Going back to the moment just after Noah's death.
Noah's body hit the floor with a dull thud. Blood spread like a crimson river across the laboratory floor, but as the world seemed to stop around him, something strange began to happen.
From his head, a faint blue glow began to emerge, quickly taking the form of a plasma orb that floated in the air, pulsating rhythmically. Its surface rippled and sparked with energy, and at its center, embedded like a crystalline heart, a translucent tesseract spun slowly, reflecting iridescent flashes.
The tesseract began to tremble, vibrating with a frequency that made the air around the orb resonate, and it started to rise. First slowly, floating over the corpse, then ascending with greater speed, passing through the laboratory ceiling and cutting through the darkness of the night.
A beam of pure energy shot out from the orb and struck the clouds. The impact opened a rift in space, creating a vortex of light that twisted and fractured the very fabric of space around it. The energy surrounding the orb churned, trying to drag it toward the newly opened abyss, like a torrent trying to sweep away a rock.
But then, a halo of intense light descended, enveloping the orb, which was in fact Noah's soul. The radiation was blinding and cold, cutting through the spatial rift like a knife and forcing the energy dragging it to retreat. The tesseract, still trembling, stopped.
With a sharp hum, the halo of light absorbed the orb and ascended into the night sky, carrying Noah's soul from the earth and transporting it into the unknown.
—Where am I?
Whiteness stretched infinitely in all directions. In a vast empty space, Noah's soul floated in nothingness. There was no ground, no sky, no horizon. Only an infinite abyss of whiteness.
The entity that was once Noah Astaros blinked —or at least, felt like it did— as his essence fluctuated uneasily.
—This is strange…
He didn't remember how he had arrived there, but something told him he had been in this void for a long time. He simply floated, letting time pass without urgency.
After what seemed like an eternity, the endless white was disrupted when a huge blue orb appeared before his soul, startling him slightly.
—What is this? —Noah wondered aloud.
A voice resonated around him, soft and clear, genderless, yet commanding absolute respect.
—I am what humans call the Consciousness of the World.
Noah felt somewhat dazed by what he was experiencing right now, but this enormous orb intrigued him so much that he set aside his existential questions about the soul or the afterlife. As a scientist, he believed that once dead, the journey would end and there would be no afterlife, but he seemed to be wrong.
—The Consciousness of the World? Like in those novels I used to read in my youth?
—Correct.
After a moment of silence, Noah asked again.
—Why exactly am I here?
—Noah Astaros! You died exactly 12 hours, 30 minutes, and 27 seconds ago. Due to your significant contribution to the world, your karma has accumulated enough to qualify.
—Karma? Qualify? For what?
—Karma is a causal force that measures the impact of your actions on the world. Your discovery will change the destiny of humanity, so your karma has increased to exceptional levels. In the last few hours, it continued to grow as your research spread.
Noah's thoughts stopped for a moment.
—Does that mean… Luna?
If his karma had continued to increase, there was only one explanation.
—Haha… that girl actually did it.
His soul seemed to shine more brightly. Although he had died, his retaliation had worked.
—So… what does this mean for me?
—Your accumulated karma grants you the right to reincarnate.
—Reincarnation, huh? Tell me more.
—Since you come from Nexus Earth, you cannot reincarnate here again. The souls of this world are too powerful and retain their memories, which could create instability.
—So… you'll send me to another world?
For the first time, the idea of anime isekai and the novels he used to read in his free time didn't seem so ridiculous.
Now that he had fully regained clarity, his mind no longer felt as clouded as before.
It was then that something inside him caught his attention.
A crystal cube embedded in his soul emitted a faint gleam, spinning gently, as if reacting to the newfound clarity of his consciousness. Noah frowned.
Then a memory struck his mind.
Years ago, he had traveled with a friend to the Sahara, to a place known as the Eye of the Sahara. While exploring, he fell into an underground cave. There he saw a crystal tesseract, similar to this one. When he touched it back then, the cube vanished as if by magic.
At the time, Noah attributed it to a hallucination caused by heatstroke. He had been sick for an entire week after that encounter and never gave the matter another thought.
---
—Consciousness of the World… —he asked aloud, with more curiosity than concern—. Do you know what this thing inside me is?
The voice of the Consciousness of the World resonated directly in his mind.
—If you wish to know the nature of that cube, you will have to spend 1,000 Karma Points.
Noah narrowed his eyes.
—Karma Points? And what exactly is that? Sounds like some cheap game system.
—Karma Points are the unit that regulates your interaction with the world. Every action that alters the balance generates a measurable variation. That value can be accumulated and used.
Noah processed this in silence.
—So it's a currency. You influence the world, the world pays you.
—Correct. Accumulated points can be exchanged for objects, identities, and coordinates to other worlds. Their function is to offer control and advantage to those who have proven themselves worthy through their actions.
—Okay, I understand… —Noah murmured, mentally evaluating—. I have 10,000 KP… spending a thousand to find out what this is doesn't seem like a bad deal.
—So, do you accept spending the points? —asked the Consciousness of the World.
—I accept. Deduct the thousand. I want a full explanation.
—The cube is a legacy object created by an entity of extreme power. It functions as a system. This system will assign you missions. Upon completing them, you obtain void energy. When you accumulate one hundred units, you can activate a transfer to another world registered in its coordinates. Each world contains paths designed to expose you to masters, techniques, artifacts, or key situations that accelerate your development.
—In essence, it's a key with a guided itinerary.
—Yes. It contains over a thousand different universal coordinates. If I had not intervened, your soul would have been randomly sent to one of those destinations to reincarnate under its conditions. Your positive karma demonstrates that you are worthy, and for that reason, I offer you this opportunity: your soul will not be sent randomly. You will be able to shape your own destiny using your karmic points.
A translucent blue screen appeared before Noah.
Karma Points: 9,000 KP
His eyes scanned the interface, which resembled a video game store. There were four main sections: Objects, Abilities, Worlds, and Identity.
Noah entered the Worlds section and was immediately surprised.
—No way…
The list contained names he knew all too well.
Naruto, Highschool DxD, Tensura, Harry Potter…
Numerous anime, video game, and movie worlds were available. His mind shifted into analysis mode.
If he could choose a world and bring skills or objects with him, he needed to make his selection strategically.