Chapter 1: The beginning

The blinding headlights, the screeching tires, the deafening crash. James's world shattered in an instant. The last thing he remembered was the sickening impact as a drunk truck driver careened into his car sending it into the river. The car slowly sank down to the depths of the river bed. Darkness surrounded him and enveloped him everywhere. All he could hear was silence. 

Slowly, a peculiar sensation washed over him. It wasn't pain or fear, but a surreal weightlessness. As he opened his eyes, he found himself in a room unlike anything he could have imagined. He sat on a white chair, in a white room. He could see a white door with a golden knob in front of him. He wondered where he was. There was an otherworldly quality to the space, and the air felt charged with an energy he couldn't quite comprehend.

The door opened and a woman walked in. She was stunning. Her eyes were a mesmerising shade of celestial blue. High cheekbones accentuated the graceful curve of her face, and a delicate nose. She had a playful grin adorned her red lips. Strands of silvery hair framed her face, cascading down to her shoulders. She was wearing white angel robes. Her chest was large and a large amount of cleavage could be seen. She had long, slender legs and wore white high heels shoes. 

The woman had a mischievous smile. "Well, well, well. Look who decided to drop by," the voice purred. She walked up to James and snapped her fingers. A white chair appeared and sat down. 

"Who... where am I?" James stammered, still grappling with the shock of his recent demise by the truck. 

The goddess tilted her head and said, "Ah, the mortal curiosity. Always so entertaining. You, my dear, are in the Divine Parlor, a place beyond the realms of your earthly existence."

James furrowed his brow. "Divine Parlor? What does that even mean? Heaven? Hell?" James questioned. He thought he had not done anything particularly bad in his life. He might have kicked a puppy by accident once but he did feel sorry for it. 

The goddess waved her hand dismissively. "Heaven, hell, purgatory—those are such human concepts," the woman replied. 

James sighed, the weight of his recent demise settling in. "So, I am dead," James asked to double check. 

The goddess chuckled, a sound that echoed like celestial bells. "Oh, not quite dead, my dear 

James. Consider this more of a transitional phase. You had a little accident, courtesy of a certain drunk truck driver, and now you find yourself in my domain," the mysterious woman said. 

"So, what now and who are you exactly?" James asked. 

"I am just a bored goddess, and you, my dear James, are my entertainment," the woman replied in a playful tone. 

As James processed the goddess's words, he couldn't shake the surreal feeling of being caught in some divine game. The goddess, still grinning mischievously, beckoned for him to follow.

"I am not some plaything for you," James fired back. 

"You have some fire in you, I like that," the goddess chuckled. She had a wide smile on her face. 

Her countenance shifted, and with a subtle transformation of her smile, she adopted a more solemn demeanour. "In this realm of mine," she intoned with a gravity that hung in the air, "there are certain rules to abide by. Adherence to these rules will yield rewards, while defiance could mean your very existence will cease."

James thought for a second, whoever she is, she is dangerous for sure. "What are the rewards?" James asked. 

Her smile was back on her face. "I thought you would never ask. The entire universe, multiverse is at your disposal for your fun," the goddess exclaimed. 

"Entire multiverse?" James asked. He was curious now. 

"Yes, do you want to go to a mech world, a zombie world, fight alongside your favourite superhero, go to a fantasy world and check out all the elf girls. The possibilities are endless," the goddess explained. Her smile grew bigger. 

James then put two and two together. This must be the glorious isekai goddess. He smiled. "So I will have a system to travel around the world I choose," James replied. 

"No, and yes," the goddess replied. James looked at the goddess. 

"No and yes?" James tried to clarify. 

"There would be no system," the goddess said. She paused. James looked disappointed. A system is the cheat needed for some of the worlds he wanted to go to. 

She added, "I will give you one gift and one modification to your body which I will choose." 

James' eyes lit up. He wondered what the gift could be or the modification to his body. He then thought of modification. This could be bad. 

"But," James tried to say. 

The goddess cut him off. "No but, you will listen now," she stated. 

"The gift I will give you will not allow you to travel to other worlds. You must find a device in that world which will allow you to travel to other worlds. You can pick which world you can go first. Pick wisely," the goddess explained. 

She continued, "When you first arrive in the world you will start from the canon start of the story. If you wish to time travel, you must have a device for that. When you time travel, the timeline will split at that point. If you make any changes to the canon, this will also create a split. There will be multiple alternative timelines depending on the method of altercation. One important point to note is there will always be a canon storyline at all times. You can make as many splits as you want using the canon story but there will be grave consequences."

James was trying to process this information. She further explained, "There will be the first split of you joining the story, try your best for that to be the only split for that world. Fractured and Corrupted worlds and timelines exist." 

"What are these fractured and corrupted worlds and timelines?" James asked. 

The goddess smiled. "They are a little fun crossovers for me but for you could be your death," the goddess warned. 

"Ominous, will you try to interfere with my plans and adventures?" James queried. 

"I can neither confirm or deny," the goddess cheekily replied. James knew she was going to be not a pain but someone interesting to deal with. He smiled. 

"Do I have to complete the story for the world before I go to another one?" James asked.

"No, once you have split the timeline, you are free to do what you want to do. You can hop around different worlds if you wish," the goddess responded. 

James thought that was good. Although, he planned on staying until he completed most of the story before moving on and meeting the girls he wanted to meet.

"What is my gift?" James asked. 

"You will know when you choose your first world," the goddess replied. 

"What will be the body modification?" James further asked. 

"You will know when you choose your first world," the goddess replied. 

"Tight lipped I see," James added. 

"I can run my mouth if I want to but now is not the time," the goddess responded. 

She added, "Where do you want to go?" 

"For my first trip, can I choose the time as well? It is not very interesting to see me waiting around for it to be built and I can show you a good time once I get it," James said. 

The goddess thought for a second. She smiled. He was definitely listening in. "There will be a consequence for this action," the goddess replied. 

"Life is filled with consequences," James remarked. The goddess smiled. 

"So, where do you want to go?" the goddess asked again. 

James smiled. He knew the perfect place to go.