Awakening of the Abyssal Overlord!

"Sigh, another shitty day," Nova muttered as he stretched his arms and leaned back in his chair.

His stiff muscles protested the motion, and he let out another sigh before turning his gaze to the window. 

The sun was slowly rising on the horizon, casting a pale, golden glow over the cityscape.

Reaching into his pocket, he fished out his wallet. 

He flipped it open and counted the cash inside. "Three... seven... fifteen... hmm, maybe I can survive another few days with this." He couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh before shoving the wallet back into his pocket.

For a moment, he simply stood there, his eyes wandering aimlessly around his run-down apartment. 

His gaze finally landed on his old laptop, the screen cracked in some places and the keys worn from extensive use.

"If I hadn't wasted time reading web novels and actually worked, I wouldn't be in this situation..." he muttered, shaking his head as he walked over to his closet. 

He rummaged through the few clothes he owned, finally settling on a worn-out shirt and scuffed shoes.

"Let's go and see if I can find a job today," he said to himself, though the words lacked any real conviction as he himself hardly believed it. 

Pulling on his shoes, he stepped out of the apartment, greeted immediately by the intense heat of the summer sun. 

It bore down on him, and he raised a hand to block the glare as he squinted up at the sky.

"Ugh, I hate this weather. It reminds me of my dry wallet." He grimaced and began descending the creaking stairs of his building.

As he reached the ground floor, the muffled sound of an argument came through the walls. His neighbor's shrill voice carried out into the hallway.

"Sigh... these old couples always fight whenever I pass by their door," he muttered under his breath as he walked past, sparing only a glance toward the noise.

Just as he stepped onto the sidewalk, a glass bottle came flying at him from the side.

The bottle shattered on the ground in front of him, sending shards scattering across the pavement. 

Nova froze, his back turning cold as he looked toward the source. The old lady from the neighboring apartment stood at her window, hurling her husband's alcohol bottles into the street.

"You old witch! Watch where you're throwing—" Nova started to yell, but before he could finish, another bottle came hurtling toward him. He sidestepped just in time.

"Get lost, brat! Who told you to stand in front of my apartment?" the old lady screamed, her face twisted in fury as she reached for yet another bottle.

Nova's frustration boiled over. "That's why you don't have a happy marriage anymore—it's because of your nasty personality!" he shouted back, but the sight of her raising yet another bottle sent him sprinting away.

"CURSE YOU, BRAT!"

Her screeching voice echoed behind him as he dashed down the street. After a few blocks, he stopped, bent over, and rested his hands on his knees, gasping for air.

"Haa... haa... that crazy old lady! I swear she's the most unhinged person I know."

Once he caught his breath, he stood upright and surveyed his surroundings. Looking at the bright sky as the day remained to be spent, the question of what to do next came to his mind.

"Now, where should I go to look for work?" he muttered as he began walking aimlessly, his thoughts swirling.

"Construction work... ugh, my body won't be able to hold out for long if I did such intense labor."

He considered other options but found none that seemed viable. Lost in thought, he didn't realize where he was heading until he found himself in an isolated part of the city.

The buildings here were dilapidated, and the streets were eerily quiet.

GRRRR

The low rumbling of an engine sounded from in front of him. Nova raised his head to see blinding headlights bearing down on him.

Time seemed to halt as his thoughts churned. His life flashed before his eyes—memories of cold nights in the orphanage, being bullied by older kids, the emptiness of having no one attend his school events, the hunger pangs when meals were skipped, the lonely birthdays spent in silence.

He remembered sharing half a sandwich with a stray dog, the only creature that seemed to understand him. The warmth of the sun during solitary walks, the escape he found in the pages of web novels, imagining worlds where he was the hero.

'Maybe this is better. I won't be missed, and perhaps I might reincarnate into a better life...;'

A faint, bitter smile formed on his lips as he closed his eyes.

BOOM!!

A deafening crash echoed through the deserted street.

…

Nova felt his body floating in a vast emptiness, with nothing but darkness surrounding him. It was as though the world itself had ceased to exist, leaving him suspended in nothingness.

The silence was absolute, broken only by the distant echo of his own heartbeat.

His consciousness remained blurry, but then, a voice reverberated through the void, neither male nor female, neither kind nor cruel.

[Choose, Young One, whether you will fight the Abyss for 1,000 years or have your memory erased and be reincarnated.]

His eyes fluttered open slowly, though there was no light. The darkness pressed against him like a tangible force, cold and unyielding.

Nova tried to stand, but there was no ground. Confusion etched on his face as he looked around, his voice barely a whisper. "Wh-where am I?"

Glowing words materialized in front of him, the only source of light in the abyss.

He couldn't make a sound beyond a whisper as his surroundings were enveloped in endless darkness.

He thought back to how he had arrived in this situation.

All the painful memories of the past—the sleepless nights lying awake in the orphanage, the loneliness that gnawed at his soul, the hunger that twisted his stomach, the desperate need for attention that was never fulfilled.

The time he was beaten up for defending a younger kid, the nights he cried himself to sleep, the birthdays where silence was his only companion.

Everything came crashing down on him at once as he felt the weight of his life pressing heavily upon him.

[The life you lived... is it worth remembering?]