In a place beyond, between the between of a gray-green world, five gods sit around a rather ornate table. This was an auspicious occasion as there had not been a full gathering of gods for this world in over a millennium. The last time a meeting like this occurred, had been due to a highly invasive species of ostrich, that had evolved a rather troublesome ability to turn invisible, which would not normally have been an issue but these birds had taken a liking to meat, and were highly territorial. Thankfully, they were not above cannibalism, and after a few territory disputes, the ones who could turn transparent were killed off and rather gruesomely eaten. Causing the last meeting to be a complete wash.

Sadly, this meeting was much more time-sensitive than the ostrich issue. Typhon, the god of monsters, sat with the appearance of a giant cat, containing fur and scales in equal measure. She was the one most incensed about the last meeting having voted for relocating the creature where it could grow, having already brought it up twice.

Prometheus, the god of humanity, sat across from Typhon, looking like a mortal human, except for his eyes, swirling with vast golden energy. He sat looking annoyed at Typhon as the two never got along, even before the incident with the birds. Their people always fighting each other, causing quite a bit of tension between the two.

Dionysus, a male humanoid god with barkskin, and purple wisteria-like flowers for hair, sat with a smile looking at his fellow gods. Evicted to see them all in one place again, he always enjoyed these little, family get-togethers. They were always so lively, especially when it came to voting. He hoped someone would throw a chair again, that was fun.

With a soft ticking of gears, sat Hephaestus, she was more machine than woman, with short, stocky gears and steam flowing through her. She was in her own little world tinkering with a little copper toy that looked suspiciously like an ostrich. Until she noticed, Dionysus, giving her tinkering a mischievous smile, and broke it back down into its component pieces, not liking how he was looking at her.

Finally, Hades sat both there and not, ethereal and floating, being of the real and of the unreal. A contradiction that brings balance to their world, being the deciding vote in many of their conflicts. He was just wrapping up his briefing on the current situation and it wasn’t looking good.

The first to speak after the rundown, was Prometheus, “How much longer do we have?”

“If things go well, ten years, maybe,” Hades answered.

Typhon hearing this roared indignantly, “HOW COULD IT GET THAT BAD?”

“If someone would stop killing anyone going into the woods, maybe we could muster a force.” Hephaestus, said staring daggers at Dionysus.

“What about your dwarves? Hoarding all that weaponry, then giving them to the highest bidder. They’ve taken more lives than my woods.” Dionysus defended himself.

Prometheus interrupted, “Everyone, please calm down. The void is encroaching on our world and it makes no difference whose fault it is.”

The two gods kept glaring at each other, steam began to gather around Hephaestus as vines twisted around Dionysus, both ready to strike the other. The two normally got along, but the last time they met they had a falling out over a prank Dionysus pulled. Filling a very important tank with growth liquid. The moment she came into contact with any vegetation it grew out of control, locking her in place for a decade. Dionysus, thought it was hilarious, especially when her people built a temple around her.

“Let's just focus on fixing it. Then we can go back to killing each other.” Prometheus pleaded.

Dionysus turned towards the speaker, “How? There's an excess of mana, but not enough time to raise a champion. And that would just be a stop-gap.”

The rest of the table nodded in agreement, even Hephaestus, reluctant to agree with anything with Dionysus, nodded. They were quickly running out of time, anything they might come up with could take years to come to fruition, if at all, and they didn’t have that.

Prometheus steeled himself, “We need a hero.”

The entire table groaned, having heard this pitch a thousand times in the last hundred years or so. Each time there was no reason to summon one but now-now they were getting desperate. Typhon spoke, “You know how much of a coin toss that is. Besides, it would drain us of most of our power to even bless one.”

“I’m not thinking of just one. I was thinking of a group.”

They all looked at Prometheus in stunned disbelief, the first to recover was Hephaestus, “First, where would we get a group? Second, where the fuck have you been storing all your power if you think you can bless that many?”

Prometheus, having anticipated this, smiled. “Ah, there's the trick. We give each of them the same blessing. Blessings of growth.”

They all leaned back, silently thinking, realizing it could work, until Dionysus pointed out the problem. “But that will take years, and we need it now.”

“As much as I hate to agree with him, he's right. And how would we even get them? We'd have to transport them, and none of us could remake that many bodies.” Hephaestus replied, knowing the difficulty in such an endeavor, having attempted to plot out such a scenario before. It would take years for the child to grow and even be able to access their abilities.

“We do a Hero summoning,” Prometheus stated.

Typhon narrowed his eyes, “The last time we did that, the people enslaved the Hero before he could figure out he was even in another world.” He snorted before adding “And when we tried a different Hero, a warrior, he killed half the court before they cut him down.”

“Ah! But this time, your people will do it.” Prometheus said to Typhon.

Typhon sat straight tilting her head in confusion, “You know, for a fact, that they have no idea how.”

“Sorry, I misspoke. The human living with your people will do it.”

