The tension of the dinner finally snapped, replaced by the heavy, silent luxury of the Dominic mansion. Lara led me to my new quarters—a room larger than my entire past life. She tucked me in with a tenderness that felt alien, whispering, "We'll protect you, okay?" before the lights dimmed.
Exhaustion didn't just find me; it claimed me.
The White Void
I woke up in a world of blinding, infinite white. No shadows. No sound. Just a towering, faceless figure shimmering with a light that made my eyes ache.
"Are you the one?" I demanded, my voice echoing in the void. "Are you the one who dumped me in this hellhole? Send me the fuck back. Right now."
I braced for a lightning bolt. I expected a celestial smackdown for my insolence. Instead, the figure stepped forward... and bowed.
"I am sorry," the voice vibrated through my very bones. "It was a terrible mistake."
I froze. "A mistake?"
"In your past life, you were an incomplete creation," the Being whispered. "A human born without the thread of Luck. Every tragedy, every failure, every rainy night you spent starving... it was a divine error. I have reincarnated you here to balance the scales. I ask for your forgiveness."
I stared at the God of the Universe and let out a harsh, jagged laugh.
"Let me get this straight," I snapped, pacing the white floor. "You're the reason my first life was a dumpster fire. And to 'make it up to me,' you throw me into a world that's literally scheduled for an apocalypse? Real clever. You've traded my bad luck for a death sentence."
"The world can be saved," the figure replied calmly. "And you are the variable that can save it."
"How?!" I yelled, gesturing to my thin, silver-haired reflection. "I'm an F-Class extra! I'm a beggar in a house of monsters! How is an F-class meant to save anything?"
"The rank of 'F' belonged to the boy who inhabited this body before you, "But you... your soul is unranked. To ensure you are never 'unlucky' again, I have granted you a gift. A System tailored for the one who lived with nothing."
The white void rippled like disturbed water. I stood before the faceless Being, my heart hammering against my ribs.
"What is this 'System' actually going to do for me?" I demanded.
"Since you are unranked," the figure replied, his voice a melodic hum, "I will grant you any rank you choose. A title to define your new existence."
I thought of the S-Class monsters waiting for me in this power hungry world. If I was going to do this, I wasn't going to play fair.
"Fine," I said, a reckless, half-mad grin spreading across my face. "Give me a rank more powerful than anyone in this world. Something beyond S-Class. Let's call it… God-Tier."
I expected a bolt of lightning for my arrogance. Instead, the figure simply nodded.
"Granted."
My jaw dropped. "Wait, really? Just like that?"
"The System will now enhance everything," God continued as golden light began to seep into my skin. "Your strength, intelligence, agility, and luck will be pushed to the absolute peak of this world's logic. Even your physical form will be refined to the maximum. You will be a miniature God in a world of mortals. And to ensure your survival, I have granted you a unique power… and two Soul Tools."
"Two?" I stammered. "Everyone else only gets one. Why do I get two?"
The figure stepped closer, his hand hovering over my chest. "Because this body is a temple of two stories, Jayden. The first Soul Tool belongs to the vessel—the original Jayden Cross's dormant potential. The second belongs to you—the soul from another world. Two souls, two tools. One to honor the past, and one to forge the future."
"Wait! I still have more questions! How do I—"
"When you need me, just think of the System," the Being whispered, his form dissolving into a blinding golden mist. "Our time is over. Go, Jayden. Rewrite the ending.