EXTREMELY large chapter because I wanted to be done with the prologue so we could start with the plot next chapter. (7k+ words)
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"Can you just shut up for once in your life?" I snapped, slamming the door to my room so hard it shook the frame.
"NO, YOU LISTEN HERE!" my sister screamed, barging through the door like a whirlwind. Her face was flushed with anger, hands clenched into fists. My eyesight was too blurry to see anything, but I could feel her desperation.
"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
My sister stood in front of me, her mascara ruined and streaked across her face, evidence of her crying her heart out. Her cheeks were wet, and her lips trembled, but the anger in her eyes was clear, like she was desperately trying to hold everything together.
"Why are you so damn stubborn?" I snapped, running a hand through my hair. "He's using you, can't you see that?"
You're probably wondering what's going on right?
To put it exactly, there was a guy. Fujikane Akasa, and my sister had an obvious crush on this guy.
At first, I didn't really care. Falling in love and other stuff is just how life progresses, right? It's natural. People get caught up in it. But then the problems started—the moment I saw him.
Let me explain, humans are inherently social animals. Even if someone says they're fine alone, they're likely not. It's a fundamental part of who we are—a deep-rooted, primal need for connection. From the moment we evolved, our survival depended on the strength of our bonds. Back when humans were still in the Stone Age, they weren't equipped with physical strength like bears, nor speed like tigers and lions. They didn't have the tough exteriors of turtles, nor the ability to fly like birds. In fact, humans were at the bottom of the food chain. But what we did have was our ability to communicate, to work together, and to outthink other predators.
To survive, we had to group up. We needed each other's help for hunting, for defending against wild animals, and for protecting each other from the elements. We didn't have sharp claws or thick armor to shield ourselves from danger, so our best defense was our unity. Strength in numbers wasn't just an advantage—it was essential. It's why humans naturally form tribes, communities, and families. These social bonds allowed us to thrive when individual strength failed us.
And that need for connection has carried on to this day, even though our world is far removed from the dangers of the wild. It's built into our very DNA. We still crave social interactions, even if it's not always obvious.
And there existed people who knew this and took full advantage of it.
As I said before, me and my sister didn't have the greatest relationship. It was suffocating to live in the same house, always walking on eggshells around each other. But what people don't realize about a terrible domestic relationship is that its effects don't just stay confined to the house. It leaks out. It stretches across every part of your life until you can't escape it.
When you're constantly surrounded by tension, constantly feeling like you're walking on a tightrope in your own home, it starts to bleed into everything else. The smallest things, the tiniest moments of interaction, can leave you feeling drained. You lose that drive to reach out to others. You can't form new connections because all your energy is spent just trying to survive the environment you're in.
And that's how it was for my sister. She'd been trying to get close to people—maybe a friend here, a connection there—but with the way we lived, it was impossible. She was tired, emotionally exhausted from living in a house where we couldn't talk, couldn't understand each other.
Behind the school backyard, Fujikane Akasa bent on one knee and one arm forward, facing my sister, proclaimed his love.
" I love you"
And a loner like that, even when faced with someone they barely know, even when faced with someone with a bad reputation-
"I love you too" My sister said, hesitation on her face.
-was extremely susceptible to emotional manipulation.
So, when Fujikane Akasa showed up, she latched onto him. She thought, maybe, just maybe, he could offer her the kind of connection she'd been missing out on. Someone who understood her, or at least made her feel like she mattered.
I never bothered with that guy. His reputation at school wasn't exactly the best, frequently known as a playboy, but it barely bothered his life. He only went after those who were outcasts, who didn't have any friends, any social circle, no nothing.
He played people, manipulated them, and made them think they were special, just long enough to get what he wanted before moving on to the next victim. I'd seen his type before, but never up close. When I noticed the way he looked at my sister, the way he made her feel like she was the center of the universe and saw that he truly didn't mean anything he said.
And because he only went after those with no-one to depend on, even if he broke up with a dozen of them, no-one would really care. Sure, he wouldn't exactly be popular with the girls, but did that really matter when he talked to someone that didn't have any friends?
Of course, my sister isn't to blame, this is mainly my fault. And when the situation to fix that mistake arrived.
Well, I just had to intervene.
I didn't have a grand plan to make this stop, no super complicated grand scheme to stop them from being with each other.
So I used my fists.
"St-" I hitched my breath as the world around me spun, my eyes covered in blood effectively rendering me blind, but I still stood my ground. "Stay the fuck away from her"
And it worked.
