Ireland, 1984

A small sea breeze approached the stone dock Trevor was at, bringing in the cool salty air of late spring. The young man stood there, enjoying the wind as it blew against his brown hair and very scruffy beard. Watching the ocean with amazement, he tried to remember the last time he saw the sea but the memory came back blurry. It was a long time ago, back when he was still a child and his father could still hold his baby brother in their arms.

He was not here with his family this time, though. This time was a more solemn experience. It had been almost two years since he became old enough to move out of his father's home. With enough money saved up from his job, and a small loan Trevor convinced his father to give before he was completely cut off, he bought an apartment of his own. Now, though, he wished he had more.

"That selfish, stubborn bastard." He mumbled, followed by a sigh.

The era of Ireland he lived in, which was, aptly named, The Troubles, were not kind to many people. About a decade ago, some mistake the government officials of the Irish Republic made caused the economy to completely halt. It became even worse and the economy took a further downfall when his country established their own form of currency to break away from British imposition, but lowering the value of the money itself. If Trevor had to put his situation into a single word, it would be 'shit'.

The place he worked at went bankrupt and closed down, and Trevor went so far behind rent that he was evicted and kicked out. His father completely refused to give him more money or to move back in, saying that he should figure it out for himself. This did surprise Trevor, but he couldn't say it was atypical of them. His father has always been a stern and strict man, even to Trevor's brothers and sister. It especially got worse after what happened with his mother.

He shook his head, banishing away those thoughts. Nothing good comes from remembering those things. Trevor hoisted the satchels containing what little belongings he had left and set forward. The docks themselves weren't that big, they were a part of a coastal town. The afternoon sun shone brightly through partly cloudy skies, shining down on dockworkers hauling crates, barrels, and other luggage. Most of the ships here were fishing boats, but there were several bigger varieties docked here as well. One of which Trevor was heading towards.

The ship wasn't the biggest, but it was sizable. The chipping and wear and tear showed that it was fairly old, maybe about 30 or so years. Stacks adorned the top of it, lightly billowing out smoke. From the looks of it, it could hold between 500 to 1,000 people, including the crew. Taking the ticket out of his pocket, he checked to make sure this was the right ship. On the ticket, it showed the name of the ship he was heading to, the location of his departure, and the destination he was headed to. New York, United States.

This was the location he will go to to meet his grandparents and, hopefully, start his new life. Unlike him, Trevor's father lived a childhood without needs. His grandparents were fairly wealthy, almost ridiculously so, but his father never liked that lifestyle and so moved to the homeland the first chance he could. They didn't live a poor life, Trevor's father made sure of that, but he and his siblings did have to learn some tough life lessons.

After Trevor had lost both his home and his job, and his father refused to loan him any more money, he had no choice but to contact his grandparents. Neither of them were strangers, as they constantly came to visit their grandchildren. They heard Trevor's plight and agreed to let him move in with them. They also knew how smart Trevor was and offered to put in some good words to some Ivy League schools he can apply to. He agreed, and his grandparents paid for everything, including the ticket and trip fare.

Now he was here, at the very first steps of his new life. Many other passengers were walking pass him to get on the boat. He couldn't help but imagine why these people were here. Did they fall on hardship recently, like he did, and were going to America for a better life? Or are they just going to visit people close to them? Some clues he saw gave him answers, but they would mostly remain a mystery.

Trevor realized that he had stopped moving while in his reverie. He started walking again, but was stopped by the sound of a heavy grunt and the crashing of something on the ground off to the side. And the snapping of rope that had torn away.

"Look out!" a heavy voice sounded out.

Trevor swiveled his head to the source and his eyes went wide. It looked to him like some dockworkers had accidentally let their cargo slip from their grip. The load of barrels seemed to be too much for the rope to handle and a line of them were streaming down the dock, heading directly for Trevor. The people around him were spurred by the warning and moved away, but he was completely frozen in fear. His legs wouldn't move, completely ignoring the commands his head was sending down to them. The front barrel hit a bump in the dock, sending it flying and hitting Trevor in the abdomen.

He fell down, pushed further by the weight of the barrels. Trevor felt something hit his back, and then immense pain flared out and spread through his neck and chest. His head already felt dizzy from the pain, but then it fell down and banged harshly against the ledge. Ironically, this actually allowed his head to clear up a bit, but his entire body still hurt. He faintly heard people screaming and tried to look up to see what was happening.

This was a mistake as the pain intensified, and felt his neck unable to move more than a few inches. He suddenly found it extremely hard to breathe, and that something in his throat was causing him to choke. Out of his peripherals, Trevor looked down to see what the problem was. He did not like what he saw and started to panic.

Sticking out of his chest and partially through his neck, was a metallic pole connected to the dock and drenched in his own blood. It was used to tie down a ship to a dock, to prevent it from drifting out to see. Now, it seemed to have pierced right through him.

The revelation caused the pain to increase even more. Some dockworkers came up to Trevor and dropped next to him, their skin paling and flinching away as they saw the injury. They tried to reassure Trevor, but he couldn't hear what they were saying. It didn't matter, since he knew what was happening. The pole had definitely pierced through his lung, possibly even his heart and the artery in his neck. He could feel the blood filling his lungs and throat, could see the copious amounts of it pouring out and drenching his clothes.

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He knew this would be the end of him, that he would never achieve his dreams or any accomplishments. He felt remorseful over this. He would leave his family behind, devastated over another family member. He remembered the times he spent with them, how he felt respected and cared for by his father, how he played and learned alongside his siblings. He prayed to God. He prayed for Him to help them through his death and to give Trevor a fair chance in his next life.

