Reality Quest: The Monarch(Rewritten)

[Void, Realm of Oblivion]

In the unfathomable abyss where time and space dissolve into insignificance, the Void stretched endlessly—a place beyond mortal comprehension, where all that once existed and was forgotten lay in eternal silence. No sound echoed there, no color thrived, only an immeasurable vastness where existence itself seemed like a mistake.

Yet, despite its desolate nature, something persisted in that formless expanse. White spheres floated in the nothingness, each pulsing with an ethereal glow, like condemned stars forced to shine without purpose. These entities were known as Creators, absolute beings whose presence transcended the human concept of divinity. However, despite their immense power, they were not true gods. They were mere shadows of what might one day become supreme, imperfect imitations of the absolute.

For this reason, they bore a name that served both as a title and a curse—Pseudo Gods. Creatures of limitless potential yet flawed essence. For above them, there existed One—a singular, unreachable being whose supremacy was unquestionable. And no matter how they tried, they could never compare to Him.

Among the Pseudo Gods, one stood out—not for being the strongest, but because he still clung to a peculiar desire: perfection. His name was [Damian Magnus], and at that moment, he was absorbed in his work, manipulating the essence of forgotten existences, attempting to weave a new reality from nothingness.

"Ah… What a shame, dear Jack," he murmured, holding a pale flame in his spectral hand. His tone expressed neither coldness nor compassion, only a casual acceptance. "You weren't enough... maybe next time."

The white flame, which had previously flickered faintly in his palm, pulsed for a final moment before being deposited into a glowing blue sphere. It was a ritual done without haste, almost methodical. He had done this countless times before.

After all, this was no ordinary flame. It was a soul.

But like all the others, before a new beginning, it needed to be purified. Its flaws, memories, and remnants of the past would be erased, transforming it into a fragment of pure potential, ready to be cast into a new existence.

With a bored sigh, Damian slid his spectral fingers through the void and pulled another white flame from an endless ocean of dormant lights. This one, unlike the previous, glowed with a peculiar intensity. It was ancient. One that had been cleansed millennia ago and was now ready to be used.

His eyes, as unfathomable as the Void itself, reflected a brief spark of interest.

"Let's try again with Reality Quest," he declared, a cryptic smile forming.

The white flame flickered gently in the infinite darkness until it began to change. Its pulsating light, once an amorphous sphere, began to shape itself, taking on a humanoid form. Small contours appeared—hands, legs, a torso—until the silhouette of a man began to take shape, still enveloped in the shimmering spectral luminescence.

Damian Magnus, the Pseudo God, observed with an indifferent gaze and a sly smile on his lips. His spectral hands held the newly-formed soul with a casual lightness, as if he were holding a simple grain of sand in the Void.

Then, the light of the soul trembled—not from instability, but from awareness. It was awake.

For a moment, it tried to move, tried to speak, but… nothing. No sound echoed from its luminous form. No matter how hard it tried, its voice simply did not exist there.

"Don't try, little mortal." Damian's voice sounded firm but almost amused, as if instructing a stubborn child. "You don't need a voice here. Just accept what's offered, understand?"

The silhouette of the flame hesitated. An invisible protest, an unspoken plea. But there was no choice. Feeling powerless, it nodded slowly.

It accepted.

Damian Magnus smiled, satisfied. That was the first lesson everyone learned there: there was no room for refusals.

With a simple gesture of his free hand, the Pseudo God summoned a blue sphere that appeared in the void beside them. Bright, intense, like a tiny sun, it floated, emanating a vibrant, pulsating energy.

"Listen well, mortal." Damian began, spinning the blue sphere on the tip of his fingers as if it were a simple toy. "You will be sent to the world of Reality Quest. And, as you should remember, it's a place full of challenges..."

He paused, his gaze assessing the motionless expression of the human flame before continuing:

"Systems, battles, superhumans, bullies, gangs, and delinquents. Right?"

The luminous silhouette waved again. He remembered.

"Great. Now, so that you don't die like an insignificant weakling..." Damian snapped his fingers, and the blue sphere glowed even brighter, as if something were being imprinted on it. "You will receive advantages."

