------??-----
Somewhere in the divine realm, majestic cranes flew outside a large temple with Roman-style architecture. The temple was supported by large white pillars the size of skyscrapers, while the building had no end in sight.
The inside was equally large, with hundreds of chambers containing who knew what inside. The walls depicted murals and carvings of smiling children and adults whose faces beamed with joy, clowns, and jesters serving their kings.
The passageway contains sculptures of hundreds of creatures, some humanoid, some reptilian, and many more. All of them gave off a certain energy; some were faint, and some radiated brightly. Their attires were also vastly different; some wore medieval clothes, others wore outfits of jesters and clowns, and some wore simple modern clothes while others didn’t at all.
All of this depicted the difference in culture between all these creatures, yet one thing remained common in all of them, an aura that brought calm to the mind, joy, and happiness.
As one proceeded further in, they would encounter an enormous gate, depicting things beyond understanding. Beyond that gate lay a room covered in various colours with a red carpet leading to a majestic throne made of the softest of cushions.
Besides the carpet, once again there were four statues, but no murals on the walls this time. Each statue emitted an energy far outclassing those in the passageway. Alongside the expression of joy, they also emitted another emotion.
The fat-bearded dwarf depicted charity.
The tall, intimidating human depicted power.
The old, serene elf depicted peace.
The massive, possessive dragon depicted greed.
Yet on the throne slept a beauty with a modest figure. Her face had the innocence of a child, the vigour of a youth, the caressing gaze of a mother, yet the wisdom of the old. Her eyes fluttered open as the temple shook.
She was a giantess compared to the average human, yet petite when compared to her surroundings.
“I wonder whether this one will survive.”
------???------
‘I wonder whether this one will survive?’
[INTIATING SYSTEM]
[ASSESSING FRAGMENT CAPABILITIES]
A wisp of red smoke floated in an endless expanse of darkness, with millions of specks of lights of various colours floating around.
‘ARGHHHHH!!!!!’
‘MY HEAD!!!! AHHH!!!’
‘Huff huff! Where am I?'
[ASSESSMENT COMPLETE]
[SELECTIVE OBSESSION DETECTED!] [HINTS OF CURSE OF MELANCHOLY DETECTED]
‘Excuse me, the fuck? Hold up! Wait a minute, where are my hands, my legs, and my DI-
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
[ HOST TRAITS INCLUDE: ADRENALINE JUNKIE, WEEB, PERCEPTIVE...]
‘Holy hell, didn’t I take a flipping poison? What in the bloody balls is going on?’
[YOU HAVE DIED]
‘Well, no shit, Sherlock. I killed my-‘
It was at that moment a certain term clicked on me. ISEKAI. Yup, man, this scenery reminds me of a certain slime anime. ‘Why the hell am I so calm suddenly, tho?’
[Your emotions were forcefully stabilized. You are currently being prepared for reincarnation.]
‘Welp, you sure got calmer. So you're going to tell me why the hell am I getting reincarnated and what the fuck am I supposed to do?’
[Host you are the greatest fragment of the hedonistic fool, YELTSA KCIR. They were a God in search of the epitome of pleasure and in such madness, they took upon the curse of Melancholy.
Realising the pursuit of unadulterated joy would be impossible in this form, they split themselves into millions of pieces, thus dividing the curse. But due to a fatal mistake, all that remained were the pieces of divinity scattered throughout the @@#@, but his consciousness faded.
Ah, my apologies; a closer term for your civilization would be the multiverse. Till now, approximately 1,896,798 of the 3,069,420 have died during their journey. 240,078 have collapsed due to the weight of divinity and 73 have found fulfilment.
[You, fragment no. 2,136,950, are the biggest fragment. You have inherited the largest part of the curse.]
‘BRUH! That’s a lot. So, like, huh?? What?? And who are you?’
[ Confusion is unavoidable in the current predicament. Nonetheless, everyone here has been in a different world like you will be. As the largest fragment aside from the biggest portion of the madness will be with you, alongside their powers.
As for me, I, myself, am an administrator for souls like you, in charge by the current Goddess of joy and laughter, Lady Euphrosine. She was an ex-companion of the FOOL before he ascended.]
‘Excuse me, what about the curse and what madness??’ I asked as something in my ‘mind’ prevented me from asking further questions about the origin of this voice and the said goddesses.
[The curse of melancholy was a greater threat to The FOOL than it is to you. Max to max, it will make your life worse, giving you even more difficult predicaments. Especially during your early days.
But the powers of the fool inside you will make it so that overcoming each predicament will grant you greater rewards and joy. As for the madness, when the FOOL split, the aspects that he found joy in were broken, leading to it becoming a “whatever you want” situation.
You will have until the age of 17 to decide your obsession; remember, if you are unable to, you will die, no clauses, no catch.]
‘So I am just supposed to accept this? No consent or nothing? and at least give me a body damn it; also, no cheats for me?
[Well considering the author seems to be making this into an info dump chapter, just do so. As for cheats, I have something you might recognize as an isekai starter pack.]
At that moment, I felt my ‘body’ shaking as I transformed into a translucent humanoid. The voice in my head quieted down as a screen appeared in front of my eyes.
[ Starter pack:
1. SYSTEM
2. Appraisal
3. Storage]
[The system that you will be granted is the base for my creation, which essentially means an inferior version of me. But I would like to say that it is not a level-up system; it will be the one to reward you when you overcome the tribulations forced onto you by the curse and manipulate fate into temporary joyous occasions.
As for the powers granted by your divinity, I am afraid you will have to wait till reincarnation. And now for your purpose, it is to get rid of the curse, specifically find fulfilment.]
‘Fulfilment?’
[Yes that is to come to a settlement with your obsession and eliminate the curse. This will be something separate for each and everyone and I am afraid I cannot help you with that. After that, you are free to live your life as you wish, no holds barred.]
‘Ok, I sure as hell am eerily calm. Anyway, last question before we proceed with this: what was that voice I heard that I heard at the start?
[Hallucinations are possible even in soul form when forcefully sending someone into reincarnation while keeping their memories intact.]
‘Ok, I am sure this is not a safety net put by the author for an ass-pull in the future. Let's start, shall we?’
[Proceeding with the reincarnation of fragment no. 2,136,950. Brace for impact]
Suddenly his incorporeal body turned into a bright red staff, then a blue teardrop and finally a raging white flame as it condensed into a purple ball and flew into a sudden fissure in the place.
[Soul has been transferred without any issues. Computing foreseeable situations, taking into account unlikely circumstances. Adjusting planet according to the creator's request. Concluding operation.]
While all this was happening, our dear protagonist, before falling into a deep sleep, regretted not asking one question.
‘WAIT. Am, I the MC?’