It was a simple day like any other. The weather was quite calm, with the sparse clouds slowly drifting under the crystal blue skies. The sun is barely up, with the city’s tall buildings promptly blocking the rays. It’s going to be a great monday.

“Ugh… Mondays.”

But as always, mondays are never great for this recently woken up teenager. Inside this surprisingly tidy room lies a single person, clearly unwelcoming of the day before him. However, he has an obligation. As many people of his age must diligently do, he must go to school, the cause of his utter loathing of mondays. What he even hates more is the fact that it’s morning, something that many people around the globe share sentiments with. He’ll have to go through the day even if it hurts him mentally.

“John! Breakfast’s ready!”

A voice was heard from downstairs, reaching the boy’s ears as soon as he was finally able to gather the motivation to keep both of his eyes open. Accompanied by the scent of bacons and eggs, he got out of his room with a yawn. Step by step he descends from the stairs, eyes mostly open, mind still half asleep. He dangerously gets close to falling to his death, but fortunately does so on the last step. The miscalculation gave him a little wake up call, and a near collision to a nearby wall.

“What are you doing?”

The source of the voice is his mother who was preparing the delicious bacon and eggs. The first sitting at the dining table was his father, newspaper at hand and eyes at John.

“I know you’ve been dying to kiss the wall, John, but please do it in a later time.”

John readjusts his shirt, which was slightly off his shoulder, and yawns again. He pats the wall he almost crashed on, and made his way to the dining table.

“Very funny dad.”

The father chuckled, before diverting his attention back to the newspaper. John lazily backed himself against his chair. He has no motivation to go to school. This is why he hates mondays.

“Now now John, sit properly. We’ll eat after your sister comes down also.”

“I’ll go get her.” John says, clunkily getting off his chair and wobbling towards the stairs again.

“Thanks honey.” The mother continues to prepare the table, while the father sips the coffee he has been cooling down on the table.

John doesn’t usually volunteer to do bothersome tasks, but he might as well do something before he completely loses all of his motor functions from the lack of will. It will also increase his goodwill points from his parents. Goodwill are needed if he ever needs some favor from them after all.

Being awake and fully conscious, climbing up the stairs was now easier for him and thankfully didn’t end in an accident. Well, that is if you do not count him almost tripping on the last step again. He reached his sister’s room groggily. Knocking on the door, John rubs his stomach.

“I’ll be there in a sec.”

John didn’t even need to say anything. The aroma of bacon and eggs was already enough to communicate. John again went back to the dining table, this time without problems on the stairs. The sister soon came down, disarranged like his younger brother earlier, but undoubtedly awake and conscious.

The family of four then took their breakfast. Usual topics come out as they eat, but like always, there were no problems.

“John, how is school by the way?” asked by his coffee sipping father.

“I’m doing fine. Nothing major happened.”

All throughout John’s life, never once did anything big happened to him. Something like a fire burning the school, or having someone confess to him never occurred, which he hopefully would’ve happen. However, just like his average scores, his life was full of averageness that he can essentially turn into a background character that no one would notice.

“Did you get into trouble?”

“Nope.”

He lied. He almost started a fight with another classmate on friday that could’ve ended in suspension. Thankfully, John wasn’t stupid enough to escalate it further and instead chose to retreat. His father looks doubtful but his casual behaviour and clean record of honesty in the household makes it far easier for him to believe in John.

“How about you Sarah?”

Sarah, in this case, was John’s sister. She was eating her bacon when she was asked.

“Oh, I got top 1 on the Quiz Bee.”

Unlike John, Sarah was an academic genius. She excels at everything she does, and is always set as the leader for any group she’s in. She’s a role model, a humble person, and a good sister.

“Oh, congratulations!” exclaimed their mother.

“Thank you mom.” Sarah energetically replied back.

The rest of the breakfast continued on with the usual topics. John had the time to think about how wonderful it is to have a family like his, surrounded by love all over

Preparing himself after finishing breakfast, John put on his school uniform consisting only a white polo, black slacks, a grey belt, and red black rubber shoes. The shoes is intended for his PE class in the afternoon, so he chose to wear it now instead. He also has his digital watch with him, a gift from his dad from his last birthday. It was really expensive too, considering it’s also a smartwatch, with the touch screen and everything. After dressing up for the occasion, he bravely sets forth towards education as he steps out of his door.

