ReSTART

Alex awoke with his face buried in snow. He blinked frost from his eyelids, and fumbled with his hand on the snowy ground.

'Where the hell am I?'

He slowly got to his feet, and the chilling, piercing wind nearly knocked him back down again, but he regained his footing. Somehow, he had found himself in the middle of a blizzard. He took in a few shrill breaths.

"Gramps?" He muttered, putting one foot in front the other. "Gramps, where are you?"

He looked down at his form and realized he was wearing strange clothing, what looked to be a black fur cloak, black leather boots - and the most surprising part - a suit of steel armor.

That was just the tip of the iceberg.

Pondering his new clothes further, he suddenly noticed that he was no longer fat. No, in fact, he felt much lighter and... stronger. He examined his physique the best he could through the armor. He had broad shoulders, and a slim waist; his legs were pretty lengthy. He estimated that he stood around 6 feet tall. A wide smile came across his face.

"Who am I?" He said aloud, still walking forward through the blizzard. "What is this?"

Almost as if in response, something shocking happened. Alex watched as a lightning bolt shot down from the cloud-covered sky a few feet in front of him. A massive sinkhole stretching down further than the eyes could see was left in its wake.

Alex approached the hole slowly, making sure to keep his balance in this new body. He peered over the edge, and gulped at the sight of its depth. The walls of ice leading down was all he needed to see to know that death awaited if he fell.

Then, he heard a sound: a rumbling. As the seconds passed, it grew louder and louder. He realized it was coming from deep within the sinkhole. He took a step back, his breathing quickening.

Booom!

A gigantic, scaly creature emerged from the inkhole with lightning speed. Alex yelped, falling back at the pure force of its introduction. He couldn't believe his eyes. The last of the beast's tail came up from the sinkhole, and as the creature flew into the sky with enormous, scaly wings, Alex got a better look. His eyes widened as he laid eyes on the live dragon. It's eyes glowed blue, and its titanous form loomed over the snowy mountains.

"I am the god, Vocta." The dragon spoke. Its voice was a guttural bellow that shook the mountains themselves. "I have chosen you to be my champion."

"Champion?" Alex asked.

"Yes. Allow me to explain. You died, Alex. You were murdered on Earth, and now you stand here, in Spirit form."

Alex looked down at his hands, which were clad in steel gauntlets.

"This is my... Spirit form?" He muttered.

The dragon groaned, "The Council of Ancients, upon my nomination, has agreed to send you on a divine assignment - the most significant one of its era."

"Divine assignment?" Alex repeated.

"In this new body, you will be reincarnated," Vocta continued, his mighty voice echoing across the vast tundra. "In the world of Kiios. There, you will embark on a quest to destroy the dark rulers that have claimed territory in that world."

"Dark rulers? Reincarnated? What are you talking about?"

"Just as there are gods of righteousness and good, there are gods of evil and unrighteousness as well. We call them demons, evil, undead spirits who have incarnated in the physical realm to wreak havoc and misery. A legion of these demons has subdued the world of Kiios, lead by their Demon Empress, Ner. In 10 years, they have already enslaved 50% of the population, forcing them to build altars, temples, and cities for them, while they live lavishly, with ultimate power at their fingertips. It is a gruesome sight to behold, and the Council of Ancients has declared that a hero be chosen to destroy the forces of darkness in that world, and save the people of Kiios from total destruction. You, Alex, are the Chosen Hero of the Ancients."

Alex fumbled for words. He had no idea how to process what was happening and everything he was hearing. His heart beat faster and harder than it ever had before, but he stood still. He dared to ask, "Will you help me?"

The dragon hummed, it's low voice reverberating through the snow. "It is not my quest to undertake, Chosen One. Only you, and you alone, in this new form, have been chosen for this monumental task. The gods have faith in you, and so do I."

"I... I don't..." Alex stammered, struggling to make sense of his feelings.

"Your name is no longer Alex, Chosen One. In this world that you will be reincarnated into, you shall go by Aleksis."

"Aleksis..." Alex repeated under his breath, his eyes widening.

"Now, it is due time that you begin your journey. Farewell, young hero, and do not forget: you are the Chosen. The Ancient Ones will be watching over you, therefore do not fret during your mission, despite its challenges. You shall overcome them all, and claim victory for the good of all living. Godspeed, Aleksis."

With that, the dragon circled its massive body around and plunged back into the sinkhole. Alex watched its body dive deep into the icy depths of the hole and disappear, leaving no trace of its existence. He let out a breathy sigh.

Suddenly, something stranger than everything he'd seen so far - which he thought wasn't even possible at this point - happened. A ripple of light stirred in the air like electricity, and a massive, black hole appeared in front of him.

'Is this... a portal?' His heart skipped a beat at the daunting thought. He looked around him at the snowy landscape. He was stranded, with no where else to go. In his mind, he had no choice - the only way was forward.

Just like before, he put one foot in front of the other, taking each step consciously and with great caution. Not once did he take a breath; the fear in his chest prevented him from doing that. Before he knew it, he had walked through the portal.

He re-emerged... in the sky. A sea of white clouds stretching across an ocean of blue met his eyes, and his breath was completely taken away. He flailed in mid-air, free-falling down to the ground below, which looked to be a never-ending maze of trees tucked behind a range of mountains. Alex couldn't help it, he screamed.

"Wahhhhhhh!"

He got closer and closer to the ground, his despair growing by the moment. He closed his eyes and braced for impact... but it never came. He opened them again and realized that he was just above the forest floor, and a glowing, angelic light was surrounding him. The mysterious light gently lowered him to the ground, and he landed on his back with a small thud. There he lay, staring up at the canopy of trees that provided him shade from the shining sun. The sound of birds chirping filled his ears, and the smell of wet leaves met his nostrils. He inhaled. The air was moist, and humid. Exhaling, he brought his hand to his face and indeed, he was still in his new body, armor, cloak, and all.

Ding!

Suddenly, he heard what sounded like a phone notification, but he did not possess a phone. Instead, a mysterious, floating HUD, similar to one you'd find in a video game, appeared in front of him. A prompt appeared on the virtual HUD, introducing him to his new life in this foreign world.

< Welcome to KIIOS, Aleksis! Congratulations on your ReSTART. >

< Here's an overview of your stats. >

[LVL 0]

Name: Aleksis

Age: 20

Sex: Male

Race: Half-Demon

Height: 6'1

Weight: 198 lbs.

Blood Type: AB-

Magickal Affinity(ies): Fire

Equipment: Black Fur Cloak, Black Leather Boots, Steel Armor, Adventurer's Dagger

"Adventurer's Dagger?" Alex mumbled, and he realized then that there was a strange weight at his hip. He looked down and saw a dagger sheathed in its scabbard, strapped to his right side. He unsheathed it with his right hand, and held it up to the beams of sunlight filtering through the trees. It had a jagged edge, and the murderous gleam of its blade made Kaizer imagine himself using it, and he felt a jolt of excitement that he wasn't expecting. He let out a breathy laugh of awe and disbelief.

"Gramps is gonna kill me when he finds out."