《Rising World》Offer Of a Lifetime
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Tom's hands were sweaty on the swords as he faced down the masked figure. "None of that is helpful. The threshold of what?"
The one called System laughed, the sound tinkling like windchimes. "Let me explain. Unfortunately, you've suffered an accident, and now your soul is in limbo. I have been allowed to take it for my own purposes. Which are benign, I assure you."
Tom stared at the madman. "My soul, you say."
"You'll have it back when I'm done with it."
"That's crazy."
"Do you think it's more plausible that someone yanked you away from the meteor at the last second, and carried you away into a hidden jungle gym?"
"Who else are you keeping here? Was anyone else hurt by the impact?"
"Many people were, sadly. But the other person you seemed to see here was only part of my test."
Maybe this place was just an insanely elaborate prank. If not, he was being subjected to something impossible, from outside any reality he knew. He thought of the live-action roleplaying games he'd done in college so far, as a fun hobby. Those involved running around campus playing out heists or space intrigue. He had spent hours in the steam tunnels that connected the school buildings, searching for hidden treasure and shooting people with dart guns. Some students were really into these games and had cool costumes.
So it was on a wild hunch that Tom dashed forward and yanked off System's left glove.
System didn't stop him. Tom stared at what was beneath it: a starry void in negative, white space sparkled with points of multicolored darkness.
System wiggled its fingers and the anti-space slid along it as though its hand were only a window into elsewhere. "Do you wish to tear off my mask too? It's more of the same."
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Tom's heart thudded. "You... you're serious. It's not a game."
"Oh, but it is. Due to the circumstances, I decided you'd be perfect for my game. Not my property, you understand; I merely run it. You'll find it more interesting than the one you came from. May I explain my offer, or would you like to touch my hand?" System held out the fleshless space that Tom had exposed.
Though he trembled, he touched System's hand. It felt like vacuum, pulling at his fingers, hot in tiny pinprick spots like the air above a birthday cake full of candles. Tom let go and stepped back, looking up into the mask. "I don't know the right questions to ask, now. What do you want from me?"
System said, "I want you to enter my world and make things more interesting. Your perspective as an outsider should help. And your particular background will help you adjust. Do you find this familiar?"
The masked one raised its gloved right hand and the air nearby rippled, creating a rectangle that floated there. Its edges were blurry, its interior that same white starfield, and it held text.
Tom
Human Male
Class: Scholar 2
Divine Favor: Columbia
"What is this?" Tom said. There were more rows of information -- but System closed its fist and the window collapsed into nothing before he could read more.
"Come now; you know what this is, player of games. The power to call forth your profile is quite basic, in worlds that support it. The question is, will you play in my world at all, or accept your death and move on to whatever awaits you in your old world?"
Tom shivered. He'd crossed the line from worrying that he was being pranked and would get humiliated, to fearing that this was real. Whatever this place truly was, illusion or not, System had him in its power. "If you're serious, then what sort of world do you mean? If there are other powers than looking at a, a character sheet, then how do I get them? I need to know more."
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"You do? For what?"
"To make a sane decision about whatever this is."
System held its hands behind its back. "It wouldn't do to tell you everything, but a clever fellow like yourself can learn from context. In my world several people have suffered fatal accidents or illness, sadly, and you have the chance to step into the shoes of one."
Tom said, "You mean, replacing a dying person? Can't I just jump into the world and be myself?"
"You shall be yourself, just in a different body and context. How you react to those is up to you."
A role to play, thought Tom. "And these people will just... go away?"
"They are all fated to leave my world, yes. Each one's soul will go on to our own version of the afterlife. Whatever that may be." There was a mischievous note in System's voice, now. "I won't spoil that. But here; peruse these vessels whose lives you may step into."
System clapped its hands and spread them, making the starry mass of its exposed fingers trail vapor in the air. A set of images and text appeared like posters hanging in the air. One of them said:
The Lucky Turnip-Farmer
Human Male
Found a treasure that would have let him leave the farm behind, had he not been killed by bandits.
That one was a sturdy young man with a sunburnt face and calloused hands. Tom wasn't sure how lucky the fellow really was. He checked the next one.
The Ambitious Sage
Human Male
Cast an epic spell that restored him to youthful vigor. It also exploded the tower he was in.
So magic did exist...
The Plucky Princess
Elf Female
Nearly as skilled at climbing and acrobatics as she thought she was.
"Wait, I could turn into her?" The princess wore practical travel clothes and had long blond hair tied behind her pointed ears.
System said, "Certainly. Other options await."
