It was a good life.

Though I never married or had children of my own I lived a good life.

Even though I died at a pretty you age of my mid-20's I lived a good life.

Even if I died after I heard that I passed the BAR in becoming a lawyer I had a great life.

Even if I died while heading to one of my best friend's wedding while I only had a girlfriend once it was a good life.

I had no great regrets in my life.

I had a loving family, a cool and hardworking and doting father, a loving and caring mother, two greatly annoying younger brothers, a bunch of fun friends, experiencing and losing love, chasing and achieving my dream job, drowning myself in my passion and hobbies. All in all, it was a good and fulfilling life I had nothing more to ask.

So WHY?

Why?

In the name of all that is good, holy, and gracious am I here?

"Did you hear what I said mortal?"

"Yes, yes I did, but can you just send me to heaven or some eternal resting place for the departed? Seriously I'm okay with passing on."

"My apologies mortal as I have said it cannot be done. The balance of souls must be kept. You cannot pass on until your time, as dictated by the book of life and death. Only those beings of power may ever change what is written and unfortunately your time so to speak is not yet up."

"Then call those beings then or better yet just let me rest in peace."

"Peace is a reward mortal. A reward you have not yet the honor nor privilege to receive and I am afraid that I already did call upon such beings and granting you passage to the afterlife is not permissible."

"Just send me back to my body then, that should be no trouble right."

"I cannot your body is no longer able to house a soul it became too damaged to live."

"Whose fault is that huh?"

"I admit the fault lies with my carelessness that is why I told you that I can offer recompense if it is within me to do so."

"What's the recompense then?"

"A wish, one wish of your choice before I transfer your soul to another world"

"Heal my body and put my soul back in it."

"Those are two wishes, I cannot comply."

"Reverse time too when I was alive."

"Time is not within my domain mortal."

"What is it that you do then? So I can narrow it down and be on my way."

"I deal with the soul of all who passes life and death. I am its judge, jury, and executioner. Anything and everything that involves the soul is mine to command as long as it does not cross the laws that are mine to guard."

"If I wish for you to grant me power can you fulfill it?"

"Depends on what power you seek mortal. If it is material greed such as money or desires of the flesh I cannot grant for the physical world is not my domain. But if you wish for things such as skill or enlightenment then I can grant it, a calm collected and virtuous mind I can give without trouble."

"Uhm no thanks I don't need enlightenment or whatever but the skill thing or what-not how does that work exactly."

"Simple I merely manipulate your soul with the intent of imbuing it with a skill from another that has passed on. As I have previously stated I judge all the souls that travel between life and death as such I cleanse all souls that have passed on from their earthly memories before they join the cycle of reincarnation while their memories are kept with me in the book of life."

"So your essentially giving me a deadman's leftover? That's some next-level macabre thing you got going on in here Mr. Soul Judge."

"Call me what you will mortal, but you have yet to state your wish. "

"Fine, fine I get it already. You're basically a God right so can you give me the skills and power of Shirou Emiya from the Fate series the counter guardian version if you would please."

"You do realize he's a fictional character right?"

"Yeah what of it?"

Hmm, take that Mr. Soul Judge bet money you can't give that to me can you, considering we are talking about Shiro motherfucking Emiya here his soul is basically the most cheating badass GARifying power in the Aniverse.

"Be it as you will then mortal."

"Woah really, there's no catch right. I won't have his twisted suicidal tendencies would I?"

"Nothing gets past you huh. Fine, I'll tweak it a bit you get all of his skills and magic and none of his self-destructive baggage."

"Good that's more like it."

"There it is done. I wish you glad tidings for the continuation of your life mortal."

"Before I go what's your name?"

"Ankhseram"

Just like that the Ankhseram guy began fading from my line of sight as I was likely being dragged away in lightspeed away from him while wondering where had I heard that name before.

What came next as I opened my eyes was something I would never ever forget PAIN.

PAIN.

PAIN.

And more PAIN.

It is quite funny how life is sometimes.

I should know I lived it twice already.

In my first life, I never regretted anything from the way I have lived to the way it ended.

Apparently to live without regrets is a luxury.

The beginning of my second was a different ballgame altogether as the first major decision I made was regretted the instant it was granted.

I should've known it was too good to be true to be "reincarnated" in a body when you should've already died.

I really should've known that something was fishy when that Ankhseram bastard refused to just heal my old body, I really should've known.

