Evan jerked his hand back as the screen flared.
It wasn't just bright; the light was physically heavy, bleeding out of the bezel like liquid gold.
[ Welcome to the Emperor System ]
Evan didn't force a restart. He didn't check for malware.
Malware was messy.
Malware was code written by bored teenagers in basements. But this?
This had hijacked the kernel without dropping a single frame, rewriting the OS with a resolution that shouldn't be physically possible on this cheap LCD screen.
"Beautiful," Evan whispered, bringing the phone closer to his face.
He wasn't scared. He was fascinated. For the first time in his life, he was looking at something he couldn't immediately deconstruct. The world was usually so dull, so predictable. But this… this was a challenge.
[ System Activation Complete. ]
[ Bio-Metric Scan: Confirmed. ]
[ User: Evan Kyros. ]
He read the text, his mind racing.
"The Emperor System," he murmured. "So it is really a system."
The entity in the void had promised him a path to the throne. Evan had expected a weapon, or maybe a guide.
Instead, he got a system. A real system.
That made him wondered how advanced the ancient civilization had been.
[ Congratulations, Evan Kyros. You have been chosen as the sole recipient of the Emperor System. ]
Evan read the line twice, a slow grin cutting across his face.
"Sole recipient," he tested the words.
He felt a rush of adrenaline. If this was a lie, it was a boring one. But if it was true… He thought back to the vision—the fall of Emperors and Empresses.
"Sole recipient implies I'm the only one with this tool," Evan said, his eyes narrowing in calculation. "A unique variable."
Then, he remembered the previous notifications. One of them being Bio-Metric Scan. He was curious He looked at his hand, then back at the glowing screen.
"It wasn't scanning my fingerprint," he realized, the puzzle pieces clicking together with a satisfying snap. "It was scanning my DNA. That's the authentication key."
That was when another realization hit hit. "The 'blood' Chaos mentioned."
He laughed, a short, breathless sound.
"Okay. You have my attention."
The text faded, and the screen shifted. It wasn't a wall of code anymore. It looked like a character selection screen from a high-end RPG, but the graphics were too real, pulsing with a golden heartbeat.
[ Please Select Your Path. ]
Three cards flipped over on the screen.
I. The ApexThe Unbreakable Body. Godly strength, speed, and stamina.
II. The NexusThe Elemental King. Control over fire, water, earth, and wind.
III. The AurumThe Golden Rule. Infinite wealth.
Evan stared at the options, tapping his finger against the side of the phone. "Okay," he muttered, a spark of interest lighting up his eyes.
"So I can be Superman, a Wizard, or… Batman."
He hovered his finger over The Apex. Not dying sounded good. Then he looked at The Nexus. Bending reality was the ultimate puzzle.
But then he looked at his room. The mold in the corner. The crushing debt hanging over his parents.
"Super strength doesn't pay rent," Evan said softly. "And throwing fireballs gets you locked in a government lab."
In this world, money was the only real superpower.
Evan reached out to tap the Aurum card.
But before his finger touched the glass, the screen shifted. It didn't glitch or panic; it simply expanded the selection frame to encompass all three cards, sliding into a higher clearance level.
[ Selection Protocol Update. ]
[ User Rights: First Emperor Main Lineage (Verified). ]
[ System Logic: The First Emperor did not choose. He conquered all. ]
[ Restriction Lifted: Omni-Ascension Unlocked. ]
Evan pulled his hand back.
"This is insane," he muttered. "I really need to thank my ancestor."
[ Clarification: You possess the Potential for the Trinity. ]
[ However, current physique is too weak. You must choose one Path to max out immediately. The others will be unlocked but remain dormant until the time is right. ]
"I see," Evan nodded, his mind instantly mapping the mechanics. "The classic 'early game build' decision."
It was an easy calculation for him.
He looked at The Apex one more time. Physical perfection.
Evan flexed his right hand. The memory of the void was still fresh—the way the smoke was beaten. He had sent a supernatural creature flying five meters with a clumsy, untrained shove.
I'm already stronger, he realized. Maybe it is enough for now. I can grind.
He looked at The Nexus. Magical dominance.
All the Candidates were able to wield at least one elemental power, Evan reasoned. I'll definitely be able to do so, too.
But The Aurum?