“...huh?”

Unfortunately for him, grass doesn’t seem very educative. John finds himself in an unknown place, a grassland. Only grass everywhere. There’s also a wide blue sky, a familiar sun whose rays doesn’t seem to hurt, and a gentle breeze coming from the north, whichever direction that is. This is definitely not the city nor the house he was previously in.

“Where am I?” John quietly asks himself.

“In a place full of grass, of course.”

John looks behind himself to find the source of the voice, only to find the door he came from wasn’t there anymore, and a man in a white attire standing before him. He also had an unnatural silver hair and blue eyes. His face was the peak of averageness, sitting perfectly on the middle of ugly and handsome. The outfit the man had wasn’t of fashion in the city. “A tail coat? Really? This man even had high neck collars. Who is this man?”

“How ya doin? Let me introduce myself.”

He spreads his arms from side to side, wearing a smile that would make anyone weary.

“I’m Setoheibel, or Seto for short. I am a god, the god of creation, perfection, and balance to be exact.”

John was dumbfounded. Doubtful, scared, excited, shocked, and dumbfounded. “Is this Seto guy really a god? He doesn’t look like it. I mean, look at that fashion sense.”

“Hey! I look cool, okay?”

John froze on his place. He wasn’t expecting for him to read his mind. “Wait did he also read my mind earlier?”

Seto holds his hips in a proud manner, emitting an aura of superiority which John took as the well known warning of “Do not fuck with me.”, and that was enough proof for Seto’s claim. No one can possibly pull off that confidence and arrogance without something backing it up.

“I am a god after all. Reading minds is easy. But if my fashion is really that horrendous, okay then. Fine.”

Seto scoffs, and in the instant he scoffed, his outfit completely changed. He now wore a jacket, a shirt, long pants, rubber shoes, and all in different shades of grey. This is better.

“Now, I know what you might be thinking: ‘What’s happening? Why I’m here? Am I dead? Could you delete my browser history?’. Before all of that, let me just say that in this place, we are friends. Ya?”

John immediately froze on his spot as Seto suddenly appears beside him, leaning on his shoulder. Seto is surprisingly light. Wait, no, he doesn’t weigh at all!

“So since we’re friends, of course I deleted your browser history.”

John was mentally relieved.

“Not that it changes anything anyway. You still have that folder sitting on Disk D.”

John was mentally unrelieved.

“And since we’re friends, talk to me casually. Okay?”

John gulps, and nods.

“Dude, talk. It’s not fun if you just mentally communicate with me.”

John chuckles and slight embarrassment. He wasn’t aware that he’s subconsciously communicating through his head, abnormally thinking that it was a normal thing to do.

“Sorry about that. I just… I’m just kinda lost right now.”

John wasn’t sure if this is a dream or if this is reality. Anyone would doubt their own state of existence and the state of everything around them if they were suddenly transferred into another place, with a god right next to him. He had the right to feel lost.

“Aw, c’mon man. It ain’t so bad! I’m gonna make it short, so that you can absorb the information efficiently. Mhmkay?”

Seto snaps an eyeglass into existence on his face, before clapping and bringing forth a couch out of thin air. John responds by sitting down, and preparing himself to listen. He has some things he’d like to say, but he should probably keep them until the end.

“Ok!”

Seto snaps a miniature John plush into view. He holds it in front of John.

“About your current situation. You are going to be transferred into another world, in order to do something for me. Things will come and go and you’ll have to deal with them. However, it all just boils down into you living your life in the other world.”

A portal suddenly appears, before Seto throws the plush into the portal, never to be seen again. The portal vanishes just as sudden as it had appeared.

“Do not worry about the specifics, cause I assure you that you’ll be given something more than enough to last a lifetime in the other world.”

This idea wasn’t so comfortable for John. Being thrown into another world against his will is just cruel.

“Hold on a sec, why me?”

Seto shrugged. “Why the hell not?”

Seto honestly has no reason or to pick him in the first place. He couldn’t bothered to look for the most interesting person he could find, so he just randomly chose. He couldn’t be more random in choosing who to throw into another world. He literally picked John with a blindfold and a dart to a localized map. In other words, John’s luck was shit.

“I’m sorry, but I call bullshit.”

