— Deep into the night, within Jin's dreamscape —
A massive cosmic door stood erect in front of Jin. It contained within its sharp edges mysteries far beyond human understanding, exhibiting an attractive force that pulled everyone and everything into its orbit.
In this world Jin called the Dreamscape, there was only this gate-like cosmic door and an endless empty sea. And each and every night, he would find himself in this world, staring up at the door, unable to speak and unable to pull his gaze away from its transcendental edges.
Then he would open his eyes, finding himself back in the same shitty room he had been living in for years.
"Why always that dream…?" Jin sighed, rolling out of bed.
Forcing a smile on his face, he prepared himself for the day.
The crappy, worn-out toothbrush was used together with some green sludge-water. A shower was taken, also with some lovely green sludge-water. And then came breakfast, which included, but was not limited to, green sludge-water and green sludge-paste.
All in all, a very nutritious and hygienic morning!
Now it was time to carry over that same awesomeness to the workforce, as a long day of seeing how long it took to die was about to commence!
However, just then, a blue light flickered from a neighbor's window.
Curious, Jin glanced over.
The moment he saw what was playing on the neighbor's blue holographic entertainment screen, his face drained of color. He stumbled backward, the words and images searing themselves into his mind, looping over and over.
"A chapel, previously thought abandoned, has been found destroyed, with over fourteen casualties discovered, including numerous children and a… nun."
"Ah, we've just received new updates regarding this tragic incident. The culprit has been found and executed on the spot."
"Here is an image of the criminal prior to execution. This is the Frenzied Maniac Murderer. Though extremely dangerous, our stellar government police force has taken him down for good."
"Citizens of this District, there's no need to worry! No need to fret…"
The reporter's voice droned on, but Jin couldn't hear any of it. It was as if the world had gone silent, the air around him thick, pressing in on his ears, until all he could hear was the frantic pounding of his own heart.
"H…How can this…" His voice cracked as the words left his lips.
He couldn't understand. Just yesterday, he'd been there, sharing a warm meal with all of them, hearing laughter, seeing smiles. Now, not even twenty-four hours later, he was the only one at that table still alive.
It felt as if the sky was collapsing around him.
Everything he'd endured in this shitty life, all the reasons he kept going—gone. Just like that.
"No!"
He refused to believe it.
He needed to see it with his own eyes.
And so, that's exactly what he did.
Instead of going to work that day, Jin made his way to the chapel.
But when he arrived, there were no cheerful children running about. There was no beautiful nun waiting at the doorway with a radiant smile.
There was only… ruin.
Thud!
Jin fell to his knees, the entirety of his life up to that moment flashing before his dull, lifeless eyes.
As the day turned to night, he remained there, unmoving, knees pressed into the dirt, hands limp at his sides.
At some point, he lifted his head, staring up at the endless, indifferent stars above. A hateful glare flickered in his cold, golden eyes.
"What Chosen One!? What Son of Heaven!?" he screamed at the sky, his voice raw, cracking, echoing through the empty streets. He didn't care about the Merit System anymore. He didn't care about the Goddesses watching.
"My destiny!?"
"Fuck destiny!!"
"And fuck the heavens!!"
When his screams finally broke, leaving his throat burning and dry, he lowered his head, shoulders slumping, arms dangling at his sides.
"I… I'm a nobody… stranded on a nobody planet, in a nobody system…"
That was it.
He was done.
This was the final straw in his miserable, joke of a life. And come tomorrow, there would be no more Jin Stratus in this world.
However, just then, deep within the Dreamscape, a door of ultimate cosmic proportions suddenly had its outer rim light up like a Christmas tree.
BLING—!
What followed would forever alter the course of Jin's life, as bright lights flashed all around him.
[Congratulations, Destined One of Ascension, you have awakened with the Infinite Myriad Realms System!]
"The what—!?"
This wasn't the usual voice of the Goddess of Wisdom! What had invaded his mind!?
[Do keep in mind that these are all automated messages. The Infinite Myriad Realms System is not sentient.]
[Displaying System Interface of the Host…]
BLING!
[Name: Jin Stratus]
[Identity: Holder of the Myriad Realms Gate]
[Bound Talent: Against-Heaven's Understanding]
[Realm: None]
[Current Status: Consciousness Stabilized]
[Remaining Residence Time: N/A]
[Dimensional Descent: Ready (Consciousness only)]
Jin was flooded with unfamiliar information, bypassing his sight and directly transmitting into his brain. And in mere moments, everything concerning his System Interface, as well as the rest of the System, transferred over.
Opening his once startled eyes, a kind of serenity could be sensed within them.
Even the impact caused by the deaths of the only people close to him in this life had been greatly reduced.
"The ability to travel between space and time, across dimensions and layers of reality. That is the Door to the Myriad Realms."
"The bound talent allowing me to comprehend anything and everything, with higher upper limits depending on my strength. That is Against-Heaven's Understanding."
With both together, Jin really had become the destined son of heaven.
However, for some reason, this revelation didn't excite him as much as he originally thought it would…
Unconsciously, his golden-shaded eyes traveled over to the ruins of the chapel. Faint bloodstain marks could still be glimpsed on the rubble, left behind by the mass murderer that decided to take the last of what he had in this world.