The white void came gradually, like surfacing from deep water, and I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed.
My consciousness flickered back in pieces, assembling itself from whatever the fuck comes after death. I wasn't sure I had a body anymore but the memory of having one lingered, phantom sensations of flesh and bone.
"Well hell." A voice echoed through infinity, sounding almost impressed. "Didn't actually expect you to pull that trigger."
The void assembled itself into a fucking pachinko parlour of all places, and this... being manifested slowly. He looked like a high roller who'd spent too many decades at the tables and had seen everything one possibly could and beyond. Flowing robes covered in dice patterns, yeah, but worn like a gambler's lucky jacket, the kind you never wash because it's on a winning streak.
His face was just a screen that shifted between states, sometimes a roulette spin, sometimes just cascading numbers and a gacha wheel, even, and he radiated the energy of someone who'd seen every possible outcome and still found the game interesting.
"Where..." I tried to speak, realized I didn't have a mouth, but somehow spoke anyway because apparently physics was optional now. "Am I dead?"
"Extremely." The being manifested a throne of gold and velvet, then dropped into it like he had all the time in the world. "Bullet went straight through. You were gone before you hit concrete. Viktor's probably still staring at your corpse wondering if he needs to call cleanup or if he can just dump you in the river like all the others."
I processed this. Huh. So I really did it. Actually went through with it.
But first, the sight of this being clicked something in my memory, "Wait, wait, I think I saw your image on a Gacha site…aren't you him… The RNGesus?"
The being changes his posture to be more dignified as he raises his screen of a face "Well, well, my reputation precedes me. Yes Mortal… I AM HIM"
[Image Here]
Just as John was about to bow in this being's reverence, he heard a small squeak, "Gahh… I said it…I've always wanted to say it….Bet lady luck will finally be impressed!"
All reverence and respect left John's posture as he cupped his face with both his face muttering "Wallahi, I'm finished."
Causing the beings to take a second to understand the undertone, and he spoke in indignation, "Hey, that's not even my religion, and for Allah's sake, be respectful, it's Ramadan after all."
Jay lets go of his antics for a second and faces his reality.
"So what now? Is this the part where I get judged for my sins or whatever?"
"Now?" The being leaned forward, and I got the distinct impression he was grinning even though his face was currently showing a deck of cards being shuffled. "Now I make you an offer. See, I'm what you might call a professional gambler. Been running tables since before your omniverse had logic. I sponsor players sometimes, send them places, give them tools, and watch what happens. Entertainment, you know? Gets boring being omnipotent if you don't spice things up."
"What kind of places?"
"Other worlds. Entertainment for me and the others." The being gestured and the void rippled, and I felt presences watching from beyond the edges of perception, like eyes in the dark. "We call ourselves ROBs. Random Omnipotent Beings for short. We get together, watch mortals try to beat impossible odds. Some of us rig the game, some make it harder just to see you squirm. Me?" He smiled. "I keep it pure. Pure Gamble that is. You get what the dice give you. No cheating."
"They're watching now?" as I looked everywhere but could only see those damn pachinko machines flickering lights all about.
"Oh yeah. Word got out that I found a kid worthy of my gift. You're trending in the group chat. The ROBs are taking bets on what you'll do next." RNGesus stood, and reality assembled itself around us like stage props. "They want to see what you'll do with a second chance."
A wheel materialized. Massive, easily the size of a building, covered in labels that blurred and shifted like a slot machine from hell or heaven, in my case.
I could feel the weight of potential worlds spinning past, and that old familiar pull started again. That itch.
"This is the World Wheel," RNGesus said. "Decides where you go. Could drop you somewhere easy, could drop you somewhere that'll kill you in thirty seconds. That's the beauty of it. Pure randomness."
I watched the wheel. Even dead, I felt that familiar pull. The gambler's instinct that had destroyed my life and ended with my brains on a warehouse floor. "And what do I get in exchange for your entertainment?"
"Ohh, haggling with Gods are we? Very well, I like cheeky brats like you. You go in with what the Chaos Gacha gives you. It pulls from the infinite selection from the multiverse itself." RNGesus snapped his fingers, and a smaller wheel appeared with Five sections, namely Abilities, Traits, Skills, Items, and Familiars on it. Along with that Three golden tickets materialised in my hands.
"It's the standard Starter pack. Three pulls worth of Gold rarity. Could be trash, could be super useful. Won't know till you spin, and that's half the fun, isn't it? The anticipation."
RNGesus spun a glowing coin across his fingers and glanced at John.
"And a quick rundown on Feats."
He flicked the coin into the air and it turned into three golden gacha tickets.
"A feat is anything impressive you pull off. Big fights, crazy risks, impossible wins. The kind of stunt that makes the ROBs actually look up from whatever nonsense they're watching."
John nodded. He already guessed the type.
RNGesus continued.
"So remember this," he said, tossing the glowing ticket to John.
"Do something impressive, keep the ROBs entertained, and the house pays out."
The Pachinko bar held its breath as I felt the ROBs watching, waiting to see what I'd choose, and I realized something:
I'd never really had a choice before. Family picked my life, decided what schools I'd attend, what connections I'd make, what future I'd have. Addiction picked my death, dragged me down until the only way out was a gun barrel. This was the first time someone offered me a real gamble with a damn real choice.
