Chapter 01 : The soul - Debt Ledger
The humid air of Bhopal felt heavy, but for Arjun, the weight of his debt was heavier. ₹1.2 Million. It was a number that haunted his dreams and bled into his reality.
CRACK!
The wooden door of his rented room splintered. Rana Singh, a man whose neck was thicker than Arjun's thigh, stepped in with two goons.
"Arjun, my patience has run out. Pay up, or I'll take your organs as interest," Rana growled, his hand reaching for Arjun's collar.
Arjun backed into the corner, clutching his mother's last gold bangles. 'Is this it? Is this how a failure's life ends?'
Suddenly, time froze. The dust in the air stopped moving. Rana's fist was inches from Arjun's face, locked in place.
[Ding! WPC Protocol Detected: Daily Life in Another World.]
[The Universe is in imbalance. Too many souls have cheated death. Too many debts are unpaid.]
[Do you, Arjun, accept the role of the Universal Debt-Collector?]
"If it saves me from this... YES!" Arjun screamed.
[Contract Signed. Initializing World Transfer...]
The room dissolved into blue light. Arjun felt his body being pulled through a vacuum. When his feet hit the ground again, the air was different—it smelled like ozone and crushed lavender.
He wasn't in Bhopal. Above him, two pale moons hung in a violet sky. He was standing in the middle of a bustling marketplace, but the people weren't human. Creatures with cat-like ears, tall beings with glowing skin, and hulking armored figures moved about.
[Welcome to Aethelgard: The City of Infinite Echoes.]
[Your 'Daily Life' as a citizen begins now. To survive here, you must collect.]
A heavy, black leather book appeared in Arjun's hand. The 'Ledger of Sin'.
[Current Task: Integrate into daily life. Your first target is nearby.]
[Target: Borin the Stout (Dwarf). Occupation: Blacksmith.]
[Debt: 10 Years of Life Essence. Reason: Forbidden Alchemy.]
Arjun looked at his reflection in a nearby fountain. His tired eyes now had a faint blue glow. He realized that in this "Another World," he wasn't a victim anymore. He was the one holding the bill.
Walking toward a smoking forge nearby, Arjun tightened his grip on the Ledger. "Bhopal or Aethelgard... the rules are the same. You take a loan, you pay the price."
He stepped into the blacksmith's shop. "Master Borin? I believe your payment is overdue."