C2 Going to hell on a slip-n-slid
"And it just so happens that there is a perfect match to be a trial for your wishes. He is someone with an "insane" desire to be free from his bounds as well as an extreme master of almost anything to do with souls in his universe." A malevolent laugh later it continues. "In the MCU you are going to he was once known as the Archangel of mercy and benevolence, Zadkiel."
At this point, the skeleton hurriedly tried to correct. "Wait! Hold on, I meant isekai not transmigration!"
"Too late. I asked if you were sure and you agreed. The ball has already started to roll and there is no stopping it." ROB said with demonic glee. "All that's left is to send you on your way."
"Can you at least tell me who this Zedkiel is, last I recall he ended up ruling heaven not locked up?" The skeleton asked, seemingly grasping at straws.
"Oh yes, the original Zadkiel from the comicverse rebelled against Yahweh along with Lucifer but ended up leading the spirits of vengeance after their defeat. That is until he decided to break into Heaven himself and take the throne while the big daddy wasn't home. What happened later doesn't really matter." ROB explained in a subdued manner.
"So I'm going to take over the body of a super-villain?" The skeleton asked with ever-diminishing hope.
"Nope," ROB said mater-of-factly. "You wished for an au remember. This Zadkiel stayed loyal to Yahweh until the very end. Or at least until he was betrayed by him, for certain reasons, after which he quickly ended up in the hands of Mephisto due to being weakened at the time."
ROB paused for a moment and continued excitedly. "After Mephisto got his hands on him he quickly proceeded to chain him down within his dimension and drive him insane with untold methods of torture. Once thoroughly corrupted he became the source of power for all the spirits of vengeance/ghost riders Mephisto made."
The skeleton was about to respond but was interrupted by the demonic jello. "Oh, and if that wasn't enough, Yahweh along with Heaven seemingly vanished shortly afterward and was never seen again. Zadkiel having learned that he had even lost the ability to ever take revenge was lost even further in his insanity."
The skeleton swallowed his nonexistent saliva. "So instead of a villain, I will have to take over the body and soul of an insane archangel hellbent on seeking vengeance?"
"Yep! Sounds fun doesn't it?" ROB asked with mirth.
The skeleton sighed. "I'm guessing I won't even be able to escape Mephisto with my escape tool either, huh?"
"What a smart one you are! You guessed it, escaping from Mephisto is what you must do to earn it." ROB said with mock appreciation.
The skeleton sat in silence for a while wondering what he ever did to end up in this situation. Then he remembered that he died and was mutilated in a ridiculous manner. "What else needs to be done before I am sent on my way?"
ROB gladly answered knowing that the fun was going to start soon. "First I need to upgrade your soul then bind the escape tool to it. After that, I will shove your head full of knowledge and finally send you down the slip-n-slide."
"Slip-n-slide?" After asking, an entrance to a yellow slide appeared next to the desk leading straight down into the ground.
"Let's get to it then shall we." ROB said as he started to glow.
"Whoa, hold on... AHHH!" The skeleton quickly succumbed to immense pain. What was left of his body was quickly destroyed leaving only dust and a small speck of light behind.
That speck of light was his soul. It was only the size of a grain of sand but appeared a bit bigger due to the light it was giving off. The color of said light was originally a pale green but quickly changed to a neon blue, followed by a strange shade of iridescent golden blue, and finally, it ended at a very light gold with no shine or light being given off like before.
Unable to speak or see, the former skeleton took reprieve in the now lack of pain. After the transformation, he did not feel stronger but he did feel something more or better said lack of something.
The instinctual fear of death, the fear of no longer being, was gone. Like a weight he always carried but never knew he had, it was gone.
In fact, if he tried to think of dying or no longer existing it felt almost like a foreign concept as if his very being rejected the idea. The only reason he was still able to grasp it was that he had in fact died before and had spent his whole life up to that point as a normal mortal.
"Congratulations!" Said ROB. "You are no longer a normal mortal! However, you are still puny and insignificant like before."
The speck-sized soul could not respond and he would not have even if he could, as there is no reason to argue about facts with an entity many infinities above yourself.
"Now for the escape tool."
The soul could have sworn that he saw a brief flash of what looked like a strange language and then he felt as if he had an extra limb, a limb he could control even better than the arms he used to have. However, it currently felt as if it was frozen, and he instinctually knew he wouldn't be able to use it until his trial was done.
"And done. Though with your current soul as the fuel you would be lucky to get halfway through the universe barrier, let alone into another universe altogether." ROB stopped for a moment and a book appeared on his desk, which promptly blew up in a puff of scrap paper and flew into the soul.
The way the soul currently felt was not as painful as the transformation of his soul but it was more tortuous. Imagine having every corner and crevice of your body slowly cut through by paper. First, it is skin-deep then it slowly cuts through the muscle until finally, it just keeps scraping against your bones. Now imagine it 10 times worse, because that is what countless papercuts on your soul feel like.
The soul at this point was just trying to cope with all the information he received. At first, the pain was nearly unbearable but it was soon drowned out by the influx of information.
In order to not get lost in the knowledge, even gods would kill for, he used one of the first techniques he received. The technique amounted to shoving everything into a closet hoping it won't all spill out when you open it. Not pretty, but it works.
It would take him decades if not centuries to go through it all and he doubted ROB had that much patience, so he kicked it all into the corner of his soul. Otherwise, ROB would probably through him in hell while he was still emersed in all the knowledge.
"Well, that just about covers everything. All that's left is to send you away."
The soul just floated there unable to respond.
"Right... this is how it is going to work. You will be sent into the body of Zadkiel and then fight him soul vs soul. This battle will be forced by my power as Zadkiel, being a master of soul manipulation, could easily expel you under normal circumstances. Time will also be frozen for you two so no one will be able to disturb you."
"This first part of the trial will not be considered complete until you have completely taken over his body and soul, making his power yours, and you become Zadkiel. This will no doubt be a very long and painful process which you will only be able to win because you can't die permanently." ROB emphasized the word painful.
"After you succeed, time will resume and it will be up to you whether or not you can escape Mephisto. Oh, and when time does resume it will also be the same time Tony Stark gets kidnapped, so whether or not you are able to participate in the plot will depend on when you escape." ROB at this point was impatient and ready to send him off.
"Any questions? No? Good! Off you go and do be sure to scream as loud as possible, it always brings me pleasure." ROB ended with a tone of voice that could only belong to a devil.
The speck of soul was grabbed by an irresistible force and thrown down the slide. Strangely enough, he was actually able to "slide" even though he had no physical body.
A few minutes after our beloved soul went for a magical ride down a slide straight to hell someone, or something, walked into the tent through one of the flaps carrying a chihuahua.
"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" Said what looked like a 4' tall cyclops with gray skin and a pure white eye.
"You of all people should know what I'm like." The blob jiggled out.
"Aye, that I do, that I do..." Said the cyclops with a traumatized expression.
"Bark! Bark!" The little chihuahua barked calling attention to the screen that just popped up in front of them.
"Ah, it seems he is about to arrive, and with his arrival so too does our entertainment begin!" The now glowing strawberry jello said with unconcealed glee.
//Note//
This chapter was a bit easier than the last. Let's hope that trend continues...
FYI there will be no involvement from ROB or any other ROB-like beings, including the chihuahua, during our MCs travels. Once the trial is done they will never be seen again.