“I am the divine avatar Lyres. You shall now embark on a journey to another world and will become a hero,” she said, the slight smile on her face growing larger and warmer.

The space was grandiose; white and empty, stretching without end. The avatar was floating up above a pompous altar with golden drapes and silver chalices inside a large room resembling a temple. The walls had frescoes depicting mystical scenes and chiseled columns had battlefields carved all over. Large chandeliers and floating candles decorated the ceiling. The room was surprisingly bright and the brightest of them all was the avatar suspended in the air.

Her divine halo gently shimmered, sprinkling light in the surroundings. She looked gentle and magnanimous as if she wasn’t the one who struck a lightning spell on the one who was sleeping below. She watched as the black woman glanced up in a daze. Lyres studied the newcomer. Long twisted black hair, black skin, and full figure. She wasn’t slender or athletic, a normal body shape with curves which was too curvy according to Lyres’s esthetics. Faded mismatched cotton clothes with odd patterns, footwear resembling animals, and no fashion sense. Although Lyres maintained her smile, the corners of her lips were still.

“Praise be. You have been chosen and bestowed a magnificent destiny,” Lyres talked with warmth and enthusiasm.

Lyres saw the woman frown, squinting her eyes and glancing around. She scoffed in her heart. Surely, she summoned an ignorant village woman.

“As a noble hero, you will go on a journey to defeat the enemy of our people. You will be worshiped throughout the world, and admired by the people. You are the hope of our nation.” Lyres shed a tear delicately.

Lyres waited for a while for a cry of excitement but only heard an annoyed grunt. Her soft smile cramped. She gazed at her guest with a hint of impatience appearing in the depth of her eyes.

“Nobody got time for that.” The black woman started to complain.

The woman in her PJ rolled her eyes while lying flat on her back. She realized what happened to her and was annoyed. She was exhausted after what happened, her whole body was sore and she only had one desire; sleeping while watching TV. Now she was somewhere way too bright, in a PJ she didn’t remember wearing, and in a situation, she absolutely didn’t want to partake in.

“I understand your confusion and—” Lyres started.

“A summoning? Seriously?”

“It’s difficult to—” Lyres tried to continue.

“How am I supposed to watch my documentaries now?” She complained.

“Leave your old life behind. You—” Lyres’ face twitched.

“How am I supposed to survive without Internet.” She sighed.

“Hero, you are our only hope,” Lyres deeply breathed, attempting to keep her cool.

The black woman wriggled around and groaned, before managing to sit up with difficulties. She finally had a better view of her surroundings. She sniffed the air and made a face.

“What’s that smell? Mana? Disgusting shit!”

She extended her hand and grabbed at the empty space. The ambient mana wasn’t pure and highly unstable. This level of magic and mastery over space was low level. Given how weak and fragile her body was right now, staying in this space was undoubtedly troublesome.

“Hero, I—” Lyres was losing patience.

“Tsk! So unprofessional!”

Vexed at being ignored so bluntly, Lyres waved her hand again. Ambient mana gathered, condensing into a ray that she promptly threw at the brazen woman. The ignorant woman didn’t dodge, she shrieked and cursed loudly. Seeing her still insolently glaring and cursing, Lyres narrowed her eyes and mumbled a spell. Immediately, a narrow cage made of mana appeared and imprisoned the woman.

“Let’s start again, shall we?” Lyres was pleased with herself.

“You bitch!”

Lyres straightened out her dress and smiled again, “O Chosen one, a lifetime of glory and adoration awaits you. In this new world, you will be able to use magic.”

“Let me out, I—” The woman in her PJs winced in pain, cramped in the cage.

“Thanks to your service, we will be able to fight against the threat of our enemies,” Lyres continued as she stared down. “This new world will—”

The woman in the cage snarled, goosebumps spreading all over her body. “Let. Me. Out. NOW!”

Lyres pursed her lips. She was bothered that she didn’t receive the awe and adoration she deserved. She waved her hand and chains made of lightning shot up. They snaked on the brazen woman’s arms and feet, binding her in place.

