I blinked. Everything started again.

As bright as it was dark a moment ago, I stared up at the light.

"Well met, Hero" a gentle and melodious voice seemed to surround me and fill me from within. The light in front of me coalesced into a youthful and smiling face. Long silver white hair framed delicately masculine features and fell toward me as if looking down from above. Which I suppose it – he? – was. I was lying on my back, with something smooth and cool but not uncomfortable supporting me from below.

The face leaned back out of vision, and I tentatively lifted myself up on my elbows. No pain, no discomfort. I looked around, and all I could see was a soft golden light. The warm glow seemed to be shining from behind the figure kneeling next to me…no, the light was coming from him, radiating out like rays of the sun.

"You are between worlds, at the moment. You are safe." His smile widened in welcome, his golden eyes glimmering. "We are a God, Iter, and We have summoned you from your world to aid another." I noticed then that his lips weren't moving when he talked.

"Hungh?" I eloquently replied. This didn't feel like a dream. But maybe it has all been a nightmare. My heart was still beating hard from the adrenaline coursing through my system, and I crawled backwards, glancing wildly around me for anything real I could latch onto. The lustrous light emanated from every direction, nothing interrupted that bright expanse to give reference or context – nothing but the figure before me, watching calmly as I flailed about.

His size was difficult to determine, whether due to the lack of perspective in this place, or perhaps some other trick of perception. He seemed to fill the space with his presence. His robes were multi-layered, a nearly translucent and shimmering layer on top, with heavy and heavily patterned white-on-white cloth with intricate silver trim below. It reminded me of the ceremonial vestments of a Catholic priest at a high mass, layers upon layers of fabric and symbolism. Of course, his were actually glowing. Was I dead?

"'Tis near enough the truth, We fear." I heard his voice, though his mouth remained closed and smiling. "You lie perilously astride the threshold of death in your old world. You were involved in an accident of dire consequence, and will not recover. We rescued your soul for a second chance, a new destiny as the Hero of a world in peril."

What the hell?

This can't be real.

Who talks like that?

"We choose to ignore such an impertinent comment, as a consequence of your condition," his gently smiling face remained calm and placid, though the voice in my head spoke now with a slightly affronted tone. "We are conversing directly in deference to your state, and as the swiftest and kindest means to acclimate you to the situation. We assure you, We are real. This is real." The self-proclaimed god gestured around him with one hand, palm open, then back to me. "You are…not quite real yet." He cocked his head, as he peered at me inquisitively.

I looked at myself, my body – it seemed real. I patted myself on the stomach, cheeks. I was in a robe or gown of some kind? Similar to what the god wore, but far simpler. "What do you mean, 'not real yet'?"

"To exist in this place, to be a Hero in the next, you need a spark of the Divine. We have been preparing your soul since you arrived. Perhaps We shall test your progress. Please, sit." He gestured for me to sit by leaning forward and tapping the space in front of him. The floor? Having no other frame of reference, I went along and knelt opposite him.

"Now, first We shall verify the Communion. Envision a view of your current state or status."

Status. Like a status window in a game?

Immediately on the thought, a transparent window appeared in the space between us, with symbols, numbers, and color-coded bars.

"Excellent! The connection has been formed." The god clapped his hands together, an oddly childish mannerism in contrast to the formal and elegant way he had been speaking so far. He scooted around next to me, peering at the screen before us. "Can you read this?"

"Uh, no," I said, a little discomfited by his imposing presence next to me. This close, I felt like a child next to an adult. I tried to focus on the screen.

"There. Now what do you see?"

I peered at the screen, and slowly the symbols became words in my mind:

Name: Mairead Carrigan

Race: Human

Class: Hero

Level: 1 (+)

Condition: ???

