Prologue: The End Of One Thing Is The Beginning of Another


The news report on the television flickered with a constant stream of images capturing the aftermath of the nuclear detonation that brought Queen Elizabeth's funeral to a tragic end. The news footage showed people running through the streets in panic, buildings on fire, and people lying on the ground injured or dead. All that remained of Westminster Abbey after the weapon detonated were ashes, as all those in attendance were vaporized. The surrounding area was engulfed in flames, and emergency services struggled to reach ground zero.

The news reporters grew quiet as the names of the world leaders in attendance were displayed on the screen. The names slowly cascaded down the screen as if they were the credits in a movie. Panic quickly set in amongst all those on Earth, after many nations had instantly lost their head of state in the attack. The tension and chaos in the world were building, as no organization had yet claimed responsibility for the event.

The American president's death by the explosion left the American government in a state of panic as they started the procedures to install the vice president into power. After the American Congress issued orders to mobilize the military, the succession process began almost immediately. All divisions of the American armed forces began to bring back their troops, reactivating those who had just left the military and pulling them back into the American war machine. Unbeknownst to the citizens of Earth, this event was only the beginning of the troubles.

Frederick Weiss, a young man with light brown hair, blue eyes, and an athletic frame stood on the edge of cliff deep within Yosemite National Park. Frederick was about to have his thirtieth birthday and remained completely unaware of the events conspiring in the world as he hiked through a remote portion of Yosemite National Park without his phone due to the lack of signal deep within the park. His phone continued to ring back at his campsite, quickly filling with messages ordering him to return from leave immediately and to prepare for possible deployment.

Frederick continued hiking through the forest, while the remaining battery in his phone died back at his campsite due to the overwhelming number of calls and messages flooding it. It would not be until late in the day when the sun almost set that Frederick returned to his campsite.


Returning to my campsite, the sun had almost dipped below the horizon, and something seemed odd. Looking around, I notice that all the other campers packed up their tents, and I was the sole person remaining in the campground. 'That's odd, this place was packed before I left on my hike, and why does it look like everyone left in a hurry?' I thought to myself, unzipping my tent.

Entering my tent, I dug my phone out of the hidden security pocket and attempted to access it. Although my efforts were in vain, as the screen failed to illuminate and did not respond to the multiple attempts I made to power on my phone. 'Damn battery, these phones just keep getting worse every time they make a new model. I guess I'll have to charge it and then try to turn it on later.'

Disappointed that my phone had died but not incredibly concerned about it, I grabbed a towel and clean clothes before setting off to the camp showers. "Ah, this is relaxing after hiking through those long trails today! Ahhhh… nice hot water, good soap…ahh..." I exclaimed as the hot water began to flow down from my head to my feet.

With the water washing over my body, I began to think about what other trails might be nearby for me to explore tomorrow morning. 'There's a few trails nearby here that the park ranger recommended to me. Maybe I'll try those out tomorrow before I try to take on any of the more difficult ones to give myself a little break.'

Enjoying the hot water flowing over my body and the emptiness of the camp shower, I washed away the dirt and sweat from my hike. Ending my shower, I dried off my body and quickly put on a pair of clean clothing. Exiting the camp restroom, I made way back to my campsite, opening my car to retrieve some firewood and the portable charging block for my cellphone.

"Still, it's weird that everyone left so early. I thought for sure on a holiday weekend like this place would be full of life." I muttered, plugging my phone into the portable charger. The phone screen briefly illuminated, showing the phone had begun to charge. However, displayed below the lightning bolt icon, a message flashed stating '8 hours remaining until charged'.

'What the hell, 8 hours until this dang thing is charged… I swear… if someone actually needed something from me and I wasn't on leave right now, they'd be out of luck. Hopefully there's enough juice left in this battery pack…' I sighed again, placing the phone and battery pack in the car, before popping the truck to grab my firewood.

Taking a few pieces of firewood from the trunk, I locked the car for the night and returned to my tent, a full bushel of firewood in hand. Placing the firewood in the pit and taking 'The Myth of German Villainy' book and camping chair from my tent, I sat down by the fire pit and lit the tinder under the firewood.

The fire quickly roared to life and soon provided enough warmth for my face and hands to feel pleasantly warm. Sitting back in the chair next to the fire, I began reading as the flames danced and crackled, filling the air with an inviting aroma of burning cedar. After finishing a few chapters, the light of the sun had completely vanished beneath the horizon, leaving only the flames of the fire to illuminate the area.

'This place feels off-putting, with no one else around. Especially when just this morning it was bustling with the hum of life and people enjoying themselves. A cold chill ran up my spine.

'What happened here? Did something happen? Wasn't it supposed to be a great camping spot?!' panicking momentarily due to my own thoughts. I began looking at the fire and wondering if anyone could see the smoke rising above the trees.

'Regardless, all I'm doing is making myself feel uncomfortable. I'm getting sleepy and I think it's probably time to turn in for the night' I concluded, before smothering the fire and getting into my tent. Zipping up the door behind me, I pulled out my sleeping bag and crawled inside, laying down.

Closing my eyes, I took in deep breaths of the cool evening air, hoping that sleep would come easily tonight. 'Maybe I should get more firewood and stay awake longer to keep watch. It's too quiet without any other humans around. And where are all the cars? Why did nobody drive past here? Is everything okay' My thoughts continued to drift and a feeling of general uneasiness continued to overwhelm me as I lay in bed, struggling to fall asleep.

