I've been having these weird thoughts lately.
Is any of this real or not?
What dictates, reality or fiction?
Are the stories we read in books real?
Are the stars in the night's sky different worlds where those stories take place?
None of this makes sense to me…
*******
A young man, with curly brown hair, opens his eyes only to find himself in a black void, he's falling slowly as if gravity doesn't fully exist. His deep blue eyes look around trying to make sense of his surroundings. Only to see that he is slowly falling towards a circular glass stained platform. The boy twists his body to perfectly land on the platform and analyze it's design.
He sees what appears to be two blond haired twins, one male the other female, both asleep and trying to reach for each other And the background behind them shows the sky in an array of colors. The glass seems to be softly illuminated by a soft yellow glow.
A most unfortunate fate you tread.
The boy's eyes widen in panic as the words appear in his mind, as if speaking to him.
Your fate is controlled by others you do not yet know the names of.
The boy raises an eyebrow in confusion at the words being implanted into his mind.
But you still have a chance at grasping control of your destiny and embracing who you truly are.
Suddenly three pedestals emerged from the stained glasses floor, each one carries a hovering weapon;
A sword.
A shield.
A staff.
Power sleeps within you. If you give it form…
It will give you strength.
Choose well.
The young man appears confused for a moment before deciding to go straight to the sword. The blade is a generic short sword with a black crown on the hilt and a blue handle. The pommel is simple and golden in color.
Grasping the weapon in with his right hand, the blade suddenly seemed to obey the laws of gravity and became heavy in his hand.
The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?
He wanted to accept this as his choice, but hesitated for a moment and looked behind him to see the other two weapons. He placed the sword back on the pedestals and made his way to the shield.
The shield is also simple in design. It is pentagonal and its bottom three corners are rounded. It has a red border and the top and bottom two corners all sport a silver bolt or pin. Most of the face of the shield is black, save for the prominent crown symbol in the center, the same symbol as on the sword's hilt. This symbol is red and has a pale yellow outline.
Grasping it in his hands the words appear in his mind.
The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is this the power you seek?
He glares at the shield in anger, before tossing it back on the pedestal and making his way towards the staff. However, halfway through he looks back at the shield, his anger subsided and looks at the shield with an apologetic and sad look, before continuing his walk towards the staff.
Once in front of the staff he grasps the weapon and analyses its design as well. Both ends of the staff's handle are tan, while the handle itself is predominantly green. There is a wide, brown disk on the tip of the handle, which the head of the staff is connected to. The staff's head is a cyan crown, the same crown design as the other two weapons.
The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin. Is this the power you seek?
He sighs, gently slapping the staff in his hands and looking at the other two weapons. Contemplating for a moment he steels his resolve and returns the staff on its pedestal and makes his way towards the sword once more, grasping it in his hand.
The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction. Is this the power you seek?
With a look of guilt in his eyes the young man nodded and in a flash the sword disappeared from his hands.
Your path is set. Now what will you give up in exchange?
He frowns in confusion at the thought of giving up a part of himself, but only for a moment. He doesn't hesitate in making his way towards the shield and holding it tightly.
The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. You give up this power?
He nods, the shield, unlike the sword, evaporates into nothingness.
You've chosen the power of the warrior. You've given up on the power of the guardian.
Is this the form you choose?
He nods for the umpteenth time now and the pedestal vanishes, the stained glass platform begins to shatter and the young man falls into the black void once more.
The fall merely lasts a few minutes, before he lands on another stained glass platform. This platform depicts what appears to be several different locations.
However, before he could analyse the floor further, the sword he had chosen before appeared in her right hand.
You've gained the power to fight.
Confused, the young man grips the handle of the blade with both hands and performs three test swings.
There will be times you have to fight. Keep your light burning strong.
He looks around to see a strange shadow-like creature emerging from the ground. It's pitch black body has a round, spherical head with circular, glowing yellow eyes. It also has two long, twisted antennae sprouting out of the top of its head. Each of its hands has three clawed fingers, and its feet are large and lack any discernible digits.
Keep your light burning strong.
