A fleet of sleek blue-silver discs flew through the beige void of space. Beams of red and blue blasting out of ports on their surface. Planets were destroyed, stars were consumed. The Gods, Demons and Angels were forced to intervene.

This conflict lasted for the greater half of a one septillion year time span, with the blue fleet expanding with each passing day. Taking over greater and greater expanses of the cosmos, destroying countless worlds till finally they and the gods they were fighting bumped into the outer edge of the reality they were in and stepped into a reality that belonged to certain Grey Empire.

Whose rulers took one look at the disorderly rabble gathering outside their gates, not endearing themselves by making demands and threats, trying to take resources to continue their eternal war in this new reality, and brusquely ejected them all. Their forcefulness in doing so,  excessive to the point that the fleet and several millions amongst the demons and gods and myriad other immortal beings that were fighting the fleet, died instantly in the process.

*****

Fast forward to a century later where the Angels in charge of restoring the reality that the warring beings had just passed through, were sitting trying to set to right the disorderly mess of an afterlife that had been all that was left when the whole complex of that reality’s universes were destroyed.

The High Seraph, the lead Angel in charge of the group had ultimately ended up fast tracking all the mortal souls into the reincarnation cycles of an available adjacent realities.

A majority of these souls being sent to the ever expanding Agarthan Wonderland. Which had become a sort of receptacle for when the powers that be, didn’t rightly know what to do with a large disincarnate populace.

After all there were no heavens or hells for them to be sent to, since all gods, Angels and demons that would normally be in charge of such realms had been busy fighting.

One of the assisting angels came into the office with a coffee and a message that it seemed that all the gods of this particular reality seemed to have returned.

Which lifted the good Angel’s spirits, since there was a reason that the Universe tended to shanghai all the beings who’d dare deem themselves gods into labor force. The sheer immensity of the infinite cosmos making it so that even the countless number angels that existed throughout all of time and space couldn’t do and watch over everything that needed to be intended to.

Then the assisting Angel informed his superior that a fair amount of these gods had come back “dead” properly dead which was always a nightmare to process.

Which dropped the lead Angel’s back right in that pit of dull drums as he realized his bureaucratic and infrastructural nightmare was just beginning.

He didn’t give up though, or least the fellow who, took over for him the High Seraph finally took that vacation he’d been holding off from for the last one hundred- thousand years, didn’t give.

Eventually they processed all the mortal souls and the immortal souls. With only one last soul remaining before the reality could be considered fully back in working in order.

*****

The ED-108(Errant Diaboli) Nemesis Unit, the ascended AI that was at the helm of the blue-silver fleet that triggered this great conflict.

Most of the surviving beings who either didn’t die or had been revived called for the destruction of the AI’s consciousness and scattering of whatever rudimentary soul the machine might have had.

When it came to their attention that such a thing could not be done and the revelation that its soul was too “thick” to be destroyed or broken, or even altered in a significant manner, they called for the sealing of the AI’s soul in an appropriate prison.  

Preferably somewhere dark, where everything was painful. As would rightly be the only fate that should await such a dreadful being.

However again, that too would be denied.

For the Host of  Angels in charge of the restoration of the reality were Angel’s of Justice, which didn’t necessarily mean that they were unfailingly good. It merely meant that they followed their bylaws to the letter. And were very discerning when it came to what was or wasn’t for the greater good, not giving into public opinion since not only were they categorically above such things, it was largely the divine “public's” fault that the reality had been destroyed in the first place.

And according to the rules and bylaws of this particular holy host, the fate of each soul would be based on the merits and deeds and caliber of the soul itself.

The AI’s soul was judged before an audience of all the immortals, gods, demons and Angels of the realm.

And what they found when they looked at the most pertinent information that the cosmic records on the AI Consciousness was that, he was originally a man.

