Crossposted from AO3.
I've been reading and watching a lot of isekai content lately and have always wanted to write my own isekai story, complete with a lot of what it entails!
Chapter 1: New Game+
"Ngh…" A young man groaned as he got up from the hard, flat ground. He took several deep breaths only to have one of his hands quickly clutch onto his ribs in pain; he figured that he had been lying on the ground for quite a while. After a few moments, he finally got up into a kneeling position, his joints popping as he did so, and he took a look around. Immediately in front of him still on the ground were a pair of glasses, which he quickly put on as his vision was noticeably blurry, while brushing some of his black hair away from his face as he did so. With his sight problem addressed, the man took a proper look around his surroundings.
"Where… where am I…?" he wondered out loud before he briefly coughed; he could feel his throat being very dry.
Although the area was dim, he can see that he was in a temple of some kind – one that was apparently similar in style of that of the Romans or Greeks. He was able to see due to how the stone pillars appear to have some sort of ethereal blue glow surrounding their bases, providing some amount of light. Before he can contemplate on his new surroundings further, a golden glow illuminated the area in front of him, interrupting him from his thoughts.
The source of the glow was a beautiful woman with long green hair that reached all the way to her calves. She looked young, appearing to be in her early twenties, and wore a chiton-like dress, one that was visibly split over her left thigh, showing off much of her leg, which had a white stocking on that covered up to her thigh. Golden jewelry adorned her neck, head, dress, and arms, and the young woman was apparently armed with a tall staff in one hand and a circular shield in the other. The staff had a blue shaft and golden ends with the top end appeared to be winged, while the shield appeared to be reflective like a mirror and was adorned with a thick, golden trim at its outer edge. Glowing behind the woman's head was a large, blue circular halo with a pair of a trio of lines arranged in such a way to appear to extend from the circle to resemble a pair of feathered wings. A pair of brown leather heeled sandals propped up the young woman as she stood quietly before him.
The young man felt his eyes widen in shock; he recognized who the wondrously beautiful woman was.
"L-Lady Palutena!" he gasped, quickly taking a knee before the green-haired woman.
The green-haired woman smiled.
"Now, now, Robert, no need for formalities," she started gently. "While I am indeed the Goddess of Light, I'm here as a friend, and I'm sure that you have many questions you want answers for."
The young man's eyes blinked from surprise.
"H-how did you know my name?" he asked. "This… this is our first time meeting, isn't it?"
"This is our first meeting," Palutena confirmed with a gentle smile. "But I have been watching over you for a while now. You've got quite a passion for games and stories. I've seen you play quite a few video games, read a lot of stories, watch a bunch of shows, and draw several different pictures. I'm glad to meet such a devoted fan."
Robert couldn't help but to return the smile happily, blushing lightly, before a thought occurred to him.
"Wait, if you've been watching over me, and we're talking to each other in person now, then would that mean…?" Robert's question trailed off.
The young woman visibly saddened and hesitated before she answered.
"Yes, Robert, you are indeed in Skyworld now and I… I did see how you die. Your death… wasn't pretty. You were… rear-ended by a car driven by a drunk driver. You actually survived the initial impact from the car but your death came quickly right after you got flung through the wall of a bridge and fell to the ground below."
Robert gasped rapidly as he felt himself begin to hyperventilate. He felt his eyes burn as they began to issue hot tears, making his vision blurry before he scrunched them shut as his tears began to stream down his face, dripping onto the stone floor. He can hear voices in his head, as he began to remember his final few days, silently weeping.
"You're twenty-seven years old! You should already have a job and already moved out by now!"
"Your classmates already have jobs. Some of them already got married and have children. What have you done in the past ten years?! Nothing!"
"You've already spent eight years in colleges and you still couldn't find or keep a job!"
"Those games teach you nothing! They are a waste of time and a waste of your life!"
"What the hell are these cartoon stuffed toys doing in your room?!"
