LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 1 – Day of Beckoning
Chapter 1: The Day of Beckoning
3 years prior to the events in the prologue
June 2, 2019 – June 9, 2019
Sakamura Shousuke, 19 was an ordinary closet otaku really while being a sucker for psychological thrillers. It could be movies, books, anime, games, even music. He loved being blown away by unexpected plot twists and constant struggle within the main cast. Of course, he would never really open up about his obsessions except to his close friends back in Japan. You see, he was a foreign exchange student to Stanford University in California on a scholarship due to his constant family issues back at home. He was currently enrolled in their Computer Science program and had recently moved into his dorm. It was his way of escape and to advance his career in the IT world as his dream job would be to one day become a video game developer for From Software. Of course, that was only a far-fetched opportunity for employment at the moment since he just barely started up his profession. Perhaps his main goal would shift focus later down in life, worst case scenario if he ends up in some shady tech related business where they overwork you to death. After all, beggars can't be choosers.
Shousuke sulked in his chair as he stared aimlessly at the wall after reading through his student handbook. "So bored... Classes don't start up until early August, and I seriously need something to bang my head against the desk with." He jested, but was contemplating with what to do with the abundant leisure time. He had already unboxed all his essentials and was waiting for his computer to charge fully so that he could take it to their nearest library. His new roommate was out running his own errands and was left alone with his thumb up his ass. The WIFI at the dorm was too cumbersome to do gaming with, as the pings would usually exceed 150-200ms servers for World of Warcraft. Perhaps the server was experiencing overload due to all the devices on the network. No matter, as he ran his hand down his pocket and pulled out his phone. Over 20 different messages all on Discord about his guild's latest successful raid and highlights, along with a couple of messages from his Step-mother back at home. He wish he could have been apart of that as they fought the boss [Nerfian] and barely came out of it alive, but sadly he didn't have enough time to do so.
"Wow, Shizo's tank barely came out of there with less than 78 HP, that [Shadow Flame] really does a number on you if you're not careful." He then scrolled over to their anime channel on Discord and saw how they were discussing the Re:Zero Season 2 trailer.
- Did you guys check out the newest Re:Zero season 2 trailer?-
- Yeah lol, it looks like Subaru is walking in Windows XP. -
- All I want to see is my cute Rem-tan on screen again -
- She's dead in the trailer Kaguya, take a look again! -
- RIP best girl -
- Who's that white haired bitch? -
-Who's Rem? -
- Witch of Greed, I read ahead in the WN. -
- Goddamnit Shinoue, you spoiling POS -
- No spoilers please, I've waited years for this -
Shousuke decided to add his own 2 cents into the mix.
- Am I the only one who hasn't seen Re:Zero? I've heard a lot of good things about it and I heard it's comparable to Steins:Gate. I enjoyed the hell out of Steins:Gate but I was never really into cutesy anime.
- Dude, you're missing out -
- I love Emilia -
- It does have cute waifus and time travel as an Isekai, but it does it right. It basically blows all the other generic trash isekai out of the water. -
- I know you're into Psychological series Shou, but I can't believe you've missed out on this great series. It will blow your expectations into the heavens. It's a must watch for any anime beginner. -
The last chat by his online buddies reaffirmed his decision. It was already on his watch-list before due to all the internet memes that have been circulating 2chan, Reddit, Youtube and Nico Nico Douga but for some reason he hesitated from watching it. Perhaps, because he wasn't really into those Moe series that pops up on his social media feeds every once in a while. Then again, Shousuke was bored so he finally decided to cave in and boot up Netflix and watch it on there as he's seen the series floating around on there.
Shousuke from there was lead on a journey of a lifetime. Seeing Subaru and the cast's struggles, deaths, mistakes, triumphs, derision, and trauma really tore his heart to pieces as he watched such a helpless and pathetic character being consumed by the world around him. By the time his roommate came back, he had binged the series all the way to episode 18.
"Hey Adam, you're back. Did you get that thing I asked for?" Shousuke stated, fumbling to hit the pause button on his phone. Adam smirked as he pulled out a Limited Collector's Edition set of cards for Lord of the Rings.
"You were right, they were at that thrift shop down the road. I can't believe that someone had missed it such a treasure right under their noses." Adam Malanowski was much more into Medieval series such as Valhalla Rising, and Kingdom of Heaven due to his unhealthy obsession with medieval weapons ever since he discovered Skallagrim on Youtube. He was quite well-built since he occasionally worked out at a nearby gym and overshadowed a 5'9" Shousuke by 4 inches. Of course, he couldn't shy away from the mainstream fantasy series and anime due to their excellent story telling. He had met the guy a few weeks ago at the Stanford Bookstore while he was shopping for the textbooks necessary for class. Adam introduced himself to a very timid Shousuke and had coincidentally found out that they were going to be roommates. Things carried on from there.
