Welcome Back, General !

It was a rainy autumn night when the cleansing of the earth began. In the year 2050 humans met real extraterrestrials for the first time. Their appearance could have been from a fairy tale. In the sky you could see bright lights which quickly became big portals. Huge metal spaceships flew out of the portals and towards the largest cities in the world. This led to the isolation of the individual countries. After 3 days it was time and the gates opened. Out came to the surprise of all but humans. They were dressed completely in black and had 2 different eye colors, they were bigger than normal people and were equipped with swords and guns. They floated in the air as if they could use magic and then faced the humans. All over the world, only two sentences were heard from them.

"Soon you will see your faults by your own flesh and blood. Prepare to reshape the earth."

Five more days passed and a young man stepped out of the spaceship. He had black and white hair and yellow-red pupils. He had changed, he looked more mature than before and was curious, curious about what awaited him.

Although his appearance had changed, he had recently been a simple earthling. When his family looked at him in the transmission they felt anger but also pain at the same time because they had

finally now really lost their son.

But from the beginning. . .

"You're supposed to make the most of your life. The people who say that are usually always in a good position, the others cling to their improvised hope with this pseudo wisdom. When you talk about reality, it's usually something bad."

"Now stay realistic or realistically seen this is not possible or only partly correct or true. "

"You are either snatched from your inhuman ambitions or robbed of your hope. "

"No matter how good you are the world throws you in the dirt and doesn't let you escape. I never got a chance and will never get one because this world is far too realistic for that."

I'm sick and tired of this...I'm just tired...

Again Drake went to work in a small engineering company where his job was neither effective nor really meaningful. It was a stopgap, a necessary evil if you like. But Drake had to be satisfied, he had buried his ambitions for a long time. Only the money still counted for him to pay the rent for his apartment. It was only two months ago that he moved away from his parents. There he did not have it easy, he was treated like a burden for his whole life. Drake had an older sister who was superior to him in everything. She showed outstanding performance at school, it was no wonder that she went to university at the age of 16. In the neighbourhood it was only said that the wunderkind of the Hunt family will have a great career ahead of her. No one cared about him at all. His performances at school were average, only in sport his talent was evident. His parents hardly cared, without any expectations they ignored him and always favoured his 3 years older sister Mia. At first Drake tried to prove himself to them so he joined the chess club as well as the theater club where he could show very good performances. As he grew older he lost interest in everything and no longer cared for his family. He had hardly any friends, only the neighbour girl Jane spent time with him. In the beginning she was forced to do so, but after some time in school she came closer and closer to the boy. He was her exact counterpart. While she was popular everywhere and almost revered, he was the outsider to whom no attention was paid. Her pity turned to sympathy. Drake was her personal savior. Whenever she had had enough of being famous she came to him and the two spent time. At that time Drake could not yet see the true meaning of her actions.

He was too blinded, to be liked by someone made him happy. She used him selfishly but tried to help him at the same time. Later in high school, Drake finally fell in love with the girl. But that should soon become a curse on him. During the breaks he was dragged by the other boys to the roof of the school building and beaten up because their class idol paid too much attention to him. He had just turned 17 when he realized what was really going on. His apparent friend wasn't aware of what he was going through. Too naive she left him more and more behind and went her own way. The boy who had saved her from her only problems was now back at the beginning. At the latest when he saw her together with one of the thugs he realized again what this world meant to him. It was another slap in the face that changed him decisively. Shortly after his eighteenth birthday, symptoms of alexythemy were noticed in him better known as pure emotionlessness. Too much he had repressed them and now they didn't come back. Drake thought it was for the best:

"The human mind was fragile and emotions could only shake it even more. It was better not to be deceived anymore and to finally be able to see clearly."

After graduating, he left home and moved out of town. Not even his parents knew where he lived at first. He hadn't heard from his sister for a long time. Again she took part in an international science competition, only every 2 months she came home.

Also Mia wanted to stand on her own feet but her parents absolutely wanted to keep her at home. Since she was constantly on the move, she finally thought it was the best thing to live in the house. At some time she realized that she wanted to see her brother again and texted him if they can meet

He didn't care about any of that. For months his family tried to reach him but he always avoided them. They even offered him money to pay for his apartment and do his shopping. It was the first time they were really worried about him. He instantly deleted these messages from his cell phone. He didn't want anything to do with these people anymore. After a short time his application to Intertech Styles was accepted. It was a simple office job, checking only the price and the stock level of all the electronic equipment. It was a job that even a student had been able to do. Drake knew it wasn't going to be ideal. Because of the great risk of the moveout, he had to live with it. Actually, he knew before that it would end like this. Never before had he really had luck on a big chance. The payment was just enough to "live". After work he went to the park about 500 meters away. There was a pavilion there where he always took a seat. His hobby was to observe other people and study how exactly they would live. There was no envy or arrogance in his eyes. He was simply curious how other people spend their lives. Every day he listened to the news on the radio at work. Drake had neither a TV nor a computer, though he knew better than anyone how to use them.