The imprisoned woman’s eyes widened, “Fuck! Are you—”

Lyres’s fingers moved in front of her lips and in a smooth motion, a gag wrapped around the chained woman’s mouth, putting a stop to her words.

“I am Lyres, the messenger of the Goddess of Mercy. I came here to welcome you and offer a grand destiny and a new fate. See, everything is easier when you listen.”

Lyres gently floated up and was delighted by the scene. The brazen woman clenched her fists and pulled on her chains.

“You will have whatever you desire the most in the world. You shall be adored by the people as you serve a great master and become their pride.”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Lyres softly snorted. Now that she had managed to summon someone, she wouldn’t let her get away. She wouldn’t tolerate any more deviation from her original plan either. She had been nice enough, it wasn’t her fault that it wasn’t appreciated. What she needed was an obedient lapdog. Usually, heroes were enticed by fame and glory. Those who weren’t, she didn’t mind taming them before sending them over. Lyres scornfully stared down at the woman on the ground. She had thought she would summon a valuable hero. Unfortunately…

“Whether you want it or not, your grandiose fate has been set in motion.” Lyres’ face was expressionless.

A large grimoire appeared in her hands and she browsed through it carelessly.

“I’m giving you the chance to leave your miserable self and pitiful past behind. You were just a weak being with no power and no great destiny.”

Lyres made a motion and the gag disappeared, “I will give you powers beyond your greatest dreams. You will be bestowed fame, glory, and power. Are you ready to be a hero and save the world?”

“I don’t give a shit about the fantasy bullshit you’re selling!” The feisty woman spat.

“Enough! I am a God’s Avatar! How dare you be rebellious!” Lyres finally lost her patience.

She deserved awe and submission. Disobedient pets needed to be given a memorable lesson to learn to stay in their place. Her grimoire glowed, mana swirled and twisted into an arrow that flew and pierced the woman in her shoulder, drawing blood.

“You were chosen for a mission. This is your destiny.” Lyres declared coldly, “Your fate will be in our hands henceforth.”

The black woman gasped as pain bloomed in her limp body. She winced as she felt the mana course through her body and melt into her blood. Tremors traveled from the wound to her throat as blood dripped down. She clenched her fists, trying to ignore her trembling fingers and the tremor of her heart. She blinked rapidly, her head pounding. Agitated, her chest rose and fell and her hands spasmed. The surrounding mana began to produce static and was slowly being absorbed into her skin, giving her an uncomfortable tingling sensation. She knew it, nothing good happened on full moons.

The statics in the air spread and formed arcs of powers around her. The chains bidding her exploded in fragments of light. The cage phased and the ground trembled. Blood dripped and each drop made the surrounding space ripple. And suddenly, a giggle echoed in her mind.

Everyone is waiting for you. You’re the only one missing!

Waves of power were awakening the secrets she kept hidden deep within her. A myriad of memories swirled in her mind, creating a whirlpool of confusion that threw her back and forth in time. Fragments from a distant past began to play on repeat. She choked on air. She felt her heartbeat soar, pounding so violently it became the only sound she could hear. Shadows of the past and distant echoes blended rhythmically. These memories, this power, she wanted to push them down, keep them from overflowing and escaping her grasp. She wanted to seal them in again. Keep them bottled up and rotting inside, festering the wounds she didn’t want to heal.

She rocked herself back and forth, nails digging trenches along her throat. Her beauty spots swelled up and reddened. She dry heaved. Her human body was already weakened after the previous happening in the base and now, this. She had tried so hard for so long. She couldn’t go on like that. Yet she didn’t want to change. She didn’t want to move on. Yet she didn’t want to stay the same. She had been torn for so long. She shouldn’t keep on going like this.

‘Red dust converging from all directions, merging with smoke and clouds over the entire city.’

Her body shook and an unbearable heat surged forth. Her fingers clawed harder at her skin, in vain. In a beat of her heart, the unstable seal on her throat shattered.

