As I walked toward the living room I couldn't help but sink into a sea of doubts and questions.
"Who was looking for me? One of my enemies? Have they already discovered that I'm not the real Klein Moretti and come to deal with me? Or could it be someone else? That wouldn't be a surprise either, considering how broken this universe is"
As much as I tried to convince myself that I wasn't in danger, the truth was obvious that whoever had arrived was an enemy, after all they dared to make my sister disappear and replace her with… whatever was now standing behind me.
With no other option, I decided to use the little time I had left before entering the room to analyze every possibility because If I was going to receive my "friend" I would at least do so prepared.
"Let's see… starting with the lore of Warhammer 40K among humanity's enemies who might want me dead is Tzeentch.
If I were to ascend to a "Great Old One" I would completely escape his design, and not only that, but I could directly counter what he represent.
That lets me rule out Khorne since he's the one who hates that lunatic manipulator of destiny the most.
Besides I don't represent a direct threat to his domain… unless I decide to eradicate war and slaughter, which honestly isn't in my immediate plans.
Nurgle wouldn't have any clear reason to intervene either, since I would have control over the realm of souls and not the living or decay itself.
As long as I don't interfere with his followers, he would probably ignore me.
Slaanesh, on the other hand… No, I'd rather not think about that"
A chill ran down my spine at the thought, after all one must admit, that particular Chaos God is terrifying if one still retains their humanity… and he notices it.
With the Warhammer 40K universe at least partially ruled out I continued evaluating other possibilities since that wasn't the only universe fused with this one.
"If we take Nanatsu no Taizai into account... I doubt the Demon King or the Supreme Deity are in any condition to move freely thanks to the Seven Deadly Sins, besides since Escanor still exists I know almost no one important has died yet… I think"
That eased my worries a little, after all the fewer universes chasing me, the better my chances of survival, and I definitely want to survive.
"As for Berserk… I highly doubt it, The God Hand rarely takes interest in anyone who isn't Guts... Steve… whatever his name is in this universe.
Either way I don't plan on becoming their new tragic plaything
Now then… Alucard, from what I know about him he might consider me a threat since the Realm of Hel would fall under my dominion once I ascend, and given his nature he would likely try to prevent that"
I kept forming plans perfectly aware that these weren't the only universes mixed into this one, and even if they were few universes in number each of them was absurdly powerful.
Unfortunately, my planning ended when we reached the entrance to the living room.
"Shit, there are no more options left but to face whatever was on the other side"
So without hesitation, I adopted a formal smile to avoid raising suspicion… but it collapsed the moment I saw who was standing before me.
Because anyone would be shocked if on an ordinary day they were visited by the greatest spy in the world.
The man who turned a global protection agency into a nest of HYDRA.
The indirect cause of most, if not all, of the Avengers problems
The professional paranoid who designs contingency plans for his own contingency plans… and still couldn't prevent the universe from losing half its life.
That's right, my "friend" was none other than Nick Fury in the flesh
Though… not exactly the one I knew.
He wore the eyepatch and the perpetually irritated expression… but his clothing was different because Instead of the classic black tactical gear, he wore green robes with red details.
Even so I didn't have much time to analyze him because the moment we recognized each other, he began speaking without even rising from the couch.
"Sorry for the unexpected visit, I've been busy handling… certain matters"
"Uh… don't worry, I wasn't expecting you either, Nice to see you"
The instant I said those words I realized my mistake, I wasn't supposed to know Nick Fury, but now not only had I greeted him casually but I had clearly shown recognition.
"Shit, he's definitely suspects something"
I trough, and as if confirming my thoughts, he casually drew a gun while his expression hardened even further as he said
"Drop the act and tell me who you are motherfucker, I know damn well you're not Klein Moretti"
"Damn it, he figured it out with just a glance and a sentence? As expected from the world's greatest spy"
I trough as I slowly raised my hands, and trying to regain at least a shred of control I said.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, and please lower the gun, I wouldn't want you to scare my sister by barging in armed"
"Don't drag me into this, impostor, you're clearly not my real brother"
That voice belonged to Melissa, so I slowly turned toward a pillar from which she emerged, making me even more shocked than before.
She stood at a distance, holding a knife while tears streamed down her face, yet her eyes were filled with hatred.
"My real brother would never have been stupid enough to answer a Priest of the Church of the Mother Goddess without bowing first even less one who had black skin color"
In that moment, I understood something unexpected, not only did Fury know I wasn't Klei, Melissa did too.
