Look At That! I'm Alive!
Trent opened his eyes to complete darkness.
'What? I'm not dead?' He asked himself as he rolled over. Trent could see nothing but darkness when all he could remember was the blazing colour of red and yellow peeling at his skin.
He quickly felt his body, relieved to find that he was whole. 'Is this death? Hellfire? Am I in hellfire?' He thought, quickly springing up to his feet and glaring around, searching for any wisp of light.
Trent wouldn't be surprised if he really ended up in hellfire. He had done a lot of despicable things and by the books, he deserved to be there. But in all the despicable, notorious acts he had committed, he had never taken a life. He began to remember what had transpired, using the infinite darkness as a blank canvas to paint his reminiscence.
Trent couldn't believe he was betrayed within minutes by people he had hoped to call business partners and his sponsors. He couldn't believe they had burnt him and his family to ashes and would surely cover it up as a faulty wiring in the hotel room or something like that.
'They've taken away my life from me.'
Was this all because of his game? Did they really want to own all the possession and royalties? Trent stood in the darkness, thinking about it all as anger and hatred swirled in his heart.
Suddenly, with his fist clenched and teeth bared, a dim light began creeping into the darkness he found himself in. Trent glanced at the direction of the light, which gradually increased in intensity and seemed to be forming into a portal.
Just as the light had emerged, a foot did so from the portal that had just surfaced, followed by a golden, glimmering set of slim, fine legs. Trent stared as a magnificent goddess emerged and stood before him, across the darkness.
Trent's mouth fell agape as he sized up the glimmering beauty, trailing his gaze from her manyfold wrapped, brown, glimmering hair to her face, which he could hardly see but could make out dark, black eyes. Trent's eyes moved lower down to her neck and to her wide cleavage, then to a body that was scarcely covered by the thin strips of glowing cloths. And then, his eyes lingered on those long, sexy legs that first surfaced.
'Is this God? Did I make it to heaven?' Trent thought, unable to tear his eyes away from the beauty of the woman standing before him.
"Trent Docker," she said calmly, almost in a seductive tone, as her voice echoed through the darkness. That was when Trent realized he hadn't spoken yet to confirm if he was alive.
He cleared his throat. "You... you know my name?" he asked, then slapped his head in realization. 'Of course, she'd know my name! She's a goddess... probably God!'
"Yes, I know your name. You are very popular in one of the worlds and emphasis on the tense, because you are still popular, even more so than before," the strange woman said.
Trent was certain that his death would be worldwide news. The young, overnight famous founder of Paradox Unbound had just met his demise. Sadly, it would be recorded as a fire incident when he was indeed murdered.
Trent scrutinized her previously stated sentence while staring at her thighs. "What do you mean by 'one of the worlds'?" he asked.
"I am the Walker of Words, Trent. And a historic, detailed explanation would serve no purpose now. But to your understanding, I am the bridge between worlds," the goddess replied.
Before Trent could respond, the goddess continued. "And it seems you've kept up your reputation and have clearly deceived everyone on Earth, claiming you created the Paradox world."
Trent's face contorted into a frown, and his brows furrowed. "What? I created the Paradox."
"You created the game, the interface, the skins that connect to the world. You created Paradox Unbound, not the Paradox world itself. All the riches and experiences the world comes with were not created by you."
As the goddess spoke, Trent began to groan. He knew what she was saying was true. Trent didn't really create the game world, but he was the one who made the connection with it. No one knew what he had going on with his PC 24/7, and no one would ever know. He had worked tirelessly to establish an interface with the strange world he had come across, to make it a playable virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game.
'Is this goddess here to condemn me for my actions?! Did I tamper with her world? Would I be punished?'
"No, Trent. You won't be punished," the goddess said, and that's when Trent realized she could read his mind! "In fact, I will be blessing you, Trent."
Blessing?
"Surely, I can't bring you back to life in your world. But what if I give you a chance to take revenge on those who took your life and that of your family?"
Trent's eyes widened and he felt his heart skip a beat. A confused expression spread across his face as he licked his lips to process the goddess's words. "Revenge? You can grant me the ability to kill them?"
"Yes, I can, and I will."
Trent had never heard such wonderful news, and given that it came from someone—or rather, something—looking all mighty and powerful, Trent knew this couldn't be a lie. But it could be a trick...
Having spent his entire youth as a scammer, Trent could sense a deceit from miles away. He started to wonder why an all-powerful goddess would want to grant him the ability to take revenge on his family's murderers. 'Have I done anything special or generous to deserve such an offer? Does anyone who dies come across this?'
"Why give me such an offer?" Trent asked. "You must need something from me, am I right?" Trent inquired, even though he could never think of something that a goddess would need from him.
Suddenly, the goddess walked toward him with a smile playing on her lips, the golden glow beaming on Trent, who was stunned by her beauty. He felt his body shiver when she touched his neck with her hand that felt unreal, as she slowly walked around him, her fingers travelling over him.
"Yes, you are right. I do need something from you and that's why I'm giving you an incentive."
The goddess started explaining, encircling Trent.
"As the Walker of Worlds, it is my duty to maintain stability in all worlds, and as it happens, the Paradox is in chaos. And I will need you to bring an end to that chaos; I will transmigrate you into that world, into your own game."
'What?!" Trent thought. 'Into my own game? Into the Paradox world?' Trent couldn't believe he was living a cinematic dream at that moment. This surely wasn't something that happened to just anybody.
The goddess continued, ignoring Trent's thoughts that she read.
"I cannot maintain serenity and stop chaos as the Walker of Worlds. However, I'm sending you as my host, and as it happens, Trent Docker is the person with the widest knowledge of the game, am I right?"
Trent nodded sheepishly, getting aroused by her slight touches.
"So, this is an exchange where you get to kill those who killed you by killing their avatars and at the same time, bring balance to the Paradox with the system I will grant you."
System?! His heart made another skip of anxiety and excitement at the same time.
"So, do you accept this offer? Have another chance at life where you can be the fulfilled man you had always wanted to be, avenge your death and your family's death, while fulfilling my celestial duties?" The goddess asked, ceasing her movement and standing just before him.
The offer was extremely daring, Trent wouldn't lie. Being in the game he created? Not just as a player, but as an original character of the game, an original character of the Paradox?! That would be awesome! "You'll give me a system?" He asked.
"I will give you a system, honey. Infinite Neoncredits, infinite Paxcoin, infinite gear, camo, accessories! Everything, Trent, I will give you," the goddess replied.
Trent thought about it for a second, when he wasn't actually thinking. He was only staring at the goddess's thighs. The goddess read his plans and raised his chin with a finger, before shaking the finger before him.
Trent heaved and replied, "I accept."
The goddess gave a warm smile and placed the same finger on his forehead. "Good," she said. "You'll hear the system on the other side."
Before Trent knew it, a swirling vortex emerged from behind him, with a multicoloured swirl within it, and was sucking him into its eye. At first, he wanted to struggle, but then he figured out that this must be how he'd be transmigrated. He let his body spaghettify into a field of energy and into the vortex.