Core Attributes

Body: 30 (x1.25 = 37)

Spirit: 70 (x1.25 = 87)

Mind: 50 (x1.25 = 62)

Luck: 50 (x1.25 = 62)

Derived Attributes

Health: 37 (+)

Magic: 0 [max 87] (+)

Focus: 62 (+)

Charm: 62

Intuition: 50

Will: 75

Fate: ??? (+)

Skills

Communion of the Soul, Appraisal, Inventory, Divine Translation, Hero's Journey (minor bonus to experience), Champion of Light (minor bonus to Body), Inner Eye (minor bonus to Spirit), Adept of Ages (minor bonus to Mind), Fortune's Favor (minor bonus to Luck), Swift Regeneration (minor bonus to Health recovery), Spiritual Harmony (minor bonus to Magic recovery), Still Mind (minor bonus to Focus recovery), Destiny's Chosen (minor bonus to Fate), Inner Alchemy (convert Health/Magic/Focus)

The symbols hadn’t changed, but now I could understand them, somehow.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

"I can read it." I blinked, surprised.

"Language translation is functioning well, that is good. What you are reading now is the Celestial language, though as an ancillary effect you can now read all languages," he turned toward me and grinned proudly, as if the achievement was his own – as maybe it was, I suppose. "It is the same as how you understand Our words, though We are communicating in Celestial, and how We could initially understand you."

He turned back to the floating screen before us. "Now, see your attributes – they describe the state of your current form, as known by your soul. As your soul and form grow in your new life, these attributes will reflect that growth." He paused and smiled patronizingly at me, as though at a slow and difficult child. "Be not discouraged by your current state – We are confident that your attributes will rise to that of a stately Hero as you gain knowledge and experience in your new form."

Okay, that was a little harsh. I may be approaching thirty, but I was pretty fit. Mostly.

"Your Communion provides other conveniences to facilitate your growth as well – explore as you are able in the coming days. Hmm." He struck an obviously contrived ‘thinking’ pose, then turned to me again. "Location and Storage are impractical in the Divine realm. And a skill like Appraisal would be ineffective on Our Divine Self. What about your Journal?"

As I thought about the words, the window in front of me shifted to a log of text. Focusing on the words at the top, I saw:

Day: ???

??:??:?? Me (Hero): Divine Communion accepted.

??:??:?? Me (Hero): Awakens.

??:??:?? Me (Hero): Skill active: Divine Translation (audible)

??:??:?? Iter (God): "Well met, Hero."

??:??:?? Iter (God): "You are between worlds, at the moment. You are safe."

??:??:?? Iter (God): "We are a God, Iter, and We have summoned you from your world to aid another."

??:??:?? Me (Hero): "Hungh?"

Wow, even in the Journal his pronouns are capitalized. I guess that’s a god for you.

"It looks like a log of our conversation. And some other notes."

As I spoke, I glanced at the bottom of the screen, and saw my words being written there in real time.

"Woah!"

??:??:?? Me (Hero): "Woah!"

"Correct, even though We are not speaking in a vocal language, Our conversation is captured in this Journal." He, too, seemed to watch in satisfaction as his words appeared on the screen before him. "In addition, other important actions and events of consequence will appear in this Journal as well. Make use of it often to confirm your progress."

"What are the question marks?" I wondered, examining the entries more closely.

"You are in the Divine Realm at present, as We mentioned. Between worlds. Time flows differently here. But when you arrive in your new world, the local time of each entry will be displayed in the proper order for reference."

This was really a lot to take in.

"Fear not, Our Hero. We are here to guide you along your destined path." He turned to me again and produced a new smile as brilliant as the sun. "After all, We are your God, and you are Our Hero! Rejoice!"

✦ ✦ ✦

As the god said, time didn’t seem to mean much where we were, if it even applied at all. The god seemed very excited and enthusiastic about describing the unfamiliar new systems and abilities, though much of it wasn’t easy to apply in the Divine Realm. Like Magic. Or Skills. It seems an actual body and environment were necessary for them to be used.

A body. That hit hard. I'm dead, I guess? Or, dying. At least, in my world.

"Uh…God? Can I go back?" I turned my head to look slightly upwards at him sitting next to me. He was larger than me, physically, but he also seemed to have a depth and a weight that was far greater than anything I could imagine. This near to him, it looked like the space in this place was bending around him at the edges. I felt a bit of vertigo as it seemed like I was being pulled in toward him.

