"I want Omni-Creation as a permanent superpower that allows me to create anything I can imagine, including matter, energy, life, technology, universes, and abstract concepts, with perfect control over the properties, functions, and permanence of my creations, ensuring no unintended consequences, no limitations, no negative effects, and protection from any external interference, manipulation, or destruction of my creations unless I allow it."
I admit, I went a little overboard with that wish. But in my defense, I was testing if my Meta Ability Creation power actually worked. Cosmic Regeneration was difficult to verify without resorting to self-inflicted harm (which I wasn't about to do), so Omni-Creation seemed like a good, safe way to check. A pleasant warmth spread through my body, leaving me feeling fantastic, rejuvenated. It was like the world had gone from standard definition to crystal-clear 4K.
The only thing left was to see if it worked. I stretched out my left hand and imagined a steel ball appearing in my palm. My breath hitched as a perfectly formed steel ball materialized. I blinked, my mind racing with possibilities. I was practically a god among ants!
"Ha ha ha ha ha..."
I don't know how long I laughed, but when I finally stopped, I felt energized. I possessed powers that could make me a juggernaut, a god, in this new life. My mind was already buzzing with ideas. Sci-fi weapons straight from my imagination? Perhaps even creating life… werewolves? No! Elves! The image of haughty, beautiful, pointy-eared elves calling me "master," their women lining up to serve me, was enough to give any otaku a… well, let's just say a strong reaction.
"No, no! No horny!" I reprimanded myself. I was no degenerate. As a sixty-three-year-old (physically, anyway), I had a certain dignity to maintain. I had to make my father proud.
Speaking of my father, my thoughts drifted to my previous life. He came from a long line of farmers, and I grew up surrounded by aspiring agriculturalists. I was the runt of the litter. Even my younger sister developed more muscle than me during puberty. But I compensated with my excellent memory, which landed me a job as a top-notch accountant. Ironically, I learned a lot about farming in the process.
"Perhaps…" I mused, looking out at the surrounding woods.
People might think the woods would be a perfect place to start a farm, and they'd be right. But the trees would be a monumental pain in the ass, not to mention the roots and rocks. And don't even get me started on the labor involved in clearing the woods, pulling out the stumps, and hauling everything away.
"Well, with Omni-Creation, I can create anything I want," I mused. "But that power is limited to just creation. I need a power to balance it out." I sat back down on the bed, racking my brain for the right power, the right wording to avoid any potential drawbacks. This took a while. I'd decided on reality manipulation, and without careful phrasing, I risked being trapped in endless paradoxes, or having the powers malfunction in emotionally charged situations. Finally, after creating a notebook and pen and filling half of it with drafts, I had it. The perfect wording.
I cleared my throat, paper in hand, focusing intently. Any slip of the tongue could make me a liability to myself and the world. "I want Absolute Reality Manipulation as a permanent, boundless, and unrestricted superpower that grants me full and effortless control over all aspects of existence, including but not limited to matter, energy, time, space, life, death, probability, concepts, perception, and causality, with the ability to create, modify, erase, and reshape reality on all levels—physical, metaphysical, and conceptual—while maintaining perfect awareness and understanding of all changes, ensuring that my modifications are precise, intentional, and irreversible unless I choose otherwise, with no unintended consequences, drawbacks, external interference, resistance, or limitations of any kind, and full immunity to all effects of reality warping, including my own, unless I specifically allow them to affect me."
As soon as the power surge hit, I knew I'd broken the game. Big time. What I'd acquired was a power on the level of beings like the One Above All! At this point… what was even the point? Anything I wanted, I could achieve with a single thought! Life threatened to become boring, bland. I'd reached a power level where nothing mattered anymore.
"No," I said to myself. "A goal. I just need a goal. Yes, with a goal in mind, I can get through each day without becoming a nihilist." I gave myself a couple of encouraging slaps on the cheeks.
Yes, with a goal, I wouldn't fall into that nihilistic pit. I got off the bed and walked outside the cottage. Using my newfound… cosmic senses, I surveyed a one-mile radius around the cottage and frowned at what I saw.
"What?" I asked in surprise. Using my intent, I teleported to the location that had caught my attention. I appeared beside a rolled-over car, a model I didn't recognize, some kind of sedan. But the car wasn't the reason I was here. With a wave of my hand, the vehicle dissolved into thin air, leaving the true object of my fascination behind. It was the corpse of a woman in her thirties, with striking red hair.
"What the hell?" I exclaimed. As if animated by some unseen force, the corpse, now freed from the wreckage, lurched to its feet, its limbs unnaturally thin and emaciated. It tried to pounce on me, a grotesque parody of life. I held it in place with a thought, manipulating its molecules to ensure it couldn't even twitch a muscle. "Fascinating. Are you… a zombie?"
