Shock.

"Hang in there kid, we got ya'." A man in a standard NYPD uniform was standing over me and placing pressure nearly perfectly.

I squinted and asked, "Where'd you serve?"

His hands never stopped, "Here and there. Mostly a lot of standard stuff."

I'd heard that answer before. He has probably been out for a while but he just now got his life together.

Just relax. Shock is not the game plan. Relax.

The warmth and pressure was kind of nice, but I felt like my head was falling off my shoulders.

I looked at him, "I don't feel well man, I may lose consciousness soon."

He frowned and pressed hard on my wounds, "How about now?"

I smiled, "I don't feel pain, man. Probably should have told you that sooner."

I was dozing off, it felt…

—-------------------------------

I opened my eyes to see a hand forcing a red liquid down my throat.

It was mostly human, well, if you ignored the plumage.

"My apologies, Broken One." It offered me a hand but I ignored it as I looked around.

It was utter darkness. Simply us two beings floating in some type of existence.

"Inquisitive mind. Yet. Hesitant to trust." I heard the bird mumble.

I felt different.

"What is wrong with my body?"

Birdie frowned.

"It's rather rare that we cannot heal a condition such as yours. But. It usually manifests in those that have wholeheartedly accepted their affliction."

He frowned, "Please excuse my manners, I am Bishop Xelotros, Priest of the Lonely God."

He offered his hand once more, and this time, I grabbed it. We fell sideways for a moment before we appeared in an office.

The room was archaic and covered in feathers, yet brilliant in the display of knowledge. Books and floating spheres rotating on predetermined axes.

"Please excuse my molting." He gave an awkward smile while he sat down behind his desk.

His face was kind, but I could tell he was very serious.

I had so many questions.

Hell.

I was looking at a damn Arakocra of all things, like it was straight out of D&D.

"What hap-" He cut me off with a chirp, "Allow me to explain."

He gained a hard glint in his eyes, "I am a Priest of the Lonely God, which means I must disclose my unethical procurement of you."

He cleared his throat as a pale yellow light burnt him from the inside.

"I am losing Experience and Levels by holding you here, for He is upset with me. And rightly so, I have altered your path, which is unforgivable." He bowed in a manner to say sorry, but had to continue.

The light gained in power, "I thought we'd have more time. But it seems I was correct about you. I fear saying more. Please. Trust. Your. Self." The light grew and blinded me.

—---------------------------------------------------------

I looked around at the blue skies and green grass.

'What the hell was that?'

I turned to see a massive city gate. Like. An authentic medieval city gate.

Just stone and wood standing tall against the sprawling landscape.

I took a step forward and immediately felt an unfamiliar leather sole on my foot. I wasn't in New York anymore, that was for sure.

I headed into the open gates and was looking around at the smaller buildings, but there were no people for some reason.

I walked past a fountain that looked familiar, and then I noticed, someone had left food sitting on the ground.

I wanted to shrug it off but it looked ancient. The weird bread was cracked and crumbling, yet it had no mold on it. It was odd. I knelt down and grabbed it but it turned to dust as my fingers met it.

"May I be of assistance, intruder?"

I looked up and saw a man in white robes standing behind what could only be described as a White Knight. He was clearly old, yet full of vitality.

"Uh. Hi. I was stabbed by a crazy lady and now I think I am VERY abducted by aliens."

They waited for me to continue, "My name is Todd Kelly, I am from Earth, and I just met a strange birdman priest that began glowing."

The man was shocked by my statement but the knight remained prepared to fight.

"A Broken One this late into registration? Odd. Truly odd." He waved his hand, "Come, we must induct you into the Temporary Alliance of Earth-97554478."

He walked quickly into a normal looking building made of wood and stone, the structure was very sturdy looking, but the floor was so hard compared to a wood or carpet floor.

"Stone flooring must be killer on the feet, yikes."

The priest turned, "Yes. It would be painful to walk on for extended periods of time with your weak and untempered flesh. But do not worry. I will fix that."

He smiled and gestured into a room.

