The sun felt wrong.
Not because it was bright, but because it was too calm.
Like the world was pretending.
Jack sat up slowly, rubbing sand off his arms. The air was warm, but his skin still tingled from the aftershock of whatever had happened to him.
The kind of tingling you get when you've been in a situation where your body nearly fails.
He stared out at the sea.
He could've been dreaming.
But the sea didn't behave like a dream. It didn't loop or repeat. It didn't soften at the edges. It was harsh and real.
He pushed himself to his feet.
Gon was gone.
The boy with the fishing rod and the too-bright smile had vanished without a trace.
Jack didn't feel relief.
He felt a strange emptiness, like someone had pulled a thread in his chest.
He scanned the island.
No footprints. No movement. No sign of life except the ocean and the trees.
That's when the system spoke.
Not out loud. Not with sound. Just like a thought that wasn't his.
[God Level Choice System — ACTIVE]
Jack froze.
He didn't want to feel the system again. He didn't want to accept the idea that his life was now controlled by some invisible rule.
But the words were there. Clear.
[First Meaningful Action Detected.]
[Choose one of three options.]
Jack's heart began to race.
Meaningful action.
He hadn't done anything.
He hadn't moved.
He hadn't chosen.
Then he realized the system wasn't waiting for him to act.
It was reacting to what he already did.
He woke up.
He survived.
He chose to continue living.
That was enough.
Three choices appeared in his mind like glass shards.
They weren't written like a menu. They were more like… possibilities.
CHOICE 1 — "The Fisherman's Fate"
Reward: A Nen ability suitable for survival on Whale Island.
Consequence: You must protect Gon at least once.
CHOICE 2 — "The Hunter's Path"
Reward: Hunter Exam preparation boost (skills, knowledge, hidden advantage).
Consequence: You must leave Whale Island within 1 month.
CHOICE 3 — "The God's Gamble"
Reward: A random power from any fictional universe (major risk).
Consequence: A person you love will be harmed in the future.
Jack stared at them.
It wasn't just the rewards that shocked him.
It was the consequences.
The system didn't offer easy options.
It offered choices that felt like knives.
His mind ran through the possibilities.
Protect Gon.
Leave the island.
Risk everything for a chance at something insane.
None of them felt safe.
And that was the point, he realized.
The system didn't want him to survive by luck. It wanted him to choose.
He looked out toward the trees.
Something moved.
Not a sound. Just movement.
His body reacted before his mind did.
He took a step back.
Then another.
His eyes fixed on the tree line.
A figure stepped out.
Not Gon.
A woman.
Older. Stronger. Someone who looked like she didn't belong on an island that was supposed to be quiet.
Her hair was tied back, and her eyes were sharp. She looked at him like she was measuring him.
"You're not from here," she said.
Jack didn't answer.
His brain was still stuck on the system.
The woman didn't seem surprised by his silence.
"You're not a Hunter," she continued, "but you're here anyway."
Jack forced himself to speak. "Who are you?"
The woman glanced at the ocean, then back at him.
"You should leave," she said. "Now."
Jack felt his heart speed up.
"Why?" he asked.
The woman's expression didn't change.
"This island is quiet," she said. "That's why people come here.
To hide. To rest. To wait for something they can't face elsewhere."
Jack didn't like the way she said it.
It sounded like a warning.
It sounded like she had seen something.
He asked again, "What is it?"
The woman didn't answer directly.
Instead, she looked at him with an intensity that felt like it could cut.
"This world isn't peaceful," she said. "It just pretends to be. If you stay, you'll learn why."
Jack swallowed.
His mind flashed back to the choices
.
Choice 1: Protect Gon. Get Nen.
Choice 2: Leave. Get Hunter advantage.
Choice 3: Risk everything. Get random power.
He didn't want to leave. Not without understanding what was happening.
But he also didn't want to promise something he couldn't keep.
The woman watched him carefully.
"You have a look in your eyes," she said softly. "Like you've seen death before."
Jack's throat tightened.
He didn't want to say anything.
He didn't want to admit that he had.
The system pulsed.
[Decision Required.]
Jack stared at the woman.
She didn't look like she was going to hurt him. She looked like she was trying to save him.
He looked back toward the shoreline.
He imagined Gon's smile.
He imagined the boy's innocence.
He imagined what it would feel like to watch that innocence be destroyed.
Jack closed his eyes.
He made his choice.
Choice 1 — "The Fisherman's Fate."
Jack opened his eyes.
"I'll protect him," he said quietly.
The woman blinked, surprised.
"Who?" she asked.
"Gon," Jack said. "The boy with the fishing rod."
The woman's face shifted, like she had been waiting for that answer.
"You know him?" she asked.
Jack nodded.
"I do," he said. "And I'm not going to let him die."
The system reacted immediately.
[Choice Confirmed.]
Jack felt something inside him change.
Not like a power surge.
More like a new sense of awareness.
The air felt different. The island felt different.
Everything felt… sharper.
A new line appeared in his mind.
[Reward: Nen Activation — Basic Training Granted.]
Jack's body tingled.
He could feel the world in a way he hadn't before. Like he could sense the presence of living things without seeing them.
The woman watched him for a moment.
Then she nodded once.
"Good," she said. "You chose. Now you need to learn how to survive."
Jack looked at her again. "Who are you?"
The woman didn't smile.
"Names don't matter," she said. "Not here. Not yet."
She stepped back into the trees, then stopped and turned slightly.
"One more thing," she said. "If you want to survive, you need to understand one rule."
Jack waited.
She said, "The world doesn't care about your plans."
And then she was gone.
Jack stood alone on the beach.
He didn't feel like a hero.
He didn't feel like a god.
He felt like a kid who had just been handed a knife and told to defend someone he barely knew.
He looked out at the sea again.
And for the first time since waking up, he didn't feel the system.
He felt something else.
Fear.
Not of death.
Fear of what he might become.