Beyond the Brink: A Banker's Role in a Divine Apocalypse80.00%

Chapter 8 : The World Broke…

I spent the next hour messing with my new reword, and the more I tested, the more ridiculous it got.

First, I grabbed random supplies; a flashlight, a wrench, a stack of water bottles; and blinked them out of reality. Then I summoned them back, rapid-fire, switching their order just because I could.

Then I tried bigger stuff.

A whole crate? Easy.

A stack of crates? Still easy.

My car?

I hesitated.

Would it even fit? The system didn't say anything about size limits.

Heart pounding, I placed my palm against the hood and willed it into storage.

For a split second, nothing happened.

Then, the entire car flickered… and disappeared.

I doubled over, hands on my knees, laughing in disbelief.

This was insane. This changed everything.

No more hauling supplies by hand. No more storing everything in the vault, where anyone could find it. Everything I owned was now untouchable.

I could walk into the bank with an entire survival bunker in my back pocket and no one would know.

…

I left the vault feeling invincible.

And then I ran into Mr. Harrison.

He was standing near the front entrance, hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets, eyes sharp beneath his heavy brow. Waiting.

I slowed my pace, forcing my expression into something neutral.

"Late night again?" he asked casually, but his gaze flicked to my now-empty hands.

Crap.

I should've carried something out for show.

It's too late now.

I shrugged. "Just finishing up some work."

Harrison didn't blink. "Funny. I checked the security feed earlier. You walked in with a full load. Didn't see you walk out with anything."

Shit.

I forced a laugh, tilting my head. "You spying on me, Mr Harrison?"

He smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Security's my job."

Think.

I gave him a slow, pointed look. "You're right… I did bring stuff in. Just reorganizing inventory." I waved vaguely toward the bank. "Wouldn't want things to pile up in one spot."

Harrison didn't respond right away. He just studied me. Too long for my liking.

Then he said, "You know, I've been in security a long time."

I crossed my arms. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. And in my experience, people only move things around this much when they're hiding something."

Fuck. Did this old man unlock 'insight' or something.

A part of me wanted to brush him off, to roll my eyes and walk away, but another part…the cautious part, the paranoid part…knew it would be more trouble.

I forced a small smile. "Well, lucky for me, I'm just a boring banker, not some criminal mastermind."

Harrison didn't smile back. "it will be more convenient for you… if I believed that, wouldn't it?"

I turned on my heel and walked away before he could say anything else.

I didn't sleep that night.

Harrison's words kept replaying in my head.

I thought I had been careful, but not careful enough. He was observant enough to notice me…That meant someone else could be, too.

By sunrise, I had a new plan.

I spent the whole morning moving EVERYTHING; food, weapons, medicine, even the last few valuables I hadn't transferred yet…into Dimensional Storage.

I cleaned out the vault completely.

By the time I went back to work, the underground room looked untouched, like nothing had ever been stored there in the first place.

If Mr Harrison..or anyone else, decided to investigate? They'd find nothing.

…

(Current day)

I arrived at the bank feeling untouchable.

And then, the second I stepped inside, I knew something was wrong.

The atmosphere was… off. Tense. Heavy.

Employees whispered behind desks, casting glances toward the upper offices.

I caught sight of Daniel. Packing his things.

His usual smug arrogance was gone. He looked pale. Hollow.

SUSPENDED. That's what the rumors said. UNDER INVESTIGATION.

I should've felt relieved. But then he looked up.

His eyes locked onto mine.

And he smiled.

Not beaten. Not defeated.

Like he knew something I didn't.

A chill ran down my spine.

Daniel didn't look away.

That same tight-lipped, knowing smile clung to his face as he shut his briefcase with a slow, deliberate snap.

I flinched (thanks to 'old Amanda's habits'), forcing my breath to stay even. He was playing at something.

And thanks to my past life, I have a rough idea of what he's planning.

The office buzzed with uneasy whispers. A scandal. An investigation.

If Daniel was suspended, that meant someone higher up had finally started acting against him because of my actions.

But the way he was looking at me… like he still had a card to play? That didn't sit right.

I didn't break eye contact.

"Looks like you're out," I said, voice casual.

Daniel exhaled a laugh, low and smooth. "we both know that I am innocent."

'Daniel might be a lot of things but innocent is not one of them not even close'.

All these meant so little to me because we are currently in the last day before the apocalypse begins

But new changes started popping up even before the timer hits zero.

The world… changed.

It started small.

A shift in the air. A pressure drop, like the seconds before a thunderclap.

The hairs on my arms stood up. The office lights flickered. Something was coming.

Then..

Blue symbols flooded my vision.

Not the cherub system and it was not just me.

Everywhere.

Gasps. Shouts. The rustle of people shifting, standing. The entire office froze.

[Welcome, Star Candidates.]

My stomach dropped.

Oh no. No, no, no…

This wasn't just me anymore.

a system had awakened for everyone.

This never happened in my past life.

…

A voice. Deep, smooth, impossible to ignore. It rang out; not from speakers, not from the air, but from inside our heads.

[All inhabitants of Earth have now qualified to become Star Candidates].

A beat of silence.

Then…chaos.

Phones buzzed, office chairs scraped against the floor, people yelled over one another.

"What the hell is this?"

"Is this a hack? A virus?"

"It's in my head.."

I barely heard them.

My pulse roared in my ears as I swiped at this new text, trying to clear it…trying to interact with it in any way.

But nothing.

It hovered, unmovable, unchanging.

I swallowed hard. I had been preparing for the apocalypse, but not for this.

I forced myself to breathe. Stay calm.

Daniel wasn't calm.

He stood frozen beside his desk, jaw tight, hands clenched.

For once, there was no smugness. Just shock. Real shock.

Our gazes met.

His lips barely moved, but I still read the words.

"You knew."

…

The world outside wasn't handling it any better.

I rushed to the window.

Cars had stopped mid-intersection. Pedestrians stood motionless, staring blankly at the air in front of them, their faces flickering between confusion and terror.

A distant car alarm blared. Somewhere, glass shattered.

The office TVs, normally playing muted financial news, glitched.

The screens cut to static. Then, a shaky live feed… news anchors wide-eyed, gripping their desks as they read the same golden text we were seeing.

"We are… we are currently experiencing a…a…global phenomenon. Reports are flooding in from every country.. this mysterious message has appeared in the minds of every individual on Earth."

I watched one anchor pull off her mic, stepping away from the desk, her face pale.

She wasn't coming back.

Panic was setting in.

And then, the next line of text sealed it.

[The Star Candidate Selection Has Now Ended.]

[Number of candidates: 8,710,061,998]

[You have been chosen to participate in the Trials of Ascension.]

[All necessary adjustments will commence.]

…

The golden numbers that had been at the edges of my vision for 3 months now.

Is now in it's final countdown.