Darkness.
Silence.
Heat.
These were the first sensations that invaded the mind of someone who, until a moment ago, had been certain he was dead.
There was no light, no air, nothing he could call a "world." Only a viscous space, as if immersed in a warm, dense liquid, enveloping him on all sides.
"Where… am I?" he thought, voiceless, only a spark of consciousness clinging to his very existence.
He tried to open his eyes, but there were no eyes. He tried to breathe, but there were no lungs to respond. He tried to move, but a strange, fragile, and heavy body held him immobile.
The first reaction was panic.
The second, denial.
And the third, the most dangerous of all, was curiosity.
Something was wrong—or perhaps, incredibly right.
The Viscous Space
The place he found himself in was not a coffin, nor a cryogenic chamber, much less a prison. There was no wood to bang on, no metal to scratch, no chains to break. Only that muffled silence, accompanied by a constant, rhythmic sound, almost like a thump-thump… thump-thump… thump-thump…
A heartbeat.
Not his own. Another, bigger, stronger, filling the entire space.
—…it can't be.
His mind began to connect the dots. He wasn't breathing, but he was alive. He wasn't seeing, but he was perceiving. He wasn't walking, but he was existing. He was in a place that protected him, but at the same time held him captive.
And then he realized:
"This… feels like a womb."
The idea was absurd. Ridiculous, even. But every sensation, every detail confirmed it. The viscous space, the constant heartbeat, the inability to breathe air and still be alive… everything pointed to this.
First Contact with Energy
It was in that moment of uncertainty that he felt it for the first time.
A strange energy flowed around him. It wasn't air, it wasn't heat, it wasn't electricity. It was something more… pure. Dense. Alive.
It was as if every particle of that liquid around him pulsed with its own vibration, which echoed within his mind.
He couldn't name it. He couldn't define it. But he knew he could feel it.
"This didn't exist… in my past life."
His thoughts wandered. Little by little, memories resurfaced. A cold bed, a tired body, the frustration of an ordinary life, and a wish never fulfilled:
"If I could choose… I would be born in another world. A world of magic. A world of demons. A world like… High School DxD."
His nonexistent heart raced at the thought.
Could it be possible?
First Tests
He focused his attention on that energy, trying to understand it.
First, he simply observed.
It flowed in gentle currents, like invisible water. It entered him, exited him, circulated.
Then he tried something bolder: he imagined the energy moving. He didn't force it, didn't press it, simply projected the idea as if it were a mental visualization.
And, to his surprise, the energy responded.
A slight movement. An oscillation. A different vibration, as if to say, "I'm listening."
He suppressed the urge to smile—especially since he didn't yet have a mouth. But inside his mind, the excitement was palpable.
"So… you respond to my imagination."
Self-Diagnosis
If this energy responded, then he could use it as a tool. But for what?
First, he needed to understand himself.
Carefully, he guided that flow into the fragile body he felt was his. Slowly, like someone groping in the dark, he mapped out shapes and boundaries.
Small arms. Short legs. A tiny torso. Incomplete organs. Fragile bones.
The realization dawned on him like a bolt of lightning:
"I... am a fetus."
The inner silence was broken. He was stunned. Then incredulous. Then curious once more.
To be reincarnated was one thing. But to be reincarnated while still in the womb, conscious of every detail? That was far beyond all expectations.
Reflections
His mind teemed with questions:
Who are my parents?
What kind of world is this?
Angel, fallen angel, yokai, dragon, or even something entirely new?
This energy… is it magic? Ki? Chakra? Senjutsu? Or demonic power?
He had no answers. Yet.
But he had time. Lots of time.
And while trapped in that cocoon, he could use that time as best he could: thinking, testing, planning.
The First Theory
If this energy responded to imagination, then there were no fixed limits. It could be used to heat, cool, move, expand, strengthen… it all depended on how his mind could shape it.
And if so, what else could it achieve?
"If I can't act physically, I can at least lay the foundation. Create an internal system. Shape my body to be better, stronger, more perfect."
It was a dangerous but seductive ambition.
If he was truly a demon, then this energy was demonic power. And if demonic power was shaped by imagination, as he remembered from DxD, then he had the advantage: he had knowledge, he had creativity, and he had determination.
The Decision
In that dark space, protected and trapped at the same time, he made his first true decision in this new life:
"I will not waste this chance. If the world threw me here, if life made me reborn... then I will master this energy. I will understand every law, every limit. And when I am born, I will not be just another one. I will be the one who writes my own rules."
The external heartbeat echoed, like a distant drum, sealing his promise.
Thump-thump... thump-thump... thump-thump...