James kept his stride steady going down the hallway. He had a weird magnetic pull to the right, as it was the only direction he'd gone in these last few days. The compulsion was an easy one to break, and a smart left-hand turn put him directly on course with the blue door.

Well, let's see what's behind door number 3, shall we? Big money, big money, no whammies.

The door was a lovely aquamarine color. The hinges, handle, and metal-binding were all done in a dull copper. While it was fancy by the other doors standards, it was by no means ostentatious. Upon closer inspection, there were whorls worked subtly into the metal, strongly reminding James of waves.

With a small amount of trepidation and slightly damp palms, James pushed the door open. It opened silently, and he strode into the room. It was breathtaking. The floor was inlaid with a blue gemstone mosaic. The metal for the magic lights found throughout was copper again, with the glass a vibrant sea green. The walls were painted with a constant theme of waves crashing. By any standards, it was a beautiful room.

But that isn't what took his breath away. It was the fourth wall that drew his attention. It was floor-to-ceiling glass looking out into the ocean. Well, more specifically, under the sea. Dappled light shone down from the surface. The occasional fish would swim by. You could somehow smell the salt in the air. It was a deep, healthy brine smell, pungent, and filled with life. The light started to warp and ripple in the middle of the wall.

A woman came into being on the other side of the wall and stepped through it or stepped out more accurately. James realized that there was no magic glass in place this time. It was just a literal wall of water. The woman looked Mediterranean, for lack of a better word. She had light olive skin and hair that seemed to be green, blue, white, and black all at the same time. It looked natural and beautiful somehow, unlike if a human had tried to pull off the same effect with hair dye. She smiled a warm and pleasant greeting, showing off her perfectly white and straight teeth.

She walked forward, stately, without being severe, and James could see that her eyes are cerulean blue and sea green, respectively. The white robe she was wearing is clasped at the shoulder with a golden ornament resembling a stylized wave. Her age was hard to pin down. James had always thought the term ageless was bullshit before this moment. She was his height, and the only descriptor that comes to his mind is statuesque. Somehow she was too beautiful to be considered hot. It just didn't fit.

Otherworldly. She is just so far removed from human that I don't think I could put my finger on it if I tried.

"Tiamat, I presume." James attempted a bow, and his voice only shook slightly on the end.

She laughed, and it was rich and vibrant. "I appreciate the effort, but I don't stand on ceremony in private, James." The smile was back, and its warmth was reassuring.

"Thank you for your help. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble. Are you feeling better?" After the words left his mouth James was immediately embarrassed. Who meets a goddess and asks how she's feeling?

"Yes, I'm feeling much more like myself. I'm sorry that I couldn't meet you sooner. I was so happy to hear that you managed to get leveled up yourself."

"I wouldn't say it was by myself. There is no way I could have done it without Prometheus. It's embarrassing to say it, but I'm pretty sure the first fish would have killed me without his preparation." James flushed slightly at the admission. He'd never considered himself a 'macho man,' but admitting a fish would kill you is a bit humiliating.

"It's honestly the least we could do. It had to have been hard to be ripped out of your life and put here, with no real memory to guide you. You've done very well all things considered, and even if he would never say it, I know Prometheus is happy with your effort and your progress."

"Speaking of the memory block, why was that put in place? I had some pretty awful dreams earlier, and it felt way too real. I'm not even sure I want them back if that's what it was." He frowned at the thought of those dark and depressing dreams. James took a deep breath and steadied himself slightly. He was determined not to cry in front of a diety, at least not on the first meeting.

Her smile faltered slightly for the first time. "You've already had a memory resurface? If it isn't too painful, would you tell me about it?"

James took a deep breath and proceeded to tell her everything about the dream. Despite his efforts, his voice was hoarse and laden with emotion by the end of the account. Mercifully, she didn't say anything for a minute and allowed him to pull himself back together. A quick wipe across his face and he could pretend that his eyes weren't full of unshed tears.

"I'm sorry you had to have that as your first recovered memory, James." Her smile was back, smaller and a bit sad, if that is possible. "One of the reasons I chose you as my first summon is that you were going to die on Earth. You had stage 4 cancer that had spread to your brain. You were on a veritable pharmacopeia of drugs, including a lot of anti-depressants. That's why your thoughts were so clouded at first. Implanting the system fixed your body and gave you a new chance."

