A/N:
" " : Dialogue,
' ' : Thought.
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MC POV
Life is what you make it. I know many people have heard that saying before. I definitely know I've heard it hundreds of times. After all, my family line is one of ailment and infirmity.
Most members of the family on my father's side were somehow unlucky enough to be born with an SS genotype, me included. My mom's side was also unlucky, as they had a family history of diabetes and different cardiological ailments.
My mom died of leukemia when I was still in medical school, when I was 22. My dad died a few years after, when I was 25. I was diagnosed with my own heart disease along with hemophilia, which was so bloody ironic, seeing as I had become a cardiologist myself.
But, I was determined to not let it get me down. I knew that in this fucked up world, doing something good to curb the need for the medical industry would only end up with you being lambasted and ridiculed at best, and being killed at worst.
So while I didn't push to improve the entire health sector, I pushed to improve my health. But life smacked me over the head when I heard that I'd also somehow gotten diabetes at 35.
Come to find out, my mom's side had this very strange genetic mutation that caused their bodies to not be able to properly process most sugars. They could only really work with fructose. I didn't know this because my mom already raised me to not like taking sweet things all that much.
In parties, I didn't take alcohol or even lemonade or fruit drinks, I took water, tea or freshly squeezed fruit juice. I avoided carbs for almost the entirety of my life. Despite the mutation I had, I burned fat considerably quickly, making it so I won't really look like someone with both diabetes and heart problems.
And this also had its advantages when it came to me dealing with people. I never needed alcohol to psych myself up, never needed to go through strenuous exercise to slim down, if I had to slim down. It also helps that I was pretty honest with people, regardless of the situation.
It's how I had gotten to be as successful as I am now. While not at celebrity status, I had gotten some fame from my toughest surgeries and most complicated patients. And I was also pretty well liked and praised by my colleagues in the medical industry.
But to make sure that no one would ever experience the same travails I did just to live, I made sure to get a vasectomy when I finished medical school, so while I've had booty calls at different times, I'd never fathered a child. Which was good, seeing as they'd probably be unluckier than I was and get even worse diseases.
So in my lonesome life, the comfort I was able to find was in power fantasies and stories depicting such fantasies. Strength to perform feats impossible to any man, speed to do things that violate the laws of physics, power to command the world to bend to your will, boons that would elevate you beyond anything you could imagine, worlds beyond the reach of man. Reading and playing in such stories was what kept me happy.
But this isn't why you guys are here. You aren't here to hear about my past and how hard it was for me to struggle with living while having such conditions. You're here to hear about how I died and what happened after that. After all, it is in the title of the chapter.
So, get this. I, Mark Patterson, 46 years old, had gotten to a bus stop, so I could head home, so I could take today's second shot of my insulin. I took a seat and brought out my phone to keep myself distracted until a bus came about.
I had finally chosen to get into the story of Solo Leveling about 4 months back and I had finished both its novel and manhwa. I'd also heard of the anime that had been completed a bit over a month ago, as well as gotten into the sequel a month after finishing it. Personally, I think the powers of the Shadow Monarch are some of the most broken powers ever.
He rules over death and darkness, so he technically cannot die. Include the blessings of Kandiaru that were given to Sung Jin-Woo, and he can never be ill, disfigured or deformed. The only person who could harm him permanently needed the very essence of destruction to do so.
Not to mention his shadow army. It's not only the best defense, but also a way to make sure that those close to you are protected and those that you are suspicious of can be monitored. Its utility is unlike any other, and this is while it's not some form of omnipotence as well.
As I brought my phone out, it occurred to me how much boredom I was starting to feel. Different novels, mangas, manhwa and anime were being released, yet I just couldn't find any more that could get me as hyped for their release.
You've seen one tower, gate, awakened, hero, assassin, noble, talented commoner, martial god or heavenly demon, you've seen 'em all. I slowly started to feel that the entire Eastern entertainment industry had become saturated and stale.
I didn't really get into new music, most movies I watched were either flops, or over hyped messes, most anime looked janky when compared to fan made versions, authors started getting lazy and unimaginative.
But who am I to judge. I don't know their creative process or the time, money and energy that they had put into their work, so I can't ever properly judge them. The same way that people can't just judge doctors and scientists that do work just because they've watched some movie, series or documentary.
I looked at my phone and noticed that the screen was flickering erratically. I pushed the power button, but the screen didn't go off and the flickering didn't stop. I strongly tapped the screen, but the flickering still didn't stop.
I was ready to throw my hands up in defeat, when the screen suddenly went black, but not as if it turned off. It was as if it had switched to a different display on the screen.
Shortly after, a message box with white borders appeared on the black screen.
[Hello and Welcome to Fantasia Surveys!]
[You are the 10,000th to receive a survey from us, so you'll be given a special survey.]
[Please note that all questions are to be answered.]
I couldn't even believe that someone would try wasting their time trying to scam me. "Let me guess, you're gonna ask for my credit card details and social security number." I say as I try turning it off.
