A World with no need for a Hero

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  "𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴,

  𝘞𝘦 𝘈𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯…

  𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘉𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘴,

  𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘳𝘯.

  𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴, 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘯𝘥, 𝘐𝘴 𝘖𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨."

  -Dr. Brian Weiss

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Reincarnation. A commonly used troupe in fiction, both fan-made and professional. It is an easy way to begin a story, a way to present an entirely new, clean slate to shape, mold, and create, without having to worry about the past, or what was. A new start. Both figuratively and literally in Buddhism.

How did the story begin again? Was it a Choose Your Own Adventure chart filled out from a unknown email? A Self-Insert prompt? A Quest? A Fanfiction? A Jumpchain? A meeting with Death, or a beautiful Goddess to take as your new wife? An all-powerful being to grant your every wish, to visit a fictional reality, after your supposed accidental death?

No. It was supposed to be quite simple. A reincarnation. Of course, it was to be a random gamer with cannon knowledge, because that is what we expect, right? Of course, the person had to be picked at random, with no real skills, personality traits, or talents to speak of. Why? Because an author writes parts of himself into the story, and we as the readers compare ourselves in the main character, or perhaps we enjoy the fact that the Main Character was once nobody, with nothing, no notable features, skills or powers above anyone else before he becomes strong. Someone like us.

Then, he would get a system. Why? Because it is simply the most easy and all encompassing wish. And if we were to wish to become a God or for everything we wanted, that wouldn't be much of a story now, would it? If you were given 3 wishes, what would you wish for? It is quite a difficult question. But the interesting thing is that every person's answers will be different. But a system is an all-encompassing thing that can fill and allow you to achieve most of your desires. It is a narrative device that makes it easy for the author to mold the story in any way he wants. A harem? Some obscure, unique power or item that you want your main character to possess? The infinite possibility to change and write the story in any direction the author pleases. That is what a system promises.

Then, he would get transported into a fictional world, and perhaps visit more fictional worlds as the story progresses. This is how the author imprints his own version of how the fictional world the Main Character visits should have gone, or how he wants to change it. Into a world not of the original author, but one of the new author's visions, with his ideas on full display.

But, how will the introduction begin? Sure, a complex story full original lore is a fun exercise for the author, a council of omnipotent gods, with one randomly choosing our lucky (or unlucky) person of choice to act as an apostle of said imagined being, or just to act out the will of it. Or, the initiator of our story is simply a Random Omnipotent Being, nicknamed 'R.O.B', of course searching for some entertainment.

Of course, this concept disgusts me. Why would an Omnipotent Being care about making up a mistake, to compensate for your supposed accidental death? It, by definition, is Omnipotent. Even if there existed multiple of these supposed all-powerful beings, and thus they had a society and rules to follow, (which is a silly concept not of the author's fault, but of the limitations of the human mind. We apply such things as Morality, Society, and Rules, and humanize such beings when they would, in reality, be so far different than we could ever imagine.), why would they care about us? Most 'Gods' described in Mythology are cruel, apathetic beings who are far above such things, and are disgusting beings that symbolize the worst of humanity. What kind of god would do such a thing as granting reincarnation?

Sure, the Biblical God could fill the role of a 'R.O.B', but he is described as perfect. It cannot make mistakes and cannot error. He wouldn't 'accidentally' kill you, nor grant the selfish wishes of the normal reincarnater. Of course, this is once again applying human ideas to a not very understood concept, so I digress. So, is this our story? Death, A Wish, A System, and a Fictional World? Normally, yes.

But let's focus on the last two parts. Suppose you, yes YOU, are THE ONE. You, out of billions, out of an infinite number of people across all possible worlds, are chosen. Yes. You. I suppose, it's not a question of 'if', but 'when'. Let's assume that there are an infinite number of worlds, alternate, parallel, variations, it doesn't matter. Now let's assume there are an infinite number of them. That every possible scenario has or will happen in one universe. Yes, it's truly a silly concept, but stay with me. Are you living in the universe where you finally get a partner? Highly unlikely. But still, it does exist, somewhere out there.

And thus, the question changes. It's not a question of 'if', it's now a question of 'when'. Somewhere out there, a universe exists where you are chosen to reincarnate. Of course, you choose DXD like the horny scum you are, but that's beside the point. Wait, there's not a single universe where you don't pick DXD? That's quite literally impossible. Truly, humanity always finds a new low…

Anyway, YOU, are THE ONE. This is YOUR universe. Congratulations! You are going to be reincarnated! You want a system? Sure! Keep your memories? Consider it on the house. You want to gain your old life's memories when you become a teen to skip childhood? Asking is a formality.

What is the point of this? Well, to highlight one specific thing. Reincarnation, World Travel, Fictional worlds, Random Omnipotent Beings, Wishes, Death, and Systems, are all complex concepts that don't really make sense when you actually think about it. Reality is often complicated, and this is no exception. Worlds reject what is foreign to them. 