"There's something wrong with you. You should go see a doctor. Look at how your hand shakes – you're like a mentally sick person!"
"What friends do you even have? Online friends don't count!"
"You should give up on your games and cartoons so you can get those jobs and certifications!"
"Are you even trying your best?! No!"
"You are an embarrassment to us! What can I say to your grandma and grandpa?"
"You're like a parasite!"
Robert then remembered sitting at his desk with his laptop computer in front of him in the late evening after getting berated by his parents, quietly choking in tears.
"No," Robert mentally corrected himself. "They're biological parents; they're only parents by blood, not so much by bond, especially now that I see that their… 'love'… was only conditional. I was only a trophy to wave around to my grandparents and to the other Asian parents I don't know of or don't remember."
He then remembered that he then accessed a website online for suicide prevention help; his mind had been plagued with various scenarios on how to end his own life – prominent methods included starvation, dehydration, and drug overdose. He had then spent the rest of the evening expressing his despair to the patient and kind counselor who answered his request for help online, and received information on how to deal with his emotional distress. Robert then remembered that he had decided to go for a simple walk outside the next day.
He had ended up walking quite a ways away from his home, very much lost in thought all alone in the cold, winter afternoon. He had reached a bridge overpass that crosses over a highway when his ears finally registered the sounds of screeching tires – he was about to turn around only for a powerful, solid force slam into him from behind. He was about to scream in pain from feeling his bones shattering and his organs being crushed and torn only for the front of his body to be smashed into the wall of the bridge a split second later, smashing a section of concrete into rubble before he felt his brutally battered body careen down the air away from the bridge, his sight visibly tumbling violently around himself. After a final impact, everything went black.
"So I really am dead," Robert sighed, chuckling bitterly to himself before he wiped some of his tears away and returned his attention to Palutena, who had been standing quietly and patiently before him. "Sorry about that… I… I really needed that moment."
Palutena shook her head gently. "No, you have nothing to apologize for, Robert. You've been through a lot."
"Yeah…" Robert sniffled, prompting Palutena to quickly conjure up a box of tissues, which the young man quickly seized and pulled out one sheet of facial tissue to blow his nose on and wipe away more of his tears.
"So, what now?" Robert started after a moment's pause. "Do I go to heaven? Or do I go to hell? Or something else entirely? I doubt that I'm a good enough person to deserve a good afterlife."
Palutena smiled at him, and, to Robert, her golden glow appeared to have become brighter for a brief moment.
"Well, I'm glad you asked," replied Palutena. "While you may be able to go to heaven, I have a much better idea!"
Robert was once again surprised. "Wait, what do you mean –"
"Hold your horses, Robby," Palutena interrupted with a cheeky smile. "You're going to be… what do the kids call it again? Ah, yes – 'isekai'd'! You're going to another world, just like in several of those manga you've been reading a lot of recently! You've even gotten the makings of an isekai protagonist – a young Asian man with a gaming hobby and nothing much to lose at home who dies from a motor vehicle accident. I'm glad I got you before a certain useless goddess got to you first."
"Wait, 'useless goddess'?" Robert laughed, his mood brightening up considerably. "You're saying that Aqua actually exists?"
"Oh, she's more than real, albeit in another world entirely," Palutena explained, giggling a bit. "You see, the settings of those video games, animations, comics, and stories that you and so many people imagine, come up with, and love, do exist – they just exist in their own worlds. You can say that there's a whole multiverse of fiction intellectual properties out there."
The woman then kneeled so that she was more at level with Robert and firmly planted both of her hands on his shoulders, her emerald green eyes staring into his brown, nearly black, bespectacled ones.
"Pretty…" thought Rob to himself, silently admiring Palutena's eyes.
"And I'm going to give you the opportunity to explore that multiverse," continued Palutena. "A brand new start – you could say a 'New Game Plus'. And since it's a New Game Plus, it comes with a bunch of bonuses for you, Robert."
"What sort of bonuses?" queried Robert, curious.
