Chapter 1: Rebirth of a Genius
Dr. Ethan Mark was a name that echoed through the annals of scientific history, revered and feared in equal measure. Renowned as one of the greatest minds humanity had ever produced, his brilliance was matched only by his all-consuming obsession—an obsession that had driven him to the very precipice of madness. Ethan was not content with merely understanding time; he yearned to control it, to bend its will to suit his grand ambitions. He believed that the secret to mastering time lay in the creation of a time machine, a contraption that would grant him the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality itself. With this machine, he envisioned himself as the architect of the universe's fate, wielding an unstoppable force that could rewrite history.
In the solitude of his isolated mountain laboratory, a veritable fortress of technology, Ethan toiled day and night. The air was thick with the hum of machinery and the faint scent of ozone, an intoxicating blend of innovation and desperation. His workspace was cluttered with glowing monitors, loose sheets of paper adorned with cryptic formulas, and instruments that crackled with dangerous energy. Each item in the room bore witness to the genius and insanity that had consumed him. He was a man on the brink, obsessed with a singular desire—to see his life's work completed, to witness the moment he transcended the limitations of mortal existence.
"Soon… very soon…" he muttered under his breath, a mixture of excitement and madness lacing his words as he stared at the swirling mass of distorted space-time that hovered before him. It resembled a black hole, a tear in the fabric of reality itself—a culmination of years of research and dedication. His heart raced with anticipation as the unstable warp crackled ominously, a testament to both his genius and the growing obsession that gnawed at the edges of his sanity.
"Soon, the time machine will be complete," he proclaimed, his voice rising with fervor. The machine whirred louder in response, the final sequence initiated. He had devoted decades of his life to perfecting this moment—the point at which he would ascend beyond the constraints of mere mortals and unlock the secrets of the universe.
But in an instant, chaos erupted.
Alarms blared throughout the lab, shrieking warnings that sliced through the tense atmosphere. Red lights flashed like frantic heartbeat signals, and Ethan's eyes widened in horror as the space-time rift began to fluctuate violently, spiraling out of control. The delicate balance he had fought so hard to maintain shattered before his eyes, and panic surged through him.
"No… not now!" he screamed, desperation clawing at his throat. He lunged toward the controls, fingers flying across the console in a futile attempt to stabilize the machine. The warp pulsed with increasing strength, pulling in objects from every corner of the room—papers, tools, even chunks of the lab itself were drawn toward the gaping tear in reality.
"This can't be happening!" Ethan shouted, his voice tinged with hysteria as he fought to remain grounded. The rift was voracious, consuming everything in its path, and no matter how hard he tried to control it, the force was unstoppable. The gravity well intensified, and he felt his grip on the console slipping away.
In a final, desperate attempt to save himself, he was yanked off his feet and swallowed whole by the chaotic maelstrom. The last sight that burned into his memory was the complete destruction of his lab—the entire mountaintop where his facility stood obliterated, as if it had never existed at all.
Ethan's consciousness drifted in a void of nothingness, the sensation of being torn apart lingering in the abyss. He had no sense of time, no grasp of reality—only one thought persisted, a bitter realization that echoed through the void:
So… this is how it ends.
His dream, his obsession, everything he had dedicated his life to had crumbled to dust. The despair engulfed him, heavy and suffocating. If only… if only I had one more chance, he thought bitterly. Perhaps then… perhaps I could have succeeded. Maybe I could have completed what I started…
But just as he surrendered to the oppressive darkness, something shifted. He was no longer being annihilated. Instead, a warm light enveloped him—a comforting, rhythmic pulse accompanied by the faint echo of voices drifting through the ether.
"Congratulations, Lady Agares, it's a boy!"
Ethan's eyes snapped open, but what greeted him was not the chaos of his lab. His vision blurred, the room around him filled with unfamiliar figures. His body felt strange, alien even—small and weak. He attempted to move his arms, but they refused to obey, his muscles too feeble to respond. Confusion washed over him.
