1: Let it start
In a higher dimension.
Where the universe itself seemed small, where stars, galaxies, Milky Ways, and supermassive black holes blended like an abstract painting in a strange harmony.
There was a silent tranquility, one that had endured countless eras.
Then, of course, that tranquility was unexpectedly shattered.
A space that had remained unchanged for billions of years suddenly encountered a wave traveling through it, followed by a sound akin to shattering glass into thousands of pieces.
The fabric of reality briefly fractured, just for less than a millisecond, but it was enough for the wave produced to be felt by an entity that had been sleeping for an immeasurable amount of time.
No, even time couldn't define the eternity that its slumber had been.
Because it had been born even before time itself was born.
Eyes that shimmered with the color of the universe opened, and a long yawn that made galaxies tremble was produced by a figure rising from its slumber.
"Uh?" For others, the brief moment when a rift between dimensions opened might be fleeting and imperceptible.
For the nameless being, it was as if they saw it happen in slow motion, despite being billions of light-years away.
Their eyes flashed, fully focusing on the rift.
Then something happened that even their eyes, which seemed to contain the entire universe, opened with slight astonishment.
Through the rift, something entered, something small and weak that would have been destroyed by the currents of energy in the higher dimension it inhabited.
But she raised her hand, and her infinitely vast energy protected the little soul that had managed to enter a higher dimension by pure luck or misfortune.
The being approached and examined the soul closely, and a smile that seemed to contain the sparkle of thousands of stars formed on their "face."
Instantly, countless amounts of information flooded their mind from every corner of existence.
Like a young child discovering the internet for the first time, they caught up with the events that had been taking place while they slept.
"Oh, this seems interesting~" the being seemed to contemplate something for a brief moment before nodding with excitement.
"I guess 'fate' has brought us together, haha," they said, looking at the small soul in their hand.
"Well, let's have some fun too."
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.
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"Dead? Am I dead?!" There was disbelief, apprehension, but above all, disappointment.
He was dead, just like that, he was dead. That...
When he thought about it, he couldn't quite remember it correctly. How did he die?
"You're repressing the memory, trust me, you don't want to know. I took a peek, and it wasn't pleasant," the feminine voice came, bringing along a new set of questions.
It was like looking at personified space, with skin that seemed to contain the universe. The being in front of him was anything but ordinary.
Despite having a feminine figure, Daniel felt that something like a "gender" was too simple to describe her. It was like comparing the ocean to a puddle of water.
Repressing the memory, huh? He supposed he would think about it at some point. After all, he was dead now... The how didn't really matter anymore now that things had reached this point.
"And now what? Is this the afterlife? Are you God or a judge who will decide what happens to me?" Daniel began to quickly consider his chances of going to hell.
He remembered or tried to remember every bad thing he had done, and fortunately, he found that there weren't too many that could truly be called damning.
Sure, he wasn't perfect and had made some mistakes in his life, but it could have been much worse.
Maybe he was flattering himself too much...
"Haha! No, I'm not one of those egocentric types who proclaim themselves gods or some kind of judge of hell, that's boring," the figure laughed as if the notion of it was either very amusing or absurd.
"Although I could certainly be called a 'god' if we speak in terms of power," the being pointed to the abstract space surrounding them.
"After all, this Higher Dimension is mine. I created it a long time ago and put a lot of effort into it, a place where I could live in peace without being bothered, a completely isolated place. And that brings us back to you," it pointed at him with a finger.
"Somehow, there was a rift, it was small and minuscule, but a rift nonetheless. That woke me up, which was fortunate for you, really. If I hadn't awakened, I wouldn't have noticed your soul sneaking in here, and it would have been completely destroyed. A mortal soul is not meant to wander through dimensions much higher than its own, after all,"
In the palm of the being, a "example" of what appeared to be a soul projected, a humanoid figure radiating with a faint white light. Then, the soul reached a place where it shouldn't be, and suddenly began convulsing, eventually imploding and turning into nothingness.
"When I noticed you, I quickly protected you to prevent this. So, if you believe in destiny, you could say that you and I are somewhat destined," the smile grew, somehow managing to look "happy."
"After all, it should be impossible for you to have made it here, but you still did. And it was your greatest luck that I noticed you, or right now, you would be nothing more than dust floating in the void,"
If he thought about it that way, he had indeed been lucky... well, maybe not in the "you're dead" part or the "somehow your soul entered a place where it shouldn't be" part, but definitely lucky in the "being rescued by the strange lady with starry skin and not being turned into less than dust" part.
