"Speak the truth, only the truth, speak the whole truth"- Roselle

***

Oasis is a dimension found beyond the point of no return, it exudes a never before seen beauty inside it with its majestic landscape, any visitor would be awestruck by what they have seen.

In the center of this beautiful dimension is a tall mountain standing taller than any mortal structure, the view from the top may even cure people suffering from blindness, and that much is true due to how glorious this mountain is.

Above this mountain stands a tree firm and headstrong, refusing to bow before anyone but its creator,  its luscious leaves flowing about as smoothly as the hair of a beautiful maiden.

Under such a tree, a small platform uses its roots as a basis to create support for a table and two chairs, by contrast to what it is made out of, it gives remarkable comfort to whoever sits on it.

Upon one of the chairs sat a heaven-defying magnificent being, whose worship-worthy beautiful platinum blonde hair flowed below his strong shoulder, that could carry the weight of the heavens very easily, his skin tone was so majestic it would remind anyone who saw it that it has been basked in the heavens since the dawn of creation.

[Picture here]

Stark-contrast to this is his dress code of choice, it's merely a common blue T-shirt and black pants but anyone even the most ignorant will acknowledge it's the highest quality there could be.

The man sat there taking in the view and sipping his tea of unknown origin, his golden eyes staring deep into the distance, He was thinking and waiting for a close friend to arrive.

As more time passed, a good-sized vortex appeared close near the proximity of the table, and from it, a being of earth-shattering beauty was laid barren.

"Man... Gabriel, you need to fix how you receive your guests, my entire body hurts even though I am already a soul," That man said with a hint of a grumbling tone while slowly standing up from the ground.

The man had black luscious hair, as smooth as silk, a skin tone suggesting he is of Caucasian descent with a but small semblance of Asian heritage as well, brown eyes that would put anyone in a trance-like state, he wore a garment that resemble loosened suit of the main color being black with golden stripes of lines over it.

"it wouldn't have been a problem if you were buried instead and let Azrael bring you here, but noooo, Mr idiot here had to die the way 'cool' by flying a spaceship directly into the sun," Replied  
Gabriel, the man with blonde hair with a snarky remark.

"Eh, potatoes tomatoes, I am dying, either way, might as well die properly," the black-haired man said when he finally reached the table and sat down opposite Gabriel.

"so how have you been Gabriel? Hopefully not bored to death by doing the same shit over and over again" the man asked Gabriel with an 'Innocent' tone of voice while pouring himself a cup of tea.

"I enjoy and cherish what I do, thank you very much! You will appreciate it too if you didn't think of everything as a simple game that you must win" Gabriel replied while taking a jab at this man's mindset.

"You don't say," the man said with an exaggerated face wide eyes, and a mocking smile as if he already accepted it as it is.

"sigh, I remember now why I don't talk with you too much, Damien" Gabriel spoke out while rubbing under his eyes

"aww, I am hurt and I thought you had a thing for me by the number of times you visited me when I was feeling lonely," Damien said while putting both his hands on this heart and making a face like he is about to cry.

"cough... Let's move on, as you have asked before, yes I am quite good actually, I even asked Uriel out on a date recently and she accepted, man can you believe it?!" Gabriel casually switched topics to not embarrass himself.

"Well congrats, invite me to your wedding, I guess, although I didn't know Angels could get married, I thought you said it was pretty restrictive being an angel and whatnot " Damien answered with a genuine tone of care.

"first of all, it's just a date, we aren't even at the beginning stage yet and second of all, The Almighty loosened some of the laws on angels as Almighty feels we are ready for it" Gabriel clarified.

"I see... So how is my mother?" Damien asked after a thoughtful expression that turned to a tone of concern at the end.

"She is... Well... You know her best, she is very similar to you, so she dislikes staying in heaven which according to her has nothing much to do" Gabriel said carefully to not reveal a secret.

"Seems like her, Well as long as she is happy" Damien replied with a genuine rare smile.

"anyways enough emotional shit, so You remember our promise right? The one we made when we first met?" Damien asked so suddenly that it would seem insensitive.

"yes... I do remember it, I promised, you will be allowed to reincarnate in a world of your choosing including getting wishes corresponding to how positively you impact your universe..." Gabriel replied carefully while looking into Damien's deep eyes.

When he saw Damien narrow his eyes he added "...With the extra promise that your Mom will gain instant access to heaven upon our initial promise taking effect and given the option to reincarnate as well if she wants to but with only access to small memories...".

