"Damn."

My heart pounded with a mixture of fear and exhaustion. We had been moving through this warehouse for over an hour and I still couldn't find a way out. The warehouse was somehow larger on the inside. I shook Alexandria again hoping she would wake up. They had done something to her, a black symbol that looked like a pentagram with archaic symbols in its center was cut into her chest. I shook my head and pushed those thoughts out of my head. I needed to focus on what needed to be done. I scanned around the room until I found a large steel drum. I moved to it not giving myself a moment to think about what I was doing. I gently placed her down and opened the drum. Thankfully it was empty.

"I love you." I did my best to keep the pain and sorrow out of my voice. Hopefully, she wouldn't remember any of this when she woke up. I wasn't sure what more to say to her, rather there were so many things that I wanted to say that if I started now I wouldn't be able to do what I had to. Instead, I gave her a smile.

"Take care of yourself and apologize to Mom and Dad for me." I took a deep breath and hardened my resolve. I placed her in the drum, covered the top leaving enough space for air to get in, and then pushed the drum back to where he found it. A door slammed and drew my focus back to the world around us. Time was running out. I stood and flexed my arms. The anger that had been smoldering beneath the surface turned into an inferno.

I turned my attention to the smartwatch on my wrist. I tapped on the scream hoping to hear the sweet voice of the A.I. The silence was deafening. A pipe-laying against the wall to my right drew my eye. I made my way over and lifted it into the air. It was as long as my arm and as thick as a baseball bat. I looked over to the drum that held my sister. "Hopefully if I draw enough of their attention they will leave you alone and you can get out."

I gripped the metal pipe and tore out of the room. My anger boiled over and I began slamming the pipe into the walls as I ran. It didn't take long for someone to find him. They were wearing long dark robes as if dressed like some two-bit villain. I gripped the pipe and slammed it into their head with everything I had. The sound of pipe meeting skull was sickening. The cloaked figure hit the ground like a marionette with its strings cut. I pushed my disgust down and continued running. My hands trembled for a moment as I ignored what I had just done. I had already decided to do this. I already knew where this road would lead.

Another pair of voices reached him from the hallway on his left. He slammed the pipe against the wall again and ran in their direction. I let the anger grow inside me like a bonfire. I turned around a bend and ran into a pair of cultists. The fury in my heart was like a beast ripping itself free from a long-dormant prison. The pipe whistled through the air. I didn't even notice the impact. More voices reached my ear and something inside me broke. When the cultist came into view. I stared each of them down. The world was quiet for just a moment before a yell ripped from my mouth. Now that the silence was broken everyone started moving and I threw myself into hell.

I staggered forward each step sending sharp pain through my entire body. The battle if one could call it that was bloody and brutal. The cultist didn't care about anything but stabbing him. The situation was made worse by the knives they were using. The blades were wickedly carved, something the cultist took advantage of with every twist. The sight of my blood staining my shirt was strangely calming. It was as if the choice had already been made and the only thing left was to reach the end. A cackling that sounded like a witch crossed with a chronic smoker pulled me from my thoughts. A figure was making his way toward me. They were shorter probably around five and a half feet. His skin was grey and sallow. It was impossible to tell if his appearance was because of his age or if it was something else. My eyes were pulled to the black dagger in his right hand. The blade was curved with a blood-red tip. Something about it felt wrong. Just looking at the blade made me feel like my soul was going to be sliced apart.

"You have wasted a lot of my master's energy. In the end, all of your actions have been futile. Your soul will nourish the master." The man had managed to cut the distance between us in half. I urged my body to move but it felt like trying to move through molasses. Had I lost this much blood? I lowered my head and stared at the area beneath us. The forge beneath us gave me an idea. It didn't take a lot of acting to pretend to be helpless. My vision swam forcing me to bite down on my lip to keep myself focused. The man placed one of his sickly hands on my shoulder and I fought the urge to pull away. "I am going to kill you and then I will find the girl. Your souls will be sent to my Master." The man's voice felt like spiders crawling along my spine.

I gritted my teeth and summoned the last of my strength. I wrapped him in my arms and threw us both over the edge and into the open air. The blade entered my chest with little resistance. Strangely it didn't hurt. I focused my fading consciousness on holding onto the man. Darkness spread from the edges of my vision and I accepted death like an old friend.

The World Soul felt something foreign come over it. It wasn't quite irritation, as a spirit it didn't feel emotion. No, what it felt was more akin to vexation. The world it governed, had no magic. Though the humans on it convinced themselves that wasn't the case. Fantasy and science created an approximation of magic. The soul had wondered if there was an actual difference for millennia but none of that was the issue today. It had done multiple reviews and it was undeniable. Nether magic had been used on its world. It was small, almost impossible to notice but almost was more than enough for it. At first, it thought that the humans had somehow discovered a way to access the magic but that wasn't it. Somehow someone had interfered with the world. One of the fallen had somehow managed to break through into its world. The World Soul focused on where the magic was coming from and saw something strange. A trio of humans were at the center. One of the humans was unconscious. She was dismissed from its awareness almost immediately.

