I Died and Was Reincarnated as a Goth Femboy

The night was long and restless. Kenjiro lay in his massive, cloud-like bed, staring at the ornate ceiling of his suite, his mind a chaotic replay of the day's events. The potion. The brief, glorious return to his true form. The terrifying loss of control. He remembered the raw, intoxicating power, the ease with which he had tossed Gluteus around like a toy, the fear in his friends' eyes. And then... waking up back in this slender, delicate prison, the phantom strength already a fading memory. All he had to show for it was a pounding headache and a profound sense of dread.

He couldn't just let it go. He needed answers. He pushed himself up, ignoring the lingering exhaustion, and sat cross-legged in the center of his bed. He closed his eyes, took a deep, steadying breath, and focused inward, trying to find that dark, powerful part of himself, the monster that had been briefly unbound. He meditated, pushing past the surface thoughts of quests and annoying party members, reaching for the cold, familiar rage that was the core of his shadow self.

A voice, deep and angry, echoed in the silence of his mind. It was his own, yet distorted, filled with a guttural power that made his teeth ache. "The monster got out, 'Bombom'. Next time, I will destroy all the trees in Ibirapuera Park. Climb a tree for what?"

Kenjiro gasped, his eyes flying open. It was the same nonsensical, rage-fueled rant he had heard his shadow scream when he first learned about calisthenics, about people climbing trees for strength. The shadow was sentient. It had its own thoughts, its own memories.

He closed his eyes again, focusing his will, pushing a thought back at the voice. "Why did you attack my friends?"

The response was immediate, dripping with contempt. "To test if they are worthy of your friendship. And they aren't. They are weak, 'Bombom'."

A surge of anger, his own this time, rose to meet the shadow's. "What do you mean?" he projected back. "I'm weak too, you know! You're taking all my strength away!"

But there was no answer. The presence in his mind was gone, leaving only a cold, echoing silence. He was alone again with his own conflicting thoughts. He sighed, the anger draining out of him, leaving only a familiar, weary frustration. He got out of bed and, with nothing else to do, began his workout, the familiar burn of his muscles the only thing that felt real.

He awoke the next morning to the sight of Ryo, sitting casually on the plush sofa in his room, a cheerful smile on his face. Kenjiro yelped, jumping in his bed, his heart hammering against his ribs. "W-why are you here?!"

"Oh, Bombom, I came to see you~" Ryo purred, before his expression turned more serious. "But then I got some news. About 03."

Kenjiro yawned, stretching as he sat up. "What'd you get?"

"We managed to get one of the captured Children of the Eclipse to talk," Ryo said, his voice low. "We interrogated him. It seems 03 is responsible for an entire universe disappearing."

Bombom gasped. "W-what? You're kidding, right?"

Ryo just shook his head, his expression grim. "Here, look." He held out his data tablet. It was playing a shaky, handheld video, clearly taken by an amateur astronomer. The footage showed a familiar constellation in a night sky, and then, in a blink of an eye, one of the brightest stars in the formation simply... vanished.

Bombom laughed, a nervous, incredulous sound. "It's just a star vanishing. It could be a cloud or something."

"Bombom, this is not the time for jokes," Ryo said, his voice sharp. "Look at the next one. This is from a deep-space satellite that observes distant galaxies." The footage changed to a stunning, high-resolution image of a massive, swirling spiral galaxy. As they watched, the brilliant, galactic core flickered, dimmed, and then went completely dark, the spiral arms collapsing into a black void.

"This could mean so many things," Bombom argued, though his voice lacked its earlier conviction. "Don't tell me you got footage of the planet itself, too."

Ryo shook his head. "We don't. But the energy signature from that event... it matches the residual energy 03 left behind in the cathedral. Bombom, he's dangerous. Keep away from him, and don't let anyone hotheaded get near him." Kenjiro felt the last part of that statement was directed squarely at him.

Ryo's serious expression then melted away, replaced by his usual, playful smirk. "By the way," he said, changing the subject completely. "We accepted a new adventurer into the guild. A midget called SynchroNoice. He said you were the one who inspired him to join, so..."

Bombom sighed. "So?"

"So," Ryo replied, his grin widening, "the next quest you take, you should take him with you."