Even though he'd been expecting something similar, the news still hit James like a Mack truck. It's not every day you hear that you had inoperable cancer, and only the trip to magic land saved your life. Once again, she let him sit with his thoughts for a minute. That fact was both noticed and appreciated.

"The memory block will naturally fade as you gain strength here. In practical terms, the more you level and evolve your system, the more memories will return. Eventually, you will have them all back, and I hope you will understand then why I wanted to give you time to adapt here without them. "

"Why me?" James barely managed to get the words above a whisper, but he does get them out.

"Because you never gave up." Her smile was so radiant now it's almost hard to look at, given Jame's suddenly dark mood. "It's hard to put into words, but I'm naturally drawn to broken people, specifically, people who aren't able to realize their potential through no fault of their own. Despite everything that happened to you, you kept going. Most of humanity would have just laid down and died. That's who I wanted for my forerunner. Someone to find a path that the rest of Earth's people could follow."

With a quick step forward, she was within his reach. She opened her arms wide, and James could not resist the invitation. Tiamat moved in, and she folded him in a hug like he was a child. The tears that he'd fought since the revelation spilled out, and he cried. It was a quiet cry, but it went on for a little while as a well of grief he didn't even know he had was tapped and relieved. By the end, he felt much better, though a bit embarrassed. Stepping back again, he looked up.

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"I really appreciate you curing me." He practically whispered it as the revelations he was still processing took up most of his mental processing power.

Tiamat nodded at him. "You are very welcome." Her face turned more serious, still pleasant, but some of the softness had gone. "It does come with a request. All humans will eventually be coming here. I need someone to help prepare a place for them. Will you help?"

James just stared. He was prepared for orders or perhaps trade with his life as payment. He hadn't expected a request from a goddess.

"I don't think I'm very well suited to what you need, but I will help." The thoughts of his terrible affinity and skills were in the forefront of James' mind.

"Something else is troubling you, other than your past. Unburden yourself, and perhaps I can help."

"I have a null affinity. I want magic. My innate skill is...."

"I know all of that. I've known the likely skills since before you were summoned. While it's impossible to be certain, you are currently at the most likely outcome."

Tiamat paused momentarily to let him think.

She knows? She knew? It doesn't make any sense.

Tiamat continued. "It doesn't matter where you start. This world and the system laid over it reward work and effort. You can be anything if you work towards it. It may take longer than others, but you can do it. Never confuse innate talent with skill. Someone who works and hones their abilities will grow to greater heights than those born with advantages."

She sighed gently. A look of dissatisfaction briefly clouded her face.

"I don't have much more time before I need to rest again. I would like you to continue to work with Prometheus each day. You will receive time in the evenings for whatever you would like to do as well. He has seen much and endured more than most. Do not begrudge him his guarding. Gain strength quickly, James. We only have a month here, and then we will travel to the Eastern City to meet with other deities for the first major summoning."

She smiled one last time, and it reminded him of the sunset on the ocean. With that, she turned and stepped back into the water before quickly dissolving from view. James just stared for a few minutes before he gave himself a quick shake and turned around.

I knew I was meeting a goddess, which was still a lot more to unpack than I was expecting. I feel like the weight of everything today should be crushing, but somehow I feel lighter than before. It feels good to have a direction, I think. Fuck it, just keep swimming.

James gave a solid head nod and walked out the door. He strode down the hall but paused at the only intersection. Technically it's the evening, but it's not like he really knew what to do. He started walking forward again and knocked on the red door.

"Enter." Prometheus's deep voice carried through the door easily.

James walked in and looked over the room. The mats are back in place, and you'd never know that he'd killed various animals here earlier. The Godstone still sat in the corner looking like a very majestic renaissance fair knickknack. Prometheus was seated with his legs crossed in the center of the room. It seemed weird to see a greek demigod in the lotus position, but he couldn't exactly say why that was.

"Thank you for your help with everything. I appreciate it." The words came out quickly. James was a little embarrassed but thought it needed to be said. "I don't like asking for more, but I could use some guidance."

Prometheus didn't say anything for a moment and then took a deep breath before opening his eyes. "We will work on getting you acclimated to this world and building your survival skills every day until it's time to leave. After breakfast will be survival training, and after lunch will be weapon training. Any time after dinner will be your own. It's after dinner now, so what would you like to do?"

