Darkness.
Then a voice.
"Wake up, you moron. WAKE UP!"
Victor jolted upright.
"I'm dead, not deaf! Stop shouting!"
His surroundings were… nonexistent. Just white. Endless. Empty. He looked around, hands on hips.
"This better not be the budget version of the afterlife."
In front of him, a woman sat calmly on a chair that floated mid-air. Glowing. Sparkly. Overdesigned like a premium SSR in a mobile game.
Victor squinted.
"She looks like a gacha character… One of those that makes simps nuke their wallets."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah, I've seen her type on Reddit banners."
He stared at her with dead eyes, unfazed.
"You have finally awak—"
"Fuck yourself."
The goddess froze mid-sentence. Her face twitched. She looked like she'd never been interrupted before—and especially not like that.
Her face turned crimson, voice shaking with divine rage.
"You insolent FOOL of a mortal! Dare not speak to ME like that!"
Victor just shrugged.
"WOMP WOMP. Whatever. Where's the exit?"
She gritted her teeth.
"There is no exit, Oseven. You are to be reincar—"
"Don't care. Don't tell me. I already know how this plot goes."
He sighed deeply. "Let me guess: you're gonna say I've been chosen, gifted, or summoned. Then drop me into a world of swords and boobs, give me a UI, and expect me to care about saving people I've never met."
"You are being given a second chance in life."
"Second chances are overrated."
He folded his arms. "You think just 'cause life kicked me in the balls, I want a new one?"
"You hate this fate, yet you consumed countless isekai stories. Watched anime. Left hate comments. On Shitter, no less."
Victor narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know that? Y'all stalk people now? Since when did gods become social media managers?"
"We see all. The cringe, the edge, the copium, the fanservice. You're not special."
"Damn." He dragged his palm across his face.
"I really am going to get forcefully isekai'd, huh?"
"Yes. Into Solaris. A world on the brink of destruction."
Victor waved her off.
"I don't wanna. I'm not Optimus Prime, not Captain America, not Goku. I ain't got plot armor or morals. I'm just a guy who got hit by a truck and told to save a planet he didn't ask for."
The goddess finally stood. Her glow dimmed to a faint shimmer, now more… human. Her voice softened.
"You're right. You're not a hero."
Victor blinked.
"Wait, what?"
"But you do have regrets."
He flinched. Just a little.
"There are moments in your life where you wish—just once—you could've made a different choice. Words you shouldn't have said. Things you should've done. People you pushed away."
Victor stayed silent. His smirk vanished.
"…You psychic now?"
"Call it divine insight."
She stepped forward, floating closer to him.
"Save Solaris, and I'll grant you one choice. Go anywhere. Anywhen. Fix what you fumbled. Or… stay in that world, if you find something worth holding onto."
Victor looked down, jaw tight.
A memory tried to surface—but like everything painful, he shoved it away.
"Alright," he muttered. "What's the catch?"
"You'll be given the system. A framework to guide your growth. Not invincibility—but potential."
Victor gagged audibly.
"A system? God, that's the most overused gimmick. Next you'll tell me I get skill trees, EXP, and damage numbers."
"You will."
"Fuck's sake. Fine. Then I'm calling it Coreframe. If I'm gonna be forced into this gamer-LARP hell, at least let me brand it."
The goddess gave him a nod.
"Call it what you will. It is only a tool. Whether you become a hero… or a monster… is up to you."
A glowing circle formed under his feet. Glyphs spiraled outward, whispering in languages he didn't understand—but somehow knew.
Victor sighed one last time.
"You better keep your promise, Thigh-Goddess."
She smiled.
"All in due time."
"One more thing," Victor said, raising a hand.
"Tell the next guy you drag here to at least die with some dignity. Getting hit by a truck while trying to microwave nuggets isn't the way I imagined leaving Earth."
She chuckled as light enveloped him.
"Good luck, Oseven."
---
Transmission Begins…
As Victor faded from the void, a voice echoed in his ears:
> Initializing Coreframe…
Loading Avatar: Victor Oseven
Status: Reincarnation Commencing
Welcome to Solaris. May your regret be your guide.
And then—
Light.