Rain kept refreshing his phone, lying on his bed near the open window. From outside, a cold, chilling yet calming breeze drifted in, brushing against his skin. Inside his cramped two-by-four apartment room, he looked like he was eagerly waiting for something… something important.
The room was surprisingly clean.
After all, he had cleaned it just two or three days ago—his once-in-six-months ritual—just to stop it from turning into a complete dumpster ground.
The walls were filled with medals, trophies, certificates—every kind of merit and achievement.
All of them… useless.
They held no value in his life.
Mixed among them were posters—hot ones—and expensive figurines of female characters. Definitely not cheap. Not even close.
At the corner, on top of an old table, sat a picture with a shattered glass frame.
The photo showed a handsome young man with black hair, in his mid-twenties with a slim build—it was Rain, and beside him was a girl.
She was hugging him tightly, like a couple. Busty figure, brown hair… beautiful enough to turn heads.
Rain's eyes flickered toward it for a split second—
Then moved away.
A trash bin nearby was filled with used tissue papers, giving off a faint, unpleasant stench… the result of his "hard work" from last night.
He didn't care, refreshing his phone again, and again, and again.
His thumb moved rapidly across the screen again and again—
And then—
His face lit up instantly, excitement bursting through his dull expression.
"Here it comes!"
His eyes were sharper, more alive, fixed on the screen than ever before. Probably because of the new character banner in the game.
Omniscient Gacha, also known as OG for short, had been one of the best and most famous gacha games for over ten years. Not just because of its graphics, story, or gameplay from the very beginning, but also because of its next-level fanservice, incomparably beautiful characters, a few handsome guys to lure female players, and its unique world settings that had pushed it to the top within months of release.
This was the game that had supported Rain through the hardest times of his life—through loneliness, heartbreak, and the day his girlfriend had left him. Or at least, its characters had.
He gulped as he saw the newly arrived banner: SSS Divine Tier Character Sylvia, first rerun.
After all these years, it was actually her first rerun.
'She's the same as when I first saw her,' he thought.
Sylvia had been the first SSS Divine Tier Character and one of the main reasons OG had become so popular among male players in the first place. But with an insane winning rate of 0.001 chance per 1000 pulls, there was no guaranteed pity. No one had gotten her in her first run—no one.
"I waited for this day my whole life," he said, eyes shining as he stared at his goddess after so many years.
"At least I've got over 8,700 wishing tickets."
He had saved every single free pull by completing quests, special missions, achievements, and in-game events—only for this day.
He had worked his ass off for this special day that wasn't even guaranteed.
And if it wasn't for the rumor he had heard nine years ago, he never would have even tried to save these pulls or worked this hard.
"Here it goes," he muttered, tapping the screen for his first pull. Trash. It didn't bother him. One pull was nothing but an insult to his goddess.
He continued with a smile on his face, but this time, more intense. 100 pulls… 100 pulls… 100… pulls… 100 pulls…
Within minutes, he had lost more than half of his wishing tickets. Trash. Trash. Trash. Rare, mystic, and legendary items flashed across the screen, but to him, they were all trash—nothing more.
All this sacrifice held no value compared to his wait for his beloved goddess.
Even when players had been begging for her rerun all these years, the developers had never fulfilled their wishes, as if they didn't want her to be obtainable at all.
"One more… just one more," he whispered, pulling and pulling in hope of a shimmer of golden light.
But in the end, he was left with his last wishing ticket. All more than 8,700 were gone, leaving only one.
"Damn! I will get her at any cost this time for sure," he muttered, frustration flickering in his words.
He made his last pull, and this time, the screen really filled with golden light.
Rain's eyes were fixed on his phone, not blinking for a single second, his heart swelling with happiness, filled with hope that a miracle might finally happen.
SHINNNNNN!
But fate had other plans. As the golden light faded, so did the happiness he had expected. He had pulled an SSS Divine Tier Character—but not Sylvia.
It was Elos.
A male character. Super rare, almost as rare as Sylvia, but slightly less so.
Due to his frequent reruns, his value had been dropped steadily. He was the natural enemy of all male players, with a tan, blond, handsome face, revealing six-pack abs, muscular yet slim build, and two twisted dragon horns giving off a lightning vibe—enough to make any female fall in love at first glance.
Elos was the game's marketing weapon aimed at female players—and it worked.
He was among the most popular characters in the game for female players. He got so many reruns that male players began to despise him to the utmost degree.
Not that they hadn't hated him before. He was even called the archenemy of all males in the world, a creature that deserved to die more brutally than a thousand death's.
Rain blinked a few times, his face contorting in anger and irritation. "Are you screwing with me?! Giving me this fucking gigolo!" he shouted.
