Dying wasn't on Kaiser's to-do list.
Hell! It wasn't on anyone's to-do list.
Death was something most people expected to face at the end of their journey, a culmination dictated by the natural course of life, inevitable yet unfathomably distant.
Kaiser, however, had no idea how it happened.
One moment, he was sprawled on his couch, bored to a stupor, doom-scrolling through an endless stream of trashy web novels, his fingers absently grazing the greasy remnants of leftover pizza.
The next moment—poof—everything went black.
Perhaps it was the aluminum foil he had carelessly left on the pizza while microwaving it, transforming what should have been a simple meal into an explosive disaster.
The image of his microwave bursting forth, a firework of circuitry and molten cheese, filled his mind. Yeah... thinking about it, that was most probably the cause of his untimely demise.
But something felt profoundly off... an unsettling aura hung in the air, twisting his gut with unease.
Even if the explosion from the microwave was enough to kill him if he were directly next to it, the problem here was that he was not even close to the microwave at that time.
He was sitting on his couch when the explosion occurred.
That is where the skepticism comes from.
Kaiser was the kind of man who approached life with extreme caution, meticulously weighing every choice to avoid potential harm or future complications.
Every decision was calculated, and every risk was assessed.
It was this type of life and mentality that allowed Kaiser to avoid risk, but also miss out on very big opportunities.
With this conclusion on his personality, when he drew his last breath unexpectedly, the shock reverberated through him like a thunderclap.
It was as if destiny itself had orchestrated a sinister plan, luring him to that precise moment with an invisible hand guiding him toward his demise.
No tragic monologues were echoing in the background, no mournful violin melodies to accompany his final moments—just an oppressive darkness and the faint, bitter aftertaste of disappointment lingering on his tongue.
He expected… nothing. But at the same time, he expected more.
It was an existential form of expectation that could bring someone to the brink of insanity.
...
One primal truth shared by all creatures—human or otherwise—was the universal experience of death. It was bound to happen one day, and yet, Kaiser had been oblivious to its looming presence.
Unprepared for the sudden finality, he found himself confronting the void with a peculiar sense of detachment; he anticipated, perhaps naively, that nothing awaited him.
And, indeed, he got nothing.
Or maybe he did get something.
The concept of non-existence was a paradox, one that he did not want to understand right now.
An infinite void enveloped him; he couldn't see, couldn't feel—only an endless blackness surrounded him, an embrace of everlasting peace that, for someone like him, felt more like relentless torment.
You could say that he saw black, but at the same time, black was not something that appeared here. That is why he said nothingness was a paradox.
Black was a color, a concept that some beings that live in existence made up. For black to be here meant that non-existence was made of existence in some way.
Truly... a paradox.
But, as was typical of his existence, something bizarre was bound to occur.
Kaiser didn't know when it happened.
Without warning, a jolt startled his senses back to life. Each one—touch, smell, hearing, and taste—trembled at the abrupt change that enveloped him.
The feeling was surreal.
Mind you, the experience that he felt before was like being cut off from all your senses, leaving you blind, deaf, touchless, and tasteless, just letting you rot with your own thoughts.
However, out of nowhere, your senses come back with a higher sense of purity, where you can feel anything and everything.
But the one that most surprised him was the last: Sight. But that was ironic; he couldn't see anything as everything and anything was black.
It was surprising because he never thought of seeing the afterlife like this: An endless void.
Normally, Kaiser would be extremely happy that his senses came back to life, but... this felt so strange.
It made him feel nervous and some type of dread.
Everything was so abrupt, as if someone willed his senses to come back to just mess with him.
This was bound to become true.
Just like he thought, Kaiser screamed when something happened out of nowhere. Or at least his soul screamed.
"AHHH!"
Kaiser felt that his sense of sight, which was the last one to awaken, suddenly came to see two things.
One of those things was the endless darkness of the void. The second thing Kaiser saw was the curtain of light that was flying in front of him as some sort of screen, which blinked into his reality with an otherworldly glow.
Kaiser squinted an instinctual reaction to shield his eyes from the intensity of the light.
'Wait... did he even have eyes right now? Was he hallucinating? Or could it be that some celestial being was playing an elaborate prank on him?'
As Kaiser was just thinking of what was actually happening, Kaiser heard it—vibrating through the stillness around him.
The sound was quite the sound; it was a repeating, slow yet steady sound. Kaiser was quickly able to identify the sound.
The sound of a heartbeat.
Yes.
In the endless void, where Nihility ruled, Kaiser heard the sound of a heartbeat.
