The faint hum of your ceiling fan barely masks the low volume of the YouTube video playing from your phone. The blue light dances on your skin as you scroll through another web novel chapter, your orange eyes catching their own reflection in the black screen between swipes.
Another overpowered protagonist.
Another system.
Another predictable rise to godhood.
You sigh, setting the phone down beside you.
"If I wrote one, it'd be different."
You think it—not in arrogance, but in longing. The world outside your apartment in San Juan is too normal. Too silent. You can feel your soul itching for something… more. Not just excitement. Not even fame. You want meaning—something that makes you feel like you're not wasting potential.
You close your eyes.
And then you begin to imagine.
First, you think of a power.
Not just any power—the ultimate one.
It would let you copy anything. Everything. Every trait, every skill, every divine concept from anyone or anything. And it wouldn't just stop there. You'd optimize it. Make it stronger than the original. Perfect it. Stack it. Combine it.
Omni-Mimicry.
"Yeah…" you murmur, smirking. "That's what I'd call it."
It sounds absurd. Broken, even. But that's the fun of it. It's fiction, after all.
You don't know when your fingers wrapped around the dull, black stone sitting on your shelf. You always thought it was just a weird souvenir from a flea market—something about it felt ancient, but unimportant. Right now, though, it's warm.
Too warm.
You look down.
And the stone is crumbling in your hand.
Dust falls between your fingers.
The room goes quiet. Your ears pop like you're on a plane. The air becomes… thick, like it's folding in on itself.
Your phone buzzes.
You pick it up, heart thudding.
[Congratulations. Your wish was grand.]
You blink.
"Huh?"
But the phone is off. Completely dead.
The message is burned into your vision like a dream you half-remember after waking up.
You stand slowly. Your body feels… different. Lighter, but more grounded. Like gravity is working differently for you now. Or maybe you're working differently against it.
Then everything turns white.
Blinding.
And you're gone.