Dead Man's System Activated
The letters didn't vanish.
Elijah blinked once. Twice. Then again, slower — like maybe he could force them to disappear by sheer will or repetition. But they didn't fade. They just hovered, glowing faintly in the dark, suspended in the middle of his apartment like some augmented reality projection.
He didn't move, not at first. Just sat there on the mattress, holding a lottery ticket worth billions in one hand, staring at something that absolutely should not exist.
"…What the hell."
The words slipped out before he even knew he was speaking.
He leaned forward slightly. The letters didn't shift. Didn't track his motion. They weren't on the screen, or the wall, or even floating in front of him — they were just there, hanging in the air.
He raised a hand and waved it through the text.
No resistance and no warmth.
The letters passed through his fingers like fog.
His pulse kicked up. Not panic, not yet anyways.
But that slow rise in the chest, the body realizing something was wrong before the brain caught up.
He laughed once.
Short and dry.
"I'm… dreaming," he said, . "This is all a dream. It all makes sense now."
He got to his feet, moving stiffly, like someone trying not to wake a sleeping bear. Walked over to the light switch. Flipped it.
Nothing.
He tried the TV.
Still dead.
He pulled the cord out of the wall and back in.
Nothing.
Everything electronic in the room was off, except for the thing that wasn't electronic.
"System initializing..."
Validating contract...
Confirmed.
Soul Status: Contracted
The letters changed right in front of him. Just updated like someone typing from the inside of the air.
And that's when something deep in his spine decided to start sending warning signals.
"Elijah Knox," a voice said.
He froze.
It wasn't a loud voice. Not booming. Not cinematic.
Just there. Crisp. Smooth. Male-ish, but not quite. Amused, but not mocking.
"Elijah Knox," it repeated. "Let's be honest. You didn't think it would actually work, did you?"
He looked around the room, eyes wide now, searching corners. Behind the TV. Toward the bathroom.
Nothing.
The glowing letters remained, but now they hovered a few inches lower, as if watching him.
"I—no. I didn't…" His voice faltered. "Who is this? What is this?"
There was a pause.
Then a new line appeared in front of him, timed almost perfectly:
Welcome, new user. And congratulations on your catastrophic lack of foresight.
He stared.
"That's not funny," he said.
"No, it's not," the voice replied. "But I'm trying to ease you in. Some contracted users scream for the first several hours. Others faint. You're doing well, all things considered."
"Contracted? I didn't agree to contract."
Another pause. And another glowing message.
Verbal soul-barter acknowledged at 3:42 A.M.
Auditory confirmation: "I swear, if I could win the lottery and leave this hellhole behind, I'd gladly sell my soul to whichever dead bastard's listening."
Elijah took a full step back.
"That was a joke."
"Yes," the voice said, calmly. "And I'm the punchline."
Note: There are no take-backs.
"Wait—hold on, what even are you?"
There was a shift in the room. Not physical. Just… presence. The way you feel someone standing behind you, even when they haven't said a word.
Another line faded in, clean and center-aligned:
System Classification: Bound Entity
Designation: [REDACTED]
Function: Contract Execution and Soul Terms Fulfillment
"I don't understand any of that," Elijah muttered.
"You don't need to. Just know this, the moment your numbers were called, the contract went active. You've been processed, categorized, and indexed. You're all mine now."
A pause.
Then, softly,"…so to speak."
Elijah didn't speak right away. He just stood there, heart beating unevenly in his chest, trying to process what he was hearing, what he was seeing, what the hell was happening.
He rubbed his face.
Hard.
Like maybe he could wipe this off him somehow. "Okay. Okay, no. This is… this is because of something I ate. That sandwich was probably full of poison. Or mold. Or bath salts. Mike said he heard someone died after eating their food. I should've listened."
The System did not offer sympathy.
Denial detected.
System integrity stable.
"You can't just steal someone's soul because they mumbled something at 4 A.M."
"I didn't steal it," the voice replied smoothly. "You gave it up. Offer made. Offer accepted. Binding confirmed."
"That's not binding!" Elijah snapped. "That's—who even hears stuff like that? People say crap all the time. It's just random noise!"
Another message appeared:
Intent was clear. Words were specific. Transaction valid.
"Humans give too much away when they think no one's listening."
He stared at the words.
Then said, quieter, "I didn't think anyone was."
A pause. The room seemed to breathe.
Then the voice again, now softer.
"I know."
That somehow made it worse.
Elijah ran both hands through his hair, pacing now. "Okay. Let's say I believe this, which I don't, but if I did, there's gotta be a way out. Some reversal. A loophole. Something."
Another glowing line answered him.
There is no reversal.
There is only forward.
"And if I don't want to go forward?"
"Then your soul will begin to decay."
He stopped moving.
"What does that mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like."
He didn't answer. Just stood there, staring at nothing.
Then, quietly, he said, "I didn't think I'd win."
The system didn't reply right away.
When it did, the tone had changed, not cruel, not even harsh. Just matter-of-fact.
"Always remember," it said. "Someone is always listening."
The glow in the air pulsed once, and another message took its place.
Orientation sequence complete.
Initializing first system interface...
Symbols formed in front of him — cleaner than before, sharper. A UI now. Minimal, crisp, too vivid to be part of his imagination.
"USER STATUS"
Name: Elijah Knox
Soul Status: Contracted
System Link: Stable
User Options: [None Available]
"No options?" Elijah said aloud. "Seriously?"
"You opted out of options the moment you signed your soul over like an item on clearance."
"Stop talking like this is normal."
Another flicker.
Then:
You have been granted an Orientation Reward.
Spectral Trait Unlocked: Spirit Sight – Level 1
The moment the words faded, something shifted behind his eyes.
Like blinking wrong.
Like seeing the room twice.
He gasped, stumbling back a step as everything in the apartment seemed to tilt. The corners of the room stretched a little longer. The shadows felt heavier.
And then, he saw it.
Something in the corner watching him.
Not fully shaped. Not human. Not close. But it was there.
The glow of the system changed. Brighter. And in that brightness, something began to take form.
A figure.
Tall. Faceless. Dressed in what looked like layered cloth and smoke. No features. No solid outline. Just presence.
Elijah stared.
"What are you," he whispered.
The figure tilted its head slightly, as if amused.
Then the voice returned.
"Now," it said. "Let's talk about what happens next."