When coming to his senses, Jack saw a towering green and blue pillar surrounding him in the shape of a circle with his body at its center. Suddenly a blue rectangular window he often sees at the beginning of an RPG game pops up out of nowhere.
At first, Jack felt a little startled, but suddenly the corner of his mouth raised when he took a closer look.
The blue rectangular window split into two parts. The left one reflects Jack's current self, and the right one has a few options on how to change that appearance that consists of head, face, skin color, height, hair, etc. This window is often seen in an RPG game when the player makes his avatar.
'Finally! I had a chance to go to a different world. Not only that, but I can also choose my appearance. Awesome!' Jack thought.
With an exciting expression, Jack changed his current appearance. He became more handsome, taller with a better body build. After feeling satisfied with his avatar, he looked at it one more time before pressing a 'Create' button at the bottom right corner.
Jack waited excitedly for a few moments, but nothing happened. Absolutely nothing!
'Is it a scam?'
Jack feels impatient and disappointed. But when he was about to curse, a stinging pain suddenly assaulted his head. The pain spreads from head to neck, chest, and all over the place. Finally, he feels like being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles all over your body. Every single cell of his body feels excruciating pain as they were being forced to evolve.
Jack screams his lungs out while squirmed like a maggot in the ground he just stepped on. He never expects to receive this kind of torture when pressing the Create button.
"Aaaarrghh! Fu*k!"
Amidst the tormenting pain, he wished he could pass out. But couldn't because his nerves have started to change too. A second feels like an eternity for Jack in this state while the pain becomes more and more intense as times pass.
'Is this what death feels like?' Jack can't help but wail.
Jack's body got taller by a few centimeters, his eyes color changed to crystal green, his skin turned white from light brown, his black hair falling then replaced with straight blonde hair that touched his back, and finally, his ear grew longer and pointy.
After the grueling experience, Jack became a handsome blonde elf covered in his own sweat while lying on the floor, gasping for air. Even the most handsome prince on Earth pale in comparison to his look right now. But for some reason, he knows that this phenomenon is far from finished.
When recovering from the shock, Jack observes the change in his body before looks around and finds himself still stranded in an endless white room. But the towering green and blue pillar that surrounded him before is nowhere to be seen.
"Damn! I really turn to the avatar I just created. I wonder if my wife will recognize me now." He mumbled out loud before giving a self-deprecating chuckle.
After collecting himself, Jack tried to exert his remaining stamina to push his body up. But before he was able to do it, a cracking sound sounded from beneath his feet.
"Oh, God! What again?!"
Before Jack had time to open his mouth again, the white floor collapsed, revealing endless darkness that he was about to fall into.
He heard a distorted scream emanate from deep inside the darkness while falling. In the beginning, the voice resounds like a wailing maiden. But it turned into a shrieking siren that resonates inside his ears. It made him feel like his head was about to explode.
Luckily Jack was able to lose consciousness this time.
---
In the meantime, in an unknown underground place. A long-faced man with a dark gothic robe kneeling piously in front of a large boulder with a glowing crystal ball at its center. A mysterious figure with glazy blue eyes that reflected in it spoke to him in a firm tone.
"Is everything ready?"
The man with a long face lowering his head more before answering respectfully, "Yes, my lord. The preparation is complete, and we can start the ritual immediately."
"Good. Do it as planned." Said the blue-eyed man in the crystal ball with a smile on his face.
"Your wish is my command."
The kneeling man didn't dare to stand up before his master's figure completely vanished from the crystal ball. After making sure that the connection is severed, he walks out of that place with a solemn expression.
---
A few nights later, in an open space somewhere inside Shadowless Forest. A skinny young man opened his eyes slowly as he woke up from his eternal slumber. Feeling a little bewildered, he tries to remember what he did before going to bed yesterday, but for some reason, he can't. Everything seems to feel hazy and covered in a thick gray fog.
A burning sensation in Jack's throat coupled with a weakened body and a rusted smell that filled the air makes the place feel very strange. The only thing that made him convinced that this is his bed is a slender hand in front of his chest.
"Honey, what time is it? And why is it so dark here?"
Because his wife didn't respond, Jack tried to wake her up by shaking her hand. But he felt no sign of life when he touched her arm.
"Hon! Why is your hand so cold? It's like…"
Jack's heart suddenly beat like a war drum. Subconsciously, he twists his neck toward his wife before reaching for her neck to confirm his wife's condition.
But before his hand arrives at its destination, a thick cloud that covers the sky suddenly moves away and reveals a giant blue mood that floats beautifully in the night sky. Its lukewarm glow shows Jack that the hand that has been hugging him does not belong to his wife but a dead woman with a pair of soulless eyes.
Spontaneously Jack backs away in fear. Amid his fright and confusion, Jack exclaimed with a puzzled look. "What the…"