The other two were different. One had somehow become sufficed with Nether magic. It took another moment before it figured out where the magic was coming from. The dagger and the book. The World Soul pieced together what had happened immediately. Both items came from a different world. An irregularity that couldn't be allowed to stand. Still, the World Soul did not act. The second human was even more interesting. He had no magic yet he kept fighting. His soul was being ripped apart with each wound. The pain had to be unimaginable yet he continued. It wasn't hard for the World Soul to see the human's thoughts. Protection, anger, arrogance, the emotions symbolic of humanity as a whole, kept pushing him forward. Even when the human faced death he didn't give up. He so easily threw his life away to kill the corrupt human. Not that it would matter. Nether magic was pervasive; a person using it couldn't be killed by something as trivial as a fall. The World Soul reached out stopping time at the moment of the second human's death. Cairo? The World Soul spoke for the first time in who knows how long. The word felt odd on its lips. The first words it had spoken in Millennia. The World Soul couldn't explain why, it was the closest thing it had to a desire since its creation. The World Soul removed the soul from that world. The body was already gone. The corruption had taken it over completely.

The soul was different though. It was stubbornly fighting against the damage. The World Soul wrapped the spirit inside a cocoon of magic. It would slowly purify the soul but it would take some time. The World Soul turned its focus to other things. The Fallen were becoming more dangerous. Their influence had been spreading throughout the World. The World Soul pulled both the book and dagger out of its world as well. The human was erased and a second later a distortion formed in space. A woman made out of darkness and starlight came into view. The World Soul decided to take a form as well. The first time in centuries. It chose a dark-skinned human in a dark black suit.

"It has been many centuries since we last spoke." The woman's voice was every bit as cold as her expression. The man held out the blade and noted the spark of recognition in her eyes. "It has, Someone has been reaching into our Worlds." The woman nodded before turning her gaze to Cairo's soul. "You have taken a soul out of the cycle? It is unlike you to interfere in the lives of your mortals. Have you abandoned the dictates?"

The man glared and shook his head. " I have not. This human was harmed thanks to your inaction. I have saved his life and begun purifying his soul." There was a momentary flare of anger in the woman's cold eyes but she didn't refute the charge. Both World Souls knew the precepts and they both knew the punishment for allowing an incursion into another world. The book and dagger were small and ordinarily wouldn't be a massive problem but the fact that a Fallen had managed to use them to spread its influence had the potential to be disastrous. "I see and what would you ask of me?"

"We will wait for the human to awaken. I have a proposal that I believe will benefit us both in time." The woman nodded and shifted her form. She shrunk down to the same height as her counterpart. Her skin became a lighter shade of brown and her hair became less luminous and jet-black. "I assume this form is fine with you? I would hate to harm the mind of your pet." The man stared back saying nothing in response.

"Where am I" I thought as I tried to force myself to focus. It was like trying to gather flowing sand in my hands. An instant later the thoughts came flowing back.Just as my thoughts started to clear the calming sensation faded and I was falling through the air. I screamed only there was no sound. Suddenly the world exploded into view around me. The view stole my breath away. I was falling through space. I could make out the detail of every star in the sky. Below me was the earth. My momentum suddenly ended a moment later. The release from my fall made my legs feel like noodles. My eyes were pulled toward the massive earth in the distance. I could make out each of the oceans with incredible detail. When I was able to tear my eyes away I looked down at my body and swore.

"What.In.The.Holy.Hell" My body was a deep azure blue that reminded me of the A.I from Halo. The uniform design of my body drew the eye to the crimson red spot just above my heart. I wasn't wearing clothes but I also didn't have any of those body parts. I looked a bit like a doll. A voice from behind pulled my focus off of myself. I whipped around and brought both hands up into a boxing guard.

"It is high time for you to join us mortal. There are many things for us to get done and a limited amount of time to do it." The person who spoke was a woman whose skin was as dark as the night sky. Her hair was platinum and trailed stardust as she moved. Her eyes sparkled as if twin stars sat inside her skull. She was beautiful in the same way a hurricane was beautiful. It took a serious effort of will for him to pull his gaze from her and to the man who stood next to her. He was her equal in stature. His skin was a shade lighter than hers and his head was completely shaved. Where her eyes looked like stars his was the an oppressive darkness. My entire body shivered when I met his gaze. Once I calmed myself down. I took a step toward them. My one step somehow cut the distance between us down to nothing. I stood between the pair well before I expected to but before I could do anything they began to speak.

