1 Prolugue - Initiation

Ah, Mondays – universally dreaded as the most disliked day of the week. It's a sentiment shared by people worldwide who begrudgingly awaken to the start of yet another week. The now-familiar cycle then begins: wake up, eat, shower, work, eat, and sleep. Lather, rinse, repeat. Eventually, the weekend arrives, providing a much-needed respite from the accumulated stress. But just like clockwork, Monday rolls around again, rudely slapping us in the face and marking the beginning of another long week spent toiling away. For Richter, this monotonous routine has been his cut and paste routine for the past three years. He wouldn't claim he didn't have a "life," per se… it's just not one he particularly relishes. Waking up at the break of dawn to complete mind-numbing tasks at the office was never his idea of an ideal existence. Still, he reminds himself it could always be worse.

The piercing sound of the alarm clock invaded Richter's peaceful slumber, earning a groan from him. Reluctantly, he opened his eyes, shooting daggers at the annoying device as if willing it to stop. Unsurprisingly, it didn't cease its shrill tune, forcing Richter to drag himself out of bed and switch it off manually. With a yawn and stretch, he began his familiar morning routine: sliding bread into the toaster and smearing it generously with butter. "Is there anything better than warm toast topped with butter on a chilly Monday morning?" He said, smiling slightly. After devouring down the satisfying toast, he hopped into the shower, shuddering as the icy water made contact with his skin. Even though it was always cold in the mornings, Richter didn't mind - the invigorating temperature served as an extra wake-up call before facing another day at work.

Emerging from the shower, he caught sight of his watch and cursed under his breath. Late again! Quickly tossing on clothes and shoes, he snatched his keys off the counter and raced down the stairway two steps at a time. He managed a hasty greeting to his neighbor as he dashed to his car - his trusty old shitbox that had seen better days, but it held sentimental value to him and he was not willing to let her go just yet.

As Richter jumped into the car and tossed his belongings onto the passenger seat, he turned the ignition... only to be met with deafening silence. Surely this was just a fluke. God couldn't possibly be so cruel. "Come on, baby, don't abandon me now," Richter pleaded, patting the dashboard and mumbling prayers. He mustered up his remaining hope, turned the key again... and still nothing.

"Why today of all days? Rodger is going to kill me!" Frustrated, he slammed his fist against the dashboard before hastily gathering his things. "Please, don't let this be the end," Richter whispered to himself, sprinting towards the closest bus stop. Living in the bustling city had its perks, and at least he wouldn't have to run too far to catch the bus.

Spotting the bus about to pull away in the distance, he picked up his pace, waving to get the driver's attention. Luckily, the driver saw him and hit the brakes, allowing Richter to board the bus with a sigh of relief. "Thank god," he whispered gratefully. He thanked the driver and paid the fare, sinking into a seat. Richter wasn't exactly out of shape – he regularly went to the gym and had a decent physique; however, running a whole city block still left him huffing and puffing. "The guys at the office are going to crucify me for being late. Why did it have to happen during the project demonstration?" he groaned, lamenting the unfortunate timing. "This is why Mondays suck. When has there ever been a good Monday…" Richter muttered in exasperation. And to top it all off, he had the thrilling experience of being stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic for the next half-hour.

*_________________________________________*

"Are you serious, Richter? This is the third day you've been late for work!" Rodger, Richter's hard-ass boss, said.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, sir. My car-"

"I don't give a rat's ass what happened, God himself could have come down and stopped you from getting here on time, and I still wouldn't give a shit. The truth of the matter is that this keeps happening." He spat, "Three days. Three days, Richter! How can I run a business if my employees can't even manage to get here on time? How is it even possible someone could be that unprofessional?" Rodger berated him, his neck vein pulsating with his anger.

"I don't know-"

"That was a rhetorical question, smartass. Out of all days, you decide to be late on the day we're doing a project demonstration. The board is here, for God's sake!" Richter opened his mouth to say something, but knew he messed up big time so he snapped it shut, chewing the inside of his lip to keep the words from escaping. All he could do was take the reprimand and hope for the best.

