[Welcome Mr. Reyes! Our condolences for your death, but congratulations are in order! You have granted another chance at life.]
‘Well… this is… unexpected.’ Was the first thought of thought that went through Gabriel Reyes’ mind as he stared at the screen in front of him. Unlike most, Gabriel didn’t really question what was happening. Why you may ask? It’s because he doesn’t care.
As he kept staring he humoured himself with the thought that most fanfictions he read included scenarios like this mostly involved normal people with normal lives. He didn’t live a normal life.
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~ Flashback ~
Adopted as a child, Gabriel grew up in the small, but loving, Reyes family that greatly cared for him as their own. His adoptive mother and father didn’t have much wealth, but there was enough money to help keep them together and indulge themselves with a decent amount of spending money.
There were many family events held for socialising with each other on a regular basis which didn’t bother Gabriel as he loved his family.
His uncles were weird but reliable in anything to do with engineering, his aunt always had a makeup set wherever she went, grandparents always spoiled their grandchildren, and his cousins all played pranks on each other daily.
They were all he had in his life. Other kids he grew up with thought he was ‘weird’ due to his hobbies and interests. They weren’t abnormal interests, it was just that he was more ‘enthusiastic’ and open about it than the others to the point where it creeped them out.
It wasn’t his love for video games, movies, manga, and other antisocial habits that held others at a distance from him, but it was his excessive respect and desire to be apart of the military. His admiration for military heroes and their fellow soldiers alike included, especially since his father had also been a part of the army in his prime.
And in Gabriel’s eyes, he was the greatest of them all.
They were all willing to sacrifice their very being for what they believed in, and the young boy had taken this lesson to heart as he trained himself in all kinds of self-defence and weapon mastery to become just like his childhood heroes.
School wasn’t much of a problem for Gabriel as he was one of the top students as far as his academics and athleticism went, as he was above what the average 16-year-old was capable of. Although, he was given a hard time for having the same name as ‘The Reaper’ from the game Overwatch.
It wasn’t his fault that he had the same name, and not only that but he also had similar features to the character It was like looking at a younger version of the Blackwatch Agent himself with slight variations.
(AN: He doesn’t look exactly the same, he just has black hair, brown eyes and a similar body structure)
It got to the point where he was nicknamed ‘Reaper’. Gabriel had thought it would be amusing if he were able recreate the mercenary’s voice as well, only to surprise himself when he got it down perfectly.
Other than the regular comment or two about his creepy likeness to the game character, Gabriel had no real issues with school. Unlike his peers though, he wasn’t aiming for entering university. No way was he going to study for three to four more years just to end up working at some boring desk job as a career. He wanted to make a difference, to enlist into the army, just like his father had in his prime.
Unfortunately, it was never meant to be. The Earth had entered the third World War against an unknown organisation. It was a disaster, and one that lasted for years on end.
No one really knows how it started, but before they knew it the war had already left many countries in an uncontrollable panic. Borders were blockaded, regular inspections became more and more prominent as the terrorists continued their assault around the globe.
The only information the public knew was that they called themselves the “Order”. Nothing else but a complete mystery surrounded them. Their purpose unknown, their location unknown, and the number of followers unknown. All of it unknown to anyone.
Shortly after their appearance, Australia had been thrown into the fray. The Order had begun their first frontal assault since they declared war onto the world. No more random acts of terrorism, but a large scale coordinated attack.
Just as how quickly the war started, Australia had fallen against them. Being separated from the rest of the world, Australia wasn’t the easiest country to send aid to as their allies had enough problems keeping them occupied.
Citizens were turned into prisoners of war, the army was thoroughly decimated, and the government disbanded. Majority of the population were forced into harsh physical labour, others had the choice to join the Order’s forces in exchange for the protection of their families from harm. But the minority, they were left with no option but to ‘volunteer’ for helping them with their experiments to offer protection for their loved ones if they weren’t eligible to be a part of the armed forces. No exceptions.
Gabriel’s father was quick to join the army, he knew there wasn’t any way to fight back until we received help from another country. It was heartbreaking for the family to send Gabriel’s father into the Order, but they had no choice.