"So, I thought, since this is 'destiny,' why not make the most of it? A win-win for both of us, a mutual benefit," the being said.
A win-win, huh? Daniel pondered. What could you possibly gain from being dead? He didn't know, but certainly, a being from a higher dimension might know. Perhaps there was something truly valuable or important that he should obtain after death.
"Sure, let's go for it. It's not like I have anything else to do," Daniel said.
The being seemed excited, the smile on her face grew even wider, and the galaxies surrounding them seemed brighter.
"That's perfect! A wise decision. You won't regret this, I assure you!"
Then, she began to walk in circles as if pondering something.
"I have been sleeping for a very, very long time. Catching up with recent events has given me an unexpected revelation. I've seen the other guys having so much fun without me, which is annoying. Can you believe it?! No one bothered to invite me to the fun... So I decided, if no one is going to invite me, I'll do it myself!"
Daniel didn't know who the "other guys" were, but he assumed they were something similar to the being in front of him.
"Although I still don't fully understand how... fun it is to observe a mortal, I know it has been entertaining for the others. So, I want to experience it for myself."
Daniel started to think about it, and his "brain" began to grasp where this was going.
"I like that! You quickly catch on to things, so I won't beat around the bush. I want to play too, and I think you're the perfect choice for it,"
The being approached him, her eyes seemed to look into his soul, as if she could see everything about him in an instant.
"But doing it the same way as the others would be a bit boring, don't you think? Although they say that all ideas have already been thought of by someone else, adding a little difference, even if it's not completely original, still makes things more exciting! So... let's have a little preliminary game," she snapped her fingers.
A giant roulette wheel appeared out of nowhere, positioning itself in front of Daniel.
He examined it carefully, recognizing many names and others that were unfamiliar among the options given by the wheel. Each option was the same size, implying that they all had an equal "possibility" of being chosen.
"Let's start with destiny! Knowing where you're going always helps," the being pointed to a lever next to the roulette wheel. Daniel nodded and reached out, taking hold of the lever and pulling it down.
If he was going to go on an isekai adventure, he at least wanted to know where it would be.
The roulette wheel started spinning rapidly but soon began to slow down, with a final spin and an extreme slowness, the result was revealed.
[Multiverse Marvel/DC]
that was not good., Daniel felt himself paling, quickly searching his memories for everything he knew, and the more he remembered, the uglier his expression became.
"Oh! That's great! There will definitely be no shortage of things to do, lots of fun, aren't you excited!?"
No, Daniel was not excited.
"Oh, come on, don't make that face. How about this! I'll give you some advice, consider it an extra benefit..." The being tried to appease him and began to speak in a serious tone.
"Never reveal where you're from. There are certainly many unpleasant types where you're going. Your home dimension is just a normal universe, with no protections or anything to prevent dark gods or beings from other dimensions from feasting on it. If they know where you're really from, they will definitely find ways to get there, and you certainly don't want that, right?"
That... Daniel thought about it and realized it was true, not mentioning anyone else, only Trigon would be enough to bring his home universe to absolute ruin, and Daniel had no doubt that such a monster could find his universe if even the weakest hints of its existence were given.
No, he couldn't let that happen, even if he was already dead, his family was still there, no matter what, he wouldn't bring them any more trouble now that he was dead, that would be too inconsiderate.
Seeing that Daniel had understood the point and took her advice seriously, the being nodded satisfactorily.
Then she snapped her fingers and a deck of cards appeared in her hand, Daniel turned his attention to it.
"So, to make it more entertaining, we should add some 'spices,' so to speak, some advantages and disadvantages that will make everything more balanced," Then a table appeared out of nowhere, and the being began to carefully arrange the cards on its surface.
There were ten black cards with a skull image on them and ten white cards with angel wings.
"Choose three of each," the being offered, and Daniel carefully looked at each card, trying to see if there was any difference or clue, but he found nothing.
"so... You don't have any other advice by any chance?" he asked, and the smile on the being's face told him that he wouldn't get that benefit this time.
"Everything depends on you now." those words didn't bring him comfort.
Taking a deep breath, he decided that looking at the cards wouldn't do anything for him, so he reached out and randomly took three black cards and three white cards.
There was no smart choice because no matter how he looked at it, without any hints or clues, all the cards were the same until their contents were revealed.
