"Fuck my life..." With sadness and resignation, Axel whispered to himself.
Right now, he was walking aimlessly under the night sky, beside a busy road, hoping that the chaotic noise would distract him even for a bit.
He didn't even dare imagine that one day, everything he had worked blood and sweat for would disappear from his grasp so easily.
His wife filed for divorce and left him in the morning, and got accused of a crime he didn't commit around noon. Even if he somehow bounced back, he most likely couldn't stay in his current job anymore.
He would have difficulty finding a new place of work. Having a police record in his name for embezzlement would not look good. No matter if it's a false accusation or not.
A record is a record, and that's all that matters for recruitment officers around.
Axel's legs came to a stop.
"..."
He couldn't even muster the energy to curse anymore. He let out a sigh, shaking his head, before staring up ahead.
But as he was standing at a pedestrian lane's edge, waiting for the light to turn, he noticed something... An irregularity.
In the middle of the road, a lone boy about ten to twelve years of age stood casually, smiling. His golden eyes, almost as if glowing in the darkness, were staring right into Axel's.
Noticing the anomaly, he snapped.
"H-Huh? Hey, boy! It's dangerous there!"
He shouted, waving to urge the boy to run towards him.
However, the boy just remained in place, as if having no plans of moving at all.
*VROOOOM!*
The situation didn't give him enough time to think.
A ten-wheeler truck, its payload full and heavy, looked like it had lost its brakes. And it was racing toward the boy! In a few seconds, it would hit him and create a vivid red pancake on the pedestrian crossing for sure.
'No...!'
Axel's body moved instantly. Almost reflexively.
He dashed forward, using all the force he could muster, reaching the mysterious boy in a few skips. Even with their proximity, considering the speed of the truck, it's a coin toss whether he could make it in time before the truck hits.
Axel could see the approaching truck, and the boy who's still staring straight at him without blinking.
But from a simple visual confirmation, he could tell that at his current pace, he wouldn't make it in time.
"Hnnng...!"
Without hesitation, he leapt forward, covering the last few meters in one go. With his momentum, along with the strength of his arms, he pushed the boy's body out of the way.
He watched the boy's body get flung away, out of danger. An enormous shadow, along with a bright flash of light, quickly met him.
The next moment, impact.
Pain.
Loud sirens, and... peace.
He completely lost track of time. Almost as if his consciousness flew for a few minutes, at least.
His blue eyes stared at the night sky, watching the stars, chest heaving up and down with difficulty... barely breathing.
'The boy...' he thought, eyes moving to the side.
There, he could still see the boy standing by the pedestrian crossing. His gold eyes stared right into Axel... But now, his lips were curled up into a smile. An eerie smile, as if looking at an idiotic fight between two monkeys.
A voice echoed inside Axel's head. It sounded young, like a boy in his early teens... but filled with eerie coldness and dignity.
[You, human faced with an absurd fate. Despite all you've suffered, you still desire to save a stranger?]
Axel thought he was hearing things.
But knowing that there's no saving him, he humored the question. He couldn't speak anymore, though, so he just spoke to the voice in his head.
'My life's over either way. My value's less than a dollar right now. But using a dollar to save a life worth millions is a steal,' he thought. 'And dying to save someone else... doesn't feel too bad.'
Axel had neither parents nor relatives in the world anymore. And his only family, his wife, left him just that morning. In short, even if he died, nobody would miss him. And in the world, nothing is as unstoppable as a man who has nothing else to lose.
[So you'd rather use your life to save others...]
The voice continued echoing, sounding both pleased and amused.
[A great seed indeed. It wasn't a mistake choosing you.]
'Choose...?'
Axel was confused by the hallucination voice he was hearing right near his end. But before he could ask the voice to clarify, the boy who should be right in his view disappeared into thin air.
He simply vanished, as if he hadn't existed there. Just an illusion.
But the weirdness of the situation didn't end there. Suddenly, a pop-up window appeared before his eyes, not even giving him time to reel in shock.
[Harem Settlement System Activated. Binding to the User's Soul...]
[Success.]
[Starting transfer to the Next World... Please Rest in Peace.]
'What the fuck...?'
That was the last thought Axel had before darkness consumed his vision.