Even Drew gets a little tired of rolling with the punches. He decided to try and not be a shut-in for once and visit some friends. The college town they lived in turned wild the night after a successful football game with even mild nerds like Drew and his friends hitting the town.
The partying could only last so long though as some of the only people without rich parents to fund their lifestyle. They meandered through urine filled alleys and traffic filled streets to continue the party at their place only for Drew to rapidly pass out on the couch beside his friends screaming about some fighting game.
That being such a common occurrence is what made the next events so strange to him. A relatively commanding feminine voice startled him into consciousness and slightly flickering fluorescent lights brought his vision back into play as he squinted down at his feet where a marble monolith the size of a small chair sat.
Emblazoned on the polished marble was a divine looking woman that appeared rather animated at first glance. The next glance made him realize she was talking to him and it was some kind of video set up to look like some kind of renaissance painting.
[https://imgur.com/a/I4EyRAu]https%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2FbYPZHj4.jpg [https://i.imgur.com/bYPZHj4.jpg][
Ever the pragmatic individual, Drew immediately started to look around instead of the strange thing in front of him which brought the next strange sight into view.
It was white for as far as the eye could see, yet there was no horizon to tell if it stopped at any point. No wall nor ceilings in sight, just a perfectly white area with no way to tell where the ground stops and the ceiling begins.
Almost impossible to describe, a surreal feeling overcame him in waves. The current dream he found himself in was strange compared to rather tame night time journeys he could remember having.
“Attention please.” The obelisk shouted at him from a few feet away or, more appropriately, spoke incredibly loudly into his head. The volume caused him to wince and look closer at the tablet.
The sheer lucidity of the state struck him as the strangest thing yet. The previous nights endeavors were completely intact in the front of his mind while the weird reality fought with his perception.
“Congratulations on being selected for an amazing adventure in my fascinating world! You will find interesting new life, friendly people, and adventures as far as the eye can see. Unfortunately, the servers for the planet you are headed to have been shut down due to declining player count. I am sure that will not hamper any of the fun you will be having."
"If you have any issues planet side then all you need to do is send the support staff a message using the integrated window system using the Menu verbal command with intent. As a conciliatory prize for being the last player to come over to my super fun world, you will receive a super fun skill. Merely say [Summon small creature] and throw your hands out to conjure an adorable little companion that will love you with all it has.”
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With his history of normal dreams and weird clarity, he thought about try lucid dreaming or whatever comparative things he could conjure up in his mind.
“Good luck and remember to have a super fun time in my super cool world to provide immense entertainment! Remember, you weren’t cheap.”
“Hey what about flying or maybe-”,Before he could finish, his scalp started melting from his body and he was drawn into the sky while his legs stayed planted firmly on the ground ,being stretched like a rubber band.
That wasn’t very dreamlike from what fleeting dreams he remembered. It was more like a psychedelic trip as his vision got stretched upwards as well. His stomach dropped as a strange sensation not completely different from mild food poisoning hit him too fast.
The person on the marble was still there smiling all saint-like with long platinum hair and oddly large eyes. It was definitely dreamlike in that regard. Her eyes became increasingly strange the longer he looked.
They covered a third of the face almost. All he could think of was the creepiness it added to her. She was slowly becoming more and more pale as well and a lot less divine than when he had first seen her.
“It will be permadeath, so do try not to die on us!”
Drew thought she seemed pretty chipper about that considering the topic of the conversation. Alternatively, it could have been his stretched ear canals as he was probably 20 feet tall all of the sudden.
His feet rapidly sprung up to meet his torso and his consciousness was sent flying through the stars like he was a rebounding spring. The idea that maybe this wasn’t some weird dream anymore became increasingly more likely and the possibility of being slipped a heroic dose of some crazy psychedelic took its place.
“Well this is mildly uncomfortable and paranoia inducing.” He quickly noted an eerie calmness washing over him like a flood of anesthetic gas seeping into his system. It was definitely some strong shit.
And now his perception was becoming more and more twisted. He felt like he was starting to embody a railgun slug being shot through the cosmos. His mind was working so fast but his actions were growing into themselves before he could act on his thoughts and he could see himself flying into the deep dark of space before being ripped right back on course, completely changing Drew’s reality.
The epitome of ego death overtook him wholly. In a bid to stay grounded in reality he focused on what made him Drew Carter.
“I love small animals which explains that weird send off gift, I'm human I think but that doesn't really help, no I shouldn't think that, I am Drew Carter, 22 years old, seeking a conservation biologist degree, you have a cat named Nurgle, you were just with your friends. Slow down man. Keep thinking. Thinking .Thinking.”
“Um. Uh, Uh. Okay. I am um. I am slowing down. I am still seeing crazy things but I still feel myself thinking which is probably good.”
Everything started to slow down again. A few large reddish worlds entered into his view. The thought that those were his friends' faces or something crept into his mind and this drug put some filter over his mind to turn them into such things.
Drew’s speed came to a crawl as a huge green, blue, and black world overtook his view and he was forced to take it all in. The planet looked like earth if someone glassed a fifth of all the land and the oceans were much more fragmented. It was kind of pretty though. All he could hope for was some sort of reprieve or someone to help him through this tough ride.
“Did my friends call some help? Are you a pretty paramedic giving me CPR?” Morbid thoughts quickly took over ,”AM I DYING!?!?”
All of a sudden a massive force launched him straight towards a lush part of that super massive world and some sparse gray building things came into view. He quickly noticed that it was his imminent destination. He was going to slam into the top of this building going well beyond terminal velocity. He felt like an elephant jumping from the Eiffel Tower. Nothing was going to stop his impending doom. Gone were the thoughts of an attractive paramedic only to be replaced with crippling anxiety. This trip needed to end already.