Hey Guys! This is my first ever time writing on RRL, or even writing a novel in the first place. This chapter is mainly a trial run for me to figure out whether people like what I have so far. Please do not expect steady releases as I am still in school and do not know at the moment how long I can continue this.  But definitely feel free to comment below and let me know whether you liked it or what changes you would like to see!!!

Also if anyone could show me how to make those blue tables, that would be greatly appreciated since I am still a novice :).

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Chapter 1

“F**K!”

Crassshhhhh

Shards of glass skittered across the cement pavement as the golden brown liquid sprayed over the laces of my shoes.

I looked down at shards, and in my drunken stupor, became entranced for a moment by the way yellow light from the streetlamps reflected against the shards, like golden pieces of ice.

As I looked back up, I saw multiple eyes staring back at me with expressions of fear, disgust, confusion, and aversion.

“Aha… ahaha… AHAAhaHAahAHaHAaahahahah”

I laughed, which at this point sounded like the cackle that you would hear from an evil villain wearing purple and green in an old animated series, as I stumbled down a busy sidewalk through the dense metropolitan city.

I was laughing at the incredulity of the situation. Only Two months ago, I was a renowned scientist with a double PhD in Bioengineering and Neuroscience. Two months ago, I was widely acknowledged as a genius who had built an empire on new age medical innovations, from bionic prosthetics to cloning technology. Two months ago, I had a penthouse overlooking glowing city skyline, a lambo that would make people  stare as it went down the street, and plenty of beautiful women who would throw coy looks my way.

To put it in better words, two months ago I was a man that had everything.

But today… I was a man that had lost it all.

A man with with only the clothes on his back  (which consisted of a t shirt, a worn down hoodie, and ripped jeans), a crumpled up five dollar bill in his back pocket, and a half shattered beer bottle in hand.

As I tumbled down the  bustling street with whatever sanity I had left, I came across a familiar sight that made me stop in my tracks.

To my right loomed a 40 story building, composed of solely black, reflective glass panels. They stacked on top of each other and adjoined like pieces of a puzzle,  as they came together at the top to form a spire that looked like it could pierce the heavens.

And at the top story, with large glowing blue letters, hung the words:

Zenith Incorporated

As the name suggests, it stood at the top of the corporate world. Starting as a small pharmaceutical and bioengineering firm, it has grown rapidly into a multinational conglomerate with its invisible hands in many different fields from nanotechnology, to alternative energy, and even in esports, outpacing all its competitors and swallowing them whole.

It is also my company.

Well, legally speaking, it was my company.

Two months ago, I was called out by my own board of executives on the basis that I ‘lacked the proper vision to guide the company’  and in turn, deposed from my office as CEO.

And all of this because I was against the idea of moving into the financial services industry, a business sector that I believed preyed on hard working individuals and being a victim to it for a large portion of my life. Whether it be loan sharks or large financial institution, they all had one goal, and that was to bring in more money. They would do whatever and step on whomever to make that extra buck; something I staunchly opposed and was voted out for.

Then came the financial scandal which coincidentally seemed to happen right after my dethronement. Apparently a few members from the company had been siphoning of funds  from the company and feeding it into an offshore account right under my nose.  But since the job was done so cleanly, and all traces had been wiped clean, the real culprits were never discovered.  The worst part: the account was under my name. And no. It wasn’t me.

This lead to all fingers conveniently being pointed at me, the holder of the account and CEO at the time of the scandal. It was clear someone was targeting me, but without any leads, I was dragged to court and sued for the majority of my assets majority (under what basis even I don’t know) to cover the costs for the company’s loss.

And like that a chain of events, my life came tumbling down. My wife divorced me, taking my home, my car, and a hundred million dollars ( which was pretty much all that I had left) through settlement payments.  I lost custody of my kids, who in fact began to look at me like I was some criminal after they were told that I was a ‘bad man’.

Now, thinking back to when I was younger, I guess life was no different.

Swimming through the muck and filth of society, I had climbed my way to the top. But the difference was that even though my whole life had been a struggle, with roadblock every few meters, I had never felt hopeless before. Whether it be loan sharks banging on my door and threatening to cut me up if I couldn't pay, or even if it was the fact that I did not have a single relative to care for me, I always saw life as a mountain that I would one day climb to the top.

