Darian sat quietly on the stone, watching the skeleton that approached the ruined village he was in. He was indecisive about how he should proceed, having never experienced anything at all like this before, either in real live or virtually. He understood the severity of his predicament, for if his knowledge of what had happened to him was correct, then should expect to be attacked as soon as the skeleton saw him.

This was supposedly a game, and while he hadn’t played any games, he had read many fantasy novels during his long life, some of them even about living in game worlds. If I kill that skeleton then I should get some of that experience they go on about, he thought. He even recalled some of the overheard discussions between his grandchildren, discussing their exploits in whatever computer game had captured their attention that week, as they say at the feet of their boring grandfather.

He crouched down as much as he could so as not to prematurely attract attention from the approaching creature. He looked down at the clothes he woke up in, still pristine even now, then cursed , knowing there was nothing he could do about them. Even with his limited understanding, he knew their brilliant white appearance diminished his chance of blending into the background. He had wiped blood on them earlier, from some minor cut he picked up and it had not even left the slightest mark on the material. Weird, he thought to himself.

Stop wasting time, he mentally told himself, do something before you lose the opportunity to influence the situation. That was something he remembered being told once, a long time ago, back when he spend a summer in army training. Again, he shook his head as if to rid himself of distracting thoughts.

Finally making up his mind, he slid down off the rocks, stumbling as he landed on the hard, sun baked earth, and trotted across to the nearest ruins to him, which was on the opposite side of the open area from the approaching skeleton. He had roughly about three and a half minutes before it would reach his position. Climbing across the fallen masonry he entered what would have been the interior when it was intact, and found this area also filled with rubble, probably the remains of the fallen roof, he decided. Carefully picking his way across it, so as to avoid any injury from a misplaced foot, he searched frantically for anything he could use to arm himself. The only thing he managed to find was a broken beam of wood, probably one of the beams that had held the roof up.

The beam was well aged from being in the sunlight, burnt a deep grey in color, with the grain opened up in fissures along its length. At first he feared it may be too weak to be effective, but after smashing it down onto some rocks near him a couple of times, it’s failure to crack or splinter reassured him. Quickly looking in the direction he expected the creature to appear from, he found it still hadn’t appeared, allowing him time to get his breath back.

For some reason, he found his new body didn’t seem to have much stamina, and he grew tired quickly after only a short bout of strenuous activity. He knew he was new to this body, but, still, this was a concern. If this was his old body, crippled and still bound to that wheelchair, poor stamina would be understandable, but this was a brand new, and young body, it should be in pristine condition with perfect stamina, he hadn.t even got round to abusing it yet.

A sound made him look up, and suddenly the skeleton appeared from between two mounds of mixed dirt and stone, travelling along at a walking pace. Now he could see it properly, he could easily make out it’s attire. The skeleton was dressed, or partially dressed considering the state of the armor, in torn and rusty chainmail, its surface covered with a number of huge rents, allowing one to see inside to the ribcage that it protected. On its head perched a small metal helmet, resembling an upside down metal bowl, its rim lined with the heads of large, corroded rivets. The helmet was overly large atop the skull and rocked about as the skeleton walked, making faint bell like clangs as it struck against the bone of its skull.

If it had once been wearing lower garments, then they must had fallen off at some stage, along with the flesh, for all that remained wrapped around its hips was a leather belt, dangling loose, caught on one hipbone.

The final thing that the skeleton possessed was grasped in one boney hand. It was a short sword, rusting and tarnished from age. Darian didn’t delude himself that its condition lessened its lethality, it sure still looked sharp enough to gut him.

Now fully within the open space, the skeleton paused, head moving about. It was almost like it was seeking something, so Darian stood still, unmoving, hoping that it would not detect his presence and continue on its way leaving him unmolested. Luck wasn’t with him, for one of his feet was balanced precariously on a rock, and his weight finally caused it to slide out from beneath him, causing him to stagger to the side. This was enough to attract the attention of the skeleton and its head spun round, towards him, its helmet clanging madly and embers of flaming light blazing up in its previously empty eye sockets.

