Chapter 4: Character Creation

"Okay, so what do we do next?" Asked James.

"Well, we'll need to select a worldline then set your parameters before we reintegrate you." Replied "13".

After that reply, "13" waggled his wireless mouse for a moment. With that little movement, the screen dividing the room lit up subtly.

"*Whistle* And to think I thought that was just to protect from 'The Roni.' *Chuckle*." Said James with surprise and curiosity.

"13" replied with a helpless laugh, "Actually... You would be surprised how many worldlines have come across similar pandemics over the years. Even epidemics, we started employing these dividers around the time of the Black Death in your timeline."

James blinked his eyes in surprise, then said, "Well, damn..."

During this short conversation, "13" was not idle. He was using his mouse in tandem with several key strokes on his wireless keyboard. James noticed that there were images and text scrolling across the divider screen, though he could not follow the speed at which they scrolled. Not that it would have mattered, seeing as he did not even know the language in use.

"So, what's this world... Er... Worldline? You're sendin' me to like? Asked James.

"Well, I may have mentioned this, but you shall choose the worldline in which you wish to be integrated." "13" paused briefly, then continued. "After your selection, you will be guided to choose your new life's parameters. Lastly, I shall make the proper changes to history, which will create a new timeline."

"Make changes to history..." said James in apparent interest. "Isn't changin' history, like, I don't know... Bad? I mean wont there be some kinda time paradox, or somethin'?"

Chuckling at James' ignorance of the temporal laws, "13" patiently explained. "Time paradoxes are possible, technically. However, they do not usually happen due to outside interference. Rather, they occur when someone from a particular timeline goes back to an earlier part in that same timeline and changes events that directly affect their own present."

James scratched his head in confusion, trying to make sense of the explanation he just heard. Shaking his head, he replied, "Okay, I think I understand."

That same expression of enlightenment appeared on James' face.

'Maybe he really is a scholar who never ventured down that path.' Thought "13", as he took a short break and sipped his coffee.

"I'm not cut out for this 'intellectual' shit." James slammed his right fist into his left palm and continued, "I'm a fighter not a scholar, just point me in a direction and tell me who to beat up!!! Hahahahaaa!!!"

*Cough* *cough* *cough*

With James' declaration and boisterous laughter, "13" began choking on his coffee. Luckily, he managed to not spew said coffee on anything. He shuddered just thinking what his immediate superior would do if he ruined one of the stacks of documents currently on either side of his desk.

'Why did I expect anything different?' Pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket, "13" wiped his mouth while continuing his train of thought. 'This guy is so outside of the norm compared to the other people that come here. Some of those others would have actually understood my explanation, and even if they did not, they would have just kept quiet out of embarrassment. Yet Mr. Warren openly admits that he does not get it,'

"Are you alright?" James asked with concerned lacing is question.

"13" waved his hand dismissively and replied, "I'm fine, I'm fine, you need not worry."

'His brash attitude, self-awareness, and genuine concern for those in his immediate vicinity... Not to mention that touch of idiocy... His journey really should be fun to watch. This really is gold.'

While nursing these thoughts, "13" finally finished his preparations for James' reintegration.

With a bit of rehearsed divine grandeur leaking into his tone and expression, "13" spread his arms wide and declared, "Now the time has come, shall we set in motion the wheels of your new fate?"

"What kinda chuuni bullshit is this?" Said James with a bit of skepticism in his expression and tone.

*Cough* *Cough* *Cough*

'That line usually gets the others so excited their faces turn red and their fists clinch subconsciously.'

In a somewhat defeated tone, "13" began explaining to James what he should expect from the next step of his reintegration.

Clearing his throat, "13's" explanation began with, "Ahem... Now if I may direct your attention to the wireless mouse in front of you." "13" gestured to the wireless mouse on James' side of the desk. "Please move it a bit to take your side of the screen out of sleep mode."

Following "13's" instructions, James placed his hand on the mouse and moved it slightly. After a moment, there was a subtle glow and the previous incomprehensible text was replaced with a lengthy list of English words. At the top of this list, was a header that read: "Worldlines"

"Oh-hooo! That's some pretty high-tech shit." Exclaimed James, visibly mounting tensions in his expression.

After taking a brief glance at the list of worldlines, James let his eyes wander over the rest of the screen. Noticing several tabs at the top, He muttered their contents as he read.

"'Worldline,' 'Appearance,' 'Powers,' 'Race,' 'Integration Point,' and lastly, 'Confirmation & Timeline Creation'."

"Alright, let's go!" Said James in excitement.