"A God can care about Our weight as well, you know," he said, peevishly. I gulped, but he winked. "A little joke." Then his brow creased into a little 'v' on his forehead. "Though We are afraid your return is not that simple. Once the transfer is complete, you will be touched by Magic. It is vital to the process that the Hero interacts with and purifies the corrupted Magic of the world and its Demon Lord. Even were We to extract your soul afterwards, We would not return it to your original world, lest we contaminate that place as well. And," he paused, "as We stated before, your body in your original world is dying. Once your quest is complete, you would not have a body to go back to."

"I can't just leave…" I began. But then I remembered the box in my hands. The papers spread out on the desk in front of me. The impact on the street. I dropped my head. "I guess I already have."

Truth to tell, I didn't have a lot to go back to. I'd heard my Mom remarried and retired. My dad passed away in his 50s, shortly after I'd completed college. My parents and I hadn't spoken for years before he died, anyway. I had one younger brother who was married and living on the east coast. We… weren't close. Some colleagues from work – well, ex-colleagues. I had a couple previous dates I was still on cordial terms with, but no current significant other. The only one waiting for me at home was Taiga, my black and orange tortoiseshell cat. She'll be disgruntled at the disruption to her routine, but that was her natural state. She also has auto food and water dispensers, so she'd probably be fine until someone comes around to handle my things. I thought of Kris, my friend since middle school, the only one I'd managed to keep in connection with. Kris would probably be called, as my emergency contact. I was hers, too, even though we rarely saw each other anymore. We had copies of each other's keys – poor Kris will have to deal with all of that. Sorry, Kris.

But there was one important thing I needed to learn.

"God, why do you need a hero?"

"Call Us Iter, Hero." He beamed toward me, obviously enjoying himself quite a bit.

"Okay, Iter, then. And call me Mai, I guess. What do you need a hero for?"

"A just and astute question, Mai," Iter began. "It is simple enough to say that you are required to purify the Demon Lord." He looked down toward me, eyes narrowing and smile fading for the first time since I met him. "Magic is unknown to you in this world. Indeed, it is true that of all the worlds in existence, your world is the one of the few untouched by Magic."

"Is that why I have 0 magic in my Status screen?" I'd wondered about that.

"Not exactly. While true that your world lacks Magic, We Gods have crafted the Divine Communion to allow our chosen Heroes to accumulate and manipulate it more easily, among other things." Iter gestured around the space, and continued, "It is simply that there is no Magic here in Divine Realm for you to gain. It is the same for your world."

"It was not always this way. Magic is not native to this plane of existence, but it spread swiftly among the worlds after it first appeared. Indeed, We, all the Gods, watched it as it spread, in awe of and curious as to its effects and potential. We were therefore unprepared when the first Demon Lord formed." He halted, his features solemn. "That world remains a wasteland of corruption to this day, a testament to the terrible speed and spread of its devastation."

"Though everything within Our worlds is Ours to control, We Gods are unable to manipulate or affect Magic directly. While mortals tame it to their will, We can touch it not." He paused again, before his voice rose, impassioned. "But We can prepare and protect Heroes to be Our Instruments in the worlds! Heroes who can take in the impure Magic unto themselves, and purify it with the Divine tools We Gods impart!" His eyes blazing, Iter, focused his beaming gaze back on me. "And so, Our Hero, together We –"

As Iter was reaching the obvious crescendo of his pitch, a heavy, authoritative voice interrupted.

"This program is no longer necessary." I turned, and saw a giant figure had appeared behind me. Its features were androgynous and immaculate, hairless skin like white marble, eyes bright and staring at a point above and beyond my head, focused far beyond even Iter. "The Demon Seed is gone." Its voice, though as melodious and clear as Iter's, shook the space as if it had a physical weight.

"Metam, what –?" Iter began, but the voice continued, undeterred. The unblinking, pupil-less eyes shifted now in my direction, eyes that looked through me in impassive judgment.

"Your services are no longer needed, Hero."