So shocked at the sudden change, in both his position and in the skeletons demeanor, he stood there, mouth agape, as the skeleton suddenly changed direction and charged at him, its corroded weapon held aloft. Breaking free of his shock induced paralysis, Darian quickly lifted his wooden beam unsteadily and advanced to meet the charging skeleton.

They met at the former position of a wall, stone rubble two foot high between them. The skeleton, eyes still fixed firmly on Darian scrambled up the stones, its skeletal feet scrabbling about to find solid purchase in the loose rubble. One of its feet slipped and the skeleton fell forward, thrusting its unburdened arm out to stop itself, and succeeding, leaving itself propped up, the metal cap tumbling off its head and onto the stones in front of it.

Darian, seeing this, took the opportunity that this provided him to swing the beam as hard as he could at the skeletons now unprotected head, striking it squarely on the right side of the skull. In his hands the beam shattered, sending shards out in an arc of shattered wood. The skeletons head, unmoved by the blow, rose up and those burning eyes stared at him, freezing him into place like a scared rabbit caught in the headlights of an approaching car. Without any warning one boney arm thrust quickly forward, sinking the sword it held cross-guard deep into Darians chest. The rusted point punched out his back, the swords point stained red with blood.

At first, the pain he felt was like an ice cold electric shock that sent waves outwards from the point of entry, but this was almost instantly replaced with an agonizing, burning pain that wracked his body, a feeling like he had been dipped in fire, then salt rubbed into the wounds that it had caused, a pain greater than any he had ever felt before. The energy left his body in a rush and he slumped onto his knees, face to face with the skeletons rictus grin, seeing small flakes of dark, sundried skin clinging to the bone.

As if sensing the helplessness of its victim, the skeleton maliciously and slowly twisted the blade inside him, and Darian, who thought the pain could not be any worse, screamed in agony as it dramatically increased. Then the blade was withdrawn from his body, more pain wracking his body as he fell, face down onto the stonework in front of him. As his sight faded, the last thing he saw was the skeleton once again raising the sword above him, then the blade falling.

Everything went black as his life slipped away from him.

*****

Awareness returned to Darian at some point, much later, how much later was indeterminate, but he felt no pain, for which he was extremely thankful. Alive, he thought, I am still alive he mentally exulted to himself, then frowned as he became aware of something else. Coldness seeped up through him, chilling his skin and bones and he shivered slightly. He could feel himself laying on his back on some chilly, flat surface, and he could see a bright, white light illuminate his closed eyelids. His fingertips, slightly numb, rose to his chest and felt about where the blade had pierced his chest, expecting to encounter ripped flesh and a gaping hole, but found no flaw in the surface of the skin they ran across.

His fingers suddenly stopped their movement across his chest as he heard someone talking near him. From what he could overhear they were talking about him. The voices stopped as suddenly as they had started.

“The mortal is awake.” spoke a female voice. “It is listening to us.”

“Ah, yes, I can see it.” replied a deep masculine voice. “Mortal, we know you are awake, please open your eyes and face us.” The voice somehow sent shivers down Darians back, and even though the words were spoken lightly, and with a note of kindness, he could hear an undertone that somehow made him fear the unseen speaker.

“Malantine, ease back on your power, it is causing the mortal to fear you.” This voice, also masculine, was lighter, and less fear inducing that the other. “Come, mortal, fear us not, for we are only here to help you. Arise from that cold slab and let us greet you. We are not here to bring you harm.” This voice seemed to carry more warmth, and Darian, realizing that just lying there would only make him colder and no less ignorant of where he was, or why, opened his eyes and looked around.

He found he was lying on a white marble slab, still dressed in those white clothes he had on when he arrived in Eternia, still pristine in appearance, not even a hole where the sword had pierced him. The space around him was also white, making it impossible to even calculate where the boundaries were, if there actually was any at all. Seated in marble thrones were five beings, human in appearance, but Darian guessed they would be about ten foot tall. He knew he wouldn’t know the accuracy of his guess until he had something to compare their height with, the whiteness made everything indeterminate.

The seated group in front of him was made up of two females and three males, all dressed in what Darian guessed was archaic armor, almost reminiscent of the images he had seen of Norse gods. He had no idea who these beings were, but he knew they must be someone important.

