Pain.
That was the first thing he remembered.
A sharp, crushing pain in his chest. The screech of tires. The sickening crunch of metal on metal. And then… darkness.
He had died.
And yet, here he was—blinking against the sunlight streaming through beige curtains in a small, unfamiliar apartment room.
"What the hell…?"
The boy—no, teenager—sat up, gripping the bedsheets with trembling fingers. His breathing was shallow, erratic. He scanned the room in disbelief: a modest studio apartment, desk in the corner, bookshelf lined with manga and a few textbooks, a neatly folded school uniform on a chair nearby.
He threw off the blanket and stood, stumbling slightly.
"This can't be... Am I alive?"
A quick pat-down confirmed he was corporeal. No injuries. No blood. And certainly not dead. Panic flickered behind his eyes.
"Don't tell me I got isekai'd or something?!"
That idea was absurd, yet strangely comforting. He'd read enough light novels to recognize the signs: death, waking in a new place, unexplained survival. The holy trinity of transmigration.
Staggering into the bathroom, he fumbled for the light switch. The fluorescent bulbs buzzed to life, illuminating the mirror.
He froze.
Staring back at him was a face he recognized. Black hair, tousled from sleep. Sharp green eyes, the same as before. His face. His real face.
"...So I didn't change bodies," he muttered with a sigh of relief. "Still me."
As he calmed down, something tugged at the edge of his consciousness. A soft, almost inaudible whisper in the back of his mind. Memories—not of his death, but of this world. Of this life.
Flashes of moments—going to Kuoh Academy, late-night gaming, instant noodles, getting detention for skipping class, the familiar smell of this room. His heart pounded as two streams of memory—his past life and his new one—merged seamlessly.
[Ding! Sacred Gear Creator System Activated!]
He jolted like he'd been struck by lightning.
A glowing blue window popped up in his vision, semi-transparent and floating in front of the bathroom mirror.
[Welcome, User.]
[You have been granted access to the Sacred Gear Creator System.]
[Design, evolve, and adapt your unique Sacred Gear through combat experience and system updates.]
[Commencing Initial Setup...]
"No way… I actually got a system?" he muttered, awe coloring his voice. "And it's related to Sacred Gears?! Am I seriously in High School DxD?"
The realization hit him hard. The town. Kuoh Academy. The familiar-sounding names from his 'recovered' memories. It all fit.
"I got reincarnated into freaking DxD."
The system window updated again.
[Initiate Sacred Gear Design.]
[Please choose your base attribute and core theme.]
Two dropdown options appeared.
[Attribute Selection]
• Strength
• Magic
• Support
• Speed
• Defense
• Hybrid
[Core Theme Selection]
• Dragon
• Time
• Shadow
• Light
• Weaponry
• Elemental (Fire, Ice, etc.)
• Space
• Divine/Demonic
• Custom (Enter Concept)
He stared at the interface, heart racing. It felt unreal—like he'd stumbled into a cheat code meant for someone else.
But this was real. This was his.
"…So I get to make my own Sacred Gear," he whispered.
An excited smile slowly spread across his lips. This was clearly a dream come true—who hadn't, at some point in their childhood or youth, wished for a power or ability?
"This is incredible," he couldn't help but murmur excitedly.