I opened my eyes to nothing but white.
At first I thought I was in a hospital room. The color was too clean, too bright. But there were no beeping machines. No distant voices. No antiseptic smell burning my nose.
There was nothing.
I tried to move, but I could not feel my arms. My legs. I could not even feel the rise and fall of my chest. It was like I existed without a body. Just awareness floating in an endless blank space.
Memory came back in fragments.
The alley. The knives. The pipe.
The stab wound in my lower back.
The sirens.
The girls' faces.
Then darkness.
A strange calm settled over me as the pieces fit together.
So I died, huh.
"Yes. You have died."
The voice came from nowhere and everywhere at once. It did not echo, yet it surrounded me completely.
I tried to turn toward it, but there was nothing to turn toward. Only endless white in every direction.
"Where am I?" I asked, forcing my thoughts into words. "And who are you?"
"You will not be able to see me," the voice replied, calm and almost amused. "As for who I am, you may refer to me as Renzor."
Renzor.
The name felt strange in the emptiness.
"So, Renzor," I said, the weight of the situation settling in, "what is this place? And why am I here?"
"Well, you may be knowledgeable about the Norse myths. The Halls of Valhalla," Renzor began. "That is a localized interpretation of this place. What you are standing in is the entry point to a hall of warriors. You are here because you died in intense combat, and more importantly, you reveled in it."
His words settled over me like a verdict.
A hall of warriors.
So that was my reward.
"Alright," I said slowly, absorbing it. "Then why am I stuck outside the gate?"
There was a pause, heavy but not uncomfortable.
"I pulled you here before your entry," Renzor replied. "Because I wish to offer you a chance."
A chance.
The word echoed in the endless white, and for the first time since waking in this void, something close to anticipation stirred inside me.
"And what exactly is this chance?" I asked, unable to hide the anticipation creeping into my voice.
"Well," Renzor replied smoothly, "you may choose to be reincarnated into a world of my selection. In exchange for accepting, you will be granted five wishes of your own choosing."
Five wishes.
That alone would have been enough to make anyone pause.
"And what world would I be sent to?" I asked.
There was a brief hum, almost thoughtful.
"High School DxD," Renzor said. "Also known in certain circles as Draconic Deus."
The name immediately sparked recognition. Devils. Angels. Fallen. Sacred Gears. Dragons. Chaos hiding beneath a modern world.
I had watched it when I was younger. I remembered the fights. The power systems. The absurd escalation of strength.
A slow grin formed in the emptiness.
I know the story, at least mostly. I watched the anime back when I was a teenager.
Yeah.
That could be fun.
"Yeah, lets do it, I'll take the chance." I say with excitement.
"Alright, now we just have to get your wishes stated and I can send you on your way." Renzor said
"Are there any limits I should know about before giving my wishes?" I ask.
"Yes, there are a few limits. No wishing for anything that can manipulate reality. No asking for anything of similar tier to Omniscience, Omnipotence, or Omnipresence. No wishing for more wishes. And no wishing for anything overpowered. Now, give me your five wishes." Renzor states.
"Hmm, alright. For my first wish, I would like a perfect fusion of the Kure Bloodline and Hanma Bloodline." I say.
"Yeah. Let's do it. I'll take the chance," I said, excitement building in my voice.
"Very well," Renzor replied. "State your wishes, and I will send you on your way."
Before rushing in, I paused. "Are there any limits I should know about?"
"Yes. There are boundaries," Renzor said evenly. "You may not wish for abilities that directly manipulate reality. You may not request power on the level of omniscience, omnipotence, or omnipresence. You may not ask for additional wishes. And you may not wish for anything excessively overpowered beyond the natural structure of the world you are entering."
So no god mode. Fair enough.
"Alright," I said, thinking carefully. "For my first wish, I want a perfect fusion of the Kure Bloodline and the Hanma Bloodline."
For a moment, there was silence.
Then Renzor responded, intrigued. "Explain your interpretation."