This sound immediately pushed Kaiser to the verge of nervousness, confusion, and fear.
After death, as Kaiser was experiencing, he thought that he would just rot in the void as a lost soul that was deprived of its senses.
However, after God knew what time had passed, Kaiser heard a powerful heartbeat in the void.
If this wasn't strange to you, then you are more fucked up than most people realize.
Two fast deductions came from Kaiser's brain immediately. If he even had a brain.
One of them was that somehow, he triggered something that was not supposed to happen.
Second, and the most terrifying one, was that his soul was eaten by one of the creatures that exist in the void that he can't see.
Suppose we follow that second deduction, then the most logical reason as to why he could hear the sound of the heartbeat was that he was now inside the creature's stomach.
But, at the same time, this does not explain the light and the screen that appeared before him.
However, Kaiser couldn't think of this topic anymore as he heard something.
Yes..., he heard something after god-know what time.
[SYSTEM: Dimensional Lottery Booting Up.]
The sudden voice struck him like a thunderstorm.
Kaiser immediately turned to look around, or tried to do so. He didn't have a physical body. Was he losing his mind, right?
But before he started to go crazy and experience an existential crisis, something happened again.
The very screen that was in front of him, which had blinded him momentarily, began to shine even brighter, which blinded him once again.
The sheer amount of light that was emanating from the screen shifted as the words materialized, the sensation like a clear voice whispering directly to his thoughts, urging him to read and absorb this extraordinary moment with unwavering clarity.
The screen kept talking. Yes... because he could read it, and he could also hear a voice.
[Congratulations! You have been selected for the Great Dimensional Lottery.]
[Rolling now.]
Kaiser was confused as he heard the voice.
It was a female sensual robotic voice, and it sounded very similar to what he had heard back in a famous anime.
It sounded similar to the Voice of the World in the anime of Tensura?
Wait... he was reincarnated in the world of Tensura?
Holy shit!
"Wait! W-what are you?!"
However, Kaiser didn't think this was possible.
The world of Tensura is fictional, something that someone from his original world made. Not a world that existed outside their world.
Unless Veldanava had come down to their world, and he was Fuze himself. Which is impossible.
Or maybe that could be a possibility, but Kaiser thought that was impossible. But a thought came to him.
There is a saying that people who draw can't draw faces they haven't seen before. Although that quote is mostly used on thirst trap edits in TikTok nowadays, so... it doesn't count.
But what he meant is that maybe out there, in another galaxy, or in a different universe, people like this exist.
Kaiser asked as he was extremely confused, so confused, scared, and crazy.
'What the fuck is going on?'
Kaiser thought as he didn't think this situation was good at all.
Kaiser, as someone so cautious of everything, didn't think this situation was any good for him.
No.
In fact, nothing was good for him.
[What? What am I?]
An anonymous voice responded to him; the tone of the voice had confusion in it. Confused as to why the soul that was chosen had to question his existence. But Kaiser was even more confused.
This was not the voice of the robot that sounded like the Voice of the World.
Yes... This voice was different from the robotic yet sensual voice of the Voice of the World that spoke to him first.
[You can say I am the entity that is supervising the system of reincarnation. Nothing more.]
The entity spoke to Kaiser, and Kaiser was more confused.
"You meant the first Voice is the system of reincarnation?" Kaiser asked, this intrigued him to the extent of even asking more profound questions, when he damn-well knew it was not his position to do so.
[Correct. The voice you first heard was the voice of the system of reincarnation.]
Reincarnation?
The first thing that came to Kaiser's mind was the word "Isekai" when he heard the word reincarnation in the sentence.
Was the concept that he watched many times in light novels, and many cheat anime, even real?
The concept of the word "Isekai" is that a certain person dies in their previous world, and they later reincarnate in another one.
Most of the time, they get powerful abilities that set them apart from the rest of the characters, while sometimes, on the bad side of the stick, they can get bad luck and end up like Subaru Natsuki.
However, the concept of Isekai is something only seen in light novels, anime, and manga. Not something that was supposed to be real.
However, here he was, getting his perception of reality completely rewritten by a simple sentence.
At least this was not like those regression or cultivation stories from Korea and China. Those are worse than Japan's concept of Isekai.
In "regression" stories, something bad happened in the future, and the main character was trying to prevent that from happening. But this results in changing the timeline.
This is something that did not happen to him, as he did not go back to his real world.
And in cultivation stories, it was simply slop.
Yes... There are good cultivation stories, but most of them you can't understand for shit because the Chinese authors don't explain in detail for Western readers.
