"WAKE UP!"
"GAH!"
Aiden launched forward and immediately tumbled off the bed.
Not just any bed.
The softest, most outrageously luxurious bed he had ever felt—pillows like clouds, sheets warmer than a lover's embrace. He hit the floor hard, limbs tangled, dignity gone before he could even figure out where he was.
Groaning, he pushed himself up and scanned the room.
Gold-trimmed walls. Tall windows showing a star-filled void. No doors. No people.
"…Hello?" he muttered.
Silence.
"No one's here…" Aiden said cautiously.
"Not true, new wish granter."
The voice came from everywhere—and nowhere.
"I am the embodiment of desire. I am the core of everything that wants something."
From empty space, a face appeared.
Aiden stared.
"…Why is it a smiley face emoticon."
🙂
All reverence died instantly.
It's just a dumb smiley face. Why is it so dumb?
The face twitched.
Then warped.
In an instant, the emoticon reshaped into a breathtaking woman—ethereal, cosmic eyes swirling with galaxies, beauty so overwhelming it hurt to look at.
"So rude," she said flatly. "Former mortals always expect gods or angels. I picked you on a whim."
"…A whim?"
"You died hilariously. I felt you deserved better."
"I—what?" Aiden froze. "I died?! How?!"
Memory slammed into him.
The drinking.
His idiot friend.
The dare.
"Oh no," he whispered. "No no no—"
"Oh yes," she said cheerfully. "Naked. Public park. Intoxicated. You managed to combine hypothermia, dehydration, and catastrophic poor decision-making."
Aiden screamed.
"NOOO! My family's going to see my corpse with my ass out!"
"Yes, yes," she waved it off. "Tragic. Memorable. But irrelevant."
She leaned closer.
"Because now, you get a new body. A new world. And a new job."
"…Job?"
"You'll be my intermediary. A wish granter."
Aiden stared at her, deadpan.
"…Am I magical or am I just improvising and hoping for the best?"
"You're magical," she sighed. "But not omnipotent. Desire isn't simple."
She snapped her fingers.
"There are many paths. Devils. Saints. Tricksters. Or… unorthodox solutions."
"So my only purpose is to grant wishes?"
"Yes."
"…That's it?"
"Well," she smiled, eyes gleaming, "you choose how. Grow stronger. Make mistakes. Ruin lives. Save others."
Aiden opened his mouth to argue—
And the world vanished.
"I'll even install a guide in your soul," her voice echoed. "Try not to die embarrassingly again."