“My exalted Lord I fear the rumors are true. No matter the affliction, death evades us.” An armored man quickly kneeled to his lord making sure to never meet his eyes. The lord was a stout man looking to be in his mid-50’s. His pale white skin accentuated by his long white hair and trim beard. The lord’s once yellow eyes were now stained red and his face a mess with his tears.

“Rise Virgil. For it was not by your hand that we have been abandoned.” His voice crackling and quickly fading as the words left his mouth. Virgil stood by his lord’s command, the steel plates of his dented and worn armor creaking and bending as he rose. “There is more my Lord, it appears that life eludes us with as much vigor as death. All that once was fertile has now gone barren. None in Utradem have been spared.”

***

“Daniel it’s time to get out of bed!”

I always wake up to those words. Every time it goes from complete darkness to a sudden commotion as my world comes to life. Every morning I always look straight up into my uncaring ceiling still covered in those lame glow-in-the-dark stars I got back in the 3rd grade. I always wish I would wake up to something other than that uncaring ceiling. To wake up to anything but my Mom’s excessive yelling.

“Come on Daniel its time for school!” The words accentuated with a few hard knocks on my door.

“I’m coming Mom!” I replied in my raspy “just woke up” voice. It’s always a pain in the ass to get out of bed. To get up and live just another boring day of my boring life. I take comfort in the sound of her feet trudging done the steps. Looks like I would get a few extra minutes of sleep after all. After a few more minutes of pure bliss. My door is violently flung open.

“Daniel Alighieri get you fatass out of bed already!” This new annoying high pitch voice came from none other than my charming younger sister, Julia.

“Julia what did I say about opening the door!” I yelled back. 

The words come out by reflex at this point. Every single part of this morning routine completely committed to muscle memory. Julia was a rather good-looking girl for her age. She had a pretty face with the long auburn hair and blue eyes that ran in the family. Her athletic body only helped show off her curves. Though her shapely body was completely wasted on her terrible personality. I on the other hand was a solid 3/10 on the looks scale and had a body the shape of a gourd. At least, if Julia’s constant insults were to be believed.

If only I could have a sexy childhood friend wake me up instead, or at least a sister who had a better personality then an unwashed sock. Why couldn’t I be a harem protagonist or better yet an isekai harem protagonist. Oh, what I wouldn’t give to leave this shitty family behind to go on an adventure in another world. Maybe then my mornings wouldn’t be such a drag. A sharp pain in my chest pulled me from my thoughts just in time to see a book bounce off my stomach.

The bitch actually threw a book at me! My eyes shot to my sister. She simply gave me a scowl as I continued to glare daggers at her, failing to put my anger and astonishment into proper words. Our eyes locked in a wordless battle. Both of us trying to send as much despise and hatred as we could at the other. The staring contest was soon interrupted however as our Mother called us both down to breakfast.

“Daniel and Julia hurry up before your eggs get cold!”

With a “tch” Julia finally evacuated from my doorway and I made my way to get changed. I spent quite a while staring at my dresser trying to think of what to wear, not like it matters since my college has no dress code. After a fair amount of contemplation, I pulled on a black t-shirt and jeans and sped out of my room. As I made my way down the steps, I was able to make out the tail end of an argument between my Father and older brother.

“…how am I supposed to make any money in this economy? I can’t pay rent if I don’t have a job, and I can’t get a job because your generation mucked everything up!” I was honestly surprised I didn’t hear Tom’s angry rant earlier considering the volume. Dad’s deadpan voice soon responded.

“I’m not forcing you to find an apartment. You are welcome in my home for as long as you need to get on your feet. But as long as you stay here you will obey my rules. This was and never will be up for debate.”

Oh god they were at it again. Tom’s tall and thin form half-sitting and half-standing as he continued his argument over the table. A stark contrast to his Dad’s calm and unbothered form simply eating away at his breakfast. Tom and Dad could never see eye to eye, no matter the issue. Every day it was a new argument. “you’re out to late at night.” or “yes, you have to attend church with the rest of the family.” or my personal favorite, “Why do you always smell like smoke when you come home?”

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All of this was just an extra layer of fun to my already terrible life. Before anyone could notice my presence, I quickly scooped up my breakfast and took it straight back to my room. If there was anything good about having Tom home, it was that Dad was always to busy to notice when I wasn’t around during mealtime.

