Chronicles of the Multiversal Traveler

"Where am I? Who am I? And what is this place?"

In a vast, white space stretching endlessly in all directions, a man in his thirties floated aimlessly, staring at a strange blue screen with the word "Welcome" written on it.

"What is this? Ugh, my head hurts. I can't remember what happened or how I got here."

As he struggled to recall his memories, the words on the screen changed:

[Welcome, Ryuu. You are now dead. This is the place between the realm of the dead and the living. Here, I judge whether people go to Heaven or Hell based on their past lives. Please wait while I review your life.]

A bright light projected from the screen, followed by a list of data that appeared in front of him. Ryuu was too bewildered to pay attention, his thoughts racing wildly.

"Huh?! Did it just say I'm dead?! What the hell?! After that terrible headache faded, I remember now—last night, I was playing gacha games, farming for resources. Then I went to sleep, and now I wake up to a screen telling me I'm dead?!"

Devastated, Ryuu struggled to process the situation. He had lived an ordinary life with an average job and lived with his parents. Though he had never married or been in a relationship, he was content. But now, a screen was telling him his fate.

After a while, Ryuu calmed down and looked back at the screen. His eyes widened, and his mouth fell open in shock.

"Ayoo, what the hell are these stats?!"

Breaths: 1,707,182,263

Times rejected by girls: 3

Hairs grown: 2,013,928

Hairs lost: 1,627,829

Years lived: 32

Times married: 0

Children: 0

Times sneezed: 16,810

Times yawned: 198,821

Countries visited: 0

Planets visited: 1

Thoughts: 190400547833100

Gallons of water drank: 15,102

Bowls of ice cream consumed: 2,092

Pizza slices consumed: 15,013

Crimes committed: 0

Times masturbated: 21468

And the list went on endlessly, detailing every aspect of Ryuu's life from birth to death. The full review took over two hours.

[Calculating... Done.]

[Individual Ryuu is judged to be a good human based on his deeds and will be sent to Heaven.]

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second!" Ryuu shouted at the screen, panic in his voice. "I don't understand a single thing! I need to ask some questions!"

[Operation paused temporarily.]

The screen seemingly focused on him, and although it didn't move, Ryuu felt as if it were staring at him.

[What?]

"I have questions. Can you answer them for me, please?"

[Calculating... Done. Currently, there are no other individuals to process. Permission granted. You may ask now.]

"You said I'm dead, right? Can I know how I died?"

[You died naturally. Your breathing stopped while you were sleeping—a peaceful death, as humans describe it.]

"I see..." Ryuu paused, feeling a mix of relief and sadness. He wondered how his parents and sister would react to his sudden death.

"Forget it. My second question—are you a god?"

[No. I am merely a system created by a higher being to judge humans based on their actions. Honest lives lead to Heaven, while twisted ones go to Hell.]

"I see."

[Based on your stats, you will be sent to Heaven. Please wait.]

"Huh, so Heaven it is... Not what I expected, but okay. Do your thing, system."

[Detected sadness in individual Ryuu's emotions. Query: Why?]

Startled, Ryuu opened his eyes. "Are you asking me?"

[Affirmative.]

"Uh... Well, to be honest, I thought that when I died and ended up in a place like this, I'd be sent to a fictional world from the games or anime I loved, with cool powers and maybe even a harem, like those protagonists. But now you're telling me I'll just go to Heaven. That's why I'm sad."

The screen paused briefly.

[Calculating... Done. Individual Ryuu, please choose the world you wish to go to.]

"Wait, what?! I can choose a world?! But you just said I'd be sent to Heaven. What do you mean I can choose now?"

[Individuals judged for Heaven may choose a fictional world if they request it.]

"So if I hadn't asked, you'd have just sent me to Heaven?"

[Affirmative.]

Ryuu was speechless at the absurdity of the system.

"With all due respect, your programming is stupid."

The screen ignored his complaint.

"Uh, there are countless worlds I want to go to. Is there a way to visit all of them?"

[Affirmative. Choose all the worlds you want, and I will send you randomly to one. How you travel to others is up to you.]

"I see. And what about powers? Can I have some too?"

[Affirmative. Choose a category, and the power will be random.]

"What do you mean?"

[For example, in the world of One Piece, if you want a Devil Fruit, it falls under the 'Devil Fruit' category. The specific fruit you receive will be up to chance.]

"So it's like gacha? I could end up with a useless power?"

[Affirmative.]

