Adam's eyes snapped open.
He was staring at a cracked ceiling he recognized- his apartment. His own bed beneath him, the familiar smell of mold and old wood surrounding him.
"How..." he croaked, feeling his dry throat.
The last thing he remembered was collapsing on the sidewalk, the pain exploding through his skull like a bomb. Three hours of agony that had felt like three lifetimes.
And now he was here, in his room.
Adam sat up slowly, his body protesting every movement. He felt hollowed out, like someone had scooped out his insides and left only a fragile shell. His head throbbed with a dull ache enough to remind him it had been real.
"How did I get home?" he whispered to the empty room.
No answer came. Just the distant sounds of the city through his thin walls- traffic, voices, life continuing as if his world hadn't just shattered.
Adam swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat there, head in his hands, trying to make sense of everything.
"This is insane!" he muttered.
"How can a silly game cause me that much pain and..."
"A game?" A voice cut through his thoughts like a knife- smooth, seductive, dripping with amusement and something darker.
It wasn't coming from outside. It was inside his head, invasive, as if someone had whispered directly into his brain.
"Oh, my darling Adam. This is no game."
The voice was feminine, beautiful in the way a poisonous flower is beautiful, making his skin prickle with instinctive fear.
Adam shot to his feet, his eyes darting around the room.
"Who are you? Where are you?" Adam demanded, spinning around as if he could find the source.
"I'm everywhere you are, my chosen one. I'm in your mind, in your blood, in every breath you take." The voice replied and Adam's chest tightened as realization hit him.
"The voice from the void. You're... you're the one who brought me back."
"Yes. I found you dying in that gutter, forgotten and alone. I gave you a second chance. I gave you life. And now, my dear, I'm going to give you so much more." The voice replied smoothly, the words seeming to caress his mind.
"What do you want from me? And what are you?" Adam's voice shook.
A sound like laughter echoed in his skull- warm and cold at once then announced;
"I am Lira, the Goddess of Lust. And you, my beautiful nobody, are mine now."
"Goddess of lust? That's impossible..." Adam's laugh came out strangled and bitter.
"Impossible?" Her voice turned sharp, cutting. "You died and came back to life. You have a system that grants you money and power for completing tasks and you dare tell me what's impossible?"
Adam had no response for that because she was right so he just gulped hard. The voice continued;
"I want you to understand something very important, Adam. This isn't a game. This is your reality now. The system and the missions are as real as the money in your account."
The voice- Lira- softened again, becoming honey-sweet.
"I brought you back for a reason, Adam. I can give you all of that and more and I can make you everything you've ever wanted to be."
The words struck deep. She sounded like she knew every insecurity Adam had ever carried.
"And what do you get? Why do you need me to complete these missions? What's in it for you?" Adam blurted curiously.
A pause. For the first time, the voice hesitated.
"You'll find out soon enough. For now, all you need to understand is this: you belong to me. Your second chance came with a price, and that price is obedience." Lira finally said, and something in her tone made Adam's blood run cold.
"And if I refuse?" Adam's hands clenched into fists as defiance crept in yet his voice was slightly shaky.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
"Then you die. Slowly. Painfully. The punishment you just experienced? That was mercy, darling. That was discipline. True refusal brings something far worse. And death, when it finally comes, will be a relief you won't be granted quickly." Her voice was ice now, devoid of warmth.
Adam's throat went dry. "You can't---"
"I can. I will. You took the second chance I gave you. There's no going back now. You complete the missions I give you, or you suffer. Those are your only options."
"This is slavery," Adam whispered.
"This is survival." Lira's voice softened again, almost gentle.
"But it doesn't have to be terrible, my chosen one. Obey me, complete your tasks, and I will shower you with everything you've ever dreamed of."
"Wealth beyond measure. Fame that will make people remember your name for lifetimes. And pleasure- oh, the pleasure I can give you. Women who would never have looked at you twice will throw themselves at your feet. You'll know ecstasy you can't even imagine."
Adam's mind raced. Everything she was offering was everything he'd wished for in that gutter as he died. Everything he'd been denied his entire pathetic life.
