Levi adjusted his chair, leaned back, and let his gaze settle on the glowing monitor before him. It was a pre-battle ritual of sorts, something he'd perfected over countless hours of gaming. He reached for the energy bar on his desk, unwrapping it with precision before taking a slow sip from his water bottle. All part of the process, all part of the routine.
Tonight was the night—the culmination of two weeks spent immersed in Forsaken Pantheon, preparing for the ultimate showdown. He'd cleared every raid, survived every challenge the game had thrown at him, and now, just one foe stood between him and the kind of victory most players only dreamed of: the Last Titan.
Around him, the world might as well have disappeared. When Levi gamed, everything else faded into the background. His apartment, the muffled sounds of the city, the mess around him—none of it registered. His focus was complete, as natural as breathing. His hands moved without hesitation, each keystroke and click instinctual, drawing from a deep pool of practice and muscle memory.
Levi settled back, his hands hovering over the keyboard as he focused on the game once more. In here, the rules made sense. The goals were clear. It was just him, his strategy, and a challenge he could actually see, analyze, and beat. He took one last, steadying breath, feeling the familiar hum of anticipation.
"Alright, Titan," he muttered, a slight smirk curving his lips. "Let's dance."
The loading screen flickered, and then—there it was. The Last Titan, towering and relentless, its health bar pulsing at the top of the screen. He launched into action, his fingers dancing across the keys with well-practiced precision. Every strike, every dodge, every spell was ingrained in muscle memory. This was where he thrived, where the world faded away, and he felt in control.
But as the battle wore on, he began to feel the edges of exhaustion creeping in—an ache in his hands, a tightness behind his eyes. He hadn't slept properly in days, and he'd lost track of time hours ago. The Titan's health bar seemed to drain at a snail's pace, as if taunting him.
"Come on… just die already!" he gritted through clenched teeth, his calm facade cracking as he pounded out a series of critical strikes, his fingers moving almost too fast for him to track. The Titan roared and retaliated with a massive strike, forcing him to dodge, but he was too close to stop now.
"Seriously, just DIE!" he shouted, his voice filling the silent room. Every nerve was on fire, adrenaline coursing through him, frustration flaring with every near-miss.
Finally, with one last hit, he delivered the killing blow. The screen lit up with the words Last Breath Taken, and the frustration evaporated, leaving only the familiar, thrilling rush of success. Levi leaned back in his chair, panting slightly as he stared at the screen with a faint, triumphant smile.
After a deep breath, he glanced at the time, expecting an hour or two at most to have passed. But instead, the screen read almost 4:00 a.m.—he'd been locked in combat with the Titan for over six hours straight. The realization was dizzying, and he let out a faint, disbelieving laugh. How had he lost himself that completely?
But before he could fully process it, his vision began to swim. He blinked, trying to shake it off, but his head grew heavy, his eyes struggling to stay open.
"Guess I… overdid it," he murmured to himself, as the colors on the screen blurred, then faded into darkness. The last thing he remembered was the faint glow of victory slipping away as he drifted off, feeling as though he were falling into something deeper than sleep.
---
Levi's senses flickered back to life, but everything around him felt wrong. The air was strange—thick and heavy, unlike the sterile coolness of his room. He couldn't quite place it, but there was a sense of… emptiness. His eyes struggled to focus, and his mind felt foggy as though he were submerged in a dense mist.
When his vision cleared, the first thing he saw was the overwhelming whiteness of his surroundings. The air felt unnatural, thick with silence. He blinked, disoriented.
And then, before he could comprehend where he was, a voice, surprised and amused, broke through the thick silence.
"Oh? Interesting…" the voice said, almost as though it had been speaking directly into his mind. It was light and mischievous, a little raspy yet sweet. "I'm not so sure how you managed that."
Levi turned toward the source of the voice, his eyes narrowing in confusion. Before him stood a figure that seemed both out of place and oddly fitting in this strange, surreal space. The boy appeared to be lounging casually on a throne made of mismatched junk. A plastic crown was cocked slightly on his head, and his clothing—completely ordinary—seemed to contrast with the oddity of his surroundings. He had a carefree grin on his face, but his gaze was sharp, full of something Levi couldn't quite decipher.
The boy regarded him with interest, his eyes scanning Levi's form. Levi blinked, trying to make sense of the scene unfolding before him. His body felt real, but something was off. His senses were dulled, everything felt hazy. He looked down at himself—his hands, his clothes—wait.
A sudden realization washed over him as his gaze fell upon the armor. It was the same gear from his character in Forsaken Pantheon. The intricate, enchanted pieces—designed for battle—were now draped across his body. The details shimmered in the strange light, but none of it made sense.