What… what's happening?
He tried to scream, but the sound that escaped his mouth was not the commanding voice of a scientist—it was the helpless wail of a newborn.
The realization crashed over him like a tidal wave. A… baby?
The doctor gently placed him in a cradle, and Ethan—or whoever he was now—looked around, his mind struggling to make sense of this bizarre turn of events. As he flailed his arms, the space around him seemed to ripple, the air twisting and bending in response to his every movement, as though reality itself was reacting to his presence.
"The room just… distorted," one of the maids whispered, her voice trembling with awe.
A tall, imposing man dressed in elegant noble attire stepped forward, his expression a blend of pride and astonishment. His gaze was fixed on the newborn in the cradle, and he spoke in a reverent tone. "Maria, our son is no ordinary child. He possesses a power that defies understanding. This is more than the time manipulation of the Agares bloodline… it's space-time manipulation. He bends reality itself."
The man—Augustus Agares, head of the Agares clan, one of the 72 Pillars of the Underworld—locked eyes with his wife, Maria, who cradled the newborn gently in her arms. Her silver hair shimmered in the dim light, and her eyes sparkled with a mixture of wonder and disbelief as she gazed down at their son.
"The sheer magnitude of his talent…" Maria breathed, her voice filled with reverence. "It's as if space and time themselves are drawn to him, bending at his will."
Augustus nodded slowly, his gaze never leaving the child. "Yes, I believe he has the potential to surpass anything we could have imagined. Perhaps, one day, he may even rival Sirzechs Lucifer himself. But for now, his abilities are raw, a hint of the greatness he might one day achieve."
Both parents understood the weight of their words. Their son was destined for greatness, a prodigy among devils, with abilities that could tip the scales of power in the Underworld.
"We must give him a name that reflects his destiny," Maria said softly, smiling down at the child in her arms.
"Maximus Agares," Augustus declared with conviction. "The greatest. It is a name worthy of his power, for he will surpass us all."
News of Maximus Agares' birth spread like wildfire through the Underworld, a storm of whispers and speculation among the noble families. The child, born with the rare ability of space-time manipulation, ignited fervent discussions in the grand halls of the great clans:
"A power beyond time manipulation? Could this child rival Sirzechs Lucifer?" "No child has ever been born with such a gift… we must be cautious." "If the Agares family wields this kind of strength, it could shift the political landscape…"
In the shadowy corners of the Underworld, figures from both noble and common families took notice. Maximus had become a topic of immense interest, for his talent was unprecedented, even among the most powerful of devils. The implications of his existence rippled through the delicate fabric of their society.
But as the Underworld buzzed with excitement and intrigue over his birth, Maximus—formerly Dr. Ethan Mark—lay quietly in his cradle, his infant body still and weak. Yet, within him, his mind raced with the fragments of memories from his previous life. Slowly, pieces of his old identity began to surface, like a forgotten melody resurrecting in the silence of his new existence.
I… I've been reborn. He recalled the names he had heard—Agares… Sirzechs Lucifer… The names stirred something in his memory, a distant echo of familiarity. And then, with a jolt of recognition, it struck him.
This is the world of Highschool DxD. He had watched the anime during his fleeting moments of leisure, not out of deep interest, but enough to retain its details, thanks to his photographic memory. This… this world… it doesn't make any sense.
Ethan—or rather, Maximus—sighed inwardly. I was a scientist, not someone who believed in fantasy worlds like this. Devils, magic, the Underworld… He mentally shook his head. And yet, here I am.
Yet, amidst the confusion and disbelief, a spark ignited within him. His infant hand twitched, and as he moved, the space around him seemed to warp and bend ever so slightly, a ripple cascading through the air. He could feel it—the raw power within him, the very power he had spent his entire life striving to comprehend and master in his previous existence.
Space-time manipulation, he thought, the realization igniting a flame of determination in his chest. The power I worked my whole life for was now in my hands, simply at birth.