But at the same time, he cursed what had happened to him. He cursed his own life and even his own father for this. He felt remorseful again, but if it wasn't for his father then Trevor would not be here right now. As he thought these, his body started to convulse. The dockworker above became even more frantic, but Trevor still could understand him. The edges of his sight began to darken, and he knew it was almost time.

A third person came up to Trevor, but he couldn't see any specific features from them. His vision went out completely, and his body went still. Trevor's soul finally left his body, as everything went away.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Darkness. That was all Trevor could see. Though, see wasn't quite the right word for it. His mind felt fuzzy, and he could barely focus on anything. He sensed that he lost his ability to touch. He couldn't feel anything, nor smell or see. Hazily he started to remember what happened to him.

He was at the docks, getting ready to board a ship to somewhere. When...when the accident happened and those barrels headed towards. Trevor suddenly remembered and even felt the pain that came after. It was a ghostly pain, greatly diminished to what he felt when he was dying.

'Is this heaven?' he thought to himself.

But were that true, where was everything? The lights, the gates, the angels, everything he was taught about as a child.

Trevor felt something stir around him. Some sort of power that flowed around his shapeless form. A figure started to form before him. It was incredibly big, so much that Trevor couldn't fathom how large it was. It took on a semi-solid form, androgynous in appearance but decidedly male. They glowed with the light of stars, no, entire galaxies. But the most puzzling thing to Trevor, was that it had the head of an animal, similar to the Egyptian deities he read about.

But it wasn't just a single animal, but many as its amorphous body slowly morphed between them. Most of which Trevor was unable to discern beyond their general species.

"No, you are not quite there yet human."

Trevor would quickly go to cover his ears if he still had them, or arms for that matter. It was so loud, filled with the cacophony of thousands of voices. Both male and female, young and old, and it wasn't just voices. The sounds of wind whistling through a forest, of birds taking flight, of both a river and an avalanche flowing through. All of that and much more contained in a single sentence. Trevor had many things he wanted to ask, but only one was spoken first.

"A-are you God?"

His voice didn't quite come out right. It was there, but it came out as a whisper that flowed out from his entire body instead of just his mouth. The being chuckled, and even that was enough to make the loud noises come back.

"Not quite. I am a god, but not the one that created you."

Trevor became confused, but before he could say anything else the god spoke.

"I'm afraid we don't have too much time in this realm. My name is Baz, the Guardian and Watcher of the Wilds, Administer of the Hunt, and the Merciless Judge. Before you ask, yes, I can hear your thoughts. Especially here."

"Why am I here?" Trevor asked. He was baffled by this, entity, but he still wanted to get some answers.

"I saw your final moments on your world and listened to your prayers. You are, interesting. I have been seeking someone like you for a while. Someone with the vast talent and possibility that you have. There is another world besides the one you come from. If you agree to the terms I will set, then you may achieve the second chance at life you have wished for. If you don't, you will be sent back to wherever your god sends you."

No words could describe what Trevor was feeling at the moment. His prayers really were answered? A god was really going to fulfill his wish? While he was definitely excited, there were things in the back of his mind that had him worried.

"What is this world like? Will there be dangers that will get me killed again?"

Baz's glowing, nebulous eyes seemed lower and glare at Trevor. For a minute, he was worried that he made the god upset and that they would take away their offer.

"...There is always the chance for you to be killed, no matter what petty precautions you may take to avoid it." Baz seemed to compose themselves before continuing. "This new world does have its own dangers, slightly more so than your world. And it doesn't come with the same 'comforts' that you humans have created for yourselves, but with your upbringing you should do fairly well there. There will also be other tools and powers that will be given to you, if you accept. This world is a peaceful one, and I admittedly care for it. Its people are strong, as they should be, and have both survived and thrived on previous hardships. But there will be more to come, and by ancient oaths I am unable to stop it. I want you to go to this world, to prevent this and help the people survive this future calamity. In return, I will give you the second life you desire, with your memories intact and powerful gifts bestowed by me. You will have the potential to become one of the most powerful mortals imaginable, to do whatever you desire."

Trevor had become fully stunned by now, trying to process every bit of this new information. Did this god, Baz, really want him to become a hero of another world? Like in those fantasy stories he read back when he was a kid? That was quite daunting for him, but...

"...I accept. No conditions from me."

"A good choice." Baz answered. "Before you go, there are some other things that need to be done."

The god lifted up an arm and seemed to be doing something with their finger that Trevor couldn't. They tapped and waved at something for several seconds before lowering their arm back down, followed by a slump of their shoulders and nodding their head in seeming exasperation.

"Sister, I swear..." Baz mumbled, but it still came out as an ear-piercing crescendo.

Before he could ask the god what they mean, something appeared in front of Trevor, confusing him once again.

Commencing System Integration...

System Integration Successful

Beginning Species Shift

"Wha-"

Before he was able to fully voice his confusion, Trevor was overloaded with immense pain. It was worse than the pain he felt when he died, like a tearing that was systematically and endlessly cutting through his entire body. The process only lasted for a few minutes before it was completed, but it felt like days had passed for him, weeks even. After it was done, there was a bit of silence before he heard Baz lightly laughing with pure amusement in his voice.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that form."

Trevor wanted to yell and scream at the god, but he felt too tired to do so. Then, everything around him faded away. With Baz fully disappearing as his consciousness faded once again.