Cain Velaros never thought his life would end with a fizzy drink and a dented forehead.
It started like any other miserable day—late for work, shoes soaked from city sludge, and his boss screaming something about "last warnings" and "reliability." At twenty-six, Cain was broke, bitter, and barely functioning in a tiny shoebox apartment with rent two months overdue. The highlight of his day? A cherry soda.
But fate had other plans.
He stood in front of the old vending machine outside his crummy apartment block, watching the blinking red light mock him like a schoolyard bully.
"C'mon," he muttered, punching the selection button again. "It's just a drink. Just one."
He'd already shoved in his last two coins, the machine greedily swallowing them without mercy.
Nothing.
Cain glanced around the empty alleyway. No one. No witnesses. Just a flickering lamppost buzzing overhead and the faint sound of traffic.
"Okay, you want to play rough?"
He shook the machine. It groaned but stayed still.
Then he kicked it.
Nothing.
He kicked it harder.
Clunk. A can shifted inside.
A triumphant grin crossed his face. "That's what I thought."
Then, with a mechanical creak and a sound not unlike the growl of a dying moose, the vending machine lurched forward.
Cain looked up just in time to see the blinking red light fall toward his face.
"Oh, fu—"
CRASH.
Darkness.
Not the kind that comes with sleep. Not even the kind that comes with death.
This was something… stranger.
Cain floated in an endless void, a sea of stars swirling like paint in water. Galaxies spun above his head. Time stretched like elastic. His body—if he still had one—felt weightless.
Then came the voice.
[Ascension System: Booting…]
[New Host Detected. Initiating Divine Candidate Protocol.]
Cain blinked—or tried to. "What… what the hell is this?"
[Welcome, Candidate. You have died. Cause of death: Blunt force trauma from vending machine.]
"Are you serious?"
[Yes. Death classified as 'Embarrassingly Stupid.']
Cain groaned. "You've got to be kidding me. Is this the afterlife? Where's the light? The gates? The choir of angels?"
[Reassignment in progress. The God of Chaos has perished. You have been selected as the next potential Successor.]
"Wait. God of what now?"
[Chaos.]
Cain blinked again—or at least mentally did so. "There must be a mistake. I don't even sort my laundry."
[Chaos confirmed.]
A chime echoed across the void, and suddenly Cain felt something click inside his mind.
[Ascension System: Installed.]
[Initializing Tutorial Mode…]
[Warning: Tutorial Mode Corrupted.]
[Proceeding Without Tutorial.]
"Oh, come on!"
Cain's world turned inside out.
The stars folded in. The galaxies vanished. His body felt like it was being squeezed through the eye of a needle.
Then—
Boom.
He hit solid ground with a groan, dust rising around him.
Cain coughed, rolled over, and blinked at a red sky full of spiraling black clouds.
Bones littered the ground around him—skeletons twisted in agony, half-buried in ash. The air smelled like sulfur and burnt metal. Distant screams echoed like wind through the craggy peaks that surrounded the barren wasteland.
[Welcome to the Wastes of Yxil.]
[Objective: Survive for 24 hours.]
[Failure: Soul Fragmentation.]
[Reward: Chaos Flame (Unstable).]
Cain sat up slowly, covered in gray dust, and stared at the blinking message floating before his eyes.
"Okay," he muttered. "I'm definitely not in Kansas."
Suddenly, something growled behind him.
Cain turned—slowly.
A creature crawled over the bones. Eight limbs. No eyes. Skin like melted wax and a mouth filled with writhing tongues.
[Enemy Detected: Shardspawn.]
Cain's heart dropped. "I don't have any weapons! No stats! No powers!"
[Tip: Use the environment.]
The creature leapt.
Cain screamed and rolled, grabbing a nearby bone—long, jagged, maybe a femur.
He swung wildly, slashing across the creature's face. Black ooze sprayed onto the ground, sizzling.
It shrieked, stumbled, then lunged again.
Cain backed away, tripping over a corpse. The bone slipped from his hand. The Shardspawn loomed above him.
[10 Seconds to Impact…]
"No, no, no—"
Something flared in his chest.
A flicker of heat. A glow behind his eyes.
[Emergency Protocol Activated.]
[Chaos Spark Released.]
Cain's hand moved on instinct. He thrust it forward—and a sphere of black fire erupted from his palm, engulfing the creature in flames.
It screeched in agony as the fire devoured it, melting it into a puddle of tar and smoke.
Cain collapsed, gasping, watching the fire die down.
[Congratulations. You survived your first encounter.]
[Skill Acquired: Chaos Flame – Level 1.]
Cain panted, staring at the flickering message.
"Well… this is going to suck."
[Only 23 hours and 49 minutes left to survive.]