...And the Dark Gods cackled, for Chaos was upon Them! Truly, for to those Twisted Souls, there was no greater pleasure in the [Macrocosm] than the grief of the Unprepared. "Laugh not!" boomed Eldeema, the Redeemer of Light, "Your Days are numbered! I will have your God Cores! I will purify your Divinities! I will save this Accursed Realm from your despicable claws!" This merely prodded the Dark Gods into jeering at Her. Who was she to oppose them? They were Chosen by the Shadows themselves, promised suffering in spades for so long as they were a part of their Grand Design. What could this upstart possibly do? Nothing. They were immortals in the truest sense, guaranteed their lives by one of the Highest. Nothing saving for a True Miracle could stop them! That was when the Redeemer Moved...

- Excerpt From: The Holy Book Of J'Munda

Falling. That isn’t how it started, but that’s how it’s going. Before my eyes, the last couple of minutes dance across my vision in stunning clarity. Probably the last moments I’ll ever have. Sitting in my recliner with my wife reading a book on the couch across from me, I can’t help but admire how far we’ve come. In years past, I loathed this house. It was a constant reminder of what I never had the time to do - travel. Then we had children, and those children gave me a sense of responsibility that overshadowed my intense wanderlust. Those children eventually grew up and had kids of their own. Thinking we could finally see the world, the two of us prepared all that we could. What we didn’t prepare for was cancer. Hospital visits, chemotherapy, remission, only to have it all go back to square one. Three times I’ve had cancer. Three. Fucking. Times.

Combined with old age and arthritis, on top of all the medical bills… we couldn’t justify the travel. Not with the risks it posed to my already failing health. Even with all of that, I’m happy. Not only that, but I am grateful for what I have. My children, adults now they may be, visit us often. Mary, my wife, is as stunning as the day we met as far as I’m concerned. Her smile lights up my heart, and her laughter lifts my soul. While I had hoped travel could have been on the agenda before I inevitably depart from this world, that wish pales in comparison to the blessings I hold now. Breaking me out of my reminiscence, my wife called out to me.

“Graham, the kids are here!”

“You say that like any of us are under the age of 18.”, Brutus, my eldest son said as he and his two siblings walked in.

“I’m terribly sorry. Graham, the big kids are here!” snarked my wife. She always was one for sarcastic humor.

“Mary, please.”, I replied to her. “You know they hate it when you call them that.”

“Thanks, Dad,” in walked our second oldest, June, “It’s kind of demeaning to be 25 and still be referred to as ‘kids.’”

“See Mary? I told you they didn’t like it. It’s about time we started calling them something more mature. Like large offspring!” Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” cackled Mary. “I KNEW you were on my side!”

As our youngest, Penelope, entered, a resounding *ding* was heard. Following this, in bright white lettering was the following message:

[System Initialization Commencing…]

With a start, I gasped, “What in the -” though Penelope beat me to it.

“When are you guys going to get that doorbell fixed? It’s loud and just went off without anyone even touching it. Also, what’s the ‘System’, and why are you going to initialize it?”

*ding*

[Insufficient Size… Insufficient Mana Levels… Insufficient Anima Levels… Insufficient………….]

The list went on and on, yet all we could do was sit in silence, too confused as to what was going on to speak.

*ding*

[Planetary Merger Protocol 331 Enabled]

Rumbling could suddenly be heard, metal screeched, and people screamed.

“Everyone, go to the basement!” I yelled as loud as I could.

So we ran. We ran through the living room, kitchen, and dining room until we finally arrived at the stairs heading down. Due to my already lacking body, this quick burst of motion causes my arthritis to rear its ugly head, slowing me down until I was firmly in the back of our little parade. By the time I’d made it to the top of the stairway, most of my family was at or near the bottom.

*crack*

A rough circle of fractures could be seen spanning from the walls down to the middle of the stairs and approximately five feet behind me.

“Hurry!” screamed Mary, but it was too late.

The floor began to sink before suddenly falling away, taking me with it. Above me, I could vaguely hear my family’s shouts and cries. Though, that quickly was snuffed out as the ground shifted and morphed back together, reminding me of putty before once again turning solid and leaving me in total darkness. Or at least, it would’ve had it not been for the glowing vortex beneath me. So down, down I fell into what I presumed to be my doom. As I inevitably reached the swirling light, a feeling of being surrounded by thick mud overcame me, yet I could breathe just fine.

My world was all of a sudden nothing but a kaleidoscope of colors and sensations the likes of which could never be described fully. Suffice to say, I would’ve been in awe if I wasn’t reeling from the loss of my family and the terror that gripped my heart as I tumbled uncontrollably downwards. As quickly as the sensory overload began, it was over, and the exact opposite occurred. The mud-like substance that I found myself in dissipated and left me feeling absolutely nothing at all, both inside and out. The wondrous colors gave way to an ever-shifting field of something that was simultaneously black and white, though never grey. Even the feeling of falling was gone and left me with a nondescript sense of swaying. So now it all comes back to square one. Falling. That isn’t how it started, but that’s how it’s going.

*thump*

Red mountains greet my gaze as far as the eye can see. Rolling rivers. Purple trees. Pink grass. Birds sing sweetly in my ears. Three miniature suns stare down at me, two red and one blue. Ah, I must be dead, and this is the afterlife.

[Welcome To The Macrocosm]

[Good Luck]

If only it were that easy.