My enhanced brain, boosted by the three abilities I had created, was already piecing together the puzzle. The conclusion: this was indeed a zombie. But how? How was it created? What was the process? Why this woman? Was it contagious? If so, how? Were there others? The questions multiplied with every passing second.
"Ha, I really need omniscience or something," I chuckled. Even as I spoke, I was formulating the power I needed. Within moments, the perfect wording was complete.
"I wish to possess the permanent, irrevocable, and controllable superpower of Omni-Perception. This power grants me complete and instantaneous awareness of all objective and subjective realities, dimensions, timelines (past, present, and future), energies (including all forms of radiation, magic, and other forces), and information (known and unknown), across all planes of existence, without exception.
Crucially, this Omni-Perception operates under my absolute and conscious control. I possess the following abilities, which cannot be removed, altered, or limited in any way:
Selective Filtering: I can consciously and instantaneously filter out any and all forms of perception I choose, from specific individuals, locations, time periods, types of energy, or any other criteria I can conceive of, down to the finest detail. This filtering can be dynamic and adjusted at will. Focus and Interpretation: I can consciously focus my perception on any specific target, individual, event, or piece of information, regardless of its location or time. My mind is capable of instantly processing and interpreting any and all information I choose to perceive, without any risk of mental overload, fragmentation, or degradation of my mental or physical state. Sensory Modulation: I can consciously modulate the intensity and form of my perceptions, translating them into any sensory modality I desire (sight, sound, touch, etc.) or even experiencing them directly as pure information, bypassing sensory limitations. Cognitive Integration: All information I perceive is seamlessly integrated into my conscious understanding, enhancing my knowledge, awareness, and decision-making abilities without causing mental strain, confusion, or any negative psychological or physical effects. My sense of self and my connection to my own personal reality remain intact and unaffected. Protection from External Influence: No entity, force, or circumstance, including myself (unless I consciously choose to), can interfere with, alter, restrict, remove, or otherwise affect this power or its effects. This includes protection from mental manipulation, emotional influence, or any attempt to control or access my perceptions without my explicit consent. Clarity and Discernment: I perceive all information with complete clarity and can instantly distinguish between objective reality, subjective experiences (dreams, illusions, etc.), and hypothetical possibilities. I am immune to being deceived or misled by false perceptions.
This power is intended to grant me absolute mastery over my perception, ensuring that it enhances my awareness and understanding without any negative consequences or limitations, and that it remains entirely under my conscious control at all times."
As soon as the familiar warmth settled in, along with the influx of information that signified my new power, I turned my attention to the zombie. I activated Omni-Perception, focusing on her. Her entire life unfolded before me: conception, birth, first steps, first words, school, friends, growing up, crushes, fights, fleeting romances, likes, dislikes, her job… then the blue screen. It appeared suddenly before her eyes as she drove to work, causing her to swerve, lose control, and crash. She should have died then. But I saw more. I saw how she became a zombie.
"Holy fuck!" I breathed. I looked at her with pity. She was a victim, a pawn in some higher being's game.
The screen wasn't supposed to grant powers like the ones I had. Regeneration, maybe. Illusion manipulation, perhaps. But nothing like this. The screen originated from the creator of this universe. It was designed to prepare its inhabitants, granting them their deepest desires. The smart ones would choose power; the foolish, fantasy. Their powers were supposed to start small, grow over time. But because the original Derrick had died before making his wish, I was a glitch in the system.
If a person died before choosing their ability, or even during the bestowal process, they became a zombie. Reality-warping bullshit, that's how. At that moment, I perceived that 60% of the human population had already succumbed. Humanity was outnumbered by the undead! And not only that, the flora and fauna were evolving, becoming more fantastical, more dangerous.
"Sigh, what kind of world am I in?" I muttered, turning my attention back to the zombie before me. "Well, you're in luck, young lady."
I reached out to her being, sensing the dark aura clinging to her very soul. It was a chilling aura, seemingly born from the void itself. Its purpose was clear: to transform the infected into ravenous killing machines, driven to evolve by consumption. It was a terrifying concept. Given an endless supply of biomass, she could become incredibly powerful.
I began to reverse the damage, starting with her cells, coaxing them back to life, then moving to her muscles, her mind, and finally, her soul, which was twisted and tormented by the aura. It was a depressing sight, watching it writhe in agony. Dispelling the aura—surprisingly easy, I guess I underestimated my own strength—finally freed her soul.
But it was gray and cracked. Not good. I repaired it, making it whole and new, even allowing her to retain the aura's Consumption Evolution ability as a sort of… consolation prize. When I was finished, the woman took a deep, shuddering breath, her gray eyes opening and focusing on me, overflowing with gratitude before she fell unconscious. I caught her before she hit the ground.