Then five more of these 'shadows' emerged from the glass floor and one leaps at him attempting to slash at him. He dodges at the last second and swings his mighty blade at its body dealing significant damage. The other 'shadows' attempt to attack as well, but the human boy proves to be the superior fighter as he swiftly disposes of the humanoid creatures. He notices that upon defeat the bodies of those 'shadows' vanishes into a black and purple mist.
Satisfied with his victory, he allows a sigh of relief to escape him and the sword in his hand vanishes in a flash of light.
Great job! But alas there's no point in continuing for now.
He raises a brow of confusion.
The door still remains tightly shut, preventing you from achieving your full potential.
A white door appears in front of him wrapped in black and purple chains.
Free yourself from the darkness that doesn't belong to you and be reborn anew.
Underneath his feet a pool of darkness appeared pulling him down. He tried to pull himself out, but was unsuccessful as the darkness swallowed him whole.
But don't be afraid.
For you will hold the mightiest power of all…
*******
"SKY! It's time to wake up!" A voice yelled out, causing Sky to arise from his slumber.
"What the…" He ran his hand through his curly brown hair. "Was I dreaming?" He asks himself, trying to recall something important. "What was I dreaming about?"
A silence filled the room. He looked around, seeing his various toys, posters, gaming consoles and his TV.
Realizing he can't recall his dream he sighed and got up from his bed. "I'm up mom!" He called out to the voice that awoke him.
Sky then began dressing himself for the day. He lifted up his shirt exposing his slim torso. Looking in the mirror he could see hints of muscle forming. "Just gotta keep working out!" He said, smiling proudly at his progress, before that smile vanished and his eyes laid on the 'X' shaped scar on the lower right side of his belly.
He gently brushes his finger on the scar, faintly remembering the day he needed to get his appendix removed. "Man that was so long ago…" He mumbles to himself before continuing to change from his sleep wear to his everyday attire. A simple red t-shirt a white jacket hoodie, a pair of baggy grey pants and red shoes.
After checking himself in the mirror one last time he left his room and made his way to the kitchen.
Sky Clavis is ready and dreading to start the day.
*******
"Morning mom! Morning dad!" I say, giving my parents good morning kisses.
"Morning dear!" My mom, Violet smiles at me, before returning her attention to making our lunches for the day.
"Morning champ!" My dad, Raoul says ruffling my curly hair, before turning his attention back to the kitchen TV, it seems to be on the news channel.
"-sightings of dark creatures appear to continue rising. Here you can see a sketch from an eye witness." The TV then showed a sketch of an ant-like creature, its body pitch black and eyes yellow…
Wait… I've seen that thing from somewhere before, haven't I?
"Furthermore the creatures seem to bear a striking resemblance to the Heartless from the Kingdom Hearts series. Upon questioning the director of the franchise Tetsuya Nomura, he-"
"Sky, your lunch is ready!" Mom called out, shoving a brown bag into my hands.
"Thanks mom, love you, have a nice day!" I say, before grabbing my backpack and leaving through the front door.
***
On my way to school I decided to see if there was anything interesting going on online.
"Huh, Genshin Impact finally released Natlan right?" I mumbled to myself. I recalled playing the game when it first came out. I played all the way until I fought that wind dragon who's name I'm forgetting. Since then I've been passively keeping tabs on the franchise, occasionally listening in on any drama or story beats that might interest me. "Oh, the Pyro Archon punched a literal hole in the sky?" I exclaimed in surprise, looking closely at the Archon's design. She looks really cool. "You know what? Screw it, I'll download Genshin again just so I can pull for the Pyro Archon, whenever she comes out!" I declare proudly, stuffing my phone in my pocket and continue my march towards school.
***
School sucks.
Like really sucks.
From bullies, to teachers that hate me for some reason I keep questioning why I even continue to pursue an education. It's not like I'll do anything of value in this world…
I look at the teacher explaining English class and then sneak a glance at my phone. Scrolling through my phone I look at pictures of various games and anime.
'Why couldn't I be in a magical world like that.'
I try not to scoff. This coming from a guy who hates the isekai genre.
"SKY!" I hear the teacher call out in English. "Pay attention or I'm putting you in detention!" She says in perfect English and my classmates, who are also on their phones, laugh at me and throw insults in French.
I sigh, pocket my phone and lay my head on the desk, before slowly nodding off.
Not knowing that my wish would be granted in the worst way possible.