EX3 — I Want You to Become a Resident of That “World.”

"Where… is this…?"

The space stretching out before me held nothing that could reasonably be called scenery.
Only a white ground extended endlessly toward the horizon, meeting a white sky, separated by the faintest difference in contrast.

Was this a dream? I had no memory of ever seeing a place like this, even in my dreams.
One thing alone felt certain—the strange, unmistakable sense that this was not reality.

"Did I… die?"

As I wondered why I was here, I groped through my mind for my most recent memories.

A face twisted with madness.
A kitchen knife slick with blood.
A searing pain in my abdomen—and blood pouring out of it.

Ah… damn it all.
That crazy woman.

I’d thought she was annoying, sure, but I never imagined she’d go this far.
Hell, dying because some lunatic stabbed me—what a joke.

So this is the afterlife? Heaven?
Or just a near-death hallucination, like my life flashing before my eyes?

"Damn it…! Why does this have to happen to me…!? Why do I have to die!?"

"You are not dead yet."

A woman’s voice.

Startled by the sudden sound from behind me, I spun around. A woman wrapped entirely in white cloth stood there.
Just moments ago, no one had been here.

"However, your life is now on the verge of ending."

Her eyes remained closed as she calmly stated that hopeless truth. Her expression was gentle, her tone serene.

"So I am going to die after all!? What is this place!? And who the hell are you!?"

"I am a goddess. Yes—let us say, for now, the Goddess of Dawn. I have guided you here to save your life, and to save a certain 'world' that is approaching its end."

"My life… and a 'world'…?"

The woman calling herself a goddess smiled, clearly pleased by my reaction.

"Yes. That 'world' is the one you were just about to head to—the 'world' you would call an MMORPG."

An MMORPG.
An utterly unexpected word to hear from a god.

"Th-that is… Sword Blaze Online…? You’re saying a game like that is a 'world'…?"

"A 'world' is possibility, and it is narrative."

"B-but that’s just a game—a fabricated 'world'!"

"From your perspective, it may be an electronically constructed 'world.' But when viewed from a higher dimension, it is no less a 'world' than any other. Can you prove that your own world is not the same? That your past, your memories—everything—was not created by some higher-dimensional being? Can you prove that to me, a god?"

Her words shook the very definition of the world I had lived in, leaving me speechless.

"Th-that’s ridiculous…"

"Nevertheless, that 'world' remains incomplete. To properly define it, I want you to become a resident of that 'world.'"

"B-but I’m just an ordinary guy! You can’t just tell me to go somewhere like that out of the blue!"

"There is no need to worry. Since it is an MMORPG world, there already exists a vessel suitable for your soul. Meanwhile, the vessel you inhabited in your original world has been damaged and will soon lose all functionality. When that happens, your soul will be unable to remain there and will be extinguished. Just as a soulless vessel cannot move, a vessel-less soul cannot continue to exist."

At her words, I lowered my head.
It felt as though strength was draining from my entire body.

"So… in the end, I don’t really have a choice, do I…?"

"I am glad you understand."

The goddess smiled, her eyes still closed.
It seemed she wasn’t kind enough to simply resurrect me—but this was still better than dying.

Reincarnation into another world.
It sounded like something straight out of an anime or light novel, yet I never imagined it could actually happen.

"…Fine. It’s better than dying like this. Just do it already."

"Very well. Then…"

The white space was swallowed by white light, and the goddess’s figure vanished.
My consciousness faded as well, as if wrapped in that same radiance.

I wonder… are the other players’ characters alive in that world?
If so, could I meet her again?

The girl who had only been my party member for a short time.

Once, one of her friends showed me a real-life photo of her.
It was love at first sight.

Maybe it was my fault she got kicked out of the party.

Could I meet her again?

…

…

…

"Man, another isekai transfer done and dusted. Honestly, neither the world nor the person I sent over looks very promising, but hey—throw enough darts and one might hit, right? If I use some alt accounts to manipulate things, maybe they’ll scrape the edge of the rankings. And if it flops, I can just leave it alone. While I’m at it, maybe I’ll transfer two or three more—huh? Wait. That kid from earlier didn’t transfer at all. Did he get stuck somewhere? Guess I’ll crank up the output… Huh? Still no good. Okay, widen the range, output to max— What!? He’s still not transferring! What is this!? What’s going on!? Support! Support! The target isn’t appearing in the destination world at all!"

"Yes, this is support. What seems to be the situation?"

"I tried to isekai-transfer a human who was on the brink of death, but they’re not arriving at the destination—"

"Let me check the situation now… Whoa—what the hell!? Hey, what did you do!? There’s a massive number of unauthorized humans being transferred!"

"The target wouldn’t transfer, so I increased the output and range."

"The target’s already dead! You dragged your feet with someone who was about to die, didn’t you!? Dead people don’t transfer! Do you have any idea what you’ve done!? Dumping this many people at once is going to cause a massive incident in the destination world!"

"I-it’s not fair to say that! I’m a beginner!"

"If you’re a beginner, then read the manual and the warnings properly! Ugh, damn it! I’m going to consult my superior, so don’t touch anything until I get back!"

On this day, the souls of several hundred humans were cast from one world into another.