Everything is hazy as a soft wind blows dirt from my face. My head is pounding and I almost hurl as my thoughts and the world seem to spin. I slowly open my eyes to see the soft light of the moon illuminating my slacks. My rifle lays a meter or so away in the dirt, strap ripped and a bit cosmetically worse for wear but otherwise seems ok. Forcing my aching body to move, I crawl towards it and pick it up, tying the frayed ends of the strap together and hanging it on my back once more.

I struggle to stand, wincing as my back protests the movement, and limp back towards where the fight occurred, lifting my eyes from the ground to finally get a good look at the area in the moonlight. The details are hard to see but all of the vegetation in the area is burnt to a crisp, the charcoaled trunks of the trees barren. I make my way back toward the rock that had saved my life and run my hand over the smooth section that had turned to obsidian. I look into the crater that began just after the rock and see only the bones of the Spectral Dragon Emperor.

Figuring I have nothing to fear and wanting a bit of a souvenir, I slowly slide down the walls of the crater, stumbling toward the center. I pick up a few small pieces of dragon bone before a glint catches my eye in the moonlight. I limp over and dig the item up, brushing the dirt and ash off gently. Then I gasp in horror and surprise. It's the Hero's token, the item that was embedded in his armor as proof of his status and association with the Opalia Realm. The only way this could be here... was if the Hero had perished. I look around me to see bits and pieces of armor from the others in the Hero's party as well, mortified to realize that everyone who was here is dead except for me.

I stumble backward and fall to the ground, still horrified at the prospect. Without the Hero what will we do about the Spectral Sorcerer's armies now?! Everyone will descend into panic and madness as the only reason we stood a chance before was because of him and his party. I don't know much about the fight but I'm not stupid enough to not realize the gravity of the situation with this new development. I clutch the coin, closing my eyes at just what exactly this means for myself and the world.

Suddenly the light of the moon gets brighter though, and I open my eyes as the light begins to reflect off the coin brighter than any magic lantern. The light continues to increase in intensity and I feel myself become seemingly weightless. Confused, I look down at myself and my surroundings as I struggle to understand what is happening. Still very much confused and with rising concern in my throat, I watch as my feet rise off of the churned dirk below them. I gasp as my body slowly begins to float off the ground and I panic, reaching for the dirt wildly as I'm pulled upwards. I'm still holding onto the coin, trying to use it as a paddle to get back to the shrinking ground below me. My ascent stops quickly and I pause my hopeless struggle for a second only for a flash of light and... warmth? to surround me and I feel a strange dissociating and slightly nauseating sensation as my view blurs together with color and light.

The sensation stops abruptly and I land somewhat harshly on a solid and smooth floor that feels slightly warm. Blinking to clear the light spots from my eyes, I gasp to see I am no longer in the crater, but in an impossibly immense room. The floor I sit on now seems to hold the entire universe, swirling and shifting slowly, stars gently blinking and pulsing. It is dark in here, but I can see just fine, and I look around to notice a group of people just behind me standing in front of 5 large thrones. Each glows a soft and unique color, obscuring much of the details of their form. They seem to all be staring at me intently as I look around and try to regain my bearings.

My disorientation wears off and my brain finally pieces together what little information it has gathered. Quickly realizing I must be in the presence of some powerful people, considering they teleported me here and their aura, I quickly stand and bow, too scared to say a word. I hear small giggles that are quickly stifled and look up tentatively. The female of the group is covering her mouth with the sleeve of her fancy robe, quickly clearing her throat and regaining her composure. I stand up from my bow carefully and tentatively look at them, unsure if I am allowed to but somewhat relieved I won't be turned to ash or anything for doing so as I had already looked at them when I first arrived.

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The man in the middle begins to speak, "Welcome Rualta, to the realm of the Gods. I assume you have an idea as to why you are here?" He says, his voice reverberating throughout the space, his color a soft yellow-gold. I nod slightly and work up the courage to reply. "I'm assuming... it's because the hero... died..." I say shakily. The 5 nod in unison and I swallow. "So... what now?"

The farthest left personage speaks, his color bright grassy green, "That's what we have summoned you here for. With the Hero dead and the world now in danger of annihilation by the Spectral Sorcerer, we need a new Hero." he says, his voice reminiscent of wind chimes. There is a pause.

I nervously speak again, reaching for the strap of my rifle to realize it isn't there, "So can't you just summon another one? I heard the Hero came from another world right?"

The woman who had giggled before, a soft white color, replies, "Summoning the Hero requires a great ceremony on the part of the people of the world, and involves a lot of resources and the perfect conditions. We pulled some strings to make this most recent summoning happen, but that is not something we can do again for at least another 100 years. We have no other options except for..." she trails off, her voice light and airy.

"Me... right?" I nervously state what I realize everyone is alluding to. They all nod again. I sigh stressfully, "But I'm just a hunter, I have no real combat skills or special abilities, and I have only ever done a typical fire spell or two. Not to mention the people would never believe me if I show up with the Hero's token and tell them that the Hero accidentally killed himself and I'm the new one."

The god on the left of the center one speaks this time, his voice gravely and his color a deep hazel, "That's why no one will ever know of the Hero's passing besides you."

I'm immediately confused, "But how will that work?"

The god on the right of the center one replies, his color a clear glowing blue with a smooth flowing voice, "We will simply make you the image of the previous Hero." The white goddess brings out a swirling orb of smaller twinkling lights from behind her. "These are the powers of the fallen Hero, returned to us after his passing. We will be giving these to you, as well as a set of armor in the Hero's likeness that is near-unbreakable and unremovable unless you desire to and are not being watched by any other intelligent being of your world. As Gods, we cannot directly change things such as your physical appearance as it holds your innate sense of self and if we were to alter it you would lose that. We will give you the knowledge of how to change your voice with magic though. Now, all we need is your cooperation."

The Golden God speaks again, "We are not all-powerful, and if you do not wish to carry this burden you will not be forced to do so. However, you must understand that you are the only person who can fulfill this role. No one else was present during the Hero's death, and due to the special circumstances, we cannot offer this to anyone else should you decline. The world will be sentenced to ruin without you."

I swallow and look at each of their glowing figures as they wait expectantly for my answer. While I am just a simple hunter, I don't really have a choice in the matter do I? I'm not so callous as to think the world's troubles are not my problem. After all, if the Hero hadn't stopped the Spectral Dragon Emperor, it likely would have flattened my village. I wasn't sure if I was really up to the task, but thinking about it any longer would only waste the Gods' time.

"I'll do it." I say confidently, my voice wavering a bit at the end. The white Goddess smiles and says "Thank you, sweet child." The rest of them also voice their appreciation and the Goddess sends the orb over to me. I reach out and 'catch' it, only to have it burst open and the lights swirl and envelope me. Over the swirling beams, I can see the other Gods reach out their hands and send something toward me. Armor in the Hero's likeness forms and envelopes me. A helmet with a V-shaped visor settles over my head, the visor the same as the Hero's but then is covered by a transparent blue material, probably to prevent recognition through my eyes.

I feel the warmth of the lights settling in my body and everything fades to darkness as I see the Goddess waving goodbye, whispering "Welcome to the Hero's life, Levi Halestorm."