John was clearly displeased by these turn of events. He doesn’t want to do anything with something as bothersome as this, much less be thrown into somewhere unfamiliar and unknown in the whims of somebody else. If there’s one thing he hates the most, that would be if someone chooses for him without his permission.

“I won’t do this. Take me back to my home.”

John clenched his fist. He knows he’s defying a god, but he can’t just stand there and let him throw him around willy nilly just because he can. He’s a human, and he has rights.

“Pfft!” Seto chuckled on John’s display of resistance. “Who said you were given a choice?”

Pressure immediately surged all throughout John’s very existence. He became heavy, and the air around him has suddenly became so thick he could hardly breathe. He's starting to regret standing up against him.

“Really now. Human rights you think? Don’t bother. I am a god, John. If there’s one thing you should know, it’s that you cannot defy me.”

John looked at Seto, and what he saw was not like that of a god. A demon, was what he first thought. His wicked smile and down looking eyes made it all the clearer that he is way out of his league. John could feel his bones chill down from the dangerous aura he's letting out. He was foolish to try and speak against the very thing that brought him here.

“Convince me, try it. But I guarantee you that you’ll never be able to change my mind. You simply cannot go against my will John. Deal with it.”

Seto was clearly setting the line here. He is a god, while John is a mere mortal. He needs to know that resistance is futile, and all he could do was to follow. Seto’s expression just screams arrogance of his own superiority, which is justifiable considering there’s nothing John can do against him.

“I…”

But sometimes, gods are just unreasonable. John gritted his teeth under the immense pressure and intimidation he’s feeling. He can’t give in. Not against a god he doesn’t believe in.

“I don't care… I will say my opinion, and you can’t do anything about that.”

Seto grinned. John suddenly felt lighter, as he gasped for air. The atmosphere suddenly went back to normal, as if nothing happened. His body was currently ridden with cold sweat, as he regains his composure. Seto smirked as he lazily sat a distance away in front of John. On air.

“I can do something about that, but I’d rather not cause it would take the fun away.”

He claps his hand in an amused manner.

“But kudos to that brother. Defying me is the greatest show of courage and foolishness you could ever do. It was entertaining.”

John keeps breathing heavily.

“Thanks…”

“But it was still stupid, so next time, don’t do that again alright?”

“Fuck off.”

Both of them chuckle. Despite the pressure from before, John can weirdly hold a conversation with Seto like an actual friend even though they are still totally strangers to each other. A god like him can make him shudder and tremble in fear one moment, then interact casually like an old friend in the next. This speaks high of what Seto can do.

John then relaxes a little. At least Seto isn’t so intimidating now that he’s back to casually going about. Though this is still really strange. This whole occurrence just doesn’t add up. There was no set up, hints, or whatever that would lead to this moment he is in.

John has no choice but to accept this reality that has stepped into. Even if he loathes being driven against his will, he can’t deny the fact that he is being driven against his will. Even if he resists, it will still end in him being thrown into the other world. Rather then fruitlessly argue on whether he should be put back or not, he’d rather just talk and maybe get some information out of Seto.

“But I can’t do anything great though. I don’t think I can do much.”

He still tries to argue though.

“Instead of thinking that, why not think that you can do anything, even if it isn’t great. It’s honestly a much better side of the thought, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, but my point still remains. It’s just that, you know, I’m average. I don’t excel.” Seto just grinned.

“Well, what’s wrong with being average? At least your field of expertise isn’t limited to one area only. I’d even dare say averageness is the greatest strength anyone could have.”

Seto then stood up from his non-existent chair and claps his hands. Lights from the ground suddenly pierce through, slowly obscuring John from view.

“And you’re gonna know why soon.”

“H-hey! Wait!”

“John, just giving you everything from the start is bound to be unentertaining. For now, get some experience in your new world, mhmkay?”

John struggled to keep himself grounded to this plane of existence. He still has an important question left for Seto. He still wants to know what he has to do for him.

“You’ll have to find out yourself.”

He read his mind again. In a flash, John is now nowhere to be seen. Seto sits down on the couch that John recently left on. Stretching his body, he lazily leaned himself and adjusted the couch’s angle to turn it into a makeshift bed.

“He missed out on this amazing feature.” Seto falls asleep as John is transported into another world.

Welcome to the World of Alterea