Adapt.
Adapt.
Adapt.
This was the only thing that could come to his mind.
He stared at the deep gashing wounds that littered his body, blood gushed from them in slow, painful streams. The river of blood that lay next to his body was a testament to the severity of his condition.
Through sheer willpower he had tried to force himself upright but the bullet lodged in his left femoral region demanded that he rest.
He gritted his teeth, the pain was unbearable, the urge to give up and pass out clawed at him.
"No…'
'I can't give up yet…'
'I have to adapt.'
'I have to kill that bastard.'
The thought surfaced hazily, his wounds hindering his play of thought
"Just give up man, you've been outclassed," a condescending voice called out.
"If you stop resisting then the ambulance I've called might be able to help you." it mocked with a dirty smirk on his face.
He didn't even bother uttering a response, he knew he couldn't, plus he had to conserve energy to shoot this bastard to hell.
As he squirmed to grab the gun at his waist —the one he always had hit in case of emergencies— a sharp pain reverberated throughout his body.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
His teeth clenched harder.
All attempts to try and handle the pain he was feeling.
But….
As he opened them.
Only darkness remained.
"..."
He tried rubbing his eyes.
"Wait…" he muttered, "I don't feel any pain… this must only mean that I've died," he concluded, touching the parts of his body where previous injuries had been.
He tried reminiscing and couldn't help but feel angry.
"I-I can't allow this…"
"Dammnit he got me!" he screamed out, "I wanted to win!" he banged his hand up and down even though there was seemingly nothing to hit, like he was flaring his arms instead of trying to hit the floor, the pain he was looking for never came.
He decided to stand up and look around, but as he saw once he saw again.
Darkness.
"[Well are you done throwing a tantrum]" an amused but bellowing voice rumbled.
He took a step back in shock and went towards to pull his gun, but his hand seemed to grab empty space, he looked at himself once again and saw that he wasn't wearing anything.
"What is this place?" he wondered.
"[This place? It's the place that connects life and death!]"
"A rhetorical question but I appreciate the answer," the man replied.
The voice chuckled slightly.
[Most people who die the way you did either spiral into panic… develop PTSD… or convince themselves they've gone insane.]
He placed a hand against his chin, deep in thought.
"I see."
"That makes sense."
Then he gave a quiet chuckle.
"But if you grew up the way I did… you'd expect weird things like this eventually."
The voice hummed with amusement.
[I wouldn't expect anything less from you.]
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Ehh?"
"And what exactly do you know about me?"
The voice answered immediately.
[John Chiliad.]
[Six months old when your family died in the catastrophic event known as September 11th.]
[You spent your early childhood in an orphanage before being adopted by what appeared to be an ordinary family.]
[For eight years they raised you.]
[Then you discovered the truth.]
"Hmm…"
[They were CIA agents.]
[Due to your unnatural talent with firearms, you were deployed across multiple countries.]
[During one such assignment in Japan, exposure to the culture sparked an unexpected interest.]
[Anime.]
John looked sort of disappointed in himself, "One of my stupider hobbies."
[And ultimately… you died.]
[Killed after a minor disagreement with one of your superiors.]
John looked toward the unseen speaker, confusion written plainly across his face.
"So what are you?" he asked. "Some kind of observer or God?"
The voice responded immediately.
[A God? Oh no, no, no!]
[I'm merely a divine being. Becoming a true God is far beyond my capabilities.]
John nodded slowly.
"I see… so you're some sort of higher being."
"That explains why you know so much about me."
He didn't get a response, he got pure silence
Then—
The voice burst into laughter.
[HAHAHAHA!]
[Got ya!]
Suddenly—
Papers exploded into existence.
Hundreds of them.
They fluttered wildly through the dark space like a storm of white feathers. At the same time, a light source finally appeared.
John blinked.
His clothes had reappeared on his body.
The voice continued gleefully.
[I was reading a script!]
John simply stared for a moment.
"…I see." he said in a flat tone.
Then spoke again, almost incredulously.
[Well… you're a lively one, aren't you?]
John sighed.
"Sorry. I'm not really in the mood for jokes."
A small shrug.
"I kind of just died."
[Yeah… I get that a lot.]
The voice cleared its throat dramatically.
[Since you're not in the mood, I'll cut straight to the point.]
[You're dead.]
[But I'm giving you a second chance at life.]
[And as a little bonus…]
[You get to choose what world you're reincarnated into.]
John blinked once.
"Hm."
"Okay."
[Tough crowd…]
[A little shock and excitement would've been nice.]
John placed a hand against his chin thoughtfully.
"Well… I'm thinking."
[Well luckily for you, you don't have to do that anymore.]
[Here!]
With a bright flash—
A giant spinning wheel appeared before him.
Colorful segments covered the entire wheel,It looked like some kind of ridiculous game-show prop, each one labeled with a different world, John stepped closer and scanned the names.