"A moment, if I may?" Seemingly not reading the mood, "13" Attempted to put a temporary damper on James' enthusiasm.

"Huh, what is it? Make it quick, I got a character to create." Said James in mild annoyance at the interruption.

'This guy's my pace attitude is equal parts annoying and refreshing.' Thought "13" with an inward sigh.

"Let me explain one last thing before you get started. After that, by all means, you are free to do as you please with your 'Character Creation'." Said "13", pausing briefly before continuing. "After reading your information, I know you will recognize more than a few of the listed worldlines available to you for integration. Although, I am not sure I should call it a warning, however, this is something, of which you should take note."

Hearing "13's" explanation, James forcibly reigned in his excitement. At least long enough to hear "13's" warning, anyway.

"Alright, go ahead."

"13" nodded in satisfaction and continued.

"Very well, I'll keep this brief." Said "13", beginning his explanation. "Like I said, it is likely you will recognize some of the listed worldlines available for integration. I must let you know, however, when you begin your new life in the worldline of your choosing, any-and-all knowledge of that worldline will be completely removed from your memories. On the other hand, you will retain all other memories from your past life." After another brief pause, "13" asked, "Do you have any questions?"

After his explanation, "13" observed the changes in James' expression.

James lowered his head in response to "13's" explanation. After a few moments in silent contemplation, James' head shot up as he slammed his palm on the desk.

*Bang*

"Good! This is much more interesting!" Exclaiming in joy, James continued. "It would be all kinds of boring if I knew everything that would happen before it actually happened. Unpredictability is what makes life worth living."

"Very good!" Said "13" in response to James' outcry. "I'm glad your face didn't pale in terror, like those before you."

Waiving his hand dismissively, James replied, "Nah, only some kinda punk-bitch would bitch up 'cause they didn't know the future. I mean, hell, I didn't know the future in my last life, and I did just fine."

'If dying at 35 means you 'did just fine'.' Thought "13" in amusement.

"Well said." Replied "13", nodding his head to hide the changes in his expression. "Even if a bit crass in diction."

"Now!" exclaimed James eagerly. "Can I get started? Or is there 'something else of which I should take note?'"

Chuckling lightly at the not-so-subtle mockery, "13" responded, "There is nothing else, please, go ahead and begin."

"Hell yeah! Bitch, I'm goin' in!" Shouted James.

Looking at the list of worldlines, James began tuning out everything unrelated to his current task. Like "13" said, James did, in fact, recognize quite a few of the worldlines. Several, in particular, caught his eye more than the rest. Not surprising, seeing as the worldlines in questions were some of his favorite works of fiction in his past life.

Seeing the look of concentration on James' face as he started his integration process, "13" thought to himself: 'it is no wonder he became the unified champion with no defeats on his record. With this level of single-minded focus, achieving something great would be but a matter of time.'

Having narrowed down the list of worldlines to 5, James began his final considerations.

"Okay, let's see, I've narrowed it down to 'Transformers,' 'Hajime no Ippo,' 'Highschool DxD,' 'Yu Yu Hakusho,' and 'Hundred'." Thought James aloud.

"I can understand the 1st 4 choices," "13" interjected, "but 'Hundred' was a pretty cookie cutter action-comedy harem story, right?"

"Well, that's true." James responded absent-mindedly, then replied. "But beating up big-ass insect-like alien-monsters seems really fuckin' cool, doesn't it?"

"13" could only smile wryly at that explanation.

"Okay, first off, I loved 'Transformers' as a kid. I'd definitely wanna be an Autobo... Wait!" shouted James in what seemed like distress, before continuing. "Do transformers even fuck? I don't think they do. Nah, fuck that. That would be a life worse than death."

"..."

"13" deadpanned.

"Okay, on to the next one." Unaware of "13's" expression, James continued cheerfully.

"'Hajime no Ippo'? Nah, that would be just a repeat of my last life."

"'DxD,' possibly. Fights, super powers, and bad bitches don't sound too bad."

"Then, 'hakusho' and 'Hundred,' they're a lot like 'DxD,' though. With fewer super powers in 'Hundred' and fewer bad bitches in 'Hakusho.'

After a few minutes of consideration, James made his decision.

"DxD it is!"

Moving the wireless mouse, James decisively clicked the next button after making his decision.

"Okay, next is appearance." Said James with a little less vigor in his tone. "I've always gotten a bit lazy when it comes to this part in games. Are there any templates?"

"You could always keep your original appearance." Suggested "13".

"Hmm... Not a bad Idea." Said James stroking his chin. "I'm a pretty sexy muh fucker, if I do say so myself."