“I’m fucked—”

The surrounding mana trembled. Shockwaves rippled through space. Mirages and illusions emerged, flickering intensely. The scene of a young woman with white fuzzy hair running together with a child appeared. The back of a family smiling in their garden. Scenes after scenes played under her glazed gaze. The crimson petals of their flame tree. The gushing creek behind the house. The scarlet flame drowning the remains of their home.

Voices laughed and echoes begged in agony. Phantoms ran around. Rising from the depths of her soul, the memories she had buried for so long swept her away. The happiness of a lost paradise, the warmth of home, the comfort. The hurt, the pain, the scars; she hid them all under apathy and maddening wrath. The loneliness, the emptiness. The guilt and the ruthlessness. She bore them in silence, drowned them at the bottom of a glass.

A surge of power coursed through her veins, pouring out everywhere and mixing with the surrounding mana. The ink in her eyes covered up all the light. The cage trembled, struggling to contain her, and the ground cracked. Little by little, the woman sank deeper into the insanity. Black and red fought in her eyes. Shadows surfaced, spreading around, fracturing the ground and absorbing the pieces. Scenes of battles and devastation appeared. Oceans of blood as far as the eye could see. Ink and blood wedged war on each other in the hope of devouring the other. The apparition swallowed the space in an attempt to possess it.

The space trembled, unable to withstand the turbulence. Floating amid a storm, Lyres crashed to the ground heavily as signs of space distortion appeared in the sky. Terrified, she scrambled to stand up.

“What is happening!” She screamed.

She was swept along the turbulence and thrown around. She couldn’t understand what went wrong. The situation escalated so quickly that she failed to react in time to contain the magic storm. Lyres was utterly panicked. She just wanted to teach that brazen woman a small lesson. She avoided any vitals on purpose. She just wanted that woman to feel a bit of pain to make her obedient. This shouldn’t have happened. Lyres’ eyes widened in shock as she witnessed the scene before her eyes. She now could clearly see how ambient mana was getting devoured. How some foreign energy was wreaking havoc in her space. She tried to open her grimoire to activate protective shields, only to be electrocuted as soon as she touched it. The energy around her was too dense. So dense that a thick mist started to form.

A shockwave of power rushed towards her and invaded her body, heading straight toward her brain. She howled in pain and cradled her head in her hands. She cursed and thrashed around. Something was messing with her mind. In a matter of seconds, Lyres’ wails faded into whispers. Her body turned sluggish. In a last attempt, she stood in front of the altar, her grimoire within reach. Yet, as her hands reached out, she froze. Her ethereal elegance petrified.

The space distorted and the illusions became more violent and unstable. In the center of this anomaly, the black woman remained oblivious. Like an arrow at the end of its flight, her body quivered, losing its warmth. The woman let herself sink into the darkness. Echoes turned into whispers. Illusions faded and colors receded. Laughter and cries vanished. Only the shadows of a man holding a child remained. They crouched down and embraced the unconscious woman. The last ripple of power blew by, scattering the warm family reunion. Specks of life, like petals fluttered away. The illusion eroded itself and faded in the mist.

***

Clear tingles of chimes resounded through the space, the ground lit up and the silhouette of a youth clad in jeans, long navy blue shirt, loose black windbreaker, and sneakers popped up. He blinked, stunned, and immediately pulled back the foot that was about to take a step forward. He had been walking home in the middle of the afternoon; how did the quiet street by the park turn into this? He looked around in confusion. All he could see was a dense mist all around him.

For sure, he remembered leaving work and then taking the metro. After that, he stopped by the convenience store and grabbed himself a slushie. He left the store and almost got rolled over by a speeding electric bike on the sidewalk. He lowered his gaze to his hands: no big cup, no phone. A quick pat down his pants confirmed his next suspicion: no keys, no wallet. As a bad premonition started taking shape in his mind, his heartbeat quickened. No bag, no people nor familiar buildings in sight… Nothing. His lips quivered as his mind raced, trying to comprehend the situation.

“Oh shit! Am I… dead?”