Helen woke; feeling simultaneously disoriented, and strangely energized. Looking around her, Helen realized she was at work, a restaurant called Franco’s. It was owned by a nice younger man who had inherited it from his parents when they passed. Strangely, the restaurant was empty as she pulled herself to her feet. Helen startled when she heard a voice from behind her.

“Hi, Helen.” Frank said, voice slightly sad.

“Hey, Frank, what’s going on?” She asked, turning to where he lounged at a nearby table.

“You’re probably not going to believe me, but you’re dead. Or you were dead. I brought you back.” Frank examined her, feeling nostalgic for another era of his life. She had long, wavy blond hair, with green eyes, and a healthy frame. She was classically beautiful, the kind of beauty that existed in paintings, and had once spurred wars.

“What… what do you mean?” Helen asked in confusion, spiked with anxiety.

“The you that I brought back is you at the age of twenty, so you won’t remember a lot of the things that I’m about to tell you. Basically, your boyfriend, John, became an abusive cheating asshole a couple years after what you remember. You loved him too much, so you let him keep getting away with it. By the time you finally stood up for yourself, you had become this self-obsessed, paranoid, narcissistic person who pushed away all her friends. I stuck around because you were there for me after my sister died, and I thought maybe I could help. Unfortunately, after you broke up with John, he killed himself. You blamed yourself, went even farther off the deep end, and eventually killed yourself. I… thought you deserved better, so when I got the ability to do this, I brought back the version of you from before you were traumatized.”

“Wow… thats… way too crazy, Frank. I think you need help.” Helen told him skeptically.

Frank shrugged. “Go open the front door, and I think you’ll understand.”

Helen moved to the front door; doubtful, but curious. She nearly jumped backward as she opened the door onto absolute darkness. It was as if the world ended at the doorstep. Cautiously, she dipped her foot into the space beyond the doorstep, and found no resistance. Probing further, she got down on her knees; waving her hand through the nothingness. Helen stood, and strode angrily back to Frank.

“Frank, what the actual fuck is going on?” She hissed at him.

“Well, lets just say I made a wish on a magic lamp. This is kind’ve like a limbo world. When you’re ready, I can make any kind of world you want to live on. I can make a video game world, a world similar to our own, I can even make an exact copy of earth, and put you back into your own life. It’s up to you, but once you make your decision, you can’t change your mind until you die.”

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

“What do you mean until I die?” She asked, backing away from Frank in fear.

“Well, part of the way this… universe? Works is that I can’t directly interfere or make changes once a world has been established. So I can create a new world to reincarnate you into if you die, but I can’t change anything about you or anything around you once the world is set. The most I could do is make a copy of you on a new world.”

“Even if this is true, you know this makes you seem like a major creeper right? Are you in love with me?” Helen asked him.

Frank’s eyes became hooded. “Maybe at one point I was. Mostly though, I’ve just always wished I could do something to help you. You were such a warm, empathetic person before everything started going wrong. You stood by me when everyone I knew blamed me for my sister’s death. You deserved better.”

Helen looked away from his emotion-filled gaze. “I… don’t remember that. I know you plucked this version of me from before what you’re talking about, but I don’t remember it. What do you want from me?”

“I just want you to have a chance at a better life. I wanted to bring back the friend I remembered.” Frank replied softly.

Helen’s eyes hardened. “I don’t think life works that way. Honestly, it’s not like I’m not grateful for being brought back to life if that’s really what’s going on, but… you understand why I’m really uncomfortable about this right? As far as I remember, I’m still with John. Are you hoping I’m going to forget about him, and fall for you instead?”

Frank shook his head. “I only want you to have a second chance. I genuinely just want my friend back, it’s not about some hidden attraction or obsession.”

Helen bit her lip in thought. “Alright, then let’s do this. You said you could make a video game world right?”

Frank nodded. “I can make any kind of system you want.”

“Then make a skill-based world. The kind you see in manga sometimes where everything is attached to a skill, and you level them up by doing things. Also, I want to have John back. I don’t know what happened that would make him act that way, but I love him. I want to see if we can make it work differently on this new world you’re making. Also, it’ll prove to me that you’re genuinely just being a friend.”

Frank looked away, his expression unreadable. “Are you sure? You don’t know just how brutal things got with him toward the end.”

Helen’s gaze sharpened. “If you don’t then I’ll never forgive you. I know that you’re playing god, but this is my life. It’s not fair for you to make that decision.”

Frank sighed. “Fine. Just so you know though, I’m sending a copy of myself down to the world with you guys. I promise not to interfere with your relationship, but I should be around to help you figure out your new world. Plus I’m excited to try out an rpg world like that too.”

Helen laughed, relieved. “Lets go then! I’ve always wanted to explore a game world.”

Frank smiled shyly as he brought up an interface to help him set up the rules of his new world.