Single Wish: Rise Of The Omniscient Paragon Chapter 3 3: One Wish

"Ugh." Groaning, Corey forced himself up from his knees.

"Tch." Irritation flickered across his face as he rubbed his eyes, stumbling toward his private bathroom to relieve himself.

Flush.

"What the hell is this light?" Reeling in annoyance, Corey shielded his eyes with his palm while exiting the bathroom. Still trapped in the fog of sleep, he couldn't pinpoint where the blinding radiance was coming from.

Bam!

"Fucking hell!" Corey snarled, massaging his skull after colliding with the wall. He glanced back, realizing he had completely missed the door because he was busy blocking the irritating glow.

"What is this?" Now fully alert, he finally focused on the source of his frustration: a translucent hovering screen.

IF YOU COULD BE GRANTED ONE WISH, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

REMAINING TIME: 00:02:03

"What the fuck is this? One wish? Am I dreaming, or have I finally lost my mind?" Corey muttered to himself, scanning his surroundings. Everything seemed normal; his bathroom looked exactly as it always did.

Returning his gaze to the floating display, he noticed a change.

REMAINING TIME: 00:01:57

Watching the numbers tick down, he decided to retreat to his bed. Sitting there, he surveyed the room once more, find nothing out of place. He even rolled up his sleeves to check for needle marks, fearing someone might have drugged him. Finding his skin clear, he rubbed his forehead in confusion.

The timer now showed only one minute and thirty seconds. He reached out to touch the interface, but his fingers passed straight through the light.

"Yep, I’m tripping. I don’t know how, but I’m definitely hallucinating," Corey remarked, collapsing onto his back.

He attempted to disregard the display, but it remained fixed in his line of sight. Even with his eyes squeezed shut, the words burned into his mind.

A wish.

A single wish.

'Is this Ogun’s doing?' Corey pondered, staring back at the screen.

He recalled the Pope’s stories about King Solomon and how he himself had prayed for his pain to be erased. He wondered if this was the deity Ogun’s response to his pleas.

"Should I actually try it?" Corey asked himself. His eyes darted to the countdown.

00:00:50

Less than a minute remained.

Taking a deep breath, Corey exhaled slowly. He decided to go for it.

"Now, what should I ask for?" he mused.

Originally, he wanted wisdom from Ogun just to pass his upcoming medical exams and be rewarded for his efforts.

But with a literal wish, couldn't he just ask for immense wealth? After all, the whole reason he was studying medicine was to secure a rich future.

If he could simply wish for money, what was the point of asking for wisdom?

He sat up straight on the mattress, his mind racing.

"I wish for—"

He stopped mid-sentence just as he was about to ask for riches.

He thought back to King Solomon. That man was wise, wealthy, and possessed a harem of a thousand women. The Pope said he had only asked his God for wisdom.

Was wisdom the key? Could he use it to acquire both money and women? The idea became increasingly seductive the more he considered it.

With wisdom, he would master the art of making money. With money, women would naturally follow. He could ask for wealth directly, but why settle for two things when he could have three? Wisdom, wealth, and women—three is definitely better than two.

"I wish for—"

Suddenly, a new thought struck him.

Why couldn't he just wish for more wishes?

The brilliance of the idea made him laugh out loud.

"Hahahahahaha! I’m a genius. Why settle for one thing when I can have everything?"

After his laughter subsided, he spoke clearly.

"I wish for more than one wish." He decided not to be too greedy by asking for infinite wishes. He didn't want Ogun to incinerate him with divine flames for his arrogance; the mere thought made him shiver.

Rubbing his hands together in excitement, he waited for the screen to update. The timer was down to ten seconds.

Suddenly, the text flashed a violent red.

REQUEST DENIED

CANNOT WISH FOR ANOTHER WISH

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO WISH FOR MULTIPLE WISHES AGAIN OR FACE SEVERE CONSEQUENCES.

A chill ran through Corey's very soul as he read the warning. Trembling, he immediately bowed toward the screen.

"I’m sorry, Lord Ogun! I’m sorry for trying to play games with a Great God like you. Please, forgive my ignorance!"

He looked up, panic rising as he saw only six seconds left on the clock.

His golden opportunity was about to vanish!

"I wish for wisdom!" As he shouted, the screen flickered.

REQUESTING CONFIRMATION

ARE YOU SURE?

Corey was about to shout 'yes,' but he decided to take one final gamble. With three seconds left, he spoke as fast as he could.

"I wish for unlimited wisdom, knowledge, and understanding!"

He held his breath, wondering if the system would reject it for being a loophole. If it failed, he was ready to scream 'wisdom' again instantly.

REQUESTING CONFIRMATION

ARE YOU SURE?

The timer hit one second. Corey didn't hesitate.

"Yes!" he bellowed, making sure the deity would hear him.

REQUEST ACCEPTED

REQUEST WILL BE GRANTED IN TWELVE HOURS

The moment the message appeared, the timer hit zero and the screen dissolved into nothingness.

"Phew." Corey let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"Thank God, it actually worked," he sighed, falling back onto his pillow.

"But seriously, who only gives someone two minutes to decide? People are going to make such stupid, rash choices," Corey muttered, completely unaware that everyone else had been given three hours.

"I should probably shut up. I don't want Lord Ogun to think I'm ungrateful and take it back," he whispered. He glanced at the wall clock.

It was exactly 12:00 AM.

"So, I have to wait until noon tomorrow to see if this was real or just a hallucination," Corey murmured, his heart pounding with hope.

"I really hope I wasn't just dreaming." He eventually drifted off to sleep, convinced he was the only person chosen by 'Lord Ogun.'

He had no idea that every single human on New Earth had received the same prompt. The entire planet was currently in a state of absolute chaos, with billions of people counting down the seconds until 12:00 PM the next day.