That bastard did give me Emiya's skill and power but how in the hell can I use it in a world without prana and magic and whats worse how can I even live with a broken body.

You heard it right me the current 10-year-old Haruto Shiroe is living with a broken body.

Apparently, the former occupant of this body was clinically dead for a second where I assume that bastard jammed my soul in his body.

The former occupant of my meat suit was involved in an accident involving Neural Nano-Interface, because of the carelessness and stupidity of the product's manufacturers the nanites killed him and then crippled me for life by frying the nerve receptors of my body from the neck down.

When I say fried then what I mean to say is that I can receive external stimulus and what not but I could no longer command my body to do anything.

Do you know how hopeless such a situation can make one feel?

To be a mind trapped in your very own body while feeling everything?

The time that I had an itch in between my toes without the ability to even scratch it sent me into a shouting verbal tantrum that pissed off the entire hospital wing where I was staying.

Yeah, why not add some more bullshit to my ever-growing list of shit to deal with it's not like I'm crippled for life here in a world I know nothing about with a family I have no memories of why not add pre-adolescent hormones and lack of self-control to the list.

I really should've chosen enlightenment.

Why did I have to go big and wish for something like anime powers when I just could've settled with a healthy and functioning body.

That enlightenment and wisdom shit sounds mighty fine right now or maybe just increased intelligence would be a great boon for me right now because the only thing I can really use right now is my brain and my mouth and for an aspiring lawyer like me that would be enough.

Not much but enough and considering that this world is practically in the 22nd century already my previous knowledge of the law may be, no not maybe but definitely outdated.

So I sat there a week after arriving in this world looking out towards the window seeing a smog-filled world devoid of any sign of natures green lush.

The somber peace of the retrospection I was having of my life was accompanied by the weird machines attached to me to pump the necessary nutrients and check my vital signs.

.Knock

"Yoharo. Shiroe, you awake in there."

"Yeah you can enter Yuriko-neesama"

Haruto Yuriko my supposed elder sister both of our parent died early living us in the care of our grandparents who were content in letting us live our own lives. She is 3 years older than me and working part-time in a convenience store to support her dream of becoming an interior designer.

"Mou. Shi-chan I told you to call me Lili-ane." She pouts as she walked towards my bed carrying two boxed packages.

"Fine Nee-chan are those the ones I asked about. Did they arrive today?" the happy atmosphere my elder sister had turned somber and serious.

"I really don't know why you asked for this thing haven't you suffered enough."

"What happened to me is as unlucky as getting hit by lightning in a clear day while being surrounded by lightning rods nee-san and I'm sure being what I am like right now it may only be my only escape from the prison that is my own body"

"Fine the sheesh but don't worry your nee-san is coming with you this time"

She unpacked the box in front of me revealing an NNI-headset and the game YGGDRASIL but not just any run off the mill version what we both got was the limited Premium account versions that comes with discounts for in-game purchases and extended customization kits for our characters.

How did two orphaned kids get this kind of costly game you ask.

It all boils down to my "Accident". The company that developed and manufactured the NNI would face serious losses if ever my mishap would be sniffed out by the press and to avoid such thing they agreed to come to me with an out of court settlement.

The settlement involves me having all the bill for my care and hospitalization being taken care of by them for the next 20 years along with the education of my sister in her dream to become an interior designer and a sizable weakly allowance given to both of us in separate account with the added bonus of getting the limited edition of their hardware and the game YGGDRASIL along with a lifetime supply of nanites to get the hardware working.

You might be asking if what I asked was too convenient for some reason. Why yes, yes it is in the part of the company. As the law dictates that my accident was caused by the mishandling of products by the manufacturer they are liable for damages starting from the physical ones to the emotional ones and add in the fact that I am a minor if it ever gets out to the press that their products crippled a child for life the media backlash alone would kill the company and the current product out in the market will be recalled and retested for safety forcing the company to reimburse said consumers along with the time for the retest to be conducted would surely discourage investors and the like crashing their stocks and market value.

So with the above reasons rather than risking billions of dollars, they decided to play ball with a little kid and his sister and pamper them as much as they want in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement.

What they don't know however is that they just gave me a ticket to Godhood.

YGGDRASIL and the Neuro-Nano Interface I know now the world where I am in.

The world that serves as the stepping stone of who will one day be a badass op character.

The roots of Ainz Ooan Gown.

The world of OVERLORD.

So excuse me Momonga-san I think I'll be crashing in your world conquest.