The darkness seemed to take on a life of its own. Everything became still; the only sounds were those coming from my breathing and the soft crackling of the embers. As I stared at the interior of the tent, I started to move my thoughts towards the beauty of the nature around me rather than the uneasiness brought about by the emptiness of the campsite.

For a brief moment the thought that I was the last person on earth crossed my mind. I chuckled quietly to myself, imagining that scenario and then flipped my pillow over so that the cold side had been turned upward. Turning on my side so that my face rested against the cool pillow and closing my eyes, I drifted off to sleep.

The night grew darker, the sounds of animals rustling through the campgrounds filled the air, and Frederick slept peacefully in his tent undisturbed. Frederick's campfire embers provided the smallest fragments of light, attracting insects for a moment before they slowly cooled down and the light vanished. The world outside of the campgrounds, unbeknownst to Frederick, had started to break down in response to the deaths of nearly all of the western world leaders.


The nuclear detonation at the English Queen's funeral finally pushed the world over the edge, and the doomsday clock's hands were finally about to strike midnight. Hydrogen bombs were loaded onto American B-52s and B-2s, while the other nations began prepping their ICBM silos to launch their payloads at any given notice.

Nearly 16 hours had passed and still no nation nor organization claimed responsibility for the nuclear detonation. International communications ceased; nations refused to allow outside diplomats into their borders and embassies were all but closed. A resolution by the United Nation was all but impossible until someone was held accountable for the wholesale murder of nearly most of the world's leaders.

A single event in conjunction with the incredible tension between nations was all it took to break down international communications. No single nation wanted to claim responsibility for the attack, and certainly no one believed that bombing was the act of a single individual. The people began to panic, while the remaining leaders of Earth's nations struggled to maintain law and order after the tragic incident.

Frederick did not know it, but the campground had emptied shortly after the news reached those families camping near him. Many families threw everything into their vehicles, panicking to return home. These same individuals now watched their televisions, waiting for any news of what the world would do. The rich elite of the world that remained alive escaped to private bunkers, and the remaining members of worlds governments retreated to their own doomsday shelters. Humanity entered its last hours moments before Frederick awoke and began his thirtieth birthday and final day on Earth.


Beams of sunlight streaming in from the semi-opaque walls of the tent, gradually filling my tent with light and hitting my eyes. Rolling away from the sunlight in my sleeping bag, I uttered "5 more minutes...".

Although internally, I knew that I needed to begin the day and start getting ready for my hikes. If I wanted to complete them all by dusk, I needed to wake up now. 'Fine. Fine... I'll wake up.' I resigned myself to waking up and ending my peaceful sleep that I had just exited. Getting out of my sleeping bag, I stretched and yawned loudly.

'Ugh... I need coffee...' I sighed, making my way out of the tent and into my car. Unlocking and opening my car door, I grabbed the last can of Georgia Coffee. Unfortunately, Georgia Coffee was exclusive to the Japanese islands and as I realized that it was my final can, I felt a small wave of disappointment.

Cracking the can, a strong scent wafted across my nose, and I smiled. Drinking deeply from the can, I savored each sip as I finished drinking it. Satisfied and feeling refreshed, I closed my car door and made my way toward the showers. Quickly taking a morning shower, I returned to the car and retrieved my cellphone.

Briefly checking the charger, I saw that none of the small power indicators were illuminated. 'Well then... this thing is completely drained of all its juice. I'm going to have to leave it out in the sun and hope the solar charging function gets me some juice...'.

Disconnecting the charger with a quick tug, a light click sound resonated, and I tried turning on my phone. The screen barely illuminated, before the phone's operating system began to boot up. 'Great... it booted up. Now let's see if I can get any signal here.', I sighed.

After a few seconds, the phone's display turned on, displaying a black background with white text stating 'Phone booted into maximum power saving mode 1 hour remaining'. Overwhelmed with annoyance, I saw the battery had only charged eight percent before the battery pack had been drained of all its juice.

'Well, this thing is basically useless. But it looks like I'm getting some signal here for the time that I have battery.' I realized, then the phone began to buzz rapidly, as message after message and missed call alerts quickly began to appear.

'Wait, what the hell is all this! It says maximum message limit exceeded and voicemail box at capacity.' I gasped, trying to open my messages. The battery began to quickly drain due to the max influx of data flooding my phone. '30 minutes remaining' flashed across the screen as the battery drained, and I opened one of the many messages I received.

"Return to work immediately. Your leave is canceled as of now. Global geo-political events have resulted in massive unrest, you are to return to duty immediately." I read aloud from the phone, a cold shiver running down my body afterwards.

"What the... this is bad if they are revoking leave that I'm already on. That takes an act of Congress to get that shit cancelled, literally. What a great start to my damn birthday...", sighing, I began to put away my camping supplies, packing everything into my Volkswagen Golf, before starting the five-hour drive back to work.

"What a joyous life being a member of the military is... said by no one ever.", jokingly I stated while driving out of the campgrounds.

Reaching the main highway, I did not see any other cars in the area, and I waited patiently for my phone to charge on its car charger. 'I wonder what happened to recall everyone. There's barely any signal out here, and definitely not enough juice or internet for me to see what's going on.'

I pondered, driving the empty highway away from the Ozarks back to the military base. 'Maybe, I'll try to call work when my battery is a little more charged.' After around thirty minutes of driving, I checked my phone's battery percentage and judged there was enough battery to attempt a phone call.

"Ok Google." I stated, triggering the voice command input for my phone, and then once it was ready, I continued "Call office landline,".

"Calling office landline," the phone replied and attempted to make a connection to the network. Although there was enough signal to make a call, the line could not complete the phone call, causing me to repeat the command.