"For one, you're going to be able to cast magic spells," started Palutena with a smile as she stood back up and tapped the bottom of her staff onto the stone floor. The head of the staff let off a bright blue glow, which was then also seen surrounding Robert's body from head to toe.
"Whoa…!" Robert gasped as he watched his body be bathed in the glow before said glow faded, sinking into his body.
"Next, I was going to make you a few years younger," continued Palutena. "But we've already done that right after I recovered your body and resurrected you; your body was so badly damaged that I had Pit take you to the Rewind Spring so I could resurrect you there and so Pit could dip you into the spring right after. As a result, you're now a teenager again – about the perfect age to be an isekai protagonist."
Robert slowly stood up onto his two feet to see for himself. Sure enough, he could see that he was a few inches shorter now, making the height difference between him and the taller goddess more obvious. He also noticed that his clothes – a pair of jeans, a black t-shirt, and a dark green hooded jacket – were a little baggier than usual. He also noticed that his clothes were riddled with holes, dirt, grass stains, and a lot of dried bloodstains.
"Welp, this is going to take a bit getting used to," Robert noted, moving the limbs of his now scrawny body around. "At least I've technically lost that weight I've gotten during the pandemic and then some."
"Now, why don't you try casting a spell?" Palutena suggested. "While I made it so you could cast spells of any element, some spells may be easier to learn and use than others. I recommend trying to cast a wind spell first as wind is simply moving air."
"Worth a shot," Robert replied as he took a stance with one leg forward and one behind before he thrust an open palm forward.
"Wind!" he called out, and to his surprise and excitement, the hand he had thrust forward began to glow as the wind swirled around it. In only a few seconds later, a green, glowing ball of wind left his hand and sailed through the air, flying past the left of Palutena, causing some of the air to blow right into the open slit of Palutena's dress, sending it billowing upwards, revealing both of the goddess's long legs as well as a most wondrous sight for Robert.
"Palutena's panties…! They're white… and lacey," Robert thought to himself as he felt his cheeks heat up in both embarrassment and excitement from watching the Goddess of Light's wardrobe malfunction. "Sexy…!"
"Oh my!" gasped a lightly blushing Palutena, who had reacted too late to cover herself, leaving her legs and underwear fully exposed for a few seconds. She dropped her staff and shield, leaving them clattering onto the ground, and quickly put her hands down upon the front of her dress, patting it down to cover up her legs just as the air finally calmed down, the spell softly hitting the stony wall of the building. "We're only in the first chapter and I just provided a fanservice scene!"
She then gave Robert a teasing grin.
"Eyes up here, Robby," she lightly admonished, lifting up Robert's head by his chin with a finger so that Rob was no longer staring at Palutena's legs and was now looking at Palutena's eyes once more. "That was a nice Wind spell you've just cast; only a little slow but still great as a beginner!"
"Looks like I could become better at it with some more practice," said Robert, still blushing a bit from getting caught staring.
Palutena then bent over to retrieve her staff and shield she had dropped earlier and stood back up. "Anyways, I still have some more new game bonuses to give you."
"Oh, right!" Robert gasped. "And s-sorry about… that… earlier."
"Oh, it's only an accident. Water under the bridge," replied Palutena, accepting the apology easily before she suddenly leaned forward to whisper sensually into Robert's ear. "But I bet that you enjoyed seeing my dress get blown up like that, don't you?"
Robert was rendered speechless, surprised by Palutena's unexpected boldness. However, he managed to answer by minutely nodding.
"My, aren't you an honest boy?" Palutena straightened herself back up to full standing height. "Now, onto the other bonuses! First, I'll grant you the know-how and experience for various skills you picked up from this old M.M.O. you've been playing for over a decade – I believe it's called Run Escape, so those skills should come in handy in your adventures. Next, I'll upgrade your smartphone that you brought with you."
"It's 'RuneScape'," corrected Robert, chuckling a bit as he watched Palutena get ready to work while he pulled out his smartphone from his pocket.