"F-fuck" the gargled sound of Akase came from the dumpster I shoved him in "You're fucking insane"
I protected her from- quite possibly- the worst mistake of her life, Surely she would be grateful for it, right?
"What the hell do you know about him? You don't even try to understand me. I like him, okay? He makes me feel seen, something you never did."
Instead, I heard the worst sentence I could have.
"I'm trying to protect you!" I finally managed to say. My voice sounded rough, almost pleading. "He doesn't care about you. He's just using you. You're too blind to see it."
I never realized one simple thing. There was no way she could have ever known that could she? She didn't know this bullshit about social interaction, and she was too blinded by the guy to realize what he was doing.
And there was no way she would listen to me over him, what with my stellar brotherly behaviour.
"You don't get it!" she shouted, her voice cracking as the tears finally broke through again. "I don't want your protection! I want to make my own decisions. I don't need you to control me!"
Akase was smart, good-looking and...I wouldn't say rich, but at that point, anyone with working parents had more money than us. He was the perfect man, and to her, I had ruined everything.
I winced, the accusation stinging more than I wanted to admit. "I'm not controlling you," I muttered, though it sounded weak, even to me. "I just... I don't want to see you get hurt."
"By ruining everything?" she countered bitterly. "By acting like you know what's best for me? You don't even trust me to make my own choices. You're no different than anyone else who's tried to control me."
Why?
Did I do something wrong?
Why was this happening?
I SAVED YOU
I couldn't hold back anymore. I stepped closer to her, my voice low but fierce. "You think he cares? You think he's different?" I shook my head. "He'll drop you the second you're no longer useful to him. I've seen it before. I can't let you walk into that."
She looked at me, her face a mask of hurt and disbelief. "I just want to be happy. But all you do is take that away from me. How am I supposed to be happy if you keep ruining everything?"
Maybe she's right...
Should I not interfere?
Maybe I should let her be
"I..."
"Drop dead," She finally said coldly. "Die right now, and never bother me again. Go far away and die, or die right here, I couldn't care less, I wouldn't even touch your body, i'd leave it here to rot"
...
'You promised to leave my body to rot...so why did you stay?'
There lay the still, unmoving body of my sister—her arms wrapped tightly around my lifeless form, like she was trying to shield me from the end. Her small frame was curled protectively against mine, her face buried in my chest, frozen in a final act of love and desperation.
My sister, who had always been so full of life, so stubborn and loud and alive, looked impossibly small at that moment. As if the weight of the universe had crushed the very last spark of hope out of her—and the only place left to hide from it was in my arms.
And she didn't let go.
Even in death, she held on.
"Damn it..." the godlike figure whispered under his breath as he stepped toward our bodies, his voice laced with something more than frustration—regret. His glowing eyes lingered on my sister's small frame, still wrapped tightly around mine, unmoving.
He crouched slightly, almost hesitating to reach out. But then he put his hand forth, resting them on mine and my sister's heads.
"I was too late," he said again, this time softer, almost like he was saying it to himself.
Too late? I thought, narrowing my gaze at him. Did he… come here for me?
He looked pained, his eyes darting between the two of us like he was trying to figure out how things had gone so wrong. His hand hovered in the air, trembling just slightly.
"I should've been faster," he murmured, closing his eyes.
Then, with a deep breath, he opened them again. Resolve settled into his features—not the cold kind, but the kind built from compassion.
"I wasn't here to change everything," he said quietly. "But I can't leave it like this."
It wasn't grief that moved him—it was something older. A duty shaped by empathy, by having walked through far too many broken worlds. A situation that he has perhaps faced too many times.
"You deserve another chance."
Suddenly, the astral me felt a pull toward my now-deceased body. My ghostly body turned into swirling white particles, forming a vortex as they funneled above my body, about to re-enter my body.
But of course, it couldn't have been that easy...
*THUD*
An invisible force slammed through the room like a pressure wave. My thoughts shattered like glass as an indescribable terror swept over me. The air went cold—not physically, but spiritually. The kind of cold that makes your very existence tremble.
The white particles of my soul flickered violently.
Then stopped.
Like static being forcefully turned off. The vortex collapsed as my essence yanked itself away from my body, reforming me in my astral state with a panicked gasp. My lungs didn't exist. But I still felt like I couldn't breathe.
"Tch" The being in front of me clicked his tongue "That's a really strong Anti-Ressurection ability"
'ANTI-RESURRECTION?!'
My voice exploded inside my own head. Rage clawed its way through me, louder than any scream I'd ever let out in life.
