"Extremely curious question..how exactly did it feel to find out your high school sweetheart was cheating on you, and then killed you when you found out?"
"Hm, well I don't know.." Aquarius muttered with deadpan sarcasm, his tone dripping with venom.
"I feel the happiest I've ever felt after getting killed by the woman I was about to propose to. Spent ten thousand dollars on a date after I thought she said yes, planned it for a whole damn year. Yeah..totally fucking happy."
His voice echoed into the emptiness around him.
Aquarius didn't think his afterlife would be spent having a therapy session with a voice that sounded like a curious but friendly woman, yet here he was..floating aimlessly in a blinding sea of white.
The void stretched endlessly—no sound, no floor, no body, just whiteness so bright it almost hurt to exist. The only thing keeping him company was the disembodied voice echoing inside his head like a calm therapist from hell.
He sighed, shoulders slumping though he didn't even have a body to slump with.
He still couldn't believe how much of a dumbass simp he'd been, to actually think she'd loved him.
He worked months of overtime, took her out of homelessness, fed her, clothed her, built her back up..only for her to pay him back with a bullet to the chest.
"Pathetic," he muttered to himself. "My entire life was just one long joke, and the punchline was my own dead ass body."
"Aww, I feel bad," the voice cooed gently, as if amused by his misery. "What can I do to make you feel better?"
Aquarius sighed and decided to humor the voice. "You can bring me back and make her fall off a cliff. That'd cheer me up."
The voice giggled. "Tempting. But how about something..better?"
Before he died, Aquarius used to read novels to escape reality—the shitty life he lived, surrounded by the same woman who'd later kill him. One of his favorites was a WebNovel gamer styled story called 'SSS-Ranked Monster Hybrid: I Can Evolve Infinitely into Any Monster.'
In the novel, dark portals called Oblivion Gates would randomly spawn across the world, spewing monsters, demons, and otherworldly beasts that annihilated humanity.
Billions died before the radiation from the Gates awakened hidden Talents in humans, allowing them to fight back and close the rifts.
Cliché as hell..but he loved it.
Gamer novels were his thing. Power fantasies. Systems. Ranks. Skills. All the shit he'd never have in real life.
So he chuckled bitterly and said, "Alright, how about this? Make me an extra in that novel. Give me an Ex-Rank Talent and a ridiculously overpowered skill. If you can do that, maybe, just maybe.. I'll stop being depressed in the afterlife."
The voice hummed playfully. "Okay! Wish granted!"
Aquarius blinked. "Wait, wha? You can't be serious..no way you're ser—"
[Ex-Rank Talent Acquired!]
[Oblivion Eyes]
Allows user to devour, extract, and steal any skill, bloodline, or essence. Comes with other effects.
[Ex-Rank Skill Acquired!]
[Millionfold Multiplier]
Can be applied to any attribute, ability, reward or etc. Grants a x1,000,000 boost to whatever you choose. The only drawback, each activation demands an equal exchange of one million of something: energy, items, even blades of grass..as long as it's one million.
Aquarius's eyes widened. "No..fucking..way."
"Yes way, honey bun!" the voice replied, her tone bubbling with excitement. "Pretty amazing, huh? And that's not even the best part. You'll find that out once you're inside the novel world."
Aquarius frowned. "Why me? I don't think I deser—"
"Oh, hush, you cutie." Her voice turned softer, almost affectionate. "You do deserve this. Now go live the life you were truly meant to live, without being bound by anyone again."
Before he could respond, his body began to disintegrate into shimmering white ash, particles drifting upward like cosmic dust.
He hesitated, his tone uncertain. "At least tell me your name…"
He could hear her smile through the silence.
"Once we meet again," she whispered, voice now echoing like a melody through the void, "you'll know, and then some. I'll see you soon..my beloved Master Aquarius."
And with that, his entire form broke apart into light, fading completely from the endless white.