1 1. Flying through the stars!

~Twinkle Twinkle little star~ How I wonder what you are~~

In a void, filled with countless shining objects making them look like stars, one such thing sang to himself, to distract himself from the situation and to keep his sanity. The thing, very much like the rest, was a soul. He had long realized he was dead, and the fact that the stars too were other dead people. But once he saw some stars disappear, he also started to notice that his own shape was getting smaller and that he was starting to forget things about his life, he started singing random songs and remembering funny moments in his life, fighting against whatever was erasing his memories.

"Ah, it's been a while since I have seen a fighter." The soul heard and found himself in an area filled with golden clouds. He looked around and spotted an aged man who looked like an old Japanese monk from anime.

"Um, hello?" He asked, still shaken. A wave washes over him, calming him, and he can feel his thought process becoming clearer. But this also came with its set of questions. 'How can I think without my body? Does the soul also store memories from the physical body? Is thinking even the right word to describe my current actions?' After understanding his situation and that a god has brought his soul out of the void, such thoughts began clouding his mind... or soul.

The old man smiled and waited for the soul to calm down, which it did after half a minute. The man looked at him and asked, "Calmed down?" The soul nodded his head.

"Sorry for wasting your time, sir." He spoke, hoping not to make any mistakes that anger the higher being he was sitting across, he was not an idiot to demand stuff or talk with beings like he was their old friend or something.

The old man chuckled and said, "Have no fear young one, I have called you here after witnessing your tenacity against the void. For one living a very simple life, you sure did put up a fight to preserve your memories. Most embrace the comfort of the void and let themselves drown in it"

"Well, they must have lived a fulfilling life... or their life was filled with pain which they want to forget." The soul replied, and the old man nodded.

"Young one, since you want to live and preserve your memories, are you willing to do a task for me?" The old man asked, surprising the soul.

"What kind of task sir?" He asked. He knew his efforts of preserving his memories in the void may have prolonged his time, but in the end, he knew that he too would have gotten consumed, and this was his deal out of that.

"You see, there was a war in the omniverse in which beings clashed, but the result was many universes collapsed, got butchered, or timelines of different universes started mixing, as such, the universe wills retaliated, due to which the wars were stopped, but the damage was already done." The man explained, and the boy felt that his mind would have blown to smithereens by the revelation if not for the weird aura calming him. "Due to the imbalance of energies from the beings killed, and the merging of universes, settling everything back to the way it was would take a lot of time, and the universal wills do not like sacrificing a part of their multiverse just to preserve themselves." He continued, and the soul nodded, but he knew most was flying over his head.

The old man chuckled sensing this and said, "Do not worry, I do not want you to fight wars on my behalf or anything, nor try to understand the scope of what had happened. But you needed to know some context to understand the task you can accept." He spoke, and the soul nodded...without his head.

"In order to prevent energies to interact with these universes, and producing creatures tainted by the will of the previous holders of the powers, the wills accepted us to send heralds holding a fraction of our power, as their presence alone should repel them. And I want you to be my herald." The old man finished and waited for the young soul to process everything. "You can think of it as something similar to the reincarnation stories of your older universe"

After a while, the soul spoke "I understand, so I will be reincarnated, and I have to stay in that universe to either kill or repel these creatures?" He asked.

"Ah, no, no. You just have to live there." The old man replied.

"Just... live?" The soul asked.

"Yes, the war is already over, and any such creatures are already being hunted by those who have taken the task for themselves, your presence alone is enough to act as a conduit to repel the creatures." The man replied. "You can live your life as you like. Of course, there may be challenges depending on the universes merged together and some after-effects of the remains of the battle, but for you to live there comfortably, I have decided to grant you five wishes."

The soul was stunned. He expected his reincarnation condition to be filled with fighting or affecting the world, but it requires him to just... live. As for considering the old man fooling him, even if the being was, what can he do? So, after thinking, the soul considered all possibilities he could possibly think of and said. "I accept the task, sir." He said.

"I understand your caution young man, but you must understand your being there is already helping us, so in return, you living your life freely is a fair trade in my and the universe will's eyes." The old man said. "So, consider it a second chance, and live your life as you like. Now, what are your wishes, or do you have any other questions?"

