[Beep...Beep...Searching...]
[Beep...Ding!]
[Host Number 934 found!]
[Ding! Welcome to System 553!]
I opened my eyes as a cold mechanical voice sounded in my ears.
In front of me was a white ceiling. Not a hospital type of white ceiling but literally just a blank white ceiling with no lights or nothing. Still, the room was incredibly bright. I sat up and surveyed the whole room. It was bare with nothing but walls and floor, both white as the ceiling. The only piece of furniture in the whole room was the bed that I had woken up on. There were no doors or windows either. It was like an isolated space, completely cut off from the rest of the world
Where am I?
"Hello? Is anyone there?" I ask into the empty room half not expecting anything.
But suddenly, text in a bright blue box appeared in front of my eyes and a mechanically boyish voice sounded in my head.
[Welcome Host 934! I am System 553! ˭̡̞(◞⁎˃ᆺ˂)◞*✰]
I poke the blue text box wondering what the heck it was. Had aliens kidnapped me and trapped me in a room with no escape to do experiments on me?
"Who are you and where am I?" I questioned, "Did you kidnap me?"
The voice once again chirped cheerfully, and a new message appeared.
[You're in the Space Between Worlds, Host! Ah! Let me show you my physical form!!! O(≧∇≦)Ｏ]
Through the transparent screen, I could see something forming at the end of the bed. The pixels swirled and rearranged themselves before finally becoming... a penguin plushie? The plushie had light blue feathers ...or was it fluff?
"Why did you bring me here?"
[That's because you have been chosen by the Passing By System, host!]
[Oh! That's right! You probably don't know what that is. Let me introduce you, host! (◞≧∇≦)◞*✰]
Just then the young mechanical voice started talking more quickly, and the message frequency increased, showing his excitement. Even the penguin plush started vibrating like crazy; its expressions changing and matching those displayed by the text box.
[The Passing By System is a small branch system of the company Space Between Worlds,]
[Although we are quite small compared to other branches since I'm the only system assigned here, we are still very important! (˵•̀ᗝ•́˵)૭]
[We play the very important passerby who takes an interest in the MC and helps them without them knowing! We might only be mentioned in the novel once and never have our efforts noticed, but we are still very important. Without us, the MC wouldn't be able to achieve everything! (⌐▰ڡ▰)✧]
Seeing the penguin wearing sunglasses was interesting.
"Why was I chosen then?"
[Well, to be honest, I don't know either. ┓(〃◜∀◝ )┏ I would assume that it's because of your previous life.]
"Wait, I'm dead?"
[Yes! You didn't know? (｡· v ·｡) ?]
"No, the last thing I remember is..." I started, but nothing came to mind, as if everything had been wiped from my mind. "...Nothing."
[What?! Σ(°□°´Ⅲ)!!? Hold on host, I'll contact HQ immediately! There might have been a problem while transporting your soul. I'll get the maintenance and support group to look into the situation immediately. Fear not host; we'll get your memories back in no time! ( •̀ - •́ )✧]
While system 553 was contacting the other systems, the blue message interface disappeared and instead, there was a bubble with a blue penguin icon on it in the corner of my eye. I tapped on it out of curiosity. It showed the chat window again, but this time there was an X in the corner. Clicking on the X, it once again turned into the bubble with the blue penguin icon.
Without the blue text box in my vision, I took a look at 553. The penguin talked animatedly with loud facial expressions without actually making any sounds. It was kind of funny.
While 553 was on the phone, I wanted to look around, but there wasn't really anything to look at. The only piece of furniture was just the bed I woke up in. Both the walls and floor were blank white. If someone stayed here by themselves for too long, it was expected that they would go crazy. Well, maybe I already had gone crazy.
553 finished the call. He waddled towards me and climbed onto the bed, his feet dangling as his flippers struggled to lift his body. After a few seconds, he managed to climb up and showed a proud smile.
[Host, I told the maintenance group, and they said that they would try to fix it as soon as possible. However, they said that it would take 2-5 days so you have to start the tasks without your memories.]
"What do you mean tas-"
Before I could ask my question, a cold and mechanical female voice rang out.
[Ding! Time's up. Initiating transfer in 3...2...]
[Wait, but I haven't finished-]
That was the last thing I heard 553 say before being overwhelmed by nausea. Suddenly, every limb felt like it was stretched and compressed. I felt dizzy and my heart was beating right next to my ear.
[1... Transfer successful.]
"Blargh!"
I couldn't hold it anymore and collapsed on the floor, vomiting into a ...toilet?