Quick! Add before the next chapter hops away!
Avery stood on the rooftop, the scent of blood threading through the night wind.
She stared down at her hands—once only used to sign contracts, now slick with blood and some unidentifiable gunk.
"Ugh..."
A wave of nausea bent her double. Nothing came up but stomach acid.
Thirty-eight years in the real world, and not once had a punch been thrown.
Now, minutes into this new world, she'd killed two men.
Her gaze dropped to the mangled remains below—two broken heaps of red and white.
Her stomach lurched again.
And yet... a searing rush climbed her spine, blooming into the back of her skull. She swallowed the bile, then let out a low chuckle.
Killing really did take the edge off—especially when it was the right people.
"LUSTRA, wasn't I just ringing the bell at the IPO?"
She finally had the presence of mind to ask.
[You were. Cardiac arrest triggered by overstimulation. Congratulations on dying at the peak of your career.]
System LUSTRA's voice even managed to sound sympathetic.
[Your soul registered a high compatibility with the original Avery Blake's body. Hence, the binding. Hence... rebirth.]
A thousand mental camels stampeded through her brain.
So that's it? Busting ass for decades, hustling, drinking, clawing her way from startup to bell-ringing—only to keel over dead at the finish line?
She gave a bitter snort. Peak of her life, all right!
"And what happened to the original Avery?"
[She refused resurrection. That's why you were chosen.]
Refused?
Her eyes narrowed. That system alert at the start—[Soul Mismatch Detected]—made a lot more sense now.
"So this second chance was meant for her? I'm the anomaly?"
[Affirmative.]
"Why was she eligible for resurrection?"
[💎 Premium Lore Locked!]
Of course. She scoffed.
"Then what's the price for this little gift?"
No such thing as free lunch—especially not free reincarnation.
[Complete the Newbie Missions to temporarily retain this body and unlock full system access.]
[Fulfill her final wish to inherit the body permanently—and everything tied to it.]
The system's tone carried all the polished conviction of a pyramid scheme.
Avery squinted. "Sounds like a damn sales pitch."
"And what exactly is her wish?"
[Memory damaged. Final wish: inaccessible.]
Great!Nothing screams 'fair gameplay' like paywalled DLC in a survival run.
[Probably nothing to worry about. If you hit the right emotional beats, the main system should respond. Probably.]
Avery arched an eyebrow but said nothing.
Then it hit—the first surge of foreign memories piercing into her mind.
The air reeked of lilies and lies.
Her father arrived late—arm-in-arm with a stranger draped in white lace and fake grief, a Stepford wife smile frozen on her lips.
"Meet your new mom and sister, Avery. Be nice."
Avery didn't move.
She stood stiff in front of her mother's photo, hands clenched at her sides, nails biting deep into her palms.
"Daddy, I swear I didn't do anything! She pushed me—out of nowhere! I didn't even see her coming!"
"You never take responsibility, do you? Always playing the victim. Look what you did to your sister!"
Then the fiancé—Wade Brennan. Once protective. Now smashing her right leg underfoot.
"Psycho bitch." Wade ground his heel into her shin. "Y'know what your problem is? You're jealous 'cause Evelyn's everything you'll never be."
Then darkness, steel hands, the fall.
No wonder she didn't want to come back.
Avery clutched her chest.
The pain wasn't hers.
It belonged to the girl before her.
And now, the past unspooled—fragments of memories, social norms, flashes of power structures—wealth, Esper hierarchy, family dynasties.
Her head throbbed.
[ALERT: Esper detected nearby!]
System LUSTRA yanked her back to the present.
The sky ripped open with a flash of silver.
Avery's eyes snapped up, enhanced vision zeroing in on a figure suspended hundreds of meters above—weightless, effortless, terrifying.
He wasn't flying. He was simply... standing in the air.
Moonlight caught on his silver hair, turning every strand into liquid steel.
His black tactical armor hugged a frame built for war—broad shoulders, tapered waist, every line a weapon.
He stilled midair, like a god pausing between judgments. And then—
His gaze dropped.
Their eyes met.
Gold. Not warm, but burnished like a blade pulled fresh from flame.
Cold. Incisive.
Avery froze.
The whole thing felt unreal—like something ripped straight out of a blockbuster.
White hair. Gold eyes. Floating above her like a final verdict.
"Fuck me sideways." Avery whistled. "Dude's got that final boss energy.