But the cost...
"Think of it as a partnership," Lira continued, her voice like a caress. "You help me, I help you. I'm not cruel, Adam. I'm simply... disciplined. Follow the rules, complete your missions, and you'll have the life you always deserved. Isn't that worth the sacrifice?"
"What happens when I've completed all the missions?" Adam asked.
Another pause, longer this time.
"Cross that bridge when you come to it, darling. For now, focus on what matters: surviving. Thriving. Becoming."
She was avoiding the answer. Adam noted that, instantly picking up that she didn't want him to know whatever her endgame was, yet.
That terrified him more than anything else.
"Now," Lira's voice turned businesslike, "you've earned two hundred and fifty dollars from your first mission. Not a fortune, but enough to eat well for a change. Enjoy it, Adam. Celebrate your birthday properly."
"Another mission is coming very soon." She announced.
"And one last thing, know this, you can't escape me even if you try to because you're mine now."
"What---" Adam started, but he felt her presence retreating, withdrawing from the forefront of his mind.
The presence in his mind vanished, leaving behind only silence and the echoing memory of her words.
Adam sank back onto his bed, staring at nothing, as the full weight of his situation crashed down on him.
He was trapped.
Bound to a goddess who wanted to use him for purposes she wouldn't reveal. His second chance at life had come with chains he couldn't break.
"Forever," he whispered to the empty room.
For a long moment, Adam just sat there, drowning in despair.
Then, slowly, something else began to creep into his thoughts:
Wealth, fame, unlimited pleasure- everything he'd ever wanted, offered on a silver platter.
All he had to do was obey this unknown force.
"Maybe..." Adam said slowly, his voice barely audible.
"Maybe it won't be that bad. Maybe I can just... do the missions. Get rich and powerful then when I have enough... I can find a way out. Find someone who knows about this stuff and break the bond somehow."
The rationalization felt hollow even as he spoke it, but he clung to it desperately.
"I'll be smarter this time and complete the missions efficiently." he told himself firmly.
It was a plan. A terrible plan built on desperate hope, but a plan nonetheless.
Adam Reed had no idea that every compromise, every mission completed would drag him further into darkness.
~~~~~~~~
Two hours later, Adam stood in front of his bathroom mirror, barely recognizing himself.
He had gotten new clothes- a simple fitted black t-shirt and dark jeans from a discount store, but they made him look different. Better.
He'd eaten too. Fried chicken from a restaurant, not reheated scraps. His stomach was full for the first time in longer than he could remember, and the sensation was almost disorienting.
"This is what having money feels like," he said to his reflection, turning to check different angles.
His face looked less gaunt already, though that might have been his imagination. His posture was straighter. His eyes had a spark they'd been missing.
At that moment, the system screen materialized before him without warning and Adam's eyes blinked in flight.
---
NEW MISSION ASSIGNED
MISSION 002: THE ULTIMATE BETRAYAL
---
"Here we go!" Adam quickly braced himself, ready to take the instructions. After all he didn't have a choice.
The text continued scrolling;
---
Objective: Locate a couple celebrating their anniversary. Approach them and integrate yourself into their evening. Your task: Make the woman achieve climax while her partner remains present and unaware.
Time Limit: 8 hours
Reward: $5,000 + 10 Charm + 10 Magnetism + 8 Dominance + New Ability Unlocked
---
For several seconds, Adam could only stare at the screen, his mind refusing to process what he was reading.
Then it hit him all at once.
"What?" The word exploded from his throat.
He stumbled backward from the mirror, the system screen following his vision relentlessly.
"This is impossible!" Adam shouted at the screen, at the empty apartment, at the goddess he knew was listening.
Make a woman reach climax? In front of her boyfriend? On their anniversary? Without him noticing?
"NO! I won't do this. This is too far. Destroying someone's relationship, ruining their anniversary- I'm not that person!" He protested.
Lira's voice slithered back into his mind, cold and final.
"You're whoever I say you're."
The words were simple, matter-of-fact, and more terrifying for their casual delivery.
Adam gulped.
What would he do?