Single Wish: Rise Of The Omniscient Paragon Chapter 4 4: A Good Thing

Thud!

"Wake up, Onii-chan!"

"Mmh..."

"Onii-chaaan, wake up right now!!"

Thud!

"Damn it!"

Corey’s grogginess vanished instantly as he cursed. Bolting upright, he found his sister, Anna, standing there with a pillow gripped in her hands. He shot her a frustrated glare, but she simply maintained an expression of feigned innocence.

"Are you finally awake, Onii-chan?"

As she raised the pillow again, Corey instinctively threw his hands up in defense.

"I’m up! I’m up!"

He glanced toward his bedroom door, which had clearly—no, definitely—been kicked open with brute force.

"You’re fixing that door if you broke it." He directed a cold stare at his sister, causing her to lower her head in a display of mock sorrow.

"I’m sorry, Onii-chan," she whimpered, her tone so pitiful it made Corey cringe.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop acting like those anime girls? You’ve been watching way too much of that stuff."

"It’s not like you don’t watch and enjoy anime too," Anna shot back, tossing the pillow aside. She then began walking toward the exit.

As she neared the doorway, Corey called out to her.

"And another thing, didn't I tell you to stop waking me up like this?"

Without bothering to look back, Anna replied, "If I didn't, you'd just wake up all gloomy and miserable. No need to thank me; I know you’re helpless without me."

With those words, she shut the door, leaving Corey alone in the silence of his room.

Corey let out a weary sigh while staring at the closed door, though a small smile eventually tugged at his lips.

"What a handful of a sister."

Standing up, Corey stripped off his clothes and headed to the bathroom with a towel secured around his waist. Upon entering, he paused to look at his reflection in the mirror.

A fairly average face with black eyes and dark hair stared back at him. His skin wasn't pale but rather a rich caramel shade. While he wouldn't consider himself exceptionally handsome, he maintained a strict skincare routine, leaving his face clear of any blemishes or spots.

After finishing his self-inspection, he turned on the faucet and began his morning shower.

***

"You’re finally out, Onii-chan. I thought you were planning to live in the bathroom forever."

Corey’s lips twitched as he looked at Anna. He was about to retort, but he held his tongue upon seeing his mother and father already seated at the dining table. With a soft sigh, he took a seat next to Anna, making sure to stay a good distance from his father, who occupied the head of the table.

"Thanks for the meal, Mom." He offered his gratitude before starting to eat, a habit deeply ingrained in him, though he avoided making eye contact with her.

"You're very welcome, son," his mother replied, her smile barely catching the corner of Corey’s vision.

"Morning, Dad." Corey greeted his father next, still keeping his gaze lowered. Even though his father didn't acknowledge the greeting, Corey wasn't bothered and simply focused on his food.

A heavy, awkward silence hung over the table as the family ate, until Anna suddenly cried out.

"Oh, right!" She turned to Corey, her eyes sparkling with excitement, leaving him wondering what had triggered such a reaction.

"Corey, were you able to make your wish? You were out cold when we got back from the restaurant last night, and I didn't want to bother you. I actually set an alarm to wake you up an hour before the deadline just in case, but I ended up oversleeping."

"My wish?" Corey asked, stunned. He looked at his sister to confirm he hadn't misheard.

"Yes, your wish! A screen appeared in front of every single person on New Earth asking them to make a wish. Haven't you checked social media yet? It’s all anyone is talking about. Didn't your friends call or text you about it?" Anna asked, giving him a strange look. She couldn't fathom how he could be oblivious to this.

Had he actually missed his chance?

The thought made her chest tighten with guilt. She should have forced him awake instead of going back to sleep.

"That wish business was likely just nonsense. Probably some government experiment or something similar," Corey’s father remarked after a long silence, his eyes fixed on his phone.

"But what if it's actually real, Dad?" Anna challenged, prompting a giggle from their mother.

"He's right, honey. If it turns out to be real, you’ll definitely regret missing out. At least Anna made sure you made a wish." Corey’s mother smiled as she spoke.

"It wasn't because of Anna; that damn screen simply wouldn't vanish unless a wish was made. It was incredibly irritating." Corey’s father refused to concede, offering his own explanation.

"That’s not true, Dad! It was definitely because of me," Anna argued. Her father shot her a glare, but she simply stuck her tongue out at him.

While the bickering continued, Corey was internally reeling. He couldn't believe it. What he had assumed was a unique opportunity granted by Lord Ogun was actually something every person on New Earth had received.

