Kaen crossed his arms. "Alright, Cecil. What exactly are you thinking?" Cecil grinned. "Simple. How about I reinate you?" Kaen blinked. "What."

  "I send you baew world. Fresh start." Cecil shrugged, as if reination was as casual as handing out flyers.

  Kaen exhaled. "Okay. But, uh—how about you just take me to heaven instead?" Cecil's expression immediately twitched. "Uhh…" The so-called divine being actually winced.

  Kaen narrowed his eyes. "What?" "Yeah, um… I wouldn't do that." Kaen frowned. "Why not?" Cecil scratched his head. "Even if I wao, I 't." "…Why?" Cecil let out a deep sigh. "Because there is no heaven."

  Silence.

  Kaen blinked once. Slowly. Then leaned forward. "I'm sorry, what the actual hell did you just say?" Cecil held up a hand. "Oh, and before you ask—there's no hell either." Kaen stared. "Then what the hell do people meahey talk about afterlife?!"

  Cecil sighed. "It's a misuanding. There's no heaven or hell—just the Great After." Kaen frowned. "And what exactly is the Great After?"

  Cecil hesitated for a moment before answering. "Usually, when people die, their souls drift toward the Great After. It's a pce where souls exist to fulfill their greatest desire—whatever that may be."

  Kaen furrowed his brows. "And then what?"

  Cecil's expression darkened slightly. "…Then, ohey've fulfilled it, they get released." Kaen's stomach dropped. "Released? You mean…?" "Gone forever." Cecil's voice was calm, but firm. "Bee nothingness. Their souls return to their roots."

  Kae something cold settle in his chest.

  "…So that's it? ernal paradise? No sed life in some divine kingdom? Just—nothing?" Cecil shrugged. "That's how it works." Kaen swallowed hard. His mind reeled at the thought. The idea of vanishing pletely wasn't just terrifying—it was unfair.

  Then another question hit him. "…Then why am I like this? A floating soul in some random void?"

  Cecil's brows furrowed slightly. "That's the strange part." Kaen watched as Cecil flipped through his clipbng between notes. "You should have goo the Great After. But your soul… never did. Somehow, it ended up in the Void instead."

  Kaen narrowed his eyes. "Meaning?"

  Cecil sighed. "Meaning, you wandered aimlessly instead of fulfilling any 'greatest desire.' And since you weren't in the Great After, you couldn't release yourself either." He tapped his clipboard. "Holy, you've been in the Void for so long, I don't think you even could fulfill any st wish."

  Kaen rubbed his face. "Great. So my options are either tinue wandering this godforsaken nothingness forever, or take your reination deal?"

  Cecil gave him an encing nod. "Pretty much." Kaen chuckled dryly. "Even ierlife, my luck hasn't ged, huh?" Cecil sighs. "I'm sorry."

  Kae out a deep breath. Then, finally, he grinned.

  "Alright. Let's do it, Cecil."

  Cecil beamed. "Hell yeah! My first time making my own decision like this—I'm feeling pumped!" Kaen raised a brow. "Wait. You've never made a decision before?"

  Cecil huffed. "Look, lower-css gods don't usually get this much freedom, alright?" He cpped his hands together, rolling his shoulders. "Okay! Let me get myself ready—this will take a bit of setup. In the meahink about what form you want for your reinated body."

  Kaen stiffened.

  "Wait—I get to choose?"

  Cecil chuckled. "Of course. It's a little perk. sider it my way of making up for your plete and utter ck of lu your st life."

  Kaen exhaled. "Huh. That's… actually kinda cool."

  As he started thinking about what kind of form he wanted, Cecil casually tapped his clipboard, and with a smooth motion, he began drawing a glowing circle with intricate calcutions.

  The ritual had begun.

  …

  Cecil took a step back, g his hands together. "Alright, it's done."

  The glowing circle he had drawn on his clipboard shimmered—then suddenly expanded, swirling into a massive, floating proje.

  A p materialized before them.

  Kaen's eyes widened as he watched its surfae into focus—os, mountains, sprawling cities, thick forests. It looked like Earth, but something about it felt... different.

  Cecil gestured grandly. "This is Aetherion."

  Kaen tilted his head. "Huh. Fancy."

  Cecil tinued, slipping into a salesman's tone. "Aetherion is a livable p, just like Terra—the world you came from. It has a mix of magid teology, creating a society that feels like Terra's early 1900s, but with an are twist."

  Kaen chuckled. "Man, you sound like you're trying to sell me this pce."