The soul nodded and kept thinking for a while, then spoke. "I guess the destination world is already decided for me, so can I know what kind of world it is."

"Yes, the destination is decided, but you would find it to be quite familiar. And the world consists of gods, superpowers, and magic." The old man replied. The soul nodded, and wondered what kind of world it was, maybe a mixture of MHA and DXD? Probably something like that. He started analyzing it from that perspective and started wondering about the wishes he could use. Unfortunately, in his sudden excitement, he forgot to ask for any more info about the world, which would have proved helpful.

"I would like to point out that whatever you wish for, you would have to obtain it from a fresh start. This is so that you grow with your powers and gain a good understanding of them. The other is because dropping a reality warper with immense energy might harm the boundaries of the said world. You would have to grow in the world itself, so as to not harm it, or me sending you there would be counter-productive."

The soul nodded in agreement. He was getting wishes already, and starting from scratch doesn't sound bad. "For my first wish, I want the powers of Sung Jin Woo from solo leveling, and if possible, upgraded." The soul said.

"Hmm, acceptable, but what do you mean by upgraded little one?", the being asked.

"Ah, I mean to lift limitations like shadow exchange being time-locked, or creating shadow constructs. And I always wondered why Jin-woo only used shadows to form an army or armor and had no other offensive powers related to shadows." The soul complained.

"Ah, so you want to explore and reach new heights with the powers, yes? Very well." The being nodded. He understood that the young soul had only seen the being called Shadow Monarch in a story, so the child would have no way to know that the real shadow monarch was one of the most feared beings during the war.

"Hmm, but I cannot grant you full powers, the respective universe's laws and all. You would be similar to when Sung Jin-Woo had just obtained his class. No shadows either. You have to obtain them yourself. I will make it so that you are akin to a newborn ruler. I will add Black Heart too, as it will be required."

The boy nodded hearing that "For my second wish is to have the powers of Rimuru Tempest." The boy said.

"Hmm, you realize you could just ask for a power-like skill creation?" The being asked.

"Yes, but you said that I can live my life as I liked, so I choose the powers of my favorite characters. It may be dumb, but it's not like I need to fight multiversal wars like you did sir." The boy said. The being said nothing and nodded. He also understood what the young soul wanted when he mentioned having powers, as he referred to the powers they had at their full potential. But he was still worried, as the universe set for the soul was still dangerous.

"You would have powers after Rimuru commenced his first harvest festival into a demon lord. On that note, do you want to be-"

"I'll stay human." The boy said at once. 'No offense to Rimuru, but I would like to keep my gender intact in my next life and not be controlled by a Yandere AI in my head.' He thought to himself.

"Very well, it will only slow down your regeneration a bit." That being said, limiting powers, hoping the soul to face challenges so he would realize the dangers and grow, and not die because of arrogance which most beings get after suddenly becoming powerful.

The soul nodded. Even with the said conditions, he considered it as a jumpstart if compared to how Jin Woo and Rimuru had to do a lot of things before their evolution and obtain their signature skills.

"That is fine, so I want Essence of Blank integrated for my third wish." The soul spoke.

"Granted," The being said, as he too sensed it to be a good choice. This would ensure the young one's growth.

"For my fourth wish, I'll take Imagine Breaker, and please don't limit it to my right arm." The soul said. In case he faces a being beyond him, what is the best way to deal with them than to drag them down to be mortal?

"Hmm, some modifications would be required, but very well." The being said. "Now, what is your final wish." He asked.

"For my final wish... I'll leave that up to you sir." The soul replied.

"Upto me?" The old man asked, amused by his choice.

"Yes, you know about the universe much more than me sir, so your judgment will be much better than mine." The soul replied. It wasn't flattery, but the truth. He was just a normal guy. And even if he chooses OP powers, it will still take some time before he reaches that potential. And what if makes some mistake and gets captured or gets under the radar of some idiot with more powers than he would have at that time? You never know.

"Haha, very well, I will look into the universe to see what changes would suit you. But remember this child, the universe you will be going to is still dangerous, and you will face challenges, so be ready.

The soul nodded and said, "Challenges are required for a person to grow, it would be boring if there were none, or I would become like Saitama."

The being chuckled and said, "Very well young one, do not die soon." And the soul lost consciousness.