Being an Isekai God wasn't always smooth sailing. No, Isekai gods are not omnipotent, overpowering, omnipresent, or all-knowing. We're humans with a job to do, but we're in charge of all the worlds the Almighty created. Our primary function is to guide spirits that have died to new Isekai worlds.
There are several Isekai gods, and one god manages one or two worlds of his own. My world is Oborion, and I am its god—Kurashima. But one world can be managed by more than one god. My brothers, Okuto, Fujiro, and Soryu, also manage Oborion. They are standing in front of my throne with swords in their hands.
I knew sooner or later it would end like this. I was never really their brother—never really their mother's son. Adopted by the Goddess of the Moon herself, chosen and brought up to be flawless. From childhood, I was better than all of them—learning quicker, combat more fierce, learning abilities even my brothers couldn't comprehend. I was, unquestionably, the most powerful of all the Isekai deities.
My brothers, Okuto, Fujiro, and Soryu, were always envious, but as long as our mother guarded us, they could not do anything. The Moon Goddess was absent, though. When she died, their willpower dissipated.
Okuto approached first, his sword out, his eyes burning with anger.
"Finally… the perfect little brother is going to fall," he jeered.
Fujiro growled beside me, sweeping his great sword. "You've bragged long enough about your strength, Kurashima. Today it stops."
Soryu circled us slowly, in a taunting arc. "And we do it flawlessly. No mistakes. Don't even think of running."
I stood up, unmoving, meeting their eyes. "I thought you'd attempt that from you. But you'll be sorry."
Okuto flashed in a moment, a glint of metal careening towards my breast. I dodged, releasing a shock that knocked him into a pillar. Fujiro attacked from his weak side, his huge blade in a horizontal strike. I leaped over him, striking in mid-air, and he crashed onto the floor with shattering impact.
"Is that sufficient?" I snarled, deflecting Soryu's energy shots with a growl as he fired a hail from afar. "You will require more than that."
"Don't attempt to belittle us," Soryu roared, taking another loop, firing another shot. "We've waited for this moment!"
Okuto struck again, spinning his sword in a death arc. I parried, sparks showering as our blades met. "You've grown reckless," I stated, deflecting Fujiro's striking back.
"Reckless? You've always been the favorite!" Okuto growled, his face twisted in jealousy. "Now it's our turn!"
The three of them struck simultaneously—Okuto overhead, Fujiro below, Soryu from the side. I deflected, dodged, countered—all in calculation. But even perfection had its limits.
"Show us your real strength!" Fujiro taunted, faking a stumble. I rushed at him, and I was drawn in. Okuto pushed me into Soryu's charge, and Fujiro's blade cut past my guard. Pain coursed through my body.
"You… you can't… possibly…," Soryu panted, open eyes full of surprise.
I clenched my jaw, channeling what little strength I had left. "I don't need to fight anymore… my world awaits."
With one last burst of energy, I drove my spirit to Oborion, its vacant husk remaining behind as their swords plunged into it. Their faces wore the expression of horror, shock, and fury.
I had died. Oborion had not.
...
My vision faded away slowly. Fuzzy shapes, dim illumination, and. voices. I attempted to sit up, but something was...amiss.
In front of me, a silver-haired man and a blonde woman grinned like idiots. The man dropped to his hands and knees and picked me up like a baby.
"Oh! Look at him, he's perfect!" the woman exclaimed, holding me close to her body.
"Isn't he just… our little miracle?" the man grinned from ear to ear.
I attempted to move, to talk, to tell him I was not a baby—damn it, I wasn't even alive any longer—but my arms hardly worked. My hands were small, my fingers flaccid. Even my legs were useless. I kicked futilely around like some ridiculous marionette.
"His name is Kurashima!" the man shouted triumphantly, waving me about like some trophy.
The woman smiled, kissing my little head with such a passion that a glob of saliva splattered onto the surface of my face right on target. I was immobilized. Saliva...On my face...From...them.
I attempted to move away. No way. My arms shook, my legs flailed, and I was completely at their mercy.
"Ah, this is marvelous," the man declared, hugging me like a teddy bear. "I never hoped we'd have a second child!"
"Kurashima, you're perfect!" the woman cooed, bestowing yet another kiss on my tiny head. More dribbling. More humiliation.
I stared up at them, unable to speak. Small. Helpless. And smeared with...parental love.
Somehow, after all those centuries as a deity, brawling with my siblings, cheating death itself… I'd been reincarnated as a squirming, tiny infant.