Chapter 109

[A/N: Second chapter of the week. The next one will normally be in two days, enjoy!]

====================

'This... Doesn't look like an upper realm... And if it is, it's disappointing' I thought as I arrived in a seemingly endless space where the sky was covered by fog I couldn't peer through even with my eyes while the 'ground' was full of stars and planets of the realm I just came from, though both seemed far yet close to me, the distance in this place was as fucked up as time

The tunnel then closed behind me, allowing me to stop using chakra to protect my physical body since it was safe in this place, wherever it may be.

Horizontally speaking, however, this place seemed to have no end, an endless void was all I could see.

Nevertheless, I then tried to sense if someone else was in there, and the moment I sensed a being, I heard a voice say "Well well well, who do we have here? You're not the one I expected to see, though it doesn't matter."

Turning around, I was now face to face with a giant being seemingly made of stars, his face was Shibai's, according to the memories I first got back on my planet through Isshiki, albeit stronger, that was for sure.

While he looked toward me, he never did directly into my eyes, thus, I couldn't use Kunitokotachi, but that didn't stop me from attacking as I created hundreds of black orbs that began to surround him before being hurled at him, all while I also conjured a black orb on my hand before teleporting behind him to strike his ethereal body with it.

"Impudent brat!" Shibai let out as I was about to reach him along with the orbs surrounding his body, releasing a powerful pulse that nullified all black orbs while my body went through his, forcing me to fall back

"Did you really think using my own abilities would work on me? How idiotic!" Shibai let out, his voice releasing powerful waves that would've teared up my body if I didn't cover it in chakra in time

'Let's use these then' I thought as I created two Black Receivers from my palms, these rods were negating chakra and could possibly allow me to deal damage to his ethereal body

I then started to teleport again but found myself unable to move the moment I was above him before he exclaimed "It doesn't matter how much you persist, I've been stuck alone in this place for so long I became omnipotent here! You cannot reach me, even less with a physical body."

My Black Receivers were then destroyed as my body was moved in front of him, my members couldn't move no matter how hard I tried as if invisible chains were tying me.

'Looks like it will be a bit more annoying to deal with him than I expected' I thought as I stayed calm even in this dire situation

"I planned for Isshiki to arrive here in a physical form, but you definitely are a better vessel since you fully absorbed the remnants of my physical body... You even killed that bitch of a Queen, something I wasn't able to do while in my physical body because of that damn parasite." Shibai said as he touched my chest with one of his fingers, a seal beginning to form on it

"Hmm, it will take some time before I can take over your body..." Shibai let out before looking down at the universe below

"Did you know? We can see everything that happens in the universe below but can't even get a glimpse of the one above... Unless you are powerful enough to pierce this veil... Which, as much as I hate to say it, isn't my case." he then added as I looked down and indeed was able to locate the planet I came from, but I couldn't see anything going on it since the barrier I created was still there

"The only way for me to get strong enough would be to absorb all living beings from this universe, as such, I must go back... But I can't, not without a physical body, that's where I'm thankful for your arrival." Shibai continued and I could hear the smirk on his face just with how he talked

We then both felt that the seal on my body was completed, now allowing Shibai to 'take over' my body as he exclaimed "Time's up... Be grateful, thanks to me you will be able to see your family and friends again... As I kill them all." before his ethereal body started to enter my physical body through the seal which started to send my consciousness deeper than ever inside my mind

To be honest, I already made many preparations to prevent anyone from possessing my body, be it through switching my soul or taking over, so I knew I could get him out of me in a matter of seconds.

'The problem is what comes afterward...' I thought as I was floating in an empty black space that Shibai couldn't access, trying to think of a way to get rid of him once he's pushed back outside

Since he apparently looked over our universe while being stuck here he probably knows the requirement for my Dōjutsu thus why he did not look me in the eye, so making him do so would be difficult, he's not childish like the boy...

I did have one option that would definitely kill him but... Heh, I would be dying as well, and while sacrificing my life to ensure my close ones' peace wasn't bothering me, there was still a small part of me that wanted to see them again...

While I was lost in thoughts, not minding the time that passed here since it was a lot slower than outside, meaning that Shibai didn't even get control over my body yet despite being inside, I heard an... Enticing voice talking to me.