Reincarnation in reality is likely nothing but a sad story where you are reincarnated as a Tree to pay for all your lustful thoughts. Fictional Worlds? Yeah, good luck. 

If a System, Reincarnation, or Omnipotence, where to actually exist, they would be much more complicated. Rules, errors, glitches, mistakes, the sort. So, let's try a different story?

Of course, this is a lie. Every person claims he is the original, or unique. It makes their work stand out, become interesting, popular, and perhaps something even more. Whether it is true that it is unique and original is unimportant. The fact that we think it is gives us comfort. Why be original? We all know the same beginning… so why not one more time?

Was this entire rant for nothing? Yes. Has any deeper knowledge been gained? I hope so. (Comment if you liked this rant! - Author).

Either way, in the grand scheme of things, it matters little. 

So where to begin? Where to begin…

Ah, yes. His name doesn't matter. He was no one important. He has 3 brothers and a sister to take care of, but they will become closer thanks to his passing. He hates endings and unfinished stories, or when the story becomes desaturated.

(A/N: Yes I'm a hypocrite.)

  Death is synonymous with Endings, yet we try to separate the two. Death is supposed to be a final rest, and ending, yet it is instead seen as the start of something. Whether a transition to whatever waits beyond, an eternal paradise with loved ones, an eternity of suffering for one's sins, or simply eternal sleep. But Death is not any of those. Not a physical place such as Hell, Heaven, Elysium, Duat, Kur, Valhalla, Purgatory, or Limbo.

  It is an ending, a ceasing of what one could be, or would be. But for this purpose, we will see it as a beginning. He dies alone, with a few to lament his passing, to remember him till the end of their days. Thus, he dies with little regrets, besides the stories he will not read, the stories he didn't read, and those he has forgotten.

Thus, we begin anew. 

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  I walked along the road, emotionlessly staring at those around me. I had just left my high school, Kouh Academy, and was heading to a library to do some homework. Surprising? For me, it was somewhat. My new life was nothing special. This world was nothing special compared to my old world. I was born about 20 years before I was born in my previous world, but it was nothing noteworthy.

  My name in this life was Enuma Yasao. A strange name to be sure, especially in Japan, which usually brought unwanted trouble when mentioned. My appearance was somewhat handsome. With a lean figure, handsome face and silver-blue hair. I wore my school uniform, which consisted of a buttoned suit, white undershirt, and striped tie. 

I considered trying to change myself in this new life, to be athletic, overly-energetic, kind, or something different than my last life, but I ultimately sided against it. I was far too lazy. And the Japanese School System tried my patience, with me taking some hard classes just for variety due too me already having gone to college in my previous life. But ultimately these classes  were still useless in the real world. At least I will know how to do taxes before I graduate this time, unlike my previous life. 

  I walked alone, watching the people around me. I had a habit of observing people closely. Despite what you may think, I was considered normal in this world. I didn't go around with my power and use it recklessly. In fact, I haven't used it at all. Why? Because there simply was no chance to.

  There was no cliché murderer, bully, crush, or best friend to test it on. No situation in which I accidentally used it, or was forced to. Sure, crime was rampant in New York, with criminals and probably some cartels, but that was it. I once ran into a mugging, but the lady was saved by some nice people who beat up the thugs. I saw my next-door neighbor's apartment being broken into, but the police came and the criminals were arrested. I never had a cliché moment in which I was forced to use my power or awakened it.

  I also had paranoia about using my power. Was I the only one who was reincarnated? My common sense, paranoia, and general knowledge said no. If I reincarnated, that meant there were likely many who reincarnated before me, and likely people who knew about reincarnation. Sure, there were many people online who claimed to remember their past life, but what if they weren't crazy?

  If so, then the government would likely have knowledge of this. Hell, what if there was more I didn't know about? If reincarnation was real, what else? Magic? Mythology? God's and Demons? Secret Supernatural societies? There had to be a reason for me to be reincarnated here. I simply couldn't accept this was a normal world.

  Who knew what powers my potential enemies had at their disposal? Clairvoyance? Precognition? Teleportation? Someone, to detect other people with powers? My safe approach guaranteed my safety for now.

And as I was justifying my actions, I stopped myself. Because I knew that most of what I said wasn't true. I couldn't find anything different from my old world in this world. Not that I would be able to notice, not knowing much about Japan besides Weeb Culture. 

Now you may ask, what was my amazing power, cheat skill, gamer system that would allow me to dominate anyone who opposed me?

Short Answer: I had no Idea. 

Long Answer: I really had no chance in this new life to use it, or to somehow awaken it under pressure. My life was a normal highschooler life. No passing situations, no social drama, no kidnapping or bullies or some cliche event to awaken my powers, nothing. Sure, I tried the first few years of my life constantly to somehow awaken it, but it was useless.

