There was no brilliant flash of light, no profound final thought. My end was as unremarkable as my life had been. One moment, I was crossing the street, lost in thought about a project deadline; the next, there was the screech of tires, a brief, shocking impact, and then... nothing.
It was a perfectly mundane, forgettable death.
The nothingness that followed, however, was anything but. It wasn't darkness, which is merely the absence of light. This was an absence of everything. A void so complete that my own consciousness felt like a screaming anomaly, a single, frantic spark in an endless, silent vacuum.
Time had no purchase here; moments bled into eons and back again. I simply was, a disembodied thought floating in an eternal, placid ocean of non-existence. I had no body to feel, no eyes to see, no ears to hear, yet my mind, my sense of self, remained stubbornly intact, a ghost haunting the concept of reality itself.
Then, after an eternity or perhaps just an instant, the ocean began to ripple.
A presence bloomed in the void. It was not something my human mind could properly process. It was a being of pure, conceptual power, a symphony of light and logic that felt like staring into the heart of a galaxy being born while simultaneously comprehending the elegant mathematics that governed its creation
It was a living dimension, a sentient law of physics. To perceive it was to feel the weight of its infinite complexity pressing down on the fragile architecture of my soul. It was magnificent, terrifying, and so far beyond me that my mind could only label it with a term borrowed from countless stories: a ROB. A Random Omnipotent Being.
My thoughts, chaotic and frayed, struggled to form a coherent question. What? Suitable for what?
the Being explained, its thoughts flowing into me like a river of data.
Images flooded my mind: cosmic storms of raw potential, whirlpools of unformed realities, a sea of infinite static that could erase any being, no matter how powerful.
The sheer, mind-boggling absurdity of it all was starting to sink in. I was going to be a divine paperweight. A cosmic good luck charm.
Three wishes. The classic, monkey's-paw-laden offer. But my mind, sharpened by years of devouring fiction just like this, was already racing. This wasn't a trick; it was a transaction. I needed the best possible start. I couldn't ask for omnipotence, that was absurd. I needed synergy. I needed potential.
"My first wish," I thought, focusing my intent with all my might. "I want an ability I'll call 'Origin Acquisition' The power to perfectly copy the abilities, physiology, and memories of any being I choose."
My non-existent heart sank.
I considered it. It was a heavy nerf, but it was still incredibly powerful. Copying a power at its initial state meant I couldn't just tap Thor and get the powers of a thousand-year-old god. But I could, theoretically, tap him and get the potential of an Royal Asgardian. The seed of power. And if I had a way to nurture that seed...
"Alright," I conceded. "For my second wish, I want the ability of 'The Gamer.' The power to live my life as a video game, with stats, skills, levels, and limitless potential for growth."
There was a pause, a feeling of deep analysis from the ROB.
One wish left. I had the potential for infinite powers and a system for infinite growth. What was I missing? A processor. A way to manage the torrent of information and abilities I would acquire. I needed a way to analyze, strategize, and optimize. There was only one choice.
"For my third and final wish," I stated, my consciousness trembling with anticipation. "I want the Unique Skill, 'Great Sage,' from the being known as Rimuru Tempest. The ultimate analytical and computational mind."
<...Astute,> the ROB's voice held a tone that might have been approval.
The void around me began to twist, pulling my consciousness toward a single, brilliant point of light.
The light consumed me, and for the second time, my world dissolved into nothing.