Chapter 1

— ? —

My eyes shot open, and I sat up faster than ever. Deep, haggard breaths left my mouth as I fought for air.

Cold…everything felt so fucking cold.

My palm touched the ground, and I looked down to see it was concrete. Why the fuck am I sitting on concrete?!

My paranoid eyes shifted around, scanning the alleyway I found myself in.

Alleyway? Why the fuck am I in an alleyway?!

Shit, calm down, focus…

What the fuck is my name?! Why can't I remember my name?! I pushed myself off the ground, my breaths growing faster. I smacked my chest a few times as I leaned against the wall of one of the surrounding buildings.

Now was not the time to panic!

Survival rule #1, what was it again? Water? Or was it Shelter?

No, it was definitely water.

My eyes looked quickly to both ends of the alleyway. It was dark, and I was alone. I didn't know if that was good or bad, but considering how shitty this alley smells, I'd say it's good-

For now.

I need to move!

I spun around a few times, deciding on a direction after several cycles and walking towards one of the exits.

*DING*

I froze at the loud sound like a deer in headlights. It…sounded like metal hitting metal.

*DING*

I nearly jumped out of my skin that time. That second hit…it was closer!

"Fuckin' bastards won't hop off, ya know what I'm sayin'?"

"It's Night City; what the fuck you want, a big gazonga nanny to breastfeed you along? Eat shit and keep struggling! HAHA!"

"You assholes aren't preem at all. Fucking neurokillers, the both of you."

My body grew even colder at the sight of three very out-of-place men turning into the alleyway. All three of them stopped upon seeing me before continuing their walk in my direction.

Everything…everything in my body told me to run away. To flee.

But I couldn't.

My legs wouldn't move, and I didn't know why.

I was scared, yes, but I'd been more scared before, and I could always choose flight. The option simply wasn't on the table right now.

It wasn't allowed.

"Look what the fuck we got here." One of the creepy-looking fucks on the left grinned as they all slowly made their way over. They were taking their time, really setting in that creepy atmosphere. "What'dya chooms wanna do with this one?"

"Stop askin' stupid questions." The middle man waved his metal bar around a couple of times, all while his glowing red eyes looked at me like a piece of meat. "We're gonna gut the gonk and take his eddies."

I didn't need to be a scientist to know that they intended to rob me, even if I didn't understand why.

No, they're thugs; there doesn't need to be a reason.

"I ain't got shit on me!" I spat out, wiping the sweat from my forehead. At this point, they were about five meters from me. Not incredibly far, but far enough for me to run away…if I could.

"Oh, we wouldn't want to keep you! Let's have a look first!" The one on the right grinned, his glowing green eyes locked on me as he rushed forward, closing the distance in seconds and landing a hard punch to my gut.

"Argh!" I dropped to my knees and began coughing. All of a sudden, it felt like I could move again. I didn't waste any time, attempting to scramble back to my feet and run away, but a kick to the chin by another of the bastards put me back down.

"Not a tough one, are ya?"

"Fucking gonkheads are never tough. Though, they tend to have at least a few eddies on em~" The third one sing-songed, walking forward and giving me a sharp kick to the side.

The three of them joined in together, stomping my cradled body out, over and over and over, and even when I felt one of my arms give, they didn't stop.

"Hold up-," The one with the metal bar said, grinning. I looked up, and fear washed over me anew as he swung the bar a few times, like he was playing baseball, before taking a few more steps, stomping my leg.

"ARRGHH!"

My fucking leg! This fucking bastard!

"Ooh, look at the rage on this one." Metal Bar's grin grew wider as he lined it up with my arm. "Shame. Maybe in your next life, you'll be something…Eh, who am I kiddin' dyin' in an alley's the best you'll manage!"

"ARRGGGGHHHH!"

The bar came down, slamming hard against my bicep, definitely breaking it in the process. The bastard didn't let up, hitting anywhere on my body he could. My ribs, legs, arms, and hands cover my head.

All while his bastard friends laughed!

The beating continued-

*SPLAT*

My blood left my body like shitty squirts of ketchup. Every second, a living hell of pain and anger. Pain for obvious reasons, and anger…because I couldn't do shit about this! I couldn't fucking move! It wasn't a fair fucking fight!

I was supposed to be stronger than this!

*SPLAT*

Stronger than them!

*DING*

My train of thought was lost as the bar connected with my head. My hands fell limply to my sides as I was kicked onto my back. My gaze was blurry as I looked up to the three bastards. I didn't want to see them. So, I focused my gaze higher.

The stars.

The top. That's where I should have been.

No. That's where I will be.

"Woah! Still got some bite!" Metal bar laughed, the other two laughing along with him. "Just for that, why don't we end this a little early? Look at how kind we are."

His grin was sickening. In every corner of my brain, I imagined choking the life out of this cocky low life son of a bitch.

As he aimed the metal bar at my head again, never for a moment did I remove my eyes from his.

Maybe not now, maybe not in this life…but one day. One day I would repay take this fucker's life!

Then, the metal bar came down-

"That outta be enough."

And stopped.

A bright light manifested around me, pushing the three thug bastards backward several meters. I pushed myself to my hands and knees before working up to my feet. Once I was up, I inspected my body with unhidden interest.

I felt…strong. Stronger than I ever had before-

"Oops, maybe I should throw in those memories as well."

Like the light that shined before, the same thing happened, only in the contents of my mind. Knowledge I had once known, yet had forgotten, flowed into my mind.

Whenever the influx of information finally stopped, I let out a deep, tired, and pained sigh.

