The man in the black cloth nodded slowly. He rose his old, decaying hand and began chanting what seemed to be a spell.
"Mana and Deities act as one. Limits of mortals affect me, not. Formulate under my command and act as I please. "
A large magic circle appeared under the feet of both Haruto and the man. The circle glowed with a golden light as bright as the sun. Haruto was amazed at the site of this. It seemed to be magic from the novels and games he often played.
But the old man had not finished. He put his hand down and joined them, now casting a new spell.
"Space & Time may not bound Immortality.
Make use of the Mana I emit and bring us in front of the rulers of the universe, the beings at the peak of existence... the Supreme law of all realms, the Divine Court!"
A bright light emitted from the magic circle, blindimg Haruto. Even after losing his sight, he could feel his legs slowly lift off of the ground. Haruto felt his skin becoming hotter before his entire body went numb...
*****
Haruto felt his body and mind finally becoming one, yet again. He opened his eyes and found himself in a beautiful room with white walls, a golden roof, and pillars made of quartz.
The room was the definition of 'luxurious'. It was decorated with golden lamps and swords, spears, bows & and wands. There were also paintings of dragons, humans with a unique aura around them, and so on...
And in front of Haruto stood four thrones. On them, four people sat. Two males and the other two females.
The four people carried a sense of power, authority, and grace. They were unlike anyone Haruto had ever met in his life. The four looked at Haruto with a sharp gaze.
Beside Haruto, the man wearing the black cloth from before was kneeling towards them.
"Oh, almighty divine council... as you wished, I have brought this soul for you. Please be free to summon me if I am needed." He said. The man turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Haruto with the four people.
Haruto turned to look at them before realization dawned on him. They were not humans... no, they weren't mortal at all.
These people were the rulers of the multiverse, the supreme beings... the Divine Council.
Harutohurried to kneel at the being before him, but a sharp, masculine voice spoke before he had the chance.
"There is no need for you to kneel at us, Haruto Ito," Haruto looked at the man who sat in the centre of the thrones, along with a female whose beauty was unmatched by anyone Haruto had met in his entire life.
"We welcome you to the Divine realm," the woman who sat closest to the man from before spoke. Her voice was kind and sweet, but it carried a sense of authority.
The man and woman who sat in the centre stood up, with the other four following them.
"I am the creator of all realms; the Star King, Astron," the deity in the centre said. He possessed long brown hair and golden eyes.
With the mere sound of his name, Haruto felt his entire body... no, something far beyond that. Haruto felt his soul shaking at the name of the 'Star King'.
"I am everything their isn't and all that won't be. The Destroyer; Oblivia," Haruto could feel his bones and skin, giving away. Oblivia had violet coloured hair and pink coloured eyes.
Every bit of his body desired to worship the six Deities before him. But his soul was being kept still. Maybe by the Deities themselves?
"I am the source of all emotions, both from humans and animals. The Lord of Wisdom; Emrys," the man on the left of Astron spoke, his voice sharp yet hinting at countless emotions at once. Emyrs' hair was scarlet in colour, and his eyes were also a dark red.
"I am the source of all life, death, and reincarnation. The Mother Deity; Gaia," the woman on the left of lady Oblivia spoke. She had green hair and blue eyes.
Both male deities wore a long white robe over a golden shirt. The female deities were fashioned in a beautiful, long white dress.
The deities stepped towards Haruto with each step they slowly suffocated Haruto.
"Together, we are the Divine Council. And jointly, we are here to tell you," the four Deities were about a meter (3 feet) away from Haruto. He braced himself for what they were about to say.
Suddenly, the four fell to their knees and bowed at Haruto.
"We are so sorry!!" Haruto stood their with a puzzled expression.
"Eh?"
*****
"You see... during your reincarnation process, these three called me to banish a soul. And by the time I was done, you had already been reincarnated into a realm far, and I mean FAR from the world you were supposed to reborn into," Gaia said with an embarrassed expression.
The other three deities nodded slowly.
"We could've left you live in your current life... if it was more cheerful," Astron said in a low tone.
Haruto let out a sigh. He looked at the four Deities, the literal sources of all existence, apologising to him like their life depended on it.
"So what was my life supposed to be?" Haruto asked the four deities.
They looked at each other with uncertainty before Gaia answered his question.
"You were supposed to be a hero..." Gaia muttered.
