Stepping outside the mansion had been a confusing experience for Roy.

The God's steps were fast and nimble, the house a marvel of corridors and rooms with a whole slew of trinkets, wacky items as well as precious materials inside them. The professor counted at least three laboratories, and what seemed like a medical ward.

After what seemed the thousandth turn, both men found themself in the house-garden, one with a wide grin on his face, the other with an expression of confusion and awe.

The plane kept his orbit true, and now a giant white sphere was burning in the distance. The light from the massive star stretched lazily on the landmass of the planet below, adding another layer of beauty to the marvelous scene.

'This is...mesmerizing. I never understood the desire of some people to dedicate their lives to the singular pursuit of becoming an astronaut, but now I for sure can see the appeal. '

With a chuckle, a different thought made his way into the man.

'And all it took for me was to die, reincarnate into my same old body, and met two different gods. Suck on this, NASA candidates'

Still too taken by the display before him, Roy failed to notice Abaddon conjuring another screen from thin air.

The scene on it was something the old man would fail to recognize, given his state at the time.

With a light cough, the god called Roy to attention.

"Hey, I promised to show you something nice before sending you to your ordeal. "

His focus now on the screen, the man signaled to keep on going. An azure castle, with two powerful figures standing in front of its gates was visible in the fractal.

"What you see here is the outside of our resident Goddess domain. Once you reach a certain power level, you will want to develop one too, as it will provide a safe haven, a place to train, and an empowering factor all in once."

"What you don't wanna do, is to keep said domain in the open for all to see, as in its creation you are required to imbue a piece of your own soul, a fragment of your true body and a sliver of your consciousness. That makes attacking the domain directly a feasible method to wound us"

Drawing lines in the air in front of the screen, the god kept talking slowly, his voice changing subtly, gaining a deeper tone, connotations of violence and malice.

"And what you really don't wanna do, is to further lend part of your power to entities residing on your plane, because all that they amount to other powerful players of this game of life, is simply... targets"

The last word left the lips of Abaddon like the grinding of bones, and without much fanfare, the god snapped his fingers. The lines traced in front of the screen glowed red, and with another snap, disappeared. On the screen, both statue's eyes glowed fiercely for a split second.

Then everything fell down, cut into irregular pieces.

Silver blood splattering everywhere, revealing the being as more than mere constructs, was soon covered by the debris of the fallen gate. A blood-curling scream rose from the castle halls, a mixture of pain, confusion and despair.

"Fucking try to test my patience again, you worthless bimbo"

With practiced ease, another snap rang, the screen disappeared and Abaddon turned towards a stunned Roy, a gleeful smirk on his handsome features.

"Let's get back to us now, shall we"

Sitting in the garden, the old professor kept thinking about the casual display of absolute power he just saw. The god implied he could become as powerful as he was.

He raised his head to look at Abaddon, the man now playing around lazily with his telescope.

Okay, maybe not as powerful as this particular god, but the scope of his possibilities was still hard to think at. He was also reminded of the first title he heard, Primordial of Destruction, now a better fit for sure for his otherwise jovial host.

Not wanting to waste any time, he broke the peaceful silence that seemed so easy to achieve between them.

"I think I found a nickname for you. "

The god perked up his head, his left brow raised.

"Man, you are cold"

Quite stumped by the response, Roy froze for a moment, then chuckled.

"You mean those two guys? You forget that I lived quite a long life. It's not the first time I see violence... moreover I knew nothing about them, but the fact that they are the minions of someone that, if I understood correctly, you plan me to kill and you didn't particularly try to hide your peculiar... way, of handling things"

Getting another amused, and somewhat embarrassed expression in return, the man kept going.

"Anyway, I think Don is a good fit for you. It makes me think of a mafia boss, and you would be quite the sight in a smoking"

" Ah! Then we're gonna have to try one once you get back. Listen, It's been a while since I had a conversation with someone so interesting, but I'd like to not get attached to soon, so let's begin with explaining your trial"

Trying to school his expression back, and somewhat failing, an excited glint appeared in Roy's eyes.

"The world below is straight up a fantasy version of whatever you humans can think about. It has magitech, elves, magical races of all kind,s and all the good stuff. That means also magical material. Looking at your soul, I found out that while you have quite the good affinity for soul stuff, magic will be off the table for a while"

"Moreover, I recognize a fellow body enthusiast when I see one. You already had to deal with your homework, and now what you want is a more physical approach"

The god stopped, waiting for an answer.

Roy would be lying if he said that he didn't want to try out magic, but for a while isn't forever, and as Abaddon guessed, the allure of magic wasn't as strong as the excitement he felt coming from his whole being during a good hand to hand fight.

A nod was what it took for the explanation to commence again. The god went on a bit more about the interlocking aspects of mind and soul, both needed for different kinds of magic, and how everything was connected together in some way or another. The body feeds into the mind, the mind into the soul, and both influenced the body in more subtle manners.

"Coming back to the materials, I mentioned them specifically because that is what you will train to surpass. Once you leave the crucible, ideally you want to be able to survive most situations, and to be able to contest with people on the upper middle of the power scale."

The god paused, again, a serious look on his face.

"You won't get much help from me. I will arrange to deliver you anything you ask for before your challenge, set you up with a boon of your choice, and then I expect you to be able to walk the rest of the way on your own. That's the general gist. As for the challenge itself, think of it as an escape room, just with no trick and no doors. I suggest you find a way to curb your loneliness, and of course, bring provisions. Lot's of provisions"

His piece said, the god waved at Roy.

The man found himself in the same room he woke up in. Taken aback by the sudden displacement, he supported himself on something for a few seconds.

Looking down, he found himself staring at his favorite pen, neatly folded into what seemed like his old notebook. A desk appeared as the latest addition to Abaddon guest room. Chuckling slightly, Roy thought that maybe the time for homework wasn't finished yet.

As the god said, the pieces of information he gave weren't specific at all. He was on his own even in the choice of his "blessing". He found the word quite adept to the situation. He never particularly cared about religions, and receiving a boon from a god wasn't really high on his list of thoughts before finding himself in that particular situation.

He had already thought about it, and unless a better idea came up, the best thing to do was analyzing his situation, coming up with a plan, and cover all bases possible. Creativity had never been a real issue for the old writer, and so after scrapping countless ideas, he finally decided on his way forward.

Taking a last look at the notebook in front of him, Roy got up from the desk and went towards the bed. His body couldn't keep up with his mind anymore, a soon-to-be left behind reminder of his old age.

Laying down, a fire had been lit in the professor's eyes. He was satisfied.

His journey was just starting.