The fluorescent lights hummed with a soul-sucking frequency, vibrating against the insides of Aris's skull.
Click. Click. Enter.
His fingers moved with the mechanical precision of a terminal patient. For forty-eight hours, he hadn't slept. For forty-eight hours, he had been a ghost in a cubicle, finishing a project for a manager who couldn't even remember his last name.
Aris leaned back, his spine popping like a string of firecrackers. He was twenty-nine, skinny, with dark circles under his eyes that looked like bruises. His only escape was the glow of a smartphone screen—reading stories of villains who burned worlds down and players who cheated death.
"Done," he rasped. His throat felt like he'd swallowed a handful of dry sand.
He grabbed his backpack, filled with the only things he truly owned—three light novels, a handheld console, and a charger—and walked out into the biting dawn air.
The city was waking up, a grey monster of concrete and exhaust. Aris waited at the crosswalk, his mind drifting toward the latest chapter of 'Reborn as the Abyssal Sovereign.' Then, he saw it.
A soot-stained kitten, barely larger than a palm, had wandered into the middle of the intersection. A massive logistics truck was hurtling toward it, the driver's eyes glued to a smartphone.
Aris didn't feel like a hero. He felt tired. But his body moved before his brain could protest.
Lunge. Scoop. Roll.
The truck roared past, a wall of wind and steel that missed his heels by inches. Tires screeched. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air.
Aris lay on the asphalt, his heart hammering against his ribs. He looked down. The kitten was in his arms, staring up at him with eyes that weren't gold or green—but a swirling, liquid void.
"Lucky... little... brat," Aris wheezed.
He stood up, his knees shaking, and placed the cat on the sidewalk. He survived. He had actually survived the "Truck-kun" trope. He let out a dry, hysterical laugh.
The cat didn't run. It looked at him, its shadow stretching unnaturally across the concrete. It stepped forward and tapped Aris's hand with a cold, black paw.
[Calamity Karma Detected.]
[Target has interfered with the Flow of Ruin.]
[Soul Capacity: Exceeded.]
"Wait... what?"
A sudden, violent chill surged from his fingertips. It wasn't the truck. It wasn't an accident. His heart simply stopped. The world fractured into a million digital shards. The sky turned black, and the ground beneath his feet dissolved into static.
[Location: The Abyssal Nexus]
Aris opened his eyes—or rather, his consciousness.
He was floating in a void that defied physics. In front of him sat a figure composed of collapsing stars, leaning against a throne of gears and bones.
"A soul of grey," the entity spoke. The voice wasn't sound; it was a vibration that rattled Aris's very essence. "You lived like a slave to a system, yet you died to save a Harbinger of Ruin. A delicious irony."
"Who are you?" Aris tried to scream, but he had no mouth.
"I am the Echo of the End. A God who reached the summit and found only boredom. I am leaving this reality, but I hate to see a good 'error' go to waste."
The entity reached out, its finger a needle of pure darkness.
"The world you go to next values 'Destiny' and 'Heavenly Will.' I hate both. Take my Eye. Take my Shop. Go and break their game."
The finger touched Aris's brow.
[Syncing Soul to Abyssal Nexus...]
[1%... 45%... 100%]
[Host Identity Confirmed: Aris Thorne.]
[Starter Gift: The Abyssal Eye (Rank: Divine-Born) – Initialized.]
[Location: Great Qin Empire – House of Thorne]
Heat. Humidity. The smell of expensive incense and cheap blood.
Aris felt a sudden, crushing weight. He tried to move his arms, but they were stubby and weak. He tried to speak, but only a soft, wet gurgle came out.
"Look at this pathetic thing," a voice sneered.
Aris opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but a flickering interface appeared in his mind, scanning the room.
[Target: Elder Matron Thorne]
[Cultivation: Core Formation Stage (Level 42)]
[Status: Hostile / Disdainful]
[Weakness: Stagnant Qi in the 3rd Meridian. Vulnerable to 'Glitched' energy.]
An old woman in silk robes loomed over him, holding a silver needle that glowed with a faint, predatory light.
"The General's blood is wasted on a concubine's brat," the Matron hissed. "If his purity is below 'Red,' we'll let the winter frost handle the rest."
Aris watched the needle descend. His adult mind, sharpened by decades of corporate survival and years of reading villain tropes, clicked into place.
So, I'm the 'trash' son of a powerful family? Aris thought, a cold, dark excitement bubbling in his chest. I've read this story a thousand times. But they've never played against someone who can see the code.
[New Quest: The First Deception]
Goal: Manipulate the Blood Purity Test.
Reward: 100 Abyssal Points (AP).
Penalty for Failure: Death.
System, Aris thought, his infant left eye glowing with a hidden, violet fire. Show me the Shop. I need to buy a miracle.