  Cecil smirked. "Well, it's important you know what yetting into." He poi the proje again. "Aetherion isn't just any world. It was ohe setting of a grand story."

  Kaen raised an eyebrow. "Was?"

  Ceodded. "Yeah. It was abandoned a long time ago. Its main character—a great hero—died after his beautifully written story ended. And with his death, the higher-ups… lost i."

  Kaen squinted. "Wait. Are you tellihis whole p got discarded just because its main character died?" Cecil sighed. "Pretty much."

  Kaen exhaled. "Man. The higher-ups souy as hell."

  Cecil smirked. "You have no idea." Kaen shook his head, still trying to process that. "Alright, fine. What happened to this hero, then?"

  Cecil's expression darkened slightly. "He died in a war against the demon race. He won. But at the cost of his own life."

  Kaen's brows furrowed. "So he died a hero?"

  Ceodded. "Yeah. But after that, the world ged. The demons got the brunt of the stick—turned into a lower-css race, treated as sves and subordinates."

  Kaen frowned. "That's messed up." Cecil shrugged. "History often is."

  Kaen hummed in thought. "And I'm guessing Saint Marcellus being reinated is meant to kickstart a ory for Aetherion?"

  Cecil snapped his fingers. "Exactly. It's supposed to be a fresh chapter—something t new i back to this world."

  Kaen narrowed his eyes. "Is it really okay for me to be reinated at the same time as Saint Marcellus? That won't mess anything up?" Cecil waved a hand. "Nah, it's fihen he paused. "Though, uh—I 't tell you who Saint Marcellus will be reborn as."

  Kaen squinted. "…Why?" Cecil grinned. "Spoilers." Kaen groaned. "You're insufferable." Cecil chuckled. "You'll find out soon enough." Kaen sighed, then g the proje again. "…Alright. One more thing."

  Cecil tilted his head. "Yeah?"

  Kaen turo him with a serious look. " I skip the child phase? Like—just start at 18?" Cecil blihen ughed. "Hah! You really don't wanna deal with being a kid again, huh?" Kaen scoffed. "Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather skip the helpless infant stage araight to the cool, indepe part."

  Cecil grinned. "Sure. I arrahat. I'll pce you newly arrived in one of the cities—like you're just looking for a fresh start."

  Kaen smirked. "Perfect."

  Cecil stretched his arms and grinned. "Alright, this is it! Are we ready for the new life?" Kaen smirked. "We?" Cecil blihen ughed. "I mean you! I'm just excited." Kaen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with."

  Cecil cpped his hands together. "Alright, let's start with your power." Kaen tilted his head. "Power?"

  Ceodded. "Of course. Aetherion is a dangerous world, y'know? 't just send you in without anything."

  With a flick of his wrist, a massive spinning wheel materialized in front of them, glowing with floating symbols and words written in some a script.

  Kaen immediately squi it. "Oh no. That's a wheel of ce, isn't it?" Cecil smirked. "Let's do race first, shall we?"

  The wheel began spinning. A blur of colors aers fshed past Kaen's eyes until finally—

  Click!

  The wheel slowed.

  Then—

  [ARCHDEMON]

  Cecil winced.

  "Oof. That's unfortunate."

  Kaen crossed his arms. "What? What's wrong?"

  Cecil scratched the back of his head. "Well… If this were a few hundred years ago, you'd be celebrating—Archdemons were insanely powerful. But after, uh… the whole war situation…"

  Kaen groaned. "Oh, e on. Are we really doing this? I just got reinated and I'm already dealing with bad luck?" Cecil raised his hands. "Hey, I don't make the rules! Even Saint Marcellus would've gohrough this, you know."

  Kae out a long sigh. "Fine. What's ?"

  Cecil grinned and spun the wheel.

  This time, it nded on—

  [E / AVATAR TALENT]

  Kaen raised a brow. "What does that mean?"

  Cecil smirked. "Now this is iing."

  He leaned forward, expining, "You'll have the ability to create a e of yourself. As long as you have magic to sustain it, you split your sciousness and trol both at the same time—as if it's sed nature to you."

  Kaen's eyes widened. "Wait, so I be in two pces at once?"

  Ceodded. "Exactly. But—" He held up a finger. "You'll raining. If you push it too far too fast, it might fracture your mind. That's why it's sidered a racial talent—it's something that's natural to you but still requires practiaster."

  Kaen grinned. "Cool." His eyes gleamed with excitement.

  Cecil chuckled. "Gd you like it. Now…"

  The final wheel appeared.

  "The moment you've been waiting for—your POWER."

