The Start of it All

A skinny-looking young man with pale skin and dark circles under his eyes was just walking out of his work with a frown on his face.

"Another day of this is over, fucking finally..." Rui thought

Rui had just finished his shift at McDonald's and he couldn't wait to escape the smell of grease and the complaints of customers.

He exhaled loudly as he stepped out of the restaurant, muttering to himself, "I am sick of this shit, people are always complaining about not having enough time, this and then that. It just pisses me off. I am actually done with this job." The memory of a customer yelling at him earlier for forgetting to put ketchup in his burger still stung. "People like that make this job unbearable," he muttered.

Rui had covered for his 'friend', making him do twice the amount of work he needed to. He didn't know the reason why his friend didn't show up, but all he knew was that he had to cover for him since his boss said so. But at last, he was out of that shit hole.

As Rui leaned against a wall and rubbed his tired eyes, he considered quitting. "Money isn't really an issue at the moment. I only work because my parents tell me to," he thought.

Rui Walkington was 20 years old and was going to graduate with his Bachelor's in a few months. He lived alone in his apartment. He does have parents and two younger sisters but he moved out last year due to certain circumstances.

After leaving work, Rui trudged down the familiar streets of his suburban neighborhood, the sound of crickets chirping and the smell of freshly-cut grass in the air. He could see the warm glow of his house's porch light in the distance, a welcoming beacon after a long day of work.

30 minutes later, after walking home, the front door creaks open loudly, "This door really needs some WD-40 or something at least, it is getting worse and worse." Rui steps inside and takes off his shoes, placing them neatly by the door. He's alone in his small apartment, but that's nothing new. Rui has never had much luck with relationships, but he's come to terms with it. He's used to spending most of his evenings by himself, reading or watching TV.

As he walks through the living room, Rui notices a pile of dirty dishes in the sink. He sighs and decides to tackle them right away. It's not like he has anything better to do. As he scrubs the plates and utensils, his mind wanders to the events of the day. The strange woman he saw on the bus this morning keeps popping up in his thoughts. He wonders if she was just having a bad day or if there was something more to her behavior. She just looked very, peculiar.

After finishing that though, Rui had just finished the dishes. He then heads to his bedroom and changes into his pajamas. He crawls into bed and reaches for his phone, intending to catch up on some news or browse social media. But instead, he finds himself staring at a blank screen, lost in thought. Eventually, he sets the phone down and turns off the lamp. As he lies in the darkness, he can't shake the feeling that something strange is going on. He drifts off to sleep, hoping that tomorrow will bring some answers.

As Rui lay there, trying to get some sleep, his mind wandered to thoughts of his future. What would he do after graduating with his Bachelor's degree? Would he just work a mundane 9-5 job and earn a somewhat above-average salary?

He sighed. "I always do this, don't I? Do I have depression or something?" He wondered if he was the only one who felt like life was lacking something.

Rui pondered, "This world is so boring. It feels like I am wasting my life just to earn money, to then use that money to waste even more time. *sigh* I wish the world had superpowers. At least that would spice things up, right? At least the money that I would work for would add and support something cool"

As Rui pondered this, he imagined himself lifting 2-3000kg and shooting fireballs from his hands. He smiled at the thought, but then sighed again.

"Doesn't God, if he exists, get bored from watching us do all of this? Wouldn't adding superpowers or something similar that I see in novels and anime make it at least more exciting to watch all of us humans? If I were him, I would think so. Nonetheless, what do I know, huh?"

As Rui spoke these words, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. At first, he thought it was nothing to worry about, but the pain intensified with each passing moment. He tried to get out of bed to see what was going on, but then he couldn't move. His heart dropped. Was this sleep paralysis or was he dreaming? Was he even breathing? But the pain felt too real, way too real! He had never experienced pain like this in his whole life. It felt like his soul was getting sucked out of his body.

Well lucky for Rui, that was exactly what was happening.

Suddenly, Rui felt himself being pulled upward, out of his body, and through the ceiling. He watched in disbelief as his own body lay motionless on the bed below. Panic set in as he floated higher and higher, until he was no longer in his room but outside in the night sky, it was like he was astral projecting.

As Rui looked around, he realized that he wasn't alone. There were others with him, all floating in the air, looking around in confusion. They all seemed to be in a trance as if they were being controlled by some external force.

Rui tried to speak, to ask what was happening, but his voice wouldn't come out. Instead, he heard a voice in his head. "Welcome, Rui," it said. "You have been chosen."

"Chosen for what?" Rui thought, but the voice didn't answer.

All of a sudden, Rui felt a surge of energy flow through him. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He felt powerful, almost invincible. He looked down at his hands and saw a bright light emanating from them.

"What is this?" he wondered.

The voice in his head spoke again. "You have been granted a gift, Rui. A gift that will allow you to do incredible things. Use it wisely."

Rui looked around at the others floating in the sky, wondering if they too had been given this gift. As if in response to his thoughts, the others began to move, floating off into the distance. Rui followed, feeling exhilarated by his newfound power.

As they moved through the night sky, Rui noticed that they were heading toward a bright, glowing portal. As they got closer, Rui could see that it led to another world.

Rui felt a rush of excitement. This was it. This was what he had been waiting for. He was finally going to experience something truly amazing.