0001 - Kaito Haruka

"What is the most desired thing for a cultivator?"

"Immortality?"

"Eternal reign?"

"Or perhaps Absolute Strength?"

"Most would probably answer that way."

"But for me, cultivation is a hobby."

"A journey in search of extraordinary techniques."

"Searching for legendary herbs."

"Striving to break through to the next realm always excites me."

"That's why I don't like to stay idle for too long and keep moving forward."

"I, who haven't been able to break through to the next spiritual realm for a long time, finally tried to force my way through."

"But it seems fate is not on my side this time."

"I failed, and my body was destroyed."

"But before truly perishing, I used a technique I had prepared in case things went really bad."

"Infinity Soul Synthesis."

"This technique will send my soul to a body similar to the form and structure of my current body."

"The weakness is that the body must be in a condition of having no soul or weak life energy."

"And because of that, I don't know where and when I will be reincarnated."

"But well, rather than dying, I'd rather start again from scratch."

"Once again, I entrust my fate to the hands of destiny."

...

Kuoh City

Around nine o'clock at night.

In a dark and deserted alley.

"What! What is this...?"

A man suddenly felt his stomach being pierced by something. He saw a spear made of light stabbing his stomach from behind.

Before he could see who did it, he fell to the ground and collapsed.

The light of life quickly disappeared from his eyes.

Not long after, someone approached.

A young woman, attractive with purple eyes, a slim and curvy body. She had long, silky black hair that reached her hips and two black feathered wings. She was wearing tight black bikini armor-like clothing.

She then directed a device in her hand towards the man.

A magical circle formed in front of the device.

The man's body began to glow, then was absorbed into the device in the woman's hand.

"Tch, just an ordinary Sacred Gear."

"I shouldn't waste too much time following it."

She kicked the man's body hard, causing it to hit the wall. Then she stepped on it until satisfied.

"Phew, at least this can reduce my stress."

"Now, who's the next target?"

The girl took out another device that displayed information about someone.

"Hyoudou Issei."

"Second-year student at Kuoh High School, of average height, with short brown spiky hair, two short strands of hair behind his head, and light brown eyes."

"Classified as not very intelligent and very lecherous."

"Ugh, Disgusting."

"Always talking dirty without thinking and very focused on women's big breasts."

"How someone like this could get into Kuoh High School is a big question."

She continued reading Issei Hyoudou's data.

"Hmm, there's a trace of dragon aura in his body."

"There's a possibility of a good Sacred Gear inside him."

"It's disgusting, but he seems easy to tempt if I flirt with him a little."

Her two wings spread, and she flew into the night sky, leaving the man's body behind.

...

Not long after the young woman with black wings left.

The man's body suddenly pulsated. If approached, there would be a sound like a heartbeat.

A few moments later, the body released an explosion of energy that sent a strong wind in all directions. Trash cans and items left in the alley scattered everywhere.

Fortunately, this area was rarely frequented by people, so no one noticed the commotion up close.

"Cough cough cough."

The man rose, coughing up blood.

"It seems my technique worked, and I reincarnated into this body."

"Regeneration celeris."

He raised his right hand and formed a formation to heal himself.

"I can only use formation techniques with my cultivated soul."

"At least this is enough for the time being."

The wound on his stomach quickly closed. He could finally stand after his injuries healed.

But suddenly, he started to nosebleed, and his eyes turned red.

"Darn, this body is still not strong enough to withstand the pressure of the Transcendent Nexus realm soul."

"I have to immediately restrain my soul pressure."

The man sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes to concentrate.

Symbols of formation began to appear and cover his entire body. Soon, the formations on his body dimmed and disappeared.

"Ha, reincarnating into a mortal body is really troublesome."

"My soul cultivation can't be freely used"

He stood up and patted his body to clean off the dust.

Stretching his muscles, he observed the surroundings.

"Now let me check, who am I, and where am I?"

