1 Prologue

A young man was lying in bed in a dark room, playing on his cell phone under the covers. He had a somewhat ordinary appearance. There were no marks or signs that made him stand out; he was just another one in the crowd.

The young man had lived a peaceful life with his mother since his father left when he was still very young. Without a father figure, the boy grew up following his mother's orders, almost as if he were a soldier, and ended up becoming very withdrawn, having few friends and a certain fear of getting involved in a relationship for fear of abandonment.

That's why he started to live more and more in his world and without a male figure to follow, he started trying to embody the same qualities of characters he saw in films, series, and anime. Like it or not, this became the basis of his mentality, which gradually became a bit confusing as he mainly liked anti-heroes and anti-villains. With just a fine line between the two. An anti-hero is someone who seeks to do good through slightly more questionable means, whereas anti-villains are characters who commit terrible acts in the name of what they call "a greater good", but which in the end is just a futile and selfish pursuit of your narrow view of the world. An example is Thanos, or Clyde Shelton, from Law Abiding Citizen.

While he was reading some things on his cell phone, someone knocked on his door, calling him.

- Arthur, it's time to wake up. The coffee is on the table, and you have to go to that job interview.

- I'm awake, Mom, and I'm going downstairs.

Arthur looked back at his phone, seeing some memes and phrases from Thomas Shelby about being cold and calculating and blah, blah, blah.

Arthur wasn't an idiot, although he was withdrawn and wasn't the best student, he was actually quite intelligent when he tried hard, but his desire for something had long since stopped manifesting itself, and he now just lived one day at a time.

- It's almost 6 a.m.; better get up.

Looking at the time, Arthur got out from under the covers, stretched out on the bed, and got up. The dark room was suddenly covered in a bright light as he opened the windows, and closed his eyes to shield his vision. When he opened it, however, he found himself in a white space.

There was nothing anywhere, and all he saw was a white expanse that seemed to stretch endlessly.

- What the hell is that? Am I still sleeping? A lucid dream?

Looking from side to side, Arthur thought he was still sleeping, maybe he hadn't even gotten up yet and ended up dozing off while playing with his cell phone. Because it was a lucid dream, he tried to create some hot girls, but he failed.

Without thinking much and feeling that he was already a little late, he decided to wake himself up by giving himself a small pinch on his thigh, but to his surprise, he didn't feel anything. He tried other ways to wake up, like holding his breath or hitting himself, but nothing worked. In desperation, Arthur began to scream for help, for his mother and for anyone who could hear him, but in the end, nothing happened.

Finally, Arthur accepted that he was probably dead. He was scared by this idea; of course, who wouldn't be? The mere thought of death makes all living beings afraid, only fools or idiots don't fear death.

He sat down and started looking at the floor. Arthur wasn't an atheist, but he wasn't a devout believer either. Like any human being, he had a belief, but as time went by, this belief began to be occupied by other, more mute things, and he gradually moved away from things like churches and things like that. Arthur had a unique view of God everyone has a unique view of God.

For example, the way that Tanya Degurechaff sees the God presented in Youjo Senki can be described as the way that many atheists see the figure of God, which is seen in a more complex and completely realistic way. This is not wrong, but it is also not correct. When Arthur saw this anime, he felt a little touched by Tanya's worldview. She was not wrong in stating that in a more modern era full of comforts, faith in God is something aimed more at those who live in more hopeless situations, such as sick people who seek healing through miracles or people who have committed terrible acts in their lives and who now seek some type of spiritual comfort.

Faith and vision of God are unique to every human being, and Arthur was the same; although he was away, he still maintained some faith, but he knew he had made some mistakes, and now he wondered what his destiny would be: a one-way trip to hell or some time in purgatory with some chance of redemption to go to paradise.

Arthur remained silent and waited. He doesn't know how long he stayed in that place. He tried to walk a little, but when he saw that he wouldn't get anywhere, he just waited.

Minutes, Hours, Days, Weeks, Months, Years, Centuries, and Millennia. Arthur simply didn't care how long he had to wait, he searched his mind for ways to maintain his sanity.

He replayed movies in his mind, sang songs, thought about his mother, anything to stay minimally active and not succumb to madness. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a figure appeared in front of Arthur, waking him from his torment.

- Impressive, managing to stay sane even in such adversity. I have to say, I'm a little... impressed.

- Who?

Arthur looked up and saw a white, blurry figure that seemed to blend into the surroundings in such a way that he felt like if he looked away, even for a second, it would disappear forever.

- I am what you call the world. Or maybe the universe, or maybe God, or maybe the truth, or maybe everything, or maybe one... And I am you too.

Arthur was silent for a moment before frowning and speaking:

- Seriously, the first person who talks to me, after who knows how long, is going to plagiarize lines from an anime?