"I want to talk about skills. You seem to know a lot. What do you think I should try to do? I have no idea what I'm doing, and the thought of making a mistake is a little paralyzing if I think about it too much."

"What is the best superpower in Earth's pretend heroes. If you only get one, not if you are a solar-powered cheater."

Well, someone just got outed as a Super hater.

"Teleportation." James didn't hesitate for longer than it took to have his little internal monologue.

"Most people would say flying or invulnerability." Prometheus raised his right eyebrow. James had managed to surprise him somewhat.

"Most people would be wrong. With teleportation, you could go anywhere at any time for any reason. You would never be caught, never trapped. You would be free."

"That's good reasoning, but teleportation is pretty advanced. I've never heard of anyone under level 50 even coming close to figuring it out. Right now, you are weak enough that fish and sea birds could end you. You need something to make sure every fight isn't likely to cripple you. Even though it will be much harder for you than almost everyone else, I would like you to think about trying to unlock healing as your first system skill."

"That makes a lot of sense, but I thought I was magically stupid." James was not expecting Mr. Pragmatic ever to suggest anything other than some fighting ability. He bumped up his estimation of Prometheus another notch. He was clearly a bit more nuanced than James had expected.

"It will be an immense challenge. You will have to work twice as hard for half as much progress, but I will be recommending this skill to everyone I'm involved in training to fight. Everyone will get an unlucky hit at some point. Being able to get back up and keep fighting will keep them alive."

"I can't argue with that. What about classes?" That was the last unanswered piece of the puzzle right now, and James was itching with curiosity.

"You won't be able to select one until level 10. I'm sure you noticed that it was still greyed out in the ReGS menu. Once you are there, I promise we will go over it together.."

New goal. Man, I need a list:

1. Learn to heal. It counts as magic, so it can have the top spot.

2. Hit level 10 as quickly as possible.

3. Invent the internet.

I've been too busy to miss my shows, but it's only a matter of time.

"Okay big guy, that makes a lot of sense. So how do I learn some super crazy wolverine style skills?" James may not have remembered much, but clearly, comic books played some factor in his childhood.

Prometheus stared at him with his eyebrows so high they were likely to be annexed by his hairline. "Big guy?" The words were said as if he's tasted something awful. "I am never to be called anything but Prometheus again." There wasn't any heat in those words but there was a certain ringing finality to them.

"Prometheus, I apologize. How do I learn super mutant healing factor skills?"

Another sigh entered the room via Prometheus. If James could buy stock in an expression, there is no doubt sighs are where he would put his non-existent cash. Still, he looked at the demigod expectantly.

"You need to learn to manipulate the Æther intentionally before we get to whatever the hell you just said. You'll summon the skill selection menu to feel the Æther draw and help you locate your center. Once you can do that yourself, you can work on moving motes of Æther through your body to your extremities. You need to be careful. Only move the tiniest amount possible to your pointer finger. Once you can do that, we'll move on to the next step."

James nodded. That all made sense and was practical as always. He started to move towards the Godstone so he could do just that.

"Don't go over just yet." Prometheus actually had a slight smile. "You'll work on that right before you go to your room. Your form was pretty terrible today. You need more practice."

"I thought this was my time after dinner?" James tried not to sound panicked, but the undercurrent was there in his voice.

"I've changed my mind. That starts tomorrow. If you have the energy to think up nicknames, you have the energy to work on your form. Suit up, from now on, everything but sleeping is done with armor."

The door swung shut. James didn't notice. The horror transitioned to weary acceptance as he moved towards the walls. Getting suited up was still awkward, but it was easier than the first time. After he had everything ready to go, including his club, he moved to the center of the room.

"That was slightly less embarrassing to watch," Prometheus noted. "You will still train with the club for an hour every day, but we can diversify a bit as well."

Prometheus moved to the weapons wall. He drew out a quarterstaff and tossed it to James in one smooth motion. James was surprised he managed to catch it with only a slight stinging in his hands.

Maybe that enhanced Body will make this a little better.

***

James laid down in his bed after his shower. He was moving slowly and with some difficulty. He barely had time for thought before he passed out from sheer exhaustion.

I was so wrong......