Arthur arrived at the address, a small, modern apartment building nestled in a quiet neighborhood.
The air was calm, smelling of concrete and the distant, familiar scent of rain.
It was a world of mundane peace, a stark contrast to the endless void he had just traveled through.
He used the key from his pocket and stepped inside.
The apartment was neat and simple, with a small living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a bathroom.
The furniture was minimal but comfortable, all of it new. A note was on the small dining table.
It was written in a beautiful, flowing script that looked ancient.
"Welcome to our world, Arthur. This place is for you. I hope you find it in you to forgive me. And you don't have to worry about time you spend in this world. Because you are actually brought back to the past. You can also go back to your world anytime you want. But please save my world."
"So, I can actually spend as much time as I want here."
The Biblical God was full of surprises.
He set his phone down on the table.
He was no longer on his home turf, no longer safe in the world where he was the Dragon Gods' partner.
Here, he was just a powerful stranger, a being with power but no real place in this world's history.
He walked to the window and looked out.
The city lights twinkled in the distance.
He could feel the pulse of the city, the life within it.
But he also felt something else, a deep, ancient energy that hummed just beneath the surface.
It was the energy of the supernatural, of the devils, angels, and fallen angels that populated this world.
It felt like a song he had heard before, but couldn't quite remember the tune of.
The voices in his head, Great Red and Ophis, were silent now. They were with him, he knew, but they had given him space to think.
He appreciated it.
He needed to figure out his next move.
Saving the world. It was going to take time but fortunately. Time wasn't something he lacked.
"I can just go back to my world and climb dungeons. When I was strong enough. I will come back."
…
The next morning, Arthur woke up to the sound of a school bell ringing.
He ate a quick breakfast and went to the window.
Students in uniforms were walking down the street, their bags slung over their shoulders.
He saw a few familiar faces—the boy from the night before, Issei Hyoudou, laughing with a friend.
He felt the hum of Issei's Sacred Gear, the Boosted Gear.
It was a faint, almost nonexistent power right now, a tiny spark waiting to become a flame.
It was tied to Ddraig, the Welsh Dragon, a powerful entity from this world.
Arthur decided to take a walk. He put on a plain black T-shirt and jeans and headed out.
He walked toward Kuoh Academy, the high school where Issei and his friends attended.
It was a beautiful, old building with a grand clock tower.
The school grounds were filled with cherry blossom trees and lush green fields.
He saw the famous Occult Research Club building, a small, old, and almost run-down building in the corner of the school grounds.
He felt a concentration of powerful energy coming from it.
This was the home base of the devils, led by Rias Gremory, the sister of one of the Four Great Satans.
He didn't go in. He didn't want to alert anyone to his presence just yet.
He was just here to observe. He wanted to see how things would play out.
He sat on a bench in the park across from the school and just watched.
He saw students talking, laughing, and living their normal lives.
He saw the occasional flash of magic, a devil using a spell to make a book float to their hand, a fallen angel using a small flash of light to send a message.
They were so discreet, so good at hiding their true nature from the human world.
It was a fascinating game of hide-and-seek.
Low-class levels were around 3-5.
He didn't see any mid-class right now.
Arthur sat there for hours, lost in his thoughts.
As the sun began to set, he heard a new, powerful energy flare up near the school.
He knew what it was.
This was it. The first major event of the story.
The Fallen Angel, Raynare, was about to kill Issei Hyoudou.
He felt a conflict within himself. He could step in and save Issei. And it would change the course of history.
He got up and walked toward the source of the energy, keeping to the shadows.
Arthur saw Issei and Raynare, or "Yuma" as she called herself, talking near a fountain.
He could see the fear in Issei's eyes as Raynare's facade dropped.
"I am a fallen angel, and I have a job to do,"
She said, a wicked smile on her face.
"And you, Issei Hyoudou, are in the way."
She manifested her light spears, a pair of glowing yellow javelins.
She was ready to strike.
Raynare's light spears hummed with dangerous energy.
Issei's eyes went wide with terror as he realized his date was about to kill him.
He tried to back away, but it was no use. The fallen angel moved too fast.
The light spears shot forward, piercing Issei's body.
He gasped, a look of shock and pain on his face.
The light faded from his eyes, and his body fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
Raynare smirked, a cruel and satisfied expression on her face.
Arthur watched from the shadows, his expression grim.
He had stayed his hand, choosing to observe rather than interfere.
The events unfolded just as he expected, but a new conflict was beginning to stir within him.
"She didn't show up,"
Ophis's soft voice echoed in his mind,
"The plan has already changed."
Arthur didn't need her to tell him. He could feel it.
Rias Gremory, the one who was supposed to save Issei and reincarnate him as a devil, was nowhere to be found.
The powerful magical presence he had felt earlier was now gone.
Something had stopped her from getting here.
He took a step forward, his feet crunching on the gravel. He had to do something.
He couldn't just leave Issei's body here.
Even if the plan was to let him die and be reborn, the story was off-course.
"Rias isn't here. Issei's just dead. If I don't do something, he stays dead. The future will be completely different."
He walked over to Issei's body, his gaze fixed on the lifeless boy.
The light spears were gone, leaving behind only the fatal wounds. He knelt down, placing a hand on Issei's chest.
He could feel the faint hum of the Boosted Gear, a power source without a user, a powerful dragon waiting to be unleashed.
Arthur closed his eyes, his mind focusing on the Lifestream within him.
It was a well of endless energy, capable of creation and destruction.
He could use it to help Issei. He had a different kind of power than Rias, a different way to bring someone back from the brink.
He channeled a small amount of the Lifestream into Issei's body, not enough to heal him completely or bring him back to life in a human form, but just enough to keep his soul from slipping away.
He was holding him in place, a living battery for a soul that was meant to be reborn.
"What are you doing?"
"This isn't what we planned."
"The plan changed,"
Arthur replied,
"So I'm changing with it. I'm not going to resurrect him. I'm just… hitting the pause button. He'll still need to be reincarnated, but now, he won't be lost to the void."
He stood up, looking at the city lights in the distance. He had done what he could for now.
The rest was up to the devils.
The next step was to see who, if anyone, would come looking for him.
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