He almost slammed his phone to the ground but stopped just in time, calming himself with a sign.
A devious grin appeared on his face. "I'm not giving up this easily!"
He held the phone in his hands, ready to go again. Without wasting a second, he purchased tens of thousands of wishing tickets, the money he had saved little by little over the years from part-time jobs and other gigs—not a small amount.
'Not enough'
With that thought, he took several more loans in an instant, buying even more tickets. After spending everything, he had over 20,000 tickets.
Even though he loved Sylvia—his first love—that love alone wasn't enough to prepare him for this day.
It was the rumor he had heard years ago from an anonymous user about her rerun that had driven him to prepare so meticulously.
The sound of money vanishing as he purchased the tickets hit hard. After all, money is money.
His focus shifted to the screen. Without wasting another moment, dwelling on those significant but now insignificant thoughts, he started pulling again.
100 pulls… 100 pulls… 100 pulls… He kept going and going, watching the money he had spent vanish before his eyes.
Now he was left with just over ten thousand tickets. But soon ten turned into nine… then eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one… and that one too turned into hundred from thousand.
Left with exactly hundreds of pulls, he knew that if he didn't get her now, it might never happen. After all, who knew when her rerun would be in the near future?
"Damn! Not this again," he muttered, his grip tightening around the phone.
With one final pull, a voice spoke deep within his heart as he said "Just give her to me already!"
And this time… the gods heard his call. The screen filled with golden light again, covering everything.
[ Congratulations! ]
Those words on the screen made all his hard work worth it. A smile appeared on his face. "Hell yeah! Finally!" he shouted, wanting to dance from excitement, but he controlled himself.
He was ready to celebrate, seeing his waifu in action.
But then… something felt wrong. He blinked.
'Wait…'
On his phone screen, she appeared.
That light sky-blue should have been reflected in her eyes—but instead, they were crimson red, glaring back at him against her silver hair. Those crimson eyes—which should have been blue like the deep sea. Her clothes… too revealing, when they should have given her an elegant, graceful look.
And that gaze… it was all wrong.
"She… she is not Sylvia," he muttered, realization hitting him. The character he got was Sylvia—but her other personality.
Apparently, Sylvia had dual personalities, and the game had represented each as a different character. The one he got was not the gentle, caring Sylvia that Rain had wanted.
'I'm fucked…' he thought, staring at the screen in disbelief.
Suddenly, his screen turned blank.
"What now?!" he yelled, frustration creeping in as he stared at the black screen.
"Now you too!" he muttered, his mood sour.
Then a glitchy message appeared:
[ You have achieved that no one could ]
Rain froze. Was this some kind of glitch? Or a trick by the developers?
[ You are the first one to conquer the heart of Sylvia, and she reveals her title to you—Queen of Domination. ]
Rain blinked. "Wait… isn't the title only revealed when the relationship with a character maxes out…? So why now? I just got her!"
In OG, relationship levels were one of the hardest things to increase. When they peaked, the player was awarded the character's title—which also granted certain boosts.
Rain murmured under his breath, "Domination Queen… kinda suits her, the vibe she gives…"
[ Player, you are chosen to be the Domination Lord ]
"Hmmm… Domination Lord… this looks cool." He grinned, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"With this… maybe I can sell this ID for a hefty sum and try again. I still got plenty of time left," he muttered to himself.
[ Would you like to take this role? ]
[ ACCEPT ]
[ REJECT ]
Without wasting a second, he clicked on accept.
CLINK!
The message on his screen started glitching—jumping, flickering, breaking apart.
[ Initiating the role... ]
Rain thought, 'My phone… is really broken, it seems…'
But before he could even process it…
RUMBLE—CRASH!
Thunder exploded out of nowhere. High-speed winds slammed against his windows, rattling the frame like it might collapse. Rain froze.
'What the hell…?'
He leapt to close the window. "Really… this weather is unpredictable," he muttered, his hands gripping the sill.
His phone shook violently on the bed, teetering at the edge. He lunged as soon as he noticed, eyes wide, ready to catch it…
'No… no, this can't be happening! Not now! My… my phone… my goddess… I'm not done yet!'
The clouds above split violently, tearing the sky apart. A blinding streak of lightning shot straight toward him.
Before he could react further, it hit.
Heat seared through his skin. Light tore at his vision. Pain ripped through his body in a flash so sudden, so absolute, he couldn't even scream. His limbs froze. His mind shattered.
And then… nothing.
The sky was calm. Not a trace of thunder, not a whisper of wind—like the storm had never existed. Rain's phone lay on the bed, screen flickering erratically—the only proof that he had ever been there.
[ Begins your journey as the Domination Lord! ]