The rain was a flood against the city streets, persistent and cold. Kaizen's bike moved through puddles, leaving water spray behind like a wake of chaos. Behind him, the officers shouted, trying to catch up, but their tires turned in vain. Every sharp turn, every diverge, left them further behind.
"Follow me if you really want to see a rift." Kaizen said grinning under his soaked helmet. "You jackasses want to see a rift...I'll show you a rift," he muttered.
Kaizen led the officials into a dead-end alley he picked, his friends on the other hand were in safer alleys already heading home. "There it is!" he shouted but he pointed at the puddle-filled nothingness in front of them.
"This is.... nothing," they cursed storming forward.
Kaizen waved. "Exactly. Nothing."
Before they could react, he turned his bike around and disappeared into the storm, the rain masked the screech of his tires.
Home never felt so good, even in the rainstorm. He kicked the bike stand, drenched and exhausted, and stumbled inside. His sister, balanced on the couch like the queen of sass, looked up and smirked.
"You smell… different," she said, voice dripping sarcasm. "Go take a bath, or do you plan on infecting the couch?"
Kaizen growled. "Yeah, because a bath fixes existential terror. Hilarious. Very funny."
"I know, right?" she smirked. "Go on. Or I'll keep mocking you."
Rolling his eyes, he went to the bathroom, scrubbing away rain, sweat, and blood. By the time he collapsed onto his bed, he was numb. Adrenaline made sleep impossible, but exhaustion pulled him anyway.
Suddenly, a metallic, resonating voice filled the room:
"SYSTEM ACTIVATED… NEW INHABITANT DETECTED… RELIC LINK ESTABLISHED… INITIALIZING PARAMETERS…"
Kaizen bolted upright. "What the—?!"
He grabbed his phone. "Sis! Did you call me?"
Her laugh floated from the couch. "Nope. But I could have. Very funny, right?"
Kaizen frowned. "Haha. Very funny. Real ha-ha. Shut up now."
Before he could lie back down, the room lit up with a soft blue glow. A holographic interface emerged above his bed, twelve panels floating and dancing, pulsing like they had a heartbeat of their own.
SYSTEM INTERFACE – INHABITANT: KAIZEN
Stat - Current Value
[Level - 1]
[Life % - 75]
[Stamina - 100]
[Mana - 10]
[Strength - 5]
[Agility - 8]
[Intelligence - 6]
[Defense - 4]
[Luck - 3]
[Charisma - 2]
[Critical % - 1]
[Experience - 0]
Kaizen's jaw dropped. Stamina 100% and everything else looked like he just crawled out a womb.
"Wait… why is my stamina full? And everything else looks like I was just born five minutes ago."
A humid laugh echoed, soft and mischievous. The succubus avatar []appeared, levitating gracefully, relic glowing in her chest. Her aura pressed against him like gravity had betrayed the world.
Kaizen froze. He could vividly remember her. "Oh...you."
She tilted her head, a smirk tugging her lips. "Wow. A guy like you… Stamina at 100%. Impressive. If I were human, I'd check that out myself."
Kaizen choked and paused. "Stop saying things like that! Seriously. Stop."
"Why?" she purred. "Afraid you can't handle me?"
"Afraid I'll throw you out the window!" he snapped. "Or myself. Probably myself."
"Most guys don't even last five minutes. But you, you seem you can handle 3 harem systems single handedly." She said smirking.
"Yah, tell me about it. Just a while ago, I was surrounded by 4 witches and now I have a lewd spirit tellin' me what to do, my life could not get any better." He replied just trying to match her vibe.
Her laugh was musical, dangerous. "All my years of waiting, and I get… you."
Kaizen groaned. "Perfect. Just perfect. I'm officially screwed."
She floated closer, aura spinning, eyes molten gold. "Do you even know what you've just inherited?"
"Not really," he admitted. "Except apparently a system that hates me and makes me look like a newborn in every stat but stamina."
Her laugh echoed, teasing, mocking, playful. "You'll learn. The relic chose you for a reason. You have potential, even if right now it's...laughable."
Kaizen stared at the holographic stats. "Potential? Look at these numbers! Mana 10? Strength 5? Defense 4? I swear I'd be better off fighting a squirrel than a water snake with these fuckin' stats."
She floated closer, letting her aura brush him. "Yes, but your stamina… that impressed me. A man who can endure as much as you… rare. So rare, I really wish I was human. Would've checked it out myself. Poor Shame."
Kaizen coughed. "Okay… seriously. Tone down the weirdness."
Her laugh echoed, teasing, mocking, playful. "You think I'm done? Oh no, Kaizen. We're just getting started."
Kaizen paced, pointing at the stats. "Explain the rank system. Seriously. C, D, B, S… what does it even mean? Why is everything so low, and why is stamina full?!"
She smirked. "Ranks determine your survival potential. Strength, intelligence, agility… all measurable. C and D are basically average or below average. B is good. S… well, S is godlike. My point is, the rank have their ladder. You go from D-C-B-A-S-SS-SSS then Legendary which is almost impossible to reach. You start at 1 because… why make it easy?"
Kaizen muttered curses under his breath. "Thanks for the pep talk. Very motivating."
She leaned in, smirk softening to something almost affectionate. "It's a game, Kaizen. A dangerous, brutal, fucked-up game. And you're in it now."
He groaned. "Yeah. Thanks. I feel super ready for death already."
Her chuckle was a whisper against his mind. "You'll learn, you'll adapt. And maybe… impress me along the way."
Kaizen blinked. "Stop saying things like that!"
Her grin widened. "Why? Afraid?"
Kaizen groaned, lying back on the bed. "Very funny. Hilarious. You're cruel and beautiful and… ugh, shut up."
She floated above, eyes glinting. "And Kaizen… one more thing…"
The system pulsed. Holographic stats shined. The room played with power. Kaizen's heart raced.