Berserk.
Warhammer 40K.
MHA.
Earth-6969.
Jujutsu Kaisen.
One Piece.
Cyberpunk 2077.
DC.
"…Huh."
Without hesitation, John grabbed the wheel.
SPUN IT.
The wheel whirled violently,segments blurred together as it rotated at incredible speed, after five-or-so seconds, the wheel began to slow, the pointer crept toward its first destination.
Berserk.
For a moment it seemed ready to stop there, but the wheel rolled past it. Then it approached another section.
Warhammer 40K.
The pointer slowed, so much so that it started to make John a little worried.
John's eyes widened.
"…No way."
A visible expression of pure dread crossed his face.
"If it lands there I'm screwed…"
The wheel nearly stopped.
Tick.
It moved one final slot forward.
The pointer landed on….
MHA.
[Wow…]
[That's some devil's luck you've got there.]"
****
"Yes… I'm happy as well," John replied dryly, his voice completely devoid of excitement. His face was still slightly pale from the realization that he had nearly been reincarnated into Warhammer 40K. Compared to that nightmare scenario, landing on My Hero Academia felt like narrowly escaping a firing squad.
[HAHA! Your reaction brings me great pleasure!]
He sounded far too amused for John's liking
[For that reason, I'll allow you to choose any power you desire.]
[However… be warned.]
[Not everything comes for free.]
[If you wish for something overwhelmingly powerful, you must be willing to give something in return. So choose carefully… and think very, very hard about what you want.]
John tilted his head slightly.
"Not everything comes free?"
[Correct.]
The voice hummed thoughtfully before explaining.
[If you request something absurdly powerful, then naturally the price must match the value of what you receive.]
John crossed his arms and thought for a moment, though his expression suggested he had already made up his mind.
"Well… I already know what I want."
"I wish for the powers of Mahoraga from Jujutsu Kaisen." he calmly said.
"Specifically, I want his adaptation ability. That includes his cursed energy and reverse cursed energy as well. If possible… I would prefer to retain a human appearance."
Then the voice responded.
[I see…]
The tone sounded slightly intrigued.
[That request is certainly possible.]
[But the real question is what will you offer in return?]
John nodded slowly.
"I see."
Then he asked calmly,
"What exactly are my options?"
The voice immediately answered.
[Several things.]
[You could allow me to nerf your abilities.]
[You could sacrifice a portion of your lifespan in your next life.]
[You could give up some of your memories — specific ones work as well.]
[And there are many other possibilities.]
John began slowly pacing through the void, his hand resting thoughtfully against his chin as he considered the options.
After a moment, he finally got his answer.
"Alright then," he said.
"Remove all of Mahoraga's adaptations learned during his fight with Sukuna… and later against Gojo."
The voice immediately responded.
[Oh?]
Then it chuckled softly.
[A clever loophole you've found there…]
[But I'll need a little more than that.]
John shrugged slightly.
The adaptations from Sukuna's fight can always be re-adapted later, he thought to himself.
It's not really a loss.
Then he spoke aloud again.
"What about this then?"
"I'll give fifty years of my lifespan."
The voice laughed again.
[Another clever loophole.]
[After all, if you possess Mahoraga's adaptation… you will likely adapt to aging as well.]
A short pause followed.
[However… I'll still need something else.]
[And no — your lifespan will no longer be accepted as payment. It has effectively become worthless now.]
John frowned slightly.
That was… unfortunate.
After thinking for a moment, he finally spoke again.
"What about… twenty percent of my memories of My Hero Academia?"
This time the voice did not respond immediately.
Instead—
It sounded genuinely interesting.
[Now that… is an interesting offer, not one I have heard before]
[Very well. I will place the necessary precautions to ensure that you cannot simply adapt and recover those lost memories later.]
[As for the lifespan you offered earlier… I may still find a way to make it useful.]
The voice then added calmly:
[After all… we are discussing a power that, if allowed to fully evolve, could one day rival even me.]
Then the being finished its sentence.
[Enjoy your next life, John.]
John blinked.
"Wait."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Rival you?"
A small grin appeared on his face.
"Are you strong?"
The voice answered simply.
[Very.]
John nodded slowly.
"I see."
Then he gave a small, respectful nod.
"Thank you."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I hope we never meet again."
The being laughed.
[HAHA! I doubt you will.]
But its tone quickly shifted into something far more serious.
[However… let me give you one final piece of advice.]
[Do not enter this world thinking you can simply do whatever you want.]
[These are not two-dimensional characters.]
[They are real people.]
[Real emotions. Real relationships. Real consequences.]
The voice lowered slightly.
[Never forget who you are.]
[And never allow others to define you.]
[Find your own path.]
[Whether you walk it as a Villain…]
[Or as a Hero.]
[Choose your path yourself… and never forget it.]