And yet, today was the first time I had felt like that top of the mountain was merely a fantasy that I had conjured in my head in order to make myself feel better about my circumstances.

I had been born into the trash of society.

My father died before I could even walk. My mom never talked about him, but from what people said about , he seemed to be a decent man; always taking the extra effort to help out others and going the extra mile for those who were less fortunate. It’s too bad those who usually mean well, like me, usually end up being s**t on by the world. And like that one morning, the police found my father on the bad side of the neighborhood with his wallet missing and a bullet in his head.

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And soon after, my mother began to live in a world of her own. For hours straight she would stare at the wall with lifeless eyes, and once in awhile, a faint smile would appear as if she was dreaming about a life in a better place. Well it didn’t take too long for me to find her one night hanging by a noose in the shower.

Even though I was a six year at that time, I was far sharper than the average kid my age. On those days where my mom would stare at the wall, I would hide under the kitchen counter as loud bangs would resound from the door, followed by -

“Open up, c**t! We know you’re in there!”

“Either you pay up, or you and your boy are gonna end up in the nearest brothel. I heard they pay well for good p***y.”

Apparently my father had taken multiple loans in order pay off the mortgage from some fairly unsavory characters. And now with both of my parents gone, the astronomical debt had fallen onto my shoulders. Knowing that no foster home would take a kid like me with gangsters and loan sharks on my tail, I made the run for it.

I made it through one way or the other. Public school wasn’t really an option since the local gangs had deep connections and most definitely end up finding me. Therefore I’d wake up at the crack of dawn, and then head off to do odd jobs like wash dishes at local restaurants, never staying in a single place for too long. There were many nights that I would sit under the bus stop, shivering in the never ending rain, and stare at the glowing skyscrapers which looked like swords that could pierce through the heavens. I dreamed that one day, instead of looking up and struggling to see the tops of metal towers, I would stand at the top of highest building looking down at the rest of the world.

And now look at me.

I had fallen right back down to where I had started.

Still looking up and trying to see the top of the tower.

I looked back down, and on the reflective panels of the building, I saw the figure of an individual that looked like they had been living in a cardboard box for their whole life.  Long, black and gray straggly hair ran down the sides of my face, covering my ears, and going all the way to the base of my neck, a stark difference from the usual short, slicked back hairstyle I was famous for.

A thick unkempt beard grew out from the underside of my neck giving me the appearance of a crazed lumberjack. The bags  under my eyes and the wrinkles made me look like I aged 10 years in the matter two months. Overall it was not the appearance of a man who had just crossed 30 and was making millions of dollars a day.

As I continued to stare at my reflection, a new sensation began to bubble in my gut.

‘Why me!’

‘Out of all the people in this world, why was I doomed to such a fate’

‘I never gave up and never quit, even when the mountains seemed too large to climb’

‘Against all odds I was nearing the top, and now I’m back to square one!

The rage, which started in my stomach, quickly began to rise, moving through my torso, into my limbs, and up to my head, soon encompassing every fiber of my body.

‘ Why me! ’

‘ Instead of all those fools who did not work for a single penny they earned’

‘ WHY ME! ’

The rage began to to blow up like torrential river, overflowing with copious amounts of hate, just waiting to be set free.

And as I looked around like a mad beast searching for a victim, I found the prime target.

A caucasian man with a slick gray coat, matching grey slacks, a round chubby face, a long pointy nose,  and an arrogant smirk that splattered across his face giving the impression of a typical rich prick, came walking out through the entrance of Zenith Inc.

With a haughty strut and his head held high, like a peacock showing off its feathers, he turned left with a quick turn of his body and came face to face with me.

On his face appeared a variety of emotions, from shock, to disgust, to shock once again.

“Wait… that can't be…” he muttered, and then said “Is that you, Big Boss?”

Damn, this arrogant a**hole. It was the CFO of Zenith incorporated, who was also supposed to be one of my most trusted confidants and friends. Being the son of a hedge fund billionaire, he quickly got into Harvard due to a few ‘gracious contributions’ to the school. It was there that we met, and while he may have been the number one slacker of the class, me and him quickly became friends and eventual co-founders for Zenith Incorporated: I had the brains while he had the money.

Knowing that he had bought his way to the top instead of working for it, he often relied on me during board meetings and presentations to make him from looking like a fool. He would stick to me like glue, and I had always thought as I younger brother who I should look out for. And yet when it came to my demotion and scandal incidents, he acted as if I was in wrong and wholly agreed with the decisions that were passed.