"It's definitely Run Escape." The goddess tapped the bottom of her staff twice onto the ground, one for each bonus.
On the first tap, Robert can see his body glow once more in blue and felt himself growing stronger; when he flexed his fingers, he can feel power radiating from his grip. His mind was also suddenly filled with knowledge that was previously never there, much of which would give Robert a better chance of surviving in a less technologically advanced and less forgiving world.
On the second tap, his smartphone levitated from his hand and slowly floated into the air before it stopped in front of Palutena, still hovering. The mobile device then glowed in much the same way Robert did earlier thanks to Palutena's divine power before it floated back to Robert, who gingerly grabbed it with his hands and began to examine his smartphone, accessing its digital applications to see what had changed, his brow furrowing in puzzlement.
"What exactly did you do to my smartphone?" Robert asked. "It didn't seem to have changed much."
"Well, I've made it so that it would never run out of battery power," explained Palutena. "I've also made it extremely durable, so no need to worry about cracked or scratched screens or cameras, and made it bound to you, so that only you can access the phone's functions and so that nobody can steal the phone for too long. You can still access the internet, meaning you can still keep up with the news, read your favorite manga, and more. However, you can no longer send or receive messages to and from people of the world of your past life. Now, why don't you return to the home menu for a moment?"
Robert slid his finger up on the smartphone's touchscreen to return to the menu of digital apps. At first, he didn't understand what Palutena was going for until he started flipping between the pages of the home menu before he finally spotted it.
"Oh, what's this?" he asked, looking at an unfamiliar app icon on the screen. The app icon was sky blue, with an image of a red heart with gold trimming and a brown burlap sack loaded with gold coins on top of it.
"That is the all mighty Multiverse Shop app," answered Palutena proudly. "You can use currencies you've earned in your adventures to buy a lot of different things and have them delivered instantly to you. To show you how it works, tap on the app to open it."
Robert tapped on the app icon with his finger and true to Palutena's word, the smartphone's display screen changed to show a shopping website, complete with various images of different items including food and tools, a search bar, and a cart icon.
"Why don't you try searching for… let's say… cup ramen?" suggested the goddess.
Robert nodded as his fingers tapped on the screen to input the search term and waited for about a second or two before the shopping app displayed the search results. Robert then tapped on the first result which showed cup ramen, ready to be purchased. He added one into the virtual cart and went to the checkout page.
"Oh, right. I need money to buy stuff," Robert noted out loud.
Palutena nodded. "Not to worry – as this is basically a tutorial, I'll give you some starter cash. Try not to spend it all at once."
The Goddess of Light tapped the bottom of her staff, making Robert's smartphone glow for a moment. The young man could then see that the available funds no longer listed a "0" and now showed "5000" next to the gold-trimmed heart icon.
"You now have five thousand Hearts to spend," stated Palutena. "You have more than enough to buy that cup ramen now."
"Right, thanks!" Robert tapped the button to complete the purchase, watching the price of the ramen cup be subtracted from the available Hearts. He then heard a soft "poof!" sound, prompting him to look up from his phone to see a cardboard box suddenly appear in midair before it fell onto the floor with a soft, clunking sound.
The box was white in color with the app icon printed on its sides in cyan. It was apparently sealed shut with shipping tape.
Robert peeled away the shipping tape and opened the box to see that an unopened cardboard cup of ramen was lying inside of it. He pulled it out to examine the food item. "Wow… it actually works!"
Palutena hummed in agreement. "That brings us to your next bonus. You now have an inventory ability you can use to store items and leave them in stasis. It's similar to how the player's backpack works in the modern Pokémon games – you can store lots of items inside of it and not feel the weight of them. You can try putting the ramen and the box inside of your inventory. Just make the motion of putting the items inside of something while thinking about the inventory."
