[System speaking] *Mc thinking*
********
Death shouldn't be this hard.
Though it means it’s the end of the line for everyone, it’s true that one must die alone, but the sorrow it left the surviving lingers on the heart at some point.
To the dying one, he must die well. It doesn’t matter how it happened or how sudden it happened. You had your chance at life, and now, it’s time to return. A man must let go of the past and accept his fate; for once he did, it shall be a peaceful death.
Akira Yuuto was a genius. Despite having the talent to become anything he wanted to be, Akira chose to waste his gift; spend his time sleeping, drinking, and partying. For that, he was said to be a fool, naturally.
Currently, the said fool has regained consciousness. Lying on a soft surface which he later deduced to be a sofa. Two glass windows that began on the ceiling, and ended at the floor gave way to the natural light, which illuminated the hazel leather chairs and the wooden coffee table between them. The room seemed to be an office combined with a personal bedroom.
When he was finished looking around, he thought back to his life. His family had five members: his parents, two older brothers, and himself. His mother was a world-renowned artist, worlds and emotions seemed to seep through her brush onto the canvas.
Most of her paintings were awed at the Louvre Museum in Paris. His father was famous to the world for the way his fingers danced across the piano. And as for his older brothers, they were eager to follow in their parent's footsteps.
The only thing that was notable before Akira’s life ended, was that he saved his father from a car crash. With this act, his life would not be perceived as meaningless.
As he sat staring at the glass windows ahead of him, thinking of how his life had come to a fruitless end, Akira heard a robotic voice; ending the hopeless silence around him.
Welcome Mr. Akira, I am—
He snapped his head towards the direction of the sound, but found the room vacant. From his peripheral vision he glanced at a flash of light reflected on what he thought to be a wall. Just then a hologram appeared, on the far end of the room. It was of a man, a sleek figure. There was a computer behind the hologram, and Akira deduced that the voice was coming from the computer.
He stood facing the screen and observed the blinking light on it.
“Hello Mr. Akira, I am Daisuke. Welcome to the Balance Plane.”
The robotic voice had a touch of ethereality to it, as though the voice did not belong in the room at all. And with all sincerity, it actually did not belong there.
Akira raised his eyebrows.
“A what? Aren’t I dead?” His forehead creased in confusion. “I am dead so shouldn't I be in some kind of an underworld… heaven, or maybe… hell?”
He stared at the hologram and thought that such advancements in technology he had only seen on the ads had really become a reality. Well, it was only a matter of time before this happened. Kind of amazing, but at the same time, a bit troubling.
“How are you speaking anyway? You're just an oversized computer,” he asked. He didn’t know whether to laugh or be scared at that moment. If people would see him, they might even think of him as crazy. How more devastated can his parents be if they found out that their son had gone insane?
“If you would allow me to explain, Mr. Akira. I am not a computer, but an artificial intelligence created to guard and watch over humanity. As for how I speak, I have a conscience. As for the matter of your death, you are correct that you should be elsewhere. But due to orders, you were sent here.”
The voice had started to annoy Akira. Was it not enough that he was clueless, lost, and most importantly dead?
Why did he have to converse with an artificial intelligence, especially after his death? Why was technology still in use?"What do you mean due to orders?" He cocked his head to the side.
"I meant exactly that, Mr. Akira. You have been chosen by a divine being and tasked to do their bidding in the mortal world. His purpose is to maintain stability between positive and negative energies in the universe caused by the decisions and actions made by the extraterrestrial creatures."
The hologram of the man changed into scales leaning from one side to the other, going along with his explanation.
“What exactly is my task, and why was I chosen?”
“Your task is to change the fates of the people or beings whose suffering had caused a great impact on the justice of the universe and their worlds. You will be given a task and a target in each world you visit to change the outcome of their lives. You were chosen because you didn't have much impact on the universe. You could be said to be neutral in the balance of things which makes you the perfect agent for The Keeper of Balance.”
The more the voice spoke, the more Akira looked at the hologram and the more he lost his grip of reality. Is this how the world works now? Is this how our destiny is created? Is this God?
But he had to know more, and the only way through that was to talk to a hologram.
"Why should I believe any of this is real? Where is this? What is your role?”
“This is where you get tasks and targets assigned to you like in an office. My role is to assist you with your tasks and provide a way for you to get in touch with the higher-ups. Adding to that, I am also the one who gives you the information you need.”
Akira kept silent, listening to the hologram as it tried to explain his situation.
“If you finish the assigned tasks and help reduce the negative energy, your soul becomes more powerful, and you earn a salary check after each successful world. You get promoted which gives you more freedom and ways around the rules. The rules are simple; you can't cause the deaths of heavens' favorite children, the male and female leads. You can't allow anyone to know who you are and most importantly, your missions and tasks come before anything else.”
Akira’s ears perked up at the mention of the word “salary”. No one could refuse a fat paycheck after getting all that work done. To Akira, this might be as simple as working in an office, like what the hologram had said. He thought that it’s better than dying in hunger, or should he still worry about it? After all, he was already dead.
“Well, getting a paycheck sounds realistic to me. And besides, if any of this is real, which I'm willing to believe it is, I haven't played video games for nothing, have I? I never imagined having no motivation would work out this way, I think being dead is more fun than being alive.”