The second attempt failed again, and I made another attempt, but this time the line connected, stating "All lines are currently busy, please disconnect and retry your call at a later time.".

"..." I continued to drive silently after the phone failed to connect to the office phone, the sounds of my music filling the car. "Still not a single car on the road, and I'm getting worried.", I muttered under my breath. Then far out in front of me, I spied what appeared to be a car driving in the opposite lane. The car drew closer and closer at an incredible speed before I realized the driver of the car was going at least double or even triple the speed limit. A large gust of wind followed behind his vehicle.

'That's not normal. He's going so fast, and this is just a two-lane highway. Just what the hell is going on that everyone is so afraid of?' I thought. Then on the horizon, I spotted something flying incredibly fast before it impacted into the ground.

"What the hell was that? Was that a missile?" I stuttered out. However, before I could truly understand what the object was, a bright flash blinded me and everything evaporated in a blaze of immense heat.


Warm light shined in from the window, and the warm bed sheets covered my body. Groaning softly as I sat up, I looked around, realizing I was no longer in my Volkswagen. Panic quickly set in. Immediately, I looked down at myself, 'Everything looks normal? I don't appear hurt at all. But where am I? Last thing I remember was a bright flash...'

Attempting to verify my location, I slapped myself across the face, but to my dismay I felt pain from the action. "Ouch. Well looks, I'm not in a dream because I can feel pain.", I mumbled, rubbing my cheek as I stood up and walked out of the mysterious bedroom.

Walking into the next room, I realized there was not a singular piece of furniture in sight. Instead, I found myself walking along a long empty hallway that eventually ended at a singular old wooden. Opening the door, I discovered that it led to a staircase, seemingly leading downward and deeper into the home. Stepping my foot onto the first step, I descended down the stairs.

The stairwell ended at a door that I assumed led to a basement or cellar. Opening the heavy wooden door and stepping inside, I saw a singular desk with a chair in an otherwise empty room. On the top of the desk sat a few scattered items, and I walked over to the desk, taking a seat in the chair, and examining the items. An old journal, a futuristic looking terminal, a syringe filled with mysterious metallic-looking fluid, and a PDA all rested on top of the desk.

'This is all feels like some awful fever dream or the start to some awful sci-fi film. Where am I and what is the purpose of all these items? There's no point in pondering, I'll just start looking through them to see if I can discern anything. Maybe the journal here can tell me something?' I thought, reaching for the journal, and grabbing it from the desk. The journal felt old, the pages were yellowed and brittle, almost falling apart in my hand. Turning the page, I saw the writing on the first page was in English and began reading the journal.


'Happy 30th birthday Frederick,

If you are reading this journal now, then it means your world came to its unfortunate end. Thirty years ago, right before your birth, we achieved the impossible and escaped our own universe. We were forced to escape our universe after the untimely defeat of our great leader and the destruction of our glorious nation. We achieved this through the usage of the Götterdämmerung system we spent years developing in secret away from the eyes of the forces that ravaged our people.

However, our joy quickly faded when we realized that in our success, we removed ourselves from our own universe and found ourselves trapped in this space in-between universes. Our plans to use the Götterdämmerung system to turn back the hands of time and forge a new future for our people were all but crushed. We did not despair though; we had already achieved the impossible once and that pushed us forward to keep developing the Götterdämmerung system.

9 months after we had escaped our own universe, you were born and brought a new light into our life and our work. However, something occurred to us that shook us to the very core of our beings. The moment you were born, you were not born within the confines of an individual universe so therefore you were not a part of any universe, your birth was a universal paradox.

The fact that we were able to have you while outside of our universe gave us an idea and with it we pushed forward to develop greater abilities for the Götterdämmerung system. First we managed to use the system to connect to other universes and then from there we were able to watch the individuals that inhabited those universes. This was the first great achievement after your birth but alas it was also the beginning of our greatest sorrow.

Having connected the system to another universe similar to our own we dialed in on the date and location we wished to travel to and activated the system. Everything appeared to be working as we had intended it but then when we held you in our arms and attempted to walk through the gateway tragedy struck. You vanished from our arms, traversing through the portal and into the new world that we had chosen to start our new life in, but we were stuck.

We quickly discovered that you were the only one able to make the journey, as we were bound to this extra-dimensional space and the Götterdämmerung system. While we achieved the impossible and defied the gods themselves through the creation of our Götterdämmerung system, we were stuck here forever tied to the system due to our earlier experiment.

You were lost to us in the nearly identical version of our universe and we were unable to even communicate with you, let alone raise you as we should have. Despair quickly overcame us, as we had lost you, and discovered that the universe we had chosen would end approximately 29 years from the date that you had entered the universe.

After many fruitless attempts to retrieve you, we discovered the reason that you were able to traverse the universal boundary and we were unable to. Because your existence was a universal paradox, you were able to utilize the system in ways that those who were part of a universe could not. You were the only one that could truly utilize our system to travel through time and space into multiple universes and eventually avert the great defeat our nation faced.

Then a surge of inspiration flowed through us, and we knew what our purpose would be for the remainder of our lives. As time went on and we advanced the Götterdämmerung system, we expanded its ability to bridge into other universes and even modify certain elements of those universes.

The final feature of the Götterdämmerung system we built allowed us to link it to your every existence, the universal paradox that we were responsible for creating. However, we could not retrieve you from the universe you were in.

We had to wait until the moment that your universe came to its end and trigger the system to pull you into this space the moment that the universe you lived in came to an end. We spent every last moment of our life fine-tuning the system and giving it the ability to alter individual existences.

