The truck didn't even have the decency to honk.
One second I was crossing the street with my morning coffee. The next, metal and momentum decided my twenty-three years on Earth were sufficient. Pain exploded through my body, brief, searing, absolute. Then nothing.
Well, my last thought echoed in the void, that's one way to skip student loan payments.
Death, as it turned out, came with a user interface.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZATION...]
Blue text materialized in the darkness, hovering in what my brain, or whatever passed for consciousness now, could only describe as "in front of my nonexistent face."
[WELCOME, RYDER CROSS]
[YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED FOR DIMENSIONAL INTEGRATION]
[SYSTEM: REALITY FRAGMENT INTERFACE v1.0]
[LOADING PARAMETERS...]
"What." I tried to speak. No mouth. No vocal cords. Just the word, existing in the void.
[STARTING STATISTICS]
[STR: 5 | INT: 8 | AGI: 6 | VIT: 5 | SPR: 3]
[CONDITION: DECEASED (TEMPORARY)]
[INITIATING RESURRECTION PROTOCOL...]
"Okay, hold up." My thoughts raced. "Deceased temporary? That's not how death works. Also, what the hell is SPR? Spirit? Sprite? Is this a video game? Am I in a coma?"
[NEGATIVE. YOU ARE DECEASED.]
[DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER COMMENCING IN 3... 2... 1...]
The void shattered.
Light. Sound. Sensation.
I gasped, actually gasped, with lungs that shouldn't exist, and my eyes snapped open. Concrete pressed against my back. Rain drizzled from a gray sky. The smell of wet asphalt and distant cooking filled my nose.
I sat up, heart hammering. "I'm... alive?"
[RESURRECTION COMPLETE]
[LOCATION: KUOH TOWN, JAPAN]
[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE 30 DAYS]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: REACH POWER LEVEL 20]
[WARNING: DIMENSIONAL INSTABILITY DETECTED NEARBY]
"Kuoh Town?" I looked around. An alley between two buildings, both with Japanese signage I somehow could read. "Japan? I was in Seattle. How did I..."
Footsteps.
Three figures emerged from the alley's entrance, silhouetted against the streetlights. School uniforms, black with red trim. The one in front was a girl, maybe my age, with crimson hair that seemed to glow in the dim light. Her blue eyes locked onto me with predatory interest.
"Well, well." Her voice was smooth, aristocratic. "What do we have here? A human, collapsed in an alley, emanating unusual energy." She smiled, and something about it made my survival instincts scream. "How interesting."
[ALERT: SUPERNATURAL ENTITY DETECTED]
[ENTITY TYPE: DEVIL - HIGH-CLASS]
[THREAT LEVEL: EXTREME]
[RECOMMENDATION: FLEE OR NEGOTIATE]
Devil? High-class? This is insane. I'm hallucinating. I hit my head and...
"You can see it, can't you?" The girl stepped closer, her two companions, a buxom woman with a ponytail and a blonde guy who looked way too into this, flanking her. "That blue screen hovering near you. Fascinating. I've never seen a Sacred Gear manifest quite like that."
Sacred Gear. The term meant nothing to me, but the system helpfully provided context:
[SACRED GEAR: DIVINE ARTIFACTS CREATED BY THE BIBLICAL GOD]
[NOTE: YOUR SYSTEM IS NOT A SACRED GEAR. COVER STORY RECOMMENDED.]
"I don't know what you're talking about," I said, slowly getting to my feet. My legs felt steady. Too steady. Like my body was operating at 110% efficiency despite just being dead five minutes ago. "Look, I'm just lost. If you could point me to..."
"Don't lie." The girl's smile widened. "I can sense power radiating from you. Raw, unrefined, but potent." She extended a hand. "My name is Rias Gremory. I'm a devil, and I believe you and I have much to discuss."
I stared at the offered hand. Devil. She just said devil. Like, horns and pitchforks and...
[ANALYSIS COMPLETE]
[RIAS GREMORY: HEIR TO GREMORY CLAN, HIGH-CLASS DEVIL]
[POWER LEVEL: 47]
[YOUR CURRENT POWER LEVEL: 12]
[RECOMMENDATION: COOPERATION ADVISED]
My power level is 12? When did I get a power level? I died! I was a college student!