He jumped forcefully, reaching a height of two meters. But once at the highest point, he didn't fall. He continued to jump as if there were footholds in the air, ascending to a height of a hundred meters.

With a little release of his soul pressure, he used formation techniques to scan the entire city.

"Hmm. Truly a unique world."

"There's a lot of spiritual energy, souls, and auras here, but only humans seem oblivious to their existence."

"And humans obtain their own type of natural energy by studying the natural laws they call science."

"There are races similar to devilkin in the mortal realm, and there are also divine-born, somewhat strange because I sense a bit of negative energy similar to devilkin mixed in their bodies."

"It seems crossbreeding is prevalent in this world."

"Quite exotic."

He then closed his eyes, trying to read the memories left in this body.

"Kaito Haruka, not a bad name to use in this new life."

"Third year at Oyama High School."

"Parents work in Tokyo, living alone in an apartment."

"Part-time job as an assistant to a comic artist."

"Hmm... When returning from work, I was suddenly attacked by Angelkin."

Kaito's face became serious, adding a bit of soul pressure to gather more information.

"The remaining original soul in this body seems fragmented and partly taken."

"No, something was taken from Kaito's original soul."

Studying the remnants of Kaito's former soul, he found a kind of spiritual space that used to contain something. From that spiritual space, Kaito found a white string leading to the sky.

"The trace of that object is still there. What is this?"

As his consciousness followed the white string, he discovered that it led to another dimension separated by a giant golden Gate. He tried to comprehend the formations in the Gate.

"Sacred Gear System?"

Once he managed to learn some information, his consciousness was thrown out, disrupting his concentration.

"Cough... cough."

Suddenly, he coughed up blood and fell from the sky. Before hitting the ground, he managed to balance himself and land softly.

"I pushed myself too hard," he said, wiping the remaining blood from his mouth.

"I didn't expect someone powerful enough to create a system that influences the souls of all humans in this world."

"On the scale of this system, he might already be one step into a realm similar to my previous existence."

"This system can give power to people who can't even detect energies around them, providing artifacts called Sacred Gears."

"Giving power to many people like this must be a great burden on his body."

"For the first time, I've encountered someone willing to share power for free like this."

Kaito smiled and shook his head. In the cultivation world, everyone prioritizes themselves. Not a few cultivators betray each other for the sake of their cultivation needs.

Kruk~

"Hmm?"

"What is this... hunger?"

"It's been a long time since I felt this."

High-level cultivators usually never feel hunger due to the abundant energy in their bodies. Kaito, enthusiastic to experience food in this new world, restrained himself when he saw his clothes covered in blood.

"Hmm, I better go home first."

"I'll continue gathering information tomorrow."

Kaito leaped through the air toward his apartment.

...

Sixth Heaven

An archangel was staring at the gate to the Seventh Heaven with a serious face.

This archangel was a handsome man with long blond hair and green eyes. He wore a red robe with a gold cross on the front of his white alb. He had gold shoulder plates with a white belt and a gold halo above his head.

"What's happening, Michael?"

Someone approached Michael. A very beautiful woman with curly blonde hair and a seductive figure. But this beautiful woman seemed to have a humble, innocent personality with a childish face.

"Gabriel, someone has just entered the Seventh Heaven."

Gabriel's face showed a slight surprise and more worry.

"But I didn't sense any intruder entering the Sixth Heaven."

Michael continued to watch the gate to the Seventh Heaven.

"I am the same, but the Sacred Gear System responded to someone trying to touch it."

"But this response is not like usual, where intruders would be randomly teleported, and we would be notified of their location to capture them."

"Although there's an indication that someone successfully entered the Seventh Heaven, there are no clues as to who the person is, as if they didn't enter at all."

Seeing Michael's face becoming more anxious, Gabriel clenched her fists and submerged them into her ample chest.

"I hope nothing bad will happen."

"I hope so too."

Michael stared at the alarm formation on the gate to the Seventh Heaven, which began to dim.