Darkness. Silence. Then… Nothing.
No tunnel of light, no grand revelation, no flashes of my life playing before my eyes. Just the sudden, crushing realization that I am gone. Dead. Ceased to be. And yet, instead of fading into oblivion, I find myself here.
The void around is an endless white abyss that lacks depth, shape, or substance. It's cold yet not uncomfortable, empty yet suffocating. I look down, but I have no body, no physical form. I am simply… here.
I should be terrified. Maybe I am. But how do you feel fear when you don't even have a body anymore?
And then, I see it.
A blinding light pierces through the abyss, stretching infinitely in every direction. It is luminous white yet distinguishable against the void. It isn't just bright—it is everything. An unfathomable, all-encompassing presence that is neither male nor female, neither warm nor cold. It is like reality itself has coalesced into a singular entity, and somehow, I know—I just know—it is staring right at me.
"Ah," it speaks, though its voice doesn't echo in my ears. It resonates in my very being, carrying the weight of something far beyond human comprehension. "You are finally here."
I would blink if I still had eyes. Here? Where is here? Is this some kind of afterlife? Limbo? Or have I simply gone mad in my final moments?
"This is the space between what was and what will be. You have died," it continues, answering the questions I haven't even spoken. "Due to the laws of causality, when a soul is untethered from its reality in such an abrupt manner, it is entitled to dictate its next existence."
My thoughts freeze. Next existence?
"…I get a choice?" My voice—if it can be called that—sounds small, almost insignificant against the immensity of the being before me.
"Yes."
That single word sends a ripple through my very essence. It is absolute. There is no trick, no hidden condition. Whatever this thing is, it isn't lying. Is this some kind of afterlife system? Reincarnation? Am I in one of those isekai stories I used to talk about with my friends?
Wait a second, what about my friends… My family.
My mind races through everything I have lost, everything I have left behind. My mind struggles to comprehend the enormity of the situation. Panic grips me, but what is there to panic over? There's no heart pounding in my chest, no breath to catch, no hands to clench.
My voice trembles as I ask the most important question, "Can I see my friends and family?"
The being does not hesitate. "No."
It feels like I have been shot in the chest. A rising panic takes over my entire being "What?! Why not?!"
"Due to the laws of causality, once you die, your connection to your original reality and any version of that reality is severed and cannot be restored. Your past is no longer accessible."
The words hit me like a ton of bricks and a pit forms in the emptiness that is me. "No… No, no, that can't be right!" I stammer.
"What if I go back as a ghost? Or get reincarnated in my old world?"
"Denied."
I pathetically plead. "What if I just watch them? Just a glimpse—"
"Denied."
"Or if I—"
"Denied."
I feel frustration bubbling up inside me. "You didn't even let me finish!"
"I already knew what you were going to ask."
I yell at it with anger fueled by desperation. "There has to be a way! You're an all-powerful being! What even is this so-called law of causality?! Who made that rule!? You!?"
The being's light flares, and for the first time, I feel truly insignificant.
"Causality is the foundation of all existence. It is not created, nor can it be altered. Every action has a consequence, every choice shapes reality. The moment you die, your original world no longer acknowledges your effect. You are locked from entering that reality and any version of that reality. To interfere with a reality already set in motion would unravel its balance. That is one of the laws of causality. They are not rules to be bent or broken—they simply are. Even I, the supreme ruler of all things, must abide by them."
The weight of those words crushes me. I lower my form, defeated. "Then… there's no point in fighting it, is there?"
"No."
Silence stretches between us. Slowly, reality sets in. My old life is gone. My friends. My family. Everything I knew.
I am alone.
I don't know how long I remain silent, processing the weight of it all. Seconds? Hours? An eternity? Time holds no meaning here.
Eventually, the being speaks again.
"You may choose what comes next. You can move on to the unknown… or you may shape your next existence, within the bounds of causality."
I don't want to just disappear. If I have to start over, I at least want to choose a world I know. A world I can navigate.
Taking a deep breath, I finally make my decision.
"…Fine," I mutter, my voice hollow. "If I can't go back, then send me somewhere else. Somewhere I can make something of myself… reincarnate me into the world of My Hero Academia."
For the first time, the ethereal being's glow flares, pulsing with what almost seems like approval. "An interesting choice."
It speaks again. "Now, tell me—what quirk shall be yours?"
I stare in disbelief. "Hold on… I get to choose my quirk?"
The glow shimmers, almost amused. "Naturally."
Oh. OH!
I suddenly feel like a kid in a candy store—a dangerous candy store where all the candy can give me superpowers. I need to think carefully about this. A strong quirk means power, but I have to consider drawbacks, weaknesses, versatility—
And so, I begin my thinking.
A week passes—or at least, I think it's a week. Time in the void doesn't exactly exist in a way I understand. I spend every moment agonizing over what my quirk should be. Super strength? No, too simple. Something reality-breaking? Too OP. Maybe something strategic? But what if I need raw power? I weigh every possible factor: power scaling, drawbacks, versatility, counters, even how cool it would look in a fight.
And the deity? It watches me. Silently. Patiently. Until finally… it snaps.
"OH MY ME!!!" The void trembles as the deity's luminous form flickers wildly, its voice echoing in frustration.
I flinch as the being—this all-powerful, divine entity—loses its patience.