- Plagiarism is a bit incorrect, it's more like... fan service.

- what the fu-

- Okay, enough stalling, let me tell you what's going on here. Firstly, you are not dead, I just brought your consciousness to this location.

- What-

- Secondly, you're not the only one here, so don't think you're special, the reason I'm talking to you now is just because you're the closest one to me who hasn't given in to madness and maintained a modicum of reason.

- What do you want?

- I'm bored, I just got back from work, and I have about... 200 years to rest. Normally I would sleep, but I saw some other existences like me playing with beings from lower realities, and they said it was quite... therapeutic. 

- Just for that? For such a petty reason, you kept me here for so long.

- Yes. Now let's get down to business. I will send you to a new world. You can do whatever you want there, I don't care. I just want to have some fun.

- Wait-

- Of course, I will give you some skills, just like anyone who is sent to another world. We will see...

- Wait, I don't want.

- Hmm? You do not want?

- No. Please send me back

- Do you know how many people want to go to another world every day, boy? How many are trapped in fantasies, inside their own dark and lifeless world, wishing to die and reincarnate somewhere else in the hope of starting over? And here I am offering you all this and more, and you just say "no"?

- It doesn't matter, I don't want that. My life may be a little monotonous and without much action, but it's still my life, I decide what to do or not do with it, and I don't want anyone to interfere with it.

The entity was silent for a while before simply starting to laugh at the young man in front of it. He was so small and weak in the face of his power, but he still decided to go against his will.

- Interesting boy, very interesting. You seem to be more than just one of the multitude of souls I have collected at random. Well, let's make a deal.

- Wait, I don't want to

- I will send you to another world, this is non-negotiable. You will live the way you want, and I will watch your life without interference from me. Of course, if I feel satisfied, I will grant your wish, whatever it is.

- ...

- As I said, I will give you some help to survive in this new world, and if you recognize the way I presented myself, I will give you the talent and knowledge of Edward and Alphonse Elric (FMA), but only that. If you want to use your skills, you will have to put in the effort. In addition, I will grant you two unique abilities that have served you well, but they will only be activated under certain conditions.

Arthur looked at the figure, who suddenly waved and created a black vortex that began to suck him in as he tried to hold himself in place.

- Entertain me, Arthur Riley, and I will grant you one wish. Goodbye, and until our next meeting.

- Son of a bitch

When Arthur's figure disappeared, the figure began to take on a more human form, he looked like an ordinary 16-year-old boy with white hair and heterochromatic eyes, the right one being purple and the left one being gold. He waved his hand, and a large sofa appeared next to a table filled with different types of food and drinks that would perplex anyone in the world.

Without thinking much, the young man sat down, took a small remote control, and turned on a floating screen while he helped himself to a good citrus fruit juice and a large Mexican pizza. As he waited for his chosen soul to reach its destination, he felt a fluctuation on his back that caught his attention.

- What do you want, old man?

- (@¨!$@¨&"!%@! What are you doing? It's not like you play with inferior beings.

- It's no big deal; I just talked to &%¨$#*&! She said she had fun when she did it last vacation, so I decided to try it too.

- Hm... Do as you wish (@¨!$@¨&"!%@! But don't abuse it too much, although "the real one" doesn't mind that some of us do this from time to time if you intervene too much with inferior ones, you may end up being set aside by him.

- There's no need to scare me, Old Man, I know that, and I don't intend to do it often. I'm just curious, that's all.

- Whatever, I just came to warn you as a teacher, nothing more. If you allow me, I have things to do.

- Goodbye, old man, we'll see you around.

Seeing the figure leave, the young man on the sofa sighed and looked back at the screen while continuing to eat

- Now let's see if this is worth it or if I should be sleeping... I hope you don't let me down, Arthur Riley.

**********

London, July 31, 1980

On a deserted and dark street, a small baby suddenly appeared in front of a mansion that must have been from the 19th century. Although it looked old it still had the appearance of being well looked after.

Suddenly the silence was taken away as a cry was heard by everyone. Shortly afterward, a woman in her 40s opened the door of the mansion, she was beautiful for her age, she had light blonde hair, and her face, although it already showed a little tiredness due to her age, still maintained a certain mature and fascinating charm.

- Oh my God, another one. It's the sixth this quarter alone. Frankly, those damn hippies make kids and then abandon them to anyone who cares. Don't worry child, you're safe now, I'll take great care of you. You'll be able to meet your brothers tomorrow, it's okay, no need to cry anymore... that's right without crying.

Under the influence of the rocking and the woman's soft voice, the baby gradually calmed down and fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. The woman smiled tenderly and entered the house with the baby without even knowing that he would be responsible for forever changing the world.