Riko stood in the smoldering crater of what used to be a copy machine, clutching the half-melted coffee cup like it was a holy relic.
His hair was singed.
His shirt was coated in ash.
His boxers—now featuring a charming scorched hole over one thigh—were somehow the least embarrassing part of this entire journey.
The coffee, impossibly, had survived.
Still warm.
Still hissing.
Across the office, a second door—the real one, set into the far wall behind the shattered copier—creaked open.
A presence entered before the figure did.
Heat, weight, pressure.
A silken tension that coiled around Riko's spine like a leash made of confidence.
Then came the click of stilettos on obsidian.
She walked in like she owned the floor, the building, and probably him.
Tall. Immaculate.
Crimson-skinned, glassy-eyed, and wrapped in a skin-tight suit that screamed you're not the boss—she is.
Long black hair cascaded down her back in deliberate waves. She held a stylus and a clipboard that shimmered with infernal script.
Riko blinked.
The hellfire light shimmered off her glasses.
She regarded him like he was a crossword puzzle she'd already solved.
"…Hi," Riko said weakly. "You the executive?"
"No," she replied, voice smooth and slow, like poured velvet. "He's late. Burned out during a soul auction. I'm handling his agenda."
She stepped forward. High heels clicked louder in the silence.
"Name. Riko Graves. Mortal. Twenty years of age. Unemployed. Academic dropout. Living in squalor. And somehow, despite being a walking HR violation, you completed your task."
She plucked the coffee cup from his hand. It snarled once, then submitted.
"And vaporized a demonic appliance using sarcasm. Most interns die during orientation. You, however…" She smiled faintly. "You're interesting."
"I… think I'm concussed."
"Likely."
She turned toward the floating interface in the corner of the room and tapped a few lines into the screen.
INTERN RIKO GRAVES: STATUS – UPGRADEDACCESS GRANTED: FLOOR 2HANDLER ASSIGNED: DELILAH VEX
She turned back to him, tucking the stylus behind her ear.
"I'll be your direct supervisor from here on out," she said, reaching into her blazer pocket.
She pulled out a business card made of soft black fire and slid it into his hoodie pocket. "Try not to die before I'm done with you."
Riko stared at her.
"Wait, hold on—what just happened? I signed a joke email, got mugged by a copy machine, nearly lit on fire, and now I have a… supervisor?"
"Yes."
"Umm...Do I get dental?"
Delilah Vex smiled.
"No, Mr. Graves. You get power."
Then she turned and walked away—hips swaying with enough confidence to knock over a lesser man—leaving Riko alone, dazed, burned, and somehow… employed.
Somewhere far below, a new pop-up flickered in the corner of his vision.
TASK COMPLETE.REWARD: +1 ABILITY SLOT UNLOCKED [CHOOSE YOUR NEXT POWER]
Riko exhaled slowly.
His hoodie was still on fire.
"…I'm gonna need a raise."