"'Any world... Give me time, and I could break it.' Didn't you say that, boya?"
Everything was tinged blue; the world had halted. The sounds of bird, silent; the chatter of my classmates, gone. In this blue world, it was just me and her.
She was standing in front of me in that white and red sundress, leaning over my desk and smiling wide, her eyes alight with excitement.
"I want to put that kind of confidence to the test. Would you like to play a game?"
I paused, looking around. Time was... Frozen.
"Toki wo Tomare," I muttered. "Who are you?"
She grinned, staring at me with cerulean eyes.
"Just a bored girl with certain... Gifts. You can call me Jump. So, how about it?"
I smiled a little.
"Explain the game to me, and I'll think about it."
She nodded, and began...
Jump, an incredibly powerful force of existence that can move between worlds of the Multiverse. If so inclined, she could bring other beings along for the ride, dropping them into worlds that could be drastically different from the world they come from.
Such a powerful force, capable of nearly anything she wishes, has only one problem.
Boredom.
So, in one small section of one small world, in one small speck of a universe, which isn't even a speck in the grand scheme of the Multiverse, Jump decided to have some fun.
Thus, was birthed The Grand Game, or GG.
The rules of GG are simple. Get thrown into another world, one of fiction. Your job is simply to make to the end of the story. Where that end is will vary depending on the story. Maybe it's only a few short hours away; or maybe even ten years will pass before you leave.
Make to The End, and you win whatever you got from that world... Within limits, of course. Then, you move on to another world, where the trouble may get better, or get much, much worse.
Fail, and you get nothing from that world, and the game ends. You retain your previous winnings, but you return to your life as a mortal, changed though it may be by what you have experienced and gained.
This is the story of one Grand Game, and one's first foray into the great and infinite Multiverse.
"Character Creation," I read aloud. "Alright, I can deal."
In front of me, there was a drop-down menu. Of course, it can hardly be called a menu with only one button, but whatever.
I reached out, tapping it softly and was rewarded by a light *ping* and a transition.
Three large screens appeared; one at each side, and one in front of me. Behind me, a pale door with the red words "RETURN" emblazoned upon it.
Well, time to read.
"World One: The Elemental Nations.
Difficulty Rating: ~5/10.
The End: Defeat the Final Boss."
"World Two: Fuyuki City.
Difficulty Rating: ~7/10.
The End: Survive to Story's Finish."
"World Three: Shin Tokyo.
Difficulty Rating: ~3/10.
The End: See the Plan's completion."
"...Huh. I did say any world, didn't I?"
I smiled slightly.
This world... Ask anyone, they'll agree.
It's boring. This... It's a chance to see something bigger, better; something interesting.
"I ain't no wuss," I muttered to myself, reaching ahead. "The highest rewards come from the highest difficulty."
And, with that, I tapped World Two. A faint feeling of nausea overtook me, and black spread throughout my vision.
"Heaven or Hell," I said with a grin. "Let's rock..."
And then, I was unconscious.
In countless worlds, there is and was a child. He walked through the fires of Hell, never stopping for others; never slowing his steps.
In countless worlds, this child would find salvation; he would live, be saved, and save in turn.
This is not one of those worlds.
A single misstep; the child stumbled, and he slowed for a moment, turning slightly to the side almost imperceptibly.
But, as he moved forward, the turn became obvious; its effects, clear after some uncountable number of units of passing time.
Sixteen seconds late.
That's the difference between this world, and countless others.
Kiritsugu Emiya found the boy sixteen seconds after death.
And yet, this world was, therefore, perfect for the Grand Game.
A husk; the recently dead, now a vessel.
This boy; this Emiya Shirou, would live on in countless worlds, saving as best he could, striving for unattainable ideals.
In this world, however, as pain seared what should be dead flesh, the boy's eyelids, burned black, still managed to open, and see the smile of a man who had succeeded in saving at least one, single person...
"So that's what... Salvation looks like, huh?" the boy thought idly, his mind numb from the searing agony. "That's... Not such a bad look..."
A light, holy and unmatched in any realm, began to shine, and the pain dulled.
Darkness seeped into the edges of his vision, and he realized it was time.
His journey of 1000 steps had begun... But the second step would have to wait, for now.
Now... Was definitely, a time to sleep...
A/N: Alright, so this is basically just a random One-Shot that might go further, but probably won't. The plot is exactly what it looks like; a Self-Insert story with a character whose entire goal in this life is to become the greatest Mary Sue and be stupid strong. It's inspired by the Jumpchain CYOA series, but, if continued, will take pretty much nothing from it other than the girl Jump.
Anyway, if you're interested in seeing more, comment, I guess? I might do more. If you're not interested, you can flame and/or read something better.