Bombom let out a sharp "tsk." "W-why should I do that?"

"'Cause he told me he had nothing," Ryo said, his voice softening for a moment. "His brother was the only thing he had, and now he's gone..."

A strange, uncomfortable feeling twisted in Kenjiro's stomach. Guilt. "O-okay," he mumbled. "It's kinda my fault his brother... got obliterated."

"Good!" Ryo smiled, his mission accomplished. "Then you should head to your next quest. Be careful, the ogres are super dangerous. And brutes, just like you~"

"BRUTE?!" Bombom yelled, his face turning red. He leaped out of bed and began chasing Ryo around the room. "I'LL SHOW YOU THE BRUTE!"

Ryo just ran, laughing, chanting "brute, brute, brute" as he dodged Bombom's clumsy attempts to grab him. The door to the suite opened, and DragonSlayer poked his head in. "Oh, you guys are playing cat and mouse?"

Ryo and Bombom froze. Bombom, deeply embarrassed, looked away. Ryo took the opportunity to slip out of the room. "Bye!" he called over his shoulder. "And take care of your new friend!"

DragonSlayer looked at Bombom. "What new friend?"

"You'll see..." Bombom grumbled. He stared at DragonSlayer, waiting for him to leave.

"YOU'LL SEE AFTER YOU LEAVE MY ROOM AND LET ME CHANGE!" he finally screamed.

DragonSlayer, shocked by the sudden outburst, quickly backed out of the room. "O-okay, okay! You didn't need to scream!"

After Bombom changed, he and DragonSlayer went to the main hall. Gluteus and Lyrielle were already there, waiting for them. And standing beside them, looking small and nervous, was SynchroNoice.

"Where's Kaito?" Bombom asked.

"K-Kaito told us he's sick today," Lyrielle said, blushing as she spoke. "S-so he won't be coming..."

Bombom sighed. "Okay. We're going to fight some ogres. Any mistakes will cost us our lives. Any questions?"

"O-OUR LIVES?!" SynchroNoice squeaked, trembling with fear.

Bombom smirked, a cruel, teasing glint in his eye. "Yeah. Your brother died like a hero. You should follow in his footsteps."

"By dying?! Nonono! How about we take a Rank C quest?"

"That's not how things work," Gluteus said, his voice a deep rumble.

"Yeah," DragonSlayer nodded. "After accepting a quest, you can't go back unless you have a good motive."

"I have one!" Synchro said. "I don't want to die!"

"Crybaby," Bombom scoffed, turning his back. "I thought you were strong and determined, like your brother."

Synchro gulped, his face locking into an expression of grim resolve. "Okay," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Let's go."

They all piled into the armored car. DragonSlayer, seeing the new fish sitting next to him, decided to haze him a little. "So, what's your power?"

SynchroNoice puffed out his chest. "I can do this." He let out a soft "boop" sound, and then said, "NOICE!"

Everyone in the car let out a collective, frustrated sigh.

"I can also synchronize everything," he added quickly. "Like, copy the same thing you're doing."

"So you just copy moves..." Bombom sighed.

"So you just copy moves..." SynchroNoice repeated, his voice a perfect imitation of Bombom's.

"THAT'S NOT A POWER!" Bombom yelled, his voice rising.

"THAT'S NOT A POWER!" SynchroNoice yelled back, his voice an identical echo.

Bombom sighed, annoyed, and looked away. This kid was probably going to die just like his brother.

They finally arrived at the location, a dark, foreboding forest at the edge of the country. A large, crudely painted sign was nailed to a tree. It showed a picture of a massive, green-skinned creature and was written in a blocky, childish script: "Beware Ogres."

Bombom got out his drone camera and turned it on. "Okay, guys," he announced to the stream, striking a heroic pose. "Today, we're going to take on some onions."

SynchroNoice looked at him, completely bewildered. "W-what? What do onions have to do with anything?"

"Never watched Zhereke?" Bombom asked, annoyed.

The chat immediately began mocking him.

"Bro has never watched Zhereke."

"That midget didn't have a childhood."

"I bet he wants Bombom's onions."

Lyrielle, Gluteus, and DragonSlayer were all laughing in the background as they ventured into the dark, ogre-infested woods.