Of course, the story was created for Chinese readers, so you can't expect the author to go out of his way to explain things for a foreigner.
Yet, a sentence that was made casually, as if the faceless entity was simply drinking coffee in a coffee shop on a random Tuesday, changed his entire perception of life.
Kaiser, ever the cautious one, quickly managed to make his thoughts disappear. He knew that acting like this would get him nowhere.
Now that he knew that the concept of Isekai was truly possible, he was a bit excited, but he kept his composure.
"Ah... okay," Kaiser responded.
"I have a question. How come I am here?"
Kaiser asked; he didn't truly believe he had died. It was so unrealistic. Someone as cautious as he is not easy to kill.
The entity who was asked that question didn't respond. That was a good question. Why was Kaiser even here?
As the entity began to see into the world records, his face began to get paler and paler.
A mess up in the system? Did he kill someone who was not meant to be killed?
Well, he couldn't say anything to Kaiser, so he simply said.
[Well... it was your turn to die... I guess...] The entity was losing a lot of face here, but he couldn't dare say the truth.
"I was not supposed to die, right?" Kaiser asked. He was getting the hang of what was going on.
[Yes...] In the end, the entity couldn't hide the truth if Kaiser had managed to find it.
While his response was lame, it was still a response.
The situation was hard for him to digest, so that was the only type of response he could give.
Kaiser turned back to the screen again; he could see the previous words that the entity said. It was akin to reading with subtitles.
For example, double-taping left on the left screen when watching a YouTube video to make it go back ten seconds.
Kaiser, as if trying to make sure what he heard was correct, went back to read again.
Sure... everything the entity said was true.
Kaiser sighed. He just heard he didn't want to hear, but he did, and there is nothing he can do against it.
He understood better than anyone, as he had theoretical experience from the many times he read and watched Isekai anime, that when facing an all-powerful entity inside their domain, you don't argue, you don't complain, nor make demands.
Especially when you are weak. Kaiser is weak compared to an entity such as the supervisor of the system of reincarnation, let alone the system of reincarnation.
In a situation like this, you become the little puppy that they like to see shiver; you can only agree to their demands, even if you don't like them.
The only thing you could do was to find a way out to cheat and get as many advantages as you can, and later hope for the best. Or simply rely on the karma and luck that your past life had for you.
Kaiser calmed down; he closed his sense of sight for a second as if trying to replicate the feeling of closing his eyes for a brief moment, and later breathed in.
However, when Kaiser opened his eyes once again, he couldn't help but roll his eyes to the back of his very soul.
Kaiser's sweat dropped as he watched a massive roulette wheel spin before his very own eyes. The neon colors of gold and black panels whirled past like some casino fever dream.
He half-expected to lose and receive a reward, saying '10% off your next reincarnation' as a prize.
Of course, he was being sarcastic; he wouldn't want that. But if it happened, he wouldn't be surprised.
But Kaiser was a bit nervous.
This meant he was going to be reborn or reincarnated into another world, right?
"Is this what it means to be Isekaid?"
Hell... he hopes that his life doesn't end up like the life of Subaru Natsuki, a protagonist of one of the anime that he watched before.
That young man had it rough, and that in itself was an understatement. His life was quite literally hell.
Kaiser NEVER EVER wanted to be like Natsuki Subaru.
Regardless of what he was thinking now, Kaiser didn't want any problems.
However, as he was thinking of that very notion, the notion of not becoming Subaru Natsuki, he realized another problem.
The very problem was his luck. His luck had always been bad, or at least mediocre. Or at least that is what he believed to be.
Is this going to be the time that his bad luck gets in the way of him living a decent life in another world?
As that very thought passed through his mind, Kaiser just wanted to cry, but in his current state, in his soul state, he could not cry.
Kaiser didn't want to live like Subaru in his next life.
But Kaiser was still a bit mad at the scene before him.
Was his next life going to be decided by some roulette wheel? Was his life some kind of currency at an entertainment casino? Was his life just a simulation?
But Kaiser just sighed and calmed down. However, the following moment is when he opened his eyes, well... what he thought were eyes.
Kaiser opened his eyes and later closed them as he heard the sound of the roulette wheel moving, but secretly opened them to see the prizes.
Kaiser saw many skills, abilities, and techniques going around the roulette wheel.
Every time Kaiser saw a good ability that he wanted, the very next second, the skill/ability was gone and replaced with another ability.
It was like searching for a water bottle inside a cooler box at a Mexican party, which was impossible.
