23 Chapter 23

POV: John Valorant

' So I died?' I asked myself

I couldn't tell, but I felt like I was in a dream

As if I just fell asleep

' If so, then maybe I can wake up?'

I tried a little and I could feel my surroundings

'So I'm alive..' I thought

' But how is it possible, I remember falling, and then I was here?' As I struggled to wake up, I thought about meaningless things

And then I could finally feel my body

I moved a little before I opened my eyes

The light from what appeared to be a room irritated my eyes.

"How long have I been sleeping?" I asked myself, just to scare me with my voice

"My voice.. Is it younger?"

I took in my surroundings, only to realize that I wasn't in a hospital, or even my house.

I was in a white room, very simple but luxurious in its way.

" Where am I?" I asked myself, as I got out of bed, "My body, I don't feel anything wrong with it. Did I go back in time?"

"Not really..." replied a voice, which strangely emanated authority.

I looked around and found no one in the room.

For a moment I thought I had gone crazy

I shook my head dispelling those thoughts. Before I got up and walked to what looked like a door, still feeling shocked at how much better my body felt, and lighter.

Coming to the door and opening it carefully, I could see the other side.

It looked like a very modern country house, with very simplistic designs.

Looking around, I noticed that where the fireplace was, a man was sitting in a chair.

The man had his back to me so I couldn't see his face, but he had white hair and looked like he was reading a book.

He was the one who caught my eye in the room, so much so that for a moment I didn't notice a golden weapon floating beside him.

It hypnotized me and scared me, 'cause I felt like I should bow to this weapon

'Strange feeling' I thought

' I'm in heaven? ' I asked myself

Walking towards the man, I also noticed that, at his feet, a dark-haired fox was lying, with many tails sticking out of its back.

'9-tailed fox?'

I had already read about it, after all, I had set up some orphanages in Japan, so I had been trying to understand their culture.

As these thoughts ran through my mind, I came to the side of the man, or should I say, young man.. I couldn't say

But what I did know was that he wasn't human, after all, those eyes, even if they weren't pointed in my direction, I could feel that he could see me, I could feel that he could see beyond me, I could feel that he was looking at my soul

And the strangest thing was the fact that he had 4 eyes..

"Oh shit!" I exclaimed

Before I realized what I had done "Sorry, I lost my composure for a moment" I quickly apologized

After all, I was in the presence of a God

At least that's what my instincts told me.

'This is very strange'

"Don't worry, I don't care" the man said, still looking at the book

But I didn't move, nor did I say anything, despite having a spare chair in the room, I didn't dare sit down.

"You can sit down if you want, we have some things to talk about" he said again.

So I did what he said, and sat down, after all, I still wanted to understand everything that was going on..

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POV: Adriel

You may be wondering, why am I acting this way, showing him my eyes, or openly ignoring him.

Well, the reason I was showing him my eyes was that I wanted him to understand that I wasn't human, and that might make our negotiations easier.

And the reason I'm apparently ignoring him is that I wanted to be charming.

After all, that would make a good movie scene.

( A certain Dragon God somewhere unknown: Exactly.. Good job, that scene turned out amazing..)

So I talked to him, while he was still inside the bedroom and I was in the living room, to create an air of suspense.

The floating Halberd was meant to induce authority, and Kurama at my feet was meant to show that I had a mythical being serving me.

Well I just wanted to create a scene

And it looks like it worked, because he just stood there, not moving after apologizing.

But I don't blame him, after all, I would also find it strange if at one moment I thought I was about to die, and suddenly I didn't.

And later, a being with 4 eyes was in front of me

"You can sit down if you want, we have some things to talk about," I said

To which he promptly complied, sitting down

I had a little urge to laugh at the whole situation I created

But it was just a little bit of will, so my face remained serious

"Well, you died… Or, technically, Jhon Valorant died" I said, still looking at the book I was reading "Your name is dead, but I saved you at the last moment.."

And then, I waited a while, so that his record could sink in and he would understand his situation.

"I see.. But, it doesn't matter much, after all, I didn't have anyone.." He replied, a little melancholy.

"Technically you're wrong," I said, as he widened his eyes and was about to ask me a bunch of questions, I could see his turbulent emotions

"Calm down, that's what we're talking about.. I saved you from your deathbed because I needed your name" I said.

He seemed to calm down, before nodding his head.

"I might as well just use your name after your death, but as you were a good man by my standards, I decided to save your life."

"I will give you a soul contract, where I promise to give you a new life, with a younger body, and in return, you will stop being who you were, and become someone else, to start your life from scratch" I spoke

He thought for a moment, before asking, "I understand what you mean, but aren't the benefits a little too great for me?"

" In the short term, yes, but no in the long term... This planet, your planet, is about to change, and change a lot, and I will be at the forefront of that change... But, I don't want to get involved with the politics of certain countries. , so I want to use your name and create a story around it" I explained, after all, it didn't matter if I did or not, I could erase his memory if I needed

"Do you want to rule the world? From the inside out?" He asked, a little horrified.

" Well, yes, but don't worry, it's for the good of your species... And, I'm only doing it this way because humans don't accept dictatorship very well, after all, I, with my strength, could just take this planet to me if I wanted to. But this is not the best choice for the future" I replied, trying to clarify some facts

To which he nodded his head, indicating his understanding

"I don't have much choice, do I?" he asked, accepting his fate

"Well, you have a choice, the choice to accept, and live a new life, with all the memories of your life as Jhon, or not to accept, and you will still live your new life, but without your old memories, starting truly from scratch. "I replied with ease

And I didn't feel bad about what I was doing, after all, I was giving your soul a chance to live one more time, in a world that would soon be better than it currently is, if all my plans worked out.

And you must be asking yourself, why do all this.. And the answer is quite simple, because I can, and I want to do it.

I want to transform humanity, into something better, into something that can protect itself from the threats that come from outside the planet.

And I can do it, so why not…

"I understand, so I accept your offer.." Jhon spoke, accepting his fate completely.

After all, he didn't have a 3rd choice.

I closed the book in my hands while raising my right hand

And with fluid movements, I drew a rune in the air, which was powered by my chakra.

This rune glowed, before turning into a half-transparent parchment.

I looked at it and modified it using my skill so the contract would be as specific as possible and no hassle for whoever signed it

After everything was ready, I sent it to Jhon, who was sitting across from me, with a stupid look on his face.

'So he might be even more surprised' I thought

"You can read the contract, and if all is well with you, you just have to put your hand on it," I said.

He nodded before focusing on the scroll floating in front of him.

After a few moments, he placed his hand on the contract, and it glowed and split, before one part flew into my soul, the other flew into his.

"If at any point, you try to get your life back as Jhon Valorant, the contract will be revoked, causing your death, and your soul will be sent to the reincarnation cycle, so think about it," I said.

Before writing another rune in the air, which began to glow green, this rune flew to Jhon and began to bring his body back to his 17th birthday.

This use of runes shouldn't be something I could do, but, my mind was moving so fast these days, that I understood many runes that were hidden in the information I received from Odin.

Runes that even Odin himself didn't know existed. Runes on what I could assume is the basic use of infinity stones

It allowed me to do amazing things if I wanted to, and had the energy to do so.

"Your new documents are on the living room table, you have a certain amount of money but nothing too big, and this house is in your name," I told the now shocked Jhon

I got up, making Kurama, who had been lying down all this time, also get up.

I turned around and opened a portal back to my lab

And being followed by a Halberd and a fox, I crossed him, leaving the man even more shocked.