Death, as it turned out, wasn't the dramatic experience the stories promised.
There was no tunnel of light, no angelic choir, no grand revelation about life's meaning.
Just an explosion of blue pixels, a frozen laptop screen, and the faint echo of someone sneezing across the universe.
Then nothing.
Somewhere far, far beyond the reach of time or logic, the void stirred. A being older than creation itself who had once gone by names like "The Watcher," "The Administrator," and, on an especially bad day, "Kevin" blinked in confusion.
"...Oh crap."
He glanced at a glowing, cosmic console filled with timelines, soul matrices, and a warning flashing in big red letters:
ERROR: UNAUTHORIZED SOUL DELETION.
ROB groaned. "Great. I sneezed, deleted a mortal, and now the universe thinks I'm evil again. Ugh."
He leaned back, stretching his arms as constellations bent around him. "Alright, alright, fine. Let's fix this. Where'd that poor idiot come from? Ah,Earth. Twenty-first century. No cosmic significance, average life expectancy… hmm. Human male, mid-twenties, hopeless nerd, probably spent more on lightsabers and video games than rent."
ROB smirked. "He'll love this."
A soft light flared as the man's disembodied consciousness blinked into awareness.
"...Did I just ? Oh god, I died watching The Mandalorian, didn't I?"
A voice like thunder and laughter answered, "Technically, yes. My bad. I sneezed."
"You sneezed?"
"I'm omnipotent, not allergy-proof."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME "
ROB cleared his throat. "Look, I can fix this. Reincarnation package, deluxe tier. You get to pick one world, one power, and one bonus. Within reason."
The soul hesitated. "Okay… um… make me the son of Artemis from Percy Jackson, and give me Revan's powers from Knights of the Old Republic."
ROB froze, blinked once, then grinned. "You're insane. I like you."
With a snap of his fingers, reality convulsed. "Done. Oh, and… I might've thrown in a few surprises. For fun. Don't worry about it."
"Wait ,what surprises?!"
But the words vanished into blinding light.
The moon hung low, its silver glow spilling over a secluded glade. The Hunt had long gone silent. Animals bowed in reverence as a goddess gasped softly, clutching her abdomen.
Artemis, eternal virgin goddess of the Hunt, of the Moon, and of Maidens was pregnant.
For the first time in eternity, her composure cracked. "Father will kill me."
Zeus appeared in a burst of lightning. "I already know!" he thundered then paused, staring in shock at his daughter. "Wait… you're actually pregnant?"
Artemis glared. "Don't sound so surprised!"
Zeus blinked twice, then muttered, "Well, I'm not angry! Just… maintaining appearances! Gods forbid people think Olympus is turning sentimental." He coughed into his fist. "Anyway, uh… congratulations?"
Apollo materialized next, grinning like an idiot. "I told you she'd have to break the streak sometime!"
"Out," Artemis hissed.
Zeus ignored him, leaning closer as divine energy pulsed in the air. "I can feel it. He's strong. More than divine something else runs through him."
When the child finally took his first breath, the night itself bowed. Silver light haloed his body; the shadows rippled with unseen power. His eyes one silver, one faintly amber opened, glowing with a strange, calm awareness.
Artemis whispered, "Auron."
Zeus frowned. "That's a mortal name."
"He will live among both worlds," she said softly, "and walk paths even we cannot tread."
"Fine," Zeus said quickly. "But I'm not spoiling him."
Hours later, Olympus nearly drowned in lightning fireworks celebrating the new heir.
Twelve years of hard training and family drama. A few years of a baby in dappers and days of bing in extreme enbersing moments later. Are hero is now the fun age of 15 years old and the year is 1980. The moonlit forest sang with the hum of arrows and the laughter of immortals.
Auron Vale moved through the glade like liquid shadow, a blur of speed and precision. His wooden training staff struck the ground parried an arrow mid-flight , then spun to disarm a Huntress lunging from behind.
"Too slow, Ione," he said quietly, sidestepping her strike.
Ione scowled, rubbing her wrist. "You cheat. You sense everything."
"That's called awareness," he replied with a faint grin.
"Show-off," muttered another Huntress Lyssa, older and far more experienced before smirking and kicking his leg from under him.
Auron caught himself mid-fall, flipped, and landed on his feet. "Better."
The clearing erupted with laughter.
These were Artemis's chosen warriors immortal maidens sworn to the Hunt and they adored teasing the goddess's one mortal-born son.
He was their brother in all but blood: too polite to be annoying, too strong to ignore, and far too humble for someone who could stop a charging drakon with his bare hands.
Artemis herself stood at the edge of the clearing, arms crossed, watching her son and her Hunt spar beneath the moonlight. There was pride in her eyes though she would never admit it aloud.
When Auron noticed her gaze, he straightened, bowing his head. "Mother."
"Show-off," she said, echoing Lyssa's earlier jab, though her lips twitched.
"You trained me to be," he replied evenly.
That earned him a smirk. "And yet you still can't best me."
"Yet."
The Huntresses snickered as Artemis stepped into the ring, her silver bow fading into twin hunting daggers.
Auron dropped into stance no weapon, just focus.
The match was over in ten heartbeats. Artemis disarmed him effortlessly, flipped him over her shoulder, and pinned him to the ground with one knee.
"Yield," she said.
He exhaled. "I yield."
The Hunt cheered, and Artemis rose, brushing imaginary dust from her robes. "You're improving," she said, her tone softer now. "But you still think too much before you act."
Auron smiled faintly. "Maybe I get that from you."
She paused then chuckled quietly, brushing a hand over his hair before turning away.
Later that night, the forest slept. Auron sat alone beneath a silver tree, meditating. The Force flowed through him vast, tranquil, infinite.
Then the peace shattered.
Something cold rippled through his mind: a vision of green light, a woman's scream, a child crying as darkness swallowed him.
Auron's eyes snapped open. "What?"
He focused tracing the echo back across oceans, to an island drenched in mist and sorrow. Britain.
A corruption unlike anything he'd felt before. Not divine. Not infernal. Something else. Something fractured.
The Dark Side but bound to mortal souls.
A silver wolf emerged from the shadows one of Artemis's sacred companions.
Auron rose. "You felt it too?"
The wolf growled softly.
He looked toward the west, the horizon shimmering with stars. "Then it seems the Hunt moves again."
And somewhere beyond creation, ROB leaned back in his cosmic armchair, popcorn floating beside him.
"Ahh… there it is. The crossover setup. My favorite part."
He grinned. "Let's see how the Force and magic mix this time."