Kuoh itself was strange. People were nice, and there were few criminals. Extremely rich families founded the Kuoh academy, and put money into cleaning the town. Mainly the older siblings of the Occult Research Club and Student Council, or so they say. Apparently, no one knows who they are. 

But because of this, the quiet town of Kuoh is peaceful. Apparently those previously mentioned older siblings hired some security to sweep the town, and clean out the criminals and Yakuza that previously lived here. 

Of course, there always seemed to be some sort of disaster, which resulted in some chaos around the town. Gas leaks and explosions, murderer's, serial killers, and apparently a maniac priest once roamed the streets, shouting about Demons and Devils. 

Of course, this made my Gamer Senses tingle. A series of unfortunate events? A timeline of odd occurrences? I think not! I knew to investigate those events and immediately find out about the supernatural events lying beneath the surface of this town.

It was a long time ago, and so the memories are hazy, but I searched for these events, running around the town in hopes of witnessing something magical. But, it turned out to be true. While I don't remember much, the overwhelming feeling of disappointment remained seared into my mind.

  After this revelation, I fell into a boring and monotonous life.  And so I walked along the sidewalk, heading for a library. 

  I ponder my situation as I reach the library. It is a quiet place, located out of the way. It was probably a front for drug dealing or something, but I really didn't care. 

After living in this world for over a decade, I accepted the fact that it was normal. And if it wasn't, and some secret plot was happening beneath the surface, the heroes of this world would take care of it, or they wouldn't. When I reincarnated, I wanted to do something. Be a hero. 

I originally doubted myself, not believing myself capable. But, when I reincarnated, I felt as if anything was possible. Because reincarnation exists, what else existed? 

With this second life I could be anyone, do anything! I lost the doubt that plagued my mind before and embraced this life. That it was truly a second chance at life, to live differently to be the protagonist that journeys to defeat the Demon King with a harem of beautiful women.

  Sure, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing born of my crippling insecurities of living a mediocre life and leaving nothing behind again, while comparing myself to people who have unyielding determination to get what they want through nothing but the power of bullshit plot armor. But doing so, assuming I could be better than them, could become something better than them, was my mistake.

  I was not the protagonist. I did not have the motivation, or the drive to be one. I was lazy, insecure, paranoid, and selfish. I was not protagonist material. This was not my story. This was a normal world, with no one for me to save. My hopes and desires were crushed in this new life. 

  I sat down at a table in the corner and pulled out several math sheets. One thing about this life is that I could explore new subjects. College-level theoretical mathematics was one of the things I immersed myself in. Sure, I could use this life to study a lot, and with my past life I could be hailed as a somewhat smart person, but that was boring. I was no genius. I was not a one-in-a-lifetime pioneer.

I was easily the smartest in my school, but most people simply accepted that. This town was quiet, and most of the youth grew up together for all 12 years of school. I was simply the quiet kid who was crazy smart and kept to himself. That's all I was. 

  I had few friends, few people I cared about. I grew up with a loving mother, and still do, but have few friends. I simply couldn't connect with people my age. Their interests seemed boring, their problems and drama insignificant and small when compared to the rest of their life. My age made me view the world differently than other people at my school.

  I sped through the math homework, completing it within a reasonable time. Much faster than anyone else in the class, but that was not due to my intelligence. I simply knew how to listen, comprehend, study, and focus due to my past life. Forged through my attending of college, I simply had more practice with going to school.

I was a prodigy by definition, having completed every course and class I took easily, but ultimately stopped there. I didn't go beyond, participate in any extracurricular activities, or apply myself in any way. I thought them unnecessary. I was a prodigy, not a genius. I lacked the basic talent that allowed a genius to excel beyond what people thought possible. 

  And as I finished, I repeated the mantra that plagued my mind in this new life. 

The world did not need to be saved. The world had no need for a hero. 

If only I knew what truly turkey beneath the surface, hidden in a memory lost to reincarnation, of a meeting with an old man. 

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I sighed. I plopped down on the couch, watching some meaningless show on the TV. I didn't normally watch TV. It was something of a stigma. I stayed away from Social Media in this life, something that I was grateful for. This was due to the holier-than-thou ideas from my childhood self about changing myself in my new life. Not that I had any friends to message, anyways.

  I sat there for 2 hours, blankly watching the Television. I simply sat there, numb. Nothing to think about, nothing to do. 

  I watched the show emotionlessly. It was some cooking show, with the normal Mexican women with false eagerness most actor's used, walking through the steps on how to cook Chicken Mole. I made a note to cook some later, if I was bored. Chicken cooked in Chocolate sauce sounded interesting. It was an American channel, due to my mother

  After a few hours, the jingling of the door-knob signaled that my mother was home. I ignored it in favor of watching the television. She walked in, carrying a coat over her shoulder and two bags in either hand. She paused, before sighing as I sat there.