Because this boy had a very big talent which most people didn't have. His understanding was superhuman, he understood different processes only from observing one time could apply it himself nex time. Of course, this did not apply to playing an instrument or researching diseases. It was the simple things he had immediately stored in his head. For others, it just took a lot longer. He could hardly use this gift, so no one really noticed. All his life he rehearsed and developed this talent. His goal was to train his memory for a long time. It had become his hobby, he had found his ambition again, even if only for a certain time.

For three months now, he was living alone. Tomorrow was his 19th birthday but Drake had no interest in celebrating it. For him it was a normal boring working day that had 24 hours. In the evening he went to bed early as usual. His start of work was at 7:30 am and tired to work would only make the day worse. Normally he didn't dream and that upset him very much. Dreams would be the ideal test for his memory but after waking up nothing felt of a dream. But this night was different.

Suddenly lights came on, he was in a completely white room. A door opened and a tall woman dressed completely in black stepped out.

"Your hand."

"What?"

"Show me your hand"!

He raised his arm and couldn't believe his eyes. A black tattoo appeared in the palm of his hand. It looked like old writing he didn't know.

When the woman saw the tattoo she ordered him to stand up and follow her. The corridor was completely painted black and at the end of the corridor was a large gate that opened in front of him. Drake couldn't believe his eyes. In front of him was a huge knight's table where countless human-like creatures took their seats. When they saw him all spoke to him.

"The last piece of the puzzle has finally re-appeared. Again, show us your potential, General Drake Hunt.

He couldn't understand why they said that, but strangely enough, he was pleased. Finally, he had something of a chance. The next moment, he fell into fear. Everything was just a dream that would soon be over.

A young man next to him put his hand on Drake's shoulder.

"Don't worry, General, this is not a dream. Your life on Earth was your true dream world. Now it is time to face the earth again but preparations should be made beforehand"

Drake was confused. Why did they call him General and what did they mean by "to face the earth again"?

"Wait a minute, what exactly do you want from me?"

"It's very simple.First, wake up and see who you really are and always have been. All you have to do is trust us."

Why should he trust them? Only a crazy guy would trust strangers who looked and spoke like madmen?

"Then I have one more question. Can they really change my life?"

At that moment Drake faded out everything, his previous life, his family...everything.

Everyone burst out laughing. It was amusing to be asked such a question.

At the end of the lap, a tall man with a huge scar on his face stood up.

"Our general did it again. Not in a hundred years would I have thought I'd hear that question again. You got it all wrong. The only one who can change your life is yourself. . ."

Once again he looked closely at Drake, closed his eyes and smiled.

". . . and it seems like you want to."

Something had changed. His body got bigger and he was now wearing black leather armor. The woman showed him his true self. He stood there, all dressed in black. His hair had taken on two colors. They were completely white on the left and black on the right. His eyes were also two-toned, blood-red and yellow.

The first shock reached Drake.

"What exactly is going on here?

"Why do I look like that? That's crazy!"

"This is supposed to be my real look, you gotta be kidding me!"

His outburst of rage didn't surprise anyone at the table. Rather they didn't pay any attention to his mood but tried to explain to him what would happen next.

"Not only you can change your looks, we also have two faces. Suddenly 10 of the ca. 25 people were transformed into other forms of life. 3 of them looked just like werewolves, another 2 now had claws as hands and the remaining five had wings on their backs.

Drake couldn't believe his eyes. This was straight out of a fairytale or fantasy book. Suddenly he got a big headache. It was as if someone wanted to wake up in him, but did not come out of the cage of his memories. After a few seconds a wall broke in his head that had been sealed for a long time and he fainted.

This was only possible thanks to Drake's training. Unconscious of these incredible events he helped his inner self to free itself. Was it destiny or just a big unbelievable coincidence that carried him into this other dimension?

When he woke up he was lying on a bed, again in a white room. All he had on was an undershirt and underpants. After a short time the woman entered the room again and informed herself about its condition.

"It really wasn't just a dream. Thank goodness!"

"Have you finally escaped the cages of your world?"

Instead of being embarrassed, Drake stood up and saw himself a second time. The sign in his hand was still there. He made a happy face. Suddenly his armor appeared again, adapting to his body. He looked at the woman with a cold look while taking on a proud stance. His eyes changed both to yellow.

"I'm back, Lilia."