The only one that had a chance of fighting in the war as a part of their military was his father, the rest had either no experience or would fit the Orders criteria for joining. His mother, cousins, uncles, aunts, and grandparents couldn’t do anything, and they were all mortified.
Fate had other plans apparently, Mr. Reyes was killed in action after a number of engagements against the other nations that had been under fire. And in the process, removing whatever protection his family had against the Order.
Thinking quickly in his feet, Gabriel had volunteered to become a lab rat for their safety. They had, of course, rejected the idea but were forced to agree when they all realised that he wouldn’t give in to their pleas as he was determined, just like his father, to protect what was left of his family.
It wasn’t long before Gabriel had been taken into the Order and went through various experiments for them. And it. Was. Hell. Days became weeks, weeks became months, and moths became years. Slowly but surely, Gabriel had become the perfect killing machine, a super soldier at the young age of 20.
The newly made soldier nearly laughed at the pure irony of it all. It certainly was the peak of all irony that he would end up increasing the number of things he and the fictional character of Overwatch had in common with one another.
An Agent of some ‘evil’ organisation who was experimented on and received supernatural abilities in exchange, who looks exactly like ‘The Reaper’ from Overwatch.
Yes, the young man who volunteered to be a lab rat had received strange abilities in return. All of them defying what was originally thought to be just fiction. It was indeed, mind-blowing to the agent, after all some of the powers he obtained made him question his own sanity. One of which was a wraith form similar to that of the game Overwatch.
With that thought in mind he thought to himself, ‘Why not go all the way?’
Ordering his own custom-made uniform, he set out to complete his new persona. Covered in a pure carbon black leather coat with a hood pulled up with white mask representing a skull was placed on his face to hide his past identity from others and protect his face. Wearing set of metal gauntlets with sharp pointed fingers, that could pierce through the chest of any grown man, and donning a black vest covered in pockets and shotgun shells for his primary weaponry.
(AN: dual shotguns if you haven’t figured it out)
Overall, it was like watching a character come to life, to reality.
Eventually he was thrown into a special ops team. Gabriel was sent to carry out a numerous amount of missions, all of which ended with astounding results that would make even the most experienced of men green with envy at his service record.
Fight after fight, kill after kill, the bringer of death became an unstoppable force to be reckoned with and climbed up the ranks through effort alone and eventually became a trusted member of the Order for his accomplishments. Soon enough, using his rank, he began to dig around for information about their purpose and why they had only taken over Australia after all those years.
Most of his missions turned the tide of many battles, sabotage, infiltration and outright frontal assaults. Even so, the war never went further than a standstill. They hadn’t come close to winning against the other nations even with their victories pilling up, which made everyone a part of the Order suspiciously wary.
It was strange that such a secret and efficient organisation, that could overthrow Australia’s government and military, in a short span of time couldn’t push far enough to deal with other countries.
Sure, they had conquered all of Australia’s close neighbours, including New Zealand, Papa New Guinea and Indonesia. But other than that, no progress whatsoever was made.
Eventually, Gabriel had found what he and many others were looking after investigating far enough. Though he had lost some valuable allies and friends he gained along the way, he still wasn’t deterred and pushed on to get to this point.
And to say it was a complete shock to him would be a complete understatement. The Order was created by the leaders of the world, all of them. The details were unclear, but the main point for the Order’s creation was enough for him to fall into despair.
‘They sold us out. There’s no plan to takeover the world or anything! NOTHING! It’s just for their selfish greed!’
It all finally made sense. The Order wasn’t actually a threat, it was just an act, business. As the big wigs across the world gained the support of their nations and received increased funding from the increase in taxes and donations for increasing their military power.
Soldiers were fighting tooth and nail on both sides, all for their fake war. It was the reason that there wasn’t any further advancement, except for the occasional gain or loss of land just to keep up appearances.
It was a simple, cruel and disturbing fact. One that held true throughout all of history. Greed, more specifically the means used to satisfy said greed.
