“You’ll never amount to anything,” she said, spitting the words like poison.

  Maybe she was right.

  I died three hours later — cold, forgotten, a footnote in a world too busy to notice another loser biting the dust.

  A heart attack, they said.

  Cheap ramen and cheaper whiskey for dinner every night finally caught up with me.

  But death? Death wasn’t merciful.

  My last breath wasn’t the end. Instead, I woke up choking, gagging on sulfur and smoke.

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  A sky of black fire burned above me. The ground beneath my palms sizzled with unnatural heat.

  [Initializing Host…]

  [Warning: System Fragmentation Detected.]

  [Assigning Emergency Adaptation Protocols…]

  The words floated in front of my face — bright, cold, mechanical.

  System?

  My brain struggled to catch up.

  Had I been reincarnated? This was like the games and novels I’d wasted my life on, but darker. Realer.

  [You have been chosen.]

  [Objective: Ascend or perish.]

  “Chosen for what?” I croaked, my voice cracking.

  [Survive. Conquer. Ascend.]

  A map blinked to life — jagged mountains, ruined cities, monstrous figures moving in the distance.

  No health bar.

  No weapon.

  No cheat skills labeled “Hero of Light” or “Savior of Worlds.”

  Just me.

  Broken. Pathetic. Forgotten.

  But for the first time in my miserable existence…

  I could write my own ending.

  “Fine,” I whispered to the burning sky. “If this world wants a monster…”

  I clenched my fists and took the first step forward.

  “Then it’s going to get one.”