In the dead of night, Carn Roswal came to a stop and gripped the railing beside him on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He gazed out at the black ocean in front of him, wearing a look of melancholy and peace.

As an orphan, Carn had been living on the streets for as long as he could remember. Cared for by others in the city, the only thing he had going for him was a minimum-wage job at a hole-in-the-wall dumpling restaurant. Despite the frigid temperature, he loved the bridge for its relative serenity compared to the rest of the city. People often mistook him for someone contemplating suicide, but he was really there to watch the moon glisten on the surface of the water.

After standing there for a while, Carn let out a sigh and started jogging back to Golden Dumplings, the restaurant where he worked. It was actually a converted house owned by someone who had lost their old job, and the restaurant's relative closeness to the bridge inspired its name.

As Carn arrived at the restaurant, the door opened with a jingle, and he saw a scruffy man of average height with pointed ears and a white bandana on his head glaring at him from behind the counter.

"Carn, I thought I told you not to be late," Hector said in a stern tone.

Carn checked the clock on the wall and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Hector, it's only five minutes. Cut me some slack."

Hector shook his head. "Every minute counts, Carn. I have important customers in the game, you know. Every minute you're late, I make less money."

He let out a sigh and took off his apron. "It shouldn't be too busy tonight anyway. There's a big fight happening in God's Colosseum."

"Who's fighting?" Carn asked, not particularly interested.

"Fen Tuolong and Matt Stiles," Hector replied. "I've got my money on Tuolong. His sword skills are godly."

Hector waved his hands around, trying to mimic the sword moves. Carn tied on his apron and started washing his hands.

"I see," he said.

Hector shook his head. "You're no fun. Anyways, don't wake me unless it's really important, alright?"

"Got it," Carn replied.

Hector walked up the stairs behind the counter and yelled down, "I'll give you your paycheck tomorrow! Also, feel free to turn on the match on the TV!"

A while later Carn was alerted by the sound of the door chimes. Looking up, he saw an old Asian lady walk into the store. Her name was Granny Cho and she always walked in with a smile on her face. Even though it was an odd hour, she was a regular customer and Carn always looked forward to seeing her. He knew she would tip generously, and he was particularly fond of her.

"Hello, Mrs. Cho! The usual, right?" Carn asked as she made her way to her favorite table.

"Yes, please," Granny Cho replied.

Carn quickly got to work on her order of rice and pork xiaolongbao, which he knew was her favorite. As she started eating, the sound of the TV suddenly blared, and an announcer's voice could be heard over the noise.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the most anticipated match of the year! In this corner, hailing all the way from China, the master of the flowing sword, Fen Tuolong!”

The audience erupted in cheers as a tall Asian man with long black hair and a flowing martial arts robe made his entrance. His chiseled features, sharp cheekbones, and intense gaze commanded attention as he confidently strode toward the center of the arena. A long sword with a sapphire blade hung gracefully at his waist.

“And in the opposite corner, all the way from Canada, the one and only Matt Stiles! His punches have been known to shatter the very heavens!”

The crowd roared as a hulking white man in full-body silver armor strode into the arena. His broad smile, charming demeanor, and confident swagger made him an instant fan favorite. The silver armor gleamed under the lights as he waved to his adoring fans.

“The tension is palpable, folks! Who will come out on top in this epic showdown between two of the world's most powerful warriors? Let the battle begin!”

Granny Cho's eyes were glued to the TV screen, and she seemed to be watching the match with bated breath. She spoke up, still staring intently at the screen.

"Carn, dear, do you not play God's Paradise? You don't seem very interested in this match for someone your age."

Carn glanced at the screen and shrugged. "I've never had the money to try," he said. "But at least this shift lines up with the times the servers are open, so that's good."

Granny Cho nodded knowingly and looked at Carn. "The benefits of playing the game are outstanding, though. In this scary day and age, I worry about your future, dear..."

Carn scratched the back of his head. "There's nothing I can do, Mrs. Cho. I'm saving up for a place to stay at the moment. I think that's more important."

Granny Cho nodded in agreement. "You're right. That is the responsible choice."

Granny Cho turned back to watch the match. The two men moved with lightning speed, their punches and slashes sending shockwaves through the stadium. Fen Tuolong danced fluidly around the arena, while Matt Stiles bulldozed through with brute force.

Suddenly, Fen's body glowed blue as he thrust his hand through Matt's, impaling it. With a mighty blow, Matt retaliated, punching Fen so hard that his head exploded. But to everyone's shock, Fen's body dissolved into water and trickled to the ground.

Matt looked unfazed as the wound on his hand healed at a noticeable speed. The entire crowd was at the edge of their seats, anticipating the next move. Out of nowhere, Tuolong appeared behind Matt, his entire body made of water. His sword glowed bright blue, and a dragon made of water and ice formed around him.

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

Matt whipped his head around, but he was too late. Tuolong drove his sword through Matt's chest, piercing the center of the goliath’s heart, as the dragon closed its maw on him. The crowd gasped in awe as Matt fell to the ground with a thunderous boom.

“The winner is China’s FEN TUOLONG!!!”

Tuolong took a bow, and the crowd erupted in cheers. Matt lay on the ground, encased in ice, with a giant hole in his chest. Tuolong approached him, and with a snap of his fingers, the ice broke off of Matt.

Matt nodded to his opponent, and the hole in his chest vanished. He stuck his hand out to Tuolong, who shook it firmly. The two men waved to the crowd as the cheers drowned out all other noise in the arena.

After the match ended Granny Cho nodded knowingly before looking over at Carn.

"Carn dear, can you come over here for a moment?" she asked.

Carn walked towards her table, wondering if she wanted to place another order.

