There was a popular saying in movies, Tv shows and novels.
It could start in a variety of ways. Nonetheless, it usually ended with the following….
“Build something greater on the ashes”.
And from what I could remember, it was a phrase that was mostly associated to madmen with a knack for world destruction and domination.
People like Hitler, Thanos, Zod, Luthor, Ultron, Ozai...... The last one quite literally took that concept to near literal fruition. Almost burning everything he didn't approve of on his world to ash.
The concept in their minds were to destroy everything, and rebuild on what remained. Or what managed to survive their catastrophe, into their image.
99% of the time, they never succeeded. Amd the remaining 1% usually had their work undone. But still.
I wasn't a particularly ambitious person per se. At least, I would like to think so. Perhaps it was because of the environment I was brought up in, or the fact that years of grueling hard work and effort never led me to amount to much in life.
Another famous saying. Success consisted of 99% hard work and 1% Talent. The first saying could only be considered a statement which I had little knowledge on.
This one, however, was something I experienced myself. So I can confidently say that the latter was more or less a large load of BS.
After all, all those years of slaving my ass off didn't yield any valuable results. I watched as the status between me and the truly successful in life remained the same way I initially saw it. As large as a dimensional chasm.
It couldn't be helped. My talent in school wasn't enough to stimulate a qualitative change.
Compared to those who were born rich, wealthy and had valuable connections, I had no advantage, no edge. Basically, lost at the starting line.
Which led me to think of yet another famous saying. Work smarter, not harder.
This phrase might sound pleasant and easy to do, but it would face practical problems when placed in reality.
Working smarter would many times entail scheming, cunning and plotting against others. As well as pushing you to do things that would usually violate your moral conscience.
As well as your dignity and self-esteem.
Especially when a former classmate asks you to kneel to him so he can recommend you to a job position.
After working hard yet finding nothing and having such an opportunity presented before you, would it be smart to take it?
Perhaps.
But would your pride allow such? Mine certainly didn't. Not everyone faces similar situations, but you get the idea.
Perhaps I should have adhered more to that motto during my lifetime. Unfortunately, it was too late by the time I realized it.
After years of hard effort, the only thing I received was a slice of reality. So yeah ..... I wouldn't define myself as ambitious.
Not anymore.
A normal person would let themselves go, immerse themselves in their imaginations, and use fantasies to distract themselves from their failures.
I was the same. Writing novels and fanfictions to take my mind away. But I was more realistic.
The whole rebirth shebang was never something I took for an actual possibility, hence never truly interested me. Until I was involved in it.
I never thought about what followed. I mean, I'd hoped to get another chance to relive my life. Perhaps ninety percent of the population would share my sentiment.
So sure, it was an unexpected surprise. But I always thought even if it happened by some miracle, it would be in my world. Or ....... At least in the same universe.
So see, my situation was rather complicated.
As it turns out, the afterlife did exist.
Heaven and hell ...... Believe it or not. At that moment, the image of a red skinned cunt with horns, a tail and an ugly pitchfork stabbing me through the ass with a nasty grin on his face appeared in my mind.
I shook with a slight tremble.
But apparently, that wasn't where I'd be going.
Currently, I am in an empty white space. There were no angels, demons, or humans. Heck, I didn't even know if the former two existed.
What was before me, however, was a list of floating words that I could only assume to be my possible options.
Options I was more or less familiar with.
[Fear The Walking Dead]
[Ikaris/ Death Metal]
[Son Of Ares]
[A New Man Of Steel]
[An Immortal In Naruto]
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
[I'm Energy In DC]
[In A Darker World]
Like earlier stated, I was a fanfiction author. And these, were the titles of the novels I wrote.
My side profession allowed me to instantly understand what I was supposed to do, and my heart sank immediately.
Shit!
I should have written better novels.
….
Another famous saying. A time traveler's greatest cheating tool, is plot knowledge.
Knowing the world you were in, or on your way to was practically a short to middle term semi omniscience.
For fanfiction authors, it was usually the first Mc perk.
For me, however, I was starting to wish I had just gone on to the afterlife.
As while, I prided myself in providing quality fics ...... At least good enough to attract a major audience, I would be damned if I had to live in one of the works I wrote.
Most of them were dark death world's with edgy, murderous characters, some being the Mc's themselves.