'WHAT KIND OF CARTOON-ASS, PLOT-ARMOR, GODFORSAKEN BULLSHIT IS THAT?!'
"You're really saying that... after you saw a giant fucking eye summon zombie versions of fictional characters in your own world, Matsumoto?"
...
How did he—
'How do you know my name?'
"For a guy who's been dead for three minutes, you ask a lot of questions," he said casually, inspecting the air like he was reading something only he could see. "Also when I placed my hand on both of your heads, I read all the memories of your entire life"
That confirmed it, this bei-
"Stop calling me 'Being', my name's Aoyama Yuito Daichi."
'Aoyama Yuito Daichi...?'
Hearing that name, memories came flooding into my brain.
'Are you serious?'
An average-looking guy, at least at first glance. He had that forgettable kind of face you'd pass by on a crowded street without thinking twice—until you noticed the details.
Jet-black hair, slightly messy and layered just enough to suggest he didn't care but somehow still pulled it off. The tips of his bangs were dyed a faded midnight blue, the color barely visible unless the light hit it just right. He had sharp blue eyes—icy and clear, the kind that always seemed to be looking past you, reading something behind your words.
"What the hell did you do to get injured this bad?"
"I fought off some creep going after my sister," I grunted, wincing as he tightened the bandage. "You might've heard of him—his name w—"
"Fujikane Akasa, right?" Aoyama cut in, his tone flat.
I blinked. "You know that guy?"
"Yeah," he muttered, securing the bandage with a practiced tug. "He's… known. Not in a good way."
He paused for a moment, jaw clenched, as if something sour surfaced in his thoughts.
"But I get it, man," he said, chuckling. "I've got a sister too, so I completely understand where you're coming from—though… we don't exactly get along."
The laughter faded from his face. A soft sigh slipped out of him.
"But… you're brave," Aoyama muttered, looking away, almost embarrassed. "Honestly, if something like that happened to me… I don't know if I'd have the guts to fight someone like Akasa. I'm kind of a coward, if I'm being real."
'...I doubt anyone would ever dare to do anything to your sister.'
Because Aoyama Yuito Daichi was… an anomaly. He looked painfully average at first glance—messy black hair, pale skin, sharp blue eyes—but everything about him felt wrong. Too calm. Too precise. Like he was always watching, always calculating. The aura he gave off was—
Terrifying.
When Aoyama was a kid, other children would cry and run from him without reason. His own parents needed time to adjust to his presence. And when his sister was still a baby, she'd wail uncontrollably whenever he held her, as if her instincts screamed danger.
No one ever found a reason why. No traumatic backstory, no curses, no secret evil origin.
He was just… like that.
And whenever I looked into his eyes, a chill ran down my spine. Because deep down, I couldn't shake the feeling that Aoyama Yuito Daichi wasn't human at all.
"Earth too"
I blinked my eyes as Aoyama waved his hands in front of me.
'...Nah, there's no way you're him' I sighed, shaking my head 'That guy was a bit weird, but you're an outright god, there's no semblance at all'
"Ok?"
'Also, that's a really big name'
"Then just call me Aoyama"
That confirmed it; he could not only see but even hear me
"Of course I can," the not-so-mysterious Aoyama said, finally turning his gaze toward me. "It's kind of hard to ignore you when you're flying two feet in front of my face, screaming about cartoons and calling me a child like a pissed-off ghost from Scooby-Doo."
'Wait, is that why you came here? Because you saw me floating around?'
"Mhm, what did you think?'
'Well' I murmured scratching my cheek 'With all that grief and stuff, I thought you personally knew us or something?'
"It's called basic human empathy" Aoyama answered then sighed "Then again, I'm not really human anymore"
'I…'
For a solid second, I had nothing. Silence. The kind that hits not from awe, but from sheer disbelief. How the hell was he seeing me? The-what was that thing called again?
Oh yeah, the Domain Keeper had shielded me. That was supposed to mean something.
"The Domain Keeper shielded you?" Aoyama repeated, tone flat. Then he scoffed, like I'd just told him I thought Santa was still real. "Yeah, sure. Like Domain Keepers give a crap about random souls. Though I guess he had the decency to throw in an enhanced invisibility skill."
My jaw metaphorically dropped—again. But he wasn't done.
"Oh, and I'm not the only one who could see you," he added, as casually as someone commenting on the weather. "The Devourer of Worlds had eyes on you too."
'The what now?'
"The giant eyeball," he said, already turning his attention elsewhere, like he'd grown bored of my ignorance.