"So how many wishes can I make?" Damien asked in a slightly relaxed tone

"Well, as stated wishes will scale according to your positive karmic value, depending on how big is the first wish, the next wish will be limited, think of it like you have a set spending budget, the more you buy something expensive the less budget you will have to buy something else" Gabriel explained briefly.

"I see... Then what are my limits?" Damien asked.

"you can't wish for a universe that you would own, significantly alter an existing one, anything to do with the concept of 'infinite' unless it's small, godhood unless its limited, anything that is a multiversal scale" Gabriel listed   and then took a sip from his cup

Damien waited patiently as the tree gave him a fruit that looked oddly like an apple, His eyes glowed as he looked at this fruit, this behavior reminded him of something familiar... his brain working at full power to remember.

then he remembered reading a verse, a verse that retold the story of Adam and Eve, how they ate the forbidden fruit which led to their punishment, it wasn't merely a fruit, it was more than that, that fruit contained the concept of pessimism and doubt

It was still satan in this universe who led them to that action, exploiting Eve's curiosity and the tree's kindness to make that event happen but alas when it did it caused Eve to change forever, She began to doubt, and she began to be more pessimistic, but alas it was always meant to happen, no matter what universe, Humanity must fall for the test to begin.

Damien remembered that story and thus he took the bite, he wouldn't normally due to his caution, but many factors led him to this, the very fact this tree gave him this fruit testified it was meant to happen although that wouldn't sway him much as well

But the fact Almighty will never harm him is what led him to choose this, he has tested this concept many times since he began his journey, he willingly risked it all yet even if the odds were nearly impossible he would always come at the top, the mere fact he somehow survived all those dangerous situations merely because he didn't wanna give up, it all testified and reinforced his decision, he wouldn't die unless he wished for it genuinely.

Even that is merely one of the countless reasons, but at the core of it all, he is a gamer, to him, nothing is based on luck, everything is just a well-calculated chaotic action that creates a chain reaction.

After all, even his anime sensei said "Life is not a game of luck, if you wanna win, work hard".

So with a smile, he ate the whole fruit, it had different tastes mixed together, at first it tasted sweet, then it slowly turned sour than bitter, and then returned to sweet again afterward the taste was 'randomized', it reminded him of life, it's up and down and the emotions that are felt during those.

Which he unfortunately couldn't properly feel not because he is an edge lord but simply because they turned dull over time, like iron slowly rusting away, From the bottom of his heart, he wanted to genuinely feel those emotions again, if only... But alas that's merely a weakness, but a weakness he wouldn't mind

As he thought of those and finished eating the apple, he felt something inside him loosen as if he felt less heavy, it could be his imagination but he wouldn't casually assume that the assumption is the key step to losing, which he wouldn't allow

"you done being emotional over eating an apple?" Gabriel asked with a snicker

Although not much time passed merely thirty seconds or so, Gabriel could tell what sort of thoughts Damien was going through, so he wanted to joke to lighten him up.

Not because he is an angel but merely by the fact he knew him his whole life, Damien might even joke, Gabriel is his Guardian angel by the sheer amount of empathy he shows towards Damien, which even Gabriel finds odd.

"Nah, I want to have a therapy session with this apple, oh wait it's already inside my stomach... Wait how am eating?!?" Damien replied with the usual remarks followed by a 'surprised' expression.

"You just noticed it? Never mind, I know that look, you want to verify what you have observed so far, it's consumable for soul-like beings, it helps strengthen their soul which will make their willpower, resistant to mind controls, etc effects depending on what is consumed, this tea we are drinking help with recovering our soul energy" Gabriel answered casually as he is already used to subtle probes of Damien.

" I see... Anyways let's get back to my wishes, for the first wish I would like to Gain a Unique skill:- great sage from that time I got reincarnated as a slime with the option to modify it as I please before it begins functioning" Damien slyly stated so he could change the topic

"Hmmm, oh that seems to be allowed... Granted, you will now gain access to the thought settings menu that will modify the skill depending on what you are intending, and considering you will probably take hours to make it as 'perfect' as possible because of your minor OCD, I will gladly spend my time browsing the internet in this universe" Gabriel said and then pulled out what resembled a futuristic phone that oddly resembled an iPhone 16.

but alas Apple corporation didn't exist in this universe instead a logo of slime was embedded in the back, a subsidiary corporation owned by none other than Damien

In the year 2060, Damien already had a monopoly over his Universe, He is known for many titles and achievements but most noteworthy would be the many world-shattering Technology that he either invented or 'borrowed' from not-so-willing volunteers which he then utilized to gain a foothold in the market by distributing it in a capitalistic manner, which caused many to assume he is a fellow cold-hearted capitalist looking to make profits.

