Chapter 1 – A Strange Meeting

It was a rare, beautiful day in the North East of England. Birds chirped merrily in their trees, under which you might find young couples sitting side, by side, or talking softly to one another. Lakes gleamed invitingly in the sunshine, and the laughter of children could be heard throughout the town.

However, if you were to search carefully, you would find there was one man with no interest in any of this. The man in question could be found in his room, curtains closed, lying on his bed, with his face glued to a laptop screen.

“I’ve got you now”, muttered the man to himself. “Come here you tricky little…SON OF A B**CH!” To any potential spectators this would be an amusing sight. A 25 year old man struggling with obesity, jiggling around in his bed with sweat pouring from his face as he screams at his computer screen.  Sadly, for David, this was a typical Sunday afternoon.

There are many names for people like David. You could call him a shut-in, an otaku, a NEET, and he was aware of all of these terms. However, he took no pride in what he was. He was not some paragon of geek culture, looking to brag about his love of computer games and anime. The reason he spent this time alone is that he is simply ashamed to go outside. He hears the whispers, sees the girls his age look at him and laugh, notes the pity on the face of those with kinder hearts and it hurts. IT FUCKIN’ HURTS!

“Wait…? What is that…?” David thought to himself, “This isn’t like any pain I’ve ever felt before. It feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest…uhhhh”.

“David, what’s all that shouting about? David? What the hell are you doing in there? David?? Oh my god, David! What happened?! Hang in there, I’m calling 999, David, can you hear me?! David?!”

David’s world faded into darkness. The shrill, panicked screams of his mother crying his name reverberated through his mind as he felt his consciousness slip away.

Game over – You lose! “What the hell is this?” cried David as a message built from bright red letters suddenly appeared in the darkness.

“Sorry, just my little joke their dear,” replied an ancient caring voice.

“Who are you; where the hell am I?” screamed David, “Show yourself.”

“Calm down dear, I’m right here,” the voice replied patiently. With her words the blackness faded and David found himself standing on the summit of a small grassy hill. Right before his eyes, a shape started to take form, beginning with a shimmer in the air, and slowly forming the body of a small, elderly woman.

“Who are you?” David asked again.

“I suppose I am what you would call a god,” the woman replied, “and as for where we are, well, it seemed a shame to spend such a beautiful day inside. You really should get out more, you know?”

“That’s not what I was asking,” replied David. “Where are we and what have you done to me?” he demanded. He tried to keep his voice from shaking. This was too weird. It had to be a dream, right? The last thing he remembered, there had been an awful pain in his chest. Had he passed out? That would make sense wouldn’t it? Maybe this was some kind of weird fever dream? Hadn’t he read on the internet that they seemed to be real while you were in them? This felt real, very real. He’d even tried subtly pinching his leg through the pocket of his jeans while they spoke, and his leg still stung.

“Well, we’re currently in a place of my imagining,” replied the woman, “and as for what I did to you, well, that’s quite simple. To put it in a way you would understand, I saved your life. You know, you’ve spent almost every day of your adult life doing the same thing day after day. You work, you eat, you go on your computer and you sleep. What kind of life is that?

“Well I –“ stammered David in surprise. How could she know these things about him?

“Well, you need to taste life for what it really is. You need to see it as the wonderful, unique experience that it is, not drowning in self-pity, while self-medicating your depression with food. Look at what you’ve done to yourself! What have you achieved? What have you accomplished?”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Now, David had no delusions about who he was. But who the hell did this woman think she was? Was she just another part of his sub-conscious whom his own twisted mind had thought up to torment him more, even when he was unconscious? “Am I really this much of a masochist?” David thought.

“Now dear, I’m not a figment of your imagination you know. I can’t just be in your mind, because I’m afraid that for all intents and purposes, you are dead; so even if I wanted to be, there simply isn’t enough of your brain left to accommodate me.”

“Wh-what? What do you mean?” exclaimed David.

“Exactly what I said dear”, stated the woman wearily. “You had a massive heart attack. That’s what eating nothing but crisps, soda and smoked meats will do to you I’m afraid. The oxygen to your brain has been cut off, and at this point, you’re only being kept alive by a machine. You have rather ironically become the one thing that could have prevented this, a vegetable.

“What the fuck?! How the hell is that even possible? And what’s with that vegetable crack? Do you think that’s funny? Do you have any idea how messed up a joke like that actually is? What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Enough,” growled the woman menacingly, making David cower with the force of her glare. “I am Aphrodite, I imagine you’ve heard of me. Just to be clear, I’m not the goddess of love, like the fools on your planet like to believe, I am the goddess of benevolence. When I see one that is worthy of my pity, I take the time to guide them back onto the path-“

“Pity?! The fucking goddess of pity?! You want to pity me?? Is this a goddamn joke?”

“SILENCE,” thundered the self-proclaimed goddess.” Enough of this. You have one chance to return to your life, and one chance only!”

“Ok, ok, what the hell. If this is a dream I may as well just go with it,” David muttered to himself, “What do you want me to do?”

“Now, you will enter my world. I want you to live as you wish, I want you to become one of my children, but be warned I will be watching you every step of the way. I will monitor your every move; your every action. Should you cross me, you will be punished, and I warn you now, you will rue that day for an eternity.”

“Ok, ok. Can we get on with this already?!”

“Foolish child, but very well. Have it your way. You may begin now. But, before you go, I offer you one last piece of advice, remember, when you really think about it, life is nothing but a game we all play.”

“Yeah, sure, ok.” Said David sarcastically. “No problem, I’ll see you around, alright?”

Oh no child, you won’t be seeing me for quite some time, thought the goddess to herself, but, I will be seeing you sooner than you might think.

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Just a couple of short chapters to get things started. They will be getting two or three times longer soon, but for now I'm just trying to gauge the interest in the story. Although there isn't any so far, haha.