'Oh…'
"Yeah. That guy." Aoyama exhaled sharply through his nose, like he couldn't believe how dense I was. "Probably the one who slapped the Anti-Resurrection on you too."
He crossed his arms and looked at me like I was the idiot in a group project.
"Maybe—just maybe—if you didn't float right into his line of sight like a glowing neon 'KILL ME' sign, I could've actually brought you back."
'Is that so?'
I had thought a lot on how I'd feel upon dying, and I could confidently say...
I was 100% correct most of the times
Right now, I feel absolutely nothing, no regrets, no desires, not even the faintest desire to live. What had this world offered me, except for a lifetime of pain and suffering?
Unless I'm going to go to hell, I have no desire to live on this planet again.
"I don't think you'll go to hell, though I'm not sure you'll go to heaven either"
'I don't really mind I guess' I sighed 'But...what about my sister?'
"Same seal"
'Tch' I clicked my tongue in regret 'If only I wasn't stupid, she wouldn't have died in the first place'
"Do you really believe that, Matsumoto?" he asked, eyebrow arching. "Then again… you two never talked, did you? No real communication. So I guess it makes sense you didn't know."
'Know what?'
"Your sister died of heartbreak"
'Heartbreak?'
"She couldn't bear the thought of living in a world without you," Aoyama said quietly. "So I guess... she was just too sad. Her heart stopped beating."
...
Silence
My mind took a few moments to process what Aoyama just told me.
The sister who barely sent a glance my way? The one who screamed at me for breaking her up with her boyfriend? The one who could barely survive living under the roof to the point she got a part-time job just so she could move out?
She died...because she was sad that I died?
"Both of your lives are a fucking mess," Aoyama muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's like watching an angst fanfic unfold on Wattpad. Two characters who'd literally die for each other, but instead they just hurt one another because nobody thought to have one—just one—honest conversation."
He crossed his arms, clearly done with the dramatics.
"Seriously. You were both out here giving Oscar-worthy performances in the 'Protect Each Other But Pretend To Hate Each Other' category… and somehow shocked when it all exploded in your faces. Maybe if you both just fucking sat down and had a fucking talk before..."
Aoyama sighed, dragging his hands across his face.
Somehow, despite me being the one who had died and lost my sister, this guy looked like he was the one really suffering.
"You worked so many jobs to provide for her when your father walked out," he continued, voice lower now. "You dropped school, distanced yourself from everyone who cared, all so she wouldn't go to bed hungry. You gave up everything—even your own happiness—because you thought that was the right thing to do."
"But did you ever stop to wonder—just once—that maybe... maybe she wasn't happy because you weren't?"
I stood there in silence, unable to form a response.
The truth was... I'd stopped caring about my own well-being a long time ago.
I rarely ate—once a week if I remembered. Sleep was a luxury I couldn't afford. And somewhere along the line, I just accepted I wouldn't make it past thirty.
Which—again—turned out to be a pretty accurate guess, seeing as I'm dead now.
So the idea that someone could find joy just by watching me live... was something I couldn't even begin to understand.
'I don't know…' I finally muttered, my voice small, hollow. 'It's been so long, I don't really remember what makes me happy anymore.'
I stood still in the emptiness, my words hanging in the air like a truth I had buried so deep, even I had forgotten it was there.
For the longest time, I thought I was surviving. That by pushing forward, by carrying everything on my back without ever asking for help, I was doing the right thing. That enduring meant living.
But now… standing here, disconnected from everything and everyone—I realized I hadn't truly lived in years.
'I guess it's too late now though, isn't it?' I added with a soft, bitter smile, the kind that never quite reached my eyes. The kind you give yourself when you've stopped expecting things to get better.
'I'm just… tired.'
Not the kind of tired that goes away with sleep. Not the kind that disappears with rest. No, this was something deeper—bone-deep, soul-deep. The kind of tired that seeps into your spirit and hollows it out until nothing feels worth it anymore.
'I've been tired for a long time.'
Somewhere along the way, I think I stopped hoping. Stopped dreaming. Stopped wanting anything for myself. It was easier that way.
To not want meant not to hurt.
To not hope meant not to break.
To not feel… meant not to drown.
And after everything I gave up, everything I endured... in the end, I still couldn't protect the one person I swore I would.
So what was the point?
'I don't even know if I want to come back,' I whispered. 'I think I lost the will to live a long time ago… I just didn't notice until now.'
My eyes drifted back down to where our bodies lay, still and cold. My sister, wrapped around me like I was the last thing she had. And maybe I was.Maybe we were all each other had.
