In front of a high school, some students chat as they walk away from the school. The sun on the horizon signals the end of the afternoon and the slow onset of evening.
"Did you hear? There's going to be a new Dragon Ball anime" one of them said, looking at the other, without stopping his slow steps.
Not showing any surprise or excitement at the information, he shrugs "I know, but it must be another shit to make money, just like GT was" His answer carried a bit of anger.
"Akira, are you really not looking forward to it? Even though it might be bad, it's still the continuation of your favorite anime" Another person in the group said, looking at him.
The small group of young people continued walking, crossing the streets, while the conversation continued, taking the path so familiar to them that they made their way automatically.
"A little, but I have low expectations. If it's another anime like GT, it will only ruin the quality of the anime and..." Akira was answering, while crossing a pedestrian crossing, when a loud sound interrupted him.
The sound was a truck horn, which blared without pause, coming towards them. The entire group looked to the side, only to find an out-of-control truck coming towards them.
Everyone ran to the other side as fast as they could. Akira, who was in the middle of his reasoning, thought it would be better to turn back, taking a leap backwards.
On the other side of the scene, the truck driver, with his brakes completely useless, found himself in a complicated situation, which he barely had a second to think about. On one side, three young people ran to the left, on the other, a single young man jumped to the right.
In that half a second, the driver didn't know if there was any room to pass between them, but even if there was, it would be difficult to do something so precise. So he turned the truck to the right.
Akira widened his eyes, feeling the headlights in his eyes, with the truck turning slightly towards him. "Shit!" He cursed, while wishing to get a little further away.
...
Akira's eyes blinked, slowly opening, as if he was waking up from a deep sleep. "Where am I?" He wondered, as his mind took a while to understand his situation.
Despite the feeling of having just woken up, he was standing in what seemed like a white space. His surroundings seemed empty, but in front of him, not too far away, was another person.
Akira was ready to question that person, when his memories came back to him, giving him a painful feeling 'I was hit by that truck!' He said to himself in thought.
He touched his own body, looking for injuries, but nothing seemed hurt, which left him very confused.
"Do you understand that you died, or do I need to tell you?" That person finally spoke.
Akira turned his gaze to that person, who looked like a middle-aged man, with a short beard, an appearance that was not at all memorable "I died?... It makes sense, after that, but what is this place?"
"You still seem to doubt the facts, but it's already better than fervent denial" The middle-aged man said, with a faint smile "About this place, just think of it as my personal space"
Akira was slowly accepting his death, leaving the chance of it all being a dream aside, after all he could remember the intense pain, although momentary, running through his entire body.
"What now?" He asked, genuinely curious and anxious about his future.
The middle-aged man walked towards him, an excited expression on his face "Well, normally you would be sent into the cycle of reincarnation, but since you are here, I have a proposal for you. Instead of entering the cycle of reincarnation, losing all your memories, how about living in another world?"
Akira couldn't help but be surprised "Living in another world? Just like in those isekai animes?"
"Pretty much that, but better, since I'll let you choose a world. Be it a world from a book, series, anime or whatever, just choose one and I'll send you there," The man says, smiling.
"Do anime worlds really exist?" Akira asked with his eyes wide.
"Kid" The man sighed before continuing "You wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you, so just imagine that all the stories you know really exist"
Still surprised by the information, Akira didn't think much before saying "I want to go to the Dragon Ball world then!"
He couldn't help but get excited, completely forgetting about his recent death 'I can go to the Dragon Ball world! I'll be able to fly, teleport, destroy planets and everything!'
"An interesting world..." The middle-aged man said, with a somewhat thoughtful expression "Do you want to choose a date?"
Akira thought about it for a bit. He had already watched the anime a few times, and he had the desire to experience it all personally. He had wanted to experience this story from the beginning, but he had a doubt "Will I be reborn as a baby?"
He needed to consider this, or he might end up choosing the wrong moment.
"If you want, I can do that, but I can also give you a fully grown body" The man said calmly.
Akira sighed in relief "I want to keep my age and be sent to the beginning of the anime..." He thought of something and continued "Can I be a Saiyan?"
The man makes a thoughtful expression, scratching his short beard "You know, you're not the first one to ask me this, in fact the list is quite extensive... What do you think about being a human with great potential and a special ability?"
Akira thinks for a bit. Being a Saiyan would provide an easier path, but perhaps being a human would be more interesting.
"Alright, but what special ability will I have?" Akira asked.
The man smiled, showing his palm to him, from which a purple glow emerged "It's a simple skill, very convenient for increasing your strength" He then released the purple glow towards Akira.
As it touched his body, the purple glow entered inside him, fusing with his soul. Akira touched his chest, feeling a strange sensation.
"This power will give you the possibility of absorbing part of the power of a corpse. Now that the power is linked to your soul, you will know how to use it, you just need to have a target" The man explained, with a slight smile.
Akira was shocked "That's an amazing skill!"
"Yes, it's a very good skill, but there are limitations, as it would be utterly ridiculous if there weren't. You'll understand in practice, so I won't go too deep, but in short, you can't absorb in mass and there's a limit to how low the target power is, compared to your current level" The man said, not going too deep into the limitations.
Akira nodded, still very excited about the special ability he had received "Is there anything else?" He asked, eager to be sent to his new world.
The middle-aged man smiled, seeing the boy's anxiety "Well, I can handle the rest. I'll give you two gifts, so I hope you'll entertain me well"
Without Akira having time to say anything, he disappeared from that white place, leaving only the man there.
"I hope this boy does interesting and new things... At least he accepted being human, that's already a good sign" The man speaks to himself, as the empty space transforms into a small room, with a bed and a TV.