New World

"Hey! Watch out!"

The shout came a second to late, as Kairos had already tripped over the fallen banister. Stumbling forward, he toppled over the rusted railing, and came face to face with a vat of boiling magma.

Fortunately, a life full of terrible luck and near death experiences had prepared him for such a scenario, and by acting quickly, he managed to catch hold of a thin ledge on the way down.

A loud crack rang out as he swung around and slammed into the side of the vat, but still he held on.

"Shit! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure how long I'll be ale to hold on. Also, I'm pretty sure my arm broke on the way down!"

"Crap, for real? Alright! Just- Just hold on, I'll go find help!"

With that, the man rushed from the warehouse in search of others. Left hanging, Kairos swore and scoured his surroundings, hoping to find a way out.

Alas, the inside of the vat was smooth, and without the ability to fly, there was no way he was getting out.

'Just my luck. I knew accepting a job from a shady man couldn't be a good idea,' Kairos thought.

Sweat dripped from his brow and dropped into the magma, sizzling upon impact. Adjusting his grip, Kairos thought back to how he came to be in this predicament.

It all started two weeks ago, when an out of control truck nearly ran him over. Luckily, he managed to dive out of the way in time, but when he stood up, he discovered two more trucks barreling down towards him.

Ever since that day, Kairos had been forced to dodge one truck after another, until finally a strange man appeared and offered him a job.

Believing it to be a good way to get off the streets, and make some money at the same time, Kairos readily accepted the offer.

Only later did he realize that the man who offered him the job, also owned most of the trucks.

'I guess it's kind of funny, in a sick sort of way. If I listen closely, I can still here the trucks honking,' Kairos thought, closing his eyes.

A moment later, they snapped back open. "Wait! I really can hear a truck honking! But... but that's impossible! This warehouse is miles away from any main roads, and the only way to get here is by train!"

'BOOM!'

Kairos stared at the exploding ceiling in disbelief, his face illuminated by two beaming headlights.

With the flow of time almost at a standstill, Kairos looked upon the true face of death, and was afraid. For there, hurtling down towards him, was a truck.

...

"Thirteen times. Thirteen fucking times! Do you know what that means?"

Kairos shook his head, still numb from his recent death. Currently, he sat in a room designed to look like an office, before a man who looked suspiciously like the one who gave him the job.

The only difference between the two was that the man before him wore a flaming crown, and had startling blue eyes with ivory pupils.

"Gods above... My job was already difficult enough before they changed the way I summoned heros. Trucks, seriously?!"

Shaking his head, the man pulled out a stack of papers and dropped them onto the desk with a thump.

"Anyways, here we are. I'll need you to sign these before I send you on your way."

Kairos looked blankly at the papers before directing his gaze back to the man. "I'm sorry, but... Who are you?"

"Ah, my bad. I've forgotten to introduce myself, haven't I? My name is Silphus, God of the Gateway, and I'll be handling your soul's transfer today. All you have to do is sign..." Silphus flipped through the paperwork until he reached the last page. "here, here, and here, and you'll be good to go."

Kairos looked at the spots Silphus had marked and frowned. The paper was covered in a bunch of strange symbols, none of which he could understand.

When he pointed this out to Silphus, the God only laughed and said.

"Oh, you don't have worry about that. It's just saying that you've been given the ability to survive in your new world, and that you've accepted the quest to defeat the Demon King. Nothing serious."

As he spoke, Silphus's voice took on a soothing tone, which put Kairos in a trance. With his eyes glazed over, he picked up the pen and signed the papers.

Upon seeing this, an elated grin spread across Silphus's face, and with a snap of his fingers, the paperwork vanished.

"Very good! Now then, shall we send you on your way?"

Without waiting for an answer, Silphus clapped his hands twice, and a silver vortex replaced the floor beneath Kairos.

The sensation of falling snapped Kairos out of his trance, but by then it was to late. Plummeting away, he watched as Silphus leaned over the desk and waved.

"Good luck! And try not to die right off the bat, alright! It will take a moment for your powers to set in!"

With that, the vortex closed, and Silphus sat back down. Humming, he pulled out a cloth and started to wipe down his desk, only to pause when he noticed an ink blotch marring the wood.

"That's strange... How did that get-"

Silphus froze, and his eyes shot wide. Quickly snapping his fingers, he summoned back the papers Kairos just signed, and flipped through them.

"Alright, here we are. Transfer to a new world, check! Awakening a powerful ability, check! Accepting the quest to become a hero and defeat the Demon King... Not checked...?"

Silphus dropped the paperwork and rubbed his temple. A small laugh escaped his lips as he stared at the unmarked space.

"Gods above... What have I done?"

...

When Kairos opened his eyes again, he found himself laying in dark alleyway, lined by sandstone walls on either side.

Beyond their tops laid a clear blue sky, and within it, a crescent shaped moon. Suddenly, a strange bird flew by, held aloft by four dark blue wings, while a stream of mist flowed from its tail.

'Where in the world am I?' Kairos wondered, sitting up.

That's when he noticed the condition of his body, which was sad to say, not much more than skin and bones wrapped in tattered cloth.

A dark stain dyed his shirt red, and blisters covered his feet, but the worst part had to be the stench, like a rotten carcass left out in the sun.

Kairos felt nauseous, but an empty stomach made it impossible to throw up. After several painful minutes of dry heaving, he finally managed to fight back his repulsion.

Gathering his strength, Kairos pushed off the wall and stood, his gaze focused on the street beyond the alley.

'Water. I need... water.'

Kairos licked his dry lips, which tasted of dirt, and staggered down the alley. Along the way, he overheard people shouting, but in a language he didn't understand.

'What's going on? Why are they screaming?'

Suddenly, with a loud pop, the words became clear, causing Kairos to freeze.

"Monsters! Monsters have invaded the city!"

"Run! Run for your lives!"

"Help! Please, someone... anyone!"

'Monsters? What are they talking about? There's no such thing as monsters...'

Slowly taking a few more steps, Kairos reached the end of the alleyway, and after gathering the courage to peek out, he surveyed the surrounding city.

From there, he watched as people ran past, doing whatever they could to get away. With a frown, Kairos turned to see what they were running from, only for the blood to drain from his face.

A group of humanoid creatures chased after the people, their features grotesque and dyed a light shade of green.

'Those- Those are goblins!' Kairos thought, immediately recognizing the creatures from earth's mythology.

Suddenly, one of the goblins stