I'm old and tired. I have lived a long, fulfilling life, and I have seen technology change the world and culture people live in. I grew up with tube TVs and now watch my favorite shows on smartphones and beyond.

   In my last days, I lay here in my home, surrounded by my family, watching some of the cheesy shows of my past. They all sit in deathly silence with me in my dying days just to humor an old man's whims. My three sons, their wives, and five grandchildren sit alongside my wife, having cried and come to terms with my inevitable passing that is soon to come. I'm not dying of cancer or some illness. No, something far worse and inevitable. Old age is my killer. I never suffered from dementia or any slipping of my mental faculties. No, I suffered from my body failing. My legs are unable to carry me, my bones creak with every step, and I am unable to even wipe my own ass! So when my in-home nurse told me the end was near, I was actually excited. Being trapped in your body is something I would never wish on anyone.

   My dear wife ensured I was surrounded by my pride and joy, my family. I wasn't some great man who changed the planet or did any great deeds, but I take pride in being an excellent father to my sons, a loving husband to my wife, and the grandpa who could be counted on to spoil his grandkids rotten.

   Now, I finally have them all here at once, actually paying attention to one of my favorite anime shows of all time. I wanted to watch the parody of it, but they would never understand the jokes at all. My sons are hardly paying attention anyhow, too worried over my old butt to enjoy these last moments together. If I didn't have this tube in my throat, I would be telling them as much. My grandkids, however, are actually enjoying it.

   As I lay here watching the longest five minutes of anime history, I feel myself growing colder even under my blankets. There are no monitors hooked up to me, I made sure of that. So, as I slip into that final farewell, I do so quietly with no regrets in what I could have done, only pride in what I had accomplished: a loving family and a fulfilled life.

   Only to be reawakened by the loudest blaring of trumpets I have ever heard, I instinctively curse out loud.

   Ryan-" Who the fuck!"

   As I opened my eyes, I realized I was surrounded by cliché scenes of heaven, with golden clouds filling my vision. It took me no more than a second to understand that I had passed away. What confused me was that I had never been religious, let alone baptized. I expected nothingness after death, not this. Suddenly, a prompt appeared in front of my face, resembling an old-school pop-up advertisement from my past, offering two choices: HEAVEN or ASCENSION.

   Although I had no idea what ascension meant, the thought of existing forever in heaven with everything I could ever desire sounded incredibly dull and probably came with some kind of catch. Therefore, with nothing but the prompt and an endless sea of golden clouds filling my vision, I chose ASCENSION.

   Dying is one thing; I was prepared for that. However, being pulled through an infinitely small tube like water to an unknown destination was much more disconcerting. It felt like an eternity, yet no time at all had passed when I suddenly found myself standing in front of a small group of people who seemed to have been expecting me. To my right sat a young, slender, blonde-haired woman wearing a white blouse with a braided ponytail, exclaiming in surprise.

   Blonde-"Finally! What took you so long?"

   Before I could answer, another woman interrupted her. She exuded what I imagined to be the aura of nobility, standing tall with incredibly black hair flowing down her shoulders and wearing a long black dress that hugged her perfectly proportioned curves. She carried herself with such regal demeanor that it washed away my irritation instantly.

   Tiana-"Please excuse her lack of manners. You must be incredibly confused. My name is Tiana, and this rude one is Clair." Clair rolled her eyes at Tiana. "The weeb hiding behind us on the computer, paying absolutely no attention to this important moment, is Jackie. What is your name, sir?"

   Being a bit tongue-tied while watching the dynamics between the three women, I couldn't help but laugh. But it wasn't the laugh I expected. My youthful laugh, full of vigor, resounded through this small, golden-tinted room. I choked back my laugh quickly, realizing that these women are anything but human, and proceeded to introduce myself.

   Ryan-"Hello, Tiana, Clair, and you as well, Jackie." I heard the keyboard momentarily stop clicking as Jackie peeked over the monitor. I saw fiery red hair contrasting with piercing green eyes, looking my way before once again hiding behind it and resuming whatever she was doing.

   Ryan-"My name is Ryan. I would say it's a pleasure to meet you, however, I'm still incredibly confused as to what is going on exactly."

   Tiana-"Allow me to give you an explanation then, Ryan," Tiana said with a small, sad smile on her face. "We are minor mutiversal goddesses who were born as mortals just like you on the same Earth as you. Before you ask any questions, allow me to explain in detail."

   "Long ago, Merlin attempted to rule Earth, our Earth, through the use of an admittedly ingenious magical circle he made using Earth, the very universe, its galaxies, and solar systems. His intention was to make himself into an in-universe god much like Zeus but far more powerful by drawing all the magic from the universe into himself. He wanted to rule the universe with impunity."

   "Fortunately, Morgan le Fay foiled his plans, but not perfectly. She managed to covertly alter the magic circle that Merlin made on Earth. Instead of being channeled into only him, it was channeled into all humans. This prevented Merlin from becoming the pinnacle of an in-universe god, but it didn't change the fact that all magic in our universe was used up in an instant. This resulted in the death of nearly every sentient or magical being in our universe."

   "You see, Ryan, higher sentient life cannot exist without magic normally. Souls rely on magic to sustain themselves. This caused Earth to be the only life-bearing planet left. The more intelligent species, such as whales and dolphins, regressed back to their more wild states, and even true wolves became docile and lost their pride, eventually becoming the dogs we made them. An uncountable number of deaths were caused by Merlin's actions. He ripped magic from everything, Ryan, even the very bones of dragons, turning them into dust."

  I listened intently as she continued to speak.

   Tiana-"What followed was even more unexpected. The magic funneled into humans changed our very souls. It allowed humanity, the last truly self aware species in our universe to live in a magicless world. it altered our souls to be one step onto the path of becoming a God. This however presented a paradoxical problem. To continue on the path of God hood requires more magic which was killed permanently. This is why Zeus, and the other gods ceased to be. They all died Ryan. this is the source of all the tales of fantasy that became nothing, but tall tales. Everything from Icarus falling to Atlantis sinking, were all caused by either the sudden absence of magic, or dieing in universe gods struggling against the inevitable."

   "Miraculously humans survived. The only truly intelligent species in the universe to do so. However, we gained nothing from this one small step. We aged just like normal. We gained no strength or power. This was the way until a multiversal Goddess appeared. Her name is Samsara or Sammy as she likes to be called. She found humans to be good at something no multiversal God could do on their own."

    "You see Ryan, with our enlarged non dependent souls. We made perfect Hero candidates. Sammy would transport the recently dead, souls to an entirely new universe knowing that our stronger souls would give us an incredible advantage in magic filled worlds as heroes helping to restore worlds full of suffering.

   "This had an unintended consequence of allowing us to continue on the path to God hood, and not just any normal in universe God, but full blown mutiversal God's. The big leagues. This process is not quick nor easy, in the slightest." 

   "It takes a minimum of a 100 transfers or 10,000 years to make this leap. Once you do you will be on the bottom of the totem pole like we are. This is not without it's own drawbacks either." 

   "Once we make that transition, there is no universe that can contain us any longer, we get rejected like a virus by the very universe itself. This is why you are here Ryan, while I would like to coddle you and say you are unique and special, and many other Gods do exactly that, the truth is, you are not. The Earth is full of souls dieing every day, and every single one gets the same choice you had. HEAVEN OR ASCENSION."

   "Heaven allows you to rest and give up on continuing down this path. As you may have assumed it's an incredibly boring place to spend your existence until you fade away as your mind ceases to be. ASCENSION as you have chosen already, puts you on the arduous path of becoming a God, a multiversal God. This is not a free deal we make out of the goodness of our hearts though.

    "As I mentioned earlier we cannot enter any universe any longer, and we are hungry. So us new gods from Earth devised a way to continue our path. We simply continue the cycle of ASCENSION ourselves sending those who choose to do so, or in some cases deceived, to other worlds allowing their presence to cause changes in the continuity of the universe we send them to. This creates branching universe's to accommodate the changes caused by the very actions of the souls we send.

   “When this new universe is born, large amounts of magic is released which we can capture. In exchange for your service we send you to various worlds until you eventually either break mentally, quit, or make the leap. This is not an easy path Ryan. Living this many lives, takes a toll on anyone no matter how cold hearted they may be at first.

   Tiana "-" 

   Clair "-"

   Ryan "-" 

   Jackie "So, DBZ or Naruto?"

   Ryan:- "Wait, hold on a second. Those worlds are real?" I said with plenty of fear in my voice.

   Clair:- "Of course, any World world you can imagine exists, in the infinity of the multiverse. It's finding them that is the issue" she said while looking at me like i am an idiot

   Ryan- " Why DBZ or Naruto? Why only those two choices?"

   At this point I knew something was wrong. Tiana, and Clair both looked at Jackie with a rather menacing glare that I wouldn't like to be on the receiving end of. Claire stood up finally. And I couldn't help but see that her hair was far longer than I expected, being braided back into a ponytail that extended all the way down to her admittedly perky butt, which was squeezed into what appeared to be white leather pants. Tiana turned as well to reinforce the glare directed at Jackie  allowing me to see her black dress had a deep cut all the way up to her thigh, showing off beautiful long legs, and flawless pale skin, I couldn't help but  think of all those cheesy cultivation stories when looking at her figure.

   Clair-"He is right Jackie, why do we only have those choices for him?" 

   Jackie seem hesitant to answer the question and was mumbling something I couldn't hear.

   Tiana-"I would like to know as well Jackie. As far I remember we got his soul at auction for a fantastic deal. We should have had plenty of magic left over to put him in near any world he could desire."

   Jackie-" It's not my fault, ok!" 

   Clair- " What, exactly isn't your fault? Explain yourself!"

   Jackie- " it was R.n-gesus's fault, I swear! I just wanted to get him some good options as cheats since we couldn't afford anything ourselves. So I did a little, just a teensy wincy bit of gambling with what we saved on the soul auction. One thing lead to another, and next thing I new, I spent most of the budget we allocated for world selection."

   At this point i felt incredibly awkward watching these two women grill Jackie, I could even hear her begin to hiccup like a child about to cry their eyes out. I'm glad she is behind the monitor or else It would pull on my heart strings even more than it is already. I steeled myself and bite my tongue, this wasn't my place to get involved, not yet atleast.

   I had many questions as well. Soul auction? Was I that cheap? Why was I such a cheap soul exactly? I didn't let it get to me though. From what I know, these Gods have no compulsion to tell me anything at all. I'll be quiet and see where things go, making the best of it.

   Clair- “We agreed to send him to a starter world first Jackie. He could always get a cheat after we saved up a bit of mana from the birth of new universe's his presence causes. There was never a reason for a cheat at all. We could have sent him to the world of konosuba, and let him go wild. He is an American, he would have screwed the main cast silly without a doubt. Making enough changes just by knocking them up to cause a new universe to be born from that alone. He didn't need a cheat jackie!"

   Jackie-"But, but, that's BORING!"

   I heard Jackie scream at the top of her lungs at Clair. Gone were the tears leaving only defiance in her eyes. She stood up violently sending the office chair she was sitting in rolling behind her. I finally got a good look at her. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. She looked nearly identical to Hermione from the H.P movies, just all grown up. And airbrushed to perfection. Wearing long purple robes that failed at hiding her curves. Her hair had no fuzz, just a perfect silky look to it, and the outraged face she made to Clairs Statement of sending me off without a cheat was incredibly cute, she couldn't even scare a baby with that face if she tried.

   Tiana-"Girls, calm down. We have a guest here and you are not showing the decorum expected. Don't embarrassed yourselves any further do you understand?"

   As Tiana said this her hair began to lift up into the air, and the threatening smile instantly made both of them sit back down without a word of argument given. With Jackie and Clair both looking down at the ground like scolded children Tiana turned back to me.

   Tiana- "So, Ryan it seems that we have an issue to resolve. Normally we send new souls to weak worlds, slowly increasing the difficulty. To help you achieve God hood."

   “If you haven't figured it out yet, allow me to explain. We wish for you to change each world you go to drastically. The more the better actually.  To this end we send you to copies of worlds you know of, these worlds are not perfect copies of the original they have minor differences, like a gender swap here or there, or just someone born a second ealier or later. These small differences make these worlds virtually identical to the versions that you know of but allow us Gods a much easier time finding untoched worlds for new souls. As mentioned earlier, any world you can imagine exists  somewhere, the difficulty is in finding it. However it appears that my junior has erred in judgment, forcing us into this predicament. Jackie, since you caused this fiasco, I'll allow you to explain." 

   Ryan-" Pardon my interruption however, I have a few questions I need clarified. What's a soul auction? And why was I so cheap?"

   Clair-" I can answer that. Ryan, A soul auction is how young Gods like us receive souls to employ through ascension. We bid on souls immediately prior to their death. You were cheap mainly due to the odds of you choosing Heaven being so high. Not many God's would take the risk of those odds. Furthermore, your long fulfilled life and lack of regrets made you someone many God's didn't think they could manipulate."

   "Most God's don't even offer ascension in such a clear honest fashion as we have, they just throw new souls into whatever world they could afford or worse, erase their memories and therefore identity entirely."

   "Many God's decide on the cheats themselves, or they curse the new souls so that their cheats are powered by their extra large souls. They don't even give them anything, they just rip the extra energy in the new souls out and add it back in as a cheat while acting all benevolent. This causes the new souls to only live the one extra life preventing them from ever becoming a God at all. While their supposed benefactors can still harness the power created by the new souls presence in those worlds messing up the continuity forcing the creation of new universe's and timelines. Multiverse theory and that jazz”

   “To be honest Ryan this is how most God's behave for very good reason. Fighting over resources has caused no shortage of infighting between us God's. The multiverse is infinite, but that is irrelevant. There is only the one singular existence of Earth with capable hero candidates like yourself. With a limited number of souls to employ, it doesn't matter how infinite the multiverse is."

   "Many find creation of new gods to be making it harder on us all. But we believe in everyone getting their chance. So here we are, giving you the honest truth of the matter”

   Ryan- " I see, thank you for enlightening me Clair, and for all your honesty in what's going on. I know that none of you are required to explain as much, I appreciate being treated with respect."

   “So, Jackie care to explain what the deal is with my two options and these so called cheats? I can't say I'm all to hyped to go to either of these worlds."

   One is a world of child killers, and another is a world of planet busters. I may have enjoyed these two anime in my past, but only as anime. I never in my life wanted to live there with existential threats around every corner.

   Jackie cringed at my question. Having the deceny to look embarrassed at the very least.

   Jackie-"Well, I ugh won a free ticket for souls to go to those worlds while gambling, you have no idea how difficult getting that option is. One of the regulations us gods abide by is that no two Earth born souls can inhabit the same universe ever again. This is to prevent God's from using your souls to fight proxy wars on their behalf. Sammy made this law, and nobody is stupid enough to defy her." 

   "This results in having to search further and further into the infinity. A costly endeavor for any God. We do this in search of worlds or close enough copies of worlds that souls know of to effectively mix-up their continuity. We call this Canon Disruption. However, don't be deceived. Concepts like Fate, and Destiny do not exist. They never have and never will. Free will is the core law of any universe. Self determination is a key factor that makes people alive."

   "When I won those two tickets to each world I was ecstatic, we had no chance to ever get you a place in one of those universe's ourselves. We are simply too poor and weak. So I kept gambling in an effort to get you a cheat that would help you out, and enable you to do well there, without too much trouble. As the goal is to knock the universe off the track it will eventually take, the easier you can do so the better for all of us. So I doubled down and kept gambling. I wanted to get you some awesome cheats to take along with you, like a Saiyan bloodline, or a something of that sort. Perhaps even a system you may have heard of."

   "I obviously failed. I only manged to gather a bunch of rather useless cheats. Considering the worlds in question. Guaranteed fertility, Minor charm, Flawless skin, Perfect metabolism, and character creation. We are now truly broke and unable to afford you a different world to select. I'm sorry Ryan, I have failed you. None of these cheats are truly powerful. No haki, no devil fruit, no bloodlines, nothing useful at all."

   At this point she looked down unable to meet my eyes any longer and I could see tears threatening to welling up in her eyes.

   Ryan-"Now hold on a second, i'll determine if you failed myself. How many of these cheats do I get to choose exactly?" 

   Jackie-"As many as you want, there is no limit"

   Ryan- "Really?"

   Jackie- "Really, really."

   Ryan-"What do these cheats actually do precisely?"

   Jackie-"I'm not exactly sure myself, let's see."

   As she walks back to her computer i can't help but realize the other two women are giving me looks of pity. I decide to ignore them for now and follow my gut, many small boons can perhaps create something better than the sum of their parts. 

   Jackie- " let's see here, Guaranteed fertility- Ensures any member of the opposite sex you engage in intercourse with will get pregnant no matter the contraceptives, or effort taken to prevent pregnancy unless already pregnant. Also ensures that any child born from the holder of this perk is the best possible specimen that could result from the union of their parents. Passive skill." 

   At this point all three women in the room looked at me with eyes of hunger, and I had no idea why. So i asked what was going on.

   Ryan-”Ok ladies you are freaking me out right now, why do I feel like a peice of meat?”

   Tiana-"fufufu, you miss understand Ryan. The easiest way to cause a major disruption is to steal the women of the main cast. This perk while not able to offer you any boons yourself, and also make any intercourse you have result in a child, allows you to really shake things up. We can taste the changes you'll incur should you use this properly already. You have plenty experience as a father. You'll be fine Ryan" 

   Tiana-" Jackie, be a dear and give him this boon." 

   Jackie- "You got it!"

   Ryan- " No, wait hold on a second!" 

   Clair, Tiana, Jackie- "Nope!"

   As I heard their responses I saw that a bright light left Jackies computer monitor, and hit me like a bullet knocking me flat on my butt.

   Tiana-" Onto the next one Jackie, let's see what you got."

   Jackie- "Ok, the next one is Minor charm- Causes those the owner of this boon finds attractive to find the owner of this boon attractive as well." 

   As this was read aloud I decided to lay back down anticipating what was to come.

   Tiana- "Give it to him Jackie."

   Jackie-"Aye, aye Captain!"

   As the second ball of light slammed into me and knocked the air out of my lungs I couldn't help but think these women want me to turn into some kind of gigolo.

   Tiana- "Next!"

   Jackie- " Flawless skin- causes owner to have perfectly smooth skin, free of any blemish. That heals without leaving scars at an accelerated rate. Passive bonus of durability and healing rate x2 base.”

   At this point I knew what was coming and that any objections I wanted to voice would go unanswered. So I just braced myself for the inevitable bullet of golden light. But, to my surprise all I felt was a warm gold radiance surround me changing my skin, it felt welcoming, and was gone all too soon.

   Jackie- "The next one is Perfect metabolism. Allows the owner of this boon to use every atom of sustenance ate or drank, removing the need to use the bathroom ever again. Grants stamina bonus x5 while not hungry. And allows the owner to go much longer without meals or water, without detrimental effects."

   At this point even I voiced my desire for this boon. Having been an old man who needed his ass cleaned by a nurse was something I was determined to never go through again. I happily waited for this boon to come flying out of  monitor like the last. But it was far different, it didn't hit me like a bullet neither did it embrace me in warmth. No, This boon arrived and plunged into my gut changing my very body, this is when I realized that the type of boon matters. Ones that could be supported by biology do just that. Remaking my body in such a way that it becomes a fundamental part of me. Having my intestines and bladder changed with what felt like a hot knife going through me without remorse made me scream in agony, but something happened I didn't expect, 

   Clair, saw the boon arriving to begin the merge and instantly saw Ryan's expression change into one of pain, as someone who made her way to God hood as a healer, she had no intention of allowing him to suffer. Arriving beside him as he squirmed around on the floor she shrouded him in her power taking the pain away. She could hear him mumbling out a raspy thanks for doing such a minor thing, It reminded her that he was still very much mortal, and had a long road ahead of him.

   It seems the women allowed me to some time to collect myself before continuing on to the last, and most interesting cheat, if you could call it that. As I sat up I realized they we all sitting down around the computer talking in hushed voices, as they noticed me getting up, Clair spoke to me.

   Clair-"Sorry about that. Most boons come with pain nullification standard, it seems whoever made this boon that Jackie won, had a sick sense of humor." 

   I didn't really know what to say in response so I just proceeded to thank her for her aid.

   Ryan-"Thank you for intervening, Clair. That isn't something I ever wish to experience again.

   Tiana- "Alright, enough chit chat. We have one last boon to use and this one is rather unique." 

   Ryan-"The Character creation boon correct?" 

   Tiana- "Indeed, however this boon  does not allow you to change your species as you may have been hoping for. So no Saiyan bloodline for you unfortunately. Jackie will explain in detail."

   Jackie-"Right, so the short of it is that you get to remake your body to your heart's content, provided you are still human. And only use human parts of origin, You can change your hair color, height, eyes, Etc. To whatever you would like to look like. This is not the best boon, unless you want to change your gender or body drastically. Again I apologize Ryan." 

   I couldn't help but let a creepy grin split my face in two. And begin laughing like a mad man while the girls backed away probably thinking I lost my marbles. Pehaps I did. I rushed up to Jackie, picked her up by her waist and spun her around cackling like a mad man for quiet a while before I calmed down. Setting the flushed red cheeked Hermione look alike down I asked her. 

   Ryan-"Tell me Jackie, what do you know about the Augments from Star Trek? And can you get a copy of their D.N.A?"

   Eventually, the redhead collected herself, and as she thought about my question, she let out a creepy smile that rivaled my own. 

   Jackie-"While sci-fi was never my passion, I don't let these two call me a weeb for nothing. Let's get to rewriting the genetic structure of your new body!"

   I knew exactly where to start, so I had asked Jackie use her powers to pull up what the genetic structure of a perfect augment would be, making sure to eliminate the megalomaniac tendencies the failed khan era versions had in the series.  

   Using that as a template we used the character creation cheat to edit my new body down to the genetic level. It seems gathering knowledge from any known universe is easy for them. I thought of going the space marine route from Halo, but I didn't know if it was strictly human D.N.A used in their creation. Besides all of that, I knew of the capabilities a full complete Star Trek augment would be. And I didn't fancy the idea of being that large either. 

   Tiana-" Excuse me, you two. But what is an Augment?"

   Ryan-" An augment is a human whose genome was resequenced using only Human genetic components to create a better human entirely. They can live at minimum 200 years before old age does them in, and Roughly 5 times stronger and 5 times as durable. With enhanced healing and disease resistance. Not to mention an incredibly flexible mind, that allowed for genuis level intelligence."

   "Sadly, Jackie and I made the decision to not include most of the mental augmentation in my new body to eliminate the risk of making me go full psychotic as they did in Star Trek. As much as I would like to have the mind of an augment, I fear it may change who I am as a person. We did manage to keep the mental resistance though. Hopefully, this can help keep anyone from taking peaks into my mind."

   Tiana-"This is impressive, combined with the Flawless skin boon you will be incredibly durable, add in the effects of the fertility perk, and your children will be a force to reckoned with themselves." 

   Hearing that I went still, I couldn't believe that everything worked out so well for them. Something felt suspicious, about everything so far, but I have no proof or power here so I squashed those feling down and carried on making the best of what i have. Considering my boons I had already decided that going to the world of Naruto was out. 

   At best I would live with a Target on my back, and my children's. At worst I would become a breeding stallion for Danzo or one of the other village's. Even considering the power creep in DBZ, I would rather live without the threat of people backstabbing me. Besides that, Bulma is my first waifu crush, and I'm not letting some short, mass murder tap that. 

   To that end, I let the three women go wild making me into what they believe would be a gorgeous male figure. If I'm gonna use these perks, I might as well do it the best I can. Using the wisdom of these three seemed a prudent choice. 

   I was wrong, so very wrong. They devolved into arguments and name calling until Clair, and Jackie were rolling on the ground having a full on catfight. I gotta hand it to Jackie though. She made full use of clairs overly long braid to try to choke her, as much as I wanted to stop the fight I could tell just from the speed and sounds of them hitting the ground in this golden auditorium that the forces they were exerting were deceiving. Every little smack, resounded with a deep vibration behind it, signifying the true force these girls were using, meanwhile Tiana took the opportunity to make some edits of her own behind their backs. I decided to just roll with it and check on the completed product once they got it out of their system.

   While enjoying the catfight something unexpected but not unwelcome occurred, Clair in an effort to gain the upper hand flipped Jackies robe over her head to blind her, giving me a perfect view of the Goddess's panty clad backside, this did something that was rather unwelcomed though triggering my new charm boon, and with Jackie noticing it's effects immediately, she became incredibly flustered and disengaged from the fight allowing Clair the win. I knew that she wasn't actually effected by my perk, however it did let her know exactly how attractive I found her. Which was kinda embarrassing for the both of us. I may be an old man, but being caught red-handed lusting after a goddess still makes me self conscious.

   Deciding to get this show on the road, I made my way over to Tiana, to see what exactly my new body would look like.

   As I got closer I could see Tiana speeding up whatever she was doing to my model, as I rounded the corner I was expecting some pretty boy, or something like nobility, based on Tiana's demeanor so far. I did not expect a body that looked like a slighter slimmer Thor. Regal yet, beastial. Standing at just around 6 foot tall. With a third leg that would do just fine for it purposes, I honestly had no complaints. She kept my original blue eyes, but gave me her own midnight black hair that even on the display looked silky smooth. She made sure I had no crazy chest or back hair as well, which I appreciated.

   The other two girls seemed to not have any complaints either, as they drooled quietly. Taking that as a sign of their approval, I asked Tiana to hit me with my last boon.

   This one felt like being turned into clay and sculpted anew. My body turned into a silver liquid and my clothes dissolved into motes of light. while more of the silver liquid was flowing into me from the monitor. I grew to form the silhouette of the body that we crafted. as details of my appearance began to take shape, my eyes finished their change and it felt like everything went from Analog to Digital.

   If I thought the women before me were examples of perfection before, I was even more convinced. Even from these few meters away I could make out every detail of these supposedly young gods. My nose was next and thankfully all I could smell more of was these women and their perfume, A fresh spring rain smell from Clair. Jackie smelled of fresh wildflowers. Pleasant but, subtle enough to be overlooked by a lesser man. And finally Tiana,  She smelled of a sweet wine, that beckons one to have a taste. I came to my senses And realized the change had finished, and my boon had undoubtedly activated for all three of them. 

   Ryan- "So, can I get some clothes?"  

   As my voice sounds out, it's the same but noticeably deeper. My voice has become much smoother as well.

   Clair- "-"

   Jackie- "-"

   Tiana-"fufu, here you go, stay still."

   Tiana points her hand at me and golden light forms a white curtain that wraps around me into a Toga. 

   I stand up fully from my crouched position and take in my new form.  Long hair that falls to my shoulders. It's such a dark black that it almost shines blue. a stout full body frame standing at just over 6 feet tall. I look like I'm about 200lbs in weight, but I know I'm far denser due to the particular Augments and boons From the character creation sheet I should be at 232 lbs. My skin looks much paler than I expected. Perhaps it'll darken a bit in the sun, it's a new body after all. 

   Tiana-"We need to talk about where and when you intend to go. As well as how old you'll arrive as. The tickets are both rather high quality. Besides, you can't stay here much longer Ryan." 

   I knew, DBZ was the path to travel now.

   Ryan-"I'll take the ticket to DBZ. Send me an hour before Goku accidentally kills his adoptive Grandfather Gohan. Drop me just outside his property. I need to know when that happens by the way, I'm not sure how old Goku was."

   Jackie-"The ticket says, he is 9 years old when that happens"

   Ryan-"Then make me 10 years old when you send me." 

   Clair-" Ryan, are you sure about this? DBZ has major power creep, even with your Augments, you'll still be bound by that universe's laws on Humans. The dragonballs can only do so much."

   Ryan-" I understand the risks, however I don't like the idea of playing ninja myself. I would rather take the power creep, over the politics. Also, I can truly mess up cannon there. Even if I'm not the strongest."

   Tiana-" I like that spirit. Any last words before your next life begins?"

   Ryan- " Actually I am curious, what happens if i die there?

   At my question Jackie reads the ticket once again.

   Jackie-"It says that you get a year  to be revived, but after that, you come back here for your next life"

   Ryan-"Ok, and what's the slight difference in this copy of the DBZ world that makes it unique?"

   Jackie doesn't check the ticket this time at all, and told me the most startling information I have ever heard.

   Jackie-"Krillin has a nose in this one, it just doesn't work."

   Ryan- "Good for him I suppose."

   The silence dragged on until Clair broke it 

   Clair-" I suppose it's time to see you off. Goodbye, Ryan.”

   Jackie-" Goodluck!"

   Tiana-" Remember to have fun Ryan. 

   With everything said, Jackie made a few clicks and a bright circle of light formed underneath me. 

   Ryan-" Bye!"

   Once again, I was squeezed through a tube. This time I knew where I was going. As I flew through the tube I started to shrink to become younger, become smaller,I lost my more manly features. The toga I was wearing followed suit as well. Some material broke off and became a loose fighting pair of blue jeans, green socks and blue shoes that felt like the softest cotton on my legs. Another chunk of the material wrapped around my chest becoming a long sleeved plain black shirt. The rest turned red and formed a scarf, I heard my new voice once again when I giggled at Tiana's little joke, in my now far younger voice.

   I did indeed look similar to Android 17, at my current age. Just a little shorter and broader. I would Tower over him in the future though, I can only hope I can Tower over him in power as well. 

   Everything started to slow down enough for me to see outside the tube. I was nearing the end of the trip and the excitement made my blood boil. As stars flashed by I suddenly found myself standing on a dirt road, that in the future Bulma would travel down. 

   Before I started to walk down the dirt path, I thought of my Wife, Sons, and Grandchildren. They would get the same chance I had. I can only hope they live a good life, and do the same myself. With hope in my heart and a new life to live, I moved towards Granpa Gohans home.

   Only to realize I had no clue what language they actually spoke. With only one way to find out I continued on to Gohans' home. 

   I didn't make it far before I caught a flicker at the door of his house. If I was still a baseline human I would never have noticed it in the moonlight.

   Soon enough I felt a hand on my shoulder. As I turned around I saw the kind face of true grandfather staring back at me. Even if Goku wasn't his Grandson in blood he was in heart.

   Grandpa Gohan( will be referred to as GG from now on) spoke to me.

   GG-"What’s a young boy like you doing out this full moon night, hmm?"

   ThankfuIly, he is speaking English. 

   Ryan-"I came looking to be trained by you, Master Gohan."

   The kind face of a grandpa remained, but the eyes of a warrior looked at me searching, for something. I didn't know what. I stood straight and introduced myself to GG.

   Ryan-" My name is Ryan, and I would be honored to receive your teachings Master Gohan" 

   I finished with a bow I didn't even know if I had to do. I was a nervous wreck. Even with my life experience backing me up, I felt like a child infront of GG.

   GG-" We shall see if you still wish for that tomorrow child. For now let's get you inside"

   As GG lead the way, I followed behind satisfied in atleast making it this far. GG brought me into his home in the middle of the night without any reluctance. What a kind man. I feel bad depending on it, however I do indeed need his charity at the moment.

   GG-" For now, make yourself comfortable here."  He pointed towards the distinctly Japanese style living room floor. "The house is rather cramped, and my Grandson is sleeping right now. If you do survive tomorrow, we will have to build an addition for you"

   When he said this I felt horrible for imposing on their lives. GG must have seen my reaction.

   GG- "Don't worry Ryan, you and Goku will be building the house yourselves. I'll just be guiding you."

   That calmed me down alot, GG then  moved towards the kitchen and asked me.

   GG-"Would you share a cup of late night tea with me Ryan?"

   Ryan-"That sounds perfect Master Gohan." 

   As the water heated up above the stove, GG went to a cupboard by the beds and brought me a few blankets for the night. 

   GG-"Here Ryan, these are some blankets Goku never uses." 

   As the water began to near boiling GG excused himself and left me alone with my thoughts. 

   I looked around his home not having truly settled into the fact I am, where I am. When my eyes settled on the dragonball sitting on a pillow in the moonlight from the window it truly settled in. 

   This is a new world, and a new life. This one will be far more adventurous than my last filled with danger, and excitement. Kai's, Demon's, and villains fill this world. I will be challenged time and time again. Yet, nothing about it scares me. I'm ready for the challenges ahead, and have a plan to enact. While steeling my will, I felt a spark inside of me. It quickly grew and unknowingly caught the senses of Gohan.    

   A haze of power drifted around my body and infused me down to my core. Now I knew why Goku at a power level of 10 was so strong when regular adult humans had a power level of 5, like the farmer Raditz meets. 

   Unlocking ki, allows the manipulation of this energy to reinforce the body. creating an exponential increase in power. No wonder there is soo much power creep here. This is insane. I completely understand Goku punching metal robots with ease.

   GG-" Amazing!"

   I was snapped out of my reverie by GG exclaiming in awe.

