffering."
God snapped his fingers and a sheet of paper appeared which he handed to the man as he spoke, "Now, this is what I've come up with for you son. An avatar of mine was killed in a world run by one of my…let's say, constituents, before he was able to accomplish his goals-"
The man's eagerness when he received the paper slowly died alongside God's voice in his ears the more and more he read. When he looked up with deadpan eyes, it was to see a sheepish, forced smile on God's face.
*Cough*
"What's that look for?" God said as he shifted away his gaze.
"Shouldn't you know?" The man said dryly. "Doesn't that come with the whole omniscience deal?"
"Hah," God laughed awkwardly as he did indeed know, but he tried to win back some dignity anyways with his next words. "Actually, the Goddess who created that world has a lot of influence over the residents' personalities…"
The man's eyes grew with horror at the implications of that statement as he asked with a shaky voice, "And you, you want to send me there??"
God sighed and rubbed his temples in frustration at the way this conversation was going. Noticing his child's panic slowly growing, he decided to placate the man, "I'll be able to shield you from her influence."
Seeing the man beginning to protest, he raised a hand to stop him before continuing, "The reason my avatar was susceptible was due to him being merely a lesser fragment of myself. No omnipotence, omniscience, or anything, only my greater avatars at the level of Creators have access to those, and only within their own universes at that. With my full power protecting you, you'll be fine."
Not seeing the man's hesitation fading, he decided to throw him another bone, "Plus I'll give you something extra on top of what I wrote on that paper."
Hearing this, the man's expression finally relaxed a bit and God sighed in relief while he read over the sheet again, examining the information more closely this time. This world wasn't the standard one he knew from anime back on Earth, there were people and places he recognized from other franchises that all followed the plot of this world, which made some sense when he thought about it. Copyright laws wouldn't allow this much bleed over from another studio's property.
When he reached the bottom of the page, which held far more information than a normal sheet of paper could ever possibly hope to contain, he saw both the main attraction and deterrent of the offer. The bright side was that he'd be allowed to reincarnate without entering the Veil, thus keeping all his memories and personality in tact. He'd also be allowed to pick a power system of his choosing and two supplementary powers to support it, it used to be one until God added the extra. The caveat being that they all had to be within reason, no Half-Saiyan/Half-Kryptonian with the powers of Saitama and Franklin Richards shenanigans.
The downside was that God's avatar had died after sealing away something other than Trihexa, something apparently far worse, and he needed to defeat it/them when the seal inevitably broke. The paper didn't say what/who and he assumed that meant God wouldn't tell him if he asked either.
He looked up from his reading and his eye twitched at seeing God holding his bamboo fishing pole, fully bent with something heavy on the line. He jerked it up in the air and a giant golden carp followed the motion, before it released the string and splashed back below the surface.
God looked over at the man and upon seeing him done reading, smiled before asking, "Well? What do you think?"
"Don't you already know?" The man replied with a quirked eyebrow.
God laughed at that before he explained, "Actually, I don't. I turned off my omniscience and locked away everything from this conversation before coming here. It's something I do with all my children for something like this as it's far too easy to feel manipulated when someone knows all your thoughts and the choices you'd make. This decision really needs to be your own and I don't want you to feel that you were forced into making it later."
The man let that information flow over him and soon realized that yeah, he probably would have questioned his decision with that in mind at some point. It was nice to know he wasn't being led in any particular direction, but he also guessed that God probably wouldn't have even brought this choice to him had he seen him refuse before disabling his omniscience. That fact didn't really bother him though, why would he want both of their time wasted on an ultimately pointless endeavor.
So, the man smiled and nodded at the consideration before answering the previous question, "I'll do it."
"I thought you would," God said while grinning, before leaning forward and rubbing his hands together like some shady merchant. "Now for the fun part! What have you decided on for your bonuses?"
The man chuckled and thought over his options. It was a lot harder than he thought it would be considering this was at one point his, and every anime fan he knew of's, biggest dream.
After a while of indecision, God spoke up to offer some help, "How about I make it so that you don't think about anything you can't choose? Just to narrow it down a bit."
The man nodded and with a snap, many of his previous ideas seemed ridiculous, so they were cast aside and forgotten. With his mind more focused, he closed his eyes and thought about all he wished to achieve in his new life and what it would take to do so.
He never really liked the plot or characters of High School DxD, but he loved the world and the way the lore was all laid out. He thought back on his old life, all the mistakes he'd made and how to avoid making the same ones again.
After a long while of contemplation, he opened his eyes and spoke, "I want and need to be strong, but I don't want to do anything like become a Devil or join one of the factions in that world. They're all pretty messed up in their own ways so I'd rather just move alone or create my own if it was ever needed."
God nodded at the reasoning and continued listening as the man took a deep breath.
"So," the man continued, "for my power system, I'll choose the Shadow Monarch and its own system from Solo Leveling."
"Oh?" God raised an eyebrow before frowning. "It'll be difficult to achieve similar results to the ones your thinking of. You won't be able to amass a large enough army to make the choice worthwhile in DxD as there aren't any really big wars going on with enough deaths to use as fuel. Also, I know you won't just go out and kill all the regular supernaturals just to do so, you wouldn't be here if you would."
"I know," the man nodded. "That's why I was wondering if you could make it work with something like the dungeon keys the main character got in the story."
"Oh…OH! I have the perfect thing for that," God grinned as he returned to rubbing his hands together like he just made a steal. "I think I know why I picked you for this request now. I have the perfect world to send you to and by growing there, you'll also help me by putting an end to that terrible place! What else?"
The man chuckled nervously upon seeing the excited gleam in God's eye before explaining his next choice, "I chose Slayer Magic from Fairy Tail, all three types. The bonus against gods, dragons, and devils, are basically made for DxD."