"At last we meet again." the voice exclaimed, its words exhibiting such a powerful pressure I knew it couldn't be Shibai

'ROB?' I thought as it was the only being I met before who could be stronger than Shibai, according to the 'again' at the end of his sentence

"Him? Ha! He's just a lowly being that enjoys reincarnating mortals into different universes, making them believe he's the one and only God when he's far below myself or that fucker." the voice exclaimed, seemingly not too fond of both that ROB guy and 'God' itself

"Of course I hate that guy, he betrayed me, they all did, acting all high and mighty and preaching justice when in reality they were just scared of me..." the voice added as it tried to contain the anger it felt toward these beings

"Who are you?" I couldn't help but shortly ask since it was a being of seemingly unfathomable powers to make other powerful beings scared of it, apparently 'God' itself as well

"Me? I'm you. Well, to be more precise, you are me, a part of me, at least." the voice said, surprising me as I didn't know I developed another personality or even a 'God' complex of some sort since I became like this

"I'm not a split personality, that's offensive... No, it's more complex than that." the voice replied, making me wait for an answer before it started explaining "I told you that I was... Betrayed. Betrayed not only by my 'father' but also by my brother and even my own son... As well as a couple of boot-licking bastards who waited for an opportunity to get rid of me for eons."

"Because of it, I 'died', not without leaving behind something that would force them to work endlessly, a 'gift' I left to mortals, mostly, but also to powerful existences... And while I was killed, I used the crisis this 'gift' brought to them as an opportunity to extract an extremely small piece of my soul and sent it into the world of mortals." the voice added as it was seemingly enjoying what it schemed to keep them occupied

"Should I assume that this piece of your soul is me then?" I shortly asked to know if I had to go through an existential crisis right now or not

"Correct." the voice replied to which I couldn't help but exclaim "But then why don't I remember meeting you in my previous life since you said 'again'? Why now?"

"Because you need to be strong enough to withstand the pressure my voice release, as much as I try to make it weaker and as much as I am still incomplete, your previous life self was far too weak to withstand it, and I am not talking about strength only... However, we did meet a few times before, in lives you currently don't remember." the voice added which made me curious about these lives I apparently went through

"Want to know about some of them? Well, we have time so I can tell you, it's not like that Shibai guy will successfully take over your body anyway." the voice said as it seemingly knew the future before adding "The first time we met was a life where you were the last standing member of your race because of an accident happening on your planet... You had to escape before fixing your own mistake by traveling across multiple galaxies along with your crew's help."

"In another one, you were a prince who lost his memories as his world was destroyed before getting transported to an alternate universe... You then traveled around along with your 'monsters' companion and some 'friends', it was probably your life with the most fun and happiness, despite the heavy stakes in place... Urgh, I didn't like it though, too much sugar." the voice then explained which made me wonder how a world with monsters ended up being 'fun' and full of 'happiness'

"Mmh, for a last one, the most recent actually, you were a war veteran renowned as a hero across your planet and retired peacefully before another one of these lowly 'Gods' decided to send you to another world more... Well, fun to watch but a post-apocalyptic planet like that was definitely not fun for you, your only goal was to survive, the community you led being a safe haven for humans." he finally declared, making me realize that my current life was quite good compared to some I had

"Then why are you meeting me? Not just now but even before?" I finally asked since I couldn't believe that the voice had no intentions hidden behind his action

"You're right, I do have a reason for meeting you. See, I told you that you were a fragment of my soul, and with each reincarnation, it's getting stronger, until the day I can be whole again." the voice first explained which made me furrow my brows and ask "So you want to kill me to make things faster?"

When I said that, the voice only laughed before replying "No, that would be a waste since 'your' soul is growing a lot just in this life, it's growing more than it will in the next five hundred lives or so, at least until we meet again when you will be a captain of a pirate ship... But that's not important right now."

"You're saying it as if I was going to die at some point, I thought I couldn't die from old age or sickness... Will I be killed?" I then asked to which he quickly answered "Spoilers, you won't be killed... But you will learn that living for a long time isn't something mortals are made for, maybe you will withstand the passing of time but what about your close ones? None were born with immortality, and none were prepared to live for this long, well, maybe except for that snake... Guy? Girl? Whatever." which made me fall into deep thoughts

"Nevertheless, I would recommend you enjoy as much as you can the following century or two, so how about you show that Shibai guy who's the boss now? Seriously, I can't believe you forgot the gimmick of your Dōjutsu... Did you forget that your two innate abilities evolved along with it? You relied too much on the abilities you got from him since it happened. I sometimes wonder how a part of me can be so oblivious." the voice declared which made me remember that indeed, both Suijin and Kunitokotachi evolved every time my Dōjutsu did since I got my Mangekyô Sharingan

I just had to discover what changed through trials and training, and I didn't use the former since my Dōjutsu evolved again...

