Rain pours down striking the asphalt. Miniature explosions that cause a soft murmuring pitter-patter. A man, stooped from age and sheltering beneath his hood, makes his way down the concrete pavement. Spaced at intervals twenty foot apart, the street lights flicker on in the fading light of dusk. Looking up he risks the cold stinging rain, briefly contemplating the sudden change of illumination, before drawing back into his anorak; his off kilter gait increased. The pavements down this old back street are quiet and rarely does a car drive past. Dim illumination filters past closed curtains of the residential houses across the road. Not long later, barely a couple of minutes, the man stops beneath a soft awning and shakes himself off before ducking through a wooden doorway. Flakes of cracked red paint fall as the door shuts behind him.

A bell rings clearly through the shop and the man draws his hood down and takes a brief inspection of the room. Miscellaneous objects are piled everywhere with a thin coating of dust. It is quite obviously rarely disturbed. The man stands around five foot six with silver gray hair. Clearly age has taken its toll; aged, wizened, blue eyes appraise the items. A gleam of dazzling light shines from the back of the room catching his attention. He avoids the many piles of clutter strewn almost randomly around the shop on his way to the counter.

“Can I help you sir?” A young man enters from the back room.

“Ah yes,” the man glances back to where he saw the light but it is no longer there. “I’m here for a present for my wife.”

“What sort of present?” The young man asks.

“Well, it’s for our anniversary.” He had long stopped referring to himself as a single person. As he got older both his wife and himself relied on each other as much as they did themselves and it was only natural to use us or our instead of me and mine. 

“Ah many great things here, take a look around, you know her better than I.” The older man nods and shuffles around the room looking about. Everytime he looks at something a little more closely the young man offers a comment. “Edwardian, fantastic eye sir.” “Elizabethan, just look how smooth the polish.” The man simply nods and moves on to the next pile of antiques.

The man spends several minutes browsing different piles of items. He finds himself towards the back of the shop and as he looks he spots a small red gleam. He bends down to see a dusty red gem. It shines with an inner light that captivates the man. Without realising it he reaches out to brush the dust off. His finger brushes the faceted side and a ripple flows out from the gem passing through everything without interaction. Time seems to stand still in anticipation. Motes of glittering dust suspended in the moment of infinity.

Do you want Adventure?

Images flash through the man’s mind. He recalled the pain and suffering he endured during the war. The cold and wet, huddling to keep warm. Suffering with trench foot, peeling whole layers of infected skin off his feet. It was the worst, most horrendous, time of his life. Yet even as he remembered he felt excitement. He loved it, the freedom, the us or them feeling, the adventure. All he could think was Yes he did want adventure.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

Do you want Power?

Again images flashed through his mind. His friends and comrades were wounded and bleeding. His hands on his weapon feeling the sense of confidence it gave him and yet it wasn’t enough to save them. His realisation as he spent every evening in the hospital next to his best friend. Waiting for the shrapnel to take its toll. He felt powerless and once again he thought Yes he did want power.

Do you want Youth?

This was not even a struggle. Every morning he wakes up and spends ten minutes rubbing his aching joints just to get moving. He can’t remember the last time he walked, let alone ran, without any pain. Things that used to be easy, now took every ounce of his effort. He used to stand tall and proud at six feet tall but now age has brought him low. Without a doubt he wants youth. Of course it’s a Yes.

Prepare for Rebirth.

A look of panic briefly crosses the man’s face as he realises he may have just made a huge mistake. The ripple reverses direction and he feels a suction coming from the red gem. As the ripple condenses back into the gem the man disappears with a pop.

*****

A bright white expanse surrounds the man, who floats weightless in a complete absence of senses; neither too hot nor too cold, neither smelling nor lack of smell. Everything but sight sits in a neutral state. There’s not even a disturbance in the surroundings to focus on. The man looks down trying to anchor his sight on something but that gives him a sense of vertigo when not even his body comes into view. He felt the internal stimulus that comes with looking down but no external change occurs. No longer sure which way was up or down he stops himself and just hangs there in the void panicking about his safety.

As time passes and his panic fades, other thoughts come to the surface. Where the hell am I? He thinks to himself. A ripple of thought spreads out from him and a reply soon echoes back.

Welcome to the convergence. Where all things are the universe and the universe is all things. As this is the first time you have connected to the will of the universe you will unlock your inner potential. Welcome to your true Rebirth.

Upon the word rebirth a box appears in the man’s vision:

Welcome!

Welcome to the convergence. All future information will be provided to you via these prompts. As this is your first time here you will now undergo Rebirth.

No convergence points detected…

Random allocation begun…

Human generation beginning…

Bloodline randomly assigned...

Default racial attributes assigned…

Random initial ability generated…

Language modifier on standby...

Rebirth Complete!

Sending to a random location…

Good Luck!