"Hmm," God hummed to himself. "Yes, I believe that another Creator God had an avatar in DxD that died tragically long ago, he later went and created the world you know as Fairy Tail in anger, so it makes sense. You'll be stuck with Shadow Slayer Magic for all three and won't get to pick and choose elements though, your first choice won't allow it."
"That's fine," the man replied, the limiter to his choices had already made him aware of the caveat and he wasn't too upset about it, learning so many different elements sounded like a hassle anyways.
"What's your final choice?" God asked eagerly. He really seemed to enjoy this, could God have gotten addicted to isekai anime and manga like so many other poor souls back on Earth?
"That…" the man hesitated before sighing. "I don't know, there's not really anything more I can think of."
Seeing God quirking an eyebrow in confusion, he shrugged and explained, "With the limiter you gave and the one on my first choice, theres not much that I find particularly attractive. Maybe the Yami Yami no Mi? Its main ability to cancel out other Devil Fruits is useless in DxD but, I guess I could use it as a storage even though the Shadow Monarch system already has an inventory. Both the system and Devil Slayer Magic will negate the curse so that's not an issue though. There's nothing much else I can think of…"
"Done!" God exclaimed. "I'll integrate the Fruit into your inventory so they work as one and also make it mesh well with your Slayer Magic. I think you'll find the outcome quite to your liking."
"That's fine," the man said as he shrugged again and accepted the decision. "The gravity stuff will be cool to work with I guess."
"I'll be handling where, when, and who, you'll reincarnate as," God said with a dismissive wave as if already predicting the question, "so you don't have to worry about that. All that's left now is for you to decide when you want to leave. Time is relative outside of here so you could wait a thousand years and it wouldn't matter."
The man thought about that for a long while. He'd always been a natural loner, the only people he'd ever interacted with for extended periods of time were his family and that was mostly out of necessity. None of them had managed to make it up here themselves however, which was understandable. They weren't exactly the best people after all.
He thought about all those he bonded with while in Heaven and sadly, none had remained here as long as he had. Over a hundred years for people like him was exceedingly rare and as stated before, he hadn't met any others. The only individuals he interacted with now didn't know him well enough to miss his company and would just assume he finally entered the Veil, if anything they'd be happy for him.
With those thoughts in mind, the man looked into God's black orbs, squared his shoulders, and took a deep breath before speaking, "I'm ready to go now if I can."
*************************************
As the portal leading to the reincarnation cycle of DxD closed, a winged figure floated down and landed to God's left on the boulder. The new arrival watched as his father shifted from the form of the man he often took when viewed by those from the early 21st century, into that of an amorphous mass of pure light.
The angel felt it as the light reactivated their omniscience and could've sworn they saw the figure smile with satisfaction as it turned to face him.
"Oh? You were here the whole time Gabriel?" The light asked, though Gabriel knew it was more of a statement.
"Yes father," he replied. "I've been watching over that one for a few decades now, as you know. He was the longest resident that remained but wished to leave in over a century. I know how much you care about these cases, so I took the time to see if I could learn of a way to satisfy others like him in the future."
"Hmm," the light mused, "and did you come to any new realization?"
"Not particularly, no," the angel sighed and shook his head. "Cases such as him cannot seem to enjoy a lack of some form of conflict, which in and of itself is at conflict with the rules you set for our home. It's quite perplexing to me."
God chuckled at the answer, humans would always be hard for an Angel to completely wrap their heads around. He knew his first children found it particularly frustrating to try and re-understand them every hundred years or so, but he loved them all the more for trying.
"Though I did have a few questions pertaining to the world you sent him to," Gabriel said offhandedly. "I seem to remember you not coming out to see anyone for a whole week after you gained the memories of the avatar from that world."
God stiffened for an almost imperceptible moment as he sighed and waved off his son's remark, "That world showed me my failure with Samael through another perspective and brought back some painful memories is all."
The light that made up God's form briefly dimmed in what could only be described as melancholy before slowly returning to normal.
"Apart from that," God asked, "do you have anything else you'd like to know before I leave?"
Taking the change in subject for what it was, Gabriel moved on from the sensitive topic while inwardly reminding himself to never bring up such things again.
"Why didn't you tell him about the enemy that's sealed there?" The angel asked while tilting his head to the side. From his tone it could be inferred that he wasn't questioning the decision, only the meaning behind it.
God seemed to understand that and thus didn't mind the inquiry as he answered, "Fear Gabriel, fear of the unknown."
God looked at his child and chuckled seeing the innocent curiosity in their gaze, "You see son, humans have the propensity to judge things based off prior experience. Now there's nothing wrong with that, in fact most of the time it works to their benefit, like aiding in their survival when they stumble across a dangerous animal. But in this case if I told him what's coming, even if I warned him that it's not like what he knows, in the back of his mind he'd still undersell the threat."
"And he wouldn't be able to help it because it's all in his subconscious," Gabriel interjected, earning a proud smile from his father.
"Exactly!" God confirmed cheerfully. "So, I let the fear of the unknown drive him to prepare as much as possible, all while his faith in me tells him that it's not something impossible to overcome. This ensures that he will still take the time to enjoy his new life for what it truly is, a reward."
"A reward?" Gabriel asks as his face contorts with apprehension and a little disgust. "But father, you've seen that world… Look at what it did to the version of me, it's what humans would call a 'big-breasted bimbo'!"
God grimaced at his son's indignation and laughed sheepishly as he looked away, refusing to meet his eyes.
"Well…" he muttered while scratching the back of his head. "My avatar might have been influenced by the Creator and rules of that world a little more than I previously let on."
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