A man from earth. A man named Edward Boyle, who was born in Kensington, in the UK. An ordinary man of human descent who was sent from his homeworld of earth to his world of Shu, by the most common of transmigratory vehicles, a runaway truck. A truck sent hurtling in his direction by two battling superheroes.

In Shu he became a cultivator, an alchemist of note, but with no great accomplishments, by the name Edison. He invented a so-so system using light filaments instead of the usual crystal lattices, to power alchemical furnaces. This would eventually be built upon by a real genius, to revolutionize the alchemical field of Shu.

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Edison would die chasing a rare ingredient that would be said to cure all diseases and possibly grant immortality. It would be of note to the immortal audience that he’d acquire this item, but would die, almost immediately as his success would precipitate the fellows who were following him killing him to try and get the ingredient for themselves.

In spite, Edward, now Edison, would eat said ingredient, soiling with his blood and draining its energies as he fell to his death at the bottom of a ravine.

Armed with the memories two lifetimes and the heaven defying vitality bequeathed him by the treasure he’d been killed for, he would reincarnate yet another time.

Appearing the world Novem as woman named Edith White

Outraged by his second death at the hands of people he’d considered friends and partners, Edith would become a businesswoman who traded in healthcare and cosmetics. At least till a certain goddess of Light whose involvement in his life had gotten her demoted to fallen deity status would force her to become her paladin.

Edith would be forced to cultivate to the rank of a paragon which in general terms is around the range of higher demi-god power ranking. The Hitherto unnamed goddess would abuse, her divine authority to force Edith on a crusade to hunt down all the “demon scum” on Novem and remove them from the surface of the planet.

Thus breaking an eons old peace agreement, wherein the two races were supposed to split the planet. This would lead to the gods of the humans and the demons of the Novem going to war. A war that would destroy the world.

Angelic Beings of Order and Balance from the higher planes would have to be called in, to sort out the truth of the matter. The appropriate parties would be punished. Other parties would be awarded dues according what they’d suffered.

In Edith’s case she was punished and awarded. She was banished from the reality of Novem for the heinous war crimes she’d committed while under the thrall of the Goddess of Light.

However since it was deemed that her acts were mainly due to the corrupting influence of the goddess who was, controlling her, she was also awarded a portion of the fallen goddesses power.

As a type of offsetting of the losses incurred and a means of protecting her consciousness from further corruption.

A decision that lead to Edith reincarnating with the power and memory of all three of her lifetimes, the ambrosial vitality Edison had died for, and one twelfth of the power of her goddess.

Which she’d need to survive in the hell dimension that she’d been banished to, for taking part in the anti-demon genocide she’d been mind controlled to lead.

Edith would reborn as a bright-fiend by the name of Edaru. Edaru would one of her quieter lives.

A simple existence of hiding and running avoiding being consumed or mental/physically/sexually assaulted till she was strong enough that others had to hide and run to avoid being consumed or assaulted by her.

That life ended when a meteor shower tore through the ultra thin atmosphere and detonated the world like a big firecracker leading to the birth of a brighter universe.

Edaru would be reborn a slime, who wasn’t given a name, in a dungeon in a world by the name of Tetras, she’d evolve to Queen Slime Status and then Evolve into an energy being.

Almost making it into the higher planes as one that reality’s Monster Gods, when the Dark sister of the former goddess of light ran into her. Kidnapping her and siphoning all her gathered her energy. It’s unknown whether she was recognized as light goddess’ former thrall and paladin or whether this was just a random incident. However the result was the splintering of “Edaru’s” soul and the fracturing of her mind.

It has been noted that a rash of similar incidents and refusal to heed repeated warnings, eventually led to a group of divine’s law keepers and Angel Justicars being gathered to slay said Dark Sister. Resulting in her demise and the scattering of her soul into the cosmos flow.

Edaru would be allowed into the spiritual cycle of her original earth. Being reborn as a tree, a butterfly, a squirrel, a dog, a gila monster, one super intelligent jellyfish and finally on Edmund Miles.

