Iris sat on the cold pavement, holding Bethany's lifeless body. Her white skirt was soaked through with blood. Her mind was blank, unable to process what had just happened. The world around her—the sirens, the firefighters, the flashing lights—felt distant and unreal.
Then that voice came again.
[So... you're finally ready to talk, Dear Hostess?]
Iris's head jerked up sharply. Her heart, which had felt dead in her chest, suddenly began racing.
"Who's there?" she asked, her voice shaky and hoarse from the smoke.
She looked around frantically, searching for whoever—or whatever—was speaking to her. But there was no one nearby. The paramedics and firefighters were all focused on the burning building or tending to other residents.
[Dear Hostess, do you want to change the outcome of your actions?]
The mechanical voice sounded different now. It was calmer, almost... human. There was something gentle about it, despite its artificial quality.
"What do you mean?" Iris asked, her eyes still darting around, trying to locate the speaker. "Change the outcome? What are you talking about?"
[Don't look around, I'm right in front of you.]
Iris's gaze snapped forward.
In the air directly before her face, a small portal opened—a swirling circle of light and shadow, no bigger than a dinner plate. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie, crackling softly with energy.
From inside this portal, something floated out.
Iris blinked, not quite believing what she was seeing.
It was a cat.
A small, fluffy Persian cat with pure white fur that seemed to glow faintly in the dim light. Its fur was impossibly clean and soft-looking, especially compared to the ash and soot covering everything else. But this was clearly no ordinary cat.
Its eyes were enormous and perfectly round, shining with a strange metallic pink glow that reminded Iris of LED lights. Across its body, strange zigzag patterns pulsed with a faint luminescence—they looked like computer code or circuit board designs etched into its fur.
The creature hovered in the air without any visible means of support, floating like gravity simply didn't apply to it. Its tail swished lazily back and forth.
A floating, glowing, grumpy Persian cat.
Iris stared at it in stunned silence.
[I meant exactly what I said,] the cat spoke, its mouth not moving but its voice clear in Iris's head. [Do you want to revive the friend you just killed?]
Iris's breath caught in her throat. Her arms tightened protectively around Bethany's body.
"What are you talking about?" she snapped, her voice rising defensively. "I didn't kill her! I was trying to save her!"
[I believe I'm being very accurate, Dear Hostess,] the floating cat replied, its tone matter-of-fact and unbothered by her anger.
[You pushed her. She fell. She died.]
The cat tilted its head slightly, those glowing pink eyes fixed on Iris.[Deny it if you dare.]
Iris opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. Her throat closed up. Because as much as she wanted to deny it, as much as it hurt to admit... the System was right.
She had pushed Bethany.
She had been trying to save her from the falling shelf, yes. But she had pushed her. And Bethany had fallen through the open balcony door. Twenty-seven floors. And now she was dead.
Iris went silent. Her arms tightened even more around Bethany's lifeless body, her fingers digging into the blood-soaked fabric of her friend's shirt.
The System waited patiently, floating in the air with that permanent scowl on its fluffy white face.
[But—] it finally said, letting the word hang in the air.
Iris's head snapped up.[You can bring her back.]
Iris's heart lurched in her chest. She lifted her head slowly, her red-rimmed eyes focusing intently on the floating cat.
"How?" she asked hoarsely. "How can I bring her back? And more importantly—why are you helping me? What do you want from me?"
The cat-like System flicked its tail lazily, as if considering how much to reveal.
[Systems exist to help people who desperately want to change their fate,] it explained. [People who have reached a breaking point. People who would do anything—sacrifice anything—to undo their mistakes or achieve their deepest wishes.]
"Is that so," Iris muttered skeptically. She had never believed in magic or supernatural beings, but what choice did she have now?
She swallowed hard, pushing down her doubts.
"As long as you can revive her," she said firmly, her voice growing stronger with each word, "I don't care what it costs. I don't care what I have to do. I'll pay any price."
She looked directly into the System's glowing pink eyes.
"Explain everything. Right now."
The System seemed pleased by her determination. It nodded its small, fluffy head.
[Very well. Listen carefully.]
[First, you will be sent to another world.]
[More precisely, a world based on novels—stories that exist in books. These worlds are real, just in different dimensions. You will possess someone else's body temporarily. You will live as that person, with their appearance, their memories, their relationships.]
"And then?" Iris asked. "What's my purpose there?"
[Your job is to fulfill the wish of the body's original owner,] the System explained. [Every person whose body you possess will have a deep, unfulfilled wish. Something they desperately wanted to achieve or change before they died or lost hope. You must complete that wish perfectly.]
Iris processed this information quickly. "And after I complete the mission?"
[When you complete the mission with a perfect score—] the System continued, [a soul exchange will take place.]
Iris frowned, leaning forward slightly. "Soul exchange? What does that mean?"
[The soul of the person you possess will be given to you as a reward,] the System explained patiently. [Their complete soul, freed from their body and their world. You may then trade that soul to retrieve your friend's soul.]
