NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: The Architect
You can be the richest person in the world but life will find ways to fuck with you. Genji Takamura wasn’t the richest, at least not outside of Japan, but life still messed with him at every turn.
He lost his entire family at an early age and spiraled deep into depression.
Just when he found a new passion, the world gave him another middle finger in the form of last stage pancreatic cancer. So engrossed in his life that he somehow overlooked the growing tumor within his pancreas.
In his living room, he chose to start another playthrough of his favorite game.
“Hey, you. You're finally awake,” the familiar in-game voice greeted, drawing a rare, serene smile across his face.
He paused the game, turning to address Ichika, his longtime therapist and the last remaining link to his original household. Her presence was a comforting constant in his mess of a life. She seemed to be holding back her tears. “Master, what about your treatment…?”
“Fuck that. I’m gonna spend the rest of my days playing games and reading.”
In the best scenario, he’d live for six more months. In the worst, his next heartbeat would be his last. At least he’d go out enjoying his life.
Ichika, her features etched with fatigue and sorrow, reluctantly joined him. “Master, you should've married when you had the chance,” she sighed, a hint of maternal reproof in her tone.
He chuckled at her words. “You know how hard it is to encounter my type in the wild.”
After five relationships and nine forgettable one-night stands, he had yet to encounter his beloved. The fickle hand of Lady Luck had yet to favor him.
“The greatest architect of Japan will die a lonely death,” Ichika murmured, more to herself than him. “That… that actually sounds like something we’d read in a history book.”
The thought was so absurd that they both ended up laughing.
“Have you decided what you’d do with your wealth?”
“Donate all of it. Charity should make for a nice legacy.”
“Genji-sama…” Ichika suddenly started sobbing, overwhelmed with emotions. “If only the fire had never happened... Things should have been so different...”
He set aside his controller and sighed. “That’s just how life is.”
Giving Ichika some personal space, he left the room and came to the balcony. Genji's gaze was drawn to the tumultuous heavens, where black clouds roiled menacingly. The sky seemed brighter than his future. “Ancestor Godou, I’m sorry. This is the end of your legacy.”
Not even the greatest historians of Japan knew when the first Takamura was born, only that his name was Godou Takamura. Such an old bloodline would meet its end because of his unwillingness to marry a girl who wasn’t a twisted mess of a yandere.
In that moment of introspection, the sky erupted. A jagged bolt of lightning cleaved the darkness, and from the chaotic heavens, a colossal hand emerged. Paralyzed by awe, Genji could only watch as it came down on him and ended his existence.
—x—X—x—
My eyes snapped open. I was floating in an expanse of just, you know, nothingness. The white world seemed like the most chill place in the world.
“That shit was real, huh.”
A giant hand made of clouds, probably some god’s hand, slapped me and likely my entire city to death.
I had expected the afterlife to be more... exciting. Like angels guiding me to Heaven or demons taking me on a tour through Hell. Anything was better than this silent, unflinching gargantuan void. Any sane man will go crazy here in a couple of weeks.
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[The Thrillmaker connected to Host (Genji Takamura)] |
Out of nowhere, a holographic menu hovered before me, igniting a glimmer of hope. “Thrillmaker? What?”
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[The Thrillmaker is a powerful relic given to you as compensation. You died earlier than the writings in the cycle of reincarnation… or so God says in his message. I do not know the factual truth.] |
Accident? That was clearly an instigated murder, perhaps out of rage. But why would God kill me?
I was being tricked, backstabbed, and quite possibly bamboozled.
Come to think of it, doesn’t this seem like the start of an isekai? I had picked up on the trendy anime/light novels hobby after I got sick. They were the leading trend in the entertainment sector of Japan. The excuse about God accidentally killing me resembled the premise of an isekai except this was no accident.
God here seemed like a high and mighty jerk who tried to fix every problem with violence. If violence didn’t solve the issue, he used even more violence. Quite relatable, if I were honest.
Putting aside God for the moment, I scratched my stubbled chin. “What are your special features? What’s the origin of your name?”
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[The Thrillmaker can create realities from existing fictional universes. It was created to grant the thrill of battles to God in a fictional setting where they could test their limits without death.] |
I nodded thoughtfully. This God may have known my wish to step into a different world and, just maybe, stumble upon a yandere. Earth hadn't been presenting me any challenges, apart from my deteriorating health. Even if I survived and found my yandere, what more could I aspire to achieve there?
Nothing.
I had also grown tired of playing the corporate CEO simulator. Fuck that, seriously.
“Can you create the world of Skyrim?”
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[The creation of World Skyrim is only possible at Access Rank 2.] |
Well, that was a bummer. I mean, I was practically an expert of Tamriel, having explored every hidden corner. It wouldn’t be as entertaining to wander through it again in person… Like heck it wouldn't be!