"What the... Where is this?" Darren muttered in confusion as he stumbled around in the endless darkness he had suddenly found himself in.

He felt his hand brush against something soft, fluffy and oddly familiar. Darren jumped away from the furry thing and tripped, landing on his face.

Again, he could feel something velvety and large brushing up against his legs and back. Even the noise of his impact on the ground had sounded odd as if his ears weren’t in the right place.

"What the fuck’s going on?" Darren asked as his confusion slowly began spiralling into something more fearful.

"Ahhh!" a high-pitched and noticeably young sounding voice screamed upon hearing Darren throwing questions into the void.

"A child? Is someone there? Are you okay? Where are we? Do you know anything?" he asked in a slow voice.

Although his instincts as a teacher made him want to make sure that the presumed child was safe above all else his rising dread at the peculiarity of the situation got the better of him.

He was hopeful this child also had some ideas about where they were because he certainly didn't. Still, even if his motives for calling out weren't entirely altruistic, he did truly want to help both himself and the other unfortunate soul who also seemed to be here with him.

However, the owner of the voice seemed to be even more terrified of him than he was of this whole situation. At least, that was how he chose to interpret them failing to respond.

"I'm a teacher so you don't have to be scared. I’ve got no idea what’s going on but maybe we can figure something out if we work together?” Darren asked while he tried his best to ignore the fluffy objects that his hands kept brushing against.

If the other person truly was a child as their voice would suggest then getting them to remain calm was far more important than anything else in Darren’s mind.

A short silence reigned between him and the mysterious child before she chose to respond very carefully. "I was in my dimension... I was just minding my own business, but I don't know either where we are. Who are you, Fox Man?"

"'Fox Man'?" Everything else this child had mentioned was white noise compared to this in Darren’s mind. ‘Why did she call me 'Fox Man'?’

A sudden thought entered his head to answer his ponderings, and he grew increasingly concerned by the possibility his mind had thought up. Raising his hands to his head, Darren's fears were confirmed.

Two fluffy and pointed ears were sat atop his head, and he soon discovered that the fuzzy things that he was touching earlier were actually tails. Counting them, he had nine in total, just like his gaming character, Lone Immortus.

Greetings, Cosmos-level being, Sophie Vladimirovich. Greetings, Mortal-level being, Lone Immortus.

‘Sophie Vladimirovich? So a girl? But isn’t ‘ovich’ only used on boys? That’s old Russian tradition. I don’t know enough about that to be certain,’ Darren thought before realising something else.

He hadn’t spotted it immediately since his online friends called him Lone all the time but didn’t these strange words just refer to him like that as well? With the full name of his character, even.

Whatever was going on right now was creepy, weird, alarming, and infinitely less exciting than sleeping. ‘Honestly, chances are I fuckin’ passed out in the hallway.’

Explanation of transfer commencing.

With a flash of light, the room Darren and the unknown girl, Sophie, were standing in, was illuminated, revealing the young girl's appearance to the teacher.

A child of no older than ten who had long flowing golden-blonde hair and a doll-like face was standing only a few meters away from him.

Darren was quite honestly blown away by her appearance. It was just so... odd. 'Now that, that needs some good genetics or a lot of surgery to achieve,' he off-handedly thought.

Something about her face just screamed ‘princess’ but without any of the effort. ‘She’d have been in one of the popular cliques in Arlith High for sure even if she was an introvert I reckon.’

One thing of particular note was that she kept her eyes closed even after a few seconds had passed. He had adjusted to the light almost instantly despite his need for glasses.

Speaking of which, those very same glasses were actually blurring his vision right now a bit. Still, he didn’t take them off just yet.

Darren also thought it was odd that Sophie was wearing nothing except for a very loose and baggy woollen fleece that covered her entire torso and went down to her knees.

‘That looks old. Like, really old. How has it not crumbled to dust yet?’ He put the piece of clothing at anywhere from 500 to 700-years-old.

