{A/N: WARNING! I recommend you read the intro before starting since It'll help give some context for the future. Now let's hop right into it.)
Stories. A product that originates from the imagination of humanity. From the ancient works such as the Odyssey to modern literature such as Harry Potter, humans have been capable of spinning and creating incredible tales that can take readers on long journeys, making them laugh, anticipate, or cry, all from simple words written on paper.
What humans aren't aware of is that their audience extends beyond the scope of Earth dwellers. They have mastered the art of storytelling to the point where Gods bring their stories to life and create universes all for the sake of watching their tales take place in reality instead of just on pages.
Many of these Gods have taken to reincarnating some of Earth's citizens into these stories to amuse themselves and spin a tale of their own in a bizarre and detached way.
But among these omnipotent beings, one stands above the rest in this peculiar subject—one that continues this cycle on and on, all for the sake of their obsession with the human mind and its ability to create and change things so thoroughly.
And that gets us to this moment, the beginning of what this being would soon call their masterpiece.
----------(3rd POV)---------
The being shifted a bit in its seat as it watched the newest candidate it had chosen stumble around, attempting to accomplish the deal they had reached.
This had been its mission for a long time, a burning passion that had persisted for millennia: the desire to create a hero, to artificially create the perfect anomaly whose only goal would be to reach an ideal ending, an exception that it would send from one world to another for the sake of changing its prophesied ending and making it better.
This mission had begun the moment the first story of humanity was created. It had witnessed planets die and life snuffed out. It had seen the end of many things that mortals would not understand and guided those left to the beginning, to creation and rebirth. It found the duty monotonous after the first million years, but the moment the first story was created was when it had discovered its true calling.
It was fascinated by the will these imaginary beings possessed, their ability to stare death and destruction in the eyes without trembling. It pictured what their souls would look like and trembled in delight at the mere thought.
And that was how it had reached this point.
The being, made completely of stars, sighed as it watched another candidate lose themselves to greed and lust. It knew how this would end. It had witnessed similar events countless times before.
This candidate was a failure.
And so, their soul would be erased at death. It would not guide one who had broken the deal they had reached.
This one had failed at only the first Cycle, as most did.
It was time for another, and it was hoping that this time, things would be different.
----------(Switch)----------
Ethan Cole was just another American man, coasting through life and following the system like most did. He came from an immigrant family that traced its lineage to Britain and had settled in the United States for a chance at a better life. His parents were just another married couple—loved each other one moment, fought the next, then made up and loved each other again as if nothing had happened. They weren't rich by any means, but they had enough money to live in a nice two-storey apartment half an hour away from downtown New York, so he couldn't exactly complain.
He had just turned 18 and had received an acceptance letter from NYU as a gift for his big day. He had celebrated with his family in the morning, talking to his parents about the future with a smile, happy to have finally taken his first steps into adulthood.
Too bad a car accident, courtesy of his drunken stupor, would make those first steps his last.
----------(3rd POV: Ethan)----------
Pain.
It assaulted his body from all directions. It felt like hell.
He wanted to scream out, to ask for help, to do something to make it stop, but it just stayed there, never leaving.
It kept getting more and more intense, to the point where he just wished to die so he could make it stop. He prayed to God, Buddha, Zeus, and every God he could think of to just grant him freedom, until they did.
Or at least, that was what he assumed.
He couldn't remember what had happened. One second he was at the club celebrating with some of his friends and then… Wait, what happened after?
He tried to remember but couldn't. It was like a blip, from drunk to being tortured by pain.
"It seems you're regaining your bearings, little one."
He shot up with a jolt, eyes popping open as he tried to locate the owner of the voice.
Or at least, that's what would've happened, what he wanted to do, but it felt like he was in water, like he was drowning and couldn't move.
"Ah yes, excuse me. I keep forgetting how reliant you mortals are on your physical body."
He heard fingers snap before he finally felt his body again, much to his relief.
His shoulders sagged as he opened his eyes to see… nothing.
He just saw endless black, if that's what it was?
He wasn't really sure.
"Are you finally comfortable, little one?"
It was only now that he realized there was someone else with him. He looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, but upon seeing nothing other than the endless void surrounding him, he said the only words that came to mind:
"G-God!?"
He heard a chuckle before the voice spoke once more, "Well, not quite the one you're thinking of, but close enough. I'm afraid that you have died, child."
It took a minute for the words to register before he opened his mouth and said, "Huh?"
"Ah, it's always a joy to watch you children try to understand your situation when you're brought here. It is quite entertaining."
Those words woke him from his shock-induced coma. He looked around again, trying to see if his friends had come up with some elaborate prank, only for his searching to be interrupted by the mysterious voice once more.
"No, this isn't a prank. You have truly died, and yes, I can read your mind."
He took a deep breath, staying still for a few seconds before finally exhaling and asking the question that was on his mind, the most important question he would ever ask in his life, previous, and hopefully the next.
"Am I getting isekaied?"
"Yes, you are."
"YES!"
Just as the soul began to imagine its little happy dance, the being called out.
"Little one, before you get too happy, perhaps you should listen to my proposal first."
That sentence stopped the floating ball of light right in its tracks.
'Right, of course there's a catch. When is there not?'
"Ahem. Right, of course. Excuse my manners. Now, what's this proposition you're talking about, God?"
"Good. Listen closely, because I'll say this only once. I have brought you here not because you're special or different, but simply because you possess the knowledge base needed. Millions of others possess the same thing, but you were chosen simply by luck, so do not think of yourself as a savior or favorite. You are candidate #51902475 of the Ideal Ending Project. Since the beginning of human history, I have sent members of your kind to different imaginary worlds that we Gods have created using your ideas, with a single goal in mind. I wish to see a human capable of reaching an ideal ending in multiple of these worlds or realities."
The soul stood still, gaping at this grand declaration, but just before it could interject, the being continued.
"You will be given three wishes that will be judged as acceptable or not by myself. These are the only boons you will be given to reach the ideal ending; an ending that is better than its 'canon' counterpart. If you choose to accept my deal, you will be sent to a world of my choosing, and I will watch as you attempt to reach this ideal. The only condition is that if you falter, get distracted, or fail, your soul will be erased, and your entire being will disappear. Reject, and I will guide you to the cycle of reincarnation. Now, choose."
The soul still hadn't moved. It processed the words spoken by the God that was supposedly in front of it, trying to weigh the pros and cons as much as possible before giving its response. But after thinking about it for a moment, it found its answer pretty quickly.
The soul wished to try. It wanted to at least attempt it, to retain its memories, try to live a fulfilling life in the new world it would be sent to, and reach this ideal ending.
It wasn't sad in its previous life, but it hadn't reach the point of happiness that would make it want to reject this offer.
Why not try to make an impact? If it failed than so be it. Even if its soul gets erased, it's not like it would know since rejecting the offer and choosing reincarnation instead would make it forget everything anyways.
After affirming the little resolve it had, it tried to mask its fear and nervousness and spoke:
"I accept."
{A/N: For those wondering, the reason the POV says "3rd POV: [Name]" is to indicate thoughts. If you see a sentence in italics like (Right, of course there's a catch. When is there not?) with no name or explicit tag, the thoughts belong to the character whose POV is currently active. I hope this isn't too confusing, as it should be fairly clear from context. Also the reason why I'm using 'it' for the MC is explained next chapter.}