How cold! 

What pain!

What hatred...

These were his last memories. A reminder of his stupidity and incompetence as a human being.

Raphael Smith, a boy born in Brooklyn. A son of America and the suburbs, as they say.

His childhood could be described as gentle, even though he lived in a place as dangerous as New York.

Born in 2024, the boy witnessed much of humanity's evolution, as well as that of the country as a whole.

Even with the threat of war looming over the world, progress continues unabated.

By the time he turned fifteen, his poor family had suddenly joined the upper middle class. It was a life-changing breakthrough. His father had made a high-risk investment and may have used up all the luck in his life!

With his life changed, the boy finally managed to get his hands on the infamous Virtual Capsule, the object that gives access to the infamous VRMMORPGs.

With this object in hand, he plunged into a random venture to get to know this new world.

Unfortunately, his good fortune was short-lived. When he was seventeen, his father died, his mother fell into a coma and died soon after, and his older brother suddenly disappeared.

It was a very strange turn of events, especially as all his family's money had disappeared in the meantime.

Poor again, what could he do but scrape together his last savings and take his chances between success and failure?

In the year that this tragedy struck his family, a game was released that promised to be revolutionary. "Mythos: The Age of the Gods", the name of the turning point in his life.

With the experience gained from his previous games, he decided to focus on this game. He had to become a professional or simply die trying.

In Mythos, all the ancient myths are real. Zeus exists beside Mount Olympus, Odin sits above the Hall of Asgard, and Ra is in his boat preventing Apophis from destroying the world, as are Lucifer's Infernal Army and Yahweh's Celestial Legions. Every god worshipped by the ancients is there, lurking in this new world.

But other myths were also present in this game, such as HP Lovecraft's Eldritchs or the tales of the Brothers Grimm. Various stories were compressed into this strangely fantastic world.

Committed to this idea, he bought the game on the day of its release. The game really managed to revolutionise the market, the fact that it was 90% real and the magnificent construction of this universe went down in history.

But the game was difficult. Everything had to be worked out, but Raphael kept at it. With commitment and dedication, the boy became a true e-sports professional.

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He knew he had talent, even though he had only played casually before. With his life on the line, he simply expressed all that potential and became one of those at the forefront of this new world.

He became one of the "1000 Lords". With his position established, he earned enough money to support himself for years without working. He gained fame. He gained everything that can be gained in life.

But tragedy struck again. At the age of twenty, he discovered that his eyesight would disappear within two months.

He discovered that his feet and hands would stop working in four months, at eight months? He would completely lose the autonomy of his body.

A strange and different disease was consuming his vitality, and although he had spent all his money, the doctors could only delay the situation.

Desperate, he decided to spend his last months travelling the world on risky journeys. In the end, these travels only served as an accelerant, as if he were testing himself in search of death.

In the end, he really did get his death wish.

Lying on the snow, he felt the cold slicing through his body like razors, sending shivers through his entire being.

His eyes blurred, piercing the fog of destiny and the trees that grew like giants around him, surrounding him.

— Why...? — His whisper echoed with the glacial howls. 

His mind grew dull, his temperature dropped like a waterfall, but what could he do? His death had already been decreed by the heavens.

And his desire for death, to avoid a life as an incapacitated man, seemed to be slowly being fulfilled.

Accompanying his thoughts, his heartbeat slowed, tremors took over.

— I hate this. I hate all this shit! I hate you all, you bastards! — The weakness showed in his speech, the boy could only stammer reluctantly.

At this point, he couldn't even feel his legs, the shaking had gradually stopped. 

— Why was fate so cruel to me? Why did you take me away from them? — Tears streamed down his cold face. 

His grief soon turned to anger. It turned into hatred. It became something more. In the midst of the endless white snow, he roared with his last strength.

— I HATE THIS WORLD! I HATE THIS FUCKING DESTINY! I HATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU! — With a guttural scream, his voice echoed between the mountains, repeating itself into infinity.

— I SWEAR ON MY NAME AND MY FAMILY, IF DEATH IS NOT THE END... I WILL DESTROY THESE CHAINS... I WILL DESTROY THIS DAMNED FATE! THIS MISERABLE MISFORTUNE! THIS TRAGIC LIFE! I will live a good life... Without pain, without poverty, without death... — With tears streaming down his face, the last bit of warmth in his body disappeared. But something strange happened in his last moments.

— You really swear to that, man? Huh... OK then. It's really hard to go against the world, but since that's the case... I'll help you, Raphael boy! It'll be interesting. Have fun! Daughter, help me with this mortal! — A figure dressed in a green suit with snake-like eyes suddenly appeared in his almost blurred vision. It seemed to have the silhouette of a woman, but who cared? Smith cared little.

Those words were the last he'd ever heard from a human, even if he didn't know what they meant.

He repeated them to himself.

What pain!

What cold!

What hatred...

His body soon ceased to function, the pain that had consumed him disappearing along with his own mind.

In 2045, Raphael Smith died on one of his journeys around the world, falling into the snows of the Norwegian mountains. But that was not the end of him.

Without knowing how much time had passed, his mind returned from the darkness. 

When he opened his eyes, he was attacked by rays of light, but this was no match for Raphael.

The same could not be said for what he saw next. 

He felt the water hit his body, but his confusion didn't stop him from getting to his feet. Standing, he looked down and saw his reflection in the river.

What he saw terrified him. Green skin, jet black hair, small boar tusks protruding from its mouth, a face that resembled its former self... He recognised the creature at once. A Half-Orc. He... Half-Orc?

— AAAAAH!!!!! — With a terrible scream, the birds flew away in fright, the nearby animals ran, and he fell back into the water, unconscious.