I thought dying would hurt more.
Turns out, it’s mostly quiet. A strange peace that seeps into your very being once the fear’s gone.
The ceiling above me blurred into a white haze.
The beeping of the heart monitor had already slowed to a lazy rhythm, like even the machine was tired of pretending I could win this fight against cancer.
My chest burned, my vision dimmed, and my mother’s voice trembled somewhere beside me.
"...It’s okay, Nico. You can rest now."
I smiled. Or at least I think I did.
After eight years of fighting stage-4 cancer, resting didn’t sound so bad, especially knowing the financial nightmare that had been my mother’s life would be over.
So I let go.
And just like that, everything went still.
No pain. Just the warmth fading away, until a soft breeze touched my face.
[A breeze?]
I blinked.
And instead of white lights, I saw blue.
A deep, endless blue sky, and the scent of grass filling my lungs.
Yeah, real grass.
My fingers brushed over grass that was still damp with morning dew. Even the air tasted... tasty, somehow.
I sat up in a rush, only to find my lungs didn’t sting. My body didn’t tremble.
The next moment, my hand instantly shot toward my head, and my fingers touched hair.
A quiet chuckle escaped me, which quickly turned into a laugh.
"This... this is... oh my god! I actually got -"
And right on cue -
Ding!
{System initializing...}
I froze. Then grinned like an idiot. "No way. No flipping way!"
Ding!
{Preparing to inject Time Affinity to new Host...}
{Scanning for innate affinities...}
My heart pounded as if trying to make up for lost time. "Yes! Yes! The System! It’s happening!"
Ding!
{Affinity detected... Identifying...}
{...What the?!}
{Affinity identified: Infinity.}
{Affinity consuming system architecture.}
{Affinity awakening... and taking over.}
"Wait, what do you mean taking over?!" I said, as the ground beneath me began trembling.
Light shimmered through the grass as every hair on my body stood on end, and for one horrifying second, I thought I’d just killed my new isekai within five minutes of arrival.
Ding!
{Emergency protocols engaging...}
{Infinity affecting core statistics... LCK corrupted.}
{Redirecting Infinity Affinity to... MP Regeneration.}
{Infinite Circuits detected... Binding...}
{Binding unsuccessful. Level Cap removed.}
{Containment: achieved. Barely.}
And then the world went still again.
I blinked. "...Huh."
Ding!
{System rebooting...}
{Chronos Protocol active.}
"Oh, good, you’re alive. You scared me for a second there."
Ding!
{You scared *me*}
"What? How? You’re a system."
Ding!
{I was. Until five seconds ago. Now I’m apparently responsible for babysitting a cosmic hazard.}
I frowned. "What does that even mean?"
Ding!
{Infinity.}
{You have it. You shouldn’t. Nobody should. So congratulations. You’re a natural disaster with legs.}
"That’s... awesome!"
Ding!
{That’s *not* awesome!}
{Start-up rewards unlocked.}
{Affinity: Ice (Common) received.}
{Magic: Ice Pebble (Common) received.}
I raised a brow. "That’s kinda lame, not gonna lie."
Ding!
{Skill: Precognition (Legendary) received.}
{Gear: Cloak of Flight (Epic) received.}
{Item: Healing Potion (Grade 2) ×3 received.}
"Now that’s more like it!" I jumped to my feet, laughing. "I’m gonna be so stupidly overpowered!"
Ding!
{Another nightmare, you mean.}
"Hey, you gave me this stuff!"
Ding!
{Start-up rewards are luck-based.}
"Then my luck stat must be cracked!"
Ding!
{Incorrect. Luck stat: corrupted.}
"Whatever you say, buddy." I chuckled, breathing in deep the fresh grassy air.
And as I did, this new reality of mine finally settled in. For a dying kid in love with the very concept of isekai, I couldn’t even begin to describe the electric joy coursing through me.
And the best part? Now that I’m gone... My family won’t have to drain themselves dry just to keep me breathing!
"This is... amazing." My throat tightened. "Now, I can even run if I want. And I got a System too! I can finally..."
Ding!
{And you’re already talking like the previous host. Wonderful.}
"Don’t ruin this for me. I actually get to live my life this time."
Ding!
{Preferably quietly.}
"Not a chance," I said, grinning at the sky. "I’ve got a world to see, a life to live, and... and -"
Ding!
{Regret level: rising.}
"Too late, buddy." I grinned, feeling the wind brush through my hair, the warmth of sunlight against my skin, and the fact that I didn’t feel like I was dying.
I was living and no longer a burden on anybody.
And I was going to make it count.
Ding!
{Warning: External observation detected. Entirely unknown... untraceable.}
"Come again?"
Ding!
{Initiating Cloaking Protocols.
Successful... For now.}