Rodger glared at Richter, waiting for him to say something, but at this point Richter was all out of excuses. Rodger looked at him for a long time, but Richter knew better and held his silence.

Eventually, Rodger sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath. "Listen, I've been exceptionally lenient with you, Richter," he said, finally averting his gaze. "You know, corporate has been breathing down my neck the past two months, which isn't helping. Believe it or not, you're a valuable employee, Richter. You're among our best and play a pivotal role in the work we do here. But this cannot happen again. Never let it happen again," he warned in a slightly threatening tone, wagging a finger in Richter's direction before panning out across the room as a warning to everyone who was listening.

Richter nodded, promised that this would be the last time, and walked towards his cubicle. He exhaled heavily, placing his belongings down, and waited for what he knew was coming. It didn't take long.

"He totally chewed you out, man." Someone snickered from behind, and he turned to face them. "Personally, I would've just been on time to avoid that. You're lucky he's got a soft spot for you." It was Joseph, his colleague, and the closest thing to a best friend that Ritcher had.

"Wow, wish I had thought of that, genius, thanks for the brilliant advice." Richter retorted sarcastically, flipping him off when he burst into laughter.

"Hey, he went easy on you, bro. He never would've done that for me." Joseph said, tinged with a hint of jealousy. "I would've been handed a pink slip and a swift kick in the ass on the way out the door," he said, flicking his fingers together. "But hey, glad you got off the hook. It's great having you here. Plus, it's a bonus that I won't have to tackle the demonstration alone. Now you can handle all the hard stuff." he added with a sly grin.

"I live to serve you, Your Majesty." Richter said, rolling his eyes.

"All hail King Joseph!" A cheerful laughter suddenly chimed in the conversation, the voice making its way over the half cubicle wall before she popped into view with a roll of her chair into the small aisle. It was Mindy, another coworker. "So, did your car not start up or something? How did you manage to get here so quickly?"

"I didn't. I was late." Richter said flatly.

"I know. Just wanted to rub it in a bit." Mindy said, flashing a playful grin.

The three friends were inseparable, the only true friends in his life. They were his solace both in and out of the workplace, making the daily grind more bearable. Joseph, the self-proclaimed comedian, always had a knack for cracking jokes that no one found amusing. But, despite occasionally driving Richter crazy, he considered Joseph one of his closest confidants both in and outside of work.

Mindy was someone Richter always liked. Rodger hired her four years ago and she just sort of fell into an easy friendship with Josephe and Richter. She had the voice of reason between the two of them on many occasions and had saved both their asses more than once.

And she was cute, too, with long brown hair and a short, petite build. He could never tell if she was flirting with him or if she naturally came off that way. He's always been interested in her, even though they've never talked that way. She's a hard person to read, and it was hard for him ever to know what she was thinking. She would always go out of her way to talk to him and always sat next to him during a break. She would laugh at his stupid jokes, even when they weren't funny. Joseph caught this interest early on in their working relationship and always egged at him to make a move. But he never would, though; he didn't want to ruin their friendship; it was just too important to him.

"One crucial question," Joseph declared, pausing for emphasis, "have you attempted the classic 'turn it off and on again' trick?" Richter stared blankly, unable to suppress a snicker in response.

"Wait, did you try putting it in rice?" Mindy chimed in, prompting a genuine laugh from Joseph. Rolling his eyes, Richter returned to his seat and directed his attention to the computer screen, clicking the power button.

"Thanks for the advice, guys. Next time, I'll be sure to instruct my car to simply turn on when it refuses to cooperate." Richter said deadpan.

"Just remember to ask politely; nobody likes being ordered around," Joseph playfully remarked with a mischievous grin. Ritcher decided to hold up two middle fingers for each of them to end the banter, turning his back to both of them so they couldn't see his smile as he rolled his seat back under his desk, kicking the monitor wire out of the way with his boot.