"Conceited, huh?"

"Say again?"

"Say what again?" Asked "13" with mock confusion on his face.

"Hmph"

With his left hand, James stroked his chin. Raising an eyebrow in annoyance, he ticked the box marked "Use Appearance from past life," and onto the "Powers" selection tab.

Reading the extensive list of super powers, James stopped to think on many of them.

"Electro-kinesis"

"Magnetic field manipulation"

"Imagine Breaker"

"Unlimited Blade Works"

"..."

Suddenly, James' hand stopped and his body started to tremble.

"That's it!" Exclaimed James. "Senbonzakura, I choose you. Even if it's only the shikai release, I could probably find a way around that with this world's broken power system."

With absolutely no hesitation, James selected "Shikai Release, Senbonzakura" as his super power and clicked the 'Next' button to move on to race selection. However, an alert message stopped him from moving on so quickly.

"No Sacred Gear compatible with selected 'Power.' Selection of this 'Power' will result in the following: 'Sacred Gear selection;' 'Restrictions to race selection.' Do you wish to continue? [Yes]/[No]"

James' eyes lit up in excitement upon reading the alert message. Without hesitation, James chose [Yes].

As soon as James read the alert message, James had already narrowed down his Sacred Gear choices down to 2.

'Holy swords or demonic swords?' Thought James, unsure of which he should choose. 'Well, Jeanne kinda made Blade Blacksmith look like shit. I could probably do way better. Plus, I kinda think Kiba's a cool character. Don't really wanna step on his toes.'

"Blade Blacksmith it is." Said James as he nodded his head, moving on to the 'Race' tab.

Seeing the choices for his race selection, James Nodded in understanding.

"Considerin' what I picked for my super power, this makes sense."

There were only 2 available choices from which James could choose.

'Human/Devil Hybrid,' and 'Human/Devil/Dragon Hybrid.'

James chose the latter option without thinking too much. Even if, a Human/Devil hybrid would have been enough to make his power selection work properly, adding the dragon blood into the mix would also have the added effect of attracting women. Something James could not, in good conscience, pass up.

With his race selected, James was moved to the "Integration Point" tab. Once again, without much hesitation, he made his decision.

"Let's see, Location: Random, With Rias' luck and my bad-assery, I'll definitely end up in her peerage. As for Time: A year before Issei pops out." James said with a smile. "I think it would be fun to try and make Issei a more respectable person."

'That sounds like the pot just called the kettle black.' Thought "13" with a mocking grin on his face.

"Okay, I think I'm done."

Hearing those words, "13" looked to the screen in front of him. Seeing all of James choices, he began the process of creating the timeline.

Nodding in appreciation of James' selections, "13" said, "Please give me a few minutes to get the timeline set up for you. When it is ready, I shall explain the changes that were necessary for your integration. Then, we shall make the final confirmation, and you shall embark on your reintegration."

James could only nod in anticipation.

After several minutes, "13" finished his alterations to the timeline.

"Now, allow me to explain the changes in the timeline that lead to your proper integration." Began "13". "During the 'Devil Civil War,' your father, one of the experimental devils created by Hades using the body of Lilith, managed to escape captivity before being disposed. Severely wounded, with hades' grim reapers in pursuit, He was found and saved by Sirzechs Gremory."

"For the better part of the next 500 or so years, your father, Senbonzakura Shinichi worked for the Gremory family as an assassin in the human world. Approximately 4 years before Hyoudou Issei's birth, he met a woman in Washington D.C. and fell in love. A year later you 'll be born." "13" Finished his narration of events and asked, "Do you have any questions?"

James gawked in amazement as he replied, "No questions. But that's a pretty bad ass back story." With his eyes lit up like a child.

"Excellent, well then, Mr. Warren, it seems everything is in order." Said "13" with a smile. "If you would please read the disclaimer and user agreement, then click confirm you will immediately be reintegrated into the world of the living."

'Is this dude serious? Who reads the fuckin' user agreement?'

Without even a glance at the disclaimer or user agreement, James immediately clicked "Confirm."

In a flash of light James disappeared from the office.

With a hollow chuckle, "13" thought aloud, "Did I expect any other outcome? I cannot wait to watch the streams of his new life."

Smiling brightly at the thought of James' misadventures, "13" closed James' integration process. Picking up his stamp, he stamped James' documents and placed them with the other completed documents.

Taking another sip of coffee, he picked up the next document to be processed and scanned through the information. Seeing the next soul eligible for reintegration he could not help but sigh.

"Damn it, another cliché reincarnation story protagonist."