For a moment, the soul trembled, almost as if vibrating with joy. But...

"And disadvantages." Damian's voice sounded amused, but with a hint of cruelty.

The flame's animation was immediately crushed. If it had a face, it would likely show despair.

"A balance is necessary, right? After all, receiving without giving anything in return wouldn't be fair."

The soul hesitated, but had no choice. It couldn't speak. It couldn't refuse. It could only... accept.

The Pseudo-God watched everything with a sharp gaze. Last time, he had been soft. The previous chosen one grew too strong too quickly, and that... deeply disappointed him.

This time would be different.

This time, he would ensure there were real difficulties.

"Let's begin." Damian Magnus' voice sounded firm, almost ceremonial.

In that instant, the Void responded to his command. As if space itself were answering his will, an ethereal glow appeared in the air, and before him manifested a deck of cards, divided into two distinct piles.

A white deck, radiating a serene silver light, floated to his right. A red deck, burning with a bright and oppressive glow, hovered to his left.

Unlike Jain's case, who had been sent to the world of Bleach with granted wishes, this time Damian would not grant anything. No wish, no conscious choice, no free privileges.

Only luck.

And he would not intervene.

If the soul before him was blessed or cursed, it was not for him to decide. The fate of fortune itself would determine the path it would take.

"Choose three white cards and three red cards." His voice echoed with an unmistakable tone of command. "The white ones represent your advantages, while the red ones carry your disadvantages. What you receive... will depend solely on your destiny. Now, choose."

The radiant silhouette hesitated for a moment. There was no voice to express uncertainty, nor physical hands to hold the cards. But somehow, through a supernatural instinct, the soul knew it could touch the cards with its will.

From the white card deck, the flame carefully chose:

The card farthest to the right above.The card farthest to the left below.The card positioned near the center of the pile.

For a brief moment, something unexpected happened.

Damian Magnus's eyes narrowed slightly. His usual smile vanished for a fraction of a second. Surprise?

He knew every card. He knew exactly what each one contained.

And what he saw... surprised him.

"Hm... interesting." He murmured to himself, observing the selection.

Against all expectations, the chosen advantages were of a high level. Extremely above average.

For a brief moment, Damian considered cheating, altering one of the choices to reduce the positive impact. But then, he leaned back into the invisible air, crossing his arms.

"No," he said to himself. "Let's trust that bad luck will balance the scales."

He firmly believed in the weight of destiny. For every blessing, there should be an equivalent curse.

And now it was the turn of the red card game.

The soul repeated the same process, choosing three cards from the scarlet deck. The chosen positions were similar to the white ones, with slight differences of one or two cards apart.

The moment the last red card was selected...

Damian smiled.

"Hahaha... it seems the balance has decided to manifest."

Bad luck truly had spoken.

The disadvantages chosen were as severe as the advantages were grand.

The False Divine watched everything with sharp eyes, satisfied with the irony of fate.

Strength and Weakness.

— "Reveal the advantages first."

Damian Magnus' command echoed through the Void, carrying with it absolute authority.

The soul obeyed without hesitation.

The first white letter began to glow, gently spinning in the air before unfolding into glowing letters, engraved like ethereal fire:

[Complete System]

"A system similar to Reality Quest, but updated with a Shop, Daily Quests, Advantageous Rewards, Dungeons, and Challenges."

A complete system.

The soul absorbed this information with a wave of relief and excitement. Reality Quest already had ways to grow and become stronger, but with an updated and expansive system, the possibilities became endless.

Shop? One could obtain rare items. Daily Quests? A constant source of growth. Advantageous Rewards? Something that would likely push him beyond others. Dungeons and Challenges? More opportunities to improve.

It was a perfect tool for someone wanting to reach the top.

But that was only the beginning.

The second white card shone and revealed itself.

[Yamazaki Blood]

"The Blood of Oni runs through your veins, your potential rises to abnormal levels. No one can rival you. Your talent is so great that you can awaken the Reverse Eyes."

The soul trembled.

This... was this real?!

The Yamazaki Blood.

