Less Than a Hero, More Than a Gamer
Chapter 1
It was a chilly fall night. The usually busy streets were quiet and a thin layer of snow covered the ground. Naturally not many people were out to avoid the risk of catching a cold or freezing. But a few people decided to stay out in the bitter cold, either because they were desperate, lost, or just plain stupid.
One of these people was a teenage boy standing in front of a bus station. He wore black hiking boots and a thick blue hoodie, which expertly covered the mop of brown hair on his head.
Now one would think a teenage boy wouldn't spend less than a minute outside in the cold, especially if they were literally in front of a relatively warm building. But there was an arguably valid reason that the boy was outside.
'I'd rather freeze than listen to that garbage for another second,' the boy thought sourly. Everything was going fine until the speakers blasted out generic tween pop music. The boy didn't last a minute before storming out of the building.
It was a petty and illogical reason to submit oneself to the bitter cold, but in the boy's mind, there weren't any other options other than telling the operator to change the station.
But the boy knew he had to lie low so a stunt like that would be a seriously bad idea. So he waited for nearly an hour until the bus pulled up
The boy waited for everyone else in the bus station to get on before boarding. He handed the bus driver his money and sat down. There were only about a dozen people on the bus aside from him, leaving many empty seats.
The boy sat close to the door just in case something happened. Normally he would've sat somewhere near the back, but he felt…uneasy for some reason, like something big was gonna happen.
As time went on, the boy's breath became labored and erratic. He shivered in his seat despite the bus being fairly warm and there was a pounding feeling in his chest, similar to a heartbeat but different.
Slowly the pounding grew stronger, and stronger, and stronger until everything just...stopped
For some inexplicable reason, everything suddenly ground to a halt. It was like the universe hit the pause button on everything…everything except for the boy.
"What the fuck…" The boy muttered. He was finally dozing off when suddenly he felt the bus stop. He got out of his seat thinking they had arrived at their destination but instantly felt that something was off.
The bus was still on the freeway but wasn't moving an inch. Neither were any other cars. The boy also saw a flock of birds high in the sky frozen mid-flap. The boy looked at his fellow passengers out of curiosity.
They too were frozen, he couldn't even see them breathe!
'Is this some kind of dream…or maybe a nightmare? This is way too freaky to be real.'
DEPENDS ON YOUR DEFINITION OF FREAKY, KID
"What the-!" A loud voice traveled throughout the bus, startling the boy. He looked around to see if anyone had unfrozen to no avail, they were still living statues.
"Yep, definitely a dream." Why else would he be hearing voices while the entire world was on pause?
AFRAID NOT BUD, EVERYTHING YOU'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IS REAL.
"Sure, sure, it's totally natural for the world to freeze up for no reason," the boy rolled his eyes, "Cut the crap already and go away, I'm not in the mood to hear any disembodied voices today."
YOU ARE A VERY RUDE KID YOU KNOW.
*Whoosh*
The boy felt a cold, bitter wind push him back until he bumped into something. He turned around to see what he crashed into but was faced with a blue cloud of smoke.
Then the boy felt a cold hand place itself on his shoulder and spin him around. Another cloud of smoke, but for a fraction of a second, the boy saw what appeared to be a glowing shoulder.
A light tap on his back. The boy swung his fist trying to hit…whatever was messing with him but, yet again, only saw a cloud of smoke.
STILL THINK I'M NOT REAL?
Before the boy could retort a bright light caused him to shield his eyes. Once it faded the boy looked up to see a glowing fist sailing toward him. He tried to smack it away, but it turned into smoke right before it connected.
DO I HAVE YOUR ATTENTION NOW, BOY?
The boy hesitated for a moment before nodding. It would be smart to humor the voice for now and let the dream run its course.
GOOD. NOT THAT YOU'VE DECIDED LISTENING TO REASON, I THINK IT'S HIGH TIME WE DISCUSS YOUR FATE.
"My...fate?"
YES, YOUR FATE. YOU SEE FATE IS WHAT-
"I know what fate is, jackass."
SO YOU AREN'T COMPLETELY BRAINLESS. IM GLAD TO HEAR YOU AREN'T LIKE YOUR MONKEY ANCESTORS, SERIOUSLY THOSE GUYS WERE DUMB. DID YOU KNOW THAT-
"Can you quit yapping about monkeys already! Didn't you come here to talk about my fate or some crap?"
OH YEAH…THAT. WELL LOOKING AT ALL THE FACTS, IT'S SAFE TO SAY THAT YOU HAVE A PRETTY BAD FATE IN STORE FOR YOU.
'Tell me something I don't know.' He knew he would run out of places to run, eventually. Eventually, they would catch up with him and it would be game over.
YOU LIVE A SAD, FEEBLE EXISTENCE, RUNNING LIKE A COWARD. AND THIS COWARDICE WILL BE YOUR UNDOING
"What about it?"
WHAT IF I WERE TO SAY THERE IS A WAY TO ESCAPE YOUR FATE, TO START ANEW WITH A CLEAN SLATE
"I would say that you were an idiot." the boy had already thought of ways to start a new life. Hell, he even debated the pros and cons of moving to Mexico not too long ago. But every idea he came up with was either impossible or stupid.
OH, THERE IS A WAY, I PROMISE. BUT IT WILL REQUIRE YOU TO GIVE UP YOUR CURRENT LIFE IN EXCHANGE FOR ANOTHER
"Wait are you…Oh, hell no! I'm desperate, but not desperate enough to off myself!"
