Hero of Prophecies Heading to the Strongest World

”Do not disappoint me, boy. ”

There was a feeling of uneasiness.

A sense of emptiness loomed over me. It was as if I was submerged in vast bodies of water. I could not see it, I could not hear it, and I could not move. However, I could feel it. It was as if there was an anchor tied to me, a burden seeking me further down the sea.

There was nothing but water.

Who am I? What am I? ”

I asked nonsensical questions that I knew the answer to. Yet, I couldn understand if I existed. I wonder… What seemed to be the bottom sea sent a loud and powerful tingle through my spine. A hard surface beneath me, and the sensation of water vanishes with every second that passes. Where am I? Who am I? I wonder.

Next, there was a sudden thud. I could feel something pulse through my body. The sound becomes more rapid, and the feeling weighs heavier in my chest. This is the sound of a pulsating heart.

For a moment, there was endless pulsating. But soon, blood filled the threads giving me—life again.

I could move. I squeezed my hand and balled my fingers into a fist. The chains keeping my limbs alive stretched, tearing one after another sending a chain of shock through my nerves, burning me from the inside.

My limbs continued to tear themselves apart, repairing themselves in the process. Each time, returned to me more resilient than the last.

As the process was coming to an end, my eyes had begun to form. The eerie—slithery terrifying feeling of a parasitic creature crawled through my head. A ball of gelatin substance filled the two in my skulls, connecting with the parasite.

At first, it was all blurry. Like a thick haze surrounding my head. But as some time passed, my focus improved. There was a figure of light somewhere in this dark and empty void.

There was nothing visible to the eye—but beneath me was the hard and cold surface shrouded in darkness. My eyes wandered, searching for the source of light I had caught a glimpse of while my eyes were still adjusting.

*Tap*

Hitting me in my forearm, was the first object found in this void. It was a book, dusty and torn. The unique, or strange part of all of this, was that the book had been floating. Sitting in the air with its page flipped open.

”It is nice to meet you, Yosiah Heliodoro. ”

I turned to my left to find a woman of immeasurable beauty. She sat in what felt to be the corner of the dark abyss and stared at me with a graceful smile. She had long white hair that bounced off of her crimson-red eyes and a thin white light that illuminated her figure.

The thin light reflected off of the diamond placed on her throne and brought little shimmers of light into the darkness. The woman in front of me held herself in pristine lighting. She sat on the throne with confidence, she held her legs crossed and rested her arms on the rest of her throne. It was almost as if she was proclaiming herself to be superior to me.

”If you don mind me asking… who are you? ”

I question all of this. I wonder… did I get kidnapped and taken into some strange room? Or am I on my deathbed facing Lady Death in my final moments? To me, these are all valid questions.

She grinned and uncrossed (?) her legs, ”I am the former Goddess of Hope, Asyn. And I am here to guide you to another world. ”

She was confident. She spoke in an elegant and dignified manner, but there was something off about her confidence. As if she put on a facade that she has practiced for years to perfect. But even further, there was an imminent sense of anxiousness in her words. In truth, it was more offputting than my current situation.

To make matters worse, she claimed to be a Goddess. Or better yet, a former Goddess of Hope.

In her words, she claims that she will guide me to another world. What sort of otherworld? Like hell or heaven? Valhalla? Or could she be alluding to some fantasy world adventures? I would rather take the other two if thats the case.

”So—lets say that I believe in your story… Now, what am I supposed to do? Enter an eternal paradise? ”

She stood from her throne and began approaching me. She lowered herself down to my level and rested her hand on my shoulder, ”Yosiah A Heliodoro, you are the only one capable of venturing into this other world. By the hand of a Goddess, I promise you that your journey will be far greater than the fate of death. ”

”Thats fine and all, but who are you? ”

”I told you before, I am the former Goddess of Hope and Salvation, Asyn Ixtaro. ”

The Goddess of Hope and Salvation, Asyn Ixtaro? It wasn too difficult to believe or wrap my mind around. I mean in the not-so-far distance is a century-old book (at least) floating in the air. But there was something that she was leaving out, I could feel it. She continued to peer into my eyes as if she is looking directly at my soul.

A divine being?

She kneeled close to me, suggesting that we are equals. But for the first time in my life, I could feel the overwhelming difference between humans and God that the stories suggest. If this is the distance between us, then I don find it logical for us to catch up to them.

↓

I watched it in horror.

The heros corpse laid out in front of me, the incantation circle glowing in a bright blue hue.

His internal organs filled his figure—his muscle and skin wrapping around the skeleton. He twitched in pain, his body rocking side to side as his limbs ripped apart from one another.

