I'm surrounded by nothing. Absolute nothingness.
There's no light, no darkness. No up or down. I can't see, hear, or feel. I'm not even sure I exist. It's like I myself am... nothing.
And I don't mean an empty or white space. It's not the typical "void" one might imagine. It's total absence.
Inexplicable. Unimaginable.
And yet, in that nothingness… I heard a voice.
"Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?"
I tried to look ahead... or at least I think I did. Is there even direction in this place? I saw no one. Just the void… or whatever this is.
I felt disappointed. I don't know how long I've been here. Could've been a day, or maybe an eternity. So when I heard that voice, I was really hoping to see someone.
"You can't see me. I have no physical form."
"Can you read my mind?" I asked, surprised.
"I can. Where you come from, I'd be considered a god."
Well, it was one of two options: god or the devil. I'm glad it turned out to be the former. I've always thought of myself as a good person.
"So... what's supposed to happen now?"
"You're going to reincarnate. You'll be reborn as a baby, without memories. The cycle will begin again."
Boring. I was expecting something more... epic. Like reincarnating with powers in a fantasy world. But I guess real life —or death— isn't a fanfic.
"Although... you can also choose another option."
"Another option? Explain," I replied, a bit excited. Anything sounds better than starting over with no memories.
"I can send you to a world you'd consider a dream. And give you superpowers."
"And what's the catch?"
I didn't think anyone —not even a bored god— would give me powers for free. The voice seemed amused by my distrust.
"There's no catch. There are infinite people in infinite universes. So many that the difference between the weakest and the strongest is also infinite. Giving someone else power changes nothing."
"That doesn't explain why you'd give it to me."
"There's no reason. I just want to. Maybe it's something special to you, but for me... it's like a craving. You don't question why you want something. You just do. Think of it this way: I'm bored."
Makes sense... or as much sense as something coming from a god can make.
"Alright. What power are you going to give me?"
"Hmm... I hadn't thought about that. A single power would be boring. But giving you too many... would be chaos."
He went silent, as if thinking deeply.
"I got it! What if I give you the Omnitrix? Tons of powers in one, but it still counts as a single artifact."
The Omnitrix. Not bad. One of the most powerful artifacts in fiction —if not the most. Over a million different forms. Each with unique abilities.
Of course, it'll all depend on the world he sends me to. He said it would be a "dream universe," but that can mean many things.
Highschool DxD, for example: full of beautiful girls, a paradise for anyone with power… but extremely dangerous. A dream, yes. Easy? Not at all.
"Can you tell me which world you're sending me to?"
The god seemed to think for a few seconds.
"And why stop at just one? Just like I gave you many powers in a single device... why not give you many worlds fused into one?"
That sounds... complicated. I've read fanfics like that before. Mixes that ruin power balance, distort stories, or make amazing characters irrelevant.
"Don't worry. It'll be a superworld, created from the coherent fusion of an original superworld with many minor worlds."
I forgot he could read my mind… But hey, I'm intrigued.
"A superworld has a well-developed universe: history, power scaling, internal logic. The minor worlds are simpler, focused on the protagonists. Easier to adapt."
I see. Highschool DxD, To Love Ru, Marvel, DC, Invincible, Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, Naruto... would be superworlds.
While Love is War, Saekano, Oregairu, Toradora… would be minor worlds. Not just romance, but I can't think of more examples right now.
"Are you at least going to tell me which superworld it is?"
"That would be boring. Besides, it won't take you long to figure it out."
Seems like he's not going to speak.
"Speaking of speaking, I have something to talk about."
A lot of "speaking."
"Alright, I'll list a few details for you.
First of all, as you'd expect, there have been some adjustments to make all the worlds fit better. These changes may have triggered other changes — butterfly effect and all that.
Which means you might meet someone completely different from the original canon. And not necessarily because of the fusion itself, but as a consequence of some other change. So don't try to make sense of everything... it simply won't make sense.
The Omnitrix will already have the master control unlocked, and you'll receive full information about all the aliens, along with the experience to use them, directly in your mind. You won't need to train to master them from the start.
Of course, training will still make you better.
The Omnitrix will have context in that world, so some issues might arise. You know, people trying to steal it, or the original creator getting upset that you're using his invention.