'Maybe… in the next life.'
It came out barely above a breath. A wish. A surrender. Not to death—but to the silence. To the peace that comes when you have nothing left to scream, no tears left to cry. Just that quiet ache in your chest that you've gotten used to calling "fine."
Maybe next time... I'll be someone worth saving.
Maybe next time... I'll actually want to be saved.
Maybe nex-
"Shut the fuck up"
'Huh?'
"Even now, you're still monologuing like you're in an angst fanfiction," Aoyama continued "God, I see now why your sister was miserable, you just drone on and on"
I didn't know how to respond. There was a lump in my throat, but the words refused to form. Was he really doing this now? After everything?
Aoyama didn't give me a chance to collect myself. His eyes were sharp, focused. His words, though harsh, were charged with an intensity I couldn't ignore.
"Do you know something that I believe in with all my heart?" Aoyama said, stepping closer. "It's happy endings."
I frowned, confusion flooding me. "What are you talking about?"
He ignored my question, eyes locked onto me like a challenge. The weight of his gaze was almost too much to bear. It felt as if I wasn't looking at a being, but rather an entire worl-
"I'll tell you one thing," Aoyama said, voice steady, even as he placed a finger gently on my forehead. "If your story is really supposed to be an angst fic, then there's no way I'm letting it have a bad ending."
'I-'
"Shut up" Aoyama continued "If I can't bring you two back to life, I'll bring you to someone who can"
And in a moment, the two of us vanished
...
Before I could even ask what the hell he meant—
—everything vanished.
The air twisted. The world folded in on itself. My soul was yanked forward like a puppet on a string—
—and suddenly, I was standing in front of that place again.
Right in front of that red mist.
'This is...the Domain Keeper?'
"Domain Walker" The red cloud bellowed as it welcomed Aoyama's presence and completely ignored mine "How wonderful to finally meet you"
"Nice to meet you too," Aoyama replied casually, like he was greeting a barista. Then he gave me a light shove forward. "You mind doing something for him and his sister real quick?"
"...Anti-Resurrection? It is a simple matter, I shall handle it"
As soon as those words were spoken, I felt something shift.
A strange, cold sensation swept through my soul—and then I saw it: a wisp of pitch-black smoke leaking from my chest like poison being exorcised. The tendrils curled into the air and evaporated as if they'd never existed.
"Done," the Keeper declared.
"Do you wish for me to send him back to his homeworld as well?"
Wait… what?
I blinked in disbelief. Just like that? No riddles, no conditions? The same godlike entity who practically treated me like a speck of dust before… was now bowing his metaphorical head and offering favors?
What the hell is this?
'Who the hell is this Aoyama guy?'
Aoyama waved his hand dismissively. "No way," he said, shaking his head. "He's not done yet."
"I read his memories, and there's no point in placing him in his homeworld," Aoyama continued, his voice now laced with something unfamiliar—maybe pity, maybe conviction. "There's nothing for him there. No one waiting. No future worth returning to."
He looked at me—not through me, not around me, at me.
"I want something else for him," he said firmly. "A chance to start from scratch."
"You are requesting reincarnation?"
"Hm, you tell me Matsumoto, do you want to be reincarnated or transmigrated?"
'What?'
"Ah, right, you know those fanfictions where the main character gets reincarnated and he gets to pick a world and some wishes?" Aoyama continued, oblivious to my expression "This is the literal exact same situation"
'Even fictional worlds?'
"Yep"
Honestly, it was all a bit too much.
First, I find out my sister actually cared about me. That she cried for me. That she died because of me. And now, I'm being handed a full reset? A second chance? In a fictional world, no less?
Where I could become someone new—stronger, smarter, maybe even loved?
Where I could pick my own powers, write my own story, live without guilt dragging behind me like a corpse?
It sounded insane. Ridiculous. Like a fever dream cooked up by someone who read too much web fiction and then overdosed on regret.
I should've been ecstatic. Grateful. Screaming "Hell yeah!" and picking my cheat abilities already.
But instead, I just felt... tired.
Like the universe was dangling a golden ticket in front of me, and I couldn't help but look for the bloodstains on the back.
"Is there a catch to this?" I asked, quieter now. "Like… do you want something from me?"
Because there's always a catch. There has to be. Nothing ever comes free—not love, not forgiveness, and definitely not god-tier wish fulfillment.
"Catch? Like you could possibly offer either of us anything."
Nevermind...
'Honestly, I don't really know. I never imagined something like this would happen to me'
"Yeah makes sense" Aoyama hummed, then his eyes glinted "But if you really don't know what to do, I could offer you a suggestion"
'Suggestion?'
