THE RISE OF THE SYSTEM OVERLORD

Near Death Experience

Blood pooled beneath me, warm yet quickly cooling against the unforgiving pavement. My breaths came shallow, ragged, each one feeling like it might be my last. Pain burned through my ribs, my stomach, my legs—hell, everywhere. I tried to move, but my body refused, heavy with the weight of my injuries.

The night sky above blurred as my vision darkened at the edges. How had it come to this?

I forced my mind to rewind, piecing together the events that led me here.

It was supposed to be a simple drive home. A quiet night. No trouble. But trouble had found me anyway. The black SUV had appeared out of nowhere, cutting me off and forcing my car to swerve into the abandoned side street. I barely had time to react before masked men emerged like shadows from the vehicle, their intentions clear.

I fought. God knows I fought. My knuckles ached from the punches I’d landed. My ribs screamed from the blows I took in return. But I was outnumbered, overpowered, and in the end, left for dead.

A sharp cough racked my body, and the metallic taste of blood coated my tongue. My fingers twitched against the ground, desperate for something—anything—to hold onto. But there was nothing. No one.

I was alone.

Was this really how it ended?

A bitter laugh bubbled in my throat, but it never escaped. The irony was almost laughable—Caden Kelly, the survivor, the fighter, the man who always found a way—brought down like this. No warning, no explanation. Just cold steel slicing through flesh, fists hammering down until my body gave out.

My eyelids grew heavier, the pain dulling into something almost peaceful. Maybe it was better to let go.

Then I heard it.

A voice. Deep, commanding, and impossible to ignore.

[Bonding System Activated.]

The words echoed in my skull, rattling against the walls of my consciousness.

What the hell?

I must be hallucinating. The blood loss was messing with my head. But the voice came again, stronger this time.

[Initiating Binding Protocol. Do you accept?]

I tried to speak, but my throat barely made a sound. My fingers curled weakly against the pavement.

[Do you accept?] the voice pressed, insistent now.

I didn’t know what the hell was happening. My body was shutting down. My mind was slipping. And yet, something deep inside me whispered—say yes.

With the last shred of strength I had left, I forced my lips to move.

"Y-yes."

The moment the word left me, a jolt of energy surged through my body, unlike anything I had ever felt before. It wasn’t just warmth—it was fire, lightning, power threading through every shattered part of me, knitting me back together with a force that defied logic.

I gasped, arching off the ground as my vision exploded in white-hot light. My wounds pulsed, the pain intensifying before suddenly vanishing, replaced by something... stronger.

And then, just as suddenly as it came, the sensation settled, leaving me breathless but—alive.

I blinked, my breath coming in hard pants as I pushed myself up on shaky arms.

I wasn’t dead.

I should be, but I wasn’t.

The blood was still there. The shredded remains of my shirt stuck to my skin. But the gaping wounds? Gone. The agony that had moments ago consumed me? Faded.

"What the hell just happened?" I whispered.

The voice responded, calm and unwavering.

[Bond successful. Welcome, Caden Kelly.]

I barely had time to process before a scuff of a boot against the pavement made my head snap up.

One of the masked men stood at a distance, frozen mid-step, staring at me like he’d seen a ghost. His grip on the knife in his hand tightened, but I could see it—the flicker of fear in his posture.

Good.

I didn’t know what had just happened to me, but I wasn’t about to waste it.

With a speed that startled even me, I was on my feet. My body felt... different. Lighter. Stronger. There was a surge beneath my skin, an awareness that hadn’t been there before.

The masked man took a step back.

I smiled. It wasn’t friendly.

"You should’ve made sure I was dead," I said.

Then I moved.

Faster than I had any right to. Faster than him. My fist connected with his jaw before he could react, the impact sending a sharp crack through the night. He hit the ground hard, groaning, dazed.

I grabbed his collar and yanked him close, my breath steady, my strength undeniable.

"Who sent you?" I demanded.

The man coughed, still stunned. "S-screw you."

Wrong answer.

I slammed him back against the pavement, my grip unyielding.

"You just left me to die," I said, my voice lower now, deadlier. "You don’t get to play tough."

His breathing turned ragged, panic creeping into his eyes.

"Who. Sent. You?" I repeated, slow and sharp, letting each word cut through the silence.

His lips parted, but before he could speak, another sound sliced through the air—an engine roaring to life.

I turned just in time to see the black SUV screeching away.

Damn it.

I let go of the man in disgust. He scrambled backward, clutching his jaw, his fear evident. He knew he wouldn’t win this fight. Not anymore.

"You tell whoever gave you this job," I said, watching as he scrambled to his feet, "that Caden Kelly doesn’t die that easily."

His eyes widened, then he turned and ran, disappearing into the shadows.

I exhaled, dragging a hand down my face. My pulse was still racing, my body thrumming with this... new energy. Whatever had happened, whatever the Bonding System was, it had changed me.

I wasn’t just alive. I was something else now.

And I intended to find out exactly what.

But first—I had unfinished business.

I turned, my gaze locking onto the distant city lights. Somewhere out there, someone had put a hit on me. They thought they’d won.

They were dead wrong.

A slow, dangerous smile spread across my face.

"Let’s see who’s really playing the game now."

The last words barely left my lips when a sharp, searing pain shot through my skull. My knees buckled as the voice returned, this time colder, more demanding.

[Primary Task Initiated: Hunt or Be Hunted.]

My vision blurred, the world tilting.

And then—darkness