"Of course, and I'll make sure I romance it next time and treat it to some fine dining before expecting my car to do its one job, like starting up and getting me to work on time so it doesn't-"

*DING*

Richter halted in his tracks as a chilling noise invaded his mind, and at the same time, an ethereal orange text box materialized before his eyes. An icy, emotionless, mechanical voice reverberated in his head while he read the words when his surroundings started to quiver violently.

*Scanning of Planet Earth initiated. Analyzing...*

The dead, monotone voice lingered in his ears, and he jumped out of his seat, looking around wildly, Mindy and Joseph following suit. "What the fuck... Are you guys seeing this?!" Richter exclaimed looking back and forth between them. Before anyone could formulate a response, a blinding flash enveloped them, and an orange, transparent bubble surrounded each person. An ominous rumble emanated from below, rattling the room's very foundation. The walls trembled, releasing a catastrophic vibration that toppled the long row of file cabinets once secured to the splintering drywall across from their half-partitioned space.

A tense silence settled over the room, punctuated only by labored breaths from those entrapped within the glowing spheres. They found themselves in a cubicle-laden room on the south side of Bread and Barlow's financial building—the 47th floor, to be exact.

Abruptly, an unusual whirring sound pierced the air. This accompanied a pulsating vibration that jostled their energy prisons. Mindy lost her balance and fell to her knees, bracing herself against the bubble's wall. Just as Richter was about to warn her against touching it, all the windows shattered – glass shards flying in every direction. He raised his arms instinctively to shield his face, doubtful that the bubble could withstand such an onslaught. However, to his surprise, the shards merely ricocheted off their protective bubbles before embedding themselves into nearby office furniture and walls. The ceiling and floor splintered as loud, firecracker pops echoed through the room, sending spiderweb cracks shooting out in all directions. These fractures raced across the walls, reaching all the way to the very foundations until a resounding boom ensued. Suddenly, the floor gave way, taking all of the office belongings with it as they plummeted into the abyss below. In a domino-like effect, the floors above crumbled in succession. Richter's breath caught in his throat, his eyes squeezed shut as he braced for the fatal plunge. However, after a few heart-pounding moments, he hesitantly opened them again. To his disbelief, he found himself suspended in mid-air, the bubble protecting him from his imminent death. Although these translucent bubbles stopped the imminent disaster, they now faced another predicament: what was next?

Peering nervously down at the 46 floors below him, Richter noticed rubble and shattered glass that continued its downward descent around them, skimming off their bubbles like styrofoam. Never in a million years could he have pictured something destructive happening and not have a scratch on him. Scanning the skies above and below, he noticed countless orange orbs like his own whizzing past, each containing a person inside of them. Surrounded by countless orange bubbles above and below, Richter couldn't help but think one thing;

Monday's suck.

*Analyzing of planet Earth complete. Low biomass discovered. G- grade energy. G- grade mass. Insufficient energy to initiate into the multiverse. Adjusting...*

Multiverse? Energy? G-grade? Utter confusion gripped Richter as he glanced at Mindy and Joseph, both displaying terror-stricken expressions. Mindy had lowered herself into a fetal position and cowered at the bottom of her bubble, hand over her ears, while Joseph furiously pounded against the walls of his own prison shouting at Mindy to get up. Richter shakily gained his footing, trying to comprehend the situation.

"Hey! Are you guys alright? What the hell is going on?" Richter hollered.

"I have no idea! Something to do with a multiverse? Mindy's losing it, man!"!" Joseph screamed back in response, returning his attention back to Mindy trying to get her to stand up. Whatever was happening, the bubbles around them were at least protecting them from falling to their deaths.

"Mindy!" Richter bellowed, "I don't understand what's happening, but we're going to get through this! I swear -" But before Richter could even finish his sentence, another ominous orange text flickered before his eyes.

*System adjustment complete. Suitable biomass discovered. Merging planets with planet Earth shortly. Adjusted energy D- Grade. Adjusted mass D- Grade. Scanning for qualified tutorial candidates...*

The orange barriers encircling Richter started emitting a vibrant, intense glow. A tingling sensation began to grow in his feet, growing stronger as the orange hue intensified, and rapidly surged upward, seeping into the very core of his being. As this enigmatic force coursed through Richter, the tingle transformed into a searing, fire-like pain that brought him to his knees, as if an invisible blowtorch targeted the heart of his existence, desecrating his soul's essence.