"You're hesitating," Rias observed. "Smart. Most humans would either run screaming or faint by now." She tilted her head. "But you're not most humans, are you?"
Something warm bloomed in my chest. Not painful, the opposite. Like a door opening inside me, releasing pressure I didn't know existed. Blue energy crackled around my hands, visible even to my naked eye.
[CORE ABILITY ACTIVATING: FRAGMENT ADAPTATION]
[DETECTING NEARBY POWER SIGNATURE...]
[ANALYZING: DEVIL PHYSIOLOGY]
[COPYING: ENHANCED REGENERATION (BASIC)]
[SUCCESS: NEW SKILL ACQUIRED]
I looked down at my hands, now glowing with ethereal blue light. "Okay. So that's new."
The blonde guy, Kiba according to a nameplate on his uniform, tensed. "Rias, that energy..."
"I see it, Yuuto." Rias's eyes narrowed, but her smile never wavered. "You just copied my regeneration ability. Partially, at least." She laughed, delighted. "Oh, this is marvelous. You're not a normal Sacred Gear user at all."
[QUEST AVAILABLE: FIRST CONTACT]
[OBJECTIVE: SURVIVE THIS ENCOUNTER]
[REWARD: +100 XP, SKILL POINT x1]
[FAILURE: DEATH (PERMANENT)]
Permanent death. Great. Love that clarification. I fought down panic. Okay. Think. She's interested, not hostile. Play along.
"Look," I said, raising my hands slowly. The blue glow faded. "I don't know what's happening. I woke up here five minutes ago with this... system thing following me around. I'm not looking for trouble."
"Trouble?" Rias laughed. "No, no. I think you and I can help each other." She gestured to the mouth of the alley. "Walk with me. Let's talk somewhere more comfortable."
[CHOICE DETECTED]
[OPTION A: ACCEPT INVITATION]
[OPTION B: DECLINE AND FLEE]
[OPTION C: ATTACK PREEMPTIVELY]
[SYSTEM RECOMMENDATION: OPTION A]
[ANALYSIS: YOU CANNOT OUTRUN A HIGH-CLASS DEVIL]
[ANALYSIS: YOU CANNOT DEFEAT A HIGH-CLASS DEVIL AT CURRENT POWER LEVEL]
[ANALYSIS: COOPERATION OFFERS SURVIVAL + INFORMATION]
Well, when you put it that way. I exhaled slowly. "Fine. But if this is some kind of trap..."
"If I wanted you dead, you'd already be dead," Rias said matter-of-factly. "Come. We have much to discuss, and I suspect your 'system' is about to become very relevant to both of us."
As we walked, my system pinged again:
[QUEST COMPLETE: FIRST CONTACT]
[REWARD: +100 XP, SKILL POINT x1]
[LEVEL UP! LEVEL 1 → LEVEL 2]
[NEW STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 5]
[POWER LEVEL: 12 → 14]
"Quick question," I said, falling into step beside Rias. "You said 'devil' pretty casually. Like, are we talking biblical cosmology here? Heaven and Hell? Angels and demons?"
"Yes." Rias glanced at me. "Though the reality is more complicated. Three factions, Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, coexist in a delicate balance. Humans like you, with rare abilities, often get caught in the middle."
"Fantastic." I rubbed my face. "I died, got isekai'd into a supernatural war zone, and now I have a video game interface. This is fine. Everything is fine."
Rias's companion with the ponytail, Akeno based on her name tag, giggled. "He's funny. Can we keep him?"
"Akeno," Rias chided, but her tone was amused. "We're not collecting strays."
[NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: UNDERSTAND YOUR SITUATION]
[OBJECTIVE: Learn the basics of this world]
[REWARD: +50 XP, SKILL: BASIC SUPERNATURAL KNOWLEDGE]
We reached a larger street. In the distance, I saw a school. Massive, European-style architecture that looked more like a castle than an educational institution.
"That's Kuoh Academy," Rias explained. "I'm the president of the Occult Research Club there. It's... a cover, of sorts. A place where my peerage operates."
