Chapter 1: A World in Chaos

Lieutenant Anthony walked into the office. It was his first day working as someone managing such a big team. This new department they created to spectate and process the disappeared people was truly huge. Even this team he was assigned to was relatively small; only around 30 people worked on it. As Anthony was walking to his desk in a separate room, he observed all the people working. Bags under eyes, cups of coffee on desks, messy hair, and slouched postures stood in stark contrast to Anthony's own appearance: a broad back, high-and-tight brown hair neatly styled, and a fresh face beaming with life. Keyboard clatter and the rustle of paper sheets could be heard throughout the office. Nobody even noticed him.

"I guess I won't be seeing my wife soon," Anthony chuckled quietly to himself.

After settling in, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. It was Officer Daniels, one of the lead operations officers in charge of reviewing hero candidates.

"Sir, we got close to 20 thousand candidates to process. Many show promise, but there's one you should review personally."

Anthony nodded, standing up to follow Daniels through the maze of desks and screens, noting the man’s lanky frame and blonde hair cropped close in a standard military cut. The circles under his eyes told Anthony everything he needed to know about the work-life of his colleague these days. The room buzzed with activity—monitors showing live feeds of those claimed as "heroes" by the otherworld Goddess.

"It all sounds like a fever dream," thought Anthony. The world had plunged into pure chaos during the first week after the mass disappearance; even now the chaos was not fully subdued, and other less fortunate countries had it even worse. Anthony was grateful that at least none of the people close to him disappeared, but he still felt bad for all the other people suffering right now.

Officer Daniels noticed the grim face of Lieutenant Anthony and guessed his thoughts.

"Around 10 million lost only in the US... My wife..." said Daniels, sadness evident in his last words. "Chaotic times, lieutenant, but we have to push through," he said with a faint smile.

Anthony decided to change the topic to avoid worsening the mood even more.

"Yeah, you are right; if we, the military, aren't cool-minded, who will be... And by the way, do you believe the entity we heard that day in our hearts was actually the God?" asked Anthony.

What was Anthony talking about? On the day of the mass disappearance, a voice was heard by each and every human, as if from the depths of their hearts, as if from an organ they never knew they had.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I don't know, to be honest. I believed it at first. But the method we use to watch the teleported people is too cheap for me to believe he's actually an almighty being that many of our religions bow to and love. Like, really? A crappy site!? How cheap can you be? Even I can do a better site!" said Daniels, a bit annoyed as they reached his desk.

"He is right; the 'God' that communicated with them ultimately gave them the crappiest way to operate this whole thing. And not much divine help with interworld trades, but that's a whole other topic," thought Anthony, blankly looking at information about the candidates that Daniels was passing through on his computer.

"Hm, I agree, and the existence of the Goddess shows that the God in question isn't the one we thought of as a God originally before all this. Well, let's focus on the job now and leave it for later," said Anthony, focusing on the monitor.

"Ah, here he is," said Daniels, and put the information file on one monitor and the live feed of the otherworld on another. "Ethan Walker, 23 years old, office worker. His physical condition seems average, but what's intriguing is his behavior. Unlike the majority of the candidates, who are either in a lost state of mind, shocked, or showing signs of rage, he seems... calm, almost cheerful."

Anthony scanned the file and looked back to the live feed, eyes narrowing as he noticed some details. "What's with the burns? And why does he look perfectly fine on the live feed?"

"Ah, I looked him up a bit further, and he's the victim of the Illinois State orphanage fire incident. I will send you the documents with the research later."

Lieutenant Anthony felt a chill crawl up his spine. Of course, he knew about this incident; how couldn't he? It was on the news of the whole country.

"Do so; I need all the documents and information on candidates with promises."

Daniels nodded grimly. "We are theorizing all health-related issues get healed for heroes upon being teleported. We also speculate that the initial period in those cells, a minimum of one week stay, is meant for the disabled heroes to acclimate physically and mentally. There were instances of blind people seeing and paralyzed patients walking again," said Daniels. "A blessing disguised as a curse, or a curse disguised as a blessing?" he muttered to himself.

"His mental state?" asked Anthony. "Do you think he's stable enough to handle it?"

Daniels just found a clipped video of Ethan's live feed. It was Ethan speaking, his voice oddly upbeat and excited. "At least clipping is possible," Daniels muttered.

"Send me some weights, barbells, dumbbells, weight vests, and training dummies!" Ethan said, repeating the request slowly, as if he were making sure to be understood. "S E N D M E..."

Anthony raised an eyebrow, and Daniels quickly explained. "He probably doesn't know we can hear him, so he's saying it slowly to help us lip-read. Smart, actually."

Lieutenant exhaled, processing information. "Such a young guy going through this, and there are even younger than him there; are we just entertainment to those higher beings? Fuck."

"Well, he's certainly... something. Approve the supplies. Send him high-quality gear. And we'll put him into the Promise rank in the ranking system the centrals came up with. Let's see how he performs, but don't go overboard," said Lieutenant.

Daniels nodded. "Understood, sir."

Anthony was leaving but turned his head slightly, his voice softer and more personal. "Daniel, let's have some beer after work time. Like we used to."

There was a moment of silence between them, an understanding unspoken but felt. A bittersweet smile crossed Daniels's face—a smile weighed down by the chaotic times they were living through.

"Of course, friend."