But don't worry, the Omnitrix is bound to you. No one else will be able to use it... though they won't know that.
And last, but not least — something I'm sure you'll like. Call it a gift. The superworld you're going to was originally an echi anime, so... most of the 'characters' are 'pretty' sexualized.
Don't be surprised if an ordinary person looks like they walked off a lingerie runway.
I think that's everything. If I forget anything, I'll leave it written in a letter at your house when you arrive.
Ah, right... you'll also have your own personal backstory there. You'll be an orphan. It's the most practical option: fewer emotional conflicts and identity crises later on.
Any questions?"
I stayed silent for a long while. It was a lot to take in, though it all sounded pretty good. And the fact that it's an "ecchi" superworld put my mind at ease. It didn't sound too dangerous.
Sure, I just said Highschool DxD is dangerous, but I don't think he'd send me there just because I thought about it. And considering he can read my mind, he probably ruled it out if it was his first option.
"Since you have no questions... farewell then. Have fun."
I didn't have time to react. Everything went black. And yes, there's a huge difference between "seeing nothing" and seeing black. The darkness felt comforting.
Slowly, I opened my eyes... and saw it.
A familiar ceiling.
Memories began to flow into my mind: from my birth to today. All of it naturally, with no headaches or discomfort.
My name is Uehara Eiichi.
I'm 16 years old. I was born into a middle-class family. My parents, both teachers, died a few years ago in a car accident.
They left me this house I live in — fairly large, with four bedrooms, a living room, kitchen, two bathrooms, and a shower. They also left me enough inheritance to live on until I come of age, as long as I don't start spending like crazy.
Normally, a minor can't live alone, but I was granted an exception. I live in a safe area, proved my maturity, and I have a legal guardian who checks in on me occasionally. That convinced the court to let me stay alone.
In short: a background tailored for freedom. Thanks, God.
Let's talk about where I live: Sainan City. That confirms the world I'm in. In my previous world, this place didn't exist.
Sainan is a fictional city from the anime To Love-Ru. Which means aliens exist, and there are several encounters with them throughout the series.
The thing is, since the story focuses so much on the alien protagonist, the supernatural elements on Earth were a bit neglected. I remember there was a ghost in the story, which confirms that side exists too.
I hope it's not something like Jujutsu Kaisen, though that was curses, not ghosts... but still, there's a connection.
I study at Sainan High School. I remember being in the same class as Rito, the protagonist of To Love-Ru.
Though I didn't really notice him before. He was just another guy. But now, with my memories of the anime, I remember a dude who always ended up in perverted situations with the girls in class.
I don't recall Lala transferring in, so canon hasn't started yet. But it probably won't be long.
My appearance in this world is pretty good: short, light brown hair; green eyes; slightly above-average height. Basically, an anime version of Ben Tennyson — only more handsome.
Though... that's about to change.
I looked at my left wrist. There it was: the Omnitrix. It looked like a almost completely white watch, with black and green edges. In the center was a black square with curved corners, crossed by two green lines forming the classic hourglass.
{Is the Omniverse version}
I pressed it with my other hand. It opened. A cylinder rose in the center, emitting the iconic unlock sound.
A smile spread across my face as I recognized the noise I'd heard thousands of times in my childhood.
The cylinder showed the classic logo: a green hourglass on a black background. A circular hologram projected from it, displaying ten different forms.
I recognized them all. I could change which ones appeared, but the current ones were useful for now.
I spun the dial, like using an old rotary phone, until I selected the one I wanted.
The moment I pressed it, a blinding green light surrounded me... and I began to transform.
My body grew larger. My skin started turning rocky, taking on an earthy tone. Cracks opened across it — without any pain; in fact, it felt... natural. Like that's how it was meant to be.
From the fissures, glowing molten lava shone through. My head ignited in flames, along with the rest of my body. The light faded.
And I spoke.
"Heatblast."
Of course, the first one I transformed into had to be Heatblast. He's the first in all versions.
The feeling was... overwhelming. It was as if I could do anything. The power coursed through my body like a hot electric shock, but without any pain—it was pure energy.
And the best part: in my head, I already knew exactly how to use it. Techniques, moves, tactics... it was all there, implanted as if I had practiced them for years. My body reacted automatically, as if this form had always been a part of me.