The chances of my new life ending the same day it began was as high as 90%
1: Fear The Walking dead.
A zombie fanfic from The Walking Dead series.
Unlike the Mc's in most novels. I was no survival expert and was quite sure I'd die on the first day.
2: Ikaris/ Death Metal.
A crossover between Marvel and DC. With the eternals character Ikaris appearing in the DC Dark Multiverse.
Earth -22, the home of the Laughing bat.
Compared to the Walking Dead, I wasn't sure which was worse.
3: Son Of Ares.
Literally no explanation needed. The disasters in this one were almost equal to the daily happenings of Gotham city.
4: A New Man Of Steel.
Speaks for itself. The rebirth of a morally gray Superman in the Man Of Steel Movie.
I didn't know the timeframe I would be dropped in. And certainly wasn't going to risk the chance of Landing in metropolis during the battle with Zod.
5: An Immortal In Naruto.
It's Naruto. Do I need to say more?
6: I'm Energy In DC.
The others could still be given a try. This one? Absolutely not. My life would basically be over if ..... No. When I meet the Mc.
And that brings us to the last option. And possibly the only one I felt was actually doable.
7: In A Darker World
An Avatar The Last Airbender fanfic. In my opinion, this was my only choice. Everything else be damned.
It was the first one I ever wrote, hence, the worst since I was still a newbie to writing, but it was precisely due to this that it was the most peaceful.
It was basically the same thing as the series with a few exceptions. The most notable being Aang losing the final battle with Ozai and the gang struggling to deal with the aftermath after his death.
The best thing was that I didn't create any self inserts. No other time travelers, just me.
It wasn't all that great, but it was the best I got.
I took a glance before turning to the others to give them one last look.
Not gonna happen.
Then, I picked the last one and so my new life began.
<< World Selected. Automatically generating random Identity >>
Wait! Would I get to choose who I became myself?
<< Please select your Drop Era. >>
19,829 BG Era Of Raava
9,850 BG Era Of Wan
762 BG Era Of Szeto
500 BG Era Of Yangchen
345 BG Era Of Kuruk
312 BG Era Of Kyoshi
82 BG Era Of Roku
0 AG Era Of Sozin
99 AG Era Of Aang
[The limits of chosen world currently ends at the Era Of Aang. You can choose a specific point in time in any Era between the first and the last in the options listed regardless of whether it is on the list or not. The above are simply the most notable periods for comprehensive understanding]
[More Avatar periods exist within certain time-frames that aren't mentioned. The world in general, culture, heritage and geographical conditions differ as the centuries pass by]
[You will be directly dropped in the specified year you choose at your discretion. Anything that happens after is your problem to deal with, so do choose carefully]
“...”. I could feel my eyelids twitching slightly.
I was a fan of the series. That was for sure, since I wrote a fanfic on it, but this list was beyond my comprehension.
There were avatar periods I didn't even know existed. And that was excluding the ones not listed here.
Who in bloody hell was Avatar Szeto?
And why was 0 AG the era of Sozin? He wasn't an avatar, but he had his own timeframe.
Looking at the other time dates, my eyes couldn't help but twitch even more.
19000 plus years into the past? The earth at that time would probably be the same as described at the beginning of the Book of Genesis.
What was I going that far back to do?
I'm pretty sure humans weren't even alive at that point. So who in hell would give birth to me? Wait ..... Does that mean that I won't be reincarnated, but just dropped into the elemental nations as I am now?
A chill ran down my illusory spine, chilling me more than the thought of meeting the devil.
If that were the case, I would be devoured by Spirit beings on my first day.
Or would I be reborn as a spirit during the era of Raava and Vatuu thus gaining immortality?
No matter the answer, there was no way I was going to risk it.
So far, there wasn't a race change option. And I don't think I'd go for it even if it was there.
Moving on, I could practically exclude anything below 83 AG. The time periods before that were too vague.
Even the era of Wan. The first perk, plot knowledge, would instantly disappear.
As for why 83? That was the year Zuko was born. Nevertheless .......
'99 AG'.
I made my choice. The thought of not knowing anything that could be used to my advantage for sixteen years was the ultimate deciding factor.
99 AG marked the beginning of the plot. I only knew of some vague events before it.
<< Please make your perk wish >>
My eyes lit up brighter than stars. Alright, now we're getting somewhere.