[1. If you were to gain the powers of any being, which being's power would you want, and what changes would you want to make to them?]
"Seriously?" I didn't even expect that this would be what it'd ask me. Seeing that it didn't even ask me for something like my name, I decided to humor it and answer. I wanted the powers of all Shadow Monarchs, with them keeping the system without Kandiaru's interruptions, like the class advancement dungeon or the Carthenon. I'd still want the store, instant dungeons and the Demon Tower, though, just to see if I could raise the demons there as my soldiers.
[2. If you were to wake up with a new look, how would you want to look?]
This question was one that I actually had thought of before, and I'd created an answer that I actually wanted, a black equivalent of Sung Jin-Woo at the point before the War of Monarchs broke out. In case you were wondering, yes, I am black.
[3. If you were to receive an ability granting boon, what would you want to receive?]
This was one that kept me thinking for a few minutes, because this meant an ability that could be given at any point. A lot of abilities like these could be taken away just as easily, or they'd have some highly negative side effects. Take for example, the powers of the Ghost Rider, where you'd normally have to basically sell your soul, except for the case of Robbie Reyes.
There's also the powers of the Avatar, where you'd be duty bound to get yourself heavily involved with the world and could face death just because you have the power, in most worlds out there. Eventually, one boon came to mind, the Mark of the Outsider from Dishonored.
It granted many abilities as well as a positive connection to the void that didn't cause harm to you. As matter of fact, it actually improved your being, making you stronger, faster, more perceptive, amongst other things, so I put it down, while also putting down that I wanted all its abilities unlocked and maxed out.
[4. If you were to receive an item owned by a being, what changes would you add to it?]
This, I actually had to think about. To make sure that I wasn't too distracted, I looked up while thinking, so I wouldn't miss the bus. While I was thinking about this, a rainstorm started, basically giving me a guarantee that the bus won't be here for another hour.
Quickly finding a coffee shop, I cross the road and make it inside. No trucks, vans or buses passed by while I was crossing. I make an order for a cup of water, take it and take a seat, before returning to complete the survey.
I thought for a bit longer and different things came up. I could choose the Omnitrix, but it'd only shine in a universe where I had frequent contact with aliens. I could also pick the Reach Scarab or a White Lantern ring, but if I faced off against anything that could bypass them, that'd be it.
I then thought of the Motherbox, a machine that could be bound to me that had the capability to basically warp reality. A good choice, but it wasn't the only thing that could do that. That was when my mind went to nanomachines, three of them in particular.
The Omega-1 nanite used by Rex from the Generator Rex world, the 8th Generation Nano Machine used by Chun Yeo-Wun in Nano Machine and the nanomachines used by Shiro, the main character of Nanomancer Reborn. A combination of these had the potential to surpass the capabilities of a Motherbox, so I put it down as one item, with Chun Yeo-Wun's Nano as the main template.
[5. If you were to wake up as a person with all of the above listed, what world would you want to wake up in?]
This didn't take me much time as I chose Marvel Earth-199999, otherwise known as the MCU, with some comic book elements sprinkled here and there. DC was far too chaotic and dangerous, even for someone like the Shadow Monarch. You could be walking around on a normal day and someone with alien weaponry or reality warping magic could just come by and shoot you, reducing you to meat on the floor or just straight up destroy you.
This was not to say that the Marvel worlds weren't chaotic, they definitely were. But in comparison to DC, Marvel was calmer, mainly because they killed highly problematic characters when they could. Most of the time, at least.
As soon as I was done typing my answer, the screen went blank, then back to my normal home screen. "Well, that wasn't strange at all." I looked outside and saw that it had stopped raining. "Really wasn't strange at all." I said with sarcasm and suspicion.
Heading out of the café, I returned to the bus stop and waited for another half hour, yet no buses passed, so I chose to simply move away to call a cab to head home. The ride home was quiet and uneventful. Not!
This time, a thunderstorm chose to accompany me home, with lightning bolts adorning the sky and thunder booming frequently. The rain had impaired visibility and had caused the driver to drastically slow down to stay safe.
Despite the tumultuous storm, I was able to get home safely and take my insulin shot. I had a small dinner and prepped my stuff for tomorrow, then went to sleep, expecting the same routine day as I'd wake up. Man, was I wrong.
Omniscient POV
As Mark was sleeping, his phone that he had left on his bedside table came on, with its screen showing a message with a wholly black background.
[Detected that user has completed survey. Processing user's answers.]
[Answers have been processed and are awaiting user's claim.]
[Implementing failsafe.]
As soon as that notification came up on the screen, a small bolt of electricity seemed to jump from the phone to Mark. Mark's body seized up and just stopped. He was no longer breathing; his heart had stopped beating and his brain had stopped working entirely. Mark Patterson was dead.
[Thank you for taking part in Fantasia Surveys. We wish you good luck.]
That last notification popped up on his phone then a spark followed, rendering the phone destroyed. No one would know of Mark's demise until a week had passed.
Chapter End.
Word Count: 2,236
Thanks for reading!