Tom Jacker floated in the void between dimensions. Around him, colorful nebulae swirled like oil paint spilled across an endless black canvas. He had just left the world of Chainsaw Man, and the lingering satisfaction from his chaotic "farewell party" began to fade, replaced by his most persistent arch-nemesis: boredom.
He reviewed his powers. Eight permanent slots. Four of them filled with his pillars of strength: Spatial Teleportation for freedom, All For One for variety, Absolute Control for domination, and Created Entity Customization for creativity. Plus, his "Shazam-Holy Vampire Tom Template" made him an immortal god in his own right. He could go to any world, defeat anyone, take anything he wanted.
And therein lay the problem. Everything was starting to feel... predictable.
"I came, I saw, I conquered, then I got bored," he muttered into the void. "Always the main actor in the same show. Perhaps it's time to try a new role."
A crazy idea, a spark of pure mischief, ignited in his mind.
"What if I'm not the actor?" he thought, a wide grin beginning to form. "What if... I'm the director? Creating my own game, with my own players, and I just sit back and watch the chaos unfold."
The idea felt incredibly refreshing. He would create new anomalies, his own pawns, and unleash them into the multiverse. He would design their systems, set their rules, and then enjoy the most personal and unpredictable show in all of existence.
First, he needed a "protagonist." He closed his eyes, his immense consciousness spreading across thousands of realities simultaneously, searching for the perfect candidate. His criteria were simple: someone on the verge of death (to avoid disturbing established destiny), someone with the potential for chaos, and most importantly, someone whose current life was so boring they'd accept any crazy offer.
His search didn't take long. He found him. Thomas Vance.
"Perfect," Tom Jacker whispered gleefully. He watched a Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut speeding down a wet coastal road. He felt the gaping boredom within the driver's soul, the emptiness amidst luxury. And he saw his destiny: a fatal accident.
"A little too ordinary," Tom thought. "Let's add a bit of artistic flair."
With a subtle push of his will, he manipulated the weather probabilities around the area. Unnatural purple storm clouds gathered. And at the most dramatic moment, as the car entered a deadly curve, Tom snapped his fingers. A pillar of purple-blue lightning he created from raw energy ripped through the sky and struck the car, creating a spectacular personal apocalypse for Thomas Vance.
Tom watched with satisfaction as Thomas's soul detached from his ruined body and floated into nothingness. "Audition time."
He let Thomas's soul "mature" in that tedious void for what felt like an eternity, before finally deciding to reveal himself.
Tom Jacker broke the eternal silence with his cheerful voice. "Boring, isn't it?"
He savored the shocked expression on Thomas's soul as he shaped his form, a striking purple-green plaid suit, a yellow bow tie, and a top hat. He had to look like an unpredictable entity, not a boring, grand deity.
"Just call me Tom Jacker," he said, enjoying every word. "'Professional Chaos Maestro.' I like the sound of that."
He snapped his fingers, conjuring two armchairs from nothing using a combination of AFO's materialization Quirk and his magic. He sat down casually. "You killed me?" Thomas's soul asked.
"Killed you? No, no. I merely... gave you a push," Tom explained, feeling like a director explaining a scene to his actor. "Consider it an invitation... to a show!"
He snapped his fingers again. Using the principles of Created Entity Customization, he conjured two elegant System interface panels in the air. This was the "Anomaly System" he had specifically designed for Thomas.
He pointed to the first panel. "Hentai App," he said, holding back a laugh at the name he had deliberately made vulgar and to the point. He explained its mechanism: love, compliance, and in return, the copying of one ability. He had taken this copying logic from his own original System, but with a much more entertaining trigger.
Then he pointed to the second panel. "Multiverse App," he explained. This was a "lite" version of his own dimensional shifting ability, which he had deliberately given a one-year cooldown to make the game more interesting. He didn't want his player to get bored too quickly and jump worlds whenever they pleased.
"And of course, a safety net," Tom said, his smile turning particularly cunning. He snapped his fingers one last time. He didn't give Thomas his original Template. He simply copied the concept of cartoon immortality and embedded it into Thomas's soul. "I'm giving you Tom the Cat Template. You're immortal, but you'll feel everything. Isn't that hilarious?"
Seeing the genuine laughter from Thomas Vance, Tom Jacker knew he had chosen the right candidate. This man would be an excellent agent of chaos.
"I accept," Thomas said.
"Excellent!" Tom clapped his hands. "Audition's over. Time for the opening act."
He clapped Thomas on the shoulder, feeling the void around them begin to crack, ready to send his "actor" to the first stage. "Just one piece of advice from me, Thomas Vance," he whispered. "Don't be boring."
With a final snap of his fingers, he cast Thomas Vance's soul into the vortex of the multiverse.
Tom Jacker was alone again in the void. He waved his hand, and a plush velvet sofa appeared, along with a gigantic energy screen that now displayed the viewpoint from the world where Thomas had just landed. He leaned back comfortably, grabbing a bowl of popcorn he had just created.
"Alright, 'The Anomaly Show' episode one," he said to himself. "Let's see what chaos you'll create, my finest creation."
The screen lit up, showing a dirty, smelly back alley where a confused young man had just woken up, a wide grin on his face.
The show had begun.