There was a massive clear orb that was bending light and shining it all over. It felt odd on the skin, almost like it was holding you.

"Excellent, at least you are telling the truth. Please sheath your weapon, Knight." The Knight instantly complied and stood away.

The priest waved his hands, "We get unwanted ones from time to time. Monstrous beings that would steal your life at a moment's notice." His smile was so large it was creepy.

He continued, "Anyways. Welcome, Sentient being(s), to the Empire of the Lonely God. Your universe has been claimed by the right of Proximity. The Laws of the Lonely God demand an ethical treatment of our new citizens. Please take a few moments to be in awe of our Lord's graciousness."

…

…

…

…

…

"Now, allow us to move on. But I must warn you, your world has been altered drastically. I would normally give very little information on this, but seeing as you have been held back for multiple weeks, I will need to compensate you."

I frowned and asked, "Is it a requirement of your God?"

He nodded, "The Lonely One is the only fair being in reality. And. He is YOUR God too."

The glare was enough to kill a man.

"If you wish to renounce the Blessing of the Lonely God, you may at any time, but, your risk for Monsterfication will increase as you Level. It IS the only TRUE way to maintain your Sentience, after all."

He bowed, "That was free. Now, I must inform you of the political state of your planet. You are considered to be a Colony of the Empire, which will grant you basic Citizenship, something that is sought after dearly, so do not waste it.

Now, your leaders were given a series of choices, and they chose to maintain human life." He frowned, "It is…respectable, but inefficient."

He waved his hands, "We have offered a series of choices for the new Citizens. Alas, I am afraid only a few Classifications are available. Would you like to browse?"

I nodded, "Excellent."

He touched the Orb and writing appeared in the air.

[Combatant] or [Noncombatant]?

I looked at the two, "That's it?"

He nodded, "Can I look into the categories?"

He selected [Combatant].

[Tank], [Damage], [Healer], and [Support].

He pointed at the writing, "These are all styles of fighting. Many overlap and almost all of them WILL overlap when you increase your specialization and condense your abilities."

He waved his hands, "Let me check your scores."

He paused, "Oh my…how unfortunate."

"You are quite talented, but I am afraid your aptitude scores correlate very highly with a particularly….pesky...method of healing. I do not think it is worth mentioning, I mean, the pain alone drives many Nobles insane with the first taste."

I nodded as he turned away to look at other options and then I asked, "What is it?"

He looked frightened for a moment, "Ah, please. I do not want to put you on the wrong path. Pay it no mind, it would likely be your downfall."

I thought back to what the bird said a few minutes ago, "Are you depriving me of my choice?"

A pale yellow light appeared in his chest, "WHAT? NO! NO! OF COURSE NOT!" he waved his hands, "HERE!"

He pulled up vague details about it, [The Priest of Anguish is a Space affinity method of healing that transfers the selected wounds to the Bearer's body. This form of healing is considered to be very rare as it is one of the only methods of True Healing. It is not recommended for anyone, under any circumstances. The main abilities granted by this Class are debilitating to the vast majority of Recorded Users. Rarity: Unique]

I looked at the rarity, "Why is it unique, can only one person have it?" He shook his head, "It is considering a population of 100 Million people. The Husk's Data projection is that only a single individual would be able to withstand the backlash, but even that is for a single cast.."

He began to shake, "There are many amazing classes, please, I urge you to reconsider. I am but a simple Guide, yet I feel it is my duty to assist you in this moment."

I nodded, "Understandable, but may I ask your guard for a weapon?"

He looked confused as I added, "I just want to test something."

The priest nodded absently and the Knight lent me his dagger in a practiced drawing motion.

I poked the dagger against my finger and mumbled, "Yup, no pain."

I watched the drops of blood fall from me cutting deeper than I intended, "Thank you for assisting me, Sir Knight."

I handed the dagger back and asked, "You maintain confidentiality, correct? I mean, it'd only be fair."

He nodded and I said, "You saw that, so, what do you think about me taking that Class off your hands now?"