No matter what we tried the system could not alter our existence and we knew that by the time your universe ended we would be dead. Every experiment we did on ourselves shortened the time that we had remaining.

By the time you have read through all of this you probably think that your parents were foolish scientists that broke the laws of the universe and paid for it with their existence. We know we are asking a lot of you, especially from two individuals that you have never met, but we loved you dearly and never desired to be separated from you. Our mistakes cost us you, and we devoted our lives trying to get you back and to restore the world that our leader once spoke of to us. But if you are reading this, that means we are long dead, but that we were successful in having the system retrieve you.

The Götterdämmerung system will take control of this space after our death and store most of our possessions away within its storage module. The same table that you found this journal on there will be a terminal, a syringe filled special developed nanites tied to the Götterdämmerung system, and a PDA filled with information on many different universes.

However, by the time you arrive here the system will be critically low on energy, and you will only be able to create a bridge to the first universe that we have linked to the system. This universe should teach you everything that you need to know and train you on the features of the system. The more you use the Götterdämmerung system and become attuned to it, the more universes, and timelines you will be able to access. Continued usage of the system will cause more energy to flow into the system as it drains away energy from the space between universes and replenishes the dark matter that fuels it.

Now Frederick, will you join in the foolish endeavor started by your parents and raise humanity above the gods themselves? Will you help us once again defy the gods themselves and become one with the Götterdämmerung system to achieve that goal? The choice is yours, if you accept, then inject yourself with the metallic liquid and access the terminal. But if you do not desire to follow in our path, then destroy the syringe, the terminal, and the PDA, and the Götterdämmerung system will return you to the universe that we originated from, and the system will self-destruct, destroying our work and leaving humanity subjugated to the whims of the divine.

With Love,
Victoria and Rudolf

Once again, Happy 30thbirthday, and we are forever apologetic that we could not be in your life like we should have been.


Closing the small journal, I felt overwhelmed by emotion and needed a moment to truly comprehend my situation. 'This explains quite a lot, unfortunately. The constant feeling that something was out of place, but the inability to determine what exactly it was. The universe I was in was always doomed to end in fire.' I thought to myself, still sitting at the desk.

'Wait… They never truly explained what limits Götterdämmerung system could reach but it sounds as if it was acting as either a tool to uplift humanity or to take the place of the divines themselves?', I pondered. Lost in my thoughts for hours, I remained at the desk, staring at the items on the desk and re-reading the journal over and over trying to grasp what to do.

"This Götterdämmerung system was the work of my parents, whether or not they were in my life. I can conclude from this journal that they tried endlessly to aid me, and that this system became their legacy", solemnly I stated.

"Either I reject the work of my true parents, or I embrace it and continue to build onto their legacy, but it sounds like they were geniuses of the highest caliber to have created this system", continuing I stood up, pacing around the room. Needing to clear my head and take time to come to a decision, I walked back upstairs and began to explore the house.

Reaching the top of the staircase, to my left was a door that I had missed earlier during my initial descent into the basement. Cautiously, I reached for the door handle and began to turn it. Slowly, the door creaked open, and dust filled the air as the door moved for the first time in what I believed to be many years.

Entering the room, I discovered the kitchen that was once used by my parents during their lifetime in this space. The cabinets were a sterile white, and the counters were clean and devoid of clutter. The fridge was empty, except for a bottle of water. Reaching for the bottled water, I took a sip and placed the bottle on the counter. 'Figures there's no food here. I don't know how long it's been since they met their end and the amount of dust built up on that door... It's been a long time since anyone moved through these corridors' I pondered, taking another sip of the water and opening the cabinets.

Just as the fridge was devoid of anything, the cabinets were empty, and I found nothing except emptiness in the rest of them. Continuing to search through the kitchen, I found various kitchen utensils fit, everything in a sterile white color that one would find in a laboratory.

Leaving the kitchen and continuing to search the space, I soon made my way down the hallway where I discovered several rooms, including a workshop, a library, and even an office area. Walking through each room, everything appeared untouched and undisturbed.

A thick layer of dust covered every surface, and there was little evidence that anyone had lived here in a long time. After exploring all of the rooms, I continued walking down the hallways and eventually returned to the spiral staircase leading downwards. Stepping off the main floor, I descended the stairs into darkness.

Every step down the spiral staircase meant I was one step closer to making a decision and moving on with my life. Two choices were in front of me, either I injected myself with the mysterious syringe, which contained the keys to the system developed by my parents, or I destroyed the syringe.

'If I destroyed the syringe, there was no guarantee I would be sent out of this space. When I explored earlier, I did not find any doors that led outside of the house. On the other hand, who knows if that journal is telling the truth and if this mystery syringe won't just kill me once I inject myself with it' I pondered before I reached the table and the legacy of my parents.

For a moment, I stared at the items on the table, and then took the mysterious syringe in my hand. "You know… they say nothing ventured means nothing gained, but am I sure that I am ready for whatever is after this?" I muttered. Making my mind up and moving the syringe closer to my arm, and removing the cover on the needle, I said "Here goes nothing". The needle slowly penetrated my skin, and I depressed the plunger, pushing the golden fluid into my veins and filling my body with whatever it was. The world around me appeared shaky as my vision began to spin, and I collapsed into the chair at the desk.

"What the hell was in that damn thing? I feel awful and I can't stand to keep my eyes open." I exclaimed, closing my eyes to escape from the spinning. In my ears, I began to hear an overwhelmingly loud ringing. The ringing quickly vanished however, and I felt completely normal, almost as if I was returned to a state of perfect equilibrium.

