Feeling as if I were sinking into an ocean of darkness, I moved my limbs slowly, the lightness and absence of any weight made it strange to move even a little. A voice in the distance said something I couldn't understand, my senses were numb and my consciousness in a trance.
"ELIJAH!"
I woke up when I heard the scream almost echoing inside my head, my vision was blurred and dizziness plagued me, preventing me from standing up. I looked at my surroundings but couldn't understand a thing, dystopian and almost chromatic colors intertwining with each other and wandering randomly all over the place, while I sat in absolute nothingness watching all this visual madness.
"Good that you're awake this time", said a female voice.
I looked back and saw a woman, long silver hair floating around her, a pure white dress with blue details that seemed to melt with the environment and eyes that shone in different colors at the same time, the whole image of this woman resonated like something divine.
"Beautiful..." I said without realizing it.
The woman smiled and continued speaking:
"Elijah, my name is Reveria and I've come to fulfill your request."
"Request?" I asked after coming back to my senses.
"I felt a strong desire to live coming from you, and the will to have a different second chance."
"And that's the only reason I ended up in this place with you? In fact, what are you?"
"I am the Goddess of Dreams."
"Holy shit...", I cursed without realizing it, this whole crazy situation made me believe that she really was a goddess, it was either that or she was in some crazy post-mortem hallucination.
"It may seem strange, but I've come to fulfill your request, Elijah."
"Why me among so many people? I wasn't a saint and I didn't do anything that deserved a reward, I was just a guy who died of a rare disease."
Reveria gave a slight smile before answering:
"That you'll find out in the future, now let's choose your first conjunction."
"Conjunction?"
"They call it a parallel universe or something, but you'll recognize it by another name ~fufufu~."
Chills ran through my body at the giggle she gave at the end. Would I recognize it? What does that mean? In the end, I need to see this Conjunction to find out.
"To help you, I've implanted something in your soul. I can't interfere with it too much, but I've made some changes that I think you'll like."
"What did you put in me?", I asked fearfully.
"It's easier if you see it first hand, just think of 'System'."
As I thought this, a screen appeared in front of me with some things written on it:
■Welcome to the Reader System Mr. Elijah Reed!■
System: Master Elijah Reed has been registered with the Reader System, for more information select the 'Help' option.
"It's speaking directly into my mind, that's crazy," I commented as I heard the system's voice in my head.
"This system will help you during your exploration of new worlds, Elijah," said Reveria, satisfied with her work.
'Help', I thought and soon another screen appeared with various information and tutorials on the system's functionality. Since I didn't want to see all of it now, I went straight to what I was most curious about, the Conjunctions.
■CONJUNCTIONS■
[...]
•??????????? - Rank: ???
•??????????? - Rank: ???
•??????????? - Rank: ???
•Dungeon Ni Deai - Rank: A+
•Re:Zero - Rank: A+
•Akame Ga Kill - Rank: A
•Konosuba - Rank: B-
[...]
"So the conjunctions are the worlds of anime, does that mean I have the power to enter them?! That's insane!"
System: Rank represents the degree of difficulty of survival in each world, master. I recommend that you choose low rank conjunctions for now.
"I see."
"I believe you've already chosen where to go now," Reveria commented when she saw my resolute expression.
"Let's say yes, I'm still trying to process everything that's going on, but that can be done later. Whether I'm hallucinating or not, I'm going to enjoy this."
"An interesting way to think about it. Which destination did you choose?"
"I want to see the end of a certain work first hand."
System: Highschool Of The Dead has been selected, do you want to change the world? (Each change costs 100 PKs).
'What would those PKs be?', I mentally asked the system
System: Karma points, master.
"How do I acquire these points?"
"If you're talking about Karma Points, they can be acquired by performing certain actions in your adventures; each action generates Positive or Negative Karma. Negative ones can be harmful, so I recommend you avoid them," replied Reveria.
"I see, how many of those points do I have?"
System: 1000 points, master.
For someone who's been stuck in a debilitated hospital for 10 years, I think that must be a pretty high amount. Anyway, I already know where I want to go and I have some ideas for changes to be made in this world, I don't intend to alter the course of the main story in any way, so I'll take it easy.
System: 200 Karma Points have been spent, changes to the 'Highschool Of The Dead' conjunction have been saved. Do you want to join?
"Yes," I replied eagerly.
Reveria looked at me with a smile on her face and even a little expectation in her gaze. I still couldn't understand the cause of all this, but I imagine that in the future the answers to these questions will appear. Gradually, my body began to be enveloped by a bluish light and to break up into particles.
"See you, Elijah."
"See you, Reveria. Thank you for all these gifts, even if I don't deserve them."
Reveria seemed to feel sad for some reason and said something, but I couldn't hear anything before I was completely sucked into the darkness once again.
System: Integration successful!