There was a quote that Gabriel’s great-grandfather always used to say before he passed on. War needs money, and money needs war.
Gabriel never really understood what he meant until this moment. For those in power to gain money, they need war, and for the war to continue, they need money.
Shortly after his attempt to gather the files needed to release his new-found evidence to the rest of the world, he was caught by his superiors and was tortured for his insubordination.
Soon they sent out a squad to bring in the rest of his family to be punished with him, which lead to Gabriel begging and pleading for his family’s continued protection and for mercy, and so he was given a choice. Execute his fellow countrymen that were found to be traitors, or his family suffers.
Needless to say, it was an easy choice to make. There were around 9 people that were dragged into the room, all of them shackled and with bags over their heads and all of them wearing standard military uniforms. Quickly and efficiently, he put a bullet into each and every one of them.
Feeling a sense of relief for getting a second chance at redemption, he was about to exit the room only to see their bags being taken off.
The ones he killed were his own relatives. Gabriel froze entirely, his very core was shocked at what he had done.
Still speechless at what he had done, Gabriel was unaware of the new presence that entered the room behind him. A pair of arms had slowly crept around his chest from behind as someone began sobbing into his back, gripping tightly.
At the sudden contact, an unbearable feeling of dread filled the young man’s heart, turning his head ever so slightly to see what had grabbed him from behind.
It was his mother, weeping. Her image had hardly change even after all his time in the Order, she had her pitch-black hair and bright blue eyes still retaining their youthful look. Her face was scrunched up as tears were falling from her eyes like a river.
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“I’m sorry.” It was soft and quiet, but clearly heard. Gabriel’s eyes shot up to his hairline as he heard this.
“I’m so… so sorry that *Sniff* I couldn’t be there for you *Sob* for all those years. *Sniff* And now this…. I’m sorry.” She cried uncontrollably in between breaths. “Just promise me… Promise me that you’ll keep living for us. That you’ll survive through this to see it end.” Gabriel listened to her with his full attention.
Disbelieving at what he heard, he struggled to remove the clog in his throat that prevented him from speaking. He couldn’t believe that after all those years and after what he had just done, she didn’t blame him, she didn’t shun him. She still loved him, even when he’s about to kill her as well.
The Order wouldn’t let their ‘Reaper’ roam around free until he had suffered the consequences of his actions. Then he’d have no reason to defy them, no reason to betray them. If he did, then anyone else he would deem as precious to him would die like the rest.
Trying to force out a reply and keeping his voice as steady as possible he leaned in to her ear, “I p-promise… I promise mother.”
Looking up to her only son, arms still wrapped around him, she smiled gently. No longer was she in the presence of her baby boy, she was standing in front of a man with a heavy burden on his shoulders. A man who has gone to the depths of hell and back again alive. Her baby boy was grown up.
A tall man stood in front of her, his face mature and handsome with his short black hair and goatee. Brown eyes filled with a look that seems to make him old and tired than he should be at his young age.
She took in his appearance one more time to commit it to memory, tears still falling from the corner of her eyes she whispered, “Thank you.”
Stepping away from her son, she readied herself for the inevitable.
Not looking away, Gabriel brought his gun up to her head and softly whispered back, “Say hi to dad for me… Goodbye mum.” As he finished speaking he pulled the trigger and watched as her lifeless body fell to the ground with the rest of his family.
His heart burned with unbelievable amounts of pain as tears poured out from his eyes from grief. Watching as his mother’s body became paler as her blood kept flowing out from the hole in her head, he ignored the pain and just kept staring.
Hearing the sound of someone clapping, the lone member of the Reyes family turned to see his superior entering with his uniform and badge clearly displayed on his chest.
Immediately, Gabriel stood at attention and gave him a salute, more out of habit than anything else. “Congratulations Agent Reyes, you’ve regained your place in the Order. Do keep up the good work.” The man grinned with amusement to the ‘show’ he witnessed.
Of course, Gabriel would have to keep playing at their game, keeping him within reach to keep tabs on in case of a second betrayal. So long as they needed him for his excellent service record and information he held, they had no choice but to keep him.