Oh… I must be dreaming. Levi thought, examining the armor with a mix of awe and confusion. It was too detailed, too real—what a bizarre dream.
Levi, still lost in his own thoughts, didn't notice the god's amused gaze lingering on him. After a brief pause, the voice spoke again, a little louder this time, pulling Levi's attention back.
The boy's voice broke through his thoughts again, as if reading his mind. "You really did it, huh? Soloed the Last Titan... impressive. Not bad, mortal."
Levi snapped his attention back to the boy, his mind still hazy as he processed the situation. The boy stretched, not bothering to stand or move properly, and tilted his head, his grin never fading. "I'm not sure how you pulled that off, but, hey, good for you," he said with a casual shrug, clearly amused.
"Uhm, where am I?" Levi asked, blinking slowly as his mind struggled to piece things together.
The boy waved his hand dismissively. "Oh, just a little place between places. Some call it the Threshold, others call it the Waiting Room of Destiny. I like to call it 'Here.' Easy to remember." His grin grew wider, almost mischievous.
Levi's head throbbed as he tried to make sense of it. As he weirdly felt this dream… more vivid?. "But… what's going on? And who… who are you?"
The boy straightened up, flashing a grin. "Me? Oh, I'm just a god with a bit of… responsibility, you could say." He gave a casual shrug, waving a hand dismissively. "I handle things like, well, people moving from one place to another. Second chances, all that cosmic stuff. Nothing glamorous, just the job I'm here to do."
Levi frowned, feeling a small knot of unease start to form in his chest. "So… why am I here?" he asked, his voice edged with doubt. This has to be some weird dream, he thought, looking around the white void and then back at the grinning boy. But…
Answering his question, the self-proclaimed god gave a lazy shrug. "Oh, you know, typical stuff. You burned yourself out, your mortal body gave up the ghost, and poof! Here you are. Congratulations, you died."
Levi smile faltered as he processed the words. "I… died?"
"Yep!" The self-proclaimed god popped the "p" sound with a little smirk, leaning back on his throne. "No big deal, really. Happens to everyone eventually. But in your case… let's just say you've earned yourself a little bonus."
Hearing that, A strange, tight feeling settled over him. "Bonus?" He tried to shake it off, reasoning it away. Dream logic, he told himself. But the words came out quieter than he'd intended.
"Yep. I'm sending you off to a whole new world!" The god grinned, pulling a rubber chicken out of one of his pockets and giving it a squeeze, as if to punctuate the announcement. "A fresh start, a brand-new adventure. All yours!"
Levi's eyed the rubber chicken, feeling a mix of confusion and forbidding. "And… why exactly would you do that?"
The god shrugged again, clearly unconcerned. "Eh, call it karma. Or cosmic boredom. Or maybe I just feel like it. Who knows? What matters is, you get a new chance at life. Cool, huh?"
"Cool?" Levi's voice sounded strained, even to himself. There was something about the way this "god" spoke, so flippant yet unsettlingly precise, that made the knot in his chest tighten further. "And… what's the catch?"
"Oh, no catch at all!" The self-proclaimed god grinned, eyes twinkling with mischief. "Except… you'll start off in a bit of a… let's say, 'humble' form. Nothing too fancy right off the bat, but think of it as an opportunity to earn your way up! Builds character."
Levi's crossed his arms, trying to shake off the creeping sense of foreboding. "So you're sending me to another world as… what, some kind of weakling?"
The god laughed, slipping the rubber chicken back into his pocket. "Maybe, maybe not. Surprises are the spice of life, aren't they?" He leaned forward, smirking. "Just go with it. Have fun! Think of it as… your very own extreme mode."
Before Levi's could protest or ask another question, the self-proclaimed god snapped his fingers, and everything went white again. The god's lazy voice echoed in Levi's mind as he faded away.
"Off you go, Levi's! And try not to scream when you see yourself in the mirror!" The god let out a chuckle, clearly amused by the thought.
---
When Levi's senses returned, he felt cold, stiff, and… hollow. He blinked, but the world around him was too vivid—no white void, no blurring edges. Just dim light casting long shadows over rough, uneven ground. The silence was thick, suffocating, broken only by an occasional sound he couldn't quite place.
He looked down and froze. His hands were thin, bony, and claw-like. He slowly raised them to his face, feeling the cold, hard surface of a skull.
A chill ran through him—not from the cold, but from the strange emptiness around him. The stillness, the shadows stretching too far—something felt wrong. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this dream.
But unfortunately for him... this wasn't a dream.