After I finished eating and spent a fair amount of time surfing the internet. It was finally time for me to head to class. I unceremoniously powered down my PC and threw my half-charged laptop into my backpack. I grabbed the keys to the old beat-up van I drove and pushed my way through my family to the door. My mom let out a final “I love you Daniel! Have a good day at school!” which I promptly ignored as I started the car.

The drive to college was as boring as always and I made it there in 15 minutes flat. As I made my way to my first class, general economics, I started day dreaming. Imagining what my life could have been like in another time. I could have been a hero. Slaying dragons and leading armies winning hearts and bringing peace to all the lands. I mean honestly any world with magic HAS to be about a thousand times better than this one.

I arrived a little over 5 minutes before class and was greeted by the sound of conversation and laughter as I made my way to my seat. My beautiful daydreams of courting princesses were swiftly ended as I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“Hey, Dan how’s it going.” Oh, great Zach found me.

“Pretty good. How about you?” I replied automatically.

I was honestly hoping he wouldn’t answer. Honestly, Zach doesn’t deserve all the hate I give him. He’s just one of “those” guys you know. He has everything anyone could or would ever want. He’s athletic, good looking, charming, smart, and rich. Not to mention his girlfriend is hot as hell. I honestly don’t understand why he wastes his time on someone like me. Cause God knows he isn’t doing it to make friends with me. Maybe he lost a bet? Maybe its some form of practical joke or prank to give me a false sense of security? I don’t know.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts AGAIN by the arrival of my classmate Emma. Where does a guy have to go to just be alone with his thoughts? Emma is in three of my classes and seems to always sit next to me. We study togethor sometimes and she is about all the interaction I have with the opposite sex outside of my family. If only she was a bit better looking. Emma has long raven black hair and piercing green eyes that she often hides behind her glasses. Her skin is covered in acne and she is about as flat as a surfboard though, so she doesn’t exactly fit in the eye candy category.

After a boring day at college only made better by the buffet style desert bar in the cafeteria. I was finally able to go home. I crashed through the front door and sped up the stairs into my room like a hurricane. It was so fast that my Mom didn’t even get the chance to utter a “welcome back” before I was locked behind the door of my room.

My safe haven.

I threw my backpack on top of my mess of a desk and jumped face first on to my unmade bed. I laid there for a good amount of time before pulling out my cellphone and bringing up my favorite web novel. That said I’m pretty sure I’m gonna drop it soon I mean its just gotten so bad ever since the author introduced that stupid goody two-shoes Mary Sue character. Not to mention more and more chapters are coming from her point of view instead of the MC. The author is literally taking away the best part of the novel despite all the fan feedback. Ugh, what a shitty day.

A few hours later and a few angry reviews from alternate accounts I finally gave up on the internet and continued my mindless staring into the uncaring ceiling. Thats when it happens. The once noisy house full of life instantly goes eerily silent. Not for a moment but for what felt like an eternity. Mom should still be at home and I know Tom hasn’t left the house. I don’t know why the silence has me so worried, but I just can’t stop feeling anxious. Something has to be wrong. I slowly make my way from the bed to my door trying to be as quiet as possible. To my surprise I managed to make it all the way across the room without making so much as a peep. Something is definitely wrong. I slowly wrap my hand around the doorknob and twist. Only it doesn’t budge.

I really start to panic now, even when Julia locks the door as a stupid prank it budges a little. I finally threw stealth to the wind and yelled out to my family. Yet there is no sound. I can feel my mouth and throat move yet no matter how hard I scream or yell nothing happens. Just silence.

Silence.

The lights begin to flicker, at first it was slow and rhythmic. Yet soon it became frantic. The lights turning off and on again over and over until they finally give into the pressure and break. A shower of sparks rained down on me before quickly fading into nothingness. Darkness envelopes the room, only interrupted by the faded glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. A soft wind then enters from underneath the door.

I jump from the sudden gust. The wind slowly wraps around my left leg its chilly touch piercing all the way to the bone.

No. No no no no no no no no no no!

This is bad! I can’t tell why I know but I do. I run from the door jumping onto the top of my bed trying to get as far away as possible. To no avail. The chilly wind moves up further. Now encompassing my entire lower body. I start to cry out for help. Yet still I can't make a sound. As if waiting for this opportunity the wind rushes up and plunges deep into my throat and watery eyes. The cold tearing my body apart.

This is how I die. Shit its finally sinking in.

I’m going to die.

I continue to panic and struggle. At this point my body is so numb due to the cold that I can’t even tell if I’m moving. My mind goes blank. I really am going to die. The last thing I see is the fake starry sky of my ceiling as the cold wind takes my eyes and everything goes black.