First things first.
I cleared my throat and looked straight at the floating blue text like it had personally offended my ancestors.
"System."
No response.
"…System," I said again, slower, with emphasis. "You there, floating UI menace."
[Awaiting command.]
"Oh good," I muttered. "You can hear me. I was worried you were one of those decorative systems. You know, all flash, no customer support."
[Clarify request.]
"Gladly."
I sat cross-legged on the bed like I was about to negotiate world peace—or complain to tech support.
"Let's start with the basics. Who are you, why are you here, and how do I uninstall you if necessary?"
A brief pause.
[I am a Multiversal Support System designed to stabilize, observe, and assist anomalous existences.]
"…That is the longest way I've ever heard someone say 'plot device.'"
No denial.
I snapped my fingers. "Alright, next question. Functions. You have functions, right? Every system has functions. If you don't, I'm filing a cosmic complaint."
The text shimmered.
[Core functions available.]
A new list appeared.
Gacha
Inventory (Unlimited Capacity)
I blinked.
Once.
Twice.
"…That's it?"
[Confirmed.]
I stared at the list like it might suddenly grow embarrassed and add more.
"This is the starter pack?" I asked you. "I die, get reborn, become a multiversal anomaly, and my reward is loot boxes and a bag?"
[Inventory capacity is unlimited.]
"Oh wow," I deadpanned. "Unlimited. Truly revolutionary. I've never seen that in—" I waved vaguely at existence, "—every second isekai ever."
I sighed and rubbed my temples.
"Okay. Fine. I'll play along. But let's set boundaries."
I held up two fingers.
"Just two. That's all I'm allowing right now."
[Clarify.]
"Two functions. Gacha and inventory. No sneaky 'oh by the way you unlocked godhood' nonsense."
The system paused longer this time.
[Acknowledged. Additional functions will unlock in the future based on conditions and narrative progression.]
"…You didn't have to say 'narrative progression' out loud," I said. "That breaks immersion."
No response.
"Also," I added, "that sounded suspiciously like a threat."
Still nothing.
I leaned back and flopped onto the bed again.
"Alright. Next obvious thing."
I sat up abruptly.
"Where's my stats screen?"
Silence.
"…Hello?"
[There is no stats screen.]
I frowned. "Excuse me?"
[You are not within a game construct.]
I stared.
Then I laughed.
"Oh, that's rich. That's really rich."
I pointed accusingly at the floating text.
"You have a gacha system. You have an inventory. You literally appear as glowing blue UI text. And you're telling me this isn't a game?"
[Correct.]
"So what am I, then?"
[You are a living entity within a functioning reality.]
"…Wow," I said softly. "That's somehow worse."
I lay back again, arms spread.
"No stats means no strength numbers, no agility cheese, no min-maxing. Which means if I get punched, I just… get punched."
[Correct.]
"Fantastic."
I stared at the ceiling.
"Alright," I said after a moment. "Then what can you do besides disappoint me?"
The system text shifted.
[Initiating world scan.]
"Oh? Now we're talking."
The air seemed to hum, like something massive was moving just out of sight.
Lines of unreadable data flickered past too fast for me to process.
I squinted. "You know, if you're going to scan the world, the least you could do is add dramatic sound effects."
[Scan complete.]
The data vanished, replaced by a single line.
[World Identified: Twilight.]
I froze.
Slowly, very slowly, I sat up.
"…Come again?"
[World Identified: Twilight.]
I turned to you.
"You heard that too, right?"
I swallowed.
"That Twilight?"
The system, merciless as ever, continued.
[Temporal position confirmed: Approximately two months prior to canon initiation.]
Silence filled the room.
Then—
"…Oh no."
I pressed my hands to my face.
"No, no, no, no, no. Out of all the worlds. Infinite universes. Infinite possibilities. And I land in this one?"
I peeked through my fingers.
"This is the vampire one, isn't it."
[Affirmative.]
"The sparkly one."
[Affirmative.]
"The love triangle with questionable life choices."
[Affirmative.]
I fell backward dramatically onto the bed.
"Truck-kun," I whispered to the ceiling, "I take it back. You could have aimed better."
I stared blankly upward.
"Two months before canon," I repeated. "Which means everything is still… normal."
I paused.
"…Define normal."
I exhaled slowly.
"Alright. Okay. Calm down. Think."
I sat up again, expression serious now.
"No stats. No obvious power-ups yet. Just gacha, inventory, and foreknowledge."
I glanced at the system.
"And you."
The system hovered silently.
I smirked.
"Well," I said, "looks like I'm early."
I cracked my knuckles.
"And being early," I told you, "means I get front-row seats to chaos."
The system text flickered once more.
[Chapter Two Complete.]
I groaned.
"You really need to stop doing that."
The system did not stop.
And somewhere in the world called Twilight, the clock quietly ticked toward canon.