One of the beings, who was clad in golden armor, his muscular arms bare, leaned forward placed one elbow on his knee and propped his head up as he scrutinized Darian, his electric blue eyes piercing Darian to his soul looking like he could see every stain on it. “So, this is the one that Nekkir-Amon chose, is it, I can smell the taint within him from here. Consigning his soul to oblivion would be the greatest gift we could reward him with. Are you sure, sister, that we should assist this mortal, prolonging his miserable life ? “ Darian recognized the voice, it was the one that had been referred to as Malantine.

One of the females stirred and turned towards the speaker. She was dressed just as elaborately as the being known as Malantine, but her hair was dark, long and braided into two ponytails. “Yes, brother, I am sure, as is the rest of us. If we are finally to rid ourselves of our fallen brother, then the tool he wished to create to destroy the world , is our greatest chance. He is an innocent pawn within all of this, and his soul is still recoverable.” Again, this was a voice Darian had heard before, but had no name to attach to it.

All this talking about him was getting a little annoying. Pushing himself up into a seated position, Darian swung his legs over the side of the marble slab and slid off, landing on his feet. “Hey, I am here, you know. I can hear you. How about talking to me instead of about me ?” he snapped at the seated five. This interruption into their conversation caused five pairs of eyes to turn on him, a mixture of interest and annoyance within them.

The one known as Malantine replied. “Yes, we know you are there mortal, and how we wish you were not. Your very presence here brings us no pleasure at all, it only brings us discord.” This answer was given in a harsh tone, but not angrily.

Darian, not put off at all by capturing the full attention of the beings, just stared at them. “Well, then, I apologize to you for being the cause of your discord, but I really need a few questions answered. First one being, where the hell am I, is this that respawn thing I was told about.” He looked around at the nothingness that surrounded him. “If this is it, then I have to say, it’s a little disappointing.”

One of the other males spoke up at this, one dressed in a dark brown leather outfit, somewhat resembling the golden armor worn by Malantine. The voice of this being was smooth, and reassuring, while somehow giving the impression of sleaziness. “Ah, yes, the information that the messenger from the other world imparted onto you. “ This beings brown eyes locked onto Darians. “No, this is not rebirth, mortal, nor respawn as you called it. You are here before us in the nothingness between eternal death and the mortal realm because you can not respawn, nor can you die. You are not a creature of Eternia, but a shadow from the place beyond the planetary veil. You should not be here, and we can not return you to the place where you should be.”

Darian stared at the speaker in confusion, what did he mean he couldn’t respawn ? From the little he understood, plenty of people from New Eden joined this game daily, and they must have died and respawned at some stage, many times in fact. “But people from where I come from, or where I should come from anyway, come here all the time. Don’t they respawn when they die ?” he asked bemusedly.

As the smooth talker opened his mouth to answer, the female who had talked to him earlier held up a hand and interrupted. “Hold it, brother, I will answer this.” She stared at the other until he grunted and sat back in his throne. Satisfied, she continued. “Yes, mortal, those from your side of the veil do spend time here in Eternia, but there is a vast difference between you and them. They can respawn because they have left their real bodies in their world, and only occupy golems of their creation on this side, golems created in this world and of this world. The body of the golems respawn when killed, and their souls return to their reborn creations. ” She paused, looking at him to see if he understood.

He rolled his eyes at this. “Yes, I understand that, please continue”

She smiled at him, her face beaming with pleasure. “You, on the other hand, are a being from the other side of the veil, and because of the interference of our brother, not only your soul is here, but also your mortal body, and you have no golem to inhabit when killed. So, mortal, you have been killed, and are here, before us, the gods of Eternia, because you do not have the ability to rebirth here, nor can you return through the veil to your world. The taint of our brother within you keeps you from both worlds.” The smile on her face was now sad. “The body you inhabit can only be reborn in your world, not ours.”

Darians head spun from this information, and panic gripped him. Was he to be forever stuck here, in white limbo with five being who considered themselves gods. He slid down the slab behind him, sitting down and pulled his knees up into his chest. Looking up. he saw the five gods staring down at him, pity plainly evident on all their faces. “So that’s it, is it, I am stuck here forever ?”

They just sat there silent, looking at him, his question left unanswered.