Both of you, Lone Immortus and Sophie Vladimirovich, have been selected to participate in a grand game. Further details will only be given when you are ready. Sophie Vladimirovich has already selected all of her powers and by the request of her Patron God has had 8 of them sealed. Also, by the request of her Patron God she shall be sealed within Lone Immortus.

Before Darren or Sophie could voice any objections or ask any questions, Sophie's small and frail frame was condensed into the size of a palm and she screamed as she whizzed through the air and directly entered Darren's chest.

"What the fuck just happened?! This is insane… Hey! What happened to that girl? Is she okay?!" Darren yelled.

He had read the words and clearly saw they had stated she would be sealed within Lone Immortus, within him. However, this all far too crazy to make sense of in a few short seconds.

By the request of your God, Lone Immortus, five of your available ten power slots have been consumed. The first has been used to create the skill The Summoning Room. The second was used to forcefully change your species to the ideal one. The third was used to create the skill Creation Magic. The fourth was used to create the skill Basic Regeneration. The final was used to create the skill Growth Accelerator. Lone Immortus, your Patron God has left you a message to take with you before the grand game commences. Hey, kid. I gave you five of my powers to help you grow, but you can choose the other five on your own. It was really handy that you had already lived as a Golden Foxkin in a way, so it made it possible for me to give my species to you. Keep in mind that any of the five powers you wish for will be limited. You can't wish for just anything. Also know that I can save you only one time until the end. Please don’t waste it on something stupid. I’m a busy guy. Good luck and try not to embarrass me too much.

With that being the final thing Darren saw in the illuminated room of darkness, his consciousness blacked out.

Several hours, days or even years might have passed, but eventually, 'Lone' opened his eyes.

Coughing up a mouthful of sand, 'Lone' pushed his body up and wiped the dirt from his face. It would seem that he was on a beach of some sort. He couldn't quite tell, but it looked like he was on an island in the middle of an ocean.

The coastline certainly appeared to curve sharply enough for it to be an island, not a landmass, but he wasn’t a geography teacher so he couldn’t be certain.

"Where is this?" he asked himself absentmindedly.

'Lone' walked around for a bit of time and couldn't find any signs of civilisation, however, what he did find was the lack of the young girl, Sophie.

"Sealed… it was a skill or something, right? Uh, I can’t believe I’m fuckin’ doing this but… show skill 'The Summoning Room'?" 'Lone' asked with uncertainty clear in his voice.

Thankfully, his memory didn't fail him and he wasn’t just making a total ass of himself since a big screen appeared in his vision, greeting his request.

Unique Skill: The Summoning Room

A skill unique to the host, Lone Immortus.

Grants the ability to summon and unsummon listed beings at will.

Listed Beings: Sophie Vladimirovich.

Cost: N/A Mastery: N/A

"Summon Sophie Vladimer- Fuck. Summon Sophie Vladimirovich?" Although he messed up her name initially, he succeeded on his second attempt and much to his amazement a young nine or ten-year-old girl appeared in front of him.

She had red-raw closed eyes and she was holding her head while her body was violently shaking. Clearly, she had been crying, and she was experiencing some sort of panic attack.

'Lone' didn't know what to do but he wasn't indecisive enough to simply watch a child suffer so much when he was a teacher and a decent person. Well, at least the first one. The second could be debated.

He immediately grabbed her and hugged her firmly. Comfort of any kind could help in these situations he had read. He placed one hand on her head and stroked it lightly.

"It's okay. Everything’s going to be okay. You don't have to worry. You’re safe now, alright?" 'Lone''s kindness was evident in his tone.

He didn’t really know if he himself believed what he was saying but so long as he could help this girl out then he could work on planning out what the hell to do in this weird place after that. This was more important than anything else, currently.

Whether due to his words or due to the warmth of his body, Sophie's shaking stopped. 'Lone' could feel her hands roughly grabbing his tails, and to be honest, it hurt, but he didn't mind. Pain was nothing new to him. 'If they comfort you, then squeeze them as much as you need to.'