*Scanning... Scanning*

Richter writhed in agony as the sensation of his very existence unraveling consumed him. It felt as though his soul was being torn from his body slowly, like a page ripped from a spiral notebook, leaving him powerless except to suffer and listen to his own cries of pain. Through the haze of torment clouding his vision, he caught a glimpse of his friends. Surprisingly, they seemed unharmed, except for the sheer terror etched on Mindy's tear-streaked face as she peered through her fingers—no doubt horrified by Richter's screams he never knew he could produce.

Sucking in a breath, and trying to push back at the invasion of pain, he gritted his teeth as he attempted to force out words, but the excruciating pain pushed back harder and smothered even the faintest of whispers. Fuck! Get out... of my body!

*THUMP*

*Scanning... ERROR*

*Reattempting scan...*

*THUMP*

*ERROR* *ERROR* *ERROR*

With each failed attempt, the pain surged with terrifying force, causing the protective bubble's orange glow to burn even brighter, utterly immobilizing Richter in its crushing grip– unable to take even a shallow breath. Desperate for oxygen, he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness.

*THUMP*

*ANOMALY DETECTED. Neutralizing threat*

The luminescence of the bubble transformed into a furious red as the attack on Richter's very core intensified. Indescribable pain saturated his being, like a hydraulic press relentlessly crushing his soul until it shattered into fragments. Overcome by torment, Richter cried out, his vision gradually succumbing to darkness. Neutralizing? I'm… about to die?

*THUMP* *THUMP* *THUMP*

The bubble's power surged, its frigid hold on Richter's soul tightening with each passing moment. The surrounding area was awash in radiant red light, as if celestial forces had descended to deliver divine retribution. Richter felt the strain within his very bones under the enormous pressure. He refused to succumb here; this would not be his final chapter.

Something suddenly shifted inside of him as something clicked into place like sliding a latch, locking into place. Every beat of his heart made him hum with power. He felt as one with his being entirely; he could see and understand every part of himself, down to the very molecule. It was like he had the entire cosmos at his beck and call.

Outside, the sky bellowed in resistance while colossal pillars of electricity plummeted earthward. Enormous red bolts of lightning—each containing enough force to shatter the world itself—struck Richter's bubble, causing thin cracks to spider web across its surface. Seemingly provoked by this defiance, the heavens roared even louder, unleashing a barrage of lightning that relentlessly battered the bubble until it ultimately shattered. And in that instant, time itself seemed to grind to a halt.

*THUMP*

The excruciating pain ceased abruptly. Richter cautiously opened his eyes, only to be greeted by an enveloping darkness. His vision was consumed by the void, and his senses were utterly numb. Desperately, he attempted to glance downwards in search of his own body, but all he discovered was the sheer absence of it. Despite the strange situation, a sense of tranquility washed over him. Embraced by the serenity, he waited for what lay ahead, grateful that at least the pain was gone.The passage of time soon became meaningless to him; had he been in the void for a day, a week, months, or even years? He simply couldn't tell.

So he slept.

Time either stretched endlessly or stood still – Richter couldn't discern which it was, nor did he care. Finally at ease and enveloped in peacefulness, the endearing feeling quenched his ever-present thirst for solace.

A soft but steady hum of energy materialized from the darkness, akin to a computer awakening from slumber. Opening his eyes to the perpetual absence of light as he had done countless times before – or so it appeared – Richter sensed a change. A click sounded and a familiar text screen materialized before him – a sight he assumed vanished along with his world's destruction.

The message appeared in an electric blue hue rather than the abrasive orange that previously evoked anger and pain. After an indeterminate period of being suspended in darkness, a robotic and emotionless voice echoed through the vast expanse as it reminded Richter that he was still alive—and infuriated.

*Anomaly neutralization failed. Protocol BL-0000 initiated. Welcome to the Multiverse, Chosen*