It was December 21, 2012—some freaks claimed that it was the day of the world's end. I, Ryan Carter, didn't believe in this bullshit, but this day was challenging indeed. Just why had my younger sister wanted to tour the Statue of Liberty in the mid of winter?! Only a few days remained until Christmas, for god's sake. . . 

"We. . .are. . .almost there, Ryan!" Amy said as she tugged my sleeve, her breath heavy. 

Well, of course, climbing to the crown of the Statue was quite a challenge for a sixteen-year-old teen. Heck, I myself barely could feel my legs already despite being a marathon runner back in my high school days. Being a game designer for the last couple of years surely hadn't improved my physical fitness. . .

As a caring older brother I was, I gave Amy my shoulder for support. Otherwise, I could imagine her falling on her ass miserably—not something I'd like to see. 

"Do you really think it was worth getting here all the way from Florida?" I said while exhaling a fog-like cloud. It was freaking cold here. Fortunately, Amy had listened to me and put on some really warm clothes. 

We both ignored the tour guide that was still lecturing about the history of the Statue and why they no longer allowed people to enter the torch. Instead of listening to something we both had already known, we approached the windows. 

"Beautiful!" Amy exclaimed as she saw the bright lights of New York City. It was already 7 PM, rather late. I wasn't sure why they allowed tours so late in the day, but I didn't bother to ask the pretty but strict tour guide woman. 

I myself wasn't that impressed with the sight before me. I'd seen better from the window of an airplane just yesterday. It was supposed to be the same for Amy, who, of course, had been there with me. Perhaps she just lied to herself to avoid acknowledging how bad of an idea this tour was. Our initial plan had been just to spend a couple of days with our aunt and uncle here in New York. 

At that point, the guide stopped talking, and the rest of the visitors—an elderly couple, a poker-faced youth, and a rather tall middle-aged man—joined Amy in enjoying the sight of the night city as well. 

"You seem bored." The tour guide approached me while everyone else was busy looking through the windows. What was her name, again? I recalled that she'd introduced herself as Stacy something-something. I had never been good with remembering names, definitely not the last ones. 

"It's because I am." I shrugged. "I'd like to go home rather sooner than later." 

Stacy gave me a wry smile. "Your girlfriend seems to enjoy the tour, though." 

I cringed really hard at her words. Stacy seemed to be in her mid-twenties, just like me, but as I had a rather young-looking face, people often mistook me for someone in his late teens. Amy, on the other hand, looked more mature than her age suggested. Moreover, she had blonde hair—bleached, of course—to my natural black, and our faces weren't exactly alike, so it was easier to assume that we were lovers rather than siblings. 

"She's my little sister," I said with a truly uncomfortable expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry. . ." Stacy apologized, her face slightly red. 

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Yeah, you'd better be," I said with more spite than intended. Honestly, I wasn't really offended or annoyed by her misunderstanding that much. I was just in a bitter mood after all the climbing and the bad weather. 

An awkward silence descended upon us. To make matters worse, the other visitors barely made any sound as well. Just when I was about to apologize to Stacy for being perhaps too harsh on her, a strange noise caught everyone's attention. 

Ding! Ding! Ding! 

Like an annoying doorbell, repeated ringing resonated right inside my head. I'd thought that it was just a hallucination if Stacy didn't have such a confused look on her face. 

"B-bro, there's dinging inside my head!" Amy scampered towards me and then clung to my arm. No wonder that someone could misunderstand us for a couple, considering how touchy-feely she was with me. 

Ding! Ding! Ding!

"It's not just you," I said, trying to stay calm. The noise had never stopped even for a moment and started to really get on my nerves. 

Suddenly, the ringing stopped and was replaced with an awe-inspiring genderless voice. 

Now that we caught your attention and made the sleeping ones wake up, We think it's time to introduce ourselves! Our name is Three Faced God Errious! 

While the voice continued its speech, I managed to catch sight of what was going on outside. It was shocking, to say the least. Dozens of giant birds were flying through the skies of New York. Far in the distance, I could see a King Kong-sized gorilla strolling through the streets leisurely. 

It seems that your civilization progresses at quite a frightening speed—at this pace, We afraid you'll bring doom not only to yourself but to your dimensional neighbors as well. But fear not, dear humans! As a generous and kind God We are, We connected your insignificant little planet to the vast Multiverse. 

Amy hugged my arm even tighter, and I could feel her body trembling even through our thick winter clothes. She was absentmindedly watching the hellish view of New York City overwhelmed by monsters. 

Now you won't have time for such a dangerous and worthless pastime as science. Instead, a road to overwhelming power and immortality is open to you! You only need to find the courage to grasp it. You only need to survive long enough to grow. Thankfully, each of you has a hidden potential, a Talent if you wish, that can make a real difference. 

I knew that something should be done, but I couldn't sure what exactly. Perhaps staying here, hidden from the monsters at the top of the Statue, was the safest course of action. Or perhaps it would make us easy prey for whatever managed to climb here. 

 My thoughts were interrupted when a loud thud sounded from the ceiling. It was as if something huge landed at the top of the Statue's crown. I thought of the large birds that could be seen far in the distance, but they weren't that big, right? 

We hope that you'll enjoy our gifts, humans of Earth! Perhaps some of you will even join our ranks as Gods one day. If you play your cards right, that is. We wish you good luck—believe us, you'll need a lot of it!

With an unpleasant noise, a dozen-foot-wide hole was torn down on the ceiling right above Amy and me. The other visitors and Stacy screamed and hurried to the stairs, leaving the two of us behind. An enormous reptilian head glared at me with its golden serpentine eyes. A dragon. It was a fucking dragon. 

With everything I had, I pushed Amy away towards the exit as I returned the glare to the monster and screamed, "Eat me if you can, bitch!" 

I hoped that the silly provocation would keep its attention from my little sister, and it worked like a charm. Before I knew it, the dragon's head rushed at me through the hole and swallowed me whole. Then, excruciating pain came at me as my body got submerged in acidic fluids. 

I didn't know if I suffered anguish for days or mere seconds—it felt forever for me, nonetheless. I tried to scream, but by opening my mouth, I allowed the acid to enter my body, taking the pain to a whole different level. My eyelids got disintegrated, and then my eyes, and eventually my brain. Thankfully, halfway through the process, I could no longer keep my consciousness awake. 

Before my mind got completely engulfed by nothingness, I heard an unfamiliar female voice whispering without any emotions.

Condition Triggered. Talent [Become Your Slayer] activated. 

When I opened my eyes again, nothing was the same.