The next step I needed to take was the activate the terminal on the table and initially I examined it looking for some way to power it on. There was no clear power switches or buttons on the terminal and its sleek appearance did not appear to contain any hidden buttons.

"What about this?", I questioned as I placed my finger on the base of the terminal and then the screen quickly illuminated. The system began to initialize itself, displaying notifications on the screen of the terminal as it progressed.

[System initializing]
[…]
[User identified]
[Götterdämmerung
system initialization complete]

After the system completed its initialization, the terminal displayed a singular prompt asking for a username input, the keyboard displaying on the terminal screen below the text input.

[Input Username]

"Huh? It wants a username not an actual name. Well, I'm going to assume that once I put something in I won't be able to change it." Looking at the screen and beginning to type in the name that would become my future identity.

[Alberich Wolf]
[Accept Username?]
[Confirm] [Reset]

Moving my hand back towards the screen, I hit the confirm button and then the prompt vanished. Although in the top corner of the screen, I could visibly see that the input had been accepted as the terminal displayed the name 'Alberich Wolff'. The desktop of the terminal was sparse and there were only four icons on the desktop to select.

[Body Modification] [Configure Universe] [Activate Gateway] [Help]

'Well I can only assume what these do as they are pretty straightforward, but I'll click the help button just to make sure I don't make any mistakes.'

[Help Selected]
[Description of Body Modification]
[Description of Configure Universe]
[Description of Activate Gateway]
[Return]

Taking my hand back to the terminal, I tapped the screen to begin exploring the system functions and their basic descriptions.

[Body Modification is a one-time use function of the Götterdämmerung System and will activate the nanites in the user's body. Once the nanites are activated the user will be given an allowance of points based on the current amount of energy in the Götterdämmerung System's reserve. Initially the user will choose an essence and then system will begin to activate the nanites within the user's body to begin configuring it and improving it. After the choice of an essence the remaining points will be used by the user to make further changes to the user's body.]

"Interesting and let's get the other description first and then I'll start up the body modification." Tapping the screen and returning to help menu, I tapped the Configure Universe description and waited for the terminal to display the information.

[Configure Universe is a key function of the Götterdämmerung System and allows the user to travel between different universes. The Götterdämmerung System requires a large amount of Dark Matter to create a bridge into a new universe. In addition, when creating a bridge into the selected universe, the Götterdämmerung System is able to modify the very nature of said universe. In order to ensure the user is transitioned into the universe properly, the user will create their own identity from a pre-generated selection and using an allowance of points based on the amount of energy in the system's core. System's core energy is separate from the energy in the reserve and is limited to usage for traversing universes.]

"This all seems like it functions very similar to a Jumpchain… The body modification obviously resembles a body mod document from a Jumpchain. Then there's the jump doc which the Configure Universe function seems to almost mirror…" I said to myself, pondering the similarities between the Götterdämmerung System and Jumpchain fanfictions.

[Activate Gateway creates the bridge between the selected universe and the Götterdämmerung System. Before the user crosses through the gateway, it is recommended to bring the specially designated system PDA. Taking the designated PDA will allow the user to interface with elements of the Götterdämmerung System while outside space that houses the system. Not taking the PDA makes communication between the Götterdämmerung System and the user nearly impossible until the user has reached the specified exit time designated during the configuration of the universe. Upon reaching the specific exit time the user will be recalled through the gateway which will be powered up moments before the designated exit time.]

"That's a good failsafe at least. I don't have to worry about being stuck outside in a foreign universe forever, but it doesn't state what happens if I die while in the universe… Also, that means this PDA is designed for communication to this space." Picking up the PDA and tapping the screen, it illuminated and displayed a message.

[PDA not active while in system core]

"Good to know it's still active and it seems that's all the system has for functional descriptions. Time to break into this body modification and see exactly what things it can improve."

[Body Modification]
[Mode Set to Heroic Mode]
[Select an Essence]
[Warlord] [Scholar] [Mad Doctor] [Crafter] [Assassin] [Brute] [Superior] [Healer]

'Hmm… I think the most useful for 'essence' for me as a person would probably be the 'Healer' essence and I'm not really sure what these other universes would bring challenge wise, but I'd prefer to be able to heal myself and my companions before I start facing new challenges.' Tapping the screen to select the essence of the scholar, it chimed as my finger hit the screen. Next the screen displayed an incredible list of augments for me to purchase and displayed the true capabilities of the nanites that I had injected into my body. After about a good hour of reading through every single option and choosing the options that would fit me the best the terminal displayed everything that I had chosen and a final point balance of zero.

[Physical & Mental Augments]
[Ageless II] [Regeneration III] [Physical Resilience I] [Reduced Sustenance II]
[Mental Prowess III] [Mental Resistance I] [Heightened Reactions I] [Empathetic I] [Charismatic I] [Polyglot]

[Skill Learning Augments]
[Biomedical Mastery II] [Social Mastery I] [Leadership Mastery I]
[Polyglot]

[Superhuman Augments]
[Healing Touch III]

[Drawbacks]
[Achilles Heel] [Stronger Imprint]

'So many choices but so little points and energy in the system to adequately balance everything. However now I understand how they designed the system to improve humanity and push it beyond the natural limits of the human form. I guess the next step is to hit the finalize button.' I moved my finger over the finalize button the terminal, knowing that the moment I hit it all of these changes would be permanent, and I would not get a second chance.

