Yet he was caught. As he lay there, his hands cuffed behind him, the cold steel biting into his wrists, Travis's mind reeled. His heart pounded in his chest, each thud a reminder of his failure. He could almost hear the echo of his own voice, playing over and over in his head—his plan, his conviction, the sacrifice. He had always known he'd be the one to take the fall, the sacrificial lamb in their well-oiled machine. But that knowledge did little to dull the bitter sting of betrayal.
Seeing it all unfold in his mind's eye—how it had all gone wrong—he cursed under his breath.
'Fuck!!!'
...
Weeks later, Travis stood in front of the jury, his future slipping through his fingers like sand. The courtroom was a cold, sterile place, filled with faces that looked at him with a mixture of disdain and indifference. He was charged with wire fraud, security fraud, money laundering, and conspiracy. Each charge hung over him like a dark cloud, heavy with the weight of the years they promised to steal from him.
20 years for wire fraud. 25 for security fraud. 20 for money laundering. 5 for conspiracy. The numbers blurred together, each one a death sentence. Just like that, Kael—his former identity—was no more.
The name, the life, all erased, leaving nothing but an inmate number and the endless stretch of prison walls. No bail, no hope. His future was a prison sentence, and the world would move on without him. He was condemned to rot in the cold, indifferent system.
Years passed. Now, at 26, Travis had long since shed the remnants of his past life. He went by Travis now, his unknown second name, a faint whisper of the person he had been. Time had hardened him, shaped him into someone else. But the rage, the anger—it still burned in him. It simmered beneath his skin, a fire that would never die.
He sat in the TV room, eyes fixed on the screen as the latest news anchor reported on the six youngest entrepreneurs making waves on Forbes.
"The six youngest millionaires, who knew they were all once college mates. I guess in order to succeed, you need to surround yourself with the right people."
Travis's fists clenched, his nails digging into his palms as he watched the names of those who had outpaced him flash across the screen. They were free. They had won. He could practically feel the weight of the chains around his wrists again as the bitterness churned in his gut.
Without a word, he stood up, his chair scraping harshly against the floor. He didn't care who noticed. He didn't care about anything anymore. The air in the hallway felt heavy as he stormed down it, heading toward the small, dimly lit bathroom at the end.
He locked himself in a stall, sitting on the cold toilet seat, his legs stretched out in front of him. Staring at the peeling paint on the ceiling, he let his mind wander.
'And here I am, left to rot. At least my parents are free, living their lives without the weight of my fines hanging over their heads,' he thought bitterly.
Suddenly, a soft whisper brushed against Travis's ear, sending a shiver down his spine.
"You seem sad. I can fix that."
The voice was faint, but its presence felt undeniable. Before he could react, the world around him shifted, blurring, and then—nothing. His body went limp, and his consciousness slipped away like sand through an open hand.
When Travis came to, he wasn't in the cold, sterile bathroom anymore. Instead, he was suspended in a vast, empty expanse, surrounded by nothingness. He floated aimlessly, his limbs weightless, as though gravity had forgotten him. Panic clawed at his chest as he tried to make sense of where he was, but there were no landmarks, no reference points. Just endless void.
He blinked, trying to comprehend the surreal environment, but before he could form another thought, a figure materialized in front of him, sharp and sudden like a light piercing through the darkness. The woman who appeared seemed to glow faintly, her presence both commanding and serene.
She smiled when she saw him, her expression filled with a strange, knowing warmth.
"You look like the perfect person to make my life fun," she said, her voice melodic and teasing.
Travis stared at her, bewildered, his mind racing to catch up. He didn't know how to respond, the words caught in his throat.
"Um, sorry??" he stammered, still floating in midair, unsure of what was happening.
The woman chuckled softly, her eyes twinkling as though she found his confusion amusing.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself," she said with a playful smile. "My name is Mariana, and I'm a Goddess."
Travis's brow furrowed as he tried to piece together the fragments of his reality. A goddess? This was insane. But then, something deep within him—something that seemed to recognize the situation—shifted. He'd watched enough anime to recognize where this was going. Still, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that he was missing a crucial piece of the puzzle.
"Am I dead?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper, the question hanging in the air like a heavy fog.
Mariana's smile widened, her eyes gleaming with an unreadable emotion.
"No, dear," she replied, her tone gentle but firm. "But consider yourself reborn after I give you my power, love."
"Reborn?" Travis repeated, his mind scrambling for logic. "What power?"
Mariana tilted her head, the corners of her lips curling up ever so slightly.
"I'll tell you when you wake up," she said cryptically.
Before Travis could respond, everything around him began to blur again, his senses fading as if someone had pulled a switch. The weightlessness intensified, and his vision grew dim. In an instant, he felt himself falling—plunging into unconsciousness as the last remnants of the world around him dissolved.
And then, there was nothing.
K
TO BE CONTINUED