(Static crackles…)
(Broadcast, broadcast… This is the System Free Pickup Station. Deposit your brain here to claim the system you want—tested and proven effective!)
(This is a mixed world with a chaotic timeline, so this book unifies the timeline.)
(One more layer of armor: all related characters are adults.)
(A semi-casual, feel-good story.)
(The plot has been slightly tweaked. Early on, some supporting characters will get a bit of spotlight to highlight the protagonist's strength—please bear with it.)
(Please give me more nudges to update, add to your favorites, and thanks, everyone! I'm a small-time author who listens to feedback. Feel free to suggest plots that fit and don't clash with the main outline. Or, if there's a character you love or want to see added, just let me know!)
(Thank you!)
The stage was swallowed by thick darkness, the air itself seeming to solidify into inky blackness.
In this pitch-black silence, a spotlight pierced the stage's left side, illuminating a blonde girl in a white dress standing quietly in the beam.
Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly parted, and a beautiful voice floated out, soft as moonlight vines wrapping around the gentle tremor of drums, pulling along the faint hum of an electric guitar. She sang low:
"Cos," (Because)
"I was afraid," (I was terrified)
"Was alone," (I was alone)
"In a cave," (In this cave)
"Like a stone…" (Like a stubborn rock)
Her voice was soft, with a touch of husky dampness, like someone whispering to echoes in an empty valley.
Yet every syllable landed precisely in the rhythm's folds. As her voice lingered on the final note, the lazy drumbeat suddenly picked up speed. The guitar's strings shifted from tentative whispers to a coiled, ready-to-strike force, like distant thunder rolling in, making the entire stage tremble faintly.
"This!" (This)
A piercing male voice tore through the darkness, like lightning splitting heavy clouds.
In that same second, dozens of bright lights exploded from the depths of the stage. Multicolored beams pierced the dark, illuminating the surging crowd below. The audience, holding their breath moments ago, erupted into a tsunami of cheers.
"Dance is so dangerous!" (The dance is so dangerous!)
The man's voice still carried raw, explosive energy. A stand-up microphone in the stage's center was locked in the spotlight. Behind it stood a figure with tousled white hair, radiant in the light.
His fingers danced over the electric guitar, letting out a sharp scream. His body swayed fiercely with the rhythm, white hair slashing chaotic arcs under the lights, yet it did nothing to dull the sharp edge of his handsome face.
"So cryptic it changes us," (So mysterious, it transforms us)
"But the secrets that we learn," (But the secrets we uncover)
"Can give power to all of us." (Will grant us endless power)
His voice, mixed with the guitar's wild frenzy, was like magma bursting through the earth's crust, igniting the entire venue.
The crowd's cheers surged even louder. Countless girls in the audience, tears streaming through their fingers, screamed with hoarse voices, the soundwave threatening to tear the roof off.
"Nero-kun!"
"Ahhh!"
"Nero-kun, look over here!"
The drums crashed down at that moment, weaving with the guitar's roar into a chaotic torrent.
When the man tilted his head back, the lines of his neck tensed, sweat sliding along his jawline, dripping onto the silver-gleaming guitar strings, scattering tiny sparks of light.
As he looked down to pluck the strings, the crowd's screams hit a new peak, as if they wanted to swallow the small stage—and the glowing figure on it—into their burning passion.
His white hair swung with his movements, sweat-soaked strands sticking to his forehead. His hand on the guitar paused briefly before unleashing an even wilder melody, his voice soaring:
"Destination I (The final destination)!
"Gotta invitation I (I've got to reach it)!
"Of reality (This real world)!
"Gonna change reality (I'll change it)!"
Each note hit like an electric shock, striking the audience's hearts. A sea of glow sticks swayed violently with the rhythm, forming a shimmering river of light.
The girls' screams never stopped, their voices hoarse but still shouting with all their strength: "Nero-kun!"
The defiance and power in his voice seemed to break through all restraints, the crowd's cheers rising wave after wave.
At the peak of the melody's intensity, all instruments fell silent, plunging the stage into a brief, dead quiet.
This sudden silence was like a boulder dropped into a boiling lake—the crowd's cheers instantly hit a deafening crescendo.
Countless glow sticks waved frantically in the air, forming a flowing galaxy. Every eye locked onto the figure at the stage's center, waiting for his next move.
Nero stood slightly hunched, breathing heavily. Sweat slid down his chiseled cheeks, gathering at his chin before dripping with a plop onto the stage floor, leaving a small, dark mark.
The front-row girls screamed even louder at the sight.
"Nero-kun, look here!"
"I'm right here, Nero-kun!"