[Activating nanites]
[Please prepare for immediate discomfort]
[Applying changes to user's body according to chosen body augmentations]

A sense of lightheadedness came over me and an intense pain shot through my body as the nanites began to rewrite the very fabric of my being. The pain was overwhelming as I felt the changes in my body began to take form. My head pounded greatly as the large amounts of augments impacting my brain began to be written into it by the nanites. For what seemed like hours, I drifted in and out of consciousness and the nanites worked their way through every inch of my body and making it in the image designed by the body modification tool.

In reality the entire process took less than a few minutes but the pure shock from the intense changes made it feel so much longer than it actually had been. Recovering from the changes, my mind felt incredibly crisp and even the earliest memories I had were incredibly easily to remember.

[Modification Complete]
[Display Changes?]
[Y] [N]

Desiring to see the changes that had been made to my body, I moved my hand back to the terminal and tapped the Y icon on the screen. Soon the terminal began to output the changes to my body and had ranked the individual abilities of my body by alphabetical ranks. The lowest rank possible was an F while the highest was an A+++, with a C rank in an attribute being considered the human average.

[Alberich's Attributes]
[Physical]
[Strength: C] [Endurance: C] [Dexterity: C] [Resilience: A] [Regeneration: A]
[Mental]
[Appeal: C] [Logic: A++] [Memory: A++] [Charisma: A] [Empathy & Trickery: A]

'Regeneration is going to be incredibly useful for me personally and having the ability to heal those around me with healing touch should prove useful to turn any tide in our favor. While my physical attributes are only at the level of an average human there's nothing to say that I can't just improve them with hard work and effort. The same doesn't apply to mental attributes or at least I'd assume as much. Thankfully I put a good number of points in those, and it seems I'm near the peak of what the system can give me with its current level of stored energy.' Closing the attribute output notification, another quickly appeared on the screen and gave me prompts of where to proceed next.

[PDA contains updated Biometrics]
[Please continue to Universe Configuration]

Taking the PDA from the table and putting it on my person, I returned to the terminal and opened the next function as indicated by the prompt.

[Configure Universe]
[Establishing Connection to Universe CW-1945A]
[Connection Established]

'CW-1945A? I'm assuming the universes are named after the event that defines the entry point but the last half of the name… Maybe the year since but the letter variable I'm not sure about' I thought while the system began to display multiple prompts on the terminal.

[Universe CW-1945A]
[The Soviets are at the gates of Berlin and the Allies are not far behind them. Soon the city will fall to their coalition forces and the German National Socialists will be defeated. This is not the end of conflict however as soon after the ideological Cold War between the forces of Democracy and Communism will begin. The entry date for this universe is April 20th 1945 at 00:00. One of the many threads of prophecy is about to be severed in approximately 10 days.]

[Please choose your Origin]
[Drop-In] [Spy] [Military General] [Head of State] [Descriptions]

For a moment as the description remained on the screen, I knew that the Second World War had almost come to its brutal end in this universe. Within a few days Benito Mussolini would be captured and executed. Following this event, Adolf Hitler would also perish at this own hands to prevent the same disgraced death faced by Mussolini. Having lost almost all territory the Axis would surrender and the true suffering for the European continent would begin.

However, unlike many others, I had an opportunity with my knowledge of the future to either allow the Allied powers and the Soviets to do as they wished and bring about the transition into the Cold War or I could try my damnest to change history. With a slight hesitation I moved my hand towards the screen and tapped the description option to see the details of what each origin would provide me with.

[The 'Drop-In' origin will simply transport the user to the universe with no changes made to their existence and they will be considered a foreign entity to the universe. Devoid of background and no new memories. Not recommended for universes which require the user to have an established repour with its inhabitants.]

[The 'Spy' origin will provide the user with a full set of memories and a skill set based around international espionage. These memories will merge with the user's existing memories however they will not take the place of them and will act as a secondary set of memories. The user will be an established part of the universe and as such will have relationships and connections established with those living in the universe. User will need to select who they are an intelligence agent for after the select the origin.]

[The 'Military General' will provide the user with a full set of memories and skills on par with the great military generals of the Second World War. Additionally, the user will gain strong connections within the military structure of their chosen nation. Memories will be provided for the user and will merge with their existing ones to create a seamless transition into the universe. Requires selection of nation that user will become a military general for.]

[The 'Head of State' will allow the user to either replace an existing Head of state for the nations surviving after the Second World War or will allow the user to rise to the position of Head of State after the Second World War is concluded. System will grant the user the necessary skills and political connections required to perform the roles and duties required of a Head of State. Memories will merge with the user's memories and allow the user to effectively live in the universe and survive their new life.]

'Hmm… this is an interesting set of origins to choose from but with the Cold War on the horizon… Becoming a master of international espionage sounds the most enticing to me currently. The skills that a spy hones and are key to espionage should allow me the most mobility and flexibility compared to becoming a 'Military General' or 'Head of State'. Additionally, my prior military skill set would be greatly augmented if merged with the skills of an intelligence officer.' I concluded before hitting the return button the screen and tapping the spy origin.

[Spy Origin Selected]
[Age will be set to 32]

[Intelligence Agency Selection Required]
[OSS] [MI6] [NKVD] [Abwehr] [Kempeitai]

'Now, I'm definitely not going to be working for the communists… so the People' Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) is off the list… The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) eventually becomes the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and carries out multiple different plots to bring instability to multiple regions of the world in support in the democratic ideal. Military Intelligence Section Six (MI6) is full of Soviet spies working to see that communism flourishes outside of the Soviet Union and while being full of spies MI6 still manages to do quite a bit of damage but most that information I couldn't ever find during my research. Working for either of them feels like it would result in a constant battle to not get stabbed in the back by potential double agents. The final two options are the Abwehr, the National Socialist Intelligence agency that eventually gets merged into the Schutzstaffel (SS) and then there's the Kempeitai, the Japanese intelligence agency which since it's the end of the war will soon face the wrath of an atomic weapon. Hmmm… I think there is only one option here that I need to pick.' My hand moved towards the screen tapping the Abwehr and then the prompt vanished after it confirmed my selection.

