Mark thought it was just a regular day, rainy yet sunny. Just like it always is here. What he didn't suspect however, was that the door to the work break room would leave him floating in nothingness. After all, who would? If you say that you would, you're full of shit.
'Well this isn't the breakroom.. Where the hell am I?'
"Ah, surprising that you're still conscious here.. Most of you mere mortals hide in the deepest reaches of your fragile psyche during transition."
'Wait, was that in my head, or out loud?'
"Out loud you fledgling incarnate. I swear, they get more stupid each eon."
"Well if it is out loud, then who in the literal fuck are you? And what, or where, is this??"
"Ah, straight to aggression of course. Well, I might tell you if you ask nicely. Or I might not Hahahaha" The Faceless and Nameless entity mocked.
Now, Mark wasn't the smartest, but he also wasn't so dumb as to challenge some unknown existence that he (he assumes) transported him to this vast nothingness. That being said, Mark decided to clear his mind just in case this.. Thing could hear his thoughts. After all, working in customer service everyone learns how to keep their impulses in check. Mark somehow took a deep breath before speaking.
"You are absolutely right! I am so sorry for getting angry without hearing your side of this situation. Would you please explain to me, what exactly is going on here? And if at all possible, I would like to be back before my 10 minute break is over. I have to pick my son up from daycare after work."
Now, this may seem a bit strange of a request to you, my wonderful readers, but to Mark, this feels fairly similar to one of the out of body experiences he had when doing copious amounts of drugs in high school. He just hoped that this was nothing like the manga or books he always read after getting his son to sleep. That, would be bad.
"I'm afraid I can't fulfill that second request of yours, because yes, this IS like the books. Though I could sense the snide attitude in you, and I use this term lightly, apology. I will take it at face value and give you a little insight."
Just as he finished the last word, knowledge flooded Mark's mind. or.. existence? He still wasn't sure if he was still in his body or if he was just a spirit floating in nothingness.
'Oh fuuuuuuck' thought Mark as his brain ( we are going to go with that for now since it felt like it) was set aflame with the history and geography of an entirely new world flooded him.
"Hmm it seems that Humans can't handle this simple action unless they are unconscious. A pity really. Seeing as if I had infused you with all the knowledge of Korbis, you would have ended up a shambling husk of a sentient, I decided to only give you that which you will need. That of your 'starter area' as it would be called in your simple video games."
Mark could barely understand what this being was saying, his head hurt so bad. Yet, once he was able to get control of himself he thought on it.
"I.. What about my son?? You expect me to just go along with never seeing him again? Doing whatever stupid shit you have planned for me and forgetting my old life? Who the fuck do you think you are?"
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Mark went against everything he had just planned on moments earlier. When it came to his child logic went out the window. He knew this, and he knew he was probably signing his own death warrant. Yet he didn't care. He would rather be dead than to never see his son again.
The entity could sense this, and though Mark couldn't see it, he could hear the smirk in this being's voice.
"Well well well, someone doesn't seem to have any emotional control. Do they? I'll let it slide this once, but in the future I will expect for you to know your lowly place."
Mark was absolutely fuming now, but he pushed it down. Now that he knew he had no chance of returning home, he had the goal of making a deal. A deal that would guarantee he at least got to see his son grow up.
"Ok, so. You've abducted me against my will, taken me from all I hold dear, and have what I assume is some grand plan to either have me be the savior or destroyer of this "Korbis". Did I get that right?"
'Yes, that about sums it up. In the simplest of ways. Why I think even a goblin could give a better synopsis. Now, before anything else though, I would like to give you a boon as both a sign of my minimal respect for being the first mortal I've brought through that could be conscious during transplant and also as an apology for the pain you have and will endure in your time here. So, when you wake up in your starter area make sure to pay extra attention to your prompts."
Mark had no idea what this boon would entail, but hopefully it was something super rare. Something like from that one book he read, that would let him have no max limit on his skills, or something that gave him an increased gain on a chosen skill. The likelihood of that was low, of course, but he could hope none the less.
"Please understand, this is only a boon and not a Boon, and as such will not be overpowered like Unchained or Limit Breaker. It will probably be something rather useless, for example, this one time XERSIAN gave his summon the boon of Waterbreathing, and the fool went and chose an aquatic race! Ahahaha"
While this "person", and Mark used the term sparingly, was getting themselves under control Mark took the chance to think on what was said. It seemed that he will be able to choose his race, and who knows what else he would be able to do. If this really was like his books, he was excited to find out what his stats were going to be like. Plenty of time to think on that later though, for now he had to get back to making a deal, if only the stupid entity would let him talk.
Finally, the Deity got himself under control, and Mark made his attempt.
"Yahknow, I'm not sure what you chose me for let alone why you chose me, but since this is the situation I find myself in I would like to make a deal."
All levity left the entities face at that uttering. and a dark aura came over the vast expanse of nothingness, one that spiked fear into Mark's heart.
"Boy, do you know the seriousness of making a deal with a HIGHER DEITY like myself? This is no simple matter, This will be a binding contract witnessed by the 14 and affirmed by the Universe itself. Are you sure you want to do something so drastic before even setting foot on the planet you will spend the rest of your tiny life?"
This caught Mark off guard, as he would have assumed this thing would want him to go into such an agreement with as little warning as possible. Most of the stories have an MC dumb as nails who makes bargains with powerful beings that are heavily weighed against them after all. Now that he was thinking about it, he almost made that very mistake himself and would have if not for this god being so honest. Which is what shocked him the most.
"What exactly does a deal entail then? What happens if one of us were to go back on our side of the bargain? Will you promise to be as forthright and honest as you can be?"
Mark knew he wasn't going to get complete honesty out of this guy, let alone a good deal, but he could always hope.
"I make no promises to the extent of my honesty, as for what a deal entails.. Mmm, basically whatever it is you desire out of it, you must sacrifice something of equal value. As your old earth adage goes, an eye for an eye. Should one of us fail to uphold our end, the consequences would be severe. Well, mainly on your end, I am a God after all."
This was quite in line with what Mark was expecting in truth, but it did bother him that it would only come back on him if he didn't follow through.
'Well, that's just how it's gonna be I guess. The fucker'
"Ok, fine, yeah. I'm sure I want to do this."