I was 99.9% sure I was the subject of interdimensional kidnapping or perhaps a powerful illusion. Really, it was hard to tell by the bright lights, the golden throne covered in tiny gilded angels, or the hall of scantily clad angels watching me. Their fake smiles were particularly heartwarming to someone snatched from their home. Really, why bother with the façade if they couldn't even smile right.
The nearest face was that of a pretty angel with blonde hair down to her shoulders, snow-white wings, and the whitest teeth I'd ever seen. Her white robes barely covered anything, especially not her golden bra underneath. Women were apparently buxom in heaven, or whatever strange dimension wanted me to believe this was heaven.
Maybe my age had something to do with it. I was 20-something and gave off the apparent weakness all humans showed without a culture. Concealment was a cheat, but these beings didn't feel like pushovers. Each felt like several nuclear bombs contained within human shells.
"Come future hero of Echidna, allow me to bestow upon you the gifts needed to fulfill your blessed task." The angels on either side of me clapped. The interdimensional kidnappers clapped at their boss's opening words. "We have awaited your arrival for some time chosen of the light." The chief angel said.
I blinked, and suddenly, all my years haggling to sell cattle to the market for a high price wasn't such a waste after all. Did they just hand me a weapon to use against them?
I hadn't said a word yet. Better to keep my mouth shut than to open it and show that I was a fool. This situation was still being processed. I had just landed wherever this place was, and suddenly, they had an important job for me.
My mind focused back to what they said: hero of Echidna and blessed task. Chosen was a real buzzword; it made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside about whatever job was about to be forced upon me.
I felt in my pocket, thankful that I was still fully clothed, and felt my cube. For some reason, I was disconnected from it, but a quick link to my energy fixed that. Suddenly, I was surfing through terabytes of information stored within, refreshing myself with techniques that were strangely deactivated. The cube had only started recording time as if it were brand new.
My feet paused in their casual walk to the throne.
"Is something wrong, great hero? My name is Uriel, and I am glad you arrived when you did." Uriel said.
An angel with fiery red hair, twelve wings that burned on the edges with white flames, and breasts larger than my head. Her ass was the kind I could bounce a coin off of. The angel's metal bra could probably hold lots of bills if she became a stripper.
While my words were relatively unkind, I was pretty sure they fucked me over in some way. Some of my memories weren't exact, and debugging revealed tons of corrupted files in the cube. My smart device needed some attention that I didn't have time to give it. Not to mention, I was a clone with mostly intact memories.
By following the rules of how energy works, I should be able to make the techniques within my cube work. It was just the fact I had been cloned that was bothering me. Oh, the angels were slick. This might as well be a hero conveyor belt. They needed a template to work with and most likely took my originals.
My cube was still processing information from its sensors, but I wasn't on Earth in the year 2880 anymore. A quick scan from my cube revealed my power to be in the low hundreds again. On the bright side, I still had all the combat reflexes and training I originally had. From the moment I came to be, I had perfect concealment, meaning even the angels couldn't sense my power level.
With that small mercy, I was ready to negotiate. Only I knew my worth, and depending on where they dropped me, I could have a good time or a hellish one. My barrier was up and running as frail as it was, and nothing would stop me from getting back to my full strength and surpassing it.
I approached the throne to see a lounging woman with black hair, large golden wings, two halos crossed together, and a purple robe that clung to her curves. Her nails were cut short and well taken care of, and her feet were clad in sandals. Behind the façade of a smile were the calculating eyes of a CEO staring down a hireling.
"Welcome hero to the throne of Akasha where the power of all that is good congregates. I am Helel, Seraph of light and greatest star of the East. Before I send you to Echidna to fulfill your role as a hero, I will brief you on your tasks. Like many heroes before you, your task is to defeat the monster Queen Diablos. Many heroes have fallen against the monsters and become corrupted. By lying with a monster, you will become one yourself, so be warned. At the same time, sex isn't forbidden; it's advised that you purify yourself afterward. You will receive access to the hero system. This tool will allow you to gather points for defeating monsters that can be exchanged for items and power-ups. Be warned, even after a hero falls, the treaties of balance prevent us from stripping them of the system. The fallen heroes will be stronger and better equipped than you. To balance this disadvantage, I am placing you in the doll junkyard below the necromancer queen's castle. If you keep your head down and bide your time, I'm certain you can grow strong enough to defeat your peers and eventually Diablos herself." Helel said.