[Choose Starting Location]
[Washington D.C] [New York] [Moscow] [Warsaw] [London] [Paris] [Berlin] [Munich]

'This is a difficult choice… I'd rather not be stuck in a prison which is guaranteed if I'm in America or Allied territory. If I'm in Soviet territory, then I will more than likely be in a gulag before the end of the day. So, the clear choices are either Berlin or Munich, Berlin falls on the 30th of April and so does Berlin… If I choose Berlin, I'll be able to interfere with the Soviet occupation of the city and with my healing touch I could revitalize the German defense of the city. Although, if I start in Munich, I have the potential to travel north towards Berlin or south into the Swiss Alps… I'll chose Munich for now as it seems like it gives me the most flexibility for moving around… Let's hope it works…' sighing in resignation and the slight apprehension that I only truly had one chance to make things work or else. If I failed in my endeavors, I would surely be executed by the Allies or be forced to work until I died in a Soviet gulag.

Tapping Munich, the location prompt vanished, and the system began displaying various 'perks' and 'items'. Each perk or item that I that I could choose from would enhance my existence in the universe by granting me abilities or giving me a physical 'item', which would become tied to my existence.

[Allowance for Perks and Items: 2000]
[Allowance for Items only: 200]
[Please begin choosing abilities]

Spending the next hour clicking through every ability and item, displaying its description and how to use it before I made my decision. I thought about what would allow me the best chances to change the course of history and to prevent utter destruction of the German people. There were so many different tragedies that could occur if I made a misstep and the world escalated from a Cold War into a full-scale hot war. Especially with the ever-present threat of nuclear weaponry and the potential for mutually assured destruction once the Soviets gained access to nuclear weaponry through Ethel Rosenberg.

[Confirm Selected Perks & Items]
[Turncoat] [Pulling Back the Curtain] [Basic Training] [Local Customs]
[Skilled Networker] [WW2 Veteran] [On a Grassy Knoll]

[Items]
[Force Multiplier] [Standard Suitcase] [Personal Radio]

Taking one final look over everything, I confirmed that it was what I desired and then in my head went over how each 'Perk' and 'Item' would benefit me.

Firstly the 'Turncoat' perk would allow me to infiltrate other intelligence agencies without suspicion of who my true employer was. Then the 'Pulling Back the Curtain' perk makes crossing enemy lines something that I can do with ease and once the Soviet's established the 'Iron Curtain', it would not become an issue for me travel through it to continue my activities. 'Local Customs' gave me the ability to avoid cultural mis-steps while allowing me to imitate foreign cultures while undercover and combined with 'Skilled Networker' I could easily build up my own network of contacts for intelligence gathering.

The maximum level perk for the 'Spy' was 'On a Grassy Knoll' and gave me the one-time ability to try and assassinate a head-of-state and if I was successful their successor would fear death at my hands and defer to me on international decision. 'If I used this perk to its maximum capability then I would be perfect for making a nation become either neutral or turning them to my side.'

The final perk, 'WW2 Veteran' would influence the opinions of those around me and give credence to the strategic maneuvers and suggestions made by me. While I had little points to spend on 'Items' I managed to get 'Force Multiplier' gave me a platoon of special operations soldiers to command. The 'Standard Suitcase' would prove useful as it was full of materials for forging documents, disguises, and a concealed Browning Hi-power. The final item I picked would be perfect for communication as the 'Personal Radio' broadcast a signal to all surrounding radio devices in the possession of my allied forces.

After ensuring that everything was what I desired and I imagined the various ways to use them, I thought once more about my starting location. 'Starting in Munich with a platoon of special operations soldiers… I can send a detachment of the platoon, probably 6 operators towards the south to prevent Mussolini's capture while the remaining 5 operators and myself travel to Berlin' I thought to myself and then I tapped the confirm option on the screen.

[Transferring System Energy to nanites in User's body]
[Beginning Perk Implementation]

Once again, the system's nanites moved through my body and used their energy to further modify my existence. Although unlike the initial body modification, this time the feeling was less drastic and painful. The items that I selected did not appear in front of me however I believed that when I arrived into the universe that they would be nearby/

[Changes to user and Universe CW-1945A complete]
[Activate Gateway Unlocked]
[Proceed to Final Stage]

Making my peace with the choices I had made and the weight of the task in front of me, I tapped the activate gateway icon on the terminal and the room around me began to change. The seemingly empty room sprung to life, the concrete walls moved and hidden behind them was an incredibly futuristic looking gateway. The gateway's lights shone brightly as the system diverted energy towards the gateway and the gate began to open into Universe CW-1945A.

Walking to the gate, I head the PDA in my hand and stared into the gate, seeing glimpses of the world I would be traveling to in front of me. 'Here goes nothing…' I thought and then walked through the portal.


Munich, Germany – 00:00 April 20th, 1945

Alberich Wolff was born on July 28th, 1913, in the city of Dresden, Germany, a year before the Great War would ravage the European landscape and cost millions of young men their lives. Alberich Wolff's father would be one those unfortunate young men that lost his life fighting to defend the fatherland from the forces of the Triple Entente.