I walked to the window, took off into the air using the flames of my body like the Human Torch, and shot up into the sky.
I made sure no one saw me take off. Once I was in the air, I flew as high as I could, high enough that if anyone saw me, they'd think I was just a shooting star... or an airplane.
The wind, the fire propelling me, the freedom of floating among the clouds... it was incredible. I soared over the city just to enjoy the view. Every building, every park, every twinkling light seemed like part of a dream that had come true.
Thanks to the Master Control, I didn't have to worry about running out of energy. In the past, the Omnitrix would deactivate its user every ten minutes to prevent the alien DNA from affecting theirs... but that limitation had been reduced over time and use. Like a vaccine, the body got used to it, building resistance.
Right now, I could stay transformed for half an hour without any problem. It wasn't unlimited, but more than enough. Also, if I were in a battle, the Omnitrix would never de-transform me in the middle of the fight. Its priority was to protect the wearer.
In short: I'm broken. Or rather... the Omnitrix is broken.
While I kept flying, something caught my attention. Above a few houses, I saw several figures moving quickly. At first, I thought they were thieves... but no. It was someone running away. And they were being chased by three guys.
I could've just flown past. Pretend I didn't see anything. But I'm not that kind of person.
"If I can help, I do. And I know I can."
I followed them from a distance until they reached a park. There, they stopped. From above, I could clearly see the three pursuers pull out weapons.
I descended immediately, dropping between them and the person who was fleeing.
---
Today had been a strange day for Yuuki Rito.
He came home from school as if it were just another day. In class, he tried to talk to Haruna—the girl he liked—but failed, as always, due to his shyness.
Frustrated, he went home. While his younger sister prepared dinner, he went to the bathroom to relax.
But what happened... was anything but relaxing.
Without warning, a completely naked girl appeared in front of him, with long pink hair. He, accidentally having his hands extended forward, ended up groping her breasts.
As soon as he realized what he was doing, he pulled his hands back as if he had been burned.
The girl, completely unfazed, introduced herself as Lala Satalin Deviluke, an alien. And before he could process it, she said that she was now his fiancée.
Rito could barely blink when the bathroom ceiling exploded, and three men dressed in black fell in, armed and with very unfriendly intentions. They came for her.
Panicking, Rito barely managed to cover himself with a towel, grabbed Lala, and ran out of the bathroom, carrying her in his arms. After several minutes, exhausted, he reached a park.
There, they were surrounded.
"What do we do now...?" he asked Lala, almost out of breath.
She just smiled at him confidently.
"Don't worry."
She took a step forward, crossed her arms, and looked the attackers directly in the eye.
"I'm not going back. Tell my father I'm not marrying that frog-faced guy."
"Princess, you must return. Our orders are to take you back to your engagement," said one of the men.
"I'm not getting married. Besides..." she said, pointing at Rito without hesitation, "I already have a fiancé."
Rito blinked, confused. Though he had heard that phrase before, he thought it was a joke.
"How do you mean you're engaged...?" he stammered.
"He proposed to me, and I accepted," Lala replied with an innocent smile.
'When did I propose to her?', Rito thought, his face frozen.
The three men hesitated for a second. Then they looked at each other, nodded... and pulled out their weapons.
"I'm sorry, princess. But our orders are clear. As for your 'fiancé'... we'll just have to cancel the engagement."
Lala tensed up. On her planet, an engagement could be broken in two ways: either the fiancé backed out during the first week... or he died before the wedding.
As if they were reading her thoughts, the three of them aimed directly at Rito.
He closed his eyes, expecting the worst.
But instead of bullets... he felt heat. Intense heat. The temperature rose as if the sun had suddenly dropped down.
When he opened his eyes... what he saw took his breath away.
In front of him was not a human, nor an alien with vaguely human features.
No.
It was a creature made of volcanic rock, with cracks from which bright magma leaked, and flames dancing all over its body. A true fire monster.
The being extended a hand, and with a simple gesture, a wall of fire rose up, surrounding the attackers, blocking any attempt to attack or escape.
And then it spoke, with a deep but firm voice:
"I don't know who you are or what you want, but I won't allow you to harm innocents."
Rito froze. He was expecting something... scarier. But there was something in that voice. Something calm, determined.
Did it sound... heroic?