So, leave it to luck.
"Well, now let's see what you got. Do you want to see the disadvantages first, or do you want to see the advantages first?"
It wasn't a difficult choice.
"First, the advantages," he preferred to have the good things first.
As soon as his words ended, one of the three white cards in his hand began to glow, and then a semi-transparent light blue screen unfolded in front of him.
Daniel looked at it with great attention.
[Core of Life: safeguards your soul, spirit, and thoughts behind a multidimensional nucleus hidden within your body. The flesh is merely a container that can be easily repaired, allowing for high-speed regeneration of any body part as long as the nucleus remains intact.]
This was... a relief. It didn't give him the ability to crush mountains or create tidal waves, but it gave him something much more important.
Security.
At least he wouldn't die easily.
Moreover, a multidimensional nucleus? What did that mean? Did it have something to do with his soul being protected, as well as his thoughts and spirit?
Before Daniel could ask, the being shook a finger from side to side as if gesturing denial.
"You will know more details about your advantages once you reach your destination, so there's no point in asking now." with that, Daniel was forced to swallow the question he was about to ask.
It seemed like he would have to wait.
Carefully, he revealed the second white card, and there was a shimmer as a second screen appeared in front of him.
[Viltrum Royalty: the blood of the strongest runs through your veins, part of a warrior race that navigates the stars with nothing but their own bodies, your race is the pinnacle of evolution with the potential to go beyond.]
The sigh of relief that escaped Daniel was long and filled with various emotions.
This was... good, no! This was excellent!
If the first advantage gave him the ability to survive, then this one gave him the ability to protect himself, to defend himself.
At least he wouldn't be turned into minced meat accidentally if a villain decided to cause a disaster next to him.
More than that, he could stop the villain!
Sure, Viltrumites weren't the strongest, but there was potential there, and with the Core of Life, maybe he could go beyond any other Viltrumite.
Moreover, royalty? Was he now like Mark's cousin or something? Maybe an uncle? It was confusing.
He drew the last card and took a deep breath. This was it, the final piece in his favor. Daniel wasn't foolish; if the advantages were so good, then what about the disadvantages?
Just thinking about it made him tighten his fists. He would have to make the most of all the good things he had and hoped that luck wouldn't abandon him.
[Feeling of Tomorrow: even the impossible can be possible, enhances the abilities and spirit of your allies during times of crisis, giving hope is equal to receiving it, your own strength increases slightly depending on the trust your allies have in you during the time of crisis]
How did this work? Was it like a personal buff he could give or was it more like an area-of-effect spell? Although he wanted to ask, he refrained from doing so, knowing he wouldn't get an answer.
"It seems like you've had quite a bit of luck so far. You've certainly drawn some very good cards." the being looked at the three screens with almost as much excitement as Daniel had.
"Now is the time to see if that luck of yours continues," those words, though not intended to sound sinister, still made Daniel gulp.
He took a deep breath and drew the first black card.
The skull on it seemed to glare at him with ill intentions, causing him to furrow his brows.
Slowly, the card turned into black smoke, and a semi-transparent red screen appeared in front of him.
[Madness Mashup in the World: things that shouldn't exist exist, and they're all a problem.]
That was too vague!
It was a very short description, and no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't gather much from it.
"Will I also get more information about this later?" he asked, somewhat hopeful.
"Mmm, maybe? No, actually no," and those hopes were shattered.
"Oh, come on! How am I supposed to deal with this if I don't even know what it is?!" It was frustrating.
He couldn't even gauge how bad it was due to the lack of information.
It could be something very serious or something he could easily handle with his advantages.
"Hey, they're disadvantages. If you knew everything about them, it would mean you have an advantage over them. Isn't that contradictory?"
Daniel wanted to argue, but he felt it would be futile. Muttering under his breath, he drew the second black card.
"Let's get this over with."
[Challengers: Power attracts power and invites challenge. Powerful individuals and entities will come your way in response to your existence., bringing danger.]
Okay, this had more details, but it was still vague. However, even with the little information provided, Daniel could tell a lot, and he didn't like it at all.
If these "individuals" or "entities" were dangerous to him, then this was bad, very bad. A Viltrumite could destroy an advanced civilization on their own, and although in Marvel and DC there were many entities stronger than an average Viltrumite, that didn't mean it would be easy to deal with them.
