[1…0… Transfer commencing.]

As soon as the timer hit zero, another pillar of light erupted out of the array, shooting upwards into the sky and tearing apart the fabric of space itself. The light engulfed Joe, making him scream out loud.

This time there was no pain, but it felt like he was being torn apart into a million pieces from the inside out. He desperately tried reopening his eyes to get a sense of what was happening. Yet, an invisible pressure made moving any part of his body near impossible. Refusing to give up, Joe managed to open a single eyelid.

The last thing he saw before passing out was a cacophony of multi-colored light blurring by at extreme speeds. Any sight of his bathroom and home was now long gone, replaced with an endless cosmos of color. "Incredible.." he thought before finally passing out into the darkness of his subconscious.

Joe blinked as he came awake to the sounds of screams and shouting. Finding himself face down on a cold hard stone floor, he pushed himself up.

Still groggy from the intense experience, his mind shuddered from the sudden movement. He clutched his head, attempting to hold back the pounding headache that wanted to split his head in two. He hadn’t had such a bad headache since his first week of college, an experience he had no desire to repeat.

Eventually, the pain subsided after a minute, providing a vestige of relief. With his mind now clear, Joe took the time to survey his strange new surroundings.

'What's going on?' Joe mumbled in disbelief. He had been in his bathroom a moment ago, yet now he found himself in a majestic hall with throngs of people running to and fro in a chaotic scramble.

Every creed and nationality from Earth seemed to be represented. While some individuals lay unconscious on the stone floor, others sat with their heads in between their legs, trying to escape the surreal situation they found themselves in. However, many others had assembled into the safety of groups in order to find out what was happening.

Joe jolted up, realizing the absurdity of the situation. Where was he, and how did he get here? Joe spent almost a full minute pinching himself before the cold air brushed against his skin, making him shiver. He looked down and saw he was standing there fully naked and soaked.

'What the hell!'. Joe wanted to scream out loud. Why was he naked? Slowly, his memories flooded back bringing him out of his stupor. Of course! He had just left the confines of his shower when the strange array had appeared.

His eyes darted left to right until he saw his towel lying on the floor next to him. He had luckily managed to hold on to it during the ordeal. He quickly wrapped it around his waist to hide what little dignity he had left. The shame of standing naked in the middle of a crowded hall made Joe want to crawl into a hole and die but shook his head.

"There are bigger priorities right now." Joe muttered to himself as he surveyed his surroundings.

The room he was in was an elaborate hall made of stone and marble. Against the walls stood gigantic stone statues depicting heroic warriors in impressive poses, many with swords, staffs, bows, and a multitude of other weapons he didn't even know the name of. The floor, walls, and ceiling were perfect, with barely a blemish visible. The whole hall gave off an imperial, if not holy, feel. It was as though he had entered the sanctum of a mighty God.

The whole hall was enclosed without a single window present. The only source of light came from various torches attached to the walls. However, instead of wooden torches from a typical medieval fantasy, they were magical torches, producing orbs of light that gave off a soft, warm glow.

At the base of each statue were small but intricate stone altars with glowing crystal spheres pulsing with white light. What they were for wasn't clear, but the inscriptions carved all over the altar hinted toward some complex ritual.

At the end of the hall stood three glimmering gates pulsing with various colors. The gate on the far left pulsed a blueish tint, the middle a reddish-gold color, and the one on the right a pitch-black hue. Apart from the statues, altars, and glimmering gates, the rest of the room was sparse.

Was he dead? Was he about to be judged for his sins? Had he been transmigrated? Or was this all some new virtual reality simulator? Oh God, was the matrix real? Joe chewed his nails while going over all the possible scenarios. All he knew was that he needed more answers. He did a quick check, ensuring the towel was securely wrapped around his waist before he marched off to join the closest group.

Already, several large groups had formed around the hall, each composed of people from various backgrounds. It was strange to see people from all over the world in one place. It was like he had come to some united nations assembly.

