The first thing Alex noticed when he woke up… was silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The strange kind that made him feel like something was wrong.
He slowly opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling above him.
White paint. A small crack near the corner. A ceiling fan spinning lazily.
"…Where am I?"
His voice sounded unfamiliar to his own ears.
Alex sat up quickly.
The room around him was small but clean. A desk near the window. A laptop. A stack of drawing papers. Shelves with books and magazines.
It looked like a normal apartment.
But it didn't feel like his.
He pressed a hand to his head as a dull ache spread through his mind.
Then suddenly—
Memories flooded in.
School.
College.
Learning art.
Struggling to publish stories.
Living alone.
The memories felt real… but mixed with something else.
Another life.
A completely different life.
Alex froze.
"…Wait."
His breathing became uneven.
In that other life, he remembered reading countless stories.
Manga.
Anime.
Novels.
Worlds full of adventure, heroes, villains and dreams.
But the memories in this body… didn't have any of that.
No famous manga.
No anime industry.
No legendary stories that once filled his imagination.
This world had entertainment, movies, games, shows—but nothing like the works he remembered.
Alex slowly stood up and walked toward the desk.
The laptop was already on.
He opened a browser and typed quickly.
Naruto.
Search.
Nothing.
Just a few random unrelated results.
He typed again.
One Piece.
Nothing.
His heart started beating faster.
Dragon Ball.
Nothing.
Attack on Titan.
Nothing.
Alex leaned back in his chair slowly.
"…You're kidding me."
The stories that shaped his entire childhood… simply didn't exist here.
It was like someone had erased an entire part of culture.
For a few minutes he just sat there, staring at the screen.
Then something strange happened.
A soft mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[System initializing…]
Alex froze.
"…What?"
A faint blue glow appeared in front of his eyes.
Lines of text formed slowly in the air.
[Manga Creation System activated.]
Alex blinked several times.
The text didn't disappear.
"Am I… hallucinating?"
The interface ignored him and continued.
[Host confirmed.]
[Purpose: Assist host in spreading stories across worlds.]
Alex stood up from the chair, staring at the floating screen.
"Across worlds…?"
More lines appeared.
[Host possesses memories of works that do not exist in this world.]
[These works may now be recreated and distributed.]
For a moment Alex didn't speak.
Then he slowly laughed.
It wasn't a loud laugh.
More like disbelief.
"So… let me get this straight."
He pointed at the glowing text.
"You're saying the stories from my previous life… I can actually create them here?"
[Correct.]
Alex ran a hand through his hair.
If this was real…
If this was actually real…
Then the possibilities were insane.
A world that had never seen those stories.
A world where those works would be completely new.
Before he could think further, the system displayed another message.
[First ability unlocked: Conscious Avatar Projection.]
[Host may enter other worlds through mental construct during sleep.]
Alex blinked.
"…Other worlds?"
The system continued.
[Actions taken in those worlds will generate audience reactions.]
[Audience reactions produce system points.]
Alex felt his heartbeat quicken again.
Stories.
Other worlds.
Audience reactions.
This felt like something straight out of a novel.
Another message appeared.
[First story available for unlock.]
The title slowly appeared.
Alex's eyes widened slightly.
Death Note
Even after all these years, he remembered that story clearly.
The notebook.
The rules.
The mind games.
A dangerous story… but also a brilliant one.
Alex whispered quietly.
"…That's the first one?"
[Correct.]
Before he could ask more questions, the interface changed again.
[First accessible world unlocked.]
Letters formed one by one.
Alex read them slowly.
One Piece World
For a moment, the room went completely silent.
A sea filled with pirates.
Endless islands.
Adventure.
A world that once existed only in stories.
And now…
He could send a story there.
Alex walked toward the window and looked outside at the quiet city.
This new world had given him a second life.
And now it had also given him something else.
A chance.
A chance to bring those forgotten stories back to life.
He turned back toward the glowing system.
A small smile appeared on his face.
"…Alright then."
"If this world doesn't have those stories…"
"Then I'll create them."
The system displayed its final message for the night.
[Host may begin first projection upon sleep.]
Alex lay down on the bed slowly.
His mind was still racing.
An empty world waiting for stories.
A pirate world waiting for a mysterious manga.
And a notebook of death that would soon begin its first chapter.
He closed his eyes.
Sleep came quickly.
Somewhere far away—
In a world of pirates—
A newspaper press was about to print something very strange