Underestimating individuals with that kind of power and the damage they could bring would invite disaster.
Not to mention that he wasn't exactly an average Viltrumite, right? If this disadvantage took his advantages into account, things could get even more complicated.
And what if he became stronger? Would these challengers become even more formidable? A headache was looming.
"Damn it!"
"It seems like you've run out of luck," the being commented, but Daniel completely ignored it.
He looked at the last card in his hand with apprehension.
He released it, and the final screen appeared in front of him.
[Curse of ignorance: Knowledge is an absolute advantage, that's unfair. Randomly and impartially, some of the memories of your new home will be erased.]
No. No. NO!
Daniel held his head in disbelief as he felt his memories of Marvel and DC begin to shatter.
From key information to trivial details, there was no discrimination.
Like a hammer striking a fragile glass, his memories were shattered, leaving only fragments of what was once a whole.
He still remembered some things, some of which could be important, while others were useless. But compared to before, it was as if he was trying to remember a book of which he had only read random pages.
Lacking context, he now didn't know if the knowledge he had was important or not.
Suddenly, he didn't know why he was so worried, but the feeling of anguish and fear persisted.
He had forgotten something important, no, he had forgotten many very important things.
Dangerous things, but now he couldn't know what they were.
At the same time, he knew many things that he couldn't categorize because he didn't have the context to do so.
"Well, when I said your luck had run out, I didn't mean it literally. This sucks for you, but if it's any consolation, the advantages you have should help you overcome this." if the being wanted to offer comfort, the huge smile on its face ruined it.
Suddenly, Daniel felt the urge to punch it, although it was more of an impulse than an actual thought.
"Hey, let's not be violent! How about this, as a final gift, I'll give you this," the being pulled out a thick yellow folder with a huge V on the front.
Daniel took it without knowing what it was. Once it touched his hands, the folder disappeared, and he felt a new memory in his mind.
"Now you're a Viltrumite, right? And one of royalty! So getting something from them should be fine, it's nothing too important or anything, just their studies on synthetic fibers, which allow them to make their clothes and not fly around naked everywhere. They're summarized in a way that you can recreate their results without having to break your head."
So it was scientific information about synthetic fibers? That could actually be very useful, although he wasn't exactly sure how. He would have to examine the new memories more closely later.
"Uh, thanks, I guess," he now felt bad for wanting to hit her.
"Don't thank me, just live, live and have lots of fun adventures so I can have fun too," her words were very honest, and Daniel nodded confidently in response.
"Definitely, I will live the best I can." he wasn't going to waste a second chance, disadvantages or not, he would move forward.
"I'm glad, I think it will be a great performance! Until you die again, Daniel, but don't do it too soon, okay?" With that said, the being placed a palm on Daniel's chest, and a black hole appeared behind the newly transformed Viltrumite, sucking his body into its new home.
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.
.
Looking at the empty spot where Daniel once stood, the being applauded.
"Will this be exciting? Or could it be disappointing? Maybe it will be boring? Or it could be brilliant! I don't know! Hahaha!"
For the first time in a long time, she didn't know. She didn't know what was going to happen, and although this was partly her fault since she sealed her own ability to see and predict the future, it was mostly Daniel's fault.
After all, not every day does a soul escape the cycle of reincarnation and fate.
When she spoke of being destined with Daniel, she actually meant the complete opposite.
Their encounter should never have happened, she knew it. She had seen the future where she woke up several billions of years after the current date.
Although she wasn't bound by the general fate as such, she could control her own destiny and decide her future. She had decided the date she would awaken and how it would happen, but that didn't happen.
In some way, her own self-imposed destiny had been changed, and somehow Daniel had found his way to her.
That's why she called it destiny, even though it went against destiny itself. Daniel didn't know it, but from the moment his soul crossed the rift into her dimension, he had become a being without destiny.
Any ties that may have existed for him ceased to exist. Predicting his future or even attempting to see it was futile because for beings who are not governed by the laws of fate, the future is a suggestion, not a fact.
Still, she could have glimpsed something, even if it was vague or incorrect. That's why she sealed her own ability. Even if they were false spoilers, she didn't want to see them.
"Well, let's continue," she said, snapping her fingers. An soul without destiny appeared in front of her, and Daniel Evans opened his eyes, about to embark on a roulette for a new life.
On the other hand, the Daniel Evans who had already chosen his cards arrived in the Marvel/DC multiverse.
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