Present Day, Japan 2025; Takuma, before dying, hated and resented his life. Even when his heart stopped beating, the last emotion he expressed was resentment. He felt hopeless, not knowing where his soul was going to go. Suddenly, he felt himself appear somewhere. He saw his body float in an abyss-like area, with no light or darkness. It was as if nothing was there. There was no gravity; it felt like an empty space.
"Where am I?" Takuma said as he realized that he could speak. All of a sudden, a large green screen- like mode appeared in front of him. He was confused and baffled at the same time. Could this be a judgment? Was this to determine if he was going to hell? Takuma was thinking to himself as memories of his past life began to play. He froze in pain as he stared at himself. On the screen, he saw himself crying during his sleep; he saw his soul crying within him and also saw how lonely he was.
"Thanks for rubbing salt in my wounds," Takuma whispered with uninterest. If the afterlife was going to put him through more despair, then he needed to kill his soul as well. While drowning in his negative thoughts, the past play of his life ceased, and suddenly, the green screen displayed something strange.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[CANDIDATE NAME: TAKUMA MORI]
[CANDIDATE TRAUMA RANK: 100% (Intense)]
[CANDIDATE DRIVE: REVENGE]
[RANK AWARDED: SUPERNATURAL SOVEREIGN]
[REWARD UPON REACHING LEVEL 1000: SUPREME TRAVERSE SKILL: This skill allows the candidate to travel through worlds at any point in time]
[Warning: Candidate does not have the right to refuse this system. Access to more details of the system would be displayed on the candidate's arrival to the selected destination.]
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: TELEPORTATION AREA SEARCH IN PROGRESS]
[SCANNING COMPLETED: DESTINATION: NOILLE KINGDOM]
Everything happened so fast. Takuma felt a heavy wind circle completely around him. He couldn't see what was happening, but he felt bright lights on him after some minutes. The atmosphere seemed different, and he felt himself breathing. He inhaled the air and opened his eyes. He still needed to process what was happening to him. He also wondered what had just happened some minutes ago.
Supernatural Sovereign? What did that mean? His gaze was blurry for a while, and suddenly, someone spoke words he didn't understand. He raised his head and realized that there were gazes fixed on him. Once again, the green screen appeared in front of him, and it seemed no one apart from him could see it.
[SYSTEM ANALYSIS: LANGUAGE DECODING]
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE: SKILL ACQUIRED: OMNI LANGUAGE SKILL: This skill allows the candidate to understand all forms of languages if activated]
[ACTIVATE SKILL: |YES| |NO|]
Takuma still felt confused about everything, but it didn't seem like he had a choice. Selecting no would make him not understand this new world.
|YES| . Takuma Selected.
[SYSTEM LOADING...]
[SKILL ACTIVATION SUCCESSFUL]
The screen disappeared, letting Takuma let out a sigh. He never felt this stressed in his life. By the time his body felt a bit okay, he finally could clearly see the people staring at him.
Without wasting time, someone instantly instructed him. "Great hero, the monster army is attacking us. Words from the guards say that they are high-rank beasts. Please, save us from them." A member among the king's council quickly stood with fear as he watched a group of winged A-rank monster bats approach from far away, nearing the palace.
What did he mean by "Great hero"? Takuma wondered to himself. The man was obviously looking directly at him.
"Hero? I am a hero? Who made me a hero?" Takuma's sour voice echoed with almost shock as he looked around him.
To think that humanity expected a hero after what he had been through. He wasn't meant to be a hero; he was meant to be a villain.
"Yes, you are a hero. You are the great hero in the scrolls, and you were summoned by the priestess of light, Lady Valtira. Please stop cracking jokes at such a difficult situation." The council said while his body shook vigorously.
His body wiggled as he was sweating profusely. He placed his hands under his neck to use a finger to swoop the sweat; one could tell how panicked he was at this moment.
"Great Hero, you must hurry. There is no time to waste." The king now spoke. Takuma paused to analyze the people giving him orders. Why did they seem weirdly in looks? The amount of sweat that emanated from them signaled something he didn't like to see. Their armpits were soaked, and so was their thigh area.
Takuma wondered why he had to give up his life by fighting monster armies or whatever it was just for these people to continue enjoying their lives. He didn't even finish processing this new world and yet they expected him to jump right into battle. He saw a familiar look in their eyes. A look that reminded him of the people who approached him in the classroom back in the university. They only wanted something from him and never cared about him. To them, he was just an object to use and dispose of. These people didn't seem to care about his life either. It was very clear that they didn't care about anyone as long as they lived. He could die for all they cared, and it wouldn't bother them.
"No," Takuma flatly said with a dark and bitter chuckle. He was now glaring with hatred. Even though it was another world, people were still the same - greedy, selfish, and self-centered.
"No... no... no?" The king stuttered with shock at what the supposed hero just said. His eyes moved towards the window to get a clearer vision of the monster army, which was now terrorizing the palace. The king's eyes now moved back to Takuma as a furious expression formed across his face.
The king stood up from his throne in anger and stretched forth his right hand in an authoritative decree manner. "I am king. You must obey...". "Nope," Takuma interrupted him before he could even finish talking. His mouth was frozen, as well as his body, as waves of shock took over him.
Takuma turned around and raised his hands to wave them goodbye before walking out on them with his hands in his pockets. The king's face turned red with anger and frustration, but Takuma didn't care. He was done with being used.
As he walked out of the palace, Takuma couldn't help but think about his past life. He remembered the pain, the suffering, and the loneliness. He remembered the people who had hurt him, the ones who had taken advantage of him, and the ones who had ignored him.
And now, in this new world, he saw the same patterns repeating themselves. People were still using each other, manipulating each other, and ignoring each other's feelings. Takuma realized that he couldn't change the world, but he could change how he reacted to it.
He took a deep breath and let out a sigh. He knew that he had a long journey ahead of him, but he was ready. He was ready to face whatever challenges came his way, and he was ready to take control of his own life.