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MCU Oneshots and Novellas
My back catalogue of shorter MCU fanfiction. Most are focused on Loki, Thor and Odin, but the other Avengers also show up on occasion. 1. Shadows of the Past Yet Loom:Thor thought he had grown out of his childhood stutter long ago, but to his distress, the speech impediment resurfaces shortly after he's crowned as king of Asgard. Loki tries to cheer Thor up. [set between Ragnarok and Infinity War] 2. Another Sleepless Night Thor has brought Loki back to Asgard and Odin has pronounced his sentence – Loki is to spend the rest of his days in the dungeons. That was supposed to be the end of the matter, yet sleep continues to elude Odin. One night, he makes a covert trip down to Loki’s cell. 3. Truths, Lies and Bilgesnipes There are children you can leave unsupervised for an afternoon without courting danger. To Odin's consternation, the two young princes of Asgard are not that kind of children. With Frigga absent and Odin distracted with the minutia of government, Thor and Loki sneak out of the palace on a bilgesnipe hunt. Their short adventure leaves Loki badly injured. But the physical injury is not as potent a force as the secrets Odin is determined to protect or Loki’s desperate need to live up to his father’s expectations. 4. Dear Mr. Thanos The trouble with the universe is that it doesn't want to be balanced. In fact, it requires regular pruning. In the year 2327 the Infinity War is a distant memory and Ariadne Thornton has some questions for the dark spectre that has haunted the universe for the past three hundred years. [post Infinity War, not Endgame compliant] 5. Not A Place But A People For a time, dreams of peace and safety can sustain a people lost in the wilderness. But soon the reality of the situation sinks in – a ship not provisioned for the number of people on board, a culture on the verge of extinction and a shadow spreading further with every passing day. [post Thor: Ragnarok, not Infinity War compliant]
8 225Denouncer of Fantasy
This isn't earth... Here the forests meet the heavens, the mountains touch the clouds and the sun shines bright above. The air is clean, the water sparkles, the people smile; as time grinds its' wheels. Here knights march in step, and dragons wheel in the skies carried the softest breezes towards far different lands. Ships lie in harbor, as humans and elves and dwarves and many races beside scramble, rush about their daily lives; frenzied and frantic. Here mages wait in towers, and king sit upon their thrones planning for war in coming time, here adventure and adventurers roam the world alike unchecked. It's not somethig you could belive unless you saw it with your' own two eyes. It's almost like a dream- But it is not a fantasy.
8 71Terminus
Terminus is a slow-paced action, fantasy, adventure, mystery, and a little bit of science fiction mixed in a single long book. The story is about a young boy who—On a mission to investigate the cause behind the reports of people’s mysterious disappearances in Graymore—discovers that the world he resides in, is not real—a simulation if you will—and is created by an ancient and technologically superior race; and the one in control of the simulation is a bored God, who desires nothing but a little spice in his life. Thus the God decides to give our boy access to a file called “Subject: #10994773892 — Aidan Cyrus”. Devastated that the world he lives in is nothing but a fictional world created by a God for his entertainment, Aidan finds himself tied in between two behemoths of empires—who’re at each other's throats. He is also in existential crisis, and whether the relationships he has with people are really . . . Real. Are they nothing but a preset personality? Or are they just following certain predetermined commands? Is he real? If he’s not then, what’s even the point of his life? Join Aidan on his journey to unveil the truth behind it all and to survive in the cruel world of Titan.
8 129Readers Make Their Choice as a SPACE COP
Yes, you read the title right. You are the MC of this story. Aliens have invaded your planet and you are in the mood to fight them off. Get ready to become an intergalactic cop, fight in different dimensions, get to know aliens from different planets, kick the buts of bad aliens, become an intergalactic mafia, create a space empire, destroy it and do all sorts of things. But one wrong choice and you may never come back.
8 134My spirituality journal
𝔻𝕦𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕞𝕪 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕛𝕠𝕦𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕪 𝕀'𝕞 𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕠𝕥𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕪𝕕𝕒𝕪. 𝕀𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕤 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕪𝕠𝕦'𝕝𝕝 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕝 𝕀 𝕤𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕝𝕕 𝕨𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕕𝕠𝕨𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕙𝕠𝕡𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥 𝕨𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕘𝕦𝕚𝕕𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕠𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕤𝕡𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕦𝕒𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕥𝕙! ✌️ ℙ𝕖𝕒𝕔𝕖 ☮️𝕊𝕟𝕖𝕒𝕜-𝕡𝕖𝕒𝕜: ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕜𝕣𝕒𝕤, ℙ𝕤𝕪𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕔 ℙ𝕠𝕨𝕖𝕣𝕤, 𝔼𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕪, ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𓂀, 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤, 𝕦𝕤𝕖𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕙𝕤 𝕗𝕣𝕠𝕞 𝕚𝕞𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕤, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕤𝕠 𝕞𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖.𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒓: 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒆.𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆𝒔, 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒆𝒃𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔. 𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒅, 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒎𝒆!𝔼𝕟𝕛𝕠𝕪!🌞𝔻𝕚𝕤𝕔𝕝𝕒𝕚𝕞𝕖𝕣 2: 𝕓𝕠𝕠𝕜 𝕚𝕟
8 365stay for breakfast
From my heart, to yours.part.2Check out an active playlist for this story on Spotify!profile: smokeandtulipsplaylist name: stay for breakfasthttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ipJQ6kGGUB7KTNWotmDN0?si=Q1CkLB-FQRmpFDzLixKAag
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