"Even the NFL hides its rigged crap better than this!"
His voice echoed into the empty expanse, but there was no response—just the endless white stretching out in every direction, mocking him with its serene emptiness. He glared down at his hands, clenching and unclenching his fists in a mix of anger and confusion.
"What was the point of all that?" he muttered, shaking his head. "Why bother giving me a system if it's just going to screw me over in the end?"
As if on cue, a soft, mocking laugh echoed from somewhere behind him.
Jiang's heart skipped a beat, and he whirled around, eyes wide as he scanned the empty expanse. "Who's there?"
The laughter grew louder, more sinister, as a figure emerged from the whiteness. At first, it was just a shadow, a dark silhouette against the brightness of the cloud, but as it drew closer, Jiang could make out the hollow, glowing eyes and the faint outline of a smile stretching across its face.
The figure wasn't human—at least, not entirely. It had the shape of a person, but its skin was dark, almost translucent, like smoke given form. Its eyes glowed faintly in the otherwise featureless expanse, and its mouth, twisted into an eerie grin, revealed nothing but shadow.
"Who are you?" Jiang demanded, taking a step back.
The figure chuckled, its voice smooth and rich with amusement. "Who am I? Well, that depends. To you... I suppose I could be considered a god."
Jiang's heart raced, but he refused to back down. "A god? So this is... what, heaven?"
The figure let out a laugh, its shoulders shaking with mirth. "Heaven? Oh no, nothing quite so grand. But I must say, it's nice of you to stop by my home."
Jiang stared at the figure, his mind spinning with a million questions, none of which made any sense. "Your home?" he asked, incredulous. "What is this place?"
The figure tilted its head, its hollow eyes narrowing in mock thought. "Let's just say it's where I get to watch... all the fun."
Jiang's brow furrowed. "Fun? What fun? I just died!"
The figure waved a hand dismissively, stepping closer. "Oh, yes, that part. But let me tell you, watching you stumble through your missions, nearly getting killed over and over again—it was quite entertaining. I don't think I've ever seen someone so bad at surviving be so good at not dying."
Jiang bristled, the figure's words grating against his nerves. "Bad at surviving? I was doing fine! I almost made it!"
The figure's grin widened. "Almost. But almost isn't good enough when you're dealing with a system, is it?"
Jiang clenched his fists, his body shaking with frustration. "The system was rigged! It glitched right at the end. I had 100% synchronization—I had it!"
The figure's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Ah, yes. That little... hiccup. You did have it. For a moment. But systems aren't perfect, you see. Even they have... quirks."
Jiang gaped at the figure, his mind struggling to wrap around what he was hearing. "So you're saying... I got screwed over by a glitch?"
The figure shrugged, the smoky outline of its body rippling like water. "It happens. But you're not the first, and you won't be the last."
Jiang could feel his anger rising again, hot and uncontrollable. "Then what the hell was the point of all of all that?" Jiang demanded, his voice cracking with the strain of his frustration. He could feel the weight of everything crashing down on him—the pain, the effort, the fleeting moments where he thought he had succeeded. All for nothing. "Why give me a system if it's just going to cheat me at the last second? Why make me fight, make me suffer, just to lose like this?"
The figure's grin widened, its glowing eyes narrowing as it stepped even closer, its form looming over Jiang like a dark shadow cast against the endless whiteness. "Ah, now that's the right question." Its voice had taken on a new tone, deeper, more serious. "The system isn't about giving you anything. It's about seeing what you can give. Seeing how far you can go. How much you can endure."
Jiang's face twisted in disgust. "Endure? You think this is some kind of test?"
"Everything is a test," the figure replied, its voice soft and almost soothing. "You, my dear Jiang, were one of the few chosen to see if you could rise to the challenge. The system doesn't care about fairness or mercy. It cares about potential. And you had potential."
Jiang scoffed, his fists clenching so tightly that his nails dug into his palms. "Potential for what? To die a slow, painful death because of a decimal point error? That's what the system wanted?"
The figure let out another chuckle, though there was something darker behind it now. "Oh, you misunderstand. The system isn't looking for the strongest or the smartest. It's looking for those who can adapt, who can survive even when everything is stacked against them. You, Jiang, have survived longer than most. You made it farther than anyone expected, despite... your many blunders."
Jiang gritted his teeth, feeling the anger bubbling up inside him again. "Blunders? I didn't even know what was going on half the time!"
The figure raised a smoky hand, wagging a finger as if chastising him. "Exactly. And yet, you kept going. You survived. That's what makes you special."
Jiang's frustration flared again. "Special? I'm dead! How is that special?"