The blood of demons.

The same monstrous blood that flowed through the veins of Jong Gun and Shingen Yamazaki, living legends in the PTJverse. Now, it would also run through his veins.

Abnormal potential.

No rival capable of matching him.

And the most insane part of all…

Ultra Instinct.

The soul could not contain its excitement.

Combining this power with the system, perhaps even Ultra Instinct would be within reach in the future!

The mere idea was absurd. But the thought barely had time to deepen, as the third white card manifested.

And this... was the greatest surprise of all.

[Perfect Body with the Perfect Copy Technique]

"The same body as Daniel Park's, possessing his Copy Technique. Neither of them can reach a higher peak unless they are combined. Naturally separate, but their combination is supreme. There is only one among billions who possesses these talents together."

The soul froze.

This... this was ridiculous!

Daniel Park's Perfect Body was a genetic anomaly, a physical structure shaped to absolute perfection, capable of effortlessly surpassing human limits.

And not just that...

The Perfect Copy Technique.

The ability to copy any technique, any style, any movement, and master them completely.

It was an absolute hack.

One in billions.

The level of talent and raw potential these three advantages held was something no one—absolutely no one—would ever receive in any world.

The soul would have let out a victorious scream if it could speak.

But its silent celebration was interrupted by a low, amused laugh.

Damian Magnus was smiling.

"Hah... and you thought you would come out of this unscathed?"

He twirled his fingers, and the three red cards began to glow.

If fortune had granted him unprecedented blessings...

Now misfortune would reveal the corresponding curses.

The Void trembled slightly as the red card revealed itself, as if fate itself were laughing at the challenge placed before the soul.

The three curses burned like black flames in the space around them, contrasting with the blessings granted before.

[Absolute Barriers]"Your talent may throb, but that won't be enough. Your talent must explode and break barriers for your true abilities to be unleashed! The paths will become difficult and borderline impossible."

The soul felt the impact of this sentence.

If the Yamazaki Blood granted him monstrous talent, this curse was an invisible cage.

It was as if his own potential was locked away, and the only way to free it would be by breaking his own limits over and over again.

A heavy burden.

However...

Demons know no chains.

The Yamazaki Blood could not be contained forever.

It would explode out of the prison, like wild fire devouring the night.

The second curse revealed itself soon after.

[Impossible Challenges]"In a fight against a strong opponent, the impossible will become twice as strong, and the paths will be blocked. It is up to you to challenge the impossible and carve your own path. If you do not, you are unworthy of your own talent."

If the system offered advantages and support, this curse came to destroy any sense of comfort.

The soul understood immediately.

If he faced a powerful enemy, fate would double the odds against him.

The options would become limited.

The exits would be locked.

The world would tell him there was no more path ahead.

And at that moment...

He would have to defy logic and create a new path with his own hands.

If he didn't do this...

Then he wasn't worthy of the monstrous talent he received.

The soul swallowed the anxiety. This was more than a burden...

It was a constant judgment.

And finally, the third and final curse emerged, burning with a bright red glow.

[Perfect Opponent]"All Bosses become stronger. You cannot rely on chance against them. Only your own strength, talent, and effort can defeat them. Nothing else. Only you can defeat your own enemy."

The soul trembled.

This was... PERFECT.

There would be no shortcuts.There would be no luck.There would be no divine intervention.

If an enemy stood before him, only his strength would matter.

No op items.No system flaws.No unfair advantages.

He would have to be strong enough to win... or fall trying.

The soul did not feel fear.

It felt excitement.

It was a cruel balance.

But it was a fair balance.

With a satisfied smile, Damian Magnus closed his hand, and the cards dissolved into light and darkness.

"It seems the balance has been well established, doesn't it?" The voice of the False Divine echoed, laced with a tone of amusement.

The soul nodded.

Even without a voice, it fully accepted its fate.

"Very well..."

Damian raised his hand, and the human flame began to distort, swirling in spirals of light and shadow.

"Now... go and show the world that you are capable of defying the impossible."

And then, the Void dissolved in a brilliant flash.

The reincarnation had begun.