NeverIsTheEnd
Daren Cruz never expected his life to end under the cold bumper of a car. One moment he was breathing, hurting, and trying to hold his broken life together - the next, he was drifting through a white void with no body, no voice, and no clue what came next.
Instead of judgment or eternal punishment, he met Lucy - a tired, overworked receptionist of the afterlife who admitted, with soul-crushing honesty, that his death was a "mistake." As compensation, Daren was offered reincarnation... but not a clean, customizable one. No world selection. No fancy system. Just a reroute into a place he'd barely heard of: Danmachi, the world of gods, monsters, and adventurers.
Still, he negotiated for one thing:
the blended template of Cloud Strife and Zack Fair, the power, skill, and spirit of two legendary warriors. And to keep himself grounded, he asked for a single treasure - the iconic Buster Sword, reborn as a family heirloom waiting for him in his new life.
And then-darkness.
Daren awoke again, this time pushed into the world through blood, warmth, and firelight. He opened newborn eyes to the blurred shapes of two strangers who felt impossibly familiar: his parents. A fierce warrior father of the Cru'uzu clan, and a gentle, beautiful mother whose voice wrapped around him like a lullaby.
His new name:
Angel Cru'uzu.
Born with silver-blue eyes, pale blond hair streaked with black, and a quiet presence that felt almost divine, Angel carries the spark of a hero - and the shadow of something more dangerous.
In a world ruled by gods and fate, a boy with the soul of a soldier and the heart of a fallen angel begins his journey anew.