Note: Updated to account for the new resprite of Astrum Deus.

The moon was rising into the skies above the town of Kuoh, Japan. It was a relatively peaceful evening, and if things stayed that way, it would be a perfect night for stargazing.

A young adult male walked down the street, heading home with the intention to do exactly that. This was Sensou Kuraima, an American boy of Japanese descent who had moved to Japan so that he may experience modern life in his parent's homeland, and currently on his third year at Kuoh Academy.

The academy in question was notable as being pretty prestigious, in a lot more ways than one might think. Yes, it was a pretty good school, but it had a really odd trait;

The women there were to die for. Busty bombshells, as far as the eye could see! The school had only recently become co-ed, previously being an all-girls school (Something that Kuraima didn't expect to still be a thing). He's not sure why his parents had recommended this school, but a part of him internally thanked them.

Though, maybe it was to try and help him cope with his society anxiety. Of course, it didn't help at all since he was at year 3 without a girlfriend. Given that the other girls here were even worse than the boys who were explicitly here for the boobs, swooning over cute boys and arguing over yaoi ships, that was probably for the best. He had friends here, sure, but he was unpopular enough to avoid getting shipped with some other dude.

Now, there's nothing wrong with having two dudes who love each other. Despite growing up in an Christian Household™ back in America, he was very open minded about these kinds of things, even if he was uncomfortable at the thought of getting it up the ass. However, there is a very fine line between shipping fictional characters and shipping real human beings.

He sighed, looking up at the star-filled sky to clear his mind and rid himself of the weird thoughts.

Speaking of which, stargazing at night was one of Kuraima's favorite hobbies, apart from the occasional parkour run, and of course, gaming. He thoroughly enjoyed the idea of alien life living somewhere out there in the great void, and deep down, he secretly hoped that he'd live long enough to meet them.

The problem was that he didn't have quite the guts or the mathematical capabilities, due to his mild ADHD, to be an astronaut. So for now, this would suffice.

As of right now, he was walking down the street, grocery bags in hand. He hummed a little tune to himself, minding his own business. Out of nowhere, an old man suddenly stumbled, dropping all of his belongings. Upon seeing this, Kuraima decided to stop and help out. Sure, he wanted to be a nice person, but mostly he helped out because he didn't want to come off as a total douche who would ignore an old man in need.

"Ah! Thank you, young man. Not everyone would go out of their way to help an old geezer like me..." he thanked the third year student, chuckling at that last bit.

"...No problem, sir! Just doing the right thing!" He said, the awkwardness filling his voice.

As Kuraima bent down, he spotted a peculiar necklace. It had a large, bright orange pearl-like orb firmly enveloped with a chromatic metal that resembled oxidized bronze. When he offered it back to its rightful owner, the old man chuckled again. "You can keep that thing, young lad. Old gramps here kept it as a good luck charm, but I think you're gonna need it more than me! Haha! Now you be careful, young man! There's a pretty nasty thief goin' around and robbing houses! Nobody's been harmed yet, but I'd still play it safe if I were you!"

Kuraima gave him an incredulous look, then smiled awkwardly, nodding his head respectfully and pocketing the priceless jewelry before finally making his way home, blissfully unaware of the can of (literal) worms he was about to open.

Unfortunately for him, this was only the first of many, for he had just purchased a full shipment of worm cans.

Several hours passed, as the 3rd year student finally finished up his homework. Delightfully, he immediately changed into his pajamas, and flopped onto his bed. He'd originally intended to go do some stargazing on his balcony, but he'd spent too much time on Reddit.

His room was pretty decorated, housing his bed and his personal computer. Various poster covered sections of the walls; some of which he'd brought with him from America, others he'd bought at local conventions.

He sat up, looking at the amulet that old man had given him, watching as how the light of the nearby lamp shone beautifully on its metal casing. Kuraima idly wondered; why would this old man just give away such a thing to somebody like him? How much money was this thing worth?

More importantly...why did he feel so sleepy…?

His outstretched hand slumped onto the bed as an overwhelming sleepiness overtook him.

"Wake up…witness my demise…"

Kuraima awoke with a start. He had to blink a few times to make sure that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him.

He was in goddamn space!

He had to pinch himself a few times, but not once did he reawaken in back home in bed.

Okay, so he was in space, without a helmet. Yet, his head hadn't popped like a balloon. Maybe that was just a myth after all...but still, what the hell was going on?

His question was answered when a massive being nearly rammed into him. A gargantuan space worm, covered in a shell of gray and bright teal plating much like that charm he'd received, shot past him. He helplessly twirled about in zero gravity for a few moments before he came to rest on a large asteroid.

How….oddly convenient.

Despite its terrorizing size, Kuraima couldn't help but feel enamored by its beauty. In the beast's wake, waves of golden stardust flowed.