"Let's see what we're working with first," I said. "Spin the World Wheel, please."
RNGesus grinned wide. "Now you're speaking my language."
The massive wheel spun, and worlds blurred past:
Warhammer 40K (grimdark nightmare where everything wants to kill you, HELL TO THE FUCK NO). The Boys (too depressing and I'd probably end up as collateral damage covered up by some PR manager). DC Universe (reality breaks every Tuesday there, plus they have that strict rule of no killing, and I wouldn't gel with that). Marvel (cosmic threats on rotation and somehow even worse than DC). Worm (fascinating worldbuilding but Jesus Christ that's brutal). My Hero Academia (Ah, I could use this one). Naruto (Nah, Boruto ruined the power scaling for the verse). Solo Levelling (tempting as long as I don't get on Jin Woo's bad side and have him Mogg all over me).
The wheel slowed, ticked past danger zones, but then the friendly worlds, and I held my nonexistent breath.
It finally stopped on one label.
"Invincible," RNGesus announced as 777 rolled on his screen.
My stomach dropped, which was impressive considering I was pretty sure I didn't have one. Viltrumites. Fucking Viltrumites who could punch through planets. Omni-Man playing house while planning a Global Takeover. An entire empire of near-immortal warriors who'd conquered thousands of planets.
But... the world had rules. Clear power scaling and no reality-bending comic nonsense like DC or Marvel. Better than cosmic entities rewriting reality because they were sad or because a writer needed a plot device.
"Could be worse," I said, trying to convince myself.
"Could be way worse." RNGesus gestured at the golden tickets. "Now, let's see what tools you get. Rip and pray to me that you get something good."
I tore the first ticket, and text appeared in front of my eyes like a game interface:
[Call to Arms]
|Elite Ability|
Upon use, Call to Arms rolls the corresponding Familiar gacha to temporarily grant you a familiar to fight by your side for the duration of 1 hour, after which they will disappear. At 1 Ability Slot, you pull a familiar from the Bronze gacha, 2 slots = Silver, 3 Slots = Gold, 4 Slots = Platinum and caps out at 5 slots = Diamond Gacha. 24 Hour cooldown.
Note: Player begin with one Ability Slot, which determines the number of active abilities you can use. Each ability uses one slot. Swapping an ability triggers a 5-minute cooldown for that specific slot before it can be changed again.
I suddenly felt a sting in myself as if elevating me from normal to everything beyond it, as I feel a connection to the Gacha Wheel more intimate than before, especially when I see the familiars in the possible options as if ready to respond to my Bec and call, albeit only to the rare and below types.
I examined this, my mind already racing through possibilities. Temporary backup with their Quality only increases as I grow my ability slots or whatever these are. Strategically flexible, but still, I could pull cannon fodder or could pull something powerful.
"Okay, this is... actually pretty versatile. I can work with this. But what are these ability slots and how can I grow them?"
RNGesus replies, "Oh right, I forgot to tell you. By default, you start with one Ability Slot, Ability Slots dictate how many abilities you can have active and use at once, every ability occupies a single ability slot and switching out an ability from an Ability Slot makes it go into a 5-minute cooldown before you can switch that specific slot again. By default you start with a single ability slot and gain a new ability slot every 5 abilities you have by default but you can decide to do it some other way."
I nod, "Hmm, that's pretty methodical to stop me from a power creep…"
Then I moved on to the second ticket and tore it as another screen appeared before me, as the Gacha hell rolls again
[Chaos Response]
|Elite Trait|
Your existence is chaos as defined by the chaos gacha, automatically causing feedback to whatever tries to peek into your existence. Future seeing gets scrambled and incoherent, abilities that try to read into you will malfunction and trying to read your mind will cause them a great headache at minimum.
I feel a dome of sorts wrap around my brain and fit perfectly between the grey matter and my skull.
"A bit on the weaker side, but really good defernse," I muttered, thinking out loud. "Only helps against psychics and precogs. From what I remember, Invincible's more flying bricks and sci-fi tech than mental powers, but... better to have it than not. Blocks intel gathering at least. Can't predict what they can't see clearly."
RNGesus laughed. "Already thinking tactically. Good. You'll need that. And now the last one."
I ripped the third ticket without any ceremony as it turned to light and condensed into my arms as a vial of blue liquid.
[Modified Compound V]
|Rare Item|
The Boys - Upon consuming this, the drinker will gain a random ability from the Gold Gacha that they can use even when in ability storage.
On the one hand, I was happy that I essentially got an ability roll without the need to use up an ability slot, but on the other hand, I was a bit disappointed, as if this was a normal ability it would have been sweet to increase the ability count and quickly get another ability slot to increase my familiar summoning pool from the gacha.
"This is the real gamble," I said quietly. "Everything hinges on this pull. One random ability that could save my life or be completely worthless."
"Exactly." RNGesus's grin widened, and I could tell he was enjoying this. "You could drink it now, take your chances and see what you get. Or..." He paused, letting the tension build. "You could ask for a reroll."
Silence stretched throughout the parlour as the Pachinko machines suddenly stopped.
Support my work and get early access to 20+ chapters, exclusive content, and bonus material at my P@treon - Max_Striker.
If you wanna hang out, join my Discord server- https://discord.gg/XxGEYk2PM5