Yet even stunned, I turned around a little resigned yet fearful to look at the "Melissa" who had brought me here, and to no one's surprise she removed a high-tech mask.
And to my even greater surprise the one who had led me here was none other than Natasha Romanoff, the legendary Black Widow.
So yeah, what I thought was a clone of my "sister" thanks to some short of mystical power ended up being the sexy assassin who died in exchange for the soul stone
And her, without even giving me time to process the fact that two of Marvel's key figures were in my own house pulled out a gun and aimed it at me.
So here I was, a super-assassin behind me, the king of spies in front of me, and Melissa at the side of a pillar, all pointing weapons at me.
It was more than obvious that I was more screwed than I had ever imagined, so without other choice, I had to tell them the truth about who I was.
Or rather a "truth", I'm not stupid enough to say I'm a reincarnated being from a higher-dimensional plane and that until recently they were all fictional characters to me.
So instead, I told them the "truth" about Zhou Mingrui.
"My… my name is Zhou Mingrui, I'm a software engineer from China, don't know how I ended up in this body or who put me here, I only know that two days ago I woke up in this body after the previous owner committed suicide"
After I said that, I saw Melissa's expression shift from pure hatred to doubt, sorrow, and then guilt, making the the knife slipped from her hand while she collapsed to her knees crying even harder then before.
But to my surprise, instead of lowering Fury's guard, it only made him angrier, then he fired a shot into the ceiling and aimed the gun at me again with fury now completely unrestrained.
"Do you think I'm stupid motherfucker?! You think I don't already know that? I know damn well the real Klein committed suicide, I can see his soul right now trying to comfort Melissa!"
When he said that, both Melissa and I reacted, though in very different ways.
Melissa seemed relieved to know her brother's soul was still there, trying to console her while I, on the other hand, felt even more terrified.
Because if he could see souls, then he could clearly see that I wasn't Chinese, because no, I'm not Chinese, I'm not even Asian, rather I'm from the United States.
And that wasn't the only problem
If what Melissa said was true, then what Fury had done wasn't unusual for natives of this world.
Which meant I had failed not only the identity test, but even the nativity test as well.
"Shit, how I was supposed to know that Fury have powers when he always have been show as a human even in fanfics?!"
"…Fine, I admit I'm not native to this universe"
I said it resigned but not defeated, after all, I still have my last card to play.
"I'll introduce myself properly, you all can call me Mr. Fool and I'm a native of another universe, In my original universe you could say that—"
"Cut the crap."
This time Natasha interrupted, visibly annoyed and I visible more fearful for some strange reason.
"We already know you're from another universe. You're not the only one who's arrived here"
When she finished speaking, it was my turn to look completely horrified, now understanding the source of my unknown fear
"That… that shouldn't be possible"
"Well, you'd better believe it" Fury replied more calmer now but still holding his weapon "Because just like you we've captured more than twenty "interdimensional travelers" And counting"
And while he said that number irritated, I dropped to my knees in shock because If that number was real, it meant something terrifying.
Either the Sephiroth had released all the reincarnators at once… Or just like what happened years ago, we were the survivors of a universal collision.
"No… please tell me that's not true"
I said, with the hope that... That at least there were a form of survival to me, yet not matter how much I wanted to lie to myself, the truth always it's cruel
"It is, and unfortunately for you that means you're coming with us for questioning"
Natasha lowered her weapon and approached me, but to that point I wasn't paying attention anymore because I could now say with certainty that I was completely alone.
Pov: Protagonist
★"Are you sure this will be useful in any way?"
The system asked for the fifth time doubting this step of my plan, like he have been doing since I proposed to make the "reencarnated"
"For the fifth and last time, yes, It will be now stop asking before I get more mad that I already are."
★ "Hey, don't get mad at me, It's not my fault I can't believe it'll work this time."
"And yet It's also not my fault that Tony Stark's brainwashing worked so well that it caused genocides on a massive scale."
I said more mad at Tony that I already are, after all anyone would be happy if a chess piece managed to stand out on the board.
But when it wins the entire game by itself, it becomes irritating because no one wants a victory so overwhelming that it stops being a challenge.
"Better tell me something, how long until the cosmic aspect of Death in this universe dies?, I don't want to play the house with her anymore, it got boring"
★ "Not too long thanks once again to you"
"Good, at least that truly would be more useful rather than what have done Shou Tucker to the universe since he became a "secuence 0" "
Honestly, I had expected a greater challenge when conquering this universe, but instead I only had to write a fake script and everything followed my will perfectly.