From what he could overhear, most weren’t even speaking English. He scanned the area until he found a small group nearby. It had around 20 people huddled together in deep discussion. He was sure most were American since one guy was yelling in a southern accent and most wore pajamas or underwear, suggesting they had been asleep only moments earlier.

"I'm telling y'all, this is definitely the work of the government. It has their fingerprints all over it," a man in his 40s shouted with zeal. The guy looked like your typical doomsday prepper—Camo pants with a vest filled with various tools. Joe would have guessed the guy had come prepared if it hadn’t been for his bare feet.

"Be serious! Look at those portals over there. Do you believe the government could make something like that?" contested another man in his 30s. He was wearing basic blue pajamas with a picture of star wars imprinted on them. The guy was a bit old to be still wearing SciFi pajamas, but who was Joe to judge?

"Ha." The prepper scoffed, "The government has been experimenting with Alien tech for years. Where do you think smartphones came from?"

The man with star wars pajamas rolled his eyes. "Oh, great. Next, you'll be telling us about Area 51."

"Hmph. Area 51 is just a cover. Area 6 is where the real experiments happen"

The conversation continued back and forth, going nowhere. With the group as clueless as he was, Joe's attention started to wane until a young woman jumped in.

"Did any of you hear the voice before being transported?" she asked with weary trepidation.

The question caused everyone to pause and look around before nodding their heads in agreement.

"The word conscripted was used, suggesting a war of some kind. We should construe that we were brought here to join a war or participate in a military endeavor". A man with spectacles commented. He wore an expensive-looking suit and tie as though he had come directly from a business meeting.

Everyone’s eyes bulged at the idea. Rational debate transitioned into arguments as people went back and forth, debating the theory's veracity. Joe shuddered at the thought that they had been brought here for some alien war. What did anyone here know about fighting? Most lived comfortable, sedentary lives where you hardly needed to leave your home except to work or see friends. The idea that they were selected to become warriors was ludicrous.

Before the conversation could become more heated, a great chime rang out across the hall, causing heads to turn and conversations to stop. Everyone listened to the enthralling sound that resonated throughout the room. The noise had a soothing effect that eased the mind. Those crying or unresponsive soon stood up. Their shoulders relaxed while the stress seeped out from their bodies.

Seven times the bell chimed, and seven times a wave of serene calm washed over them. Once the final bell rang out, everyone was on their feet, staring around the hall in anticipation.

Silence hung in the air for a full minute while everyone waited. The calming effects had begun to subside when finally, the air in the hall's center started to twist in place. Space warped, and a cacophony of light and sound erupted from the epicenter. Those close by were pushed backward with enough force to nearly knock them off their feet.

Out of the disturbance emerged a being straight out of legend. An Angelic humanoid dressed in full regalia, each piece of armor glimmering with complex inscriptions burning in silvery light, hovered out from the gap in space. The being floated a meter off the ground, defying gravity itself. Behind its back shone two silvery wings made of pure ethereal light in the shape of a seraph's wings. Its face was hidden behind a full helmet of gold that contained such intricate detail that it would have put the richest Kings or billionaires to shame.

The atmosphere in the room tensed as everyone's attention was directed toward the Angelic being. Some individuals fell on their knees in prayer, worshiping what they likely believed was the arrival of their God. Joe himself could barely resist the temptation to kneel due to the divine pressure being given off.

He had never been a religious person. Sure he had attended a few Church sermons over the years but never found the need to jump on the spiritual bandwagon. However, all his preconceived notions about God and Heaven got upended at this moment. Had he been wrong? Did Angels exist?

***

Ieshim took a moment to observe the situation before spreading his wings and infusing them with a slither of spiritual energy. The power from his body responded instinctively, flowing from his core into his wings.

Immediately they began to hum in a soft glow, each pulsed with enough force to allow him to overcome the minuscule limitations that gravity presented. A flap was all it took to rise several meters into the air. The higher position gave him a full view of the masses below, not that he needed his eyes to see around him anyway.

Observing the mix of shock, fear, and amazement from hundreds of people had been amusing, to say the least, during the first few thousand years. But eventually, it became routine.