Haruto, after hearing this, stood still for a couple of seconds before exhaling slowly.
"Thank goodness," Haruto said to the astonishment of the deities. "Never really wanted to be some arrogant Hero who would focus mainly on strength."
Gaia let out a small 'Mm...' at Haruto's response.
"So you don't like being a hero?" Gaia asked out of curiosity.
Haruto looked at Gaia and answered.
"It's not that. It's just that I've read so many novels where the main v is the hero. It could be a fun change of pace if I was a villain or something," Haruto said.
He recalled every manga and novel he had read, along with every game he had played where the main character, or the player was the Hero destined to unite the kingdoms, defeat the Demon lord or something similar to that.
Gaia looked at Astron and the other two deities who nodded at her.
"Then it's settled," Gaia spoke, capturing Haruto's attention. "You will be reborn as one destined to be labelled as the villain!"
Haruto was taken aback. He hadn't thought that the deity would bestow him such a life.
"Really?" Haruto asked with a hint of excitement.
Gaia smiled and nodded, much to Haruto's joy.
"Lets see how you turn up, Haruto Ito." Emrys said as he waved his arm.
Haruto, whose adrenaline slowly vanished, looked back at the deities.
"But I thought I was supposed to work towards the betterment of the world?" Haruto asked.
"That's not true," Oblivia answered. "The condition for being reincarnated with your memories is that the Divine Council must have made a mistake. And if we did, you would have a wish of yours granted."
The deities nodded in unison, confirming the fact. Astron looked at Gaia. The female deity nodded as Astron raised his hand.
A magic circle appeared beneath their feet, and Haruto found himself being teleported once again.
*****
Haruto opened his eyes and found himself on a large stone platform. In front of him, the four deities stood a feeling of authority still lingering around them.
The four deities rose their hands, instantly Summoning hundreds of cards out of thin air. The cards sprang to life and began to spin around Haruto slowly.
"In front front of you are the Divine cards of bloodlines," Astron said.
Haruto looked at the cards surrounding, still paying attention to the deities.
"Each card gives you a unique bloodline," Oblivia joined Astron.
"Each bloodline gives you a specific set of skills while also improving your own development and physical abilities," Emrys said as a card flew past Haruto's face.
"And each bloodline gifts you a unique version of the 'System' that people of your realm often write about in their novels," Gaia said.
Haruto didn't question Gaia's knowledge on the 'System' tag in many of the novels he read. If she was the Mother Deity, what stopped her from having knowledge about it?
The four deities looked at each other before Astron began speaking yet again.
"Now choose the card that calls put to you the most!" With those words, all four of the deities rose their hands.
With the gestures, every card halted in their movements. Haruto looked around, eyeing every card that floated around him.
Each card let out a feeling of power. And among them, not a single card seemed to call out to Haruto.
But after a while, Haruto heard a malevolent voice.
"Child... if you desire unimaginable power... Come. To. Me! " Haruto looked at where the voice had come from.
And his gaze fell upon a card which was the closest to him. Haruto did not know what happened, but he began walking towards the card without his mind telling him to.
Haruto reached out to the card. The moment his hand made contact with the card, the card vanished. After a couple of seconds, he heard a feminine voice.
[Ding!]
Haruto looked around to see where the voice came from. In front of him, a translucent, blue coloured, rectangular shaped box floated.
[The Shadow Ascension System has been successfully activated! The system will further develop after the host's transmigration]
The words were displayed in bold letters. Haruto looked at the interface and looked at the deities.
"So this is the system?" He asked in a curious tone.
Astron, who wore a smile on his face, answered Haruto.
"Yes. Amazing, huh? We designed it ourselves," he spoke with a sense of pride.
The interface disappeared, and Gaia began speaking.
"So now... all that's left is your reincarnation," she said with a warm smile. "Are you ready?"
Haruto looked at his hand. He had come this far, why stop now? It might have meant letting go of his father, mother, his sister, and everyone else he knew... but did it matter?
Haruto looked up at Gaia, a smile on his face.
"As ready as I've ever been," Haruto answered.
The deities nodded. Gaia walked up to Haruto and reached put her hand. Haruto's body began shining in a bright light.
And as the light settled, Haruto vanished.
"I wish you luck, Haruto Ito." Gaia said, almost as if Haruto was still there, even though he was not.