He screamed, filling the room with grotesque screeching. He slowly becomes aware of his existence, rising to his knees as his body forms and tears itself.

He won be completed at this rate.

He rested his arms on the ground and blood spewed from his eyes and mouth.

His breathing regulated itself, but his skin began falling from the bone. The light from the circle began shining even brighter. He was healing at a rapid rate, his skin fresh and healthy.

His screaming and moans stopped.

The circle vanished.

”Nice to meet you… Mr. Yosiah Heliodoro. ”

I read and memorized the name on the paper—I felt that I was too stunned to even memorize something as simple as his name or age; I greeted the mortal in the same manner that I was taught to speak by the Primordial God, Irises, God of Infamy.

However, in a somewhat unexpected response, he jumped a little.

The naked hero turned to me, his aura wrapped around his physique, ”If you don mind me asking, who are you? ” He stared daggers at me and sat with his palm open as a declaration that his guard was lowered. I stood from the throne and approached the hero who moved his open palm to a defensive position. I kneeled before him and rested my hand on his left shoulder to show that I am his ally.

”I told you before, I am the former Goddess of Hope and Salvation, Asyn Ixtaro. ”

I took this moment to peer into his soul. The eyes are the perfect access point to the soul. But to my surprise, I found that his vessel was empty. Inside—a colorless emptied void was hidden behind the color mass of Golden and Brown.

Someone must have claimed his soul.

But who? He rested from the realm of Hu, the realm of the dead for the past three or so years, within that time it is likely that some being could have claimed his soul… but this still wouldn make much sense. Logically speaking, I wouldn have been able to summon him.

In the same breath, however, it is impossible to not have a soul.

The souls are created by the Supreme Being. Everything in existence claims a soul, even if dormant. The stars, mortals, and even Gods. Nothing is left without a soul.

What made it even more unlikely to not have a soul, his body—or vessel in this sense, and yet there was a thick cloud of a golden aura surrounding the mortal, this was an unnatural occurrence.

The aura is the visibility of the soul.

He stared at me, his eyes tightened and shimmering in a golden light. ”Could you step back a bit? ”

I stood and faced away from him. After heaving an exhausted sigh, I returned to my seat with the thought my high has run out… I clapped my palms together twice and summoned a scroll.

”Article III – Section III, we are permitted to hand the hero one miracle of their choice. Article II – In section III, we are permitted to explain the details of the journey to the Hero—and it is the heros choice to start the journey or abandon it. Article I – Section V, we are permitted to read you your rights. Under the protection of the law, it is a necessity that you understand and can comprehend your Author Rights. ”

He sat in silence, processing the information in his head and confirming my words. He let out a cool, ”Yeah. ” in response to my questions and leaned his head on his knee.

The scroll levitated towards him, sitting and opening itself in front of the hero.

”You can choose two items from the list to accompany you on our journey, ” I told the hero, ”We are heading to a world much different than your owns, but one that you humans seem to be quite fond of. ”

He looked up from the scroll and stopped for a moment to glare at me, ”By any chance… is this going to be some Isekai bullshit? Like Konosuba or Overlord? ” He asked this question in a concerned tone, his chin resting on his knee. ”Yes, I would assume so. ” Upon hearing my response, the hero slouched over and rested his arms over his knee and head. ”Could you just take me back then? ”

”If you don mind me asking… why? ”

”It isn worth it to me. ” He sat upright to look me in the eyes, ”you
e telling me to live in a world without technology. No smartphones, no television, no internet, and no normal clothing. Why should I leave all of that behind to learn some magic or to fight a Demon Lord? ”

He finished his sentence heaving a deep—disgruntled sigh, pressing his palms against his forehead.

”So—if you could, I would like to not enter another world. ”

I would love to send him back to his world, I would love to send him to an eternal paradise, but the truth of the matter is that I cannot.

”That is not possible at the moment. Your only choice of existence is entering Sacolla. ”

The truth is that he does not possess his own soul. Someone else does. To be capable of summoning a mortal back from the dead even if another possesses your soul can only mean that I allowed access. Someone dropped his soul off to the realm of the Dead. And that someone may be connected to that Jackal.

It could be the Primordial Gods. But it may be something far more sinister than that. I mean, who would be crazy enough to claim a mortals soul than offer it to me for free? Or better yet, what happened in this mortals past for someone to claim his soul in the first place?