His role was to administer and manage the Tower, a thankless job, he must admit but one that had to be done regardless. Most of these mortals would find it incomprehensible that a single being would be capable of such extraordinary feats, especially since the Tower processed billions of beings a year.

Yet, how could such a thing be impossible for an Angel? This body was merely a single piece of a larger whole. His specialism had always been the ability to split his essence into hundreds of fragments, effectively allowing him to create untold ethereal copies of himself. Doing so allowed him to manage the thousands of gathering points across the Tower, all preparing to give the same speech he had given untold times before.

As he spread his arms in preparation to welcome the new arrivals, he wondered how many would survive the ordeal that was to come.

***

"Chosen, welcome to the Empyrean Tower..." The words carried across the hall, the remaining clatter of conversation and shouting went quiet, and everyone held onto every word the great being spoke. The effect must have been hypnotic as Joe himself could barely pull away from listening to whatever this being said without interruption.

"Rejoice! For you have been given the opportunity to exceed the limits of your mortal coil and partake in the path to immortality," Ieshim said with a voice full of divine authority.

People looked around in confusion. What did this being mean by immortality? The opportunity sounded incredible coming from such a holy being, but was that really why they were here?

"Here, in the Empyrean Tower, you will take your first steps towards that goal. In this Tower, you will find the ten trial floors. Each filled with opportunities and danger in equal measure. How far you go will be limited only by one's talent and will… Welcome again to the training grounds of the Gods."

After a few seconds of silence, the hall burst into chaos as people began shouting. Regardless of nationality or language, everyone seemed to have comprehended what the Angel had said. Joe barely held on to any semblance of self-control as the words sunk in. Before he could decide what to do next Ieshim cut in

"Silence!"... The word shot across the hall, causing everyone to fall to their knees in compliance. The sound this time was entirely different, carrying a spiritual weight that pulled on one's very soul.

"I'm sure many of you are wondering why you have been given such an opportunity"… Ieshim’s eyes couldn't be seen, but it was like his sight was directed straight towards Joe. He gulped, fearing he had angered the Angel. 'Oh god, it can read minds,' he thought.

"Yes, there is a price. For there must be balance with all things. Heaven is at war! The lands under the purview of Heaven, even the gates of the Pantheon themselves, are being besieged by the armies of hell. Beings of pure dread and defilement, whose only purpose is to sow death and destruction to all those living under the light.” Ieshim waved his hand and the space around them twisted and warped.

Suddenly, the hall was gone. Replaced by a world covered in dust and sulfur, the lands were black and the sky red. In the distance, demonic creatures out of nightmares roamed across the land, great titan monstrosities that caused the earth to crack with each step.

Everyone had barely taken a moment to absorb what they were seeing when a piercing screech filled the air, forcing people to cover their ears. The next second, the sky went dark as a mass of demons crested over the horizon, charging straight toward them. People began to scream in panic and tried to run but were rooted in place, unable to move.

Just as the first wave of creatures were about to crash into them, the illusion broke, returning them to the safety of the hall.

“What you saw was merely an illusion, but do not doubt their existence. Lands once verdant green have been turned into hellscapes where only demons roam. Even your home world of Earth is not safe. To prepare for the Demon invasion, you have been brought here to train, conscripted to fight in the name of the Gods against the demonic hordes that threaten to bring chaos and death should they be allowed to fester." Ieshim explained with a calm exterior.

Joe could hardly believe what he was hearing. He had only processed the fact that Angels existed before suddenly being told they needed to fight against the armies of hell. This must be a cruel joke. He could barely survive in the real world against lone hooded gunmen. How was he meant to survive a world involving Angels and Demons?

"However. Fear not, for the Gods are merciful... To help you on your path, the Heavens have blessed you with three gifts.

The first is the Mark of Heaven. This mark gives all of you access to Heaven's system, which was imprinted during your conscription. To access it, state the word status in your mind," Ieshim explained with a slight wave of his hand.

"Surely not," Joe whispered in disbelief. He had read enough books and played enough games to understand what a system meant. With nothing to lose, Joe closed his eyes and concentrated.

“Status.”