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"Greetings young human." The woman spoke first her voice cold and impassive. She was speaking me but her attention was fully on the bald man. He started speaking as soon as she finished. "I imagine you have many questions. I will do my best to answer them but there are many things we are unable to tell you. First things first you are dead."

The man spoke of his death with the same weight a person would discuss the weather or gravity. It felt as if neither of them cared about the fact that he was dead. I had to take a moment to let the information wash over me. When I gathered myself the man started talking again."The events that led to your death are the reason we are having this conversation."

"I don't understand. Shouldn't I be passing on? I don't think this is heaven or..." I didn't want to speak the other place into existence. If these two were the ones who decided where you went after death I wasn't going to give them any ideas. Neither the man or woman seemed interested in tacking that question. If he wasn't wrong the air around the woman grew just a bit colder when he broached that topic.

"You are correct. Under ordinary conditions you would have moved onto your after life. Due to the circumstances of your death specifically the blade that claimed your life your soul was damaged. We have managed to repair the instability in your soul but it has caused significant changes." He gestured to the crimson red spot on my chest. "Due to the corruption caused by that blade you have a choice to make. You can choose to proceed on your journey. Your soul was be placed back into its rightful path. I can not tell you where you will go but I must warn you that the changes to your soul may influence where you end up."

My eyes had turned as big as saucers while I listened. The knife had corrupted his soul? Thankfully it was only the last one and not all the knives. Hopefully that meant that Alexandria was safe. I pushed those thoughts into the back of my mind in order to concentrate on what was in front of me. That man mentioned my soul "Going to his master." I would be an idiot to let that happen. "Can you tell me if my soul will go to this "Master" that man mentioned?" Neither the man nor the woman offered so much as a shake of their heads. I have to assume that it was a real possibility. I only thought about it for a few more minutes. "What is my other option?"

This time the woman was the one to speak. "I can bring you over to a new world. The world that I am the overseer for. Before you ask more questions, I can tell you there are many worlds or "Alternate Universes". I am unable to tell you anything more about my world until after you choose to transfer."

How in the hell was he supposed to make a decision like that? Two cosmic level beings had basically grabbed him up and told him that he could either roll the dice or take his chances with a monster? I turned and began pacing back and forth. I weighed both options but there was ultimately nothing for me to consider. There was no way I could risk going on. I stopped pacing took a deep breath and looked back and forth at the pair. When I spoke I managed to keep the fear and uncertainty out of my voice.

"I will go onto the new world."

"Good, I knew you would make the interesting choice." The man said before gesturing to the woman. "The mistake that led to your end was caused due to my companion's oversight. She is willing to make some concessions to you because of it. The world you will be joining is akin to high fantasy stories you would be familiar with."

I shifted my gaze to the woman who was staring at the man as if her gaze would bore a hole in his face. He either didn't notice or didn't care in the slightest. I turned my attention back to what he was saying when a question came to me. "Is this soul damage going to cause me problems? I would like to know what I am going to be dealing with when I join the world." The woman turned her gaze to me. Thankfully the anger that had been in her gaze was gone now.

"Unfortunately your situation is a bit strange. I have no way of knowing what will happen to your soul. He used Aether to repair it but Aether is an element that adapts to its container. Combining it with the Fell magic that corrupted your soul could have any number of consequences. It is impressive that your soul was able to be corrected in the first place."

I nodded along as she spoke. I ignored all the thoughts about what could happen to my soul since my choice had already been made. There was no going back now. "Can you tell me more about this world? Is it safe?—" Before I could finish the thought the woman let out a soft mocking laugh. "Not at all child. It is a world of opportunity. A world where some people prosper at the expense of others. It is a place where the horrified and majestic exist side by side. That does not matter though. You will adjust to it or you will fade away. What we need to discuss are your boons."

Excitement built inside me as I turned my attention to the potential gifts that I could get. The woman continued speaking before I could say or do anything. "I am willing to grant you two abilities. One of which will be at least Exotic rarity." I raised an eyebrow at that. From my time playing video games things typically got better as the rarity increased. Which meant I needed to get as many high-rarity abilities as I could. "How high is Exotic?" I asked barely able to suppress my excitement.

"What are abilities exactly?" The woman continued speaking as if I hadn't asked her a question. "The different ancestries of the world possess different abilities or gifts associated with them. Such as low-light vision, dark vision, and natural magic affinities. There are additional abilities a person could earn in the world. They can do just about anything but they are all ranked on a rarity scale."

"Ancestries? Does that mean fantasy creatures like Elves and Minotaur were real?" My excitement was threatening to boil over as I imagined exploring the wide world with a party of elves, dragon people, and whatever else existed in the world. "Wait, is there magic? Like actual spell-casting magic?" The idea of being a proper spell caster made me feel like a kid getting ready to open his presents on Christmas morning. The woman was nowhere near as excited.