But that was a fatal mistake on their part, as Damien Stated assumption is the first step to losing a game, So they didn't realize until it was too late of the conspiracy of Damien, who managed to become a dictator, but that's a story for another time.

For now, Our main protagonist is merely taking time to build a solid foundation upon a Power that will drastically change the course of many worlds that he will claim as his after all a man who could become a dictator is nonetheless ambitious.

It was unknown how much time has passed considering time doesn't quite flow in this dimension, but it would be safe to assume it took many hours before Damien was finally satisfied with his modification.

"sigh, finally I am done," Damien said while he instinctively stretched his body to relieve his exhaustion, which could be said to be true and mental exhaustion still affects the soul as it is connected in ways.

" You took your time, as usual, Luckily the teapot automatically repeats itself, I grabbed some beef sandwiches as well while I was waiting, they are quite delightful," Gabriel said while putting forward some sandwiches to Damien who gladly grabbed them and started eating.

"Thanks, needed some snack after that much work, although I quite enjoyed it, Now! let me introduce you to My modified version, Behold! in all Its Majesty Renamed as Superior Sage! awaken from slumber thee O Sage of wisdom and beauty" Damien said after clapping his hands once and then dramatically revealing it in a chuunibyou behavior

Gabriel intently stared at him like an idiot, but Damian was thick-skinned enough to ignore that, His inner weeb must be satisfied.

<<<  Initializing Core settings...>>>

An almost robotic sound vibrated from the core of Damien's soul, He smiled widely as Great sage- no superior Sage Came to life using his soul as the core.

"... You crazy maniac you used your very soul as the foundation for this skill?!?" Gabriel asked with a dumbfounded expression as he stood up with wide eyes

Very rarely does he get surprised by Damien after all, he is used to the idiotic shit this guy does regularly, He wouldn't even be surprised if he suddenly came up with fried chicken he cooked using a nuclear Reactor.

But this...

<<< checking for any anomalies... Found none, Safe to proceed >>>

The almost robotic voice spoke without care for what Gabriel was feeling, but it is understandable to feel sympathy for Gabriel, as he has repeatedly told Damien about souls and the dangers of messing with them, merely to keep him from being tricked by satan and it's false promises so why? why did Damion do such a foolish thing?

"Well, I had a thought, what's the best way to ensure a newly born overpowered skill has some form of connection with its user, Then it clicked, Mothers are peculiar beings, do you know why Mothers love their children so much even after such a painful experience of giving birth?" Damien said with a big insane smile.

<<< Soul Bonding initiated automatically >>>

 "Well according to what I have found, Babies leave many cells that formed them in the first place inside their mother's bodies when they are born, basically leaving a permanent imprint of themselves into the very fabric of their mother, I speculate it connects them in a soul wavelength as well unless a disturbance or problems occurs that change their behavior" Damien calmly stated.

<<< Successful...Requesting Soul Imprint >>>

"Proceed," Damien said with a charming smile

"Bu-But the implications, the risks are very high, it could rewrite you or take over your body, or even self destruct or be harmed via etc method..." Gabriel mumbled in anxiety as he looked like he is about to have a mental breakdown.

"Gabriel!" Damien called out to Gabriel with a calm tone, when he snapped back and looked at Damien

"You know me well, So you should Trust me," Damien said as if it was a fact, and oddly enough it calmed down Gabriel Drastically

Gabriel took a deep breath even if he didn't need to breathe and then he sat back down.

"sigh, I seem to be worrying for nothing, Considering it's you... I shouldn't be surprised you would have an almost inexhaustible amount of backup and failsafe in store if something did happen..." Gabriel said with an exhausted but relieved tone

While Gabriel knows Damien can be crazy and idiotic, He also knows he would only behave that way only if he was absolutely sure about his survival and escape.

"Anyways My second wish is..." Damien slowly said with a serious face, Gabriel turned serious as well

" I want a younger sister," He said with a dead serious face as if he wouldn't compromise, and to that

"..." Gabriel was speechless

<<<...>>>> was as well

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