Typhon thought about the single human living with the beast tribes, “He doesn't have that kind of power to open the portal to here.”

“He will, for this.”

Typhon gave Prometheus a long look, trying to gauge his sincerity, eventually realizing it was their only option, “Fine, but we needed the Heroes here yesterday.”

All the gods reluctantly agreed, having little other choice. They knew they had let everything escalate to a tipping point and the slightest breeze could tip their world over the edge.

Prometheus let out a relieved sigh, “Oh, I've already taken care of that.”

A loud air-horn sounded off and all five of the gods stood as the south wall of nothing shattered and a semi-truck appeared, coming to a stop thirty feet from the table, confusing all the gods, except Prometheus. They stared on as the driver’s side door opened and a human man jumped out, looking for all the world like a normal mortal in jeans, a t-shirt, and red flannel. “Ok! I have your order.” The man held a clipboard as he walked towards Prometheus, and started to tick things off from a list. “Young, but not too young. Ready to fight. Primed to accept all the craziness, and wanting to be heroes.” The man looked up from his clipboard. “Is that correct?”

Hephaestus blinked, “Who are you?”

The man turned his head to the woman, “The delivery driver.”

Dionysus sneered, extending an aura of power toward the man. “Bow, you are in the presence of gods.”

“And you are in the presence of a truck driver.” The man casually shrugged off the aura.

“you...you…you”

“Can you confirm the order?”The man said, impatiently turning back to Prometheus.

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Prometheus had to hold back a snicker at seeing Dionysus's reaction. "Yes, that's correct."

“And you have your entire pantheon behind this?” The man gestured towards the gods behind him.

“Yes. I just secured their agreement.”

“Cutting it close.”

Prometheus sighed, “We know.”

“Well, come take a look in the back for your Heroes.”

An outside observer would find this entire scenario surreal, as a man no taller than six feet led giants to the back of a simple white shipping container to show their order. With a quick practiced twist, the man opened the double doors, revealing a platoon of freshly trained, military men, all sprawled along the back of the truck and strapped down, so as not to move.

“They look about the right age. What is this uniform they’re wearing?” Hades asked.

“On Earth, these are fighting men. I was able to catch them right before an IED took out the entire platoon.” The man commented.

Typhon sniffed the container smelling, sand, and gunpowder, “So they're already trained?”

“With Earth weapons. You'll all need to do the explaining, about being in another world and all that.”

“That's fine. Anything else we should know?” Prometheus asked.

The man scratched his head before looking at Dionysus, remembering his outburst, “These are Americans. Bowing and scraping to a king, let alone a god, is anathema to them. So try to cut them some slack with blasphemy.”

All five of the gods balked at that.

“Should we really do this?” Hephaestus asked uncertainly.

“It's our last chance,” Prometheus answered, sadly.

The man handed the clipboard over to the gods. “Please, sign here.”

Each god took a moment to sign their consent. As soon as they did, the military men teleported outside the truck.

——

In an empty room of complete white, a squad of military men groggily wake up. Sgt. Lancaster was the first to wake, his head foggy and confused, his eyelids heavy, he tried to think, The last thing I remembered was someone yelling 'bomb' than a semi-truck ramming into our transport truck.

His eyes shot open at the memory, his body was stiff, and sore, as he took on his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was the bright white empty room, the second thing was the rest of his squad, splayed out all around him. Still unsure of the situation Sgt. Lancaster forced himself up, and quietly checked his squad. One by one he found them all breathing and shockingly, just asleep no visible damage. As he checked them he shook each one awake holding his hand up to stay quiet. He was waking Private Snider who was the farthest away from the others when he heard Private Roland, break the silence.

"So did we all die? Or are we, prisoners?" He turned to see Roland had pushed himself up against the perfectly white, and luminescent walls. He looked fine but Sgt. Lancaster realized he must have felt the same soreness as himself. He wanted to reprimand the Private but with how much of an unknown their current situation he gestured for him to keep his voice down.

The rest of the squad pushed themselves over to discuss in low voices. “I feel like I was hit by a truck. So, the jury’s still out.” Private York commented rubbing his legs.

“You are neither dead nor prisoners.” A majestic voice, coming from everywhere, spoke.

The sound of a disembodied voice startled the group, but they had been trained for situations like this, keeping their composure as the highest-ranking member, Sgt. Lancaster answered the voice. “Then where the hell are we?”

From nowhere, five entities appeared, led by the most human of them. Prometheus spoke, “We plucked you all out of your world the moment before death.”

Sgt. Lancaster narrowed his eyes, “Why?”

“Our world needs Heroes,” Prometheus answered, calmly.

Eying the strange entities Sgt. Lancaster laughed, “And what? you'll give us superpowers?” He still wasn’t convinced this wasn’t some ploy by the enemy, to get them to divulge secrets, that none of the men actually had.

“Yes.”