The hero heaved a disappointed sigh at me and collapsed to the ground beneath him to show me his discontent, ”I thought you said that I had a choice. ” He blew some of his hair out of his face. ”Could you at least give me some form of an explanation here? ” He asked me this, but Im not sure how much I should tell him.

”I cannot return you to your world. Your soul has already been claimed amongst the dead. ”

Telling the mortal, the entire truth could be detrimental moving forward. A mental breakdown, reluctance to enter a new world, and lack of motivation. Numerous scenarios could unfold if he realized that he did not own his soul. To him, this could come off as some divine punishment or the inability to enjoy the eternal paradise he was promised.

”Thats nice and all, but you
e telling me that you can return me to the dead? ”

He possessed the eyes of a hawk. His gaze pierced through my facade. This isn the first time he ran into a God. Im not sure why—but there is an aura surrounding the mortal.

It was golden. It matched his eyes and skin. But it should not be there. The aura is the exterior of the soul. It represents the soul and the colors that mortals usually represent are red, blue, yellow, violet, green, gray, and white. However, there are other variations of a soul.

A mortal protected by a divine item, or a God can bear the same colors as the Gods, white. Then there are the mortals to make a deal with the devil, either for wealth or in exchange for ones soul, and they have been forced to dawn the colors of the Fallen, black.

Have you ever heard of the chosen royals?

They were the ones chosen to rule, handpicked by God. Im sure the word of this has gotten around, such as King James I, who claimed to have a divine relationship with God. This is true. In the past, mortals were often picked to carry a divine message or duty with them. Of course, with said responsibilities came gifts. It did not matter if the request was eternal beauty or generational wealth, immortality, or all the riches, in the past, the Prime Gods were willing to claim power and status, even if it meant offering mortals power in exchange.

And yet, the mortal in front of me bore the same rich aura as those who came before him. He sat there without possession of his very own soul, and yet… there was an aura—more visible to the naked eye than to any ordinary mortal. His existence is a question, who is he? Or rather, where does he come from?

I stared at him to look into his past. Instead of his soul, I made his aura my intended target. The aura expanded and rushed toward me. Like the formation of a universe, memories that did not belong to him came rushing into me, then the sound of a womans voice spoke to me, ”Im sorry, but this is as far as you go. ”

In an instant, the voice shut me out. It was a rush of memories, not his, but a womans. She intentionally showed me some of her memories, but neither her identity nor goal was shown. Whoever this woman is, she is incredibly skillful… no, she is an entity with more power than me.

The only answer that I could arrive at was the ancient lineage of the hero. There is a perfect divide between dating back to the Songhai Empire and the Ancient Egyptians. But that is not enough to reveal the answers that I need. ”Is… there something on my face? ”

The mortal stared at me with eyes narrowed, he had a sense of annoyance in his voice, and I could tell that he had already grown tired of this situation. ”Please accept my deepest apologies… where were we? ” I asked him. He sat back exposing his nude body, ”You were telling me that I don have a choice in something that I am supposed to have a choice in. ” So thats what was bothering him… I understand that its a disagreeable process; hell, even I don want to go myself.

”How about we strike a deal?! ”

”A deal? ”

He sat up and peered his sharp golden eyes at me, ”Yes. If you enter this world with me, I will negotiate a deal with the Primordial Gods to give you a chance at a comfortable and stress-free life, one of your choosing. On top of that, I will request that they offer you one wish in advance. ”

The mortal stood from the ground and started stretching his arms, ”tell me, whats the real reason why I cannot return to the dead? You seem desperate. An educated guess would be that theres a bit too much you
e not telling me. ” He started approaching me, ”So you want the truth? ” I asked him. ”Yes, only the truth. ”

”The world we are about to enter is called Sacolla. It is the most powerful pocket world in existence and has become a threat, not only to their own world but the others around it. ” He sat down near me to listen better. ”Continue. ” He demanded. ”The demon king is a near-omniscient entity… And about five decades ago, there was once a world called Aaerodorm. It was an A-ranked world with the potential to grow into rank S… Upon discovering the identities of the Gods, the entity became aware of the worlds surrounding them… And upon realizing this, he absorbed the neighboring world into his own. ”

”How is that even possible? ” The mortal glared at me.

”Im not sure myself. It happened after he struck a deal with the Primordial Gods, so I wasn there to see it. But… through all of the realms and all of the nightmares, I can still hear his laughter as he came into contact with Aaerodorm. ”

The mortal stared at me for a while, without uttering a single word. Then let out a long-awaited sigh. ”Fine, I don mind going. ” His words hit me with a wave of relief, ”But, you have to keep your end of the deal. ”

”Great! Then we have a deal! ”