No need for an intro. Everything will be revealed within the story.
"Shit! That hurts!"
"Sir, I have to ask you to hold still. The system needs to interface fully with your brain."
"You stuck two god damn needles into my temples! You think I can hold still?"
"Please be quiet, sir. There are others interfaced in the rooms nearby. Hold still, I said!"
…
"Sir? It's complete."
"About god damn time."
"The IV will be injecting the drugs in a moment. As we have discussed, you will feel disconnected from your body. You will then pick your entry point in both time and space in the world you have chosen. Please enjoy your time with us at Google Industries."
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing."
He settled against his chair to get comfortable. His eyelids fluttered shut.
And then... nothing.
After what seemed to be an eternity, the darkness exploded forth into blinding light.
He tried to scream, but there was still nothing.
Eventually, the light started to fade, and he saw that his world had literally shattered. Standing on nothing, suspended in space, disembodied and devoid of thought. The all-encompassing light had fractured, forming shining screens of color and imagery.
If he could think, he would have thought he was vibing. Cool TV show, The Flash. But, of course, he couldn't think, and he wasn't vibing. There was only blinding light and these giant movie frames, spiraling through the landscape. The computer interface was finalizing its connection, intercepting his conscious thoughts and shaping the landscape accordingly. The downside, of course, was that there was complete sensory and mental deprivation. Very uncomfortable.
Pictures flew to the forefront. The slaughter of the Uzumaki clan. The Shinju. Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Naruto's inauguration as Hokage. Tōka Senju in combat against the Uchiha. The Rikudō Sennin sitting in front of the nine Bijū. More events, timelines, and places, flying in figure eight patterns through all of eternity.
Patterns started to emerge. Two frames stood out among the rest. A toddler, eyes widening, taking in the sight of his entire family slaughtered by his very own brother. A baby being held by his mother and watching his father fish. The frames danced, weaving through space. They flew side by side, joining the others, forming the DNA of the universe.
Yet, with infinite choices, there was no choosing to be done. In an instant, all the windows of space-time coalesced into a single, infinitesimal point, slamming together instantaneously with a loud thunk.
And with that very same thunk, Richard tasted concrete. From total light to complete darkness, real fast.
"Well, that wasn't very pleasant," he thought, drifting off into true unconsciousness.
It's a very short chapter. A teaser, if you will. It's just to introduce the one and only OC, me, who will be the reason for the changes I'm making to canon in this fic. It always irked me when authors made changes with no discernible reasoning or background. Have no fear, however, for my character is just a machina and will fade into the very deep background after his initial shockwave. I have no intent in being anywhere near the action. Sort of. I intend to carry out this story as a full-length fic a la Drifting by AlphaDelta1001, so look forward towards much larger chapters as the story kicks into gear. Have a good one! - Richard