  The wheel began spinning.

  Kaen csped his hands together and muttered a quick prayer.

  "e on, for once, let my luck pull through on this one…"

  The wheel spun faster and faster—colors and symbols fshing in a blur.

  Then—

  Click.

  The wheel began to slow.

  Kaen held his breath.

  And finally—

  The wheel clicked into pce.

  [GACHA]

  Kaen stared. Then slowly, very slowly, he turo Cecil.

  "…You have got to be kidding me."

  Cecil, however, grinned. "Wow, you actually pulled through."

  Kaen blinked. "Pulled through? Gacha?" He groaned. "Man, this isn't some MMO lootbox—how is this supposed to be a power?"

  Cecil chuckled, clearly unfazed. "Actually, with your e talent, this is a perfect match."

  Kaen crossed his arms. "Expin. Because right now, all I'm picturing is spending real money on MapleStacha pulls aing nothing but garbage."

  Cecil smirked. "This gacha is different. You're able to pull fial characters from your old world—but instead of summoning them like a normal hero-summoning ability, you use your es to absorb them."

  Kaen raised a brow. "Wait. So… instead of summoning them, I just take their skills, powers, abilities, and appearance?"

  Ceodded. "Exactly. That way, you don't have to worry about summoned characters going rogue—you just bee them."

  Kaen tapped his , processing the information. "Huh. That's actually… kinda awesome."

  Cecil smirked. "Told ya."

  Kaen then frowned slightly. "But it's still kinda limiting if I only make one e." Cecil raised a brow. "Who said you only make one?" Kaen blinked. "…What?" Cecil grinned. "Teically, you make as many es as you want—but it'll take training and time. Right now, you only handle ohout overloading your mind, but with practid patience, you create more."

  Kaen grinned. "Alright. I think I just found my motivation for this new world."

  Cecil's eyes gleamed with intrigue. "Oh? Please do tell."

  Kaen smirked. "I'll have my main body live as an ordinary guy—pletely uhe radar. But my es? They'll be the big shots—the warriors, the legends, the ones people fear or admire." His smirk widened. "That way, I be both chill and ambitious at the same time."

  Cecil burst out ughing. "That's… holy brilliant."

  He snapped his fingers. "Alright! As a gift, I'll set you up with a cozy little café—a perfect front for your ordinary life."

  Kaen raised a brow. "A café?"

  Ceodded. "Yeah. Let's model it after Lebnc Café from Persona 5—one of your world's cssic settings."

  Kaen deadpanned. "I have no idea what a Persona 5 is." Cecil paused. Then muttered, "…Right. Died before it came out." Kaen shrugged. "But hey, I won't say no to a free café." Cecil grinned. "Great! Now, onto the final details."

  Cecil held up his clipboard. "Alright, st thing—your appearance." Kaen thought for a moment, then nodded. "I want long bck hair—something elegant and refined." Cecil smirked. "Any specifispiration?" Kaen nodded. "Zhuge Liang." Cecil blinked. "The Three Kingdoms tacti?" Kaen grinned. "Yep. I want that calm, calg look. Someone who looks like a mastermind."

  Cecil jotted it down. "Noted. And, uh, I'm assuming you want to be handsome too?" Kaen scoffed. "I mean… obviously." Cecil chuckled as he made a few final adjustments. Then, he gnced up. "Alright. Now, what about your name?"

  Kaen thought for a moment, then smirked.

  "…Zero."

  Cecil tilted his head. "Zero?"

  Kaen nodded. "I wanted to call myself Zoro, but, well… let's tweak it a bit." Cecil tapped his . "Hmm. Iing choice. And for your st name?" Kaen shrugged. "I'll let you pick. I trust you." Cecil grinned. "Alright then." He jotted down a final note.

  Then, with a flourish, he closed his clipboard.

  "All set."

  A golden light began to swirl around Kaen—no, around Zero. Cecil gave him o look. "May your luck prosper in this life… Zero." Zero smiled.

  Then—

  He vanished.

  The void remaiill.

  The moment Zero was gone, Cecil's smile faltered. Behind him, a figure k—another divine being, cloaked in white. "Is it done, Father?" the kneeling being asked. Cecil let out a slow breath.

  Theurned slightly.

  "…Yes, Cecil. You may go manage Saint Marcellus' reination."

  The kneeling divine being—the real Cecil—bowed his head. "Your wish is my and, Father." And with that, he vahe remaining figure, still wearing Cecil's form, smirked. The true divine being stood alone in the endless void, watg as the cycle of fate tinued.