Fenrir woke up in an unfamiliar white room, which had nothing in it. He tried to remember how he got here, but he was coming up empty. The last thing he remembered was watching One Piece, where Luffy used the Bajrang Gun to destroy Kaido. He was leaping up and down in excitement, then nothing. He did not remember a single thing after that.
He looked around to see where he was. The room, if it could even be called that, was completely white. Not just white walls, but white everything. The floors, the ceiling, even the air itself seemed to glow with an ethereal dust that made it impossible to determine where the beginning or the end of the room was.
He tried to sit up straight, his body feeling strangely heavy yet weightless at the same time. As consciousness fully returned, confusion washed over him like a tide.
"Where am I?" This was the first question that echoed in his mind as he looked around the endless expanse of nothingness.
The last clear memory he could think of was vivid, almost painfully so. He'd been in his apartment, hunched over his computer screen, completely absorbed in the climactic moment of the Wano Arc. Luffy's Bajrang Gun had been descending toward Kaido like the fist of a god, and Fenrir had been losing his absolute mind with excitement.
"YES! GO LUFFY! FINISH HIM!" he remembered shouting at his screen, jumping up and down from his chair with such enthusiasm that his heart felt like it might burst. The moment when Luffy's massive fist connected with Kaido's face had been everything he'd hoped for and more. After years and years of buildup, character development, and epic storytelling, the scene culmination of everything in a perfect, satisfying moment of victory.
And then... nothing. A complete blank.
No matter how hard he concentrated, Fenrir couldn't recall what happened after that. It was as if someone had taken an eraser to his memory and erased anything beyond that point.
He looked down at himself, only to find a simple white garment that seemed to blend seamlessly with the environment around him. His old dusty clothes were nowhere to be found.
"Great. Either I'm dead, in a coma, or having the world's most boring psychotic break." He ran a hand through his hair, noting he was wearing some generic white outfit instead of his usual anime t-shirt and questionable sweatpants. "If this is the afterlife, I want a refund."
Minutes crawled by. Or hours. Time felt like a broken concept here.
"Listen!" he shouted at the endless nothing. "If this is some kind of divine judgment thing, can we skip to the part where you tell me what I did wrong? Because honestly, getting too excited about anime seems like a pretty weak reason for bringing me to such a place!!"
His words were cut off by a sound that made his heart skip a beat. Footsteps. Slow, deliberate footsteps approached from somewhere in the white expanse. But he couldn't see anyone; the white expanse was empty in all directions.
Fenrir froze, every muscle in his body tensing as the footsteps grew closer. Whatever was about to happen, he knew it might change his life.
Then the footsteps stopped, and a person appeared in front of him, if you can call it that. He could make out the outline of their face, but wasn't able to see it clearly. They looked like a tall buff dude with muscles that seemed to burst out of his clothes any second now, then a little girl the next second, before turning into a busty mature woman the next.
"Yo! Sorry I am late. I had a little too many spicy tacos today and had to spend extra time in the loo. Anyways, let me introduce myself. I am the God of Anime and Manga. Nice to meet cha, Fenrir-kun."
Fenrir blinked at his introduction. "I'm sorry, what?"
"God of Anime and Manga," The God repeated cheerfully. "Though technically I oversee all fictional entertainment media, but anime and manga are my specialities. Love your enthusiasm, by the way, I haven't seen a single person literally die from the excitement of watching anime in my entire life. You are the first one."
"Die from, wait, I'm dead?" These words hit him like a truck. "How do you die from getting excited about anime?! Is that even theoretically possible?!"
The said God scratched what might have been their head. "Well, you got so excited that the blood vessels in your heart burst from too much pressure, leading to instant death. It didn't help that you didn't sleep for 36 hours and kept chugging those energy drinks to finish watching the whole arc in one go. It was honestly impressive in how ridiculous it all was, if I say so myself."
Fenrir stared blankly into the space as the words registered with him. "That's like the stupidest death in history."
"Oh no, it's not even close. Just last week, someone choked on air while laughing at a meme. But hey, at least your death was thematically appropriate; you died watching the climax of your favourite anime. Me Likey" The God tone was oddly proud as they said it. "Shows real dedication to the craft."
"This is insane." Fenrir rubbed his temples. "So what now? Judgment? Reincarnation? Do I get a lawyer? Or a choice?"
"Actually, that's why I'm here!" God clapped their hands together. "See, you died during a peak emotional moment while consuming my domain's content. That kind of pure, concentrated fandom creates what we call 'narrative resonance.' Or in simple terms, I liked it. So I can give you another chance, you get a do-over."
Fenrir's heart stopped. "A do-over?"
"Yep! I can send you to any fictional world you want for a second chance at life. Think of it as a divine reward for being such a dedicated fan." The God grinned. "So, where would you like to go? Naruto? Dragon Ball? My Hero Academia? Come, come, pick your poison!! The sky's the limit!"
'This is it.' He thought. Every otaku's ultimate fantasy was being handed to him on a silver platter. Fenrir's mind raced through the countless possibilities. He could become a ninja, a Saiyan, a hero with a quirk, a demon harem protagonist, or anything else he wanted.
But in the end, there was only one real choice.
"One Piece," he said without hesitation. "Send me to the One Piece world."