Author Note - I'm going have extra chapters available on P.A.T.R.E.O.N eventually but I want to build up a decent amount here on Webnovel First. Also this is my first time writing so if you have any constructive criticism let me know I won't know I'm doing something wrong if nobody tells me.
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The last thing he remembered was noise—screeching tires, crunching metal, a sudden lurch that tore the world sideways. Then… nothing.
No air, no ground, no body. Only awareness.
Around him stretched a pale, endless gray, a void without edges. Slowly, a shimmer appeared, thickening and solidifying into a figure.
It was not human. Its body seemed made of translucent glass, threaded with rivers of light. Cracks ran across it, glowing faintly like molten seams tracing patterns that suggested movement. Its head bore no features, only a mask of shifting brilliance—light twisting and flickering, forming shapes that hinted at a face but never stayed long enough to recognize.
When it spoke, its voice carried as a chorus, many tones layered into one.
"You have been given a chance. Three wishes. They will be yours to carry into another life."
He studied the figure carefully. "So… I'm dead?"
"Yes."
"Car accident?"
"Yes."
He exhaled softly. "That tracks." His gaze swept the gray expanse. "Where is this? Some kind of afterlife? Purgatory?"
"No. This place is only between."
"Between what?"
"Between what you were and what you will be."
He looked at the shifting mask. "And you? What are you?"
"I am the one who offers."
"Offers what?"
"Another life. Three wishes to shape it."
He paused, letting that sink in. "Why me? Was I chosen?"
"Not chosen. Not special. But you were seen. And seen was enough."
He nodded slowly. "Alright. Dead in one life, offered another. Three wishes to carry over."
"Yes."
He drummed his fingers together. "Then I need to know: how far can these wishes go? Surely there are limits."
The figure inclined its head, light flowing through its cracks. "You cannot replace what made existence. You cannot erase what already is. All else is possible."
He leaned forward. "So no 'I wish to be God.' Got it. But immortality? Eternal youth, eternal life… is that within reach?"
"Yes. You may choose it. The years will be yours to carry as you will."
"Not impossible, then. Just something I'd have to accept fully," he murmured.
"Yes."
"Knowledge. Could I wish to know everything? All truths, all secrets, every answer?"
The mask pulsed faintly. "Not everything can be held. To know all exceeds what one mind can contain. But you may gain knowledge far beyond ordinary limits, or the ability to acquire it freely. That is possible."
He smirked faintly. "So no omniscience, but near-limitless learning is possible. Fair enough."
He ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, let's go further. Fiction. Could I wish for something imagined—something that doesn't exist in reality?"
"Yes."
"Anything?"
"What is imagined may be shaped. You may make it yours."
His lips curved into a small, amused smile. "Okay… let's say I wished to be reborn as the Hulk."
The mask flickered, the cracks in its body glowing brighter, almost as if amused. "The beast of rage. Green skin. Endless might. You could take his form and strength. It would be yours."
He tilted his head. "If I did that, would I also get Bruce Banner's memories? His knowledge, his science?"
"No. You would not inherit his past. Only his shape and strength. His story belongs only to imagination. You would live your own."
He nodded slowly. "Fair enough. Then if I wanted to adjust it… could I use another wish to make sure I stay in complete control? No raging monster taking over."
"You could. Wishes may refine one another."
He tapped his fingers against his leg, thinking fast. "So I could stack them—one to build, one to polish."
"Yes."
He leaned back, rubbing his forehead. "Still… a giant green wrecking ball doesn't sound fun. I'd rather not spend half my time smashing everything by accident."
The figure remained silent, though the faint shimmer running through its body suggested it was watching him closely.
Bruce exhaled slowly, mind turning over possibilities. Powers, abilities, forms—they were real. They weren't cursed or fake. Just limited to what was possible. And everything he shaped would belong to him.
Three wishes. Just three. Every word, every decision mattered.
He rubbed his temples again. "Alright… first wish, Hulk. Second wish, complete control—mind, body, impulses. Full awareness. Full agency. Third… system. But not just any system. I want one that quantifies my stats, tracks abilities, manages an inventory, provides quests, includes a shop, allows me to level up and grow—but it cannot control me or punish me arbitrarily. Consequences exist only as they would naturally in the world—for example, if a quest tells me to save someone and I don't, that person may die, but the system itself won't enforce punishment."
The figure's cracks pulsed brightly, the rivers of light spreading across its body. "It will be as you specify. The system will manifest in your next life, linked to your abilities and consciousness, respecting your specifications."
Bruce exhaled slowly, picturing it in his mind: stats, inventory, quests, levels, a shop, and freedom absolute.
He raised his hand, speaking clearly. "First wish: I wish to be reborn as the Hulk, with all his strength, speed, durability, and abilities."
The figure shimmered, light rippling through its cracks. "Granted. Consider the form and strength now yours."
He felt it immediately, deep in his consciousness—the seed of transformation, tangible and ready.
"Second wish: I wish for complete control over myself—mind, body, every impulse—so that I retain full awareness and agency at all times."
The mask pulsed brightly. "Granted. All aspects of self are under your command. Hulk and consciousness integrated as one."
Bruce ran a hand over his face. "Third wish: I wish for a system that quantifies my stats, tracks my abilities, manages an inventory, provides quests, includes a shop, allows me to level up and grow—but the system cannot control me or punish me artificially. Consequences exist only as they would naturally in the world."
The figure shimmered one final time, cracks of starlight spreading across its body. "Granted. Your system will manifest in your next life, linked to your abilities and consciousness, respecting your specifications."
Bruce straightened, feeling the full weight and potential of his choices settle. Three wishes made. Hulk powers under his control. A fully functional life system with stats, quests, an inventory, and a shop—all tailored exactly as he imagined.
He looked into the gray expanse—not with fear, not with hesitation, but with curiosity, focus, and anticipation.
And then the void began to shift.