They waved their arms desperately, trying to catch the attention of the man on stage, their faces filled with obsession and fervor.
After the cheers lingered for a moment, Nero straightened up, grabbing the stand-up mic with his free hand.
He casually wiped the sweat from his face, a bold, slightly roguish grin spreading across his lips. "Hey, everyone! Welcome to the Devil May Cry Concert! I'm Nero!!"
"Aaah!"
"Nero!"
"Nero!"
"Nero!"
The cheers swept through the venue like a tsunami, fans chanting his name in unison, the sound nearly lifting the roof.
Nero grinned and waved to the crowd, his smile dazzling under the spotlight.
He tilted his head slightly, nodding to the band members behind him.
The electronic prelude, paired with dense drumbeats, slowly rose, pushing the atmosphere to a new high.
Nero leaned into the mic again, his eyes sparkling with excitement, and shouted, "Next up! aLIEz!"
The electrifying music surged through the theater, Nero's infectious voice like a powerful storm sweeping every corner.
On stage, his white hair danced wildly, sweat gleaming under the lights, perfectly in sync with the frenzied melody of his guitar, driving the atmosphere to new heights again and again.
"Yeah, that guy sweating it out on stage? That's me. Name's Gaio. Nero's just my stage name."
"Pretty cool, right?"
"You probably guessed from the two songs I sang—I'm a transmigrator, or maybe a reincarnator."
"Well, not exactly."
"In my memories, I grew up in this pretty decent country. But after my parents died in a car accident, my past-life memories fully awakened."
"That's when I realized my memories had been sealed all along. And I figured out how I ended up in this world."
"It wasn't some one-on-one with a god of fortune sending me here. Nope, a meteor crashed right into my room."
"Luckily, I was alone in my past life, and the meteor didn't hurt anyone else. A small silver lining, I guess."
"Maybe because of that meteor, when my memories woke up, my body gained two weapons—Yamato Blade and Ryujin Jakka."
"Sound familiar? One's the weapon of that white-haired, power-obsessed maniac, Vergil, said to cut through space itself."
"The other's from the manga Bleach, old man Yamamoto's weapon."
"These two weapons kept reshaping my body after I got them."
"My white hair? That's the Yama Blade's doing. After all, Sparta's son and grandson both have white hair."
"Besides those two weapons, nothing else. No system, no cheat codes, nada."
"When I first got these blades, I thought this world was insanely dangerous. Why else would I get these weapons?"
"But after digging through my memories, I gave up."
"Why? Guess who that girl singing on stage was."
"Marin Kitagawa…"
"Yup, the heroine of My Teen Romantic Comedy. A freakin' rom-com!"
"And get this—my classmate's named Megumi Kato, and next door, there's Yukino Yukinoshita and Kaguya Shinomiya!"
"Tell me, with these girls around, wouldn't their related characters show up too?"
"Oh, and a little brag—cough—Marin Kitagawa's my girlfriend. Not the 15-year-old high school freshman, but the 18-year-old adult! (Buff stacked!)"
"Knowing all this, why wouldn't I just chill?"
"Singing? It's for a living. My looks got tweaked by these weapons, making me just a tad less handsome than you readers—basically top-tier in this world. With this face and my otaku knowledge from my past life, why not cash in on those epic, heart-pounding songs?"
"Draw manga? Write novels? Invest?"
"Manga's not my thing. I can write novels, but… otaku novels count? You know, the kind that gets your blood pumping, rushing to both ends."
"Investing? Well, I did put money into a couple of things, but with limited funds, it's just pocket change."
"So, I turned to performing."
"Why songwriting and singing? No clue. My brain's just crystal clear on a ton of stuff from my past life. Let's call it my cheat code."
"Ha, with these advantages, I'll use them to make big bucks first! Then invest! And finally—the world's mine! Hahaha!"
"Hey, Gaio-kun, what's with the goofy laugh?"
"Huh? Oh!" Gaio was in the dressing room, his sudden laughter cut off by a cute, playful voice.
In front of him, Marin's face was practically pressed against his.
"Haha, nothing, nothing. What's up, Marin?"
Marin giggled and gave his cheek a quick peck.
Then she wrapped her arms around his neck, straddling his lap.
"So~ next week's Halloween, right? Wanna go on a~ date?" She whispered "date" close to his ear, her breath carrying a sweet violet-like fragrance.
Gaio's eyes lit up. "A date? Hell yeah! Where to?"
Marin flashed a mischievous grin, her cheeks slowly flushing, eyes sparkling with anticipation. She breathed out two words:
"Shibuya."