"You want me to be your Champion? What do you mean?"
"I feel like you are the one I've been waiting for and, just as importantly, I think I'm what you have been missing. I have actually been waiting a while for the right candidate, you will be the last champion to be chosen. I want you to start a new life in the Heroic Realm with my blessing. I will warn you the Heroic Realm is filled with great challenges, but it is also full of great rewards. You can say no. Although, then sadly you will return to being dead and have to hope that you are either reincarnated or another god chooses you at some point."
"I thought you said that I was the last Champion?"
"Yes all the other gods have chosen their Champion but gods can choose others as Followers and we can choose as many of them as we can afford. Champions are special as they receive our true blessing so we can only have one and it's always our first Follower."
"I guess I should take it as a compliment that you wanted to pick me then."
"I'd like to think you would," Kiara said while laughing. Her laughter made Jason's heart do a little dance in his chest, but he tried his best to not let it show.
"How do you decide which god gets who?"
"Well, it's done by a bidding war almost like an auction." Jason wasn't sure about being auctioned off like a good.
"So how much did I go for surely it must have been a lot if I'm your long-awaited champion," Jason said hoping for some encouragement.
There was a long silence only broken by Kaira coughing slightly with a slightly guilty expression. "Well you see you were just a single God token, I was the only bidder."
Jason could only just keep his jaw from hitting the floor. He was a mix of embarrassed and shocked. 'Am I really not worth anything' he thought to himself.
"You truly are worth it," Kaira said with her intoxicating smile. "In truth, many don't even get chosen as followers and remain in limbo not called to the Heroic Realm, much less chosen as a champion."
He quickly shook himself out of his self-pity. It wasn't the first time people had looked down on him. He hadn't let it stop him in the past and it wouldn't now either.
"So I will ask you again. Will you be my Champion?"
Kiara let some of her divine aura escape and it flowed over Jason. As it did, it left him feeling hopeful and excited, despite the confusing situation he found himself in. It didn't try to compel him to agree with her request, instead, it shared who she was. He could feel her desires and he immediately felt he understood her and more importantly, he felt that they would make an excellent pairing. It made his decision easy.
"I will. I don't think I've done all I want to do yet, I want another chance at life."
A huge smile spread across the goddess's face before slightly twisting into a grin.
"In that case, I will use my power to make sure that you are given that opportunity."
At that moment a great light surrounded Jason. It cloaked him as if he had caught on fire, yet it was not painful. It felt as though he was stepping into a warm bath after a very cold day. It reached deep within him until it even touched his soul and then suddenly it vanished as fast as it had appeared.
As Jason opened his eyes, which he had not even noticed he had subconsciously been squeezing shut, he saw a massive floating screen in front of him. Confused, Jason looked at Kiara and she quickly explained that he would have to make a few decisions before he was ready to be sent to the Heroic realm.
"Some gods like to make all the decisions for their champions but I think I'll let you decide. It will be more fun if you make some for yourself." She said with a jovial tone. From all Jason had seen of Kiara she wasn't as he had always imagined Gods. She was playful and casual. She didn't act superior instead her excited mannerisms and breezy demeanour were very childish. It made getting along with her easy and Jason already felt at ease around her.
The screen looked similar to the character customisation from one of Jason's favourite RPGs. He was excited so he just jumped right into making his choices. It all felt very intuitive despite there being so many options. He could decide to change himself in almost every way imaginable. However, he decided he would stick to looking the same, although he did add a few inches here and there. The temptation was just a little too much.
Thankfully Kiara didn't seem to be interested in what he was picking on this page. However, as soon as he had left that screen and moved on to the next she excitedly came to Jason's side.
"In the Heroic Realm you will have a system but so will the other Followers of Gods, everyone else found in the Heroic Realm is a natural reincarnation and will not. Followers also receive their God's minor blessing. However, as a Champion, you will go to the Heroic Realm with my True Blessing, a gift, a guardian and the Champion's blessing on top of that. I am also very excited to announce that you have affinities in several magic attributes so you can look forward to that."
Immediately Jason was excited he had always enjoyed the systems he had seen in games and novels. As long as you worked at it you would get guaranteed results. Though it seemed strange how familiar it all was.
"That is because those and other ideas you will encounter were deliberately spread to the Mortal realm to prepare those who would be sent here." The goddess said reading Jason's mind. "Anyway the first choice you have as a Champion is to decide what form your champion's blessing will take. It can either be a flat 100% boost to exp or just a 25% boost but the exp is also given to my other Followers. Saying that at the moment I don't have any other Followers, but as you achieve more in that world it will eventually become possible."
"Easy I want to choose the second option, I don't plan on living a lonely second life."
"Hahahahha is that really your reasoning."
"Yes."
"I like it."
Jason then tried to decide on which gift and guardian, however, it wasn't easy for him to make a decent choice on these. He wasn't sure what would be needed in the Heroic Realm so he asked Kiara to decide. She didn't even hesitate for a second when making the decision, she obviously already knew exactly what she wanted to choose. This left only the boxes for the God's True blessing and the Follower's blessing left blank. However, unlike the others this seemed to be a shade of grey denoting he couldn't change them.
"These two are left to me." As Kiara said that she placed her hand on the screen and the boxes were filled with a short description of the blessings.
Not for the first time in that room Jason's jaw almost fell to the floor. Looking from the screen to the beaming goddess next to him he couldn't help but shout in excitement. The Goddess, who had stepped back slightly as if admiring her work, looked serious.
"Are all blessings this overpowered?"
"I'm glad you can see their potential. I had a lot of God tokens left free to spend. However, I have only given you the tools. It will require effort and hard work from you to make the most of them."
Dropping the serious aura once again and smiling cheekily she stared right into Jason's eyes. "But if you do, not only will you be able to catch up to everyone that has come before you, I am sure you will be able to surpass them all."
Kiara then swivelled on her feet before walking forward where a door sparkled into existence in front of her. She opened it before beckoning Jason to follow.
"Come, your new life awaits."
Entering another room, the only difference that Jason could see between this and the last room was that it contained a bed.
Kiara then described how Jason would have to go to sleep before he could be reborn in the Heroic Realm. He would not regain his memories fully till he was 16 as his soul would take that long to fully transfer over. But she did assure him they wouldn't be so disconnected that he would become a different person. He also wouldn't receive the goddess's blessings till he was 16 either. It was only then that she, like him, could take her true form. At the moment her godly authority hadn't even taken real form outside the God realm and it would be his job to help grow her influence in the Heroic realm.
Looking at the goddess whom he had only met a few hours ago Jason felt a huge amount of gratitude towards the beautiful woman. Jason had never revered people easily he always felt that respect was something one earned over time no matter someone's status. However, Jason already admired Kiara. He felt it had truly been a blessing to meet her, with or without the gifts she was giving him. He truly hoped he could be the champion she wanted him to be. He was not willing to waste this chance she had given him.
Jason slowly began to notice that Kiara was slightly blushing and was doing her best to hide it. Remembering that she could read his mind Jason could only smile.
"I'm ready."
"Good luck my Champion."