Growing up during the great depravity of the Weimar republic showed Alberich that something rotten had infected the nation that his father had died fighting to protect. Scrapping together the meager amount of money that he and his mother made during the inter-war period allowed them to live but not without great struggle.

Fascinated with the political speeches and actions of the National Socialist German Workers Party, Alberich became determined to ensure that he was a part of restoring the Germany his father had died for. With the rise of Adolf Hitler as the German Führer, Alberich joined the Abwehr and began his career as an intelligence agent for the German Reich.

In 1938, after an encounter with American OSS agents, Alberich saw an opportunity to infiltrate the enemy of his nation and gather intelligence vital for the survival of the German Empire. This was the beginning of Alberich's infiltration of the OSS and acting as a double agent to supply the German Empire with the information it needed to prevent Allied dominance in Europe.

Alberich continuously relayed intelligence back to his leadership in the Abwehr while he was in deep cover with the OSS. Although he felt that his intelligence gathering had little effect on the war as events, he leaked to his leadership still went on without deviation.

This was due to the corruption and blatant betrayal at the upper levels of the Abwehr, the intelligence that Alberich had gathered proved to be useless for Germany, ending up in a warehouse in Eastern Prussia. After watching Germany lose countless battles due to gaps in the intel that had been relayed to the Führer, Alberich returned to the German Reich and attempted to find the intelligence that had gone undelivered.

Although the upper levels of Abwehr had ensured that all of his efforts were in vain and after the failed assassination attempt of the Führer, the Abwehr ceased to exist as an independent entity. While remaining loyal to the German Führer, Alberich maintained his rank of Oberführer and was transferred to the SS in 1944.

After his transfer to the SS, Alberich was placed in charge of special operations unit with the designator Werwolf Dresden. His new mission officially was to silently eliminate enemy forces and to maintain themselves as an elite force able to act behind enemy lines. 11 men were placed under Alberich, and they trained secretly near enemy lines, honing their skills and crossing enemy lines to enact sabotage. However, after the Allied bombing of Dresden, Alberich and his squad vowed that they would not allow the allied forces to take one more step on to German soil and that they would use everything in their skillset to defend the German Empire.

Now on the dawn of the final days of the Second World War, I merged with Alberich's existence, and our beings became one. The 'Stronger Imprint' drawback that I the System had placed on me in exchange for diverting more energy, heavily imprinted Alberich's origin onto my identity. His motivations and goals became my own and my knowledge became his, the knowledge of the future that would become instrumental in averting the death and castration of German Empire.


Soviet forces approached from the east but had slowed while the forces of the Americans and the British continued to inch closer and closer to Munich. Unable to sleep, I descended what remained of the stairs and saw the members of my platoon on relaxing for the momentary respite we had.

Greeting me with a salute, I returned it to my men and said "I have grave news seemingly delivered to me by the divine. As I slept just now, I saw a vision of the future, one where our people are pushed to extinction and everything German about us is considered shameful. I will not allow that future to come true and I trust that none of you desire the same."

The men looked at me and then all in unison exclaimed "Never, we would rather die than allow our people to become something so despicable. To be ashamed of being German, such a thought is the gravest of nightmares."

"That was not all that I saw, there was more. Something that we need to attend to with the utmost haste if we are to turn the tide of this war and to bring honor to our people. While the Italian Duce is not my favorite, he is about to be executed after he is captured by communist partisans. However, that is not the most pressing issue…" I paused before continuing and my men looked at me waiting.

"We need to reach Berlin before the morning of the 30th or else the darkness that seeks to devour us will win. Berlin will be taken by the Reds and our Führer will meet his unfortunate end. This cannot be allowed to happen." Firmly, I stated.

The men remained quiet for a moment before one of them, a tall man with golden blonde hair and green eyes, named Karl Hoffman said "Oberführer Wolff, what are your orders then? We have not received any communications from anyone since the American forces began to slow their advance into our lands."

"You are correct, Strummann Hoffman and the last order was to station in Munich but I've received nothing on the wireless. None of you question my vision nor the words that I have spoken?"

"This is not the first time you have come to us with a vision that proved to be true Oberführer. We trust that you are sincere in your words and that we must defend the sanctity of our people and the sovereignty of the German Empire." A shorter man with grey eyes that seemed to reflect all of the darkness that he had seen named Frederick Reich replied.

"I thank you men and I could not have been blessed by Providence with a greater team of men. Strummann Reich, I am placing you in charge of the team that is to prevent the capture of the Italian Duce by communist partisans. 5 of you will follow the orders of Strummann Reich while the other five come with me to rally our people to break the communist encirclement of Berlin." I stated and watched as my men divided themselves into the groups I required.

Detailing the route that Strummann Reich would have to take the ensure the Italian Duce was not captured, him and his men listened intently and then under the cover of darkness left Munich.

The remaining men with me, I gave them the details of the route that we would take and the divisions that we would need to meet up with on the way to rescue Berlin from the encroachment of the Soviet forces. There would be no time to rest as Berlin was far from our current destination and we needed to reach it within four days to assist with the defense of the city.


AN: I hope everyone enjoys reading this and this story will take place in an alternative universe, starting with a Cold War scenario and from there continuing to evolve as Alberich's actions send ripples throughout the world. Will Alberich be successful or will he cost billons their lives?

AN 2: Added more to the prologue while changing parts of it to further explain the motivations of the characters, in addition explained various parts of the Perks. This story will follow a path that most may not like as a fair warning to those reading.

AN 3: The Essential Body Modification by Swordchucks is the source for the body modification while the perks are modified from the East vs West jump doc by Cenanon. I do not own any of their work.