Lianna woke up surrounded by pure white.
"Am I… in heaven?" she thought, dazed.
She turned her head in every direction, but there was nothing—no walls, no floor, no ceiling—just an endless stretch of glowing white.
Her heart raced as flashes of memories returned. I was on my way to the church... I was about to get married... And then—A car crash. Everything went black after that.
Her hands flew to her mouth in shock.
That witch was right after all. I really can't get married in this lifetime…
A hollow laugh escaped her lips. She could almost imagine her mother's furious face, and the board of directors fighting over her company back on Earth.
Lianna sighed, resigning herself to her fate.
Well… so this is how it ends, huh?
Just then—
"Ahem."
She froze. That voice—it wasn't hers.
Eyes wide, she scanned the white void.
And then, out of nowhere, poof!—a tiny flying panda with shimmering wings popped into existence like a soap bubble.
"Congratulations, Host!" the panda chirped in a voice far too cheerful for the situation.
"You have been selected for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! You are granted 100 lifetimes of challenges to accumulate good karma. If you succeed, you will have the chance to return to your original life—with a perfect husband of your choosing!"
Lianna blinked.
A flying panda? Wings? Good karma challenges? What kind of drug trip was this?
"Maybe… I'm just in a coma? Dreaming? Surely I'm not actually dead yet..." Lianna pinched her arm, but she couldn't even feel her body.
The panda did a few somersaults in the air before landing gracefully on an invisible platform.
"Oops, sorry for the shock! I got too excited. After all, this phenomenon is extremely rare. Only those strong enough to defy Heaven's will can trigger it."
"And you are?" Lianna asked, folding her arms suspiciously.
The panda puffed up its little chest proudly.
"I am Atheron-03! You can think of me as... a system guide—like those AI assistants you see in your scientific fantasy novels back on Earth. I'm here to help you navigate your karma-accumulating journey."
Lianna frowned, trying to absorb everything.
"So, let me get this straight: I died. And now I have to complete these karma challenges... to go back?"
"Exactly!" Atheron nodded so hard, its wings fluttered. "Think of it like a cosmic test!"
Lianna hesitated.
"What if I fail?" she asked, her voice quieter.
Atheron floated closer and began to explain, its tone unusually serious:
44/100 or below: Total erasure. Your soul will vanish completely. You will cease to exist.
45/100: You will become a wandering spirit—stuck in your world, unseen, slowly fading until you disappear forever.
50/100: You will return to life, but in a vegetative state—awake but unable to move, speak, or react.
65/100: You will awaken, but paralyzed from the waist down, forever bound to a wheelchair without hope of recovery.
75/100: You will regain consciousness with a frail, sickly body, prone to constant illness.
90/100: You will return with your original stressed body, as it was before the accident.
100/100: You will be fully restored, with a body even stronger than before—capable of living over a hundred vibrant years.
"And oh!" Atheron clapped its tiny paws. "As long as you reach 60/100 and above, you'll still have the chance to go back to your life and meet the perfect husband you desire!"
Lianna bit her lip thoughtfully.
It sounded almost too good to be true… but really, what did she have to lose?
"And the contract?" she asked.
With a snap of Atheron's paws, a scroll of golden paper and a shining pen materialized in midair.
Lianna caught them automatically.
Her name was already written in elegant cursive at the bottom.
She scanned the contract carefully.
Nothing seemed suspicious… but she didn't sign immediately.
"Wait," she said sharply. "Is this something every dead person goes through?"
Atheron shook its head.
"Nope! Only those cursed by Heaven's decree. Normally, those who are destined to suffer can't be helped. But this mission is Heaven's way of repaying you for enduring something you weren't meant to suffer."
Lianna blinked. Cursed? So all those failed relationships… the loneliness… the constant breakups…
It wasn't just bad luck, it was Heaven's will?
Her hands clenched tighter around the golden pen.
"So," she said slowly, "the challenge... is to marry the second male lead in every world?"
"Yes!" Atheron beamed.
"You can't touch the main leads. Interfering with them will bring you punishments depending on the severity of your actions!"
Lianna groaned dramatically.
"Seriously? This feels like one of those cliché romance novels my company publishes."
"Exactly!" Atheron spun gleefully in the air.
" You're basically living in your own series of magical worlds now! Don't worry, I'll be right by your side the whole way!"
Lianna took a deep breath.
This was crazy.
Insane.
Totally, absolutely ridiculous.
But also... thrilling.
And for once in her life, she decided to follow her instincts—not logic, not strategy, just pure gut feeling.
"Fine," she said, flashing a smirk. "Let's do it."
She signed her name with a dramatic flourish.
The golden scroll disappeared in a burst of stardust.
"Husband, here I come," she whispered under her breath, a playful glint in her eye.
"Let's make this dream worthwhile."
"First World: Activated."
Suddenly, the endless white faded into black—and Lianna was falling.