   GG-" To have such power while being so young it is a great burden. It seems I have no choice but to teach you afterall. Or else you'll just be another brute throwing power around without any technique. Besides, you'll be great help in being a training partner for Goku"

   Wait...I didn't just make myself a Goku punching bag did I? With that thought my power slipped out of my grasp and wave of fatigue washed over me.

   GG-"Here have some tea." 

   Ryan-”Thank you for the welcoming me into your home, and taking me as a student Master Gohan.”

   GG-" I would be a fool to allow such a talent to go to waste. You don't know this, but you are twice as strong as I was at your age. This is not a talent I can ignore. How did you know how to awaken your ki anyhow? You didn't seem very surprised by it"

   As expected, this old man is perceptive. I can't tell him how I know exactly, but a half truth should settle any worries.

   Ryan-" I'm that strong?" 

   GG- " Give or take a little. I find myself having a difficult time sensing your ki properly as you are still agitated. 

   Ryan-" As to how I know about ki. My father told me all about it before his death. He told me a story handed down to him from his family. This story is supposedly about a martial artist who defeated Demon King Piccolo by sealing him. Since then, he searched the supernatural world, and found the truth about Ki, and Magic. After his death I made way here. Because you were mentioned in his research.

   GG-" I apologize from bringing up bad memories of your past Ryan. I do appreciate your Candor though. What else did your fathers research reveal?"

   He wants to see how much I know for some reason. If it was anyone else asking I'd limit what they could get from me, but GG is an exception. I believe that being as honest as possible would be best. 

   Ryan-" He wrote about the legend of the Dragon Balls. How seven magical orbs could be collected to grant any wish one desired. if I'm not mistaken, you have one sitting over there on a pillow"

   GG-" Yes, you are correct. That is one of seven magical orbs known as the Dragon balls." 

   GG took a sip of his tea, stood up and walked over to the pedastle holding the ball in question. Picking it up he threw it to me"

   GG-"Catch!"

   As I caught the 4 star ball in my hands I marveled at how smooth it was. This was clearly magical in nature, no material could ever be this smooth. Yet, not slippery at all.. The 4 stars floating inside the ball always arranged themselves in the same way, no matter what angle I looked at it from. As if making sure I could tell which one it was without mistake.

   GG-"Don't you want to use the Dragon balls to wish your father back to life? Why haven't you asked me for it?" 

   When I heard this from GG I realized my backstory may have been too good. Pulling on my experience at coming up with excuses every married man learns. I answered him with another half truth.

   Ryan-" He is with my mother now having moved on. It would be selfish of me to drag him back here. That is not what he would want, I know that for sure. He would want me to move on and live a life I can be proud of."

   GG-"Your father sounds like a wise  man Ryan." 

   As I threw the 4 star ball back to GG, I heard a rustling coming from the bed to my right that had its curtains drawn. I knew this to be Goku waking up and going to the bathroom. It seems everything has worked out to plan and GG will be able to stop him from having a  great ape transformation, for atleast tonight. 

   GG-" It seems we may have woken my grandson. I'll introduce you. He can be rather excitable Ryan. I apologize in advance."

   As Goku got out of bed, GG called to him snapping him fully awake, the young Goku was still wearing the blue gi, not having received the iconic orange from Roshi yet. 

   GG-"Come here Goku and let me introduce you too my new student" 

   When Goku walked over to GG He looked at me with a big dumb smile and I could tell he was instinctively sizing me up. The longer he looked, the more excited he became.

   GG-" Goku, this is my new student and your fellow disciple, Ryan. He is very strong for his age and will be a great rival for you to test yourself against. Why don't you say hello?"

   I knew, GG wanted the best for me, but I also knew Goku. I wouldn't be the stronger of the two of us for very long at all if I triggered his zenkai. 

   Goku-"GG says you are strong! Let's spar!"

   Honestly, I can't say I expected a nine year old Goku to say anything else. With a smile on my face as well I extended my hand to the boy who becomes a God within 30 years.

   Ryan-" Hello Goku, I'm Ryan i'll be happy to spar with you in the morning, it's still a bit dark outside."

   As I said this, Goku tried to shake my arm off and my enhanced durability got a work out. GG remembered the full moon outside, and told Goku to get back in bed behind the curtains, but of course, the boy refused saying he had to pee. I realized that there was no bathroom in here and that they must use something akin to a chamber pot for these nights.

   Sure enough, I got to bear witness to young socially clueless Goku taking a piss in front of me like it was no big deal. Which honestly as a grandfather myself it wasn't, but still, he needs to learn some common sense. I suppose that'll be my job.

   Once GG managed to get Goku back in bed. He bid me goodnight as well and he spread out my blankets on the floor. Even with all the excitement since my death, I was more than ready for a rest. It was well past midnight. I have successfully saved GG. That’s enough work for one day. 

   I drifted off to sleep thinking of my future plans and how I should go about them while GG stayed awake to ensure Goku didn't have an accident. I didn't question his actions as I didn't want him to have to lie to me. For Goku's sake.