However, nothing is sacred. He couldn't hear it, but he could feel the fabric of time and space warping as yet another worm shot out of a rip in reality. It wasn't as big as the space worm, but the student could feel his legs trembling from the imposing aura this….thing….gave out. Soundlessly, the smaller worm pierced through the space worm's shell like an arrow, the former's body wriggling as it burrowed inside like a parasite. Had there been sound, then he would've probably heard ethereal squeals, the sound of flesh ripping, bones snapping, and other discomforting noises.

The armor plating curled and bulged as the intruder ate away at its flesh, causing space worm to writhe in agony. It took a lot of effort to avoid soiling himself when the intruding predator shot out of the open wound, its victim clearly dead.

It had died an agonizing death, unable to resist. Kuraima could just feel the existential dread looming over him.

The smaller worm coiled around the fallen beasts' husk, and simply crushed it like a tin can.

"That which devours…it came for me when I was being careless. I was foolish to think I could escape simply by running to the edge of the universe."

The scene faded into pure black as Kuraima found himself standing on an invisible surface.

"The Devourer of Gods...a great beast whose hunger cannot be satiated. Unlike most beasts, who are simply named because of their sheer size, this one was more literal. It had actually grown so large, it could consume godlike being such as I. Nobody was safe."

In front of him, the visage of the massive worm. It showed the creature eating titanic eldritch beasts, tearing them apart like a dog playing with dolls.

"With my last breath, I released what remained of my pieces. I was a god born of man's faith. It was only fitting that I, as they say, 'gave back to the people.'"

The world around Kuraima changed, this time changing to that of a fantasy world. He was in the middle of a bustling medieval city when everyone suddenly stopped, pointing up into the sky and panicking as a massive meteor fell from the sky.

"I should've been more gentle about it, but I didn't really have a choice."

The scene changed again, showing the meteor's impact zone. A sickly miasma came from the air as the plants outside of the crater began to wilt and turn purple, transforming into alien entities. 'Gentle, my ass…'

Awkward pause.

"...anyways...Several warriors were chosen to wield my power."

Groups of various people appeared around Kuraima. There seemed to be no end to the variety- people from all walks of life stood around him. Kings, peasants, humans, elves, beasts, some in-between, and some even beyond the spectrum of organic biology.

"However, one piece ended up in your hands; the charm you received. You see, I got lucky."

The scenery once again changed to the space worm's destruction. The Devourer, as it was apparently called, sped away from its kill to return to whence it came. A small piece was caught on the worm's armor only to dislodge itself inside the dimensional gap between worlds.

"Many things happened, most of which involved me collecting dust in antique stores. However, I have now found a compatible user...you. The reality of this world gave me a form known as a Sacred Gear. My "sacred gear", as they call it, is an utterly blank slate. As you evolve, so will my power. I have provided a small taste of my own abilities to get help you started as this world's avatar of mine."

A silent pause. For a moment, the world around the student seemed to brighten.

"I must go soon. As it is, I am only a soul in the Astral Plane, and even now I can only barely maintain the connection needed to converse with you. But allow me to inform you of several things you need to know."

Kuraima, taking in the information surprisingly well for someone with ADHD, nodded solemnly.

"First of all, there's more than meets the eye. From what I have seen, this world has much to offer in the supernatural."

Another pause, allowing the student to process this information.

"However…chances are that you will meet others from my world. It will become inevitable. However, not all of them will be out to get you. There are other gods on the run to escape the Devourer's jaws. I'm quite certain of this… for many of them are already here."

Kuraima shivered as the world around him flashed once more, before he finally asked the important question. "Hey...what's your...name?"

The ethereal voice paused.

"I am known as Astrum Deus. It translates to "Star God" in latin. A fitting name for the lord of the cosmos, is it not?"

Before Kuraima could answer, the world began to grow white.

"The wakening world beckons. Sensou Kuraima, Earth's Avatar of Astrum Deus. Your destiny begins...now."

Kuraima woke back up in bed. The charm was now firmly sitting on his neck, the chain wrapped around like a proper necklace. He took a moment to process what just happened.

Then the realization kicked in. "Holy shit! I just met an alien!"

Quickly, he booted up his Nintendo Switch and started playing Bayonetta 2, attempting to push the looming existential dread away. After all, he had literally just accomplished his "impossible" life goal in the middle of high school. (And in chapter 1, no less.)

Thank god for weekends!

However, he then heard the sound of glass breaking downstairs and froze, ruining his latest attempt to achieve a Pure Platinum ranking.

'The hell was that?!' He thought. Then he remembered the old man's warning.

Shieeeeeeet.

Author's notes

Showerthought: If the Devourer of Gods consumed literally any character from Highschool DxD, he'd become bullshit OP by almost all standards.

Oh yeah by the way, I'M BAAAAAACK.