Robert picked up the cardboard box with his unoccupied hand and held it and the cup ramen. While mentally voicing his intent to put them into the inventory, Robert made the motion of putting the box and the ramen onto a shelf. Suddenly, the air visibly rippled around the box and the ramen cup before said items vanished, as if swallowed by the space in front of him.
"I see. It's really convenient!" said an impressed Robert, staring at the space where the box and the cup ramen had disappeared to. "And I just need to think of them while doing the opposite motion to pull them out?"
"That's right," said Palutena with a pleased smile before she turned to walk to a nearby stone podium. "Now, come over here, please."
"Oh, what is it?" Robert asked as he followed the green-haired woman to the podium.
Palutena responded by donning a pair of glasses with large, round lenses. "Tell me, Robert, how do you feel about becoming a Pokémon trainer?"
"You're not pulling my leg, are you?" Robert asked, staring at Palutena with a mix of disbelief and hope. "It's practically every '90s' kid's dream to even meet a Pokémon!"
Palutena turned to the podium. "Indeed. And I'm about to let you choose one of three Pokémon to be your starter. However, those three whom you'll be meeting are the games' starter Pokémon you seem to like the most."
"Ah, gotcha," Robert noted as Palutena pointed her staff at the podium. The young man shielded his eyes as an orb of light appeared before disappearing, leaving behind three spherical devices, all lined up in front of him in a neat row. Each device had a red upper hemisphere and a white lower hemisphere. The halves of the ball were divided by a black line at its equator, only interrupted by a white button.
"In each Poké Ball is a starter Pokémon who has agreed to join you on your journey," stated Palutena. "The left one has Charmander, the middle one has Pikachu, and the right one has Mudkip. Which one is going be your first partner? You can only choose one."
"If all three Pokémon did agree to travel with me, then how come I can only choose one?" questioned Robert.
"While all three of them did agree, I don't believe that you have ever had a pet before, right?" answered Palutena. "Remember that Pokémon are living things like you or me, not toys or zeros and ones. It'll be a lot easier to look after one Pokémon rather than two or three especially when starting out."
"Ah, I see your point," conceded Robert as he began to think about his choices. "Pikachu is a total icon and is both quick and small, making him a hard target to hit. And if Ash's Pikachu from the anime is of any indication, it could be really strong. But Charmander can become Charizard, who is practically GameFreak's favorite child – it could Mega Evolve and Gigantamax, after all. It can also use its Fire-type moves to set up campfires and Charizard is the only starter Pokémon who can actually fly. And then, there's the meme and legend itself, Mudkip. Mudkip doesn't have too many weaknesses as a Swampert and could serve as a source of clean water by using Water-type moves like Water Gun."
Palutena chuckled as she listened to Robert's ramblings. "No need to think too hard over your choice. Remember that all three did agree to join you – it's just that only one of them is going to join you right now."
"Oh, I see," said Robert. "That means that the other two would join at some point in the future!"
"That's right. So, did you make your choice?"
Robert remained quiet for a few moments. He then turned to look at the rightmost Poké Ball and grabbed it. "Mudkip, I choose you!"
He then threw the Poké Ball up into the air. The Poké Ball opened up and a ball of light poured down onto the top of the podium. The light formed into a small, blue quadruped creature with a large head, a large dorsal fin on its head, a smaller tail fin at its rear, and a pair of star-shaped orange gills. The creature looked at Robert with its beady black eyes before it smiled.
"Mudkip!" the small creature greeted happily, lifting up one of its front paws to wave at him.
Robert could hardly contain his glee and returned the greeting by gently grabbing Mudkip's waving paw, turning the wave into their equivalent of a handshake. "Wow, it's so nice to meet you, Mudkip! My name's Robert, and while Palutena did say that you'd come with me, I want to ask you myself! So, are you willing to travel with me to different worlds?"
"Mudkip mudkip! The Mud Fish Pokémon answered without hesitation before it leaped into the air and landed onto Robert's shoulder.
"Awesome!" gasped a happily laughing Robert as he adjusted himself to the new weight on his shoulder.
