'What is this feeling?'
'I can still think? I'm supposed to be dead. That bullet tore straight out the back of my head. Maybe I'm in the ICU or something... but if I were really dead, I shouldn't be able to think at all.'
'But for Zara to lace my pill and then shoot me in the fucking head…' Liam's thoughts churned like a storm.
'Even if the boss forced her, she could've warned me back at the facility. I would've taken that bastard out myself. Doesn't matter how I look at it—betrayal is betrayal, no matter the reason.'
Suddenly, his eyes flew open. A blinding light hit them immediately.
'Is this… heaven?' he wondered as he turned his head instinctively.
'Left, right... left again—wait. My neck moves?'
He looked up at the sky, and what he saw was unlike anything he had ever seen. There was no sun. Instead, the sky shimmered with radiant waves of color, an aurora that danced like silk across the sky. The light wasn't warm or cold. It just… was.
His gaze dropped to his arms, they were translucent, glowing faintly, like some ethereal phantom.
'I must be in heaven… or maybe awaiting judgment for everything I've done. But this isn't how either was ever described.'
Liam slowly stood, glancing around. Then his eyes locked onto something in the distance—a towering structure not too far off.
'That looks like a temple. What the hell is going on?' he wondered, but his legs moved instinctively, drawing him toward it.
With every step, he noticed something strange. No pain. No heartbeat. No breath. No resistance. Time didn't seem to exist here. He walked, but it felt like floating through a dream.
As he neared the structure, he realized it wasn't a temple after all. It looked like a house—only far larger than any he had ever seen. The frame, the windows, the proportions… everything about it was off and uncanny.
But it was a house. A massive one.
From within, the soft, distinct sound of an instrument drifted through the air.
'A Pipa? Is that a Pipa being played?'
Liam quickened his pace. After what felt like an eternity, he finally stood before the house. Seated on an enormous rocking chair was a bald, bearded old man—long white beard flowing like river threads—and he was the one playing the Pipa.
He looked like someone who had failed NcDonald's retirement multiple times. But what truly stunned Liam was the size of the man. Even while seated, the old man was colossal, his chair alone could have crushed a truck.
Flanking him were two massive women, kneeling in perfect Seiza posture, each calmly massaging his shoulders. Their scale was equally unnerving. Compared to them, Liam felt like a raccoon gawking up at a pair of statues.
'I don't know what the hell is happening… but these people—no, these beings—they're probably gods,' Liam thought, taking a hesitant step forward.
None of them looked his way. They didn't even acknowledge his presence.
And so, Liam steeled his nerves, clenched his fists, and stepped forward to confront them.
"Hello?! At least don't ignore me! I know I died, and me being here has everything to do with you!" Liam yelled, his voice echoing into the vast, strange atmosphere.
The old man abruptly stopped strumming the Pipa and turned to look at Liam. The two women beside him also turned, their eyes locking onto Liam like twin blades piercing straight into his soul.
"How dare a mere mortal interrupt a god in his leisure?! Do you have a death wish?!" they bellowed, their voices thunderous enough to shake Liam's very essence despite having no physical body.
But instead of anger, the old man began laughing, a soft, knowing chuckle that contrasted the wrathful aura around him.
"This," he said, "is why I chose you, human. That unshakable confidence—it's astounding for your kind." His voice was calm but carried weight, like a whisper that could split mountains if he willed it.
"You two may leave," he instructed the women.
As they stood, Liam's eyes widened. Each of them towered over him at nearly fifteen feet tall. Their departure left behind only silence and the old man's calm gaze.
Liam remained frozen, still trying to process everything.
"You were right. You died," the old man finally said. "And I brought you here."
The words struck like lightning. But Liam didn't hesitate.
"Why?" he asked.
The old man gave a sly smile. "Oi, oi. Because you're the perfect lab rat—I mean, specimen —for my research."
Fear crept up Liam's spine—or whatever served as his spine in this strange form. Horrific images from movies flooded his mind—dissections, cruel experiments, twisted research.
"W-What kind of specimen?" he managed to ask.
"Well, I want to send you to another world. One unlike your previous one. A world of Systems."
"Systems… another world…" Liam muttered, his mind spinning. He'd read enough isekai comics and novels to recognize the idea—but living it? That was another matter.
"As you have likely guessed, I'm a god," the old man continued. "But my influence only extends to the world I'm sending you to. There, gods like me are system developers. We create Systems—mechanical-magical constructs designed to integrate with mortals. The more users we attract, the more powerful and influential we become."
He paused, then sighed.
"But I failed. Again and again. Every system I built was trash—until recently, when I finally created one that worked. The problem was that I couldn't find a compatible host. I searched through millions of souls. Then, one day, I sensed yours—resonating through one of my lost artifacts in your world. You were a perfect match. So, I bent the rules and brought you here."
Liam stood in silence, mind reeling.
'The artifact…' His eyes widened. 'The Obsidian relic we stole from the research facility… that was it.'
But instead of awe, his expression darkened.
"So let me get this straight," he said slowly. "You saved me just because I was useful. Because you couldn't make a working system and needed a guinea pig. You would rather rip me out of life than let me die in peace."
The old man's jaw tensed. A flicker of anger passed through his glowing eyes, but he restrained himself. Killing Liam would waste everything.
Liam, despite the surge of nerves inside, saw his chance—and pushed it.
His gaze slid to a golden jar on the balcony, near the old man. Something about it screamed valuable. His instincts as a thief practically tingled.
"You want me to do this? Then sweeten the deal," Liam said, his arms folded. "Or kill me again. Your choice."
The old man sighed in exasperation. "Don't act like you haven't been eyeing my Nectar this whole time. Even in soul form, you're trying to rob a god? Petty thief."
Liam blinked. 'He can read minds too?!'
Still, he smirked. "Give me that jar, and I'll take your system."
The old man narrowed his eyes. "Do you even know what it is? That Nectar took centuries to gather. You don't even know what it does!"
But seeing Liam unmoved, he relented with another sigh.
"Fine. I'll give it to you. But you'll receive it after the transfer—once you're in the new world."
"How do I know you're not bluffing?" Liam shot back.
"I don't lie. I've already told you more than most mortals could comprehend. And as a bonus—you'll retain your past memories."
Liam nodded slowly. A warm light began to envelop his body. It grew brighter until his form dissolved into sparkling golden dust and vanished.
The old man leaned back in his chair, shaking his head with a dry chuckle.
"Jajaja… poor soul. He could've asked for anything else but he chose the Nectar. And to think… I'm actually giving him a broken system that doesn't make any damn sense."