"Are you still angry at the World Devourer?"
Anger was an understatement
When I first saw it—that thing—standing over my sister, all teeth and rot and impossible shapes, I didn't think. I burned.
Rage doesn't feel like fire, not really. It feels like gravity snapping in half. Like something inside you breaks and starts pulling everything inward, like a black hole. And all I could think was I need to kill it before she cries. Before she breaks. Before it can touch her.
But now...
'Angry?' I thought for a moment before shaking my head 'I don't really feel anger towards dead things'
"The World Devourer is still out there"
I looked up sharply. My eyes narrowed.
"The thing I killed..." Aoyama said, almost casually, "was just its right eye. It still has an entire body somewhere out there."
A chill ran down my spine.
That thing—that nightmare—was just a piece. A shard. An organ. And it still made my soul scream just by looking at it.
'You're telling me I died to a single eyeball?'
"Hn"
'The right eye...' I murmured as if trying to find a ray of hope or at least some chance against an overwhelmingly powerful entity 'Then, he's half-blind right now?'
"Nah," Aoyama sighed. "This guy's got insane regeneration. I basically shredded his existence down to an atomic level, and he completely regenerated from a half-broken nucleus. He's probably already got his eye back."
'...Can I really kill something like that?'
"Yeah, you're right" Aoyama muttered "You're definitely not strong enough to kill something like that on your ow-"
'No wait, why the fuck am I killing something like this in the first place?' I asked in disbelief 'You're a Domain Walker, which-from what I figured out- means you like...
'Voyage Through The Worlds, right?'
"Eh" Aoyama said, waving his hands "I don't really see a point in explaining that Domain Walker stuff, so let's just agree to that for now."
'And this guy is the Devourer Of Worlds right? Isn't that basically your arch-enemy'
"Nah" Aoyama shook his head "I already have an arch-enemy, Also you're overestimating the Devourer Of World's strength."
"If I were to rank him in terms of rankings then..." Aoyama muttered, scratching his chin, "He's basically that one tutorial robber that the main character beats in the first few chapter when they suddenly gain power"
"You're telling me the thing that ended my entire planet is your starter villain?"
Aoyama grinned
"Yep. Which is why this'll be fun. For you, anyway."
'The hell, then who's the final boss?'
"That would b—"
Pain.
The word doesn't do it justice. It wasn't pain like a wound or a broken bone—it was like being unwritten. Like reality itself forgot what a "Matsumoto" was supposed to be. My thoughts fractured, memory peeled away like ash in the wind. I couldn't breathe—not because there was no air, but because breathing itself had been deemed a concept too small to matter.
The Golden barriers that separated Domains, barriers so powerful not even every single Domain Keeper combined could break it shattered like glass. And then...
Something looked at me.
It didn't have eyes, or even a face, but I knew it was looking. And that look pierced deeper than any blade. It felt like a god noticing an insect crawling on its throne—and not bothering to squash it because even that would be too much effort.
And then—gone.
Just like that, the weight vanished. I collapsed to one knee, gasping, my soul still echoing with the afterimage of something far too large to be named.
"D-Domain Walker… d-do not speak its name…"
The Domain Keeper rasped. Its voice was weak, like it was being held together by spit and smoke. Even as a cloud of bloody mist, it trembled, like it had nearly unraveled just from proximity to the name.
'Even the Domain Keeper? And just from hearing it?'
"Yeah…" Aoyama muttered, rubbing his temples. "My bad. Totally forgot how twitchy that dude gets when you try to say that name out loud. That thing's got auto-detection built into its concept. Good news is it didn't mark you… just brushed against you."
He grinned, but I noticed his hands were shaking slightly.
"Okay," he said, voice clipped. "No more delays. Let's get you reincarnated before it decides to take a second look."
A golden map flickered into existence in front of Aoyama—floating midair, radiant and impossibly intricate. Symbols twisted and reformed across its surface, their meanings just beyond my comprehension. I couldn't read a single thing, but Aoyama's eyes sparkled with understanding.
He leaned in, squinting, then suddenly grinned like he'd found the last puzzle piece.
"Wait…" he murmured. "That's perfect."
'What's perfect?'
Aoyama looked at me, his grin growing wide enough to be unsettling.
"The world the Devourer is targeting? It's got a power system strong enough to completely wipe him out. Like, erase-him-from-the-cosmic-record level strong. And even better—his clairvoyance is temporarily down, so he won't see you coming."