More importantly though, he was, and is, the lone survivor of their test subjects.
Just like the Order, Gabriel had no choice but to follow their plans for as long as he was helpless against them. No family, no friends and no allies were there to help him. They’d all died off or gone into hiding.
Grounding his teeth out, he swiftly shouted, “Sir, yes sir!”, while mentally spitting at his face. Gabriel had no choice but to wait it out until he had a chance to exact his revenge against the Order. After all, every predator waits for his prey.
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~ Back to the present ~
Even when he thought he had nothing else that could be taken away from him, he was wrong. After all the death of his friends and family, all he wanted was to see them again. Yet he had been denied death. Death had refused him to meet his loved ones, and now he was left to be amongst the living once again, to continuously suffer.
“This…this is BULLSHIT!” I cried out after reliving through my memories.
“WHY?! WHY AM I STILL ALIVE?! I HAVE NOTHING LEFT! WHAT MORE DO I HAVE TO LOSE DAMNIT!” Falling to my knees I started to repeatedly punch the floor in the closed off white room I had woken up in.
Silently sobbing I tried to pull myself together and move on, that’s what I do best after all. It’s what I promised to my mother, and as long as I’m alive I’ll continue to live for one god-forsaken day after another.
Looking up I spotted some new boxes of text appearing in front of me.
[You have been given the chance to live life once again. However, your soul will be thrown across various worlds that exist in the multiverse, all of which would be randomly selected.]
That caught my attention, “So the multiverse is a real thing then.” I mused out loud more as a statement then a question. Not that I was surprised considering what my own powers consisted of.
[Correct, but you will have a greater chance to be sent to a world fit to your own capabilities for the first few worlds. Wouldn’t want our new-found entertainment to die off quickly, would we?]
Clearly disgruntled at the obvious jab at him being nothing but a source of interest to the ROB (random omniscient being) Gabriel thought morbidly, ‘As long as they stay interested that is. Wouldn’t want to know what’d happen if they were bored of me.’
Trying to avoid from delving further into any more disturbing possibilities I shake my head and focus on my current predicament.
“So, care to explain how this is going to work? Will I reincarnate or simply dumped in the world as I am now? Also, when will I transfer to a new world, when I die or when you see fit?” I asked curiously.
[You will be sent to a number of different worlds as yourself. Watching a baby grow up is insanely boring for the both of us.]
Too true. It would be a waste of time.
[We will decide when you are to transfer to a new world for now, in future though you may be given some leeway in the duration of your stay. This topic can be discussed at a later date. On another note, you are now ageless. This is not to be mistaken with immortality.]
Sounds reasonable in all honesty, more reasonable than anything I’ve had to deal with in my life. So, I just accepted it as it was and spun the roulette that appeared next to the message that had a list of different universes like Bleach, Naruto and Harry Potter.
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thuunk, thuuunk~ (AN: sound of a roulette, don’t judge.)
*DING*
[Your destination will be Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works, please spin the wheel again for a power bonus. The multiverse is a dangerous place after all, this will help you stand your ground against your foes.]
Well crap, right off the bat I’m going to be thrown into a world with powerful servants and masters. Could be worse though, considering there were actually options for the Dragon Ball series.
‘Planet destroying bad guys showing up every Tuesday? Fuck that, I’m out’.
Looking back towards the wheel I raised an eyebrow at all the different kinds of powers available in a mere roulette game. Kekkei Genkai’s (Naruto), Sacred Gears (DxD), and even the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception (Fate) was available.
Not really wanting to get my hopes up any further for some overpowered abilities I spun the wheel again and was pleasantly surprised.
[You have received the Uchiha Kekkei Genkai, Sharingan. Additionally, because you have already had to watch your friends/loved ones die in your past life, the Mangekyou Sharingan will be available upon your arrival to the Fate universe. Keep in mind it is NOT the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, so you WILL become blind if you continuously use the Mangekyou and its abilities.]
“Well that went better than expected.” I mumbled while wondering how my horrible I’ve had all my life could grant me the Sharingan. ‘Though it’s unfortunate I don’t have the EMS…. Maybe if visit Naruto at some point….’