"I don't need anything else right now," Granny Cho said as if reading his thoughts. "I just have something to show you."

She rummaged through her purse and pulled out a small black metal box with the letters GP etched in gold on the lid. She handed it to Carn, who looked at it curiously.

"What is this?" he asked.

"It's a new product that my son's company developed," Granny Cho explained. "They gave free copies to family members of employees. It's going to be on the market in about six months, but I'm too old to be interested in it. I want to give it to you."

Carn opened the box and saw a semi-transparent pill resting on a velvet lining. He hesitated for a moment before politely declining.

"I'm not really interested in taking drugs," he said.

Granny Cho chuckled. "Oh, it's not a drug. It's the newest way to access God's Paradise. The pill interfaces with the brain and allows the person to join the game without an expensive gaming rig."

Carn was taken aback by the revelation. He inspected the pill closely, but it looked like an ordinary pill.

"I don't know what to say," he admitted.

"You can say 'thank you'," Granny Cho replied, ruffling his hair. "And you can call me Granny. I don't like being called Mrs. Cho."

"Thank you, Granny," Carn said with a smile.

“The box won’t open without your fingerprint so keep it safe until you want to enter God’s Paradise. The first time you fall asleep after taking the pill you will enter the game so wait until you have a good place to stay before you use it.”

“Understood thanks a lot.”

Carn smiled and closed the box putting it in his pocket.

“You know what I’ll have another order of-”

BOOM

In an instant, there was a loud crash and the front door of the building burst open as the windows shattered. A large piece of wood from the door flew towards Carn, leaving a deep gash on his thigh. The room was immediately plunged into darkness and dust filled the air.

“Mrs. Cho, are you okay?” Carn asked, coughing as he tried to clear the dust from his lungs.

“I'm fine,” she replied, also coughing.

“Carn what happened!”

Hector rushed down the stairs, coughing as he waved the dust away from his face. He surveyed the destruction in the shop and saw Carn on the floor, blood soaking his jeans. Hector’s eyes were wide with panic.

“Must’ve been a gate break, Carn put pressure on the wound. Mrs. Cho get to the kitchen, there is an emergency contactor by the sink. We need to let the agency know what happened! I can open the Safe room when I get back there!”

Granny Cho nodded and quickly moved to the kitchen.

“Screeeekekekeke!”

Suddenly, a loud screech echoed through the air, causing everyone to freeze in fear. The screech sounded again, this time louder and closer, and the two men could feel their hearts racing in their chests. Carn turned around to face the source of the noise and saw two glowing red eyes staring at him through the dust.

“Hector, what the hell is that?!” Carn whispered.

“I don’t know, but we need to get out of here now!” Hector replied, pulling Carn towards the kitchen.

The two men made their way to the safe room as fast as they could. As they reached the kitchen, the screeching grew louder and more intense, and the red eyes seemed to be getting closer and closer. With a loud crash, the creature burst through the wall, revealing itself to be a large, terrifying beast with razor-sharp claws and teeth like daggers.

“SCREEEEKEKEKE!”

The creature leaped forward with its twisted, decaying hand and struck Hector's body with incredible speed.

"AAAAHHH!"

Hector was sent flying across the room, crashing into a wall and losing consciousness upon impact. The monster then turned its attention to Carn, emitting another ear-piercing screech that sent saliva flying into his face.

“SCREEEEKEKEKE!”

Carn recognized the creature immediately - a Blood Imp, a lesser demon with red skin, unnaturally long limbs and fingers, and two large bat-like wings on its back. It was the most terrifying low-ranked monster on earth with each having strength of five men.

“Yooooouuur b-bllloooood smeeeeells gooodd. FEAST. I wiillll feeeeast todaaayy!”

The Blood Imp licked its lips, revealing its razor-sharp teeth, and charged toward Carn.

Reacting quickly, Carn lunged towards the counter, narrowly dodging the Imp's attack. However, its claws still managed to tear into Carn's side, causing him to wince in pain.

I need to live, I need to live, I need a weapon.

Carn thought to himself as he looked around frantically for something to defend himself with. His eyes settled on a chef's knife on the counter, and with a determined look in his eyes, he grabbed it. The Blood Imp turned towards him, its razor-sharp teeth glistening as it licked Carn's blood off its claws.

“YESSSS D-D-DELICIOUS!”

As Carn brandished his knife, the Imp's smile widened, and it lunged forward. Carn deftly stepped aside, slashing the creature's wing and leaving a deep gash in the leathery skin. Snarling, the Imp bared its fangs and watched as blood flowed from its wound to its hand hardening to form a spear.

The Imp hurled the spear at Carn's head with lightning speed. Carn dodged the attack, but the spear struck his ear, ripping through it. Taking advantage of the Imp's confusion, Carn grabbed the spear, only for it to melt into a liquid in his grasp.

As the Imp looked on in bewilderment, Carn seized his knife and swung it at the creature's neck. The blade sliced through flesh, but stopped a third of the way through, leaving the Imp wounded but not defeated. As Carn withdrew the knife, the Imp's claws plunged into his stomach, causing him excruciating pain.

Carn's vision blurred, and he heard Granny Cho's desperate cry.

"NO CARN!"

He saw the Imp turn to face her with a wicked smile. Summoning all of his remaining strength, Carn swung his knife with all his might, cleaving the Imp's head in two like a ripe watermelon.

The Imp's expression transformed into one of shock as it fell to the ground, taking Carn with it. Granny Cho hurried over to where he lay, his skin cold to the touch but his stomach ablaze with pain. It was excruciating.

Carn's thoughts raced. He didn't want to die.

As his vision dimmed, he could hear the sounds of fighting in the distance, but even those soon faded away. The last thing he saw was a green light above his body as his consciousness slipped away.