Morgan glanced at him briefly, as if already anticipating his reaction, before fully handing over the long box.
Gabriel received it with both hands.
"Then," he said softly, clearing his throat, "I accept it."
He opened the box.
And in the next instant, his eyes widened behind his bangs.
_______________
Sword of Ruin
Rank: Silver
Type: Weapon
Description: A Divine Construct created by Viviane, the Fairies of Paradise, forged using Gabriel's Dark Matter—a material anomaly capable of rewriting its own personal reality.
This weapon functions as an Anchor of Existence, simultaneously binding and separating worlds, concepts, and beings—mirroring the principle of Rhongomyniad as a Reality Spike.
Physically, it takes the form of a white shovel, but when unleashed, its true shape reveals itself as a sword.
_______________
Not an ordinary object.
Nor a trivial gift.
It took the form of a pale white shovel, its surface pristine—almost impossibly flawless.
Symmetrical red lines ran along the blade and handle, resembling magical circuits permanently embedded within it, pulsing faintly as if breathing.
Gabriel's breath caught for a fraction of a second.
"…This," he murmured softly, barely audible. "You're serious?"
His grip tightened slightly the moment he touched it.
At that instant, he realized one thing: this was not merely a gift. It was acknowledgment—and perhaps trust.
Morgan simply stood before him, watching without a word.
But from her gaze, one truth was clear.
This gift had been given with deliberate intent.
A moment later, Gabriel steadied himself. His shoulders trembled faintly, then a slow smile formed on his lips.
"Heh."
A quiet chuckle escaped him.
"With this weapon… Ash shall bury the entire universe in pale mist…"
On the other side, Morgan gave a faint smile and a small nod, as if that reaction had been exactly what she expected. After three years together, she knew Gabriel's nature all too well.
Yet behind her silence, Morgan's thoughts were moving rapidly.
Unbeknownst to Gabriel, there was a reason she had crafted and given him this weapon. Everything was connected to the Hōgyoku Gabriel had obtained ten days ago.
That object did not merely radiate immense power—its very presence felt oppressive, as though it were attempting to subdue the existence of everything around it.
The memory of that sensation had briefly tempted Morgan to hurl Rhongomyniad at the Hōgyoku.
But she had immediately abandoned the thought.
Gabriel liked that thing far too much.
If she forced the issue, it would only lead to a long argument—and Gabriel stubbornly defending it by any means necessary.
So forging a weapon became the fastest path.
The slower path… was simply waiting until Gabriel grew bored of it on his own.
"This object does not yet have a true name," Morgan said in her usual flat tone. "You may decide it."
Gabriel looked at Morgan for a moment, then lowered his gaze to the shovel in his hand.
With unwavering certainty, he spoke.
"Very well," he said softly, yet firmly.
"Your name shall be Ragnarok: Sword of Ruin."
He raised the weapon slightly.
"The Noble Phantasm that buries the gods."
***
Some time had passed since Gabriel acquired Ragnarok.
Now, he stood in a dimly lit room, its silence pressing heavily.
Sky Tower.
A bridge linking multiple realities—a place where Heralds typically received and selected their Missions.
The room was vast yet empty, illuminated only by the cold glow of panels and streams of energy flowing through the air.
Before him, a holographic screen hovered quietly, displaying five realities he could explore.
_______________
First Choice: Boku no Hero Academia
Second Choice: Fire Force
Third Choice: Chainsaw Man
Fourth Choice: Darling in the Franxx
Fifth Choice: Neon Genesis Evangelion
_______________
Gabriel studied the five options for a long moment.
His brows furrowed slightly.
Not out of disinterest—quite the opposite.
Each of these worlds offered too many possibilities.
Too many fascinating scenarios, power experiments, and chaos he could unleash in his own way.
But the problem was, for now, he had one important item on his agenda.
Summon Baobhan Sith.
And that meant all five of those worlds had to be set aside.
Not because those worlds were lacking, but because they didn't fit the requirements of the ritual he planned.