My thoughts were cut off as I remember something important that I’ve yet to confirm.
“Won’t having the sharingan become a problem for me? Far as I know, I don’t have chakra and even if I did, it’s too late to develop one naturally. So, how’s this going to work for me?” Voicing out my concerns to the invisible being watching me.
[Be at ease Reyes, there is no need to be alarmed.]
‘Easy for you to say.’ I silently scoffed.
[You will be provided with the ability to adapt to virtually anything, either through training or artificial means. Your body has already shown signs of such adaptability from your previous… experiences.]
I mentally grimaced at the memory of it. All those chemicals the Order infused within my body were absolute agony, all to enhance my powers.
[One more thing before you leave. You will be given permission to access the multiverse version of the Abyss Auction, you aren’t the only person travelling back and forth between dimensions after all.]
Raising my eyebrow at the fact that the Abyss Auction is not only real, but available as a place to sell and buy things from across the multiverse. ‘I could get a lot of useful items from this. After I earn money that is.’
Nodding to myself as I absorb this information I ask the being, “How much can I interfere with the ‘storyline’ of each world I enter, and will there be consequences from these changes?”
[Go crazy, I personally don’t care what happens to these worlds so I won’t interfere unless necessary. However, the rulers/gods of those realms may not be so laid back as I am, most of them are fairly flexible though and don’t mind but there are always exceptions to this. Now, are you ready for some adventure?]
Bringing my thoughts together I say with determination, “I’m ready.” After a few short moments another box pops up.
[You will be sent to Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works in a few seconds. Prepare for departure and good luck.]
Suddenly I felt my body tingling all over and look down to see myself disintegrating into bright blue particles of light, starting from my limbs to the rest of my body. Shortly before I’m fully ingulfed by the light I see another text box unexpectedly appear in my face.
[Your mother and father say that they’re proud of you and still love you, and will continue doing so, no matter what you have done or will do in future.]
My entire being was immediately filled with so much joy to hear from my parents again that I break down into tears. Thinking back on my life and how it’s lead me to this point, I felt so relieved to see that they’re still proud of me regardless of my past atrocities.
Looking back at the box of text I mutter out weakly, “Thank you.”
Letting the light take me away, I disappear. Ready to live for another day.
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~ Unknown Location ~
Appearing in a small dungeon like room, I see out the corner of my eye that my limbs are chained to the ceiling and floor of the stone-cold room in my Nevermore armour. Disoriented by my sudden appearance in a new world for the first time, I could only make out some broken sentences in Japanese.
“…failu-…summon….Hercu-……..berse…..”
“No choice……-ail war…. new servant…..unknown ident…….”
Trying to make sense of my surroundings in general, I just remain unmoving in a state of meditation to clear my thoughts for a number of hours. Eventually I open my eyes again to see three women in front, approaching slowly. Two of them remaining at a small distance away and slightly behind the small girl in front.
I stood there, slightly shocked at the turn odd events that I’ve been forced into as I stare at the girl. Snow white hair, bright red eyes and a slight frown on her face, this little girl was Illyasviel von Einzbern, and she was standing right in front of me. The master of Berserker, the hero Hercules. The unstoppable legend himself, and the one who died protecting his master.
Thinking to myself, I plan out my next course of action to this predicament. I’ve apparently replaced the original Berserker and have been summoned as a Servant in his place. ‘What am I to do now?’
Snapping out of my thoughts I look to see the girl activating her circuits and the magic circle beneath us. Within my mind I could hear Illya giving me commands to move according to her will and feel my body split between complying and ignoring her orders.
‘If I am to follow her as my Master, then I will do so of my own free will. Never again will I work under others against it…. Plus…. if I do move then it’ll only harm her.’ I thought to myself.
I remember how the original Berserker brought immense pain to Illya whenever he would move about due to the lack of support from the Grail, since it hasn’t appeared yet.
“What’s going on? What are you doing? Move like I said, Berserker!” Illya seemed to voice out, upset at the strange and unexpected disobedience I was showing. She continued on for a bit, voicing out a command to do as she says.