“I am glad you find being dead enjoyable, but I need to inform you that you need to throw away anything you believe to be true and be prepared to witness the truth of the universe. Mr. Akira, please be ready. The system is computing…
Searching]
World located…
Transporting in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…
Transfer complete
Akira sat at a desk and appeared to have been doing paperwork. Akira opened his tightly shut eyes and found himself in a familiar room. Looking around, he realized he was sitting on a desk chair. The desk itself held papers, a computer, and a few files. A small number of potted plants were kept on the edge. On either side of the desk, two black shelves were holding a few binders and other things. Next to the shelves on the right was an enormous window that opened outside. The view was just of the aquamarine sky. "I must be somewhere very high,"Akira thought to himself.He didn’t bother to check on it because he was scared of what he might see outside. He stood up and walked around the room.And when he was finished looking around, Akira heard Daisuke speak. He looked around for him and noticed a smartwatch on his wrist. "Is that you Daisuke?" he asked. “Yes, Host. It is me. In ea
“Who is it?” Akira asked. “It's Mr. Manuel Hisashi,”he replied. “Why is he knocking at my door?” Akira asked Daisuke. “I believe he is here to assign you to the orphanage project,”Daisuke answered. The knocks increased in speed, as well as volume. Manuel was apparently a hot-tempered and impatient person. Akira walked out of the room, through the doorway of the study, which led to a long hallway with two doors on each side. At the end of the hallway, past the two doors, was a staircase, which led to a small landing. The landing then opened up to the living room with hardwood flooring, where two sofas facing each other. There’s also a small side chair, and to the right was a door that led to the kitchen. A vast window that reached from the floor to the ceiling was in front of a dining table with four chairs facing one another and two facing from the two edges of the tab
Ryden unclasped the smartwatch on his wrist and placed it on top of the table. He stood up and went near the glass window. He pulled his tie, letting it hang on his neck before placing his hands on his waist. "What I mean is, it makes little sense no matter how I look at it. Ryden's mom dies before him. Manuel graduated from high school,went to college and is now a business owner. So, the way he just treated me is like how you would treat a stranger. Don’t you find that strange at all?" "That may be true, but it's been over ten years since they were familiar with one another. It is to be expected." "Tell me, how did Ryden's mom die in the first place? Did she have any health issues?" Ryden turned around and looked at the smartwatch. "It was not mentioned in the files nor in the storyline. It only stated that she died and that she had no health issues and I could count the time she was sick on one hand."
Ryden woke up at the crack of dawn. He did not want to do so, but the original's body had been trained to and by this point, it was instinctual. He groaned and dragged himself to the bathroom, started washing his face, and looked up to see the unfamiliar face in the mirror. Ryden had deep blue eyes, a black hair which fell over his right eye, and a sharp jaw. Put together, he was a handsome man, no doubt about that. And he’s got a leaner physique and tall stature. Once he finished inspecting his new body, he quickly left the bathroom to get dressed and start the day. Walking back into the bedroom, Ryden quickly found a black suit jacket with a dark blue shirt to wear to work and then went downstairs. While walking towards the door, Daisuke stopped him. Host, you forgot the file that you were handed yesterday by the male lead. "Is it necessary? I assumed that the project would start next week," he replied a
Akira stood there like a statue while the stranger continued to kiss Ryden's lips.The man held his face with both his hands and kissed him like he was his lover. Ryden didn’t react at the kiss and the man seemed to understand that there was something off about the way Ryden was acting and stopped kissing him. He took a step back. There was no change in Ryden's expression other than the shock in his eyes, and from his face, you couldn't tell that they had been apart for years. "Daisuke, who the hell is this man? Why is he kissing me?" he asked, surprised and confused. “I believe he is Damon Hiroshi, who is the cousin of the male lead.” "You didn't mention him to me, so why is he here? Also, is he the lover of the original owner?" he continued asking Daisuke. “He was not mentioned in the plot because he was in another country when it took place, and he was nothing more than a passer-by ch
Akira spent some time speaking with Damon and realized why he and the original became friends. They both disliked spending time with people who had ulterior motives. They both like simple food and lastly, they were both loners before they met each other. Both Ryden and Damon were of introverted natures and this had made them bond closely. But it seems from the plot that Damon was much more attached to the original owner, going as far as to risk his own life to get revenge for his friend. Unfortunately for them both, they went up against the protagonists of the world and naturally lost terribly. ''Host, the meeting on the project starts in two minutes.” "Two minutes! Why didn't you say anything before?"Ryden stood up, alarmed. "There was no need for it, Host, the meeting room is two doors down from your office, making it unnecessary for me to inform you at an earlier time."
Ryden was shouting to let the protagonist know he left his files and documents laying on the floor. It's really simple, no professional worker would leave files behind, especially if they have been classified in large red letters stamped on them. This also happened to the original, but unlike knowing, the protagonist left quickly before Ryden could stop him. These documents were taken out of the male lead’s office without his knowledge and it resulted in the company being searched during the night because Manuel didn't want the thief to have the chance to hide them well. And so the next morning, Ryden was publicly humiliated, demoted and was made to apologize to all his co-workers, for Ryden this was the beginning of the end for him. Therefore, Ryden could not allow the protagonist to get away with it easily. Ryden watched as the protagonist walked away without paying attention to what Ryden was saying. While watching Katsuro nearly ran away from Ryden
Host, I found the perfect company to build the playground. It's called Natural Playgrounds." “Really?” Ryden got up in an instant after hearing the good news from Daisuke. "Yes, Host. Natural Playgrounds Company designs and builds green, sustainable playgrounds. I picked them because for twenty years they've been designing, and for seven years building, this country's most beautiful, intriguing, cost-effective, philosophically appropriate natural playgrounds! Overall, they're a perfect fit for the job,”Daisuke explained the details. "What about people and the equipment necessary to build the playground?"he asked excitedly. "We don't need to worry about either of them because they hire and get their equipment to make it easier for their clients and customers. It also helps them because they don't need to worry about them being pushed out of their comfort zone a