"Yes, there are many different ancestries and yes there are many different kinds of magic. Some of which have been lost to the ages."

I gave her my full attention but everything she said only sparked new questions. When I managed to calm down enough new thoughts began to blossom in my mind. "The people responsible for what happened to me. Are they in this new world?" That question finally elicited an emotion from the woman. Her face shifted through a myriad of emotions from anger to disgust and ended with curiosity. "Why do you ask?" Her voice felt like a blade poised at my heart. I didn't think she would kill me after what we just discussed but her voice promised punishment if I answered wrong.

My emotions boiled inside me as I really thought about that question. I wanted to say that it was curiosity. That I simply wanted to know about it but that wasn't true. Those people had killed me. They had tried to kill my sister. They took the life I built. They somehow managed to hurt my soul. The truth was staring me in the face. I leveled my gaze on the woman and spoke with the strongest conviction I could summon. "I want revenge. I want to fight them—" I stopped, that wasn't right. "I want to destroy them." She stared back at me and for several long seconds, we stared at each other before she smiled.

"Very well human. I will arrange things for you. There are limitations to how I can interfere in the world. Ancient laws are stopping our involvement but I will arrange for your starting location to be potent. It will be up to you to make something of yourself after." I nodded along as she continued speaking. "You will be provided with a basic set of equipment as well but that will be all." I turned my attention to the man who had been as silent as death for the conversation."Are you offering me anything?"

He nodded before speaking. "I will offer you an additional ability chosen at random. That should be enough to settle any debt between us." I couldn't come up with an argument against it so I nodded my agreement. "Now that business has been concluded it is time for you two to depart."

The woman nodded and waved her hand. A black portal the size of a doorway opened to her right. I stared into it and it felt like I was staring at nothing. Intellectually I knew that a portal was there. I knew that it had to lead somewhere but there was nothing I could see. The woman stepped forward and disappeared into the darkness. I looked back at the man and gave him a head nod. I took a deep breath and stepped into the dark. For a moment there was nothing. No sound, no sensation, I couldn't be sure if I was awake or not. I couldn't tell if I still existed or not. The sensation was strangely calming. It was like being wrapped in my mother's arms as if all I needed to do was fall asleep and everything would be fine. I wasn't sure how long the process took but the darkness was banished by a massive blue orb. The orb was every bit equal to the earth only two or three times as large. The planet had several large land masses. Each one made the continents of Earth seem tiny. I was pulled from my thoughts by a voice coming from right next to me.

"This is Akopia. This will be your new home. I will give you a warning that you would have received if you were born on Akopia. Words and specifically names have power. It would be wise for you to pick a pseudonym to go by. Giving someone your name or rather your true name is dangerous. Certain individuals with the right perks or spells would be able to cause you damage using it." I nodded and filed that information away for later. She continued speaking unprompted. "If there is nothing more I will send you to your new home." I considered it for a moment, there were a lot of things I wanted to know. I was sure I could come up with more questions if I put my mind to it but I decided to ask none of them.

"I am ready" The woman smiled and darkness crept in at the edges of my vision. I turned my attention back to the world in the distance. The world that I would soon call home. The darkness spread further and I pushed against it. I wanted to see the world a little bit longer. Many people would do anything to be able to see the world as I saw it now. The darkness spread further and once I was unable to hold it back any further I closed my eyes. I let the sensation of sleep wash over me.

*****

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She looked down at the unconscious soul floating in nothingness. It was always odd to see a soul. Something so fragile held such great power. She waved her hand and let the body begin to form. The process would be slow as each part of the body was formed. Once that was done she would need to wait for the soul to be absorbed into the body. She turned her mind to other things. Namely where she would send him. There was an empire that she disliked. A place of petty cruelty. It would act like a whetstone for him. If he succeeded he might be useful in the coming battle. If not then it wouldn't have cost them too much.

She selected the location in the world. A small oasis, it would be better than most people could call home but it wouldn't be too cushy. Once that was decided she turned her attention to the empty body. The body was the same size as his original. The human was quite large for his species. Seven feet tall with slender proportions, she decided to leave everything as it was. Akopia had more than a few ways to change your appearance if he truly wanted to. Once the body was completed she gently pressed the soul into it.

The World Soul stared as the body in front of her absorbed the human's soul. She could not help but feel curious about the human. She made a note to keep an eye on him when she had the time. She did not care for most of the lives in her world. They were either petty or cruel or dull but he was a bit different. "I hope you find your happiness, child." Once the body had fully absorbed the soul she opened up a portal. She instructed the body to step through the portal. Once the body was gone she closed the portal and banished the mortal from her thoughts. She had work that needed to be done. She needed to find where the leak had come from. How a fallen had managed to put her in this position.