I clearly remember what he said that day at court as I stood in front of the jury awaiting my verdict.

“It’s too bad it had to be this way. I thought you were a better man than this”

He stood there with a stone cold face as if he was unaffected by the situation, and yet that emotionless facade could not hide the slight smirk that only I picked up on after working with him for many years.

‘That swine. He’s most likely one of the real culprits. But he’s too dumb to orchestrate a plan like that. Probably wanted to spend the money at the high-end brothels and clubs after his daddy refused to pay for his “nightly needs”.

And now as I stood in front the slightly shocked man who had betrayed my rust, I did not say a single world. The only thing I could feel was the overall temperature of my body, which began to rapidly elevate as my heart began to pump blood at a faster and faster rate.

Taking my silence for confirmation, he once again took up the rich prick persona.

“Wow...just wow…” he said, with a slight smirk on his face as he analyzed me from top to bottom as like I was some exotic animal at a petting zoo .

“Just look at what you’ve become. You know what, if you ever need a place to stay, just hit me up. I can always lay a few sheets on the floor for you and find you a nice pillow so you can sleep next dog. I’ll even by you a dog pen just like his. HaHAahAahAHAHah”

As he cackled like a hyena, I stood in silence as the heat in my body began to rise to my head and my eyes became bloodshot. I looked to my right hand and saw that the jagged edges of the half shattered bottle were oddly sharp… almost like knives…

“Actually, hahahah, you know what would be bett----”

Before he could even finish, I was already in motion.

With the rage at an all time high, the alcohol stirring up my emotions, and the adrenaline pumping through my veins, I leapt towards him with the jagged side of the bottle striking out at his throat.

The sharp , knife like edges, were only centimeters away from his neck when everything froze.

It was as if the world had stopped and time was at a standstill.

The people on the busy sidewalk stood like mannequins at a shopping mall

The cars were stuck as if they had hit the brakes.

Even the laughing buffoon in front of me was oddly silent.

I couldn't move either. It was as if a force was holding me in place preventing me from even breathing.

Suddenly, a robotic voice resounded in my mind:

……..System Initializing……..

….1%...2%....3%..

99%... 100%... Initializing Completed…. soul and Systems have been linked.

….Analyzing physical features and facial characteristics…

……………….

……………………

…...Preparing body and soul transference…..

Suddenly a bright light enveloped my surroundings as I was blinded by the view. After what seemed like a few seconds, the light began to recede and dim out. Even though I was still frozen in time eyes began to adjust to scene, and I was truly shocked by what I was seeing.

All around me was a thick lingering mist that covered the surrounding like a blanket. A moist layer of loamy dark brown soil covered the ground,causing my shoes to slightly sink into the earth. Tall trees sprung from the ground reaching average heights of 50 meters, with spiny leaves like that of a coniferous tree. Moss and lichen stuck to the barks of most trees adding a dull green shade to the surrounding areas.

And in front of me stood a man with a thick brown moustache and beard, piercing blue eyes, and a slightly round chubby face. He was dressed in a classic medieval noble outfit with a delicately embroidered red and gold shirt, tight white stockings, and a royal red and white fur  coat. To top it all off, at the helm of his head was a golden crown studded with an assortment of jewels. If anything his overall appearance reminded me a certain fast food mascot ( If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the name starts with “Burger” and ends with “-ing”).

Next to him , on both sides, stood an old man with long grey beard, and a young lad with short brown hair and an innocent looking face.  Both wore royal purple robes with pointy purple hats and their eyes half closed, as they held out long wooden staffs with glowing white orbs at the ends.

‘ What in the w- ’

But before I could even finish my thought, time began to resume.

My body continued to move forward with my right arm still out, as the man in the center began to say something

“Welcome, hero, to th---”

Schhhhhiiiiiiikkkkk

However, his words came to an abrupt stop as his eyes began to go wide.

As I quickly drew back my hand, with the edges of glass covered in red,  I stared back in shock and fear. The man in front of me stumbled backwards and stopped, his hands clutching his throat. A crimson colored fluid gushed out like a fountain from the gaps of his fingers as he tried his best to stop the flow.

He continued to stumble a few more time until he tripped back on a stone and went down with a large:

THUD!