Having enough of this farce I looked directly at Illya and replied in a dark voice, “I refuse.”
Visibly shocked from voicing out a reply Illya quickly goes from shocked to outraged, “Why?! Why won’t you listen, I am your Master and you are my Servant! Move!”
Suddenly my body starts to shake and thrash around for a bit from the command, and Illya began to scream as a result. After a few moments she slowly picks herself up from the ground, blood soaking her clothes. Smirking slightly as she stares at my thrashing from the Mad Enchantment being activated.
“I can win the Holy Grail War without you anyway. I won’t be beaten. I’m the most powerful Master in the world!” she declared confidently.
Without saying another word, she walks out of the room with her maids following behind her as they close the doors.
With nothing left to do I just relax my body as I try to regain control of myself. The state of mind that I was placed in felt like the time I was placed under extreme torture. Subconsciously I placed my thumb over my index finger and cracked it. Eventually I decided to try and adjust to the feeling of my eyes, the Sharingan. So, I waited.
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~ A few days later ~
Surprisingly enough, I didn’t have to wait to move into action as late as I thought I would have to. One of the maids had dropped in to give an update of my Master, apparently, she’s already been thrown into the woods for her test. From what I remember, she was supposed to be thrown into the forest just before she went to Fuyuki for the Grail War, and that’s supposed to be about two months away.
My thoughts cut themselves off immediately when I realise the danger Illya is probably in. Even if I might not see her as my Master right now, I couldn’t leave her to die. She reminded me of myself, left alone and forced to never live your own life how you wish to.
I understood her burden, and I’d be damned if I let her go through what I had to in my life.
Breaking the chains that bound me to my chambers with my immense strength, comparable to the original Berserker and set off at inhuman speeds to find Illya.
Running through the snow laid woods I hear a pain filled cry ringing through the air nearby. I picked up the pace, leaping into the air as I spot a pack of wolves sinking their teeth into the poor child.
Crashing into the ground, the snow explodes outwards on impact, taking the wolves with it and leaving behind a little girl bleeding on the ground in front of me.
The frail girl sprawled out on the snow covered in her own blood and tears coming from the corner of her eyes. Picking herself up from the ground she stares right into my own eyes, covered by my mask. She wasn’t the only one to pick herself up though, as the wolves came charging right at me, chewing into my skin the best they can.
I didn’t resist much, I could tear them apart at any moment I choose to. Instead, it was rather amusing. Animals are said to have great instincts when in the presence of a predator or threat greater to themselves, thus avoiding the danger completely yet here they are trying to devour me of all people.
“Berserker? Why are you here?” she questions in a shaky voice, “I left you behind….why aren’t you fighting? Because of me? Because you don’t want me to suffer?”
Closing her eyes, she opened them again with a look of determination in her eyes as she said, “Get them, Berserker!”
Grinning to myself like a madman I replied, “With pleasure.”
Abruptly, I struck my hand out and crushed the skull of the wolf that was nibbling on my ankle and swiftly moved to grab the one on my back and threw it towards one of its brethren. Quickly I moved in and pierced their bodies with my claws and ripped them in half. Shadows of darkness swirled around me as I procured a set of shotguns from them and began to fire endlessly at the pack, spinning in circles cackling with a hint of insanity laced in my voice, “DIE DIE DIE!”
Soon enough, all that was left was a field of snow, soaked with fresh blood. Illya took a step towards my towering form and started to speak, “I understand now. You didn’t protect me I ordered you to or because you’re a Servant.” A small smile gracing her lips, “You’re protecting me of your own free will, aren’t you? You’re strong, Berserker.”
Falling forward from exhaustion, I caught her in my arms, “Ahh, sorry Berserker. I’m just a little tired, I’m going to sleep for a bit. Goodnight Berserker.” Illya promptly fell asleep as she predicted. Not much of a surprise considering the cold weather and her injuries.
Chuckling to myself I couldn’t help but see her as adorable. Picking her up bridal-style I trekked my way back to the castle, thinking of the future that lies ahead of me.