I didn't get much sleep last night.
My body tried, sure, but my brain was like a cracked record, looping the same impossible thought: nine hundred ninety-nine billion plus dollars.
I just sat there on my old mattress, half-propped against the wall, staring at the folded slip of paper on my nightstand. The numbers were burned into my memory, but I kept checking it every ten minutes, convince that the universe would change it's mind on me.
At some point, the exhaustion won. I must've passed out for a couple hours. When I woke up, sunlight was leaking through the slats of my blinds, painting my ceiling with dull stripes. The air in my apartment was the same as always...stale, heavy, a mix of mildew.
I blinked at the ceiling, and for a moment, I thought that maybe this whole thing was just a dream and nothing more.
But as sat there my attention shifted as my phone buzzed.
A notification came in.
It was 8:30 AM.
The notification bar at the top of my screen showed a tiny silver crescent moon... It was from the Lunar Draw app.
I stared at it as I swallowed my own spit.
My mouth was dry.
The app had sent a message.
With a shaking thumb, I tapped it open. It took a moment to load. The logo shimmered once, then disappeared, replaced by a simple white background and a blue notice:
[Thank you all for participating in the Lunar Draw: the lottery of the decade. The app will be going offline in 96 hours and will not reopen until the year 2043. We appreciate your support to all those who have participate]
It was just a quiet curtain call.
One final bow before the world's most anticipated lottery slipped into digital hibernation.
But that wasn't what made my heart slam against my ribs.
Below the notice was another message. A private one just for me.
From NPI it said.
The organization behind the Lunar Draw.
I clicked it open.
And there it was: a message from Carter Burgess.
The name alone made me sit up straighter. Carter Burgess. The CEO of NPI. A man so wealthy and private that even billionaires are like children to his wealth.
He had been running the National Prosperity Initiative for over eighty years, and currently ranked #6 on the global Forbes list.
At first glance it easy to assume that he was not the kind of guy who would just send a casual messages himself, and yet he did
The message began with a simple header:
"To Mr. Theodore Williams."
I exhaled slowly.
My fingers were sweaty against the phone, as it was trembling as I scrolled up to read his message to me.
Dear Mr. Williams,
On behalf of the National Prosperity Initiative, I offer you my sincerest congratulations. You are now the confirmed winner of the 2033 Lunar Draw, the largest and most ambitious lottery in human history.
Due to the unprecedented size of your winnings, a number of special procedures have been put in place to ensure your transition into high-net-worth status is both secure and seamless.
As of this morning, your account has been created with Solas Lux International, the premier financial institution for the ultra-wealthy. For context, Solas Lux is not merely a bank. It is a sovereign economic entity with influence over more than sixty percent of the global financial network. Membership is exclusively available to those with a net worth exceeding $100 billion. Your new balance qualifies you among our highest-tier clients...currently ranked at #22
The link below will grant you access to your digital profile and initiate your official welcome. Please note, Solas Lux does not operate on passwords or traditional authentication methods. Your identity has already been verified through biometrics and NPI clearance protocols.
Your account will be managed by an assigned wealth advisory unit. These are not ordinary financial advisors. Each one is a licensed macroeconomic strategist and executive wealth architect. Their purpose is not simply to manage money, but to structure influence, growth, and global position. Individuals of your new financial tier are no longer viewed as clients, you are in every sense of the word a living institution.
The system that governs your wealth is unlike anything you have previously encountered. There is no balance display in the conventional sense. Your net worth is a living framework composed of assets, leverage, sovereign shares, and financial gravity. As such, it is better to think of yourself not as a man with money, but as a force within the world economy.
You are not simply wealthy. You are an inflection point.
To mark this occasion, I would like to extend a personal invitation. If you are available, I would be honored to host you for a private dinner this evening after your initiation. Location and security details will be provided upon your response.
Once again, congratulations.
Welcome to the new world.
Sincerely,
Carter Burgess
Chief Executive Officer
National Prosperity Initiative
I just stared at the message in utter shock and disbelief.
So much so I began to read it... And then reread it again.
There was a silence in the room that went beyond just quiet. Like even the air molecules were too stunned to move.
I clicked the link without thinking.
It brought me to a black screen with a gold insignia, an eclipsed sun with twelve branching lines, like a compass fused with a crown. Solas Lux.
I have heard of it in passing, mostly in conspiracy forums and corporate leaks on the internet of course.
It was the type of institution people talk about over brandy, from what I heard they could easily erase countries or raise markets with a mere word or signature.
At this point I wasn't being handed money, if it was with Solas the transaction was being done through.
I was being inserted into the bloodstream of the planet economy itself.
A small line of text loaded beneath the emblem. And I read it carefully.
[Confirm Identity to Finalize Registration]
There was no button.
No fingerprint scan.
Just a progress bar already crawling forward.
My identity was already in the system.
It finalized automatically.
Another message then followed right after.
[Your Wealth Architect will contact you shortly]
"Hmmm what is a Wealth Architect though?!"
I asked a little confused by the term itself.
But either way, I set the phone down slowly, like it might explode in minute in my hand. For now I was done with it.
My body felt both heavy and weightless. I looked around my apartment, the peeling paint, the broken faucet, the single dusty window. None of it felt real anymore. Or maybe I wasn't.
"Hehehe... I am really having a heard time to process this."
After all I wasn't Theodore Williams, part-time cashier at Shen Supermarket with overdue rent and multiple unpaid bills anymore.
I was Theodore Williams, a luck bastard, that became a founding vampire that won the lottery because some woman in my dreams want's my help.
"Hahahaha... I really don't know what to believe anymore, for now I just... I just want to let the moment pass and enjoy this quietness."