You could see one, but you had to search way too deep, and the challenge was to grab the water bottle before you freeze your hand with all the ice and cold water inside.
Regardless of what he saw and thought, Kaiser did not raise his hopes. He had already thought that his life was going to be like Natsuki Subaru's, or at least somewhat better.
'Calm down, Kaiser.... be like a Great Sage; you must be strategic yet wild. Expect the unexpected and unexpect the expected. Be like Buddha.'
Kaiser thought as he tried to calm his non-existent nerves.
Kaiser expected to gain nothing powerful.
However, if he was bound to acquire a skill or a power, he wanted at least something that was going to be useful for him.
Something that didn't have so many flaws and loopholes. Something perfectly suited for him. Something that reflected his very soul.
Kaiser was the type of person who had an insatiable hunger for companionship, the power to protect, and the power to be free from the shackles of the world.
Not only that, but Kaiser was also a perfectionist and a strategic man; nothing logical or illogical escaped his mind.
You can say that his entire being was cautious of everything, as he valued his life and the lives of others.
However, it didn't mean that Kaiser didn't value death or evil.
The reason was: Balance.
Even though it was one of those stupid concepts that people believed in and understood, they didn't try to indulge themselves in it.
The concept of Balance comes from the idea that everything has a state of harmony.
One of the best representations of balance comes from the Taoist Philosophy, which explains the idea of Yin and Yang.
The philosophy of Yin and Yang comes from the idea that Balance is not static, but rather about dynamic harmony.
Light and Darkness; active and passive. Male and Female. These opposites aren't enemies but complementary forces that define each other.
However, due to different perspectives on life, different people have different values, and those values lead to unstable decisions and views of the world.
Just like it was mentioned, it is a concept that most people understand and respect. Still, people have other priorities, and they don't follow that concept.
Kaiser respected life and death, women and men. Light and Darkness.
Kaiser respects everything very much. I mean... who wouldn't? He died and now understands the true meaning of life.
That is why he now doesn't value one over the other, as both are meant to be two faces of the same coin.
It was like reaching enlightenment.
In this regard, he expected to get something that matched and reflected his soul perfectly.
Kaiser closed his eyes once again, not wanting to apply his bad luck through his eyes to the spinning wheel.
He heard a sound. The spinning wheel came to a stop, and seconds later, he heard a powerful voice.
[Confirmed.]
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! You have acquired the Perfect and Absolute Ultimate-Ultimate Skill, "Beelzebub, God of Gluttony."]
[This is the perfected edition with a 999,999,999,999,999,999,999 increase multiplier to all sub-skills and main skills.]
[This skill originates from the world of Tensura.]
Kaiser blinked, or at least tried to, because it seemed he didn't have a physical body anymore.
Beelzebub? Isn't this the current overpowered ultimate skill that Rimuru Tempest, the protagonist of the anime and light novel known as 'Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken,' has?
This was a hell of an overpowered skill!
No!
Before his very thoughts could diverge, the very next second, he felt a sudden change.
He felt a very unwholesome, overpowered hunger gnaw at his soul. It was the power that exceeded a super black hole.
No... even that statement felt wrong.
Beelzebuth seems to have the power to eat anything and everything; even a super black hole seems to be nothing compared to the power of this Ultimate Skill.
It was the power that always strived to devour other things to allow its master to grow stronger and satisfy its endless hunger.
It took several minutes before Kaiser could feel that he could control the feeling. It was as if the ability was being fused with him at the very moment.
Yet, what surprised was the change of names of the skill.
The original name of that Ultimate Skill is "Beelzebub, Lord of Gluttony." Not the name that he heard and read, which is "Beelzebub, God of Gluttony."
This must be an upgraded and perfected skill of that original ultimate skill.
When he thought things were going to be normal from now on, the wheel spun once again.
Kaiser, on instinct, closed his eyes; he was not trying to see his bad luck affect the roulette and get something that he didn't want at all.
The next second, he opened his eyes, or at least re-opened the sense of 'sight' once again, and watched and heard as the voice told him his next price.
[DING! CONGRATULATIONS! You have acquired the Ultimate-Ultimate Skill, "Raphael, Supreme Goddess Queen of Divine Wisdom."]
[This is the Perfected Manas Edition.]
[This Ultimate Skill comes with a 999,999,999,999,999,999,999 percent multiplier to all sub-skills and main skills.]
[This skill doesn't require energy to function; it is part of the user, and it will obey the user.]
[Infinite percent loyal. She is your new soulmate. She is designed to be a Goudere Yandere.]
End of Episode 1 Part 1.