Gabriel needed a reality with a clear, extractable energy concept—whatever form it took—as long as it could be used as fuel to materialize Sith as a Servant.
At the very least, as long as it wasn't a Type-Moon world, he could accept whatever result came.
"If this still doesn't match my expectations," Gabriel muttered to himself, "then I'll have to use the Random World Medal I just acquired."
As if responding to his thoughts, the holographic screen before him trembled slightly.
Lights flickered.
The list of realities faded, and the system began to reshuffle.
Five worlds appeared on the screen as options.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes, observing them with calm focus.
This time… he hoped the results would be interesting enough.
_______________
First Choice: Sousou no Frieren
Second Choice: Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?
Third Choice: Date a Live
Fourth Choice: Overlord
Fifth Choice: Bleach
_______________
Once the new list was fully displayed, Gabriel furrowed his brow and exhaled softly.
"Again with this," he muttered. "The system is doing this on purpose, isn't it?"
All five worlds indeed possessed extremely strong magical energy concepts. Yet, just like the previous list, not a single one was an option he could easily dismiss.
Each offered a solid, distinctive energy system—too tempting to ignore.
Especially Bleach—the very world where the Hogyoku was originally created. That choice clearly didn't appear by accident, particularly considering the Hogyoku embedded in his body.
For some reason, the appearance of these options made Gabriel feel as if the artifact itself was influencing the surrounding reality… as if it were trying to open a path "back home."
He closed his eyes beneath his bangs and crossed his arms over his chest.
For a moment, Sky Tower sank into silence again, accompanied only by the low hum of the system continuing its operation.
He could have used the Random World Medal he had just obtained from the Auction House.
Yet, for some reason, he had a faint premonition that the system would simply present him with worlds that were "too enticing" again—and that would only distract him.
No.
This time, he chose consciously.
A few moments later, Gabriel's eyelids opened.
His gaze was firm, unwavering.
He raised his hand, index finger pointing straight at a single choice.
Third Choice: Date a Live.
Without hesitation, he pressed it.
Several system notifications popped up.
Ding!
[Choice Saved!]
[Creating the Main Mission…]
_______________
Mission Title: Date a Live
Difficulty Level: Medium
Participants: 1
Number of Main Missions: 3
Main Mission 1: Complete all Main Missions while your base attributes are limited by the system to a maximum total of 50 points. The total base attribute points used will affect the System Evaluation.
Main Mission 2: Extract and collect Sephira Crystals. The number of Sephira Crystals obtained will influence the System Evaluation.
Main Mission 3: Accumulate 20,000 System Points. The total System Points acquired will affect the System Evaluation.
Time Limit: 1 Year
Penalty: 5,000 System Points will be deducted for each failed Mission.
Reward: Determined after all Main Missions are completed.
_______________
After reviewing the details of the three missions provided by the system, Gabriel's attention was immediately drawn to Main Mission 1.
In front of him, the status screen opened.
The four basic attributes that usually formed the foundation of his strength now appeared empty—restricted by the sealed conditions of the mission.
Without protest, he began allocating points.
Ding!
[Strength (STR): 5 → 30]
[Vitality (VIT): 5 → 30]
[Agility (AGI): 10 → 30]
[Intelligence (INT): 10 → 65]
The total points he used didn't even reach fifty, well below the system's allowed limit—only thirty points in total.
Yet the numbers were only a superficial display.
With the effects of his Title, Job, Skills, and Equipment still active within the seal's limits, Gabriel was far from "weak."
He had simply chosen to play within constraints.
A thin smile appeared on his face.
"Interesting."
Once the distribution was complete, the system's light enveloped his body.
Gabriel's figure slowly faded from the Sky Tower room, vanishing without a sound—entering a new world, deliberately limited… yet still carrying dangers no one there could possibly anticipate.
__
Author's note:
Don't forget to add comments, ratings, favorites, and power stones.
And, hehe~ finally, tomorrow we'll reach the Date a Live World, and Gabriel will be a bit of a mess there.