God of the New World [COMPLETED]

Chapter 1 {Edited}

Why did Hogyouku send me here? To this world, in this era... in these circumstances? Why into a human, into the weakest of beings? Was it some secret desire of mine, unknown even to me? A consequence of defeat and downfall?

I didn't know. My awakening in the feeble body of a human was... unexpected.

Here, for the first time, I felt defeat. Defeat at the hands of my own creation. Greater and yet lesser than the human who managed to surpass me. The highest stage of evolution, a god, a king, who discarded his useless entourage.

For the first time in my life, I felt fear... but not the fear of being defeated. There was a chance of that, and I never denied it. You can't predict everything. I could have fallen many times, even when I was a young Shinigami, crafting grand plans. I could have died in battles against Hollows, but instead, it was my "comrades" who died. I forced them to die for me, sacrificing their lives for a friend, comrade, or loved one. Each of them made their own choice; all I had to do was push them towards the "right" one.

One day, I managed to awaken Shikai. Kyoka Suigetsu. He told me his name himself, without any battles or lengthy conversations, without philosophical discussions with his spirit reflection, without showcasing his power and intellect. He understood me better than anyone else in the world, the only rational being who comprehended me. He embraced my goals, approving of them...

I didn't consider Kyoka Suigetsu a mere manifestation of my soul, as many Shinigami did. Yes, he is a part of me, but he doesn't cease to be a sentient being with a personality distinct from his owner, with his own thoughts and actions. It was more convenient for me to perceive him as another rational being, someone who could listen to my plans and view them from a different perspective, different from mine. In the early days, he was a significant help in our conversations.

Perhaps that's why we succeeded in becoming one.

With the acquisition of Shikai, which allowed me to manipulate all five senses of a sentient being, everything became much easier. I began rapidly accumulating power, conducting my initial experiments, manifesting my genius in the real world, studying the surrounding world, understanding its... decay.

The world was far from perfect. I wanted to change it, and I, more than anyone else, understood what it would take. Strength, armies, intellect, authority, belief... numerous factors.

But I myself was far from perfect. Shinigami had many limitations... a soul had many limitations. It slowly grew in power, the honed mind started rusting with time, the aging of the soul, and even the ephemeral possibility of growing to such a level of power that the soul simply couldn't bear – all of this cast a shadow over my plans and compelled me to seek new solutions to a thousand and one impending problems.

Was I a genius? What is a genius, after all? Is a person who was led by the puppeteer all his life but managed to sever the puppeteer's strings at the last moment a genius? In that case, what does it make the puppeteer, whose puppet managed to break free?

This is a rhetorical question, and everyone will have their own answer.

To some, I was a genius; to others, a monster. Some hailed me as a god and a creator, while others called me a friend or lover.

As many people, as many perspectives. I am willing to look at myself from different angles and agree with all arguments. Only a rational being who understands and accepts themselves can achieve something worthwhile.

I was riding in a commuter train, watching a woman board from the platform. She was old and wrinkled, her breath was labored, her heart weak... it seemed that if given the chance, she would die, sending her soul into the cycle of reincarnation in this world's peculiar system. I could sense death lingering around her, the misty pain in her eyes from her throbbing left leg. Perhaps an old injury or a poorly healed bone.