'Clairvoyance?'
Aoyama nodded, tapping the side of his temple. "Yeah, the bastard can normally peek through hundreds of worlds at once. Not just their presents—but their futures as well. That's how he stays one step ahead of everyone, always."
Then his eyes darkened slightly.
"But when I ripped through his right eye, I slipped in a little bonus. A counter-curse to short out his sight—well, insight—for a while. No divine surveillance, no probability tweaking, no precog bullshit."
He turned to me, face now calm. Focused.
"How about I drop you in that world, and give you a cheat strong enough to permanently kill the World Devourer?"
A chance to kill the World Devourer?
The words lit something in my chest. Not hope. Not purpose. Something hotter. Wilder. My breath caught, and for a second, I could feel it—the weight of that thing's existence pressing down on everything I'd ever known. It shattered my world. Turned my people into ash. It probably ended human civilization without even noticing.
But… no. That wasn't why I wanted this.
I wasn't some tragic survivor or noble warrior seeking justice.
I wanted to kill it because it made my sister cry.
That was it. That was enough.
"You…" I said slowly, the realization twisting in my gut, "You're really good at taking advantage of people."
Aoyama didn't flinch. He just smiled—almost kindly.
"Have you ever thought that maybe… you're just easy to take advantage of?"
I didn't have a comeback.
Because yeah.
'I agree'
He was right.
"Great"
Aoyama smiled as he clapped his hands.
"Let me give you the basics, the world you're going in is a mix of MHA and Pokemon"
'That's...a weird combination?'
"It's one of the few worlds with a power system robust enough to give you a fighting chance against the World Devourer and his army." He exhaled, looking almost annoyed. "As much as I'd love to throw you into something simpler, like Jujutsu Kaisen, those worlds just don't have the raw destructive capability. Let alone the tools to kill something like that."
Then he pointed a finger at me and wagged it dramatically.
"Don't underestimate Pokémon. They're terrifying. Have you ever actually read the Pokédex entries?"
'Dude.'
"Oh, right," Aoyama laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I forgot—half of your memories are just you obsessively playing Pokémon. You've obviously read them."
Anyways...
'If I'm going to a world like that, then won't most of the information I have regarding canon for both the worlds be rendered useless?'
"Yep"
'...Seriously?'
"Dead serious," Aoyama said, unfazed. "Even the personalities of the characters are different in this version. And that's not even counting the crossover characters—like professors or champions. Some of them are weird."
'Is Cynthia going to be there at least?'
"Simp"
Aoyama chucked as he looked at the map. "Yeah, I just checked, she's a champion there."
'Speaking of champion, how is the world divided in there? Is it based on the normal Earth with countries and continents, or is it based on Pokémon with regions and stuff?'
"I'll upload that information when you crossover."
'Then...can I have a system or something?'
"YOU DARE" The Domain Keeper besides me roared as he heard my request "DOES YOUR GREED KNOW NO BOUNDS? DO YOU REALLY THINK OF YOURSELF IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO REQUEST ANYTHING FR-"
"Domain Keeper, give him a system"
"Anything you say Domain Walker"
This is like seeing the comment sections under a Lebron post on Insta.
"You'll get the system when you enter the world," Aoyama said casually, like he was explaining how to use a vending machine. "I'll admit, I don't really like systems, but there really isn't much of a choice right now."
'Why can't I get it now?'
"I have a lot of- no, actually, I can't say." Aoyama hummed. "Let's just say it's best not to have a system around me and leave it at that."
Then, without ceremony, a portal bloomed open next to me—swirling golds and deep purples, as if someone had spun starlight and spilled ink into a whirlpool. It gave off a faint hum, like the sound of breathing in a sealed room.
I stared at it.
This was it. My second chance. My reckless, undeserved, totally insane second chance. A one-way trip to a world stitched together from anime logic and game mechanics. A place where people could lift mountains and command legendary creatures
A world where I'd be expected to kill something that wiped out humanity like it was scraping mold off bread.
I didn't move.
"...I'm not ready," I muttered, my voice small, almost drowned out by the portal's thrum. I wasn't sure who I was even talking to—Aoyama, myself, the universe. Didn't matter.
"Hm" Aoyama hummed "I know. When I was in your position, I wasn't given any warning when I crossed domains for the first time either. One moment I was in front of a truck, and the next moment I was a Quirkless version of me in the MHA world."
"That's why" Aoyama sighed "The least I can do, is make sure that if anyone faced the same situation as me, I'd make sure they at least had some knowledge and some form of ability."
