Alex spent a lot of time here debating which class to get. Humming and hawing at them as each one called to him. Well, all of them except Chaos Bowman. Don’t think there are many rowboats in space or much need for a bow and arrow when there are guns available. Eventually, he narrowed it down to two but just couldn’t decide.

Rather than spend another hour going back and forth on the subject, he went with the age-old method that never let humans down. He covered his eyes and picked at random. Truly, Alex’s intelligence knew no limits.

So as to not second guess himself, he made sure to click yes on the confirmation window without really seeking what he’d chosen. Didn’t really work, but his finger had already clicked on the yes button already. Seeing what he’d ended up with was a mixed feeling, even if it had been one of his more preferred choices.

His thoughts melted away as the white void Alex had been standing in turned entirely black. Deep darkness that left Alex blind for a moment. Soon small light began to appear in the black void. Stars. Then galaxies. Soon enough Alex was floating in space where all of reality existed.

A universe is a vast place.

A feminine voice spoke up, coming from nowhere.

A reality full of possibilities and potential.

Alex was now on a planet. An alien landscape with strange fauna. A quadrupedal hairless canine-like animal sniffing the ground.

Millions of years of progress, trillions of lives arriving and going in a flash.

The creature then stood up on two legs and Alex saw a civilization sprout into existence around him in seconds. Clothing covered the alien, basic tools in his hand. A simple house in the distance, with other aliens of different hues and sizes but still of the same species. The alien held their makeshift axe on their shoulder, admiring what may have been their family off in the distance.

Then the alien stepped to the side and began walking. As they walked, Alex was watching a real-life highlight reel of this creature’s society advance. A medieval civilization touting knights in armor. An industrial revolution with muskets and flintlocks. A world war era of riffles and explosives. The information age of smartphones and computers. And then the age of flying vehicles and laser weaponry.

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The alien changed as it walked, wearing appropriate clothing for the gear and time. Physically, there were also noticeable changes. They stood taller, straighter, with their facial features smoothing out. Leaving the survivalist appearance for a more civilized look.

And yet, all things must come to an end. The constant entropy that claims life ever-churning forward.

The landscape, sprouting countless technological achievements, began to rot. Skyscrapers fell, flying vehicles crashed, and vegetation decade in seconds. The once-proud alien began to age rapidly, body shrinking and hunching over, as their skin sagged and paled. Every step became an arduous struggle, demanding more and more of the creature. Eventually, it was too much. The alien fell and rotted almost instantly. Skin became dust and his ragged and old clothing evaporated. The only things left were the yellowed bones half-buried in the sand of a dead world.

A cold cycle that puts the dead to rest.

An entire civilization disappeared in an instant. All Alex was left to look at was an unmarked grave with wind blowing sand that slowly buried the corpse. A sober and nihilistic reminder of how insignificant life was in the grand design of the universe.

A cycle that is now broken.

A silence more prevalent than any Alex had ever experienced came. He couldn’t even hear his breath. Worried and discomfort began to settle in. Emotions that stopped dead as the bones began to rise.

Like a broken marionette, the alien’s remains moved in a disjointed manner. Stiff and rapid movements that should have cracked or ground. Sounds that the unnatural silence kept Alex from hearing. Rising to a crouched position, the alien had fully dug themselves out of their once grave. All on its own.

The head snapped towards Alex.

Panic grasped at him. He took a step back. The alien took one forward.

The reality of the situation became clear to Alex. It could see him. And it didn’t look nice.

Alex was far too slow. In the couple steps that it took him to turn and run, the alien had already tackled him to the ground. He struggled and flailed, trying desperately to save his own life.

Then his world became a pain. He screamed. He cried. But he couldn’t hear his own suffering. He couldn’t hear the crunch as bones were snapped. He couldn’t hear the tearing as his skin was lacerated. He couldn’t hear the splash of blood against the sand as he began to bleed out.

The silence left him deaf to it all. But he could see it. And he most definitely felt it. By god, he could feel it. Yet, drowning in the delirium of pain and silence, the last few words the woman spoke broke through like thunder.

Wanderer. Will you survive the oncoming silence? Will you be another unmarked grave amongst billions?

The last thing Alex saw was the monster. The unfeeling and uncaring beast that disemboweled him without mercy. A savage undead freak that was choking the life out of him, the final nail in the coffin.

Alex saw his own face, a ravenous grin of madness carved into it.

Or will you be dammed to a fate worse than death?

Darkness claimed him.

Welcome to Death Galaxy.