-----
Joey floated in a vast, dark void, weightless and thoughtless. There was no sense of time or space—just an endless, suffocating silence. He didn't know how long he had been there, nor did he feel the need to question it. He was utterly unaware of anything.
Suddenly, the darkness began to shift. An invisible force stirred the void, reshaping it into a grand, majestic palace that radiated power.
Joey opened his eyes. Everything around him was a brilliant white, stretching infinitely in all directions. It was overwhelming, yet oddly peaceful.
A figure materialized in the distance, cloaked in light, radiating an aura of authority and calm.
"Where... where am I?" Joey stammered, struggling to comprehend what he was seeing.
"I'm sorry to inform you," the figure replied softly, yet with a voice that carried infinite weight, "but you've died. You have left your world behind."
Joey's heart sank. "I... I died?" His voice wavered in disbelief as he looked around, trying to convince himself this was just a bizarre dream. After frantically pinching and slapping himself for what felt like hours, he sank to the ground, defeated. "Is this real?"
"Are you... a god?"
The figure chuckled lightly, its tone patient and almost amused. "Not quite. I haven't reached that level yet, but I do possess the power to decide your next fate."
Joey took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm. "So... what happens to me now?"
"You have two choices," the figure replied, raising an arm. A shimmering window appeared in midair, filled with incomprehensible symbols and radiant colors. "You may choose between annihilation and rebirth. If you choose rebirth, a world will be selected for you randomly."
Joey stared at the window, his mouth dry. "Rebirth... or annihilation?" He muttered to himself. "Well, I'm not exactly ready to disappear forever, so..." His lips curled into a nervous smile. "I guess I'll take rebirth. Not much of a choice, huh?"
The figure nodded. "Very well."
A massive wheel materialized out of thin air. It gleamed with an otherworldly light, each segment labeled with the name of a world.
→Attack on Titan
→Tokyo Ghoul
→Reverend Insanity
→Demon Slayer
→Mirai Nikki
→Parasyte
"Fuck... I'm so fucked," Joey groaned, panic creeping into his voice. "Every single one of these is a death trap!"
The wheel began to spin, its edges glowing brighter with each rotation. Joey could only watch, his mind racing as he calculated the odds of survival in each world.
"Please don't be Attack on Titan... or Tokyo Ghoul... or—damn it, all of them are nightmares!" he muttered.
The wheel slowed, its glowing pointer inching toward one segment. Finally, it stopped.
"Reverend Insanity," the figure announced.
Joey froze. His expression turned lifeless. "Reverend Insanity? Great... I've just won a ticket to an early grave." He let out a hollow laugh. "Might as well have chosen annihilation now. At least it's painless."
But before despair could fully consume him, the figure spoke again.
"You will not be sent unprepared," it said, its voice brimming with certainty. "I will grant you a gift to aid your survival in this dangerous world."
Joey's eyes lit up. "A gift? Really?"
The figure nodded. "I will grant you the A.I. Chip, similar to the one from Warlock of the Magus World. It will be linked to your soul, but you will need to upgrade it on your own."
Joey blinked, stunned. An A.I. Chip? His despair began to melt away, replaced by cautious hope. But then a dark thought struck him.
"Wait," he said hesitantly. "If I show up in the Reverend Insanity world, won't Heaven's Will just read my memories and wipe me out?"
The figure smirked knowingly. "I've already accounted for that. The A.I. Chip will include a shielding mechanism to block Heaven's Will from accessing your true memories. It will also generate false memories to make Heaven's Will believe everything is proceeding as it should."
Joey's jaw dropped. "You're serious? This... this is incredible! Thank you, thank you so much!" His excitement was palpable now, and for the first time since his death, he felt a spark of genuine hope.
"Now, the last step before your rebirth," the figure said calmly.
Joey leaned in, eager to hear the final instructions.
"Because of the special rules of the Reverend Insanity world, you won't simply transmigrate. You'll have to replace someone in that world," the figure explained. "I'll allow you to choose anyone you want to replace, but____"
Joey's excitement surged, and he could barely contain himself. "I... I choose Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, of course!"
Spectral Soul Demon Venerable, the founder of the soul path and creator of the killing path, was a being of unparalleled power and genius. He had devised the split-soul killer move, creating countless clones that shared their experiences with him. This allowed him to achieve astounding attainments across all paths.
Joey's mind raced with possibilities. With Spectral Soul's unmatched abilities, combined with his A.I. Chip, semi-freedom from fate, and knowledge of the plot, Joey could reach the peak effortlessly.
"I won't even need to lift a finger," he thought. "I can just command my clones and let the A.I. Chip strategize everything. I'll rule the world without breaking a sweat!"
As Joey imagined himself holding dominion over the world, a voice interrupted his thoughts.
"... I wasn't finished."
Joey froze.
"You can choose," the figure continued, its tone firm, "but there are limits. The person you replace must be mortal or, at most, a Rank 5 Gu Master. And the timeline must be after the plot and before Fate Gu is destroyed."
Joey's grand vision shattered like glass. His imagined three-second path to world domination vanished into thin air. "Uh... what?"
He sighed deeply, his disappointment evident. But he quickly refocused. This choice was still crucial, and making the right one could mean the difference between survival and death.
"Alright," he muttered, forcing himself to think logically. "Let's consider my options."
"The first and most obvious pick is Fang Yuan—the ultimate winner. Before he destroys Fate Gu, he has countless backers, making him the safest bet," Joey reasoned.
He paused, weighing other options. "I could also choose Ma Hong Yun, the mortal blessed with protagonist-level luck. His absurd luck makes him a strong candidate. Then there's Bai Ning Bing, but he doesn't seem like a good fit. Many problems with him."
Joey hesitated before considering a more unorthodox choice. "If I'm willing to swallow my pride and choose a woman, Feng Jin Huang might be ideal. She has enormous immortal support and is destined to become a future Venerable. Plus, as her, I could work to prevent the destruction of Fate Gu entirely."
The possibilities swirled in his mind, but after careful thought, Joey made his decision.
"I want to replace Fang Yuan," he declared.
The logic was undeniable. Fang Yuan's identity was the ultimate cheat.
Joey listed his reasons internally. "First, I can't feel safe with Fang Yuan alive. Just sharing a world with him is terrifying. Second, most Venerables—and even Heaven's Will, at one point—supported him, granting him benefits that no one else could ever dream of."
A grin spread across Joey's face as he imagined himself in Fang Yuan's place. "With that identity, my knowledge of the plot, and my A.I. Chip, I'll be unstoppable."
"When?" the figure asked.
"When he used the Spring Autumn Cicada Gu for the third time during the Three Kings Inheritance," Joey replied confidently. "Those fragmented moments make replacing Fang Yuan the safest option. Heaven's Will won't notice anything unusual."
The figure nodded approvingly. "Good."
"You shall be sent now."
Joey's vision blurred as his body began to vanish, his excitement mounting. This was the start of a new life, a new destiny.
---
Once Joey had completely disappeared, the figure's gentle demeanor twisted into something sinister. Its face darkened with malice, and its voice took on a chilling tone.
"Just a piece of trash with no remarkable traits—perfect for my plan."
A cruel chuckle echoed in the empty space. "He really thought he had the freedom to choose. How naïve."
With a flick of its hand, the figure disappeared into nothingness, erasing every trace of its presence as though it had never existed.
.
.
.