I was tired. I didn't see the point in living anymore, and I couldn't imagine ever being happy. If I'm 100% honest, I don't even know how I made it this far.
But today… today was the day it would all end. Today was the day I received my high school diploma, and it would also be the day I died.
"Please… no God, no paradise, no hell. I just want it to end." Ezekiel whispered, staring at the sky.
He was walking toward the spot he had chosen to end his life.
But as he walked, he felt… like someone was watching him. Or maybe he was imagining it. To be honest, he didn't care today would be his last, so why should he? Nothing held value anymore, not even if someone tried to rob him.
Suddenly, everything around him began to vibrate. The world seemed to bend, as if the air and the light were turning to liquid.
"What… what is happening?" he whispered to himself, his voice trembling.
One second he was standing on the familiar streets of Paris, and the next… the world had changed. Towering buildings surrounded him, neon signs flickered in languages he didn't recognize, and the hum of a million unfamiliar sounds filled the air. His stomach twisted.
"Where… am I?" he muttered, stumbling backward. Every instinct screamed that this shouldn't be real. He had chosen an end… but here he was, alive, somewhere completely unknown.
He was stunned. He didn't recognize anything. The signs and giant screens around him were filled with letters and symbols he couldn't understand. His mind raced, and all he could manage was… "Huh?" He was so choked with disbelief that he barely noticed the little blue, semi-transparent screen floating right in front of him.
[DING SYSTEM INITIATION 1% 20% 50% 80% 100%]
[CHAOS GACHA SYSTEM – FULLY MERGED WITH HOST]
One second earlier, he couldn't understand a word the people next to him were saying. But then… somehow, he could. The weird symbols on the signs and screens began to shift and twist, slowly transforming until they were perfect French.
Ezekiel stood there, too stunned to move. His brain couldn't process it fast enough; it didn't have the computational power to make sense of what was happening.
His eyes were drawn to one of the giant screens. There, in bold letters, was a book title: "Best Seller of Sen Takatsuki: Dear Kafka." Ezekiel froze. His brain still struggled to process everything, but at least now he could read.
"Sen Takatsuki… I've heard this name before. I'm not completely sure, but now… I'm at least 80% certain I'm in Japan. But why the hell am I in Japan? Did I fall into a wormhole or something???"
And then finally he noticed it. (Leave him alone, he was a bit slow.) The little blue, semi-transparent screen was floating right in front of his face. Only God knew how he hadn't seen it sooner.
On the screen was written:
[3 RANDOM GOLD ROLES]
Below it, a big, glowing button blinked insistently: [ROLL THE WHEEL]
Ezekiel stared at it, mouth open. 'So one second ago, I was in Paris… and now I'm… what seems like Japan… and now I have a blue screen that wants me to gamble? What's next… you're gonna tell me I'm in another world?'
He looked left and right, but no one seemed to notice him. No one even seemed to see the blue screen. 'Do they not see it… or is this normal here?'
With that thought, he rolled the first ticket. He didn't even have to touch the screen. The second he wanted to open the ticket, the wheel started to spin.
[Intermediate Acting]
|Uncommon Skill|
You are a skilled actor, being able to properly portray yourself in the way you want to be seen and concealing your real emotions. But people familiar with you or people who have good intuition like detectives can probably see through your acting.
Ezekiel just stood there. One second ago, he had been thinking about suicide… and now he was gambling. Weirdly enough, the fact that nothing made sense didn't even bother him at least, not for now.
He rolled the second ticket. Then the third.
[Yami]
|Rare Ability|
Yugioh - When used, an ominous darkness with rouge clouds covers the surroundings, boosting the power of dark abilities and infernal beings while weakening all Holy beings and abilities.
[Radiance]
|Epic Familiar|
Hollow Knight - Radiance is a lesser moth deity of Light and Dreams. She is able to project beams of light, swords of light and orbs of searing light as well as teleport using essence. Her origin also allows her to exert power over the dreams of others, manipulating them to bend their will to hers, but those of comparable strength or particularly strong minds can resist her infection.
He stared at his three rolls, still struggling to trust what he was seeing. He didn't even know if any of it was good. But as he scanned the results, a few things caught his eye.
Two of the name looked familiar he'd heard of them somewhere: "Yu-Gi-Oh" and "Hollow Knight."
But what really made him freeze… was [Radiance]. What do you mean he could summon a lesser moth deity? This had to be strong… right?
The last of his tickets had vanished. The spinning stopped, and the chaotic lights faded. For a moment, Ezekiel just stared at the blue screen… and then it changed.
Lines of text scrolled into place, forming neat categories and headers. His entire status was displayed:
Name: Ezekiel Void
Race: Human
Abilities:
[Yami] | Rare Ability | Yu-Gi-Oh – When used, an ominous darkness with rouge clouds covers the surroundings, boosting the power of dark abilities and infernal beings while weakening all Holy beings and abilities.
Skills:
[Intermediate Acting] | Uncommon Skill | Can properly portray himself and conceal emotions, though perceptive people can see through it.
Familiars / Summons:
[Radiance] | Epic Familiar | Lesser moth deity of Light and Dreams. Can project beams, swords, and orbs of light, teleport using essence, and manipulate dreams, though strong minds can resist her influence.
Trait: None
Equipment: None