"That reminds me," said Palutena. "When I resurrected you, I've made it so that you can understand both spoken and written languages of humans and demihumans. I wasn't sure that you'd understand me at the time so I made sure to nip that issue in the bud."
She then waved her staff as if it was a magic wand and suddenly, a wooden door appeared in front of them. The door appeared to be standing on its own.
"Behind this door is a dressing room, with a lot of different clothes," the goddess explained. "As you are right now, you're not exactly fit to be seen, and I figured that you'd want a fresh set of clothes for your new life."
"You've given me so much already, Palutena," Robert said softly as Mudkip hopped off of his shoulder. "Are you sure that all this… is alright to give to me?"
"Of course," reassured Palutena. "You've been through so much while still supporting and enjoying your hobbies to the best of your ability. I think it's the least I can do for my handsome champion to get the best start that he can have! Now, go put on some new clothes – they do say that clothes make the man, after all!"
Robert wasted no time and dashed into the dressing room, leaving Palutena and Mudkip to wait outside. Inside, he saw many shelves and racks of different clothing items with a variety of colors, materials, and designs. A full length mirror stood near the door.
"Choices…!" Robert softly gasped as his eyes darted all over the place. It took several minutes for Robert to browse and select different articles of clothing to try on. It took several more minutes for the young man to try on different combinations of clothes before he finally settled on an outfit to wear, taking a brief moment to admire his new look in front of the mirror with a nod of approval.
He exited the fitting room wearing a dark gray shirt, a more comfortable pair of blue jeans, a pair of brown boots, and a hooded white cloak. Palutena smiled at Robert's new look.
"You look great!" Palutena remarked. "You now look like a protagonist of some fantasy R.P.G.!"
"I know," Robert agreed. "And it feels comfortable, too!"
"Mudkip mudkip!" chirped Mudkip.
"Thanks, Mudkip," said Robert before he turned his attention to Palutena. He held out his older clothes to her. "Is it possible to get these fixed?"
"Oh, of course!" replied Palutena, not expecting, to her, an odd request. She waved her staff, bathing the set of old clothes with divine light. In a few seconds, Robert's old clothing was now as good as new, no longer having holes or stains.
"Thank you," said Robert gratefully. "They've been through a lot with me and I can't help but feel attached to them still, even if I'm starting a new life."
"Ah, I understand." Palutena watched Robert stuff his old clothes away into his inventory.
Robert then picked up Mudkip's Poké Ball and pointed the button side at Mudkip. "Mudkip, return!"
The Poké Ball opened up and issued a red laser ray that hit Mudkip and turned the Mud Fish Pokémon into a ball of red light. The Poké Ball sucked in the red light and closed itself, storing the small Pokémon.
"Well, guess that's that," Robert said, turning to Palutena. "So, which world am I going to first?"
"Not so fast, Robert," Palutena answered. "Most of the worlds you like involve combat of some kind. It may be a good idea to practice and get used to combat first before going into a world, especially since I don't recall you having fought a life-or-death situation before."
"That's true," Robert admitted. "Fighting is heavily discouraged unless it's part of some sporting event or some police or military duty."
"Well, I have a solution for your lack of experience," said Palutena, she reached behind her back only for her hand to return a white envelope, held closed with a certain circular red seal.
Robert gasped, his eyes wide as he recognized the insignia on the seal – it was a circle with an off-center cross. "Is that—"
"Yes indeed," confirmed Palutena. "This here is a special invitation for Super Smash Brothers. You'll be joining Super Smash Brothers as a Mii Fighter. It's good for one week so I expect you to train hard."
"Thank you," Robert said, reverently taking the invitation from her. "I wouldn't waste this chance."
A week later, Robert was teleported back into the lobby area of Palutena's Temple.
"Whew, seven days went by so fast," he groaned, stretching his limbs. "I'm going to miss being in Smash… though I wouldn't miss getting hit by the Falcon Punch or the Shoryuken."
