The Past, The Author, & The System

"Welp I died…. That sucks…" says a soul floating in the abyss.

"… Though this is the second time I've died hasnt?" I say as I remember how I died.

Artemis, that machine god unleashed an arrow at someone I cared about but with all my courage I wielded my sword, one that believed I was worthy of wielding, the legendary sword Durandal.

With everything I had in me I used it to the maximum capabilities and blocked that arrow, saving my friends, but the backlash from that strike was too strong.

I saved them but I died in the process, though had I known that, that attack would Kill me, not just send me back to the Throne of hero's but sending my soul through reincarnation.

Then in my next life I was born as John McDouglas, just an average American with Irish heritage.

Grew up in a decent household, though my father was a drunk who beat me and my mother, but at an early age my mother got a divorce and left him taking me as well.

She remarried a few years later to a much better man who had a daughter of his own who ended up being my little sister.

After that I had a decent life, decent grades, graduated high school, and got a decent office job.

My mid twenties I found the love of my life and we got married, soon after I had a son and daughter of my own.

Things were good that is until my dead beat father came for both me and my mother after finally finding out where we lived, he tried to kill my mother and me as well as the rest of my family with a gun at our family gathering.

Maybe some of the courage from my days as Mandricardo made me react fast enough to stop him from killing my mother but I took the shot for her, maybe luck was on my side as it grazed my neck, but deep enough to cut into my Carotid Artery, the thing that sealed my fate.

But with in the struggle I was shot in the gut several times as well, but pulling out a strength I never knew I had I turned the gun on him and shot him down.

But with him dead I also died too as everything faded to black, and that's the end of it for me.

"Haaa… I wish I could have seen my kids grow up, get married, see my grandkids and lived a nice long life….. but I guess that's not meant for me…." I said sadly as I floated around in this void that I decided to swim around in.

..

.

"I'm bored... if this is the afterlife this just sucks then, although it seems I've taken on my looks back when I was Mandricardo after all." How could I tell without even looking in a mirror? Well I was wearing my old set of clothes/armor that I wore in that life, plus in my previous life I looked no different than when I was Mandricardo when I was younger, though when I was older I did grow a goatee that matched my black hair.

But I couldn't feel the goatee on my face so I assumed that I was what I appeared as when I saved my friends life back then.

"Sorry for the wait, there were some issues when tallying up all your karmic deeds in your last two lives that it took us some time to fix some issues with your previous reincarnation." Says a voice that appears out of the void as stars begin to manifest and appear before me before taking on the shape of a rather beautiful woman.

"….. I'm gonna take a shot in the dark that your Klyscha the goddess of dreams."

I can't really see here facial features but based upon how her body twitched slightly I could guess I was correct.

"And why would you say that?" The goddess wondered as to why I would call out her name.

"Before I died in my past life, my son got me hooked on anime, manga, video games and light novels as well, especially light novels, and two stories I rather liked had you being the one who reincarnated the main protagonists in there stories, one went off to become a god with your help while the other ended up becoming your husband while doing a lot of kinky things with you along with his other lovers." I said with a smirk as I leaned back and crossed my legs, I found out the void can solidify to your will so now the void was acting like a chair for me as I rested my hands on the back of my head.

When she heard that though she stopped before looking off into the distance as her eyes glowed before what I could say was a smile adorned her face as she turned back to look at me.

"You could say that those are still me, but also not me, they are what people dreamed myself up to be like in their stories that they have made, so in a way those stories did happen just in there own individual universes."

"But unless the great writer gets the AOK from those writers I can never meet those protagonist now can I? I'm guessing their is something like that as well right?" Though as soon as I say that a small portal appears right next to me as a hand pops out before giving me a hard karate chop across the head.

"OUCH! What the hell man?" I say as I turn to see a man in his mid twenties typing away on his smart phone while sitting at a desk in front of several Monitors.

Seeing him Klyscha bows her head towards me, "Author-sama…."

"Wait…. Your the author?" I say as I turn towards him and get a good look at him, average looks, brown hair, light skin, green eyes, wearing a grey t-shirt and pants, he looks like someone you would see when you would go out grocery shopping as a passerby.

"Yes I know my looks are average, I'm not gonna lie to my creation and come off as some Adonis with gorgeous godly looks that need to be repeated 50 times a chapter saying how handsome I am like certain other authors love to do in there stories, but you breaking the 4th wall like this allows me to step in and talk to you personally." He says while still typing on his phone as he turns to look at me.

I can kind of see what he's typing on there, "Hey, are you typing up the script while we're talking?" I ask as I watch the words he's typing up on his phone.

He just smiles before putting it away, "Yes it is, but that doesn't matter, Mandricardo, I'm giving you the deal of a lifetime, I'm giving you a system, custom made for you, a system that will let you do anything you want, make you stronger, give you powers from other worlds, help you make money, help you get women, help you build your own kingdom, whatever you want it to do it will help in anyway it can to make you stronger and live your life the way you want." He says as he makes a orb of rainbow like light covered in words and letters I can't comprehend.

"Author-sama! I think that's-" but suddenly his arm stretches out like a certain pirate and puts a finger on her mouth.

"Klyscha, you know I barely ever do this personally, from all the countless other stories I made this is the first one where I, the author, step in personally to do this because he decided to break the 4th wall to talk to me, now run along and go take care of it that souls or watch over that grey haired kid or spend time with your husband in that other story he told you about?" He said before he snapped his fingers before teleporting her away.

"Now then, here let's just put this in your soul." He says before pushing the system into my chest where I feel it merge with myself.

"And since I'm feeling nice I'll add this too." He says before taking something from a drawer and placing it in my hand.

"….. a pen?" I say as I look down on it.

"Not just any pen but the Authors pen, now put that up against your chest before I send you on your way, and don't worry I gave you an easy starting position in life so you won't get killed when your born alright?" He says as he takes my hand holding the pen and pushes it into my chest making it merge with my soul as well.

"Well I better send you on your way, oh and as you get older you'll unlock all your equipment by 9 or 10 years old, but you'll at least be able to summon that wooden sword of yours at the start at least, well see ya around!" He says before hits my forehead making me instantly fall unconscious as my soul falls down into the vast multiverse of stars below.

"Heh, do whatever you want kid, the world and everything in it is your playground, so go out there and have fun." He says with a smirk before closing the portal behind him.

"Now then how should this story go?"