Chapter 1: The God of Mistakes and a Very Unfortunate Death

Dying with a book in hand wasn't precisely how I envisioned my life finishing. Just me, drifting off in bed with my tablet still shining, no great last words, no dramatic farewell. 

 Caught up in the detailed worldbuilding, the overpowering hero, and the merciless fights, I had been re-reading *Starborn Ascension* for the hundredth time. Before long, I found myself in an infinite vacuum. 

 At first, I assumed I was dreaming. Then I noticed **him**. 

 Floating before me was a huge, luminous figure changing hues like a distorted hologram. He radiated holy vitality, but his look was… nervous? 

 "Uh... hi," he remarked, back of head itching. Funny story, then: you're dead. 

 I looked at him. He flinched. 

 "...Excuse me?" 

 "Yeah, so, I might have *accidentally* taken your soul a *teensy* bit too early," he confessed, glancing anywhere but at me. "You know how it is—souls come in, souls go out, I do my godly duties, but, uh… I kind of grabbed yours by mistake while you were sleeping." 

 I blinked. My brain refused to grasp this degree of ignorance. 

 "You're telling me," I responded slowly, "that I **died** because of a *clerical error*?" 

 The god coughed. "I mean, if you want put it like that… absolutely. B-But!" He raised his hands. "I'm not heartless! As restitution, I'm gonna give you a second chance at life. And because I, well, *really* don't want this to come back to bite me, I'll even grant you a wish!" 

 My brain, which had been stuck on the thought that I died for no cause, eventually rebooted. A wish? **Any wish?** 

 I should have taken my time. I should have thoroughly studied my options. But in my disoriented state, I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. 

 "I want time-stop powers." 

 The god nodded. "Sure, sure. I can accomplish that." 

 Then, something unusual happened. His attitude went from relief to mild anxiety. His light hands flickered. 

 "Huh," he mumbled. "That's… uh-oh." 

 "Uh-oh?!" I repeated. "What *uh-oh*? There shouldn't be a *uh-oh* in my reincarnation!" 

 The god started sweating—**literally**. Glowing beads of celestial essence dripped from his forehead. 

 "O-Okay, so *minor* issue," he said hurriedly. "I may have *accidentally* given you a *slightly* overpowered version of time-stop." 

 I frowned. "How overpowered?" 

 "You know how most time-stop abilities have drawbacks? Cooldowns? Limits?" He laughed nervously. "Yeah, yours doesn't. No limits, no side effects, no constraints. It's, uh… kind of perfect." 

 I stared at him. "So I can just stop time… infinitely?" 

 "Yep." 

 "And it won't affect me at all?" 

 "Nope." 

 "And no one—including the gods—can resist it?" 

 The deity opened his mouth. Then he froze. His eyes widened as he comprehended what he had just spoken. 

 "...Oh." 

 A dreadful silence filled the space. The god twitched. His shimmering body flickered again. 

 "Uh… okay. This is… *bad*," he mumbled. "Really terrible. If someone finds out I handed you this, I'm *so* getting deleted." 

 I took a step back. "Wait, hold on—what do you mean—" 

 Before I could finish my speech, the deity *panicked*. 

 "New plan!" he yelped. "I was *supposed* to send you to a peaceful, luxurious world where you'd be rich, strong, and live a comfy life, but—uh—I can't risk this being traced back to me, so—uh—**enjoy your new life in *Starborn Ascension*!**" 

 The vacuum twisted. A cosmic force gripped me, pushing me below. 

 "WAIT, YOU IDIOT—" 

 "Oops, almost forgot!" the deity yelped. "I need to wipe all traces of this happened so the other gods don't kill me. Welp! Good luck, youngster! Byeee!" 

 The last thing I saw was the deity **glitching out of existence**, his body flickering like a fading computer screen. 

 Then, I fell. 

 And fell. 

 And— 

 --- 

 #### **Chapter 2: A New Life and A Very Unfair Power** (Preview) 

 I woke up screaming. 

 Which, in hindsight, was kind of embarrassing. Imagine being reborn into a noble family and immediately terrifying the servants. 

 It took me a whole minute to recollect what had happened. The god's mistake. My wish. My *broken* time-stop ability. 

 I took a deep breath. "Alright. New world, new life. Let's test this thing out." 

 I focused. 

 **Time, stop.** 

 The globe **froze**. 

 A candle's flame lingered still in mid-air. The servants stood like statues. Dust particles hovered, refusing to move. 

 I made a step forward. Then another. No resistance. No strain. No cooldown. 

 I whistled. "Okay… this is kind of insane." 

 And this was just the beginning.