So perfectly that ever since Galactus died at the hands of Charlotte Linlin, I haven't faced a single real challenge.
★ "Not to ruin your moment but Tony just discovered another entrance to the protected pony realm and started another massacre in the Emperor's name."
"...."
And once again, I was reminded why genius protagonists should never be modified of their determined path
Because somehow, that protagonist just ignored more than 4 distinct "curses", and even so managed to reach his objective
*Somewhere in a pocket dimension of earth*
Pov: General
"IT'S THE PONY HUNTER!! HE FOUND AN ENTRANCE!!"
"EVERYONE RUN!! RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!"
Spoiler alert, they cannot escapé.
"HE SAW ME!! HELP!!"
Yeah, that tends to happen when you scream y'know?.
*The roar of a chainsword shreds through the peaceful ambience of pastel architecture and friendship-themed infrastructure militarized*
And there he is, Tony Stark, billionaire because everyone fear him, genius obsessed with the Emperor of mankind, and current crusader inside a pocket dimension of Earth
"IN THE NAME OF THE EMPEROR!! DIE DAMNED XENOS!!"
He says this every time y'know?, a lot of people, and in particular ponies, would really liked to meet this "Emperor"
*The chainsword carves a blazing path through the panicked streets full of blood and gore*
"NO!! NOOOO!!"
"AAAAAAAAAGH!!"
"HE GRABBED ME!!, HE—" *sound of a head crushed*
And that concludes that testimonial, inspiratory*clap X2*
"AS LONG AS I LIVE, NO XENO WILL EVER TOUCH TERRA ONCE AGAIN!!"
Small issue, this isn't exactly Terra, it would be better called a "pocket dimension" inside earth, but I admire the confidence of his words
*Nanobots ripple across his arm, assembling into a bolter*
"GLORY TO THE EMPEROR AND GLORY TO HIS CRUSADE!!"
There it is, as expected, the brand loyalty remains unmatched.
*Gunfire erupts, making buildings crack and colorful banners celebrating seasonal friendship festivals collapse*
Honestly? I'm amazed that they still trying to celebrate the friendship after all that have happened to them
.... *Cof X2* ....
Right, Introductions.
Hello, dear observers, I am the new General POV.
The writer manufactured me after the previous one suffered what professionals call "protagonist-induced psychological erosion"
In simpler terms he lost his mind
Completely understandable, really, after narrating planetary collapses out there, cosmic manipulations, and at least three reality-adjustment arcs before breakfast, the poor man snapped during a particularly enthusiastic purge
So now I'm here.
Stable, professional, and contractually obligated because if I didn't do it, I lost my life
*A flamethrower forms in Tony's grasp*
"BURN IN THE FLAMES OF HIS WRATH!! AND BECOME THE ASHES THAT PAVE HIS RETURN!!"
Yes, Fire, The universal solution to ideological disagreement, how new
*Flames roll across the town square making decorative fountains evaporate and fragments of ponies carbonized*
Someone's friendship mural is having a very bad moment in that sea of flames
"NO MERCY FOR HERETICS!!, DEMONS!!, OR XENOS!!, EVERYTHING WILL SUBMIT UNDER HIS WILL!!"
Spoiler once again, that was close to happen in the far future
*A distant voice cries out*
"SOMEONE!! PLEASE CALL THE MANE SIX!! WE NEED—" *She explode*
You see, this is what happens when you give a genius protagonist nanotechnology, religious fervor without being an actual faith, and zero editorial oversight
It did not go well for the poor ponies as you can see
*Chainsword generated again*
"THIS TIME I WILL ERASE YOUR ENTIRE SPECIES!! YOU WHO DEFILED HIS GLORIOUS SUN WITH YOUR FALSE GODDESS!!"
Strong words from a man who adores an "Emperor who is not a God"
*More structures collapse, smoke spirals upward and the moral of the defenders decline*
And through it all, Tony advances with absolute conviction once again, with no hesitation, no doubt and bathed in the blood of little ponies
Which is where I come in because someone has to acknowledge that this entire situation is absurd
Somewhere out there, the protagonist is watching this unfold while complaining that this wasn't supposed to happen once again
Meanwhile, I'm here narrating pastel Armageddon number.... Seven if I'm not wrong?, and wondering if dental insurance covers existential dread
Still.
I will do my best to make this enjoyable for you, after all, if we're going to witness interdimensional fanaticism and bad slogans, we might as well do it with style
And possibly therapy, a LOT of therapy