Ethan Alcardo, the protagonist of our story, was a typical teenager.

He was an orphan and, hence, had a great friendship with poverty.

Surviving on government programmes and part-time jobs, he had somehow completed his graduation.

Contrary to the expectations that a poverty-stricken boy would be desperate to become successful and that he would be some kind of hardworking and extraordinary genius, he was a boy with a laid-back personality.

He was neither too intelligent nor too passionate about his life. He was neither a genius nor a hardworking individual. He lived life as it came to be.

Since he was alone in the world—without any family responsibilities—he did not really need to think or do much.

After graduation, he continued to rely on part-time jobs for his survival. He did not even attempt to secure a job in the formal or organised sector.

His only hobby was reading novels and watching movies and anime.

One night, Ethan was leisurely walking back to his small rented apartment. He was just about to cross the road when a sudden chaos erupted in the crowd.

Trying to understand the reason, he looked around to find a group of three men running in his direction. All three of the men were dressed in distinctive black clothing with masks carefully covering their faces.

The three of them were carrying a knife each and were randomly trying to stab people. Quick on his wit, Ethan jumped to his side, moving swiftly out of the way of the three men.

Just as he felt the relief of having moved out of the way in time, a cold sensation greeted the back of his neck. He turned around to find another man dressed in the same clothes as the attackers, standing behind him.

In his hands, the man was holding a bloodied knife. Ethan understood what had happened, and he fell with a thud.

.

.

.

When Ethan regained his consciousness, he found himself floating in a cosmic ocean. Bright stars of multiple colours and massive heavenly bodies were lingering in the space.

Ethan noticed that he did not have a clear form and, most probably, he would look like a ball from the outside.

He was still confused when a sound, as if someone were clearing their throat, echoed throughout the entire space.

Frowning, he tried to look around when the same voice echoed, "Don't look around. You cannot see me."

"I am everywhere," added the voice afterward.

Ethan nodded internally and stammered in anxiety, "O…kk…"

"I believe that you have a rough idea of what is about to happen," said the voice.

"Re…incarnation… Transmigration," said Ethan hesitantly with a stammer.

"Correct," the voice replied.

"Does everyone get this chance?" Ethan asked out of instinct.

"No… only some lucky souls," replied the voice.

"Now let us see the world you will be going to," said the voice as he fell into some kind of thought. Only some "hmm" were heard in between.

Ethan was worried: was he going to be asked about his choices or not? What are going to be his powers? He definitely did not want to go somewhere too dangerous or someplace where he would need to work too hard to gain powers. Even so, he did not voice his thoughts out of fear.

As if snapping out of his thoughts, the voice echoed, "MCU World."

Ethan felt both slight trepidation and slight relief. Relief because it was a world, he was familiar with— trepidation because the world was both too dangerous and not so dangerous at the same time. His heart beat in a frenzy as he thought about the powers he would get.

Wait… would he get the powers, or not?

He was starting to worry when the voice echoed, "Powers…."

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief, and the voice continued after some moments of pause, "Ben 10 world…"

"You can choose the power of any 5 aliens from the Ben 10 world," echoed the voice. "You will be treated as a mutant in the MCU world."

Ethan's eyes lit up. If it was the Ben 10 world, he did not need 4 or 5 aliens.

In excitement, he almost jumped and shouted, "Alien-X/Celestial Sapien."

Hearing this, the majestic voice started to stammer, "That… you…"

Ethan raised his eyebrows and suddenly his anxiety was gone and said, "You cannot give the powers of a Celestial Sapien?"

The voice laughed awkwardly, "hahaha."

"You are correct," said the voice. "Choose another alien."

Ethan did not budge. He resolved in his heart, "Why not Celestial Sapien? You said any 5 aliens."

The voice laughed awkwardly, and he was about to deflect the question, but seeing the stern expression on Ethan's ball-like face, he sighed, "You see… Celestial Sapiens are beings of a higher dimension. Entities like us are not even comparable to an ant in front of them… well, nothing is bigger than an ant for a Celestial Sapien, but you understand…?"

"How can I grant powers of such an entity?" asked the voice.

Ethan's eyes widened in surprise, "You mean to say that Celestial Sapiens and all other species really exist?"

"Yes…" said the voice, as if it was the most basic thing to know. "Then only I can grant those powers."

"Does that mean they can really destroy and create universes at their whim?" asked Ethan excitedly.

The voice was sounded slightly irritated, "Yes… and if they do so, you and I won't even know."

"Enough of all this. Choose your aliens," said the voice.

"Is there any more alien that I cannot choose?" asked Ethan.

The voice kept quiet for a moment and then replied, "You also cannot choose Clockwork/Chronoasapien."

As if reading Ethan's mind, the voice replied, "And no, Chronoasapien is not of a higher dimension than me. It would be of the same dimension as I am."

"But the power of time is something very sensitive and, hence, cannot be distributed freely," concluded the voice.

"But you had said any 5 aliens and now you are prohibiting 2," said Ethan sheepishly.

The voice gritted his teeth in anger, "Fine… choose two additional aliens—a total of 7 aliens."

Before Ethan could reply, the voice almost shouted, "Now choose, otherwise I will send you without powers."

Ethan almost jumped in fright and replied quickly, "Okay… just give me a few moments."

"Fine," said the voice, and Ethan's mind went into a frenzy about the aliens he would be choosing.

.

.

.

[Join my P@treon for advanced chapter. p@treon.com/Book_paradise / Search Book_paradise in P@treon.]

[Thank you for reading. Rate, Review and Comment on my novel. Send the Power Stones.]