1 So I'm not dead?

On his way back to his one-bedroom apartment, Sydra found himself nose deep in the novel he had just bought from the old bookstore right outside his work. Although it had been the first time he entered the bookstore, he still managed to swiftly find the fantasy section.

As he flips the page, Sydra feels his shoulder lightly brush against something, which then yelps as if immense pain. Looking up, Sydra finds himself facing a couple in expensive clothing glaring back at him.

"Hey!" The man yells, gathering attention from people passing by, "You just rammed your shoulder into my girlfriend, you better apologize,"

"I think there's been some kind of mistake," Sydra says, taken aback by the man's statement, "I barely grazed her,"

Hearing Sydra talk back to him, the man's face becomes red and he shoves Sydra back, "So you want to lie about it, huh?! I'll have you know that my father is the mayor of this city, and I could have you arrested like that,"

In an attempt to emphasize his point, the man snaps his fingers in Sydra's face several times. Clenching his fists, Sydra takes a step back and looks at the man's girlfriend, who was smirking.

'Great, I'm sure if I don't apologize to her, this man really will have me arrested,' Sydra thinks as he sighs. Bowing down, Sydra begins to apologize, "I'm sorry for running into you, please forgive me,"

"Haha, that's better! Now, what are you willing to give her as compensation for the pain she suffered today? I think five-hundred dollars should do, don't you sweetie?" The man asks as the woman's smile grows even larger.

"Five-hundred! I don't have that kind of money!" Sydra shouts as his eyes narrow at the couple, "This is obviously a scam,"

Before Sydra can say anymore, the man slams his foot into Sydra's stomach, "Who told you to stop apologizing?!"

Having his stomach unexpectedly kicked, Sydra stumbles out into the road and falls down, causing the couple to break out in laughter. Feeling humiliated, Sydra tries to pick himself back up, but the sound of a blaring horn startles him.

"Well... That's not good," Sydra says, his eyes widening as the truck barrels towards him. With his body refusing to move, Sydra disappears under the truck, the pages of the book he had been reading scattered throughout the air.

...

In another part of the universe, an old man sat on a golden cloud, watching a ceramic bowl of water. The old man was frowning, as he had just witnessed Sydra's death, "Hmm, it seemed like he had been enjoying the book, at least until that crazy couple got in his way,"

As he continued looking into the ceramic bowl, a mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes. Dipping his hand into the water, the old man pulled out a grey bubble and tossed it onto another golden cloud that was nearby.

In a bright flash of light, Sydra appears sitting on the golden cloud, his eyes closed as if he was resting peacefully. Steering his cloud over to Sydra, the old man reached forward and tapped Sydra on the shoulder, causing his eyes to flutter open.

"What the hell?!" Sydra shrieks as he finds an old man staring at him intensely, "Who are you? Wait! Where am I, and how did I get here?"

Before Sydra can ask any more questions the old man taps him on the shoulder once more and Sydra feels his body relaxing, no longer worried about the situation he was in.

"I am The Watcher, and you are currently inside a pocket dimension. I brought you here because you died, and I had some questions,"

Although Sydra had just heard the old man confirm his death, he continues to look at the man calmly. Whatever the old man had done to him had erased all other emotions, and allowed Sydra to think with a clear mind.

"Alright, I am willing to answer your questions, but I have a few of my own as well," Sydra says, "The biggest one being, what will happen to me now?"

"That depends on how you answer my questions, and the choice you make at the end," The Watcher says, floating back over to his ceramic bowl, "My first question is about the book you were reading right before you died. Did you enjoy it?"

"The book? It was pretty good, but why are you asking about it?" Sydra asks, his brows drawing together.

"Because I wrote it, and I wanted someone to tell me what they thought about it," The Watcher says, "Next question. Would you like to live a new life in that world?"

"You mean the one inside the book? Is that possible?" Sydra asks.

"Yes, but I'm sure you know it will be incredibly different from your old life," The Watcher warns, "The people and animals in that world have undergone a massive change due to aura being integrated into the world,"

"I know, you explained that in the book," Sydra says, recalling what he can from what he read, "Something about humans evolving into elves and dwarves, as well as other things, and creatures also undergoing similar changes?"

"That's right," The Watcher says, "As the book states, although the elves, rulers of nature, and the dwarves, masters of metal, are the two ruling classes in that world, there are also many other races. If you accept my offer, you will be able to discover the secrets of the world and its dwellers,"

Sydra took the next few hours to think things over, as well as discuss other topics of the world with The Watcher. The truth was he felt warry of entering a new world, where people had powers, and creatures existed out of lore. However, he also wasn't ready for death, and what came with it.

"I've decided to accept your offer," Sydra says, causing the old man to laugh heartily, "But I was hoping you could make it so I didn't have to start my life from the very beginning. I'd rather not have to grow up again,"

"Sure, I know just where to send you," The Watcher says as he raises his hand towards Sydra. With a flick of his finger, The Watcher turns Sydra back into a grey bubble and picks him up.

Turning his cloud around, The Watcher floats to the other side of the room, where another ceramic bowl is and drops the grey bubble into the water. "Be careful, Sydra. This world is filled with more danger than you think,"

...

Inside a cave, a young man in his early twenties with white hair and crystal blue eyes wakes up, coughing out dust as he sits up. The man is wearing a cloak made from the hide of a Shadow Void Wolf, and on his hip is a dagger made from the antlers of a Luminous Night Deer. The rest of his outfit is made from the leather hide of a Dark Cavern Lizard.

"It appears that the old man really did bring me back to life in another world," Sydra says as he studies his new body. Suddenly, Sydra's head feels as if it is being split in half, and a barrage of memories rushes into it.

As the pain dies down, Sydra begins recalling things that belonged to the previous owner of his new body. It seemed that the person had been a type of Nature Spirit, born when its tree was struck by the Divinity Lighting during its attempt to ascend.

Before its death, the Nature Spirit had been searching for herbs along the base of a mountain. During his search, it accidentally entered a spatial rift, which led to the cave Sydra was currently in. Waiting for it there was an Ice-Dragon on the verge of death, but still with enough power to end the life of the Nature Spirit.

"Wait... Doesn't that mean the Ice-Dragon might still be in here?" Sydra murmurs as his eyes dart around the cave. Although he didn't see the Ice-Dragon, Sydra did find a large pile of ash, with a staff laying on top of it.

Making his way across the dusty cave, Sydra squats down next to the pile of ash, and study the staff.

It was covered in light blue and gold scales, and the tip of it was shaped in the form of a Dragon's head, with a light blue crystal radiating within its mouth.

"Would this be safe to touch?" Sydra wonders, hesitating to pick up the Dragon Staff. Making up his mind, Sydra grabs the staff firmly with both hands and stands up.

"Roar!" The sound of a mighty Dragon resounded through Sydra's head, and the crystal inside the Dragon's mouth lit up the entire cave. As the light dimmed back down, Sydra felt the staff settle into his hands, like it had been there for his entire life.

However, his attention wasn't on the staff, but something else entirely. When the crystal had illuminated the entire cave, Sydra had caught a glimpse of a small blue egg, the size of a softball, hidden off in the corner. As he made his way over to the egg, Sydra felt the air around him becoming colder.

"Is this the egg of the Ice-Dragon that killed the Nature Spirit?" Sydra wonders as he picks up the egg. Other than its icy appearance, the egg had no other features that drew Sydra's attention, so he decided to put it inside his jacket pocket.

"Now to get out of here," Sydra says as he looks around the cave. On the other side is a tunnel leading upwards, and when Sydra makes it to the end of the tunnel he gasps at the sight. "Woah... So this is Phisloke,"