I always thought I'd die old—quietly, in my sleep, or maybe from something cliché like slipping in the shower. Not like this. Not alone. Not with questions still echoing in my head and nothing but a cold mug of coffee to remember me by.
The rain's been pounding against the window for hours now. I'm sitting in my tiny apartment, staring at the TV, but I couldn't tell you what's on. The volume's off. Doesn't matter. My name is Gerson. Thirty-four, jobless, broke, and—I'll admit it—tired of everything. You don't need a dramatic story to hit rock bottom. Sometimes, it's just life, piling up like junk mail you keep forgetting to throw away.
I glance at my phone on the coffee table. It lights up with a notification. Another rejection email? I don't check. What's the point? My fingers wrap around the chipped mug like it's the last warm thing in my life. The coffee's cold now, but I hold on to it anyway.
The rain outside isn't letting up. It blurs the city lights into a watercolor mess. People out there are probably living—laughing, drinking, falling in love. I used to think that would be me. Now, I'm just another shadow behind glass.
Then it happens.
Out of nowhere, pain lances through my chest—sharp and sudden, like someone jammed a hot poker straight into my heart. I drop the mug. It shatters on the floor, pieces flying everywhere. I can't move. My knees hit the ground. My vision tilts. The walls twist and blur. I try to cry out, but all that escapes is a whisper.
And then I hear it.
Not a sound exactly—but a voice, soft and unreal, like it's coming from inside my head.
"You have been chosen by the LAW."
I don't understand. My thoughts scatter like the broken mug on the floor.
Everything goes black.
---
I expect to wake up to paramedics shouting, or maybe to nothing at all. But instead, there's light—blinding and golden—and a pressure in my chest, like I'm being pulled forward by something I can't see.
I open my eyes.
And everything's wrong.
I'm lying on a soft patch of moss under a sky that shouldn't exist—lavender clouds swirling across a bright emerald horizon. There's no city, no apartment, no rain. The air smells like wildflowers and lightning. I sit up, coughing. My body feels...different. Lighter, stronger, somehow new.
"What the hell…?" My voice sounds the same, but the world around me feels like a fantasy painting brought to life. Giant trees tower above me, their leaves glowing faintly. Strange birds with crystal feathers fly overhead. The colors are too vivid, too alive.
This isn't Earth.
I scramble to my feet. A faint shimmer pulses on my forearm. I look down and nearly jump out of my skin.
There's something etched into my skin—an intricate pattern of lines glowing faint blue. It pulses with each heartbeat.
Suddenly, a voice—not in my ears, but in my mind—echoes again.
"Welcome, Gerson. You have been granted the LAW."
LAW?
The word buzzes through my head. Before I can ask anything, the voice continues.
"You have died in your world. This is your rebirth. One in one hundred are chosen to receive the LAW—an ancient force that awakens potential beyond mortal limits. With it, you may grow, evolve, and surpass what once bound you."
"Wait, wait, what?" I shout aloud. "You're saying I died? I'm... in another world?"
No answer.
I stand there, heart thudding, staring at my glowing arm. I want to believe I'm dreaming, but everything feels too real. I can smell the moss, feel the wind brushing against my skin, and taste the copper tang of adrenaline on my tongue.
What is this place? Why me?
As if on cue, a panel of light appears before me, like a hologram. Words begin to write themselves in glowing script:
---
[LAW STATUS: INITIATED]
Name: Gerson
Age: 34
Origin: Earth (Deceased)
LAW Alignment: Potential Unlocked (1%)
Tier: None
Evolution Path: Undefined
Class: Unassigned
Trait: Adaptive Soul – [Growth rate increases based on emotional intensity]
Condition: Stable
---
This is insane. I wave my hand, and the panel vanishes like mist. I breathe heavily, trying to understand.
I died. I died. But now I'm...here? Wherever here is.
And I've been given something—the LAW. One in a hundred, it said. So there are others. Ninety-nine others maybe. Or millions who didn't get it.
I touch the mark on my arm. It feels like a tattoo, but warmer, almost alive.
A rustling in the bushes makes me spin around.
Something—or someone—is coming.
I step back, instinctively looking for a weapon. A branch, a rock—anything. But I barely have time to react before a figure steps out from the shadows.
It's not human.
It's tall, wrapped in armor that looks like woven stone, and its eyes glow with the same blue as the mark on my arm. It holds a long spear etched with runes.
"You're the new one," it says in a voice that sounds like gravel and thunder. "The Chosen by LAW."
I swallow hard. "What do you want?"
The being pauses, then lowers its spear.
"To survive here, you must fight. You will be tested. The world does not wait for the weak."
I don't know what to say. My heart is slamming in my chest. I've just woken up in a new world, with no idea what's going on, and already I'm being thrown into something bigger than I can grasp.
The warrior tilts its head. "Do you accept the LAW... or do you wish to return to the void?"
I stare at the mark glowing on my skin. The words echo in my mind.
"You have been chosen by the LAW."
My jaw tightens. My life on Earth was a mess. This might be a second chance—no, something more.
I look up at the armored figure.
"I accept."