"You worry too much, just use it, stop overcomplicating things. I may have been known as the Father of Lies but trust me on that one." the voice finally said before seemingly disappearing, his last words were making me a little bit dubious but I only had one thing to do anyway

And with that, I left my subconscious which couldn't be accessed by Shibai before seeing him getting the hangs of my body as he stretched his, well, my fingers.

'Mh, I didn't think I would've missed having a physical body' I heard Shibai exclaim as I was back inside my mind

'Sucks to be you 'cause I'm taking it back' I suddenly exclaimed in my mind as I appeared in front of his ethereal form, surprising him quite a lot before he got pushed back outside of my body

Back in the so-called 'upper realm', Shibai stopped himself from being sent too far away and said "You mere insect! Do you think I need you alive to take control of your body?!" as he raised one of his hands and started forming a massive black hole above him

'Disappear' I thought as my left eye shone, the black hole prepared by Shibai vanishing suddenly in response which surprised him before I added 'Stay still and powerless' which created chains just like the one still holding me, at least only in appearance as it completely grabbed his ethereal body which shrank to a more 'human' size, as if his usable strength deflated.

'Break' I then said in my mind, the chains around my body breaking as if it was made of glass, finally allowing me to move freely and approach Shibai, completely reversing the previous situation we had.

"Seems like staying in this place alone made you believe you were omnipotent instead of being just omnipresent, you overestimated yourself greatly." I exclaimed as I stopped walking once I was face to face with Shibai who was forced to look upward without any chance of escaping my gaze

"I made sure to avoid looking at your eyes... How?" Shibai asked as he tried to find a way of getting out of this predicament, which was a vain attempt

"Who said it was needed now? I'm past the time where I needed to meet such a condition to activate it... Now, anything I want to take place in front of my eyes will happen, whatever it might be." I replied as it was how Kunitokotachi evolved, probably its last state as well

While I could affect the reality of anything in my periphery of view, which was 360° thanks to the Tenseigan if I wanted, I couldn't affect my own, even when facing a mirror... But Kunitokotachi isn't the only ability that evolved.

"Even by killing or absorbing me, you won't be able to penetrate the fog leading to the upper realms, not without absorbing every living being of our universe, and that's something you don't have the guts to do, unlike me!" Shibai exclaimed while yelling at me, unfortunately for him, my goal wasn't the same as his

"A pity for you, I have no interest in the upper realms you so wanted to go to... I only care about my close ones and being able to see them live in peace until the end." I replied as I couldn't help but smile when I looked at the universe below and more precisely the planet I wanted to return to as soon as possible

Meeting my supposed 'other' and 'full' self also made me realize that it wasn't time for me to go up there, even if it is but another layer amongst hundreds or millions of layers.

I will leave that job to one of my future reincarnations, the one that will be complete.

"You don't deserve to be this powerful! You have no ambition!" Shibai continued to shout as he was outraged about my meager goals

"You're probably right, but beings like you who were born 'immortals' cannot know the struggles mortals have to face in their lives as well as the beauty of living... It's only beautiful because it fades, and it's the choice I decided to make." I finally declared before my right eye shone, something that made him even more fearful knowing what it could do

It's funny how immortal beings are actually more scared of death than mortals are, despite being supposedly safe from it.

And with that, his body as well as the chains liquefied in a matter of seconds, not even giving him the time to release a scream of pain as he was absorbed by my right eye.

I could pretty much absorb anything with Suijin now, as long as they were in my line of sight, regardless of what it was, living or not, and how many things there were, everything could be absorbed without even needing contact, granting me everything they had.

That's why I didn't care if Kunitokotachi didn't work on me since I could use it on someone or something and pretty much absorb them thus giving me whatever I wanted through them... Eh, as useful as it is, it's kind of late to be of use.

Nevertheless, as powerful as I got from absorbing Shibai, using my previously explained trick to still have the possibility of piercing that fog veil, it was time for me to come back home... Time passed quickly and while I missed them, they must've been missing me for even longer.

====================

[A/N: And with this, I intertwined this fanfiction with my future ones, which I will talk about in the Afterword Notice in two days.]