A Changed Start

AU Note

So this is gonna be a mess of an AU so I'll start explaining...

A week after Cale had been beaten up by Choi Han, Cale is summoned in a pocket dimension  that forced him to participate along with many others from different worlds in a Multiversal Killing Game.

The mastermind is an otherworldly God of Despair (not TBOAH) that was inspired by Junko Enoshima's actions in her own world and drags multiple unwilling participants from different worlds.

In an attempt to give him despair, GoD(espair) gives him 5 volumes of The Birth Of A Hero to make him learn of the tragics events that will occur in his world, with the Plaza Incident injuring and traumatizing Basen. GoD purposely only makes it 5 volumes just to make Cale feel uncertain and anxiety due to his lack of information about the unknown organization (Arm) and all he knows is that GoD makes it clear to him that his entire world, not just the Henituse Family, has a future filled with nothing but despair.

(The TBOAH book is also in Korean, so Cale had to study the entire language provided in the library to properly read the novel.)

The pocket dimension they're staying is inspired by Jabberwock Island, but less tropical and more space-like since they're in alternate dimension created by the GoD(espair). Use of magic is disabled, but natural superhuman abilities like super strength remains.

Cale is one of the smarter participants, being one of the main contributors that carry their trials. He makes sure to quickly learn more about modern technology since he can't afford to be caught off guard by advanced tech, especially when they're in the middle of a killing game. Though, he quickly takes great interest in the convenient modern appliances and learns quite a bit over how they work and made.

His two main companions are Raoul Clément and Raaz.

Raoul Clément

[A/N: Nikolai Gogol of Bungou Stray Dogs]

Raoul Clément is a thief that had the outward image of a gentleman thief and comes from a modern world. However, he is much more crueler and willing to kill someone if needed. He is seen as rather insane, making dark remarks and jokes, such as "innocently" wondering how will the next murder is going to be like or how painful the executions are. While he is similar to Enoshima Junko in the fact that his thievery is mostly just him taking pleasure of the despair and suffering of those he had stolen from, all of his targets are actually criminals who deserve it.

He does have good intentions, at least, as many innocents were indeed saved from the aftermaths of his thievery. However, at the same time, helping people is only his secondary priority and he doesn't think much of them after they have been saved.

In reality, however, Raoul actually is sane. Unfortunately, he has been mostly alone his whole life, having no family or friends to love or care, resulting in him becoming a bit disconnected even if he can read people well. Because of that, his love of making low-life remorseless criminals suffer became a habit he has difficulty breaking, as it was the only thing making him feel alive. Even if he desires to make friends, many often have difficulty understanding him due to his seemingly "insane" persona.

Raoul takes an interest in Cale early in the killing game, seeing him as an "actor who wears the mask of a delinquent". While Cale is slightly disturbed at Raoul's dark humor at first, he grew used to his presence and surprisingly becomes friends with Raoul.

Raoul becomes attached and loyal to Cale, as he was his first friend that truly understood him.

Raoul has an ability called "Overcoat", a transfer-type ability that allows Raoul to use his cloak to manipulate spaces and what comes out of them. Specifically, his cloak is connected to a pocket dimension within a vertical range of 30 meters through which can allow him to manifest or transfer various materials and matter.

[A/N: For more info about Overcoat here's the link: https://bungostraydogs.fandom.com/wiki/The_Overcoat]

Raaz

[A/N: Menogias of Genshin Impact]

Raaz is one of the enigmatic participants but is assumed to be a mage due to his knowledge of magic but also has super strength despite his rather slim (but still muscular) build.

He is a few hundred years old, but still slightly younger than Rasheel.

Raaz is actually a dragon of another world. While still arrogant in regards to his naturally strong abilities, Raaz is unlike most dragons as he isn't overly reliant on magic like it's his primary weapon.

This is because he knows that physical strength and magic isn't always the solution to solve problems.

After the first murder case, Raaz recognizes Cale's intelligence after witnessing his many contributions in the trial and, similar to Raoul, found him interesting. When Cale is framed in the later trials, Raaz is one of the first, along with Raoul, to side with the redhead. They eventually just began hanging out after that.

Like Raoul, Raaz soon grew to care for Cale.

Cale, Raoul and Raaz along with a few others survive the killing game and they get to go back to their homeworlds. Surprisingly, Raoul and Raaz decided to go with Cale to the TBOAH world instead.

Raoul had no attachments in his homeworld.

Raaz's homeworld is actually an apocalyptic mess. Ironically, the pocket dimension he had been dragged into (if you exclude the killing game) had actually made him feel the most relaxed he had been in a long while.

So, I guess that wraps up this AU.

(Also Fun Fact: The pocket dimension has auto-translation, which is why the participants are able to understand each other despite coming from completely different worlds. Surprisingly, Raoul and Raaz are still able to understand TBOAH's language even though they're no longer in the pocket dimension. This is similar to cognition in Persona 5, where the characters understood Morgana in cat form after hearing him speak in the Metaverse. Raoul and Raaz now understands TBOAH language from speaking with Cale. I hope this makes sense.) 😅

I haven't actually decided the characters of the other killing game participants (whether they're from another anime or comic media or just an OC) since only Raoul and Raaz is present. But I'll probably make them up as I write, but they're not gonna appear physically, just mentioned. At least, for now.

Unless you guys have suggestions on which anime/comic character should I add or based to an OC, ehe. 😂