"You damned weapons junkie." Shousuke added as he slapped Adam in the back for his efforts. Adam then turned towards the kitchen to shelve his snacks. A moment later, he brought out a chair.
"Well, since I went out of my way to get those for you, might as well play a D&D version of it. What do you say?" He inquired, tossing over a Die 20 on the table before bouncing off and hitting Shou in the knee. 'Really man...?' Shousuke lamented in his mind, poker faced before reaching over and picking up the die.
"I was kind of watching an anime series called Re:Zero that my friends recommended to me. So far it's a pretty good psychological anime but it gets pretty graphic at times. I just got over crying manly tears about an hour ago due to the sheer shock that happened in episode 15." Shousuke stated, flicking over to the Series's Synopsis on Netflix to show Adam.
"Looks pretty gay from the cover though... Although I'm not one to judge and drop just by merely looking at it. Look at what happened in Goblin Slayer as an example." Adam jested, before digging for his own phone. "Alright what's the series called again?"
"Re:Zero on Netflix, although you can probably find it Crunchyroll too." Shousuke reminded him, getting up and fishing for his headphones in his desk drawer. The series was starting to get to the climax too with the current Witch Cult arc.
"I'll be out in the back for a smoke in case if you don't know where to find me." Adam gestured as he ventured off to the smoking shed that was composite to the dorm's patio area.
"Take care I guess..." Shousuke then shifted his focus on the eighteenth episode of Re:Zero and what transpired in that episode outraged him.
'How could he reject Rem after all she had done for him? Was her sacrifices and confessions in vain?' Shousuke wanted to punch this fool's lights out but then realized that he still has his prior trauma to what happened to him a few episodes back, at her hands. 'Honestly, Rem did reject Subaru's proposal to run away together in the first place due to her undying loyalty to her lord, Roswaal L Mathers. Perhaps this ship was never meant to be. Emilia's character development had been overshadowed by Rem's screen time throughout the entire season. There's also another uncompromised rule in anime that which ever character of the opposite gender is introduced first, they usually are meant to be together by the end of the series. Although there have been series have strayed away from that path. Why does the author have to be so difficult on this cast of characters?' Shousuke frustratingly pondered at the end of the episode. But even throughout the frustrating moments the series offered, Shousuke had thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.
A few heart-aches and plot-twists later, he had thoroughly finished the series. "Damnit, I want more..." He demanded in a deprived voice, longing for more content. After a simple Google search and a couple of discussion threads lingering around, he had finally found a good source to read the Written Novel, Japanese Re:Zero readers have been recommended [Shōsetsuka ni Narō], an app conveniently already installed on his phone.
'To think I went through the trouble of trying to find it when I should have just opened this up?' Shousuke scolded himself as he settled down on his bed. Adam had returned, watching an American Football game re-rolling in the background sprawled out across his recliner.
After pulled off a couple of late night reads through Arc 4 through 6 of the series. Shousuke was satisfied with his progress as he finally had caught up with the Written Novel. This was the breath of fresh air that he had needed ever since he had come to America, but more importantly, he had fallen in love with Emilia's character. He had even put a home-screen of Emilia in a field of greens on his phone.
He had no idea what he had expected when he had first jumped head-first into this series but he was honestly impress.
"I wish Emilia was real..." He had uttered to himself as he sulked on his bed, before deciding to turn over and call it a day. However fate beckoned his calling...
June 10th, 2019
Shousuke had awakened, the time was 8:21 on his phone as he stared at the Emilia home-screen groggily. The weight around his crotch area had felt light. Shrugging it off, he had pulled himself up from his bed however he had felt a foreign weight shift around his chest area. He instinctively reached up and groped the two plentiful mound-fulls. A lock of silver hair cascaded down his face subsequentially.
'Hmmm, wait a minute this can't be right...' Suddenly, he bolted towards the mirror in the bathroom and gazed at the reflection for what could have been an eternity. In front of him stood the most beautiful girl he had ever seen with Amethyst eyes with blue hues as irises, along side it was a beautiful river of silver hair gently flowing down and across his face. Pointed tip ears complimented her. A green gem swayed from its necklace it was hoisted up on. It's as if he had seen a ghost and his coordination started to shift. Suddenly he had felt an impulse as his head was filled with images of people he had both seen and never seen before. It's as if someone was trying to shove their consciousness into their body. The feeling felt transcendental but quickly resided. Slowly he had composed himself and reassessed his situation. With only one reasonable answer to ride on, he had stated with the sweetest voice he had ever heard anyone say...
"Shit, I really became Emilia, haven't I?"