  My frown deepened slightly. I loved my mother, maybe because I barely knew the one from my last life as she died at a young age, but I had trouble connecting with her. At a young age, due to my reincarnation, she couldn't teach me many things I didn't already know, disconnecting her from the role of my mother. I showed very little emotion to her that a child normally would,  having grown up already, leading to very little emotional connection as well. Still, she was the one person I had a connection with at all in this life, even if it was by blood only. I loved her, even if I didn't show it.

  "You really need to get out more." She lectured in a disappointed tone. I frowned.

  "It is hardly safe to do such a thing in this city," I spoke plainly. My thin frame and weak stature would paint me as a prime target for crime. It was a weak argument, one simply meant to fill the empty spot of a reason for my actions, not to give a true answer. 

  She stood there, watching me for some time, seemingly in thought, before speaking. "We will talk about this later." She assured, before heading into the kitchen. I frowned. She did have my best interests at heart, despite my unwillingness to interact with society.

  After a half hour, I was sitting at our small table against the wall of the kitchen, with only 2 seats. I ate the prepared curry with little complaint. We ate in silence, which I found comfortable before my mother sought fit to torture me with conversation.

  "I know I already told you this, but you really need to make some friends." She spoke, before sighing. "People your age are supposed to be social. Texting your friends. Playing video games. Going to hangouts. Drug deals. Parties. Orgies. Something!" She spoke angrily. I frowned at her crude language and insinuations. 

  "Did you read that in 'How to raise growing men'?" I spoke apathetically. It was a jab, but my voice contained no malice or sarcasm.  She frowned a little. I tilted my head slightly, wondering if I had gone too far, but ultimately remained silent. I saw her reading the book a few days ago, in an attempt to fill in the lack of knowledge of parenthood from having grown up in an orphanage herself. 

  "I mean it. You have good grades. Amazing grades! Every single one of my co-workers wishes they had a son like you. You are quiet, you have amazing grades, you don't go out past curfew, you don't do drugs or smoke, you're educated, smart, perceptive, and not rebellious." She ranted angrily before sighing.

  "But I can't help but think you look so alone." She finished in a disappointing tone. I frowned.

  I knew she wasn't disappointed in me, but rather she blamed herself for not raising me better. She talked about how I was a loner, even in kindergarten, and I knew she thought she should have pushed me to be more social during my elementary school days. But it was simply impossible for me to connect with anyone. My mindset was too mature, to see the rebellious and free-spirited teens that were my classmates as anything other than silly and ignorant of how the world worked.

  "It is no fault of your own. How I act is the responsibility of no one except myself." I spoke after a few moments of silence, in an attempt to express my emotions.  She sighed again.

  A feeling of guilt plagued my heart. Maybe I should make some friends, or at least pretend to, if not for her sake? It wasn't her fault I was reincarnated when she should have gotten a normal, smoking, C- average teenage boy. Maybe I should have tried harder to connect in my childhood. 

  She closed her eyes and leaned back, seemingly in thought. After a few minutes, she seemed to resolve herself. Before opening her eyes. "I have decided. I want you out of the house tomorrow afternoon. I don't want to see you in this house until it's dark." She ordered. "I don't care what you do. Join a gang. Go to a girl's house. Just go meet someone." She stated almost desperately.

  I frowned. "This seems like something 'How to raise growing men' would advise against," I stated.

  "I don't care." She stated with resolution. She then turned back to her food and started to eat. I frowned, thinking of a few ways to get out of this, before resigning myself to my fate with a sigh. Besides, the small spark of joy in her eyes as my non-disagreement was something I couldn't take away. Well, I guess I always wanted to try some drugs, as I didn't in my last life.

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A/N: Take this story with a grain of salt. While I am a Weeb, I am largely ignorant about Japanese Culture and Daily life. This chapter about his daily life will be largely inaccurate. So this will all be heavily based on and parallel American Culture and Life, with many inaccuracies. If you are that Japanese's mega-fan, feel free to educate me. This also extends to Japanese School life/culture, as well as other things. 

Yes I added another pointless 1000 words just to rant about reincarnation and giver the story more character. 

This story is something I have spent along time editing. The Protagonist is something that I spent the most time changing. I didn't want the normal Gamer protagonist who was supposedly normal but wasn't afraid to kill and stand up to people, or be some anti-hero who wanted to save people but didn't help people who he didn't like.

And Yes, there will be multiple Love Interests later on. Will this be a Harem story?

It's freaking DXD. A H*ntai protagonist would have a better chance at NOT being a Harem Protagonist. 

I love to read comments, reviews, and any sort of constructive criticism, so please don't be afraid to comment. Or just yell at me to work faster. 

Feed me power stones, to satiate my infinite hunger. And give me motivation to continue to write.