Floating in infinite darkness, a single soul looked around in confusion.
'Where am I? Who am I?'
Panic rose as the soul flailed through the void, desperately searching for any sign of identity.
'WHO AM I?! I can remember everything about my life except who I actually am. I recall my actions, my interactions, but with no personal details...'
The soul pressed ethereal hands against their head, sifting through vivid yet frustratingly vague memories. Realizing they were spiralling into panic; some deep instinct took hold. They began to breathe deeply—in and out—until their chaotic thoughts settled into calm collectedness.
Looking around with clinical detachment, they assessed their situation.
'Okay, panicking won't help. Let's consider what I know.'
Recalling their final moments before arriving in this void, the faceless soul slumped in resignation.
Earlier that day, they had been at a barbecue with friends. Suddenly, an unsettling stillness had overtaken the gathering as everything began to glow a bit brighter.
'I remember turning toward the light. Oh... I guess those idiot politicians really did fuck up.'
From afar, they had watched a large mushroom-shaped cloud of smoke and dust rise into the sky as the light grew ever brighter. Dread pooled in their stomach as they realized—too late—what they were witnessing.
A shockwave had blasted through the yard. Shrapnel tore into their body as the force popped their organs like overfilled balloons. There had been one brief moment of intense pain before everything went black.
Breathing heavily within the dark realm, the soul sank deeper into existential crisis.
'I'm dead... Dead and with no idea who I was.'
Taking time to process this, the soul mourned their lost family and friends. An unknown amount of time passed in the timeless void. Finally, after exhausting their grief, they wiped away spectral tears and decided to focus on whatever came next.
A loud ding rang out as a small light appeared before them. The light spiralled in a vortex, turning deep purple as it expanded into a rectangular panel hovering in front of them.
[You are dead. Do you want to try again? Y/N]
The panel pulsed slightly, waiting patiently. Staring in shock, the soul reached out, memories of countless reincarnation stories flooding their fractured mind.
Their hand phased straight through the panel, causing it to ripple like water. Waving their hand faster, they chuckled as the panel flowed around their touch.
After playing with the panel for several minutes, they realized they were getting distracted again.
'Some habits never change, I guess.'
Focusing on the text, they considered the question.
'Do I want to try again? Who wouldn't want a second chance?'
The soul focused their thoughts on selecting [Y].
Instantly, the panel responded as if reading their mind. The [Y] option darkened while [N] greyed out. A ripple travelled outward as new words appeared.
[Congratulations on living again!
Customize your new life!]
Smiling widely, the soul watched as the panel seemed to sense they had finished reading. It swirled again, transforming into a new menu.
[You have 100 points to customize your life!
In addition, you can voluntarily roll a random wheel for bonus points—this wheel contains more curses than boons.]
A mischievous smirk spread across their face as they reached for the random button. The panel instantly morphed into a massive wheel that began spinning at high speed.
The soul hopped around eagerly, waiting for the wheel to stop. Suddenly distracted by their own thoughts, they turned toward the darkness with curiosity and began wandering off.
Behind them, the wheel continued slowing down. Lost in thought, the soul kept walking until they suddenly remembered why they were there. With a self-deprecating smile, they jogged back just as the wheel came to a stop.
The flashing arrow pointed to a panel labelled: [Curse].
'Dang…Of course it would land there. Let's see what I've got.'
The flashing panel spun dramatically before flipping around to reveal:
[Curse: Two Body Problem]
Puzzled, the soul wasn't sure what this meant. Seeming to read their mind the wheel disappears and the original panel returned with a new box containing a full description. In the top corner, their points had increased to 1,100.
[You have 1,100 points to customize your life!]
[Curse: Two Body Problem
You are split into two separate bodies; this curse causes you to randomly switch between them at any time. Your bodies will be generated randomly, affecting your emotions, likes, and strengths depending on which form you currently inhabit.]
Nodding in understanding, the soul considered how this would affect their new life.
'I don't think I mind this. I've always been unpredictable anyway, so this won't be too different. I can always try to cure it later if it becomes problematic.'
Shrugging off the curse, they turned to the main customization menu.
[World, Power, Stats, Items]
Tapping their chin, they selected [World]. The panel shifted to display a huge list of fictional worlds along the left side, with corresponding point costs on the right.
They immediately filtered out worlds costing over 500 points, horror-themed worlds, and overly violent settings. This left them with a substantial list—some familiar, some not.
Deciding it was too risky to gamble on an unknown world, they further filtered out unfamiliar options. The remaining list contained worlds like Pokémon, My Hero Academia, and Ben 10, and a few more.
The soul methodically evaluated each option, weighing pros and cons.
'Pokémon doesn't focus much on individual power, and my curse would make me stand out too much. Ben 10 is tempting, but I don't know enough about all the aliens to make it work properly.'
After considering several other options, they made their decision.
'That's it then. I'll select[My Hero Academia]for[250 Points].'
Satisfied with their choice, they were left with [850 Points]. Moving to the [Power] tab, they found a long list of abilities. Their eyes immediately drifted toward the "random power" option.
'I could get a random power that might be either amazing or terrible. It would be cheaper but unpredictable.'
After deliberating, they decided to check the [Stats] tab first.
The panel transformed to display five stats arranged vertically:
[Stats
STR, CON, WIS, INT, LCK (All stats can grow with effort; these determine your base abilities without training)]
[STR — Strength — The body's ability to exert physical force, affecting lifting capacity, striking power, speed, and more.
CON — Constitution — The body's ability to resist physical forces, whether from melee attacks, elemental attacks, or any other type of damage to the physical form.
WIS — Wisdom — Affects a person's ability to think logically and theorize.
INT — Intellect — Affects thought speed, creativity, memory, learning capacity, and more.
LCK — Luck — Affects the chances of beneficial events occurring around a person.]
The soul learned that each stat point cost ten points, with ten being the peak human capability in any attribute.
With a wide smile, they quickly allocated their points:
[STR — 5, CON — 5, WIS — 8, INT — 10, LCK — 17]
'Perfect. Average physical prowess, above-average mental capabilities, and well beyond average luck.'
They briefly considered checking the [Item] tab but quickly dismissed the idea.
'Why bother with items that can be stolen when I can have extra powers?'
With a manic glint in their ethereal eyes, they returned to the [Power] tab and clicked the random power option without hesitation.
Instantly regretting their impulsiveness, they fidgeted nervously as the panel transformed into another spinning wheel.
Round and round it went, gradually losing speed as the rhythmic click of the pointer echoed through the void. After an agonizingly long time, the wheel stopped.
Eyes clenched shut, the soul heard the final click reverberate through the darkness. Taking a deep breath, they slowly opened their eyes and broke into a wide grin.
'Yes! I got a power—let's see what it is!'
The panel spun around to reveal:
[Power — The Quest System
A multiversal level system that gives the host quests to help build their power. This system is not conscious and will never attempt to enslave the host. The host will need to experiment and discover all the system's abilities.]
'Yes! This is amazing! Gambling for the win!'
Cheering, they jumped around in celebration, completely missing the panel behind them closing to leave only a simple button:
[Proceed? Y/N]
Lost in their excitement, they continued celebrating until a loud ping caught their attention. Turning around, they spotted the waiting panel.
'Oh, I forgot about that. Proceed? Absolutely!'
As they pressed the button, a rush of energy filled their soul. Everything faded to white as their consciousness slowly dimmed, the power settling within them.
'Looks like I'm off to my new life!'