Evan looked around his rotting apartment once again.
You couldn't 'train' a million dollars into existence overnight. You couldn't bench-press your way out of poverty. Capital was the elusive variable, the fuel that made everything else possible. Without money, he'd waste half his life just trying to survive the week.
"I'll take the resources," Evan said, his voice decisive. "I already have the strength to survive a fight. Right now, I need the power to buy the board."
He pressed the card for The Aurum.
[ Path Selected: The Aurum (Tier 1). ]
[ Reward: Unlimited Capital Access // Tier 1 Cap: $1,000,000,000. ]
Evan watched the numbers roll on the screen.
[ Processing Transaction… ]
[ +$999,999,653.70 successfully deposited. ]
"Specific," Evan chuckled, noting the precision. "It just topped me off to a clean billion. Nice accounting."
He didn't wait. He minimized the golden crown icon and opened his actual banking app, Novan Trust. He needed to verify the data in the real world.
The app loaded instantly.
[ Account Balance: $1,000,000,000.00 ]
"It's there," he whispered, the reality of the number settling in.
He tapped the transaction history. A billion dollars didn't just appear; it had to come from somewhere. If this was a hack, he was a dead man. If it was a gift, he needed to know the benefactor.
[ Source: Heaven Corporation - Dividend Payout ]
Evan froze. The grin vanished. His eyes sharpened into razor blades.
"Heaven Corporation."
He looked away from the screen, his gaze drifting to the window. There was no massive tower visible from his cheap apartment—he was too deep in the slums for that—but their presence was heavier than any building.
He looked at the empty nutrient paste packet on his desk. Product of Heaven Corp.
He looked at the logo on his cheap internet router. Powered by Heaven Corp.
They owned the food, the weapons, the banks, and the airwaves. Everything. They were the atmosphere the world breathed. Only a few dared to rival them. And they just paid him a dividend.
"Dividends are for shareholders," Evan murmured, his brain connecting the dots at terrifying speed. "Dividends are for the owners."
He looked back at the phone, his mind racing back to the vision of the Emperors. The others, they had felt alien. Ancient. Like they belonged to different timelines or worlds altogether.
But the Emperor System chose Heaven Corporation.
Something from Earth. Something from this world.
"Was the First Emperor… from here?" Evan whispered.
It implied that the First Emperor wasn't just a conqueror of land; he was a conqueror of markets. And if that was true, then the current board of directors—the people pulling the strings of the world—were either his descendants or his caretakers.
"I need to find them," he murmured. "Maybe I can learn more about him from them."
A final notification chimed.
[ Please check your Mission Panel. ]
Evan read the line twice. Then a third time.
His eyes narrowed. He suddenly remembered something.
"Wait a minute."
He scrolled up. He checked the transaction metadata.
There was no [ Source Untraceable ] notification.
The System hadn't laundered the money. It had processed a legitimate, transparent dividend payment.
"You didn't hide it," Evan whispered, his grip on the phone tightening.
If Heaven Corporation's algorithms were as good as he knew they were, a billion-dollar payout to an unknown account named 'Evan Kyros' would flag every audit system in the building. The Board would know. The Chairman would know. Even the bank would know.
"You put a target on my back," Evan said, a cold smile touching his lips. "You didn't just give me resources. You announced my arrival."
It wasn't a gift. It was a catalyst. The Emperor System was forcing a confrontation with the powers that be.
"Fine," he murmured. "If you want me to play the game, I need to make sure the pieces are real."
He opened a browser tab. He navigated to a high-end electronics supplier. He needed to test the liquidity. He needed to buy something small, just to see the transaction clear.
He raised his thumb to tap 'Purchase'.
But his hand trembled.
The phone slipped from his grip, landing on the floor.
Evan blinked, trying to focus, but the edges of his vision were graying out. The adrenaline from the encounter with Order and Chaos, the visions, and the mental strain of processing a new reality—it all crashed down on him at once.
His body was human, even if his bank account wasn't.
"Just… a second…" he slurred, his head swaying.
He needed to strategize. He needed to check if the money was real.
But gravity won.
Evan Kyros collapsed back onto the pillow, his consciousness fading into the black, while the phone fell, lay glowing on the floorboards—holding the GDP of a small nation and a death warrant from the rulers of the world.