Darkness.
That was the first thing she felt when the car hit her. One blink — her world ended.
She expected nothingness, yet instead a soft chuckle echoed in the void.
> "Oh, another one has slipped between the cracks," a voice like silk whispered.
"This one is interesting," another voice — ancient and heavy, like the shifting of stars.
Her consciousness stirred. Before her stood three figures — one cloaked in obsidian robes with eyes like endless graves, another shimmering with constellations draped across his form, and a third whose presence bent the air around him, every breath heavy with shifting ages.
Death. Space. Time.
They looked at her not with pity, but with curiosity.
"You died earlier than you should have," Death said with a grin that was almost too human. "But you are not… broken. You could serve."
Time tilted his head. "Rifts are tearing across worlds. Beasts that should never exist leak through. Someone must seal them."
Space extended a hand, galaxies swirling within his palm. "You, child, will walk between worlds. Fight the distortions. Close the tears. Protect their futures."
She blinked, still in shock. "Uh… wait. I just died, and you're asking me to be some kind of… cosmic repairwoman?"
Her sarcasm made Death laugh — a rattling sound that still somehow warmed her. "Yes."
And so it began.
---
Training
Years—or maybe centuries, time was strange there—passed. She learned to wield the power they placed within her:
A colossal Susanoo-like armor, glowing deep blue, wrapping around her when she fought.
A terrifying dragon form, Western and humanoid, her wings spanning stars, bending space itself — though never time, for tampering with it brought consequences she dared not cross.
A form where crystal-black wings sprouted, her eyes turning pitch black, a blade in her hand that could cut souls themselves.
And then came the accident.
One day, in exhaustion, her shadow moved. It stretched, shifted — and then spoke.
"…You're messy. Someone has to keep track of all this."
It was her shadow — alive, carrying a fragment of her soul, with its own sharp wit. At first she panicked. Then she realized she had gained not just an ally, but a sibling of sorts. They teased, they fought, they laughed — and through countless missions together, they became inseparable.
They were family.
---
The Rebirth
But all journeys had to move forward. One day, after completing another mission, the gods stood before her once more.
"You have proven yourself," said Time. "Now you will walk a world not as an outsider, but as one of them."
"You will live," Space added, "but remember — your duty remains. Rifts will call to you."
Death leaned closer, smirking. "This time, you'll have blood, warmth, and the chance to love. But should your body die, you'll return here. That is the rule."
Before she could answer, light swallowed her.
---
East Blue, Year XXXX
The cries of a newborn echoed in a marine base. Monkey D. Garp, the Hero of the Marines, held his second child with an uncharacteristically soft smile. Beside him, his firstborn son Dragon peeked at the small bundle curiously.
"She's got teal eyes," Garp muttered proudly. "A strong gaze already!"
The baby giggled — and somewhere deep inside her, the shadow stirred, whispering:
> "Well… here we go again."
Her soul remembered. Her mission remained.
But now, she was Monkey D. Lily — younger sister of Dragon, destined to stand at the crossroads of worlds.
And in the corner of her vision, a flicker of blue, yellow, and black light shimmered — her future powers, waiting to awaken.
---
✨ End of Introduction ✨
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