The next day, I woke up with a terrible headache because I had left the god system on overnight.
By "god system," I mean that floating green text box—the one where divine commentary keeps popping up in the middle of my vision like a cursed group chat I can't mute.
[Xipe: (What's a good gift for a child?)][Tialtia: (Something that represents women!)][Eros: (Arrows. Give them arrows.)]
Not only were these notifications bright enough to sear my eyeballs, they also had the most irritating sound effect: a loud "wack!" Like that messaging app notification tone that already traumatized me back on Earth.
This morning, I didn't even have the energy to reprimand them. I just groaned, turned the damn thing off, and buried myself back under the sheets. I vaguely remember someone trying to wake me up, but I rolled over, told them to get lost, and went back to sleep.
So imagine my surprise when I woke up again—this time in the middle of nowhere.
I blinked around at the endless sky. "Yeah, okay. I'm no stranger to weird shit like this, but… experiencing it firsthand doesn't exactly feel normal."
[Notification: Please turn the system back on.]
And then—bam—a woman appeared in front of me. Her name tag read: Selene.
She introduced herself as part of the "administration" of this world. Some kind of bureaucrat who "manages otherworldly matters."
"Who?" I asked flatly.
Selene sighed, clearly regretting her life choices. "Think of me as… some sort of manager who oversees this world's fate."
She cleared her throat. "Ahem. Think of it like—ugh, stop looking at me like you're already disappointed! I haven't even explained anything yet!"
"Then explain without trying to read my mind," I snapped. "Privacy still exists for me. Kind of. Sort of. Barely."
She winced. "I get that you're angry. And yes, this whole situation is confusing, but—listen. I summoned you here because you need to open that system again."
Before I could answer, the entire plane shook, like a book falling apart in the sky. Pages scattered everywhere, words tumbling around us like confetti.
"These gods are lunatics!" Selene shouted over the chaos. "You're different. You're human. That means they can't contact you without permission. But we administrators placed a clause on that permission—meaning they can't open it again unless you allow it."
The ground tilted beneath me. I sat down just to keep from rolling away. Selene pinched her temples, looking like she was about to cry.
"Please," she begged. "Just reopen the system. In exchange, I'll answer one of your questions."
"Anything?" I asked.
"Anything—as long as it isn't classified."
Hmm. To think the gods would throw tantrums just because I muted their annoying system… fine. I leaned forward.
"Why was I sent to this world?"
Selene froze. "Classified information."
The words exploded across the sky in giant neon letters: CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. Then again. And again. And again.
For a full minute, all I saw was CLASSIFIED INFORMATION flashing like a broken advertisement.
"Then what can you answer?!" I snapped.
"I—I know what you want. But that's precisely why the higher-ups won't let you know." Selene wrung her hands. "Still, I'll give you what I can."
Her expression turned solemn. "This world was originally meant to be destroyed."
"…What."
"Yes. Destroyed."
"Wait—hold on. Wasn't this novel supposed to have a happy ending?"
Selene grimaced. "That's the extent of your knowledge, isn't it? But stories don't always end the way they're written. The author wanted a happy ending. But reality… doesn't always comply."
"Ắ̸̢͇̯̤͍̝͊t̷̻̻͚͖̰̼̰̺̟̣̥̫̯̳͙̅͒̓́̚ḧ̷̢̨̜̹̻̥̼̮̱̗̜͉̪̩́̂̎͗̾̈́̇̊͌͑̔̔̕̕̕ȩ̷̡̲̭̘̳̭̗̘̟̥̓̀̾͗̾̽́̑̋̅̍̚͝͠ͅn̸̊̇̔̒̊́̃̆͘͘͜à̵̢̧̬̦͓̥̝̀͒͋͐͑̕͠ͅsucceeded and Č̴̢̢̧̡̛̠̮͈͍̲̳̰̱̠̖͎̪̜͈͍̙̬̭͚̝͔̼̯̓̉̅̈́͐͌̋̌͑̃̋̉̈́͐̃̄̈́̀̍̇̔̑͗̈́̎̽̂̈́́͊͑͒͘̕͜͝h̸̛̠͉͉̀̏̀͛̓̋͑̃̋̍̿̇̓̿̈̔͛̎̂̊̌͗̀̎͂́͋̄̕ͅa̶̰̩̖̼̼̭̞͛́̓̐͗͛̇̿͊̇͆̅̃̌͛́̍̀̂̾̃̕͝ó̷̢̦̫̳͉̘̓͊̈́̂̂̑̈́̽̑͐̓͆̓͌̈́̈́̒͊̈́̚s̷̨̧̧̰͔̼̹͎̩̯͕̱͖̫̦̖̥̙̱̟̹̩̪̙͙͒̈́̅̀̾͆͗͊͗͘͘͜…"
"…As expected, you won't understand it," Selene muttered.
The entire plane around us began to crumble violently, pieces of sky shattering into shards of light.
"But you, Kim Yoo-ra, you're an anomaly. You're changing the course of this world. That is why the higher-ups has taken an interest in you."
Before I could even reply, Selene pressed something into my hand: a stone, smooth and faintly glowing.
"You now have administrator privileges," she said. "This grants you direct access to the system interface."
[Notification: Administrator privilege (Low) unlocked.][You can now ask anything within the system limit!]
"I suggest you start by looking into the demons," Selene added gravely. "The beings they worship are—"
The world imploded.
I gasped awake, drenched in cold sweat, my sheets clinging to me. It was already dusk outside my window.
"What the hell… what was that last part?" I muttered, scratching my head in pure annoyance. The more I try to find answers, the more questions show up. All I want is some peace. How am I supposed to sleep soundly at night when I've just been told the world is going to be destroyed?
"I… I just want to live in peace, damn it…"
"My Lady!"
Jane's voice jolted me upright. She was already rushing to my side, ragged, panic all over her face.
Behind her, Trynda poked their feathery head into the room. "Can I see? Enter? Oh—oh dear. What happened to her?"
And then, as if on cue, two wrinkly old men shuffled in—apparently from the capital, judging by their robes. Great. Just what I needed: an audience.
"Josephine," one of them rasped, "you looked like a goner. Your soul… it seems it went to limbo momentarily."
"…What?"
"That was Asmoday who told me," the other added. "It's a surprise you're still here at all."
"Excuse me?!" I shot back, throwing my blanket off.
The first one raised his hands helplessly. "I'm just repeating what was told to me!"
The room was a mess of noise—Jane tugging at my sleeve with tears in her eyes, Trynda dramatically squawking about how I'd dirtied my nightgown again, the two elders arguing over whether I was "temporarily dead" or merely "limbo-adjacent."
And me? Sitting there with a splitting headache, thinking: I muted the system for one night. One night. And now I'm apparently on the radar of higher beings, got handed an admin stone, warned about demons, and nearly lost my soul in the process.
"Un… guys?" one of the old men finally said, scratching his head. "What exactly is happening here?"