The world was dark.
Selene floated in a void, weightless, numb. The pain from the lightning strike had dulled into a distant ache. Her consciousness wavered.
And then—
A voice.
Warm. Deep. Familiar.
"Selene, my little princess, do you know what this is?"
She blinked, and suddenly, she was no longer in the abyss.
Instead, she stood in her father's grand study, the scent of old books and polished wood filling the air. She was eight years old again, perched on his desk, kicking her legs in excitement.
Her father, Victor Sinclair, stood before her. A crown rested in his hands—not just any crown, but a custom-made piece encrusted with dazzling gemstones, their colors shifting under the golden glow of the chandelier.
Her eyes widened.
"It's beautiful!" she breathed, reaching out to touch the shimmering gems.
Victor chuckled and placed the crown on her head. His hands were strong and steady, a reassuring presence.
"One day, you will wear the real thing. You will be the heiress of the Sinclair Empire. And do you know what that means?"
She grinned. "That I'll be rich?"
Her father laughed. "More than rich. The world will be your playground, Selene. You'll have everything you desire. The Sinclairs are powerful—so powerful that we do as we please, and no one can stop us."
Selene's heart swelled with excitement. She couldn't wait to grow up.
For a long time, she truly believed she was destined to have it all.
She was nine when her mother died.
The light in their grand estate dimmed. The once lively halls fell silent, draped in mourning. Her father, a man of unshakable confidence, became hollow, lost in his grief.
And yet, there was someone always by his side.
A woman. Bianca.
His childhood friend.
At first, Selene didn't understand why she hated her so much. Maybe it was the way Bianca would always touch her father's arm when speaking to him, or the way she smiled at Selene—too sweet, too polished, like a doll with glassy eyes.
By the time she turned eleven, Bianca had become her stepmother.
She was younger than her mother. Prettier.
And little by little, everything changed.
"A Sinclair needs a world-class education," Bianca had told her father one evening at dinner, her tone light, casual. "Homeschooling will never prepare her for the real world. Boarding school is best."
Selene had almost dropped her fork. "But I don't want to go to boarding school!"
All she had left was her father. How would she live in a place so far and unfamiliar?
Her father hesitated.
Bianca simply smiled. "It's for your own good, darling. You'll love it there."
Two months later, she was shipped off to an elite academy overseas.
But before she left—
"It's not safe for a little girl to keep so many valuable things," Bianca had said, running her fingers over Selene's jewelry box, her voice dripping with artificial concern.
Selene clutched her crown—the very same one her father had placed on her head all those years ago.
"I can keep it safe for you," Bianca cooed, her nails tracing the delicate golden curves.
Selene hesitated. "But it's mine."
"Of course, sweetheart. I'll return everything once you're older."
Reluctantly, Selene handed over the crown, along with most of her prized jewels.
She never saw them again.
And then, the allowances grew shorter.
"You must learn how to manage money well," her father said one day when she asked about it. Her father, who had never cared about spending before.
Bianca had been poor once. An orphan, they said. She knew how to pinch pennies, how to turn wealth into control.
And she shrunk Selene's world little by little.
By the time she returned home at sixteen, her place in the family was unrecognizable.
"You need to prove your worth, Selene," her father had said, his voice kind but firm. "Start from the bottom. Show me you deserve to be a Sinclair."
And just like that, she wasn't the heiress anymore.
The home she loved, the future she dreamed of—it all slipped through her fingers.
But she still had hope. Her father had promised her that once she turned twenty, it would all be over.
'Just ten more days.' She had thought in the bar.
And then—
It was stolen from her in an instant.
Selene gasped, eyes fluttering open.
Her breath was ragged as if she had just resurfaced from drowning. Her heart pounded so hard she could hear it in her ears. The world around her was dim, the air thick with the musty scent of her tiny, rundown apartment.
She pressed a shaky hand to her chest. She was alive. But how?And how did she get in her apartment? Who or what brought her there?
The last thing she remembered—the storm. The lightning. The pain.
Selene shuddered. Her skin still tingled, the phantom burn lingering as if the lightning had fused with her bones. Her fingers curled into her bedsheet, gripping it for some sense of reality.
But then, the familiar voice chimed.
[Welcome, Selene. Ready to play the game?]
Selene froze.
That voice—flat, unnatural, neither male nor female. It was inside her head.
Her breath hitched. Panic clawed at her ribs. Had she lost her mind?
She forced herself to scan the room, her gaze darting from the peeling wallpaper to the secondhand furniture, the flickering bedside lamp that barely illuminated the cramped space. No speakers. No devices.
But the voice continued calmly.
[Wealth Domination System has been fully activated!]
[Congratulations! You have been granted an initial balance of 100 billion dollars!]
Her hands fumbled for her phone on the nightstand. Maybe she could call someone. Maybe—Her screen lit up.
Her banking app was already open.
And right there, in bold, impossible numbers:
$100,000,000,000.00
Selene stopped breathing.
She blinked.
And then again.
The number didn't change.
Her brain stalled. A hundred billion dollars? Transacted just like that?! No. That wasn't possible. That wasn't even legal.
She slammed the phone down on the mattress, heart pounding against her ribs.
Her pulse stuttered.
And as if uncaring of all her confusion, her worries, the monotonous voice continued to speak. With each word, Selene felt her heart race faster.
[Star Coins will be earned for every million spent. These coins can be used to upgrade skills, purchase exclusive rewards, and unlock hidden features within the system.]
A holographic screen suddenly flickered to life.
Selene stared at the glowing screen, her mouth suddenly dry.
"What…" she whispered. "What the hell is this?"
[Your mission is simple: Spend money. Earn more. Dominate the world.]
Selene let out a weak, breathy laugh. This was a scam. A glitch. Some kind of cruel joke. She snatched her phone again, her fingers flying over the screen. She needed to call someone—one of her old friends was a psychiatrist, maybe—
But before she could press a single button—
The balance vanished.
Zero.
Gone.
Like it had never been there.
Selene's heart stopped.
The mechanical voice announced.
[Only those who play the game can receive its rewards.]
The voice wasn't even entirely robotic anymore. It was… amused.
Selene's grip tightened around the phone. What if this was all true?
"You—Did you just—" She sucked in a sharp breath. "You gave me a hundred billion dollars and then just snatched it away?! Are you out of your mind?!"
[Correction: You refused to play.]
Selene rolled her eyes, "Oh, so now I need to earn it? Have you never read any insta-rich stories??? I am supposed to have that money just like that!"
The voice mused.
[Where's the fun in that?]
Selene quickly dismissed the confusing thoughts. She had been struck by lightning.
And now, some thing was speaking to her. Offering her absurd amounts of money.
This wasn't normal.
This wasn't real.
It couldn't be real.
She buried her face in her hands, taking a deep breath. "Okay, I'm dreaming. That's it. The lightning fried my brain. I'm probably in a coma."
[You're very much awake, Host.]
Selene stared at the now empty air suspiciously.
"Let me guess, I just have to… what? Do tasks for you? Follow your little rules? Then you make me rich?"
[Exactly.]
Selene exhaled. Still more confused than ever. But was she so foolish to turn away free money? Nah!
"Fine," Selene murmured. "I accept."
Ding!
[The Wealth Domination System has successfully bonded with the Player!'
[Welcome, Player! Your goal: Become the wealthiest entity in existence. Complete quests, reach milestones, and unlock the true power of the system.]
Ding!
[The First Scenario has been unlocked!']