Two things happened simultaneously as a result of the snap. The flow of time resumed and everyone I wanted gone was dead. No huss, no fuss, directly turned to dust. Seeing this made me realize just how weak the Infinity Stones in the MCU version really were.
"Thank you", I gently whispered to the Gems.
After the snap, my surroundings suddenly disappeared. I could no longer feel anything including my own body.
"So, I am back huh ?" I thought to myself.
R.O.B : Welcome back, kid. Well done on your performance. You've done an excellent job.
Soul : Why are you still calling me 'kid' ? Didn't you promised to not call me that after I did an excellent job ?
R.O.B : I promised you that I won't call you a 'Child' anymore if you do an excellent job, which you did. I always keep my promise, do you understand 'kid' ?
Soul : Thank you for your praise? Also I didn't like the way you trolled me. Eris almost turned into a yandere goddess! I was really worried you know.
R.O.B : Hahaha, it really was fun watching you deal with her. I knew that you would be able to handle her.
Soul : Ugh, I don't want to talk about it anymore. Instead, let's talk about what you promised me.
R.O.B : Sure. After checking your performance I can safely say that you scored perfectly. As I promised you before, you can choose a world of your choice for reincarnation with all the knowledge of the important characters of the chosen world depending on the current time-line and make a wish. Since you scored perfectly in your performance, your wish will be very powerful.
Soul : What about the wish I was supposed to get after the death of demon king because of me ?
R.O.B : It's because of that wish, the power of your wish was increased by a great amount.
Soul : Okay.
R.O.B : Alright, now choose a world for your reincarnation, any world including fictional would work. But remember to choose carefully, kid.
"Okay, let's see, how should I choose ? Yes, I should start by eliminating some of them from my list of choices. 1st I should remove the worlds which are not good for living in general. So, that removes Naruto, One Piece, DBZ and most of the worlds of action anime I liked watching. I can consider Fairy tail and High school DxD world because of the cute female characters who didn't like to wear proper clothes . I can also remove Marvel and DC worlds because they are even worse.
I guess that leaves some of the worlds from those cultivation novels I tried reading. I only completed reading three of them, ISSTH, Demon Hunter and Douluo dalu. The rest were either continuing or not to my taste. Out of the three Demon Hunter world is not even worth mentioning and ISSTH world also becomes a living hell for a very long time.
That leaves the Douluo dalu world. That world was interesting in the sense that neither of the main antagonists from either book 1 or book 2 was truly evil. They only had different beliefs when compared to the main characters. Of course I felt that compared to book 1, book 2 was a real letdown whether I compare the mc or the main antagonist. The only good thing I could say about book 2 was that I could see the aftereffects of mc's decisions in book 3 which was still getting translated .
Okay, so now I have three choices. Fairy tail, High school DxD and Douluo dalu. I can have a wonderful life in any one of them but what I am hoping to gain from my new life is inner peace, afterall, I already lived a satisfying life on Earth. I hope that I am not making a mistake. "
Soul : I choose Douluo dalu world.
R.O.B : Okay, now decide your wish.
Soul : Before I do it, can I choose the same time-line as the mc of book 1, Tang san and also same age. If possible please reincarnate me as an orphan in the same village he grew up in. Also please make sure that I atleast remember about all the knowledge I collected while I lived my life as a 'Hikikomori Otaku'.
R.O.B : I can do that but this will make your wish a lot weaker. Think carefully kid.
Soul : Ugh, since I don't know the living conditions of other places in the story in the beginning part I don't have any other choice. I don't want to end up dead in my childhood due to some unknown reason, especially, the evil soul masters. Also I learned a lot of skills that are really great to have in day to day life especially all the recipes after watching Food Wars anime. Alright, I have decided. Please do it.
R.O.B : Sure. Now, make a wish.
Soul : That's easy. I want a body martial soul with Silver Age Superman's physique.
R.O.B : Sorry kid, I am unable to grant you this.
Soul : Cosmic Armor Superman ?
R.O.B : Rejected.
Soul : Superboy Prime ?
R.O.B : Rejected.
Soul : Quantum Superman ?
R.O.B : Rejected.
Soul : Ugh, just Superman ?
R.O.B : Sorry kid.
Soul : Why ? Didn't you tell me that I can have a powerful wish ?
R.O.B : Yes I did, but what you are wishing for is way beyond what you can hope to achieve through your wish. Also, from what I have checked in your memories, that world is Universal level. So, the highest level of abilities I can only grant you is at Universal level only.
Soul : I guess that means I won't be just breezing through everything in my next life. No, wait a minute! You just said Universal level. Does this mean I can get the abilities of the Infinity Stones ?
R.O.B : Yes. Because of the power of your wish, you can even ask for abilities of any one of the Infinity Stones other than the Reality Stone if you desire.
Soul : I wouldn't choose the Reality Stone even if it was available as an option. I saw what happened to most of the Reality warpers in marvel comics. Alright, I choose the Power Gem.
R.O.B : Are you sure kid ?
Soul : Absolutely.
R.O.B : One important thing I have to mention is that since you are being reincarnated, you will forget almost everything related to your previous life including your personality from your life. Only things you will remember are what you requested earlier.
Soul : I have no problem with that. I am done with that life anyway. But can you make it so that I only awaken those memories after my martial soul awakens at six years of age. I want to enjoy my childhood experience once again.
R.O.B : I can do that, but because your martial soul is the Power Gem, You won't be able to have complete access to its abilities until you reach a minimum threshold of power.
Soul : I don't understand.
R.O.B : Don't worry. When you awaken your martial soul you will understand. Now, goodbye and have a nice life kid!
Soul : Thank you.
After that soul disappeared from there and entered the reincarnation cycle of Douluo dalu world, R.O.B thought
" What a lucky kid! He didn't even realized that because of his one small 'Thank you' to the Gems earlier, he got some of their abilities even if they are only passive. Hopefully in his new life, he will finally get the one important thing he could never gain in his entire previous life, Courage!"