Novel:
Author: Karumi Ayumu

"Wake up, open your eyes, hero!"

I sensed an unfamiliar woman's voice resound directly in my head… My consciousness fuzzy, I did as I was told and opened my eyes.

"Uugh… Where am I?"

"Have you awakened, hero?"

I opened my eyes to see a goddess-like (?) glowing humanoid figure there. I'd woken up in a perfectly empty space, a void with no end or floor, but I couldn't exactly describe this feeling as floating.

"Ah… Are you a female alien?! Abducting me of all people, just what is the meaning of this!?"

"I'm a goddess, hero, however I am most certainly not a form of extraterrestrial life. And now, hero, you have died."

She's not an alien? Wait, more importantly, I died?

The woman proclaiming herself to be a goddess continued, "You took part all day and all night for 3 days in a doujinshi convention* by gentlemen with similar taste as you, squandered all your money without a thought as to how you'd get home, attempted going home by foot, exhausted yourself halfway through and died."

"I died…? This doesn't feel like a dream…"

I should've been more freaked out knowing I died, but I'd already lost my physical senses by the 2nd day and my memory was too vague. I didn't even know when I'd died, so maybe I just didn't remember how it felt.

"That's… Then what about my souvenirs, everything I bought?!"

The goddess calmly spread her hands and said, "Rest assured, hero, your souvenirs have all been resold by your family. For some reason, your family received an insurance payout after your death and the god of luck made your grandfather's horse racing tickets win the lottery, so your bereaved family must be living very peacefully now."

My loot from the exhibition had been sold without even being used… "Shit! If I'd just had a little more strength in me, this wouldn't…"

"My condolences, hero. While I'm not in charge of your wife, the god of matchmaking is searching for a new gentleman for her as we speak." The goddess spoke casually, even as she blurted out the most unexpected things.

"Um, that… Hey, Goddess?"

"Hero, I know what you want to say, but your wife still has a life to live after this…"

"You're talking about that wife in my online game, right? Though, I thought Mofu-nyan was actually a guy in real life."

"Oh!"

It felt like the world froze over then. The goddess was silent for a while, her face stiff, before opening her mouth. "It seems there's a small defect in my news transmission. Please wait as I verify the situation and deal accordingly."

"Alright."

The goddess bowed, her retreating figure vanishing. She returned after what felt like 15 minutes.

"My sincere apologies. You were already destined for a trap…"

"No, I don't really mind as long as he's happy." So he actually was as real as can be, that trap. I wanted to see him at least once while I was still alive.

"Ahem, it seems you no longer have any lingering attachments to the present world, so I'll move onto the main question here."

"Sure, go ahead."

Somehow, it felt like I didn't really care anymore.

*Note that ‘doujinshi' refers to all self-published works in Japan, not the fanfiction or NSFW-only sense that it carries in the western world. Think fanzines, except they don't have to be related to any fandom.
This was previously translated as Cthulhu Mythos as the word used for self-published works is similar to the name of a Cthulhu Mythos book. However, the author has now let me know the Cthulhu meaning is an inside joke.