'Does that mean the wish didn't come from Ogun?' he pondered.

He had kept his phone off all yesterday to avoid distractions. Besides, even if it were on, he doubted anyone would have reached out since he had distanced himself from his friends. Well, except for one person.

He looked at Anna, who was still locked in an argument with their father, and asked, "So Anna, what did you wish for?"

Anna turned to him, the excitement in her eyes nearly blinding.

"Obviously! I wished to be as cool and powerful as Akame, Mikasa, and Tatsumaki!" she declared with intense fervor, leaving Corey speechless.

"You mean Mikasa from the Titan anime, Tatsumaki from the one with the bald guy who wins with one punch, and Akame from the show where everyone dies?" he asked, his face full of disbelief.

"Yesss!! I adore them. They’re the absolute coolest, so when that wish screen appeared, I was so thrilled I used it on that immediately," Anna chirped with excitement.

Corey’s jaw dropped. He could hardly believe his sister had squandered her wish on something so absurd.

Couldn't she have asked for something useful for the real world?

Like wealth, high intelligence, wisdom, or beauty—something grounded in reality?

How could she possibly expect to receive the powers of fictional anime characters?

Wait!

Corey looked at her again and asked, "Did the screen actually accept your wish?"

"Of course it did, it worked perfectly," Anna said, beaming with pride.

"I was lucky because apparently, you can't make more than one wish. I heard about people who tried to wish for both money and beauty, but they were rejected. People are saying the wish has to be focused for the screen to accept it. Tons of people made really bizarre requests. Just check social media; there's a mountain of info on it."

Corey reached for his phone, but his father interrupted.

"You can look at that later. Shouldn’t you be heading to campus by now?"

Before Corey could respond, his sister jumped in.

"Wait! Before you leave, did you manage to make your wish?"

Corey noticed the mixture of hope and guilt in her eyes. He could easily guess why she felt guilty.

"I did. I woke up just two minutes before the time ran out."

Hearing that, Anna let out a long breath of relief. She smiled and pushed further.

"So, what was it? Mom asked for a better house with a top-tier kitchen, but Dad won't tell us what he chose." Anna looked at him with intense curiosity.

Even his mother was watching him expectantly, and he sensed his father was listening in as well.

"I wished for wisdom." He hesitated to answer, but he knew his sister would be upset if he didn't, and he wanted to avoid that. He gave her an answer, though it wasn't the complete truth. He didn't want his parents thinking he was as childish as his sister.

He could already imagine their reaction if he told them the full version: 'I wished for unlimited wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.'

As soon as Corey spoke, his mother smiled and his father gave a slight nod. Anna’s hopeful expression, however, shifted to one of pure disappointment.

"That is so boring. I was hoping you'd wish to be like a handsome and powerful anime guy, like Gojo or Sasuke or someone like that," Anna complained.

"I was trying to be practical," Corey replied.

"Meh. What’s wisdom going to do against someone with the powers of Tatsumaki or Akame? You won't be super strong like me. If you’d picked Gojo or Sasuke’s powers, you’d be a powerhouse too, and we could have ruled the world together! Muahahahahaha!" Anna laughed like a cartoon villain, prompting Corey’s father to look at his wife.

"See? This is exactly why I said that wish thing was nonsense." Corey’s father pointed at Anna with an expression that clearly said, 'Look at your daughter.'

"It is not nonsense, Dad!" Anna snapped back, but her father ignored her and went back to his phone.

"Young lady, we are going to start limiting your anime time," Corey’s mother declared, causing Anna’s face to fall into despair.

"No! You can't do that!" she shrieked.

"I can, and I will." Their mother remained unmoved, sparking a new argument that eventually dragged their father back into the fray.

Meanwhile, Anna’s words continued to echo in Corey’s mind.

If that screen actually had the power to grant those wishes...

Would it really give people actual superpowers?

What would the world become if people started walking around with superhuman abilities?

Teenagers with that kind of power...

And what about the criminals?

What would they have wished for?

What about the psychopaths who just want to see the world burn?

Those who want to see everything destroyed?

What kind of wishes did they make?

Would every single one of those wishes be granted?

Corey stared down at his plate. He was no longer certain that the wish screen was a good thing.

Furthermore, considering his own wish...

He wasn't sure if he would be safe in a world where everyone else possessed superpowers.

He glanced at the wall clock: 05:55 a.m.

Only six hours and five minutes remained until noon.