He mentally flinched from remembering being on the receiving end of those attacks before he released Mudkip from its Poké Ball.
"How was Smash for you?" Robert asked the small Pokémon. "You got so much stronger really quickly!"
"Mud!" exclaimed the Mud Fish Pokémon as it hopped a few times in its spot happily.
"I'll bet. Red and Leaf kept challenging us and Greninja always focused on you whenever we fought and I had you out."
Palutena arrived via teleportation.
"Hey, you two!" she greeted. "How was your trip to Smash Brothers?"
"It was awesome!" answered Robert. "Even as a Mii Fighter, I felt like I can do anything! And it's great training for Mudkip, too!"
The young man then remembered something. "I don't recall seeing you at Smash Brothers, though. I didn't see Pit there, either."
Palutena nodded. "I was working with Pit on a... errand of sorts while you were gone. Thankfully, we managed to get what we were looking for."
Robert was now curious. "What were you two looking for?"
Palutena turned to one of the entryways in the temple.
"Pit, can you bring that thing in?" she called.
"On my way, Lady Palutena!" a young boy's voice called back.
Robert watched as an apparently young boy with white feathered wings, brown hair, white tunic, and dark shorts ran in. The angel, Pit, was holding a golden arrow in one hand – one that Robert easily recognized.
"Wait, is that…" Robert started.
"It is indeed the reference you're thinking of," laughed Palutena. "If this arrow pierces you, it could unlock some special power within you. However, for some people, they die from the arrow."
"Why did you guys get it then?"
"I have a feeling that you might get something off of it. I know the sort of person you are and I think you'll be just fine come what may."
Robert couldn't help but wonder about something. "What are you getting out of this? Why are you so willing to offer me so much power?"
The resurrected man thought he might have offended the goddess with his question but Palutena simply nodded in understanding.
"Part of it is because I do like you and don't want to see you to die so soon when you go to a more dangerous world," admitted Palutena. "But I am a goddess and have a selfish reason as well: I want to see what sort of journey you'd end up going in – how exactly you'd end up changing the whole world."
Robert was silent for a moment as he looked at Palutena and at the arrow. "I see… well even if you are selfish, you've done a lot for me and I do have my own goals I want to achieve depending on the world I go to."
"So, are you going to use the arrow?" asked Palutena. "I can make sure that you wouldn't die because of it."
Robert nodded and turned to Pit. "I'm ready."
Pit rushed over and handed him the arrow. "Good luck!"
Robert stared at the arrow for a few moments before he pricked his thumb on an edge of the arrowhead with a light wince.
At first, nothing significant happened – a bit of blood leaked out from the cut on Robert's thumb. However, Robert felt his body heat up rapidly. His breathing became labored as he collapsed onto his knees onto the floor.
Palutena rushed over to him, her staff already glowing. "Hang in there, Robert!"
Robert groaned painfully in response as blisters began to quickly bubble up beneath his skin. He couldn't help but to roll around as he attempted to soothe the heat and aching pain coursing throughout his body with the cool stone floor.
"I'm not going to die here!" he thought to himself. "I'm going to travel the multiverse, and see all that it has to offer! And I'm not going to let some alien virus stop me!"
Those were Robert's final thoughts as he finally went unconscious, his final sight being of Pit looking worriedly at him and Palutena next to him determinedly healing him using her staff.
A young woman with dark green hair fashioned into a long ponytail looked up from her fresh deer kill to see a massive pillar of light shine brightly into the dusk sky at a spot not far from where she was on the wide, grassy plains.
"What's going on?" she wondered out loud, readying her bow and arrow as she rushed over to the location once the light had faded.
She could never be prepared for what she saw when she arrived.
"Who are you…?" she whispered to herself.
Hey there, all! I hope you've enjoyed the chapter! I also hope that Palutena (from the Kid Icarus franchise) is kept in character. I also wonder if you caught the different references and shoutouts. I'll crosspost the second chapter pretty soon.