"Peerage?" I asked.
"Devils operate in groups, modeled after chess pieces," Kiba explained. "Rias is a King. Akeno and I are part of her peerage, her family, in a sense."
[INFORMATION LOGGED: DEVIL PEERAGE SYSTEM]
[REFERENCE: SIMILAR TO RPG PARTY STRUCTURE]
"Great. Chess metaphors. Because my day needed more complications." I looked at Rias. "So what do you want from me? Why the interest?"
Rias stopped walking, turning to face me fully. Rain drizzled around us, but she didn't seem to notice. "Because you're unique. A human with an ability that can copy supernatural powers? That's unheard of. And dangerous, if the wrong people learn about you."
"Define 'wrong people,'" I said slowly.
"Fallen Angels who'd dissect you for research. Stray Devils who'd try to steal your power. Angels who'd eliminate you as a potential threat." Rias's expression grew serious. "This world is dangerous for someone like you. But with guidance, with protection, you could become something extraordinary."
[ALERT: MAJOR DECISION POINT]
[RIAS GREMORY IS OFFERING MENTORSHIP/PROTECTION]
[WARNING: THIS WILL BIND YOU TO DEVIL FACTION]
[WARNING: THIS WILL CREATE ENEMIES IN OTHER FACTIONS]
[RECOMMENDATION: GATHER MORE INFORMATION BEFORE COMMITTING]
"You want me to join you," I said. Not a question.
"I want to offer you a choice," Rias corrected. "Join my peerage, and I'll teach you to survive in this world. I'll protect you while you learn to use your power. In exchange, you'll fight alongside us when needed."
"And if I say no?"
Rias's smile turned sad. "Then I wish you luck. You'll need it."
Silence stretched between us. My mind raced. This is insane. But it's also real. The system, the powers, the...
[SUDDEN ALERT]
[HOSTILE ENTITY DETECTED: 200 METERS NORTH]
[ENTITY TYPE: FALLEN ANGEL]
[THREAT LEVEL: HIGH]
[THEY HAVE DETECTED YOUR ENERGY SIGNATURE]
[COMBAT IMMINENT IN: 30 SECONDS]
"Rias," Kiba said sharply, his hand moving to his side. Light materialized into a sword. "Fallen Angel. Closing fast."
Rias's expression hardened. "Of course. They must have sensed the energy spike when his power awakened." She looked at me. "No time for philosophical debates. If you want to live, stay close to me."
A figure descended from the sky. Black wings spread wide, a woman in revealing leather armor with a spear of light in hand. Her eyes locked onto me with predatory hunger.
"A new Sacred Gear user," the Fallen Angel purred. "And unaligned. How fortuitous. Come with me, boy, and I promise your death will be quick."
[COMBAT INITIATED]
[ENEMY: RAYNARE - FALLEN ANGEL]
[POWER LEVEL: 38]
[SURVIVAL CHANCE WITHOUT ASSISTANCE: 0.03%]
My system helpfully displayed my options:
[OPTION A: HIDE BEHIND RIAS]
[OPTION B: ATTEMPT TO FIGHT]
[OPTION C: ACTIVATE FRAGMENT ADAPTATION (UNKNOWN RESULT)]
The blue energy in my chest pulsed again, stronger this time. Hungry.
"Kid, get back," Rias commanded, crimson magic flaring around her.
But my body moved before my brain caught up. The energy surged, and my system screamed:
[WARNING: PREMATURE SKILL ACTIVATION]
[FRAGMENT ADAPTATION TRIGGERING]
[TARGET: FALLEN ANGEL PHYSIOLOGY]
[ATTEMPTING TO COPY: LIGHT MANIPULATION]
[SUCCESS RATE: 12%]
[PROCEEDING ANYWAY...]
Pain exploded through my body as foreign power tried to integrate. My vision went white, then cleared to see my right hand crackling with unstable golden light.
"Impossible," Raynare breathed.
Rias stared. "He just..."
I looked at my glowing hand, then at the Fallen Angel, then at Rias.
"I have," I said slowly, "so many questions."
The Fallen Angel shrieked and dove, spear of light aimed at my heart.