"I'm sorry sir but she didn't make it." The doctor said. "I'll give you a moment in the room with her. Unfortunately this is an ICU and we're going to have to have her moved. However I can buy you like 5 minutes to make your peace."

Slowly, Evan open the door to the hospital room. In the bed, eyes closed, a peaceful smile on her face, she was there. His girlfriend laid, as if she hadn't just been horrifically attacked. Who knew that one simple event could change someone's entire life.

He reached up with his left hand and began to cradle the side of her still warm face. Those beautiful brown eyes that he can no longer see. The heartfelt laugh he would never hear again. The beautiful voice he would never again hear sing.

"It should have been me" He said to the silent room. A tear ran down his cheek. "I... I should have been the one... the one lying in this bed not you. All of your hopes and dreams to save people. The plan to go to other countries, to other places, Africa. All of that. For what? You were stopped by a guy running down the street with a knife. To make it worse you jumped in front of me."

He covered his face with his hands and slowly massage his temples.

"I just don't understand why you did that for me. And now I'm here alone. I miss you. You... the only saving grace is that it wasn't me who left you alone. I don't know how I could feel if I left you alone in this world."

He took a deep breath, in and out. It was going to be fine. It was going to be fine. Maybe he could pursue her dreams. But how. He had just been kicked out of law School. It hadn't even been like a week or two. One single instance, one mess up, screwed up everything his entire 10-year plan. How could he make an impact now. He wasn't as altruistic as she was.

He didn't care about the starving children in africa. He didn't care about the people who are homeless in the streets. He just wanted to survive. He had picked out getting this far with the family that he had grew up with. The abuse, the trauma. And for what? To be left in this positio; the only thing that anchored him to this world. The only thing that had kept him sane was lying here in this bed on a never-ending slumber.

"I'll never forget you." He said out loud. "I'll never forget your face. Your smile. The way you used to look at me whenever I would tell a stupid silly joke. I'll never forget the moments we had together and your dream. I'll make a promise to you. Well it may not be helping the kids in Afric, but I'll go somewhere or I'll do something that'll help someone. I'll try my best to extend your will. That's the least I can do after everything you've done for me."

And as he finished his declaration he look up. Standing there was a bright blue portal. In an instant the portal had just appeared. No sound, not slow pulse, just one second there was empty air and the next second there was a grassy plane. It extended this far as the eye could see.

On the edge of the horizon mountains taller than anything he'd ever seen. Mountains that dwarfed what you could find on Earth. It had to be a different world.

It was then that an old man stepped through the portal and into the room. He had a crook in his neck and was hunched precariously over a thin wooden cane. It seemed to barely support his weight. Appearing as if it could snap at any moment. One his head was a tall dark-indigo pointy hat. He was wearing robes in a matching color. Appearing like some wizard you would see in a story or some kind of TV show.

"Young man..." the old man began. His silky white beard draping across the linoleum floor.

"Yes I'll help you." Evan replied. There had been no hesitation. Heck, he had cut off the old man's sentence. Before he even finished, he was through the portal.

"But I haven't even told you the quest." The old man said in reply. " It'll be dangerous, mind you."

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I said I'll do it. Now, what do you want me to do? Is there some guy to grant me some op power like what direction is this going.?" Evan replied.

"Well aren't you a feisty one." The old man said. " As you wish. I am the warlock Alden. I have come to your world to seek your aid in banishing the dark one from our realm."

"Yeah, yeah I've seen enough. I've read enough to understand how this goes. You don't have to go too into details just point me in the right direction. Give me a run down a situation and I think I can figure it out."

"Beyond those mountains," the old man said pointing far off into the distance. "Their lies a kingdom. And in this Kingdom a new ruler has taken hold. They preach blasphemy. They will ruin this world and it is your job your goal to stop them. You have 345 days before their rule becomes permanent. And I will warn you they are the most powerful being I've ever witnessed. The best I can give you is the opportunity to drop power from where I do. I can set up a meeting with a dark God. And he can bestow upon you great gifts that you can use to defeat this being."

The old man sagged feeling a good deal winded from his finished proposal.

"Okay, what do I got to do?" Evan replied.

How many books have he read? How many anime? How many times had he dreamed that this would happen to him.

"Well when one door closes another door opens." Evan muttered to himself.

"What wise adage is that?!" The old man asked craning his already crooked neck. "I have never heard something like that. Do you not wish inquire as to how I summoned you here? "

"I mean I assumed that you tossed up sort of spell or made some kind of call to a deity and boom the portal opened." Evan said. The old man looked taken aback.

"I, I mean it's not that easy." the old man stuttered. "But basically that is the gist. It was my dark God that called you here and breached the barriers between our worlds. I know not of where you come from. I just knew you were the right one according to his will."

"Okay." Evan said. He gestures outward with his hands. "I'm here now. So... how do I make contact with your God?" He really wanted to get this random escapism journey started.

"Oh it's... it's very easy young man. All you have to do is draw your blood and then paint an X mark on your forehead. After doing so lay down, close your eyes and when you open them you will be in his presence. It's that simple." The old man smiled a creepy icky smiled but Evan just put that down to him being from another world. Who knows what kind of things got lost in translation.

"When in Rome." Evan said. He shrugged and pulled out a small pocket knife that he had been carrying with him.

The old man winced as he saw him without hesitation cut himself. And he watched as the strange young man took his index finger from his other hand and slowly painted an x on his forehead. The young man then laid down and closed his eyes.

"Without hesitation" the old man mutter out loud. "He didn't even question if I was trying to trick him or trap him. He didn't even balk at the the pain or what anything meant. This was too easy."

"What was that?" Evan said curiously his eye peaking from behind an eyelid.

"What? Hmmm?" The old man asked. He forgot that he wasn't alone. "Oh, oh nothing. Nothing. Itll be over in a moment."

The old man looked around at the now barren landscape. He then pulled out a sharp wooden stake and slammed it to the head of the young man laying on the ground.

"I guess that was an easy sacrifice." The old man said. As he dropped the steak and started wiping his hands together. He reached out with his arms held high. Eyes closed he said a prayer to his deity.

"Dark God! I call to you! I have sacrificed an innocent one from the world beyond! As you have requested. Grant me the power to slay my enemies. Grant me the power to overthrow this tyrant King."

Evans body begin to dissolve into a gooey black substance. It bubbled and roiled like tar. The liquid began to sink deep, deep into the Earth black smoke rising in its wake. However nothing happened. The old man leaned harder on his Cane, perplexed. He looked at the sky, his eyes quickly glancing left right nothing. Nope no overwhelming power. And worse off the young man was now gone. What was he to do?

He had came to that demon for power. And it had sad to go through the portal and convince the one on the other side to come through and he would be granted the power he seeks. And yet he had done all of that and nothing.

"Dark God?" The old man asked out loud. "What is this? Where is the power that you were meant to give me? I did what you asked."

Still he was left with nothing but the howling wind. The grass that billowed in breeze. He sighed a deep heavy sigh that could only be born from decades of wandering aimlessly trying to overthrow Kingdom after kingdom. And this long old life, it had been the same every time. Each and every dark master would just ignore him after he had done what they asked.

What kind of warlock was he? A terrible one? No. It was the other beings who were incompetent. They they would bond with the girl instead of him. That was not fair. He would have to just go and kill her himself. And so he turned around and started walking towards the mountains. Maybe the dragons would help him this time.