The Extra System: Summoner of Shadows

On a hospital bed inside a room of fluorescent lights, bed sheets, and white coats, Cedric lay with a tube in his mouth. As the doctors and nurses rushed to save his collapsing heart, his mind replayed his memories, showing him how he never took a step forward. Regrets flooded him.

As the strength left his body, replaced by a tearing pain in his chest, Cedric thought back to everything he did wrong in his life. The opportunities he didn't take because he feared failure, the crushes he avoided because he dreaded rejection, and even his parents, who didn't know of his current fate.

"If I could live just one more time," Cedric thought, "I would live this life to the fullest."

Then, he closed his eyes, and they declared his death. Cedric could still hear them and their saddened voices that no one came to visit him before he died. The next instant, the sounds disappeared, and there was nothing but darkness.

Cedric remained aware of his existence even within the darkness, as if he was asleep but aware. An unknown amount of time passed before a change happened inside this void.

[Do you wish to finish the story?]

[Yes / No]

Cedric was confused as the screen appeared in his mind. It was light blue with elegant borders, with the words glowing with ethereal white. Before he could understand what was happening, his consciousness began to fade. In panic, he managed to select Yes.

Light burst in front of his eyes, blinding and stinging his eyes. As he raised his hand to shield them, he realized that he was no longer in darkness but inside a body.

"H-how is he still alive?" asked a voice in front of him. "I mean, thank the heavens!"

"Thank them indeed," said another voice as the source of light retreated, letting Cedric look at the man in front of him. The torchlight illuminated his face, which seemed sculpted by a divine being. He had long silky hair cascading on his white and golden robes. "If he died without a trial, we would receive the wrath of the Aeloria Kingdom."

Cedric did not understand, but he was scared of what was happening. His body was sore, and the two men did not seem friendly. But thankfully, they did nothing other than leave, closing what seemed to be... a prison door?

"What is happening?" muttered Cedric as he tasted blood. He pulled himself up and found that he was handcuffed, with numerous bruises on his body. "Am I not dead? Where am I?"

[...]

[The Extra System has activated.]

The screen appeared in front of him again, the same blue and white. Cedric blinked with confusion as he tried to sit up, but even his ass was bruised. However, his eyes were glued to the screen in front of him as he realized it wasn't a dream. He died. And this same screen appeared before he was a goner.

Cedric tried to touch the screen, but his hand passed through. He was confused as the words rippled like a pond in front of him. Then, they changed again.

[Character sheet has been compiled. Does the user wish to review the memories?]

[Yes / No]

Cedric accepted with his mind, and it worked. After a few moments of loading, an enormous influx of memories appeared in his mind. His head ached as he collapsed to the ground, breathless, as the memories invaded his mind.

The process was tormenting, to say the least. He felt like his head was splitting apart as someone poured in memories that he did not recognize, siblings that he did not have, and a life that was not his. After several minutes of agony, it was over as he collapsed.

The memories became his, almost like he had lived eighteen years in the span of a few minutes. In a mere thought, he retrieved the information about where he was and who he was.

His first name was the same, but the last name was different. Cedric Everhart, the ninth prince of the Aeloria Kingdom, currently in the kingdom of Valoria. The owner of this body was a suitor of the duke's daughter before he was accused of attempting to sexually assault her.

As his thoughts reached this, Cedric was sick to his stomach because the character, the current him, was falsely imprisoned. As he was walking through the garden with the princess, a vine coiled around his leg and made him trip over her.

The rest was brutal, as he was accused of attempting to defile her and imprisoned under the orders of the duke. Cedric was beaten into a pulp by the guards even before his trial. He died from the wound, allowing the new Cedric to enter this body.

"Rest in peace," muttered Cedric as he leaned his head on the brick wall while looking out of the prison cell. "But how am I supposed to survive this? What the hell is the story?"

As he was trying to understand what was happening, Cedric had a weird feeling of déjà vu. Aeloria and Valoria were familiar to him, but he had to remember where. As he tried to separate his old memories from the new, he began to remember his past life.

If he was being honest, his past life was even more pathetic than the current one. He had nothing other than a shitty apartment and a lame job. His parents never asked about him, shunning him after he failed to meet their expectations.

His search yielded some results after some struggle, and he remembered where he had heard those two names. It was a novel that he liked as a child and even kept as an adult, reading from time to time. It belonged to his grandfather, who gave it to Cedric before he passed away.

[Records of Elaris.]

That was the name of the novel about a world of six kingdoms, filled with monsters, ruthless monarchies, and countless races. Furthermore, it was filled with magic

"Can it be that I entered the novel? Is this the unfinished story?" muttered Cedric as he squinted his eyes. "If that's the case, what the hell is the Extra System?"

[A spiritual artifact designed to help the Extra Character, Cedric Everhart, on his quest to finish the story and ensure its flow.]

Another screen answered him, making Cedric frown. If this thing could answer his questions, it might be sentient. As he asked several more questions, like who designed the system, it did not answer. It seemed to be only providing Cedric with minimal information.

"But what can you do?" asked Cedric with exasperation after several failed attempts. This time, he received an answer, and a rather lengthy one.

[The Extra System empowers the user to finish the story and ensure its flow through the following mechanisms:]

[Status Menu: improves the character's stats, skills, and reputation.]

[Characters Menu: provides the user with information regarding different characters in the world.]

[Quest Menu: offers guidance on how to achieve ideal outcomes for the different arcs of the story, and rewards the user according to length or difficulty.]

Cedric read the different functions, a little confused since the Records of Elaris did not have something like this. "Heck, the royal family of Aeloria did not even have a character called Cedric Everhart, as far as I can remember!"

After calming himself down and understanding his situation, Cedric was sure that he was inside the novel that he so dearly loved. Instead of mulling over what was happening and refusing to accept it, he might as well live this new life as Cedric Everhart.

"Since my previous life was so pathetic, I will live this one to its fullest, even as the useless prince!" muttered Cedric as he sat up on his bruised ass. "First things first, I need to get myself out of this mess!"