After feeling the pain of being sent to a new world for the fourth time, Rapham was in searing pain. Everything about his body hurt. Even when he had been eaten alive, he had not felt such pain. After what seemed like an eternity, the pain finally lessened. He still felt it, but he could tell it was not as prevalent. Slowly, he started to hear noises and sounds. He finally felt his own body. His first thought when he felt something other than pain was "Heavy!!!" That's right, his body felt heavy. He tried to move his fingers, but his hands felt heavy. He tried opening his eyes, but they would not answer. "Hmph. It seems this fool destroyed his body." He remarked to himself. As he begins to gain more awareness, his eyes finally open. The first thing he notices is that his memories as "Mr. Rogers" An American soldier, had transferred over to his brain seamlessly. He had not expected that. When he finally wakes up fully, He looks around the room. He was in a pure white room on a hospital bed. He had been hooked up to an IV machine, and his body was in a hospital gown.
"You're finally awake." Daniel heard as he looks up. "Hmm, I am starting to think of myself as Daniel. I might as well embrace it." He says to himself as he looks up at the woman walking in. She could only be described as a hag. An elderly woman in her eighties, her face was wrinkled, and her stomach pushed out more than her breasts. "Hmph, seems the anime tropes are incorrect." Daniel laughs to himself as he looks at her. "Yes. I am glad that I am awake. What happened?" He says.
The woman looked down at him with worry on her face. "My name is Dr. Margaret Evans. You suffered from heart failure after drinking 5 bottles of Crown Royal in three hours. You then slipped into a ten-day coma when we were able to resuscitate you." Daniel looks up at the woman and sighs. "It seems that my alcohol habits have become a near death experience." He says gently. "Thank you for saving me." He says as he leans back.
The woman smiles as she checks his medical charts, her smile drops to a frown as she looks at Daniel, then back to the charts. A young man should not be this healthy after waking up from a coma. She turns back to Daniel and smiles. "Unfortunately, since you have just woken up from a coma, I have to keep you here for a few days. Please remain patient while we ensure you are healthy."
After the few days that Margaret had promised, (it ended up being four days) Daniel was ready to go home. Due to him being a one hundred percent disabled veteran, he had not had to worry about any hospital bills or rent/electricity bills. "Ah, the joys of not having to write checks for everything." Daniel says as he gets a ride on an Uber to his apartment.
Before getting into his apartment, he can smell it. "Daniel, how did you live like this man?" He says as he looks at the mess. Looking back at his life, he can only imagine how rough it was for the soldiers of this world. They were a relatively peaceful human race, compared to the humans on Enam. Daniel shrugs and offers a quick prayer. "Rest well, Daniel. You were a hero. Rest well knowing the monsters do not follow you anymore." Reading through Daniels memories, Rapham could see why his house was in disarray. Rapham could also tell how Daniel had fallen from a powerful athlete and soldier, to a bum. Any man would fall into hell after having to see children being killed. War was neither patient or kind, she devoured all that stood in her path, and left only a forsaken bloodbath.
After a quick moment of silence for Daniel, and reading through his memories, Rapham decided to live as Daniel the right way. It was the least he could do for a fellow soldier. "Alright, first things first. Let's get this place cleaned up." Daniel says as he decides to go to the store and get cleaning supplies.
After a few days of cleaning the apartment a few days at a time, the cleaning was done. "Alright. Time to get started on my mission." Daniel says as he looks at the capsule in his guest room. Looking back on his memories, he was happy to finally get a chance to be back in Enam. Even though it was through a gaming system, Daniel couldn't wait. Who knows, maybe he might be able to find his wife. Two lives were about to come full circle.
As Daniel gets into the gaming capsule, Hades and Apollyr are watching him. "Its about goddamn time!" Hades complains, missing the irony that a God had just essentially damned himself. "I want to see how this boy handles himself in combat and against the trials of Enam." Apollyr chuckles at Hades. "Uncle, you are acting like a child that has yet to open any of his Christmas gifts on Christmas day." Hades looks at Apollyr with a grin. "Little tyke, I remember when you created that ruse. You just wanted more gifts from us all." The two laugh as they reminisce, both of them eagerly awaiting the return of Rapham to his home world. Little did they know that the fate of two worlds rested on the first act Daniel would take.
After Daniel got into his gaming console and turned it on, the world disappeared from his eyes, and he felt his body enclosed in the small space. He had lost weight over the last few weeks, so his body was not as cramped as it used to be. "Ah, its good to be…" His words trail off as he comes to in the middle of a field. War cries plague the air, bodies, as well as parts of structures lay everywhere. "Why the fuck did you save here!" Daniel screams out as he dodges a sword coming for his head. "Die!" A man says as he comes after Daniel. "I hope I don't have to kill everyone here." Daniel says with dread as he takes in the information surrounding him. Not much was there to be gained other than right now he was in for the fight of his life.