"Fuck!"

Ryuu cursed loudly. First, he'd be sent to a random world; now his powers would be determined by gacha luck.

"I have another question. Will these powers be at max level, or will I need to develop them myself?"

[It depends on the individual. The system will plant the seed, but you must nurture it. Now choose your powers—up to three categories.]

"Hmm..." Ryuu thought long and hard before deciding.

"First, I choose a Longinus from High School DxD."

He was a big fan of High School DxD and loved the Dragon Emperor armors.

"Second, a Noble Phantasm from Fate/Grand Order."

Having played Fate/Grand Order for seven years, he dreamed of wielding a Reality Marble.

"Lastly, a Stand from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure."

Who could resist shouting "ORA ORA ORA" with a Stand?

[Calculating... Done...]

"Euuuuh, that's it? I don't feel anything."

[The seed has been planted. The rest is up to you.]

"Okay... It's kinda weird, though. You tell me I have a Longinus, a Noble Phantasm, and a Stand, but I don't know anything about them."

Ryuu was speechless but grateful to the system. After all, he'd dreamed about this moment for over 18 years since he started playing games and watching anime.

"I wanna say your program is dumb, but thank you."

He bowed to the screen. Even if the powers were garbage-tier, he was still grateful. He didn't want to be like those protagonists in Chinese novels who cursed their systems and acted like the world owed them everything.

"Uh, I have a question. If I die again, what happens to me?"

[Since Individual Ryuu rejected Heaven to go to a fictional world, if he dies, his soul will shatter and disappear forever. Question: Does the individual still wish to proceed?]

A chill ran down Ryuu's spine, but he quickly steeled himself. If he was scared now, how would he survive future battles? Whether he became a world-destroying villain or a hero who saved everyone, he didn't want to chicken out.

"Yes. I still want to go to a fictional world. It's my dream. Whether it's an anime I watched or a game I played—even if it's Dark Souls—I'd still be happy. Heaven would just be boring, right?"

[Received... It will take 24 hours to generate and create the worlds. Please wait.]

"Wait, 24 hours?! And you said create? So these worlds don't even exist yet?"

[You do not have the authority to know this. Please wait.]

"Hold up, I have another question! If I don't ask now, I'll probably get screwed over later."

[Go ahead. Time until transfer: 23 hours, 59 minutes.]

"Are there other people in those worlds? I'm not gonna be arrogant and assume I'm the first, right?"

[Affirmative.]

"I figured as much. So is there a chance I can meet them?"

[Affirmative.]

Ryuu paused, thinking hard.

"So if a world has never been visited, I guess you create it. But if someone already chose a world, you'll send me to one that already exists?"

[Insufficient authority to answer.]

"Thought so. Okay, next question—if they want to kill me, can I kill them back?"

[Any individual who refuses Heaven and is sent to another world has no connection to this space anymore. They are free to do whatever they want.]

"So you're saying they can literally do anything? Like, go to a hentai world and... well, Fuck every one euh no i mean conquer it?"

[Affirmative.]

Ryuu was stunned. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Welp, I did choose some worthy hentai games... Wait, it's not like I'm a pervert or anything! I'm a pure man who loves vanilla romance! And I'm still a virgin at 32—I haven't even kissed a woman in my entire life!"

He explained himself quickly, but whether it was to the system, himself, or some higher beings watching him, he wasn't sure.

"Anyway, another question—what timeline will I be sent to? Like, if I choose One Piece, you're not gonna drop me into a time where the world just got created, right?"

[It depends on the individual's luck and gacha results.]

"So you're telling me the world is random, the timeline is random, and the power is also random... Man, I better get a Stand that can jump through dimensions, or I'm gonna be stuck forever."

He sighed and looked up at the screen.

[Time left: 23 hours, 24 minutes.]

"Hmm, do I have any other questions? Nah, I think I'm done. I'll just wait until the system sends me."

---

{23 hours, 23 minutes later}

With only one minute left, Ryuu woke up from his nap. Even though he was technically dead, waiting for a whole day had bored him to sleep.

"Ah, finally! That took forever!"

[3... 2... 1... Calculating... Done. The worlds have been generated. Individual Ryuu will now be sent.]

The system's screen shone brightly like the sun. Ryuu felt dizzy, his consciousness fading. Just before everything went dark, he heard the system's final words:

[This system wishes you a happy new life.]

And with that, Ryuu closed his eyes, feeling like he was swimming through the endless darkness of the universe.