This thing has remained an all-powerful, emotionless entity until now, and somehow, I have managed to annoy it.
"I AM THE SUPREME RULER OF EVERYTHING THAT HAS AND WILL EVER EXIST! I HAVE CREATED GALAXIES, SHAPED DIMENSIONS, AND ORCHESTRATED THE FLOW OF ALL THINGS! AND YET—" it throws up its glowing appendages in pure, godly frustration "—I HAVE NEVER MET A MORE INDECISIVE CREATION! DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR STALAGMITES TO FORM? THOUSANDS OF YEARS! AND IT IS STILL LESS OF A HEADACHE TO WATCH THAN THIS!"
I gulp.
"W-Well, it's an important decision! I mean, if you had to pick your own divine powers, wouldn't you take your time—"
"I'M A GOD, YOU INSIGNIFICANT SPECK!"
"Okay, okay! I got it! I get it!" I wave my hands—if I even have hands—desperately. "I'll let you decide! Use your infinite wisdom or whatever! Just pick something that fits me!""
The deity pauses. The frustration fades. Then, ever so slightly, it leans forward.
"...Very well. I will peer into your very essence. Your hopes, your dreams, your loves, your hates—everything. I will see it all. Your weaknesses. Your desires. Even your darkest thoughts. And from that, I will forge a quirk that reflects the totality of you."
The void shifts.
I don't know how to describe it, but suddenly, I feel exposed. As if my very being is peeled apart layer by layer. It's like my entire existence is being dissected, analyzed, and put under a microscope.
It doesn't just see me.
It knows me.
It understands me more than I understand myself.
My brightest moments. My deepest regrets. Every fleeting joy, every crushing sorrow. My victories, my failures, my ambitions. My laughter, my anger, my loneliness, my love.
It sees the parts of myself I refuse to acknowledge. The selfishness I hide beneath reason. The envy I dress up as admiration. The cruelty I justify. The way I resent those better than me, the way I sometimes wish for failure in others just so I don't feel so small.
Every thought I've ever had, every feeling I've ever buried, every truth I've never admitted, laid bare before a godly being.
And then, it reaches something deeper.
My fears.
My fear of change—how I long for something greater, something more, yet flinch the moment my world shifts.
My fear of having no control—how I despise feeling powerless, how I dread watching helplessly as everything I care about slips through my fingers.
My fear of being alone—how the idea of losing everything, everyone, until all that remains is me.
The deity sees it all. It does not judge. It does not comfort.
It simply knows.
I have no form here, but I feel naked. Stripped. Unraveled.
I want to scream, but I have no voice.
I want to look away, but I have no eyes.
I want to run, but there is nowhere to go.
I want to tell it to stop.
I don't want to be seen like this. I don't want my soul dissected and laid bare.
But I can't move. I can't think.
And then…
It's over.
The void shifts back to silence as if nothing happened.
The deity's glow stabilizes, its voice impossibly calm. "I have seen you," it says simply. "And I have chosen. This power will be shaped by the essence of who you are. A power only you could wield."
I feel something stir deep inside me. Something new. A presence that was never there before but now feels like it has always been a part of me.
"You will not know its full potential at first," the deity continues. "It will grow with you. Adapt. Evolve."
I breathe, shaky and unsteady, as the overwhelming sensation fades. My mind is still reeling, but one thing is certain.
This power—this quirk—is mine.
A perfect reflection of who I am, who I was, and who I will become.
I exhale shakily. "What… what is it?"
The deity's glow pulses in amusement.
"You will find out soon enough."
I open my mouth to argue, but before I can, a new thought creeps into my mind—one that makes my stomach twist.
"Wait." I look up at the deity. "Before I go… there's one more thing. I want you to remove my emotional connections to my original reality."
The deity stares at me for a long moment. "You are certain?"
I nod. "It would be wrong for me to live a new life while still carrying those feelings. If I can never return, then I shouldn't ache for something I can never have. Please… make it so those emotions no longer hold me back."
The deity's glow softens. Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, it reaches out.
Suddenly, something inside me shifts.
It isn't painful. It isn't even a sensation I can describe. But at that moment, my heart—my soul—feels lighter. The weight of my past, the grief, the longing, the love I once held for my family and friends—it all slips away like ink washing off a page.
I blink.
And then… I cry.
Tears spill from eyes I no longer have. My form is shapeless, my existence barely tethered to anything real, yet the void around me shimmers with the evidence of my sorrow. But why? I feel the memories fading, see the faces of people I once knew, but they no longer stir anything inside me. They are just… images. Like photographs of strangers.
I know they were important to me once. I know these emotions define my very existence. And yet, as they unravel into nothingness, an unbearable hollowness takes their place.
The realization makes my breath hitch. My chest trembles. I let out a shaky laugh—except it's not a laugh. It's a sob.
I chose this. I asked for this.
And still…
I sob, confused and alone, grieving a love I can no longer remember.
The tears kept falling as I choked out a final, broken thought.
"Goodbye."
The deity remains silent. It does not comfort me, nor does it intervene. It simply watches as I mourn something I have already lost.
I compose myself and straighten. "I'm ready."
The deity smiles. "Then go forth, and take everything."
With a snap of its fingers, everything went dark.
And I fall into my new life.