Ethereal Ascension

Chapter 1

~ System Unlocked ~

Dark clouds gathered and bloated the sky, rumbling and threatening to unleash a downpour.

But it was at the peak of the dry season. Heavy rain or any kind of rain by this time seemed amiss. Something was odd with the weather.

“Oh, come on. Of all days,” Nathan White clicked his tongue, gazing at the dark sky from the window in his room. Shutting the window blind, he turned and ruffled his black hair, “Mr. Humphrey is going to kill me if I don’t make it in time.”

He moved away from the window, shuffling his legs through the few trash bags scattered around the small room. Aside from the small mattress at one corner and the few clothes in the open wardrobe, the room was more or less empty.

As he began to take off his clothes for a quick bath, a sudden streak of lightning flashed outside, inundating the room with its luminous intensity for a second or two. It was immediately accosted with a thunderous boom that dotted Nathan’s skin with goosebumps.

Shuddering to the thunder, Nathan managed to tie a towel around his waist, sighing depressingly.

On any normal day — if such a concept ever existed in his life — he would have slept in, if a storm was brewing like this. Sleeping at that hour would be heavenly.

But he couldn’t. He had to work, or else he wouldn’t be able to eat or pay his rent. His rent has been due for months anyway. Missing one day of work would only worsen the case.

His parents were killed in a car accident when he was only ten, leaving him and his sister as orphans. He couldn’t sponsor himself to school as their extended family turned their back on them. But he didn’t want the same life for his sister. He wanted her to be educated.

Hence, he began working nothing less than three jobs a day, struggling hard to meet up with her school fees and their basic needs. He did this for five years straight. However, due to the lack of nutrients in most of their food, his sister fell sick, which only worsened as they couldn’t afford to go to the hospital. They eventually had to go anyway.

“Ahh... Maya...” he folded and unfurled his hands as he recalled the last time he saw her.

The sickness lasted for almost two years, with Nathan working tooth and nail to gather money for her medical bills. But as though his family was cursed, a runaway car slammed into the wall of her ward, breaking through the concrete and crushing her to death. It was even worse than their parents death.

He gritted his teeth and walked into the bathroom. There was no point reminiscing about the past every single morning.

He walked out of the bathroom a few minutes later and slapped on his work uniform. A red shirt, a faded pair of black trousers, and a black pair of black shoes that almost looked grey.

He shoved his apron into his bag and slung it across his chest. He didn’t even bother to comb his hair or look at his reflection... Well, he didn’t even have a mirror.

He put on a pearl pendant — a gift given to him by his mother before she died.

He opened the door and exited the room, locking it shut with his key.

“I’m still expecting that rent, Nathan,” said a middle-aged man that was already waiting outside the room. His voice was grumpy and cracked.

Nathan grunted in exasperation. He managed to force out a smile and turned, “Hey, Mr. Kent. I promised to the end of the month. We’re not even halfway through the month yet.”

The landlord, Mr. Kent, sized him up ruefully, “Same excuse you give every month, kid. I won’t take pity on you this time around.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll pay up, sir,” Nathan kowtowed and rushed down the hallway.

As he ran down the stairs from the fifth floor to the ground floor, he couldn’t help but think, ‘Hmm. Fourth Avenue’s bridge seems nice. I could sleep there till someone takes pity on me... Again.’

He was already used to this, getting kicked out of houses because he couldn’t keep up with the rent. Sleeping under a bridge was more or less a biannual thing to him now.

Usually, he would walk to work, but he was really running late. He didn’t know what made him wake up so late. It was only a few minutes past seven and they opened by eight, but his boss hated him for no reason. He was always told to show up an hour before they opened.

With gritting teeth, he hailed down a cab that drove him to work. It was about a seven minute drive.

He alighted in haste and forced himself to pay the cab driver. That dollar was supposed to be for lunch.

He let out a heavy sigh and sauntered toward the coffee shop.

The bells jingled as he pushed the door open. As though his boss had been expecting his arrival, the bald man hollered behind the counter, “You’re thirteen minutes late, Nathan! Thirteen minutes!”

‘There’s no one here except you. Just give me a break,’ Nathan retorted inwardly.

On the outside, he bowed, “My sincerest apologies, sir. I... I couldn’t find a cab on time.”

“You and your silly excuses. This will make it the fourth time this week, and today’s Wednesday. Tsk,” Mr. Humphrey  shook his head in disdain. Then he lifted his gaze and said with a stern voice, “You’re fired.”

“What?” Nathan’s eyes dilated. His world came crashing down. Working here was the only thing that tethered him to life.

He had always resisted committing suicide because of this job, hoping that things will get better. This... This was the last straw.

He tried to beg but the boss was as stubborn as they came. He kicked him out, telling him never to return.

Standing by the curb, Nathan could only sigh, ‘Is life even worth living anymore? Why was I created? Why am I still alive? I should have died with Maya, and mum... And dad. Why did they leave me alone to suffer?’

His sad internal monologue was soon interrupted by a loud cry from across the road. He snapped out of his reverie and laid his eyes on a five year old girl crossing the road, her entire attention fixated on the ice cream in her hand.

Unbeknownst to her, two vehicles were already on a collision course, with her in the middle. One of the vehicles was taking the wrong way and the brake had failed. The other vehicle hadn’t noticed it yet.

The girl’s mother was yelling at the top of her lungs, running after her daughter.

Nathan didn’t know what pushed him, but he found himself bolting across the road and diving at the girl. He was able to push her to a safe distance.

However... He wasn’t so lucky.

Both vehicles collided with Nathan stuck in between . He could hear his own ribs get crushed, his organs bursting from the immense pressure. Blood spilled out of his orifices as he was sandwiched between the two vehicles.

‘Heh. I guess this is it, huh? I finally get to be with my family...’ he accepted his fate. At least all that suffering won’t follow him to the afterlife.

His vision got blurry, but he could see the pendant on his neck fly off his neck, striking the hood of the car. The pendant’s pearl shattered into green flakes and that was the last thing he saw before everything went dark.

Nathan White was dead!

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[Die gruesomely in the mundane world: Mission successful!]

[Loading... Rebooting...]

[Host is being transferred...]

[Transferral completed...]

[Host is reborn...]

[System activated!]