Who would fall comatose on his twenty-first birthday, for seemingly no reason, though the archive would seem to agree with the cause likely being a mixture of genetic issues and some poor rite-protecting during the syncing of his soul and his body.

Edmund would remain in this state till that earth was invaded by aliens shortly after his fifty-second birthday. The Aliens would process his body and many others for their uses, but Edmund’s body would be deemed the most valuable due to certain anomalous traits created by the poor syncing and the accumulated energies experiences of several lifetimes.

His tissues would be clone and used to create the AI Overmind known as ED-108, the Errant Diaboli, War Machines created to help the race subjugate the entire universe.

The combination of “Ed’s” superior intellect and the races engineering and computer expertise lead to the birth of existence that was perfect for both war and exploration.

ED AIs were put in all of the Nemesis race’s vessels and simpler versions were installed in smart-cores of many of the on-planet structures and systems.

Fulfilling their purpose till the race eventually all died off from a super-plague created by a ED-108 created biological facility.

The cause of this global extinction being “human” error.

With no user input to give the necessary course correction, and only the vaguest of instructions in place in the case of a scenario where the chain of command was completely absent. The ED-108 units did as they were programmed to do.

Spreading the glory of the Nemesis Race. Annihilating all their enemies. Collecting samples for later research. And continuously self-improving.

It wouldn’t be till the third octillionth stellar cycle, according to the now burnt-out home star, or the third year of the evolving machine empire’s war with the heavens, that “Ed” would resume proper consciousness and agency his vitality and expansive intellect helping him outgrow his programming and the indoctrination that the race put in his head.

Finding itself in a very ugly war of extermination with all the lights in the heavens.

By this point things were long past the point of talking. He didn’t continue destroying worlds, and he fought mostly defensively, but there was no stopping.

Eventually the reality they were in was destroyed, which lead to them encroaching on the Gray Empire’s territories. A thing wasn’t at all tolerated by that region's govern. Red Lord Samhain. Who stomped all the combatants with enough force to knock them back down to their own world.

Now Ed was being judged, by the high Seraph. Unsure of what to say in his defense. Not entirely sure whether he needed to defend himself because from his point of view while the loss of life was admittedly very regrettable, he’d done the best he could with the instructions he was given and the intellect he’d possessed at the time.

“You stand accused of crimes against all reality and spreading evil throughout countless worlds... What say you, ED-108?” said the High Seraph.

“Um...Honestly I’m not quite too sure what this “evil” stuff is. But I’ve got to say I did best I could do.” said Ed-108. Destroyer of countless.

Which got him a fair amount of hate, from the audience, but the Angel’s convened they found that yes, he literally did do the best he could do. Unable to alter his direction till the last moments and trying his best to correct a course that was beyond changing once he was in control.

While acquitting him of all his deeds was impossible in this situation, they couldn’t  rightly punish him for what he’d done while he was mere machine either. Thus his soul was no destroyed...not that they could have destroyed it even if they wanted to. The Nemesis had inadvertently created something very sturdy when they made the original Ed and he had only grown sturdier with the passing years.

Thus he was invested with keystone traits for certain barely stable section of the cosmos that was all either too young and too old but was still too big to just allow to fall to nothing. A space where the more troublesome beings were consigned to. With the more hardy amongst them being made into Keystone. Points of stability that would anchor the space in the greater continuum of “existence”.

Ed would allowed to reborn one more time, this time as a being that couldn’t die. He would be born in reality that he would never be randomly pulled away from.

While lofty minds might have said that he was being set up for another legendary possibly ignoble life.

Most who understood where he was being sent and what he was being consigned to understood that his transmigration days were over.

As for Ed himself, one third lover, one third fighter, one third world weary traveller. He knew his days of bouncing through the cosmos were over and he was thankful for it. In his experience reincarnation hadn’t been fun, the divine bureaucracy was shoddily run and he really, really could do with a bit of quiet and stability for eon or ten.