Iris's heart pounded hard against her ribs. This was insane. Absolutely insane. Trading souls like currency? But if it meant bringing Bethany back...
"Wait," she said carefully, narrowing her eyes at the floating cat. "Do you actually have Bethany's soul? How do I know you're not lying to me? How do I know this isn't all some trick or hallucination from smoke inhalation?"
The System let out a dramatic sigh, its fluffy body seeming to deflate slightly with exasperation.
[I expected that question,]
Suddenly, a screen appeared in the air beside the System—a large, futuristic holographic display with a blue glow. It looked like something from a sci-fi movie, all sleek lines and digital interfaces.
On the screen was an image of a glass jar.
Inside the jar, white mist swirled slowly, glowing with a soft, ethereal light. It moved like smoke but also like something alive—something conscious and aware. The mist pressed against the glass repeatedly, as if trying to escape.
Below the jar, a number was displayed in sharp, glowing text:100,000,000
But Iris's attention was drawn to something else—the jar itself was wrapped in thick gray chains. Heavy, industrial-looking chains that wound around and around the glass. A massive lock held them closed, glowing with the same code-like patterns that decorated the System's body.
"What is that?" Iris whispered, unable to look away from the swirling white mist.
System:
[ Your friend's soul. ]
Isa stared, stunned.
"Why is it locked?"
System: [ Because you lack enough Shopping Points—S.P. ]
[ S.P. is the system currency. ]
[ You use it to buy items from the System Mall. ]
System:
[ There are two ways to obtain items. ]
[ One: buy them using enough S.P. ]
[ Two: exchange something of equal value. ]
Iris clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms. Her mind was racing, trying to understand all of this impossible information.
"How do I know you're not lying?" she demanded, her voice sharp with desperation and suspicion. "That could be anyone's soul in there. Or just smoke in a jar. Some special effect. How do I know it's really Bethany?"
The System's expression—already grumpy—somehow managed to look even more annoyed. [Fine. I'll prove it.]
The glass jar suddenly floated out of the screen, becoming three-dimensional and real. It drifted through the air toward Bethany's body, chains rattling softly.
The moment the jar came close to Bethany's corpse, the white mist inside reacted violently.
It began swirling frantically, slamming against the glass walls of the jar with force.
The mist pressed against the side closest to Bethany, reaching toward her body again and again with desperate intensity. It was like watching someone trapped behind a window, pounding on the glass, trying desperately to get through.
The behavior was unmistakable—the soul recognized its body and was trying to return to it.
Iris's breath caught in her throat. Her hand reached out instinctively, trembling as it moved toward the jar.
"Bethany..." she whispered.
But before her fingers could touch the glass—
The System snapped its fingers.
Snap.
The jar vanished instantly, disappearing back into the holographic screen. The chains locked it tightly once more, the massive lock glowing as it sealed.
[Do you believe me now?] the System asked, its tone suggesting it knew the answer.
Iris nodded slowly, unable to speak. Her hand was still outstretched, reaching for something that was no longer there.
She had seen it with her own eyes. That was Bethany's soul. Her best friend was still there, trapped in that jar, desperate to return.
Nothing about this made sense. Floating cats, other worlds, souls in jars, supernatural systems—it all sounded like something from one of Bethany's fantasy novels.
But Iris had no choice. If there was even the smallest chance this was real, she had to take it.
[So, Dear Hostess...] the System said formally, floating closer to her face. [Are you willing to sign a temporary contract with me?]
Iris nodded without hesitation. "Yes."
Another screen appeared in the air—this one simpler, like a basic form or application. It showed just two blank fields:
Name:
Signature:
[You only need to fill these for now,] the System explained. [The rest of your information can be completed later, once we've begun.]
With trembling hands still stained with Bethany's blood, Iris reached up and touched the holographic screen. To her surprise, it felt solid beneath her fingertips, responding to her touch like a tablet.
She carefully wrote her name and signature.
The moment she finished writing, the screen glowed brightly.
And then—everything stopped.
Time itself froze.
The flames on the apartment building froze mid-flicker, their orange glow suspended in the air. The firefighters froze mid-movement, water from their hoses hanging in the air like crystal sculptures. People's mouths were caught open mid-word. Even the smoke stopped moving, hanging in strange, solid-looking clouds.
Sound vanished completely. The sirens cut off mid-wail. The world became absolutely, perfectly silent.
It was like someone had pressed pause on reality itself.
Iris looked around in shock, but she could still move. Only she and the System seemed unaffected.
Then, beneath her feet, the concrete began to crack.
A massive black portal opened, swirling with darkness and strange lights—like a doorway to somewhere impossible. It grew wider and wider, spreading across the ground.
The solid pavement disappeared.
And Iris was falling.
She didn't even have time to scream before the darkness swallowed her whole, pulling her down into the unknown.