Zain stumbled through the dimly lit alleyway, his steps sluggish, his body heavy with exhaustion.
He knew now that he couldn't tell the people what had really happened.
He couldn't even try. Even if he shouted the truth in the middle of the streets, who would believe him?
A powerless nobody against the Hero Guild? Against Titanfang?
He scoffed bitterly. No, it wasn't even about belief. The truth didn't matter to people.
The moment Titanfang punched that villain into the ground, the crowd's anger had vanished.
Their frustration had been redirected, their pain silenced by the illusion of justice.
And just like that, everything continued as it always had.
Zain exhaled shakily and took a sip from the cheap can of beer in his hand.
The alcohol was warm and stale, but he didn't care.
He leaned against the cold, cracked wall of the alleyway and slid down until he was sitting on the damp pavement.
He held the can tightly and muttered to himself. "One night. One man."
That was all it had taken to destroy his entire life.
Titanfang hadn't even noticed him. Hadn't looked at him. Hadn't cared.
Zain gritted his teeth, his breath uneven. His home, job and purpose were all gone.
His life had been reduced to rubble, and the people responsible?
They were still standing tall, still parading around as untouchable heroes.
He tried to hold it in, but the frustration, the helplessness, and the sheer unfairness of it all crushed him.
His shoulders shook, his vision blurred, and before he knew it, tears slipped down his face. "Why...?"
He clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, but he couldn't stop himself from breaking down. "Why did this happen to me..."
No one answered. No one ever would. And that realization made his chest ache even more.
But then something unexpected happened as a soft glow flickered in front of him.
Zain's breath hitched. His body stiffened as his eyes snapped open. Right there, floating in the air before him was a screen.
His heart pounded and his mind was racing. He had seen this before.
Or specifically hear it from the stories, news reports, and from the people who were chosen.
This was the screen. The mysterious system that appeared before those destined for power.
It was how superheroes gained their abilities.
Every now and then, an ordinary person would be granted a power beyond their wildest imagination.
Some became heroes, protectors of the world. The rest became villains, who sought destruction and chaos.
Either way, the moment this screen appeared, a person's life would never be the same.
Zain's hands trembled as he stared at it, unable to breathe normally. "Is this really happening to me?"
His heart pounded against his ribs. Was this fate? Was this the universe finally making things right?
After everything he had lost, after all the suffering he had endured, was this his chance?
A wide grin spread across his face. His chest tightened with exhilaration. "This is the moment that I have been waiting for."
To rise from nothing. To gain power. To become the real hero he had always dreamed of being.
No more helplessness. No more watching from the sidelines. No more powerlessness.
His fingers twitched as he reached toward the screen, but then...
When the screen became clear to see, Zain's eyes widened in surprise. "W-What the hell is this?"
At first, the screen seemed normal—words of congratulations flashing in elegant, golden letters.
But what came next sent a chill down his spine.
---
[Congratulations! You have been chosen.]
[Welcome to the Super Gacha: Draw Your Own Superpower!]
---
Zain blinked. "What?"
He kept reading and felt his stomach twitching the more he read it.
---
[Warning: Super Gacha can only be done ONCE.]
[Warning: All abilities drawn are permanent. No rerolls.]
---
His hands clenched into fists as the realization hit him. "A… gacha?"
He suddenly laughed and cursed at the same time. "You're telling me... superpowers are decided by luck?"
Zain let out a shaky breath, his mind spinning. He had spent his whole life admiring superheroes, dreaming of the day he'd awaken his own power.
He thought the system was based on potential, on worthiness, on fate.
But this? This was nothing more than a damn lottery. A cruel, twisted lottery.
He only smirked a little. A hollow chuckle escaped from his mouth before turning into full-blown laughter.
He shook his head, muttering between laughs. "Of course... of course it's like this."
The universe had already taken everything from him—his home, his dignity, his future.
Now, it was telling him that the next chapter of his life would be left up to chance?
Zain wiped at his eyes, a bitter grin still plastered on his face. "Man… my life really is a joke."
But deep inside, beneath the laughter, beneath the bitterness—there was something else. A spark.
Because even if this was just a gamble… it was still a chance. A chance for him to turn his life around.
He took a deep breath and exhaled. His fingers hovered over the screen. "Alright then, let's see how lucky I am."
He chose the [Draw] option, resulting in a new screen appearing.
It had a massive spinning wheel divided into countless sections, each one filled with unreadable symbols and colors.
Zain frowned after he read them all. "So... this decides everything, huh?"
There was no way to know what kind of powers were on that wheel.
No list, no descriptions, no hints. Just a blur of possibilities spinning before his eyes.
The words from before echoed in his mind.
---
[Warning: Super Gacha can only be done ONCE.]
[Warning: All abilities drawn are permanent. No rerolls.]
---
This was it. His only chance. The last chance to turn around his life.
He tried to calm down, but his hands were still shaking and his breathing grew uneven.
What if he got something useless? What if his power was weak? What if—
No. He clenched his fists to stop all that negative thinking. "I can't screw this up
The screen flashed—[Tap to Stop]—signaling him to make his choice.
Zain swallowed hard. He needed to time it right. He should wait, focus, and think it through—
But his nerves betrayed him. Without realizing it, his finger twitched, moving to the screen—
Tap.
The wheel immediately halted. Zain's heart skipped a beat. His breath caught in his throat.
The section it landed on... It was a deep, ominous black section.
The moment he saw the color, the screen pulsed violently. A blinding darkness erupted from it, engulfing him whole.
A force like nothing he had ever felt coiled around his body, cold yet suffocating.
His vision blurred, his mind spiraling into chaos as the black light wrapped around him, swallowing him entirely.
His body tensed. His instincts screamed at him to run, to fight, to do something. But it was too late.
Whatever he had just drawn... it had already begun to fuse with himself.