“Wait, really?” Sgt. Lancaster was completely caught off guard, by the things answer. Expecting it to make some excuse, but he had finally gotten a good look at the thing standing behind the man, and he was starting to lean towards this being, something he had only seen on tv. “Is this an isekai thing?” He asked having been familiar with the genre, having a few of his squad-mates talking about different books and anime.

Prometheus looked at the human confused, “I'm not familiar with the term, but you will be sent to a mana-rich world with the blessings of us Gods. You will learn magic and grow strong, hopefully saving our world from the void.”

“And why can't you just wave it away? You are Gods.” Private York, the team's demolitions expert asked annoyed, that she did not like where this was going.

“The void can only be fought when order is imposed on it, and once in our world, rules govern them.”

Private York tilted her head and clicked her tongue, “So, no then?”

“You insolent…” Waves of power rolled off Dionysus, “You should be bowing before us and thanking us for giving you this honor.”

The eyes of all the men hardened at the sudden change in demeanor, at such a drop of the hat.

Sgt. Lancaster stood defiantly in front of his team, “We bow before no one. God or otherwise.” His hand looking for something to use as a weapon.

Prometheus tried to placate the groups before things could escalate, “Let's all calm down. If you accept, you will be sent down to our world with a blessing granting you all the ability to grow at an unrivaled pace. If you don't, we can send you into the cycle of reincarnation.”

Sgt. Lancaster’s hand twitched to his side, before quickly getting himself back under control. “So, you'll kill us if we don't obey?” He wished there was some kind of protocol here, but they would just have to wing it.

“You would have died, and we can't send you back,” Prometheus explained trying to calm the man down.

Sgt. Lancaster gave the God a hard glare, “Is there a way back?”

“If you grow strong enough, and can fight back the void, then we should have enough power to send you back. For now, much of our power is tied up in holding these monsters back.” Prometheus explained.

The entire platoon looked at one another before they all stood, pushing through the pain.

Seeing the determination in their eyes, and remembering what it meant to be pulled to another world he asked, “This will save people?”

“Millions”

Sgt. Lancaster turned towards his squad, “Men you will all need to make your choice. I can not decide for you on this. But I, for one, am in.” A resounding cheer of confirmation from the group was heard.

Sgt. Lancaster laughed before turning back to the God, “I think we're in.”

“Great! You will get a translation skill and a growth skill. You will appear in the city of beasts. Do not be alarmed by their appearance. They will guide and teach you all.”

The men and Gods smiled, as the new Heroes were pulled through to another world.

——

Men and women are pulled to another plane of existence, as Del and Ge stood just outside perception by a massive semi-truck, impossibly ignored by all. The two were the only witnesses to the farce of the Gods.

“They know there's no reincarnation cycle, right?” Ge asked filled with nervous energy and annoyed at the scene.

Staring on in disgust, Del answered shortly, “Who knows?” He hated when the gods played these games with mortals. Treating them as pawns, even when they were there to save them. Especially, when it was their own dam fault. He had taken a look at the problem, and if they had worked together at all in the last century they wouldn’t need Heroes.

Ge was surprised by his anger, but it was what he said that really caught her attention, “Wait, is there?” She had never really given it much thought. So many of the Gods used reincarnation to trick the Heroes into working for them that she didn’t believe it was a real thing. Only that they could reincarnate the Hero themselves, with their memories, and even that was more or less just morphing them not really reincarnating them.

Del shrugged, “No one really knows.”

“Then what is all of...this.” Ge gestured to the place where the Gods had stood, and the area all around them.

“Yup, and I have no idea what lies beyond.” He answered matter of factly.

“Then, what is all this?”

Del turned towards Ge, “You’ve been riding with me, you should know.”

She stared at Del, no answer coming to her. So she glared at him, “I'm new.”

Sighing, Del tried to think of the right words to attempt to explain the complex nature of the job, “Think of it as a weigh station where souls gather.”

Ge thought for a time before hesitantly asking, “Like, a purgatory?”

“For some.”

“What would happen if they had refused?” She had always wondered. So far none of the Heroes had truly refused. Some had been against it but they were always convinced, that was if they even met the God that took them.

“Probably still sent them to the world. They're desperate, and they would have to hope the Heroes would still fight.”

“Why give the choice then?” She asked, unsure of why they would if the choice didn’t matter, then why give it at all?

Del was still looking at the place the Gods had put on their little play-act with disgust, as he answered, “To give them a sense of control. I mean, I would have been shocked if they said no, though.”

“Why?”

“People like to think they're grander than they are. That they are the main heroes of their own stories. And these men want to make a real difference. Now they can.” He answered, taring his eyes away. He was sick of dealing with this place.

She watched him turn, and head to the truck. “Has anyone ever made it back?” Ge asked tentatively.

Del let out a long sigh. “A few.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but the return is usually dangled as false hope. And some Gods are cruel, erasing the memory before sending them back. Sometimes it’s worse when they don’t.” Del spat, before taking one last look at the gods, “Let's go.”

Two people entered the truck, now empty having delivered their cargo. The engine started, and the vehicle left leaving no trace behind.