IT WOULD BE TROUBLING IF YOU WERE THAT DESPERATE. I DO NOT MEAN FOR YOU TO COMMIT SOMETHING AS…TRIVAL AS SUICIDE, BUT TO ACCEPT SOMETHING GREATER THAN YOURSELF
"What-"
I HAVE AN OFFER FOR YOU, BUT THIS ISN'T THE TIME OR PLACE FOR IT. I'LL GET IN TOUCH WITH YOU LATER, ADIOS!
The world unfroze the moment the voice left. The bus resumed its journey along the freeway, the people moved and chatted as if they weren't just frozen in time. Everything was at peace once again…well, almost everything.
The boy stood in the middle of the bus with an empty stare.
"It was real…"
"Hey kid, Sit back down!" the bus driver barked at the teen who quickly complied still in a daze.
The boy had concluded his ride about an hour ago and was currently walking through a small town with his brow wrinkled in distress. He was still thinking about the voice, or more specifically its offer
'Another life…a clean slate. Ha! I wish…' He would be lying If he said he wasn't temped by the voice's offer. A clean slate would be nice, but the boy had no reason to trust the voice.
'Maybe I'm just going crazy…' the boy tried to convince himself, but his gut told him otherwise. Time had actually stopped or at least had been slowed down. It honestly hurt to think about.
It had taken a few seconds for the bus driver to notice he was out of his seat, meaning that no time (or at least very little time) had passed during his talk with the voice, even though roughly a minute had passed during his talk with the supernatural being.
*BaDum*
The boy hissed as the intense pounding in his chest returned, albeit weaker than before.
"Maybe I'm just hungry," he hoped. He pulled out his (stolen) phone to look for a decent restaurant.
Luckily there was a motel nearby that was next to a well-rated pizzeria. The boy immediately ordered a room, using what meager funds he had to reserve it for a night.
He bolted to the bathroom to wash up once he got inside. He threw off his jacket, unobscuring his face. The boy looked into the mirror, seeing a pair of slanted gray eyes staring back at him. Dark bags covered his face, betraying the boy's lack of sleep.
After showering the boy flopped on his bed and tried to fall asleep to no avail. Groaning he turned on the old TV in his room, trying to be interested in what was on the screen….he lasted three minutes before shutting it off
"*Groan* This is gonna be a long night…"
*PING*
The boy heard a message tone come from "his" phone but didn't look at it. The message definitely wasn't mean for him, so there was no point in doing so.
*PING*
*PING*
*PING*
*PING*
'Whoever is texting this guy really needs to chill.' The boy quickly shut the phone off and laid back down.
*PING*
"What the fuck?" The boy snatched "his" phone off the shelf.
From Unknown: Thinkin' about my offer
From Unknown: Kid?
From Unknown: Kiiiidd?
From Unknown: KID!?
From Unknown: It's rude to ignore someone, ya know
From Unknown: Dick move kid
From JEiCEON: That offer of yours…what's the catch?
From Unknown: So now you decide to answer…too ya long enough
From JEiCEON: What. Is. The. Catch?
From Unknown: Before I answer that, can I ask you something
From JEiCEON: Shoot
From Unknown: Have you ever heard of a place named Remnant
From JEiCEON: No, should I?
From Unknown: The opposite actually, It would be a little less entertaining if you did.
From Unknown: As for the catch…well, the place I'm sending you isn't particularly safe…but then again neither is your world.
From Unknown: The difference is that you have to potential to fight back in that world
From Unknown: So…Do you accept
From JEiCEON: …
From JEiCEON: …
From JEiCEON: …Yes
From Unknown: Very well, the deal has been sealed. See you in a bit kid.
I APOLOGIZE FOR THE PAIN BUT DO NOT WORRY, IT WILL BE OVER IN A MINUTE.
"What does that me-Urgh!" the boy was interrupted by an invisible force knocking the air out of his lungs. The dull aching in his chest blossomed into mind-numbing pain as if a spike were slowly being driven into his heart. He rolled off the bed and doubled over wheezing, making strangled gasps for help.
TWO LIVING BODIES CANNOT POSSESS THE SAME SOUL, AND I CANNOT SIMPLY PULL YOUR SOUL OUT OF YOUR CURRENT BODY INTO YOUR NEXT ONE.
The boy barely registered the higher being's words, pleading for someone, anyone to come help. But no one heard him. He tried to balance on his arms to crawl to the door but felt his left arm go numb before he could get even an inch off the floor. The boy's vision darkened and his mind was slipping away. But with the last remaining spark of will in his body, the boy slowly inched himself to the door.
DO NOT FRET OVER YOUR APPEARANCE. IT WILL STAY SIMILAR TO YOUR CURRENT FORM, BUT DO NOT BE TO SURPRISED AT ANY…ALTERATIONS.
It was so close! Less than a foot away. He reached out with his free hand, just a little further! But the moment he felt his fingertips graze the wood his body went slack, and with one final gasp, the boy died.
The police would arrive the next morning but would find nothing but a decaying corpse with a chillingly serene face.
*Groan* The boy woke with a foggy head and an empty stomach. He was in an alleyway laid up against a wall next to a small dusty mirror. He grabbed the object and stood up, having trouble balancing. Curious, the boy looked into the mirror and almost dropped it immediately.
His face was the same, same skin tone, same eyes, a small mole on his cheek. But his messy brown hair was now a pale silver, and a pair of wolf ears jutted out of his skull. The boy felt something attached to the end of his spine, a furry tail matching his (now silver) hair.
"W-what the hell!?"
[Welcome to The Game Maxwell Argentum]