"Great pep talk," I muttered, not tearing my eyes away from the swirling void.
"I try my best."
'"This is crazy. This is actually insane. I died. I became a ghost. My planet's gone. And now I'm getting tossed into some cracked-out crossover world with a literal system, like I'm a character in a mobile gacha game. Just so I can maybe maybe kill a monster that regenerated from being atomized.'
"Yeah that does sound insane" Aoyama muttered. "Well yeah. But to be fair, you'll be ridiculously OP. And that system? It's... well, I don't know what the system is; the Domain Keeper gave you that."
"That's supposed to reassure me?"
"Dude, I'm trying my best," Aoyama said, arms raised in surrender. "This is the first time I've faced someone in a situation like this. You think there's a manual for resurrecting ghost boys with sister guilt and vengeance issues?"
"Actually," Aoyama paused, "That sounds a lot like me when I first transmigrated."
Before I could respond, he flicked a glowing orb toward me. It drifted gently through the air and settled on my forehead like a whisper, then disappeared without a trace.
"By the way," he added casually, "consider that a gift from me. Mental protection. You'd be very surprised how many people go full Lovecraft protagonist when they try to face an Eldritch entity without it."
"AND" Aoyama yelled, making me unconsciously straighten. "If you ever find any difficulty, or if you think you can't defeat the Devourer, just think about me, and I'll immediately come to you, alright?"
'Why? Isn't it my mission to face the Devourer?'
"That's more of a circumstance," Aoyama continued "You don't have a mission. I'm sending you to that world because of my promise earlier"
'If your story is really supposed to be an angst fic, then there's no way I'm letting it have a bad ending.'
"You've already died once, Matsumoto. You don't get another redo. So in this life... don't you dare mope. Don't wallow. Live. Party. Make friends. Break the damn law if you feel like it. Love recklessly. Laugh too loud. Burn things down if you have to—but live. Like someone who got a second shot."
He smiled again. And there was something deeply terrifying in that smile.
"And if after all this—after everything I've done—you still manage to have a miserable life… I swear, I'll come back and end you myself."
'...why?' I asked, unable to hold back my curiosity. 'You've only known me for a few minutes, why do all this?'
"Why not?"
'...'
'...I see.'
I looked toward the portal, its light dancing across my face. My hand clenched slightly, not out of fear—but out of something close to resolve.
'Then I'll make this life a great one. I promise.'
Aoyama gave a thumbs-up.
Then paused.
"Also uh…" he scratched his cheek, suddenly hesitant as I took a step toward the glowing threshold. "Maybe try building some normal relationships this time, yeah? Your obsession with your sister—and her obsession with you—is a little creepy."
I stopped mid-step and turned my head just enough to glare at him.
'…Fuck you.'
And with that, I stepped into the portal—no hesitation, no looking back.
A new world awaited me.
----
Aoyama stood in silence, watching the swirling violet gateway collapse in on itself, sealing Matsumoto's path forward. He let out a long, content sigh, hands in his pockets.
"…I wish you luck, old friend.."
"Your kindness is a glaring weakness Domain Walker"
Aoyama turned his head slightly, glancing at the dissipating red haze—the only remnant of the Keeper, its job now complete.
"Shed your emotions, only then will you become the strongest and defeat that"
"You think I'm a DarkWolfShiro MC or something? I have no plans on being someone who only focuses on fucking women with zero personality traits."
Aoyama scoffed, already walking away.
"Lust is an emotion, if you wish to-"
"Domain Keeper"
Aoyama said sharply as he turned towards the scattered mist
"I have no intention of becoming one of those edgy, lust-drunk husks who can't physically stop fucking women, or the cold, detached types who float through life like ghosts and barely interact with the world. And definitely not one of those self-proclaimed villains who throw away everything—love, family, meaning—for the sake of power. You call that strength?" Aoyama scoffed, shaking his head. "I call it pathetic. I don't even consider people like that alive."
Aoyama paused as if rehearsing his sentence
"No, scratch that, I don't even consider those things alive, they're not worth being called people"
"Then atleas-"
"Don't even offer me a system" Aoyama frowned "I don't want to become one of those retards that scream System System all the time and become a slave to it's quests. The power I gain should be something I gain on my own, and the problems I have are problems I'll solve on my own, not because of some damn asspull ability from a system."
The golden barrier then stretched, forming a portal.
"And hey—" Aoyama looked back over his shoulder, voice firm but calm, "—don't give advice on becoming the strongest…"
His eyes gleamed.
"…when you're not the strongest yourself."