"Would have been real nice to know I was going into Cyberpunk, you damn fucking R.O.B!"

I didn't get an answerback, but I hadn't really been expecting one anyways. My eyes trailed over to the three bastards that were still down, looking at me with curiosity and a slight hint of fear.

That was good…fear is what they deserve. Fucking assholes beating random people to death for the fucking fun of it!

I held my hand forward, and it formed a sword. The Inverted Spear of Heaven. The only Item I had chosen to bring with me into this world.

"You…what the fuck are ya'?! What the fuck happened?!"

I didn't provide them with an answer, tapping my feet against the ground a few times, my scuffed and dirty sneakers feeling pretty tight on my new body.

"When the fuck did ya' grow a beard!"

Now that…was a good question. Too bad they'll never know the answer.

I used my newly gained strength to push off the ground, launching towards the closest thug and driving my sword straight through his chest.

The feeling of his skin giving way, then his muscles, then his bones and organs made me shiver a little, but beyond that, the gratification of looking into this son of a bitch's eyes as his life left them was fucking therapeutic!

I pulled my blade from his body, letting his useless corpse fall to the ground before looking at the others. The metal bar holding bastard dropped his bloody weapon…the weapon that held my blood, and threw his hands up in surrender.

"...W-Wait! Ya want eddies?! We can g-"

It didn't matter what he had to say; I cleared the distance in a breeze, driving the blade into his gut. I held the blade there as he looked up at me, his eyes straining in pain, quiet whispers of nothing leaving his mouth. I twisted the blade, sweat beading down my forehead as I thrived in seeing this fucker in pain. This fucker who had spent god knows how fucking long beating me!

Fuck this guy!

I let go of the blade's handle and gave him a firm smack across the face, sending him to the ground. The blade was still lodged in his gut. He wouldn't bleed out, and that's exactly what I wanted.

"...Y-You're wacked out!"

"Eddies, and you get to live." I held my hand out, looking at him with burning anger. If he didn't intend to give me any, I'd just kill his ass and find a way to take them anyway.

He stepped forward cautiously, reaching into his pocket and pulling out paper bills. He shakily handed them to me. I eyed his hand for a moment, looking back at his friend for less than a second before grabbing the cash-

*BAM*

The moment I grabbed the money, his other hand came up and punched me in the head. I staggered back a couple of steps as he threw his hands up and rushed me. I glared at him, and his body froze.

"You. Fucking. Bastard!" I shouted, launching a fist at his face that sent both his body and blood splattering to the ground. "You're fucking dead!"

I took a few calming breaths and looked at his friend. The son of a bitch was trying to crawl away with my sword in his gut. Looks really painful.

Sucks to suck.

I walked him down slowly, just like how they did when they approached me. He noticed me coming, even speeding up in his attempt to escape. Seeing him scramble didn't bring me any joy or amusement. But it gave me a sense of fulfillment. It was fulfilling to see the same bastard who took pleasure in fucking with me. Get fucked!

"How does it feel, cunt."

I asked, stopping in front of him and giving him a hard kick to his jaw, sending him on his back.

"Don't answer that; just go ahead and reserve a place in hell for your buddy over there." I grabbed a hold of my sword and began to pull it out…slowly.

"ARRRGGHHHHHHHH!"

"That's the same way I screamed earlier. Fucking sucks, doesn't it?"

Once the blade was fully out of him, I frowned, my stomach growing queasy for a moment. I felt like shit, both my body and my soul.

It was him; he was the problem, he was what caused this shitty feeling in me, and the only way to cleanse myself of his filth was to end his miserable pathetic life.

So I did just that. I brought my sword down straight through his skull, most likely killing him instantly.

It was fine; he'd suffered enough, I'd say.

Or perhaps he didn't. Who fucking cares, the devil will deal with him.

I turned around to see his shitty friend still laid the fuck out. It seems I don't know my new strength quite yet. Didn't think I'd put him to sleep.

Well, whatever. The motherfucker attacked me, blindsided me when I gave him an out. I should kill him, realistically it's the right thing to do-

But I won't.

There was much more than money and killing to Night City, and I knew all that. That's why I chose the fucking world. It was a game of wits and strength. If you lacked one in this city, you'd be reaching a dead-end real soon.

As for me, I knew how to play this shit.

I reached down and started to loot the bodies of the two dead guys and the one fucker I knocked out. Letting this last guy live would give me street cred, but above all of that, it would give me some honor in the city. This city didn't give a fuck about many things, but how trustworthy someone was…that meant something, and I made a promise, so I'd keep it.

Simple as that.

The only possible con of this choice would be if he has a gang that could come after me.

But why the fuck would they? Sure, I offed a few of their men…a few of their gonks, but they not only started this shit, they fucked around and found out. Murder happens every few minutes in Night City; they won't give a fuck about a few useless thugs.

I grinned, pulling Eddies out of the metal bar fuck's dead body. Money was money, even if it was his.

With all that out of the way, it was time to leave this shitty starter alley and head out into the streets.

I made my way out with a little pep in my step. I didn't want to be out past hours, but I had nowhere to go, which meant I needed to find somewhere fast, or else this little fight I just got into would become an hourly, if not minutely, problem.

When I left the alley, I saw many people walking around the street. I guess they don't call it Night City for nothing.

My eyes scanned the futuristic city with concealed wonder. Everything was even more beautiful than I thought it would be, and it brought a shit-eating grin to my lips.

"NIGHT CITY, HERE I A-"

"Shut the fuck up!"