"I want the full genetic potential of both bloodlines without any instability. The Removal of the Kure, with complete control and no backlash. The monstrous physicality and combat instincts of the Hanma lineage. I want them perfectly merged into a single body that can grow naturally stronger over time, without artificial ceilings."
The white space around me felt heavier, as if evaluating my words.
"A powerful foundation," Renzor said at last. "It does not violate the limits. Your first wish is acceptable."
"Alright," I continued, already thinking ahead. "For my second wish, I want the complete knowledge and experience of the Kure Style, the Niko Style, and the Formless Style."
The techniques. The footwork. The counters. The timing. I did not just want theory. I wanted lived experience carved into instinct.
"That is acceptable," Renzor replied. "However, understand this. To possess true mastery of the Formless Style, you must also carry the memory of the Kodoku ritual tied to its creation."
The word Kodoku lingered in the void.
I knew what that meant. Isolation. Brutality. Survival sharpened into something inhuman.
"That's fine," I said after a brief pause. "There are worse things to remember."
Very well.
"Now," I said, feeling the weight of my choices stack higher and higher, "for my third wish, I want the UI state from Lookism."
There was a longer silence this time.
"Ultra Instinct as adapted within that narrative," Renzor clarified. "A state in which the body moves independently of conscious thought, maximizing efficiency and reaction."
"Exactly."
"It will not be permanent," Renzor said. "It will activate under conditions of extreme focus or danger. Overuse will strain your body. You will not begin with perfect mastery."
A faint smile formed.
"That's fine," I replied. "I'll grow into it."
"For my fourth wish," I said, steady and deliberate, "I want high compatibility with all energy types in High School DxD."
Holy power. Demonic power. Senjutsu. Touki. Even dragon-based energies. I did not want to be locked into a single path. I wanted the freedom to adapt.
"That is acceptable," Renzor replied. "You will possess an unusually high affinity for external and internal energy systems within that world. However, compatibility does not equal automatic mastery. You will still need training."
"Of course," I answered. Growth was part of the appeal.
I took a brief moment before stating the final one.
"For my fifth wish, I want the healing factor of Wolverine in his prime."
Silence followed. Longer than before.
"You are aware," Renzor said slowly, "that such regeneration borders on excessive resilience."
"It won't make me invincible," I replied. "Just extremely hard to put down. I'll still feel pain. I can still be overwhelmed. But I won't go down from a single mistake."
The white void seemed to hum in consideration.
"Very well," Renzor concluded. "You will possess a regenerative factor comparable to that interpretation. It will consume stamina. It will not render you immortal. Catastrophic destruction of the entire body with no remains will result in death."
That was fair.
"All five wishes are within acceptable bounds," Renzor declared. "Are you certain of your choices?"
I did not hesitate.
"Yeah," I said with a grin. "I'm sure."
"Then your wishes are finalized," Renzor said. "As a small indulgence, and because your actions in life were not without merit, I will allow you to design your appearance."
A small perk. I would take it.
"Hm. Thanks," I replied, thinking it through carefully. "I want messy white hair. Not styled, just naturally wild. A handsome face, sharp but not overly delicate. The signature Kure eyes. And the physique of Ohma Tokita. Lean, defined, built for combat rather than show. Around six foot three in height."
The void seemed to ripple faintly as if adjusting to the image forming in my mind.
"Very well," Renzor answered. "Your genetic structure will reflect these specifications while remaining biologically coherent with your first wish. Your appearance will not draw supernatural suspicion, though it will be considered striking."
That was fine.
I did not need to look otherworldly.
Just dangerous.
"Now I shall send you on your way," Renzor said, his voice carrying a faint trace of amusement. "Do have fun."
The endless white began to dim.
It did not shatter or collapse. It simply faded, like light being slowly turned down.
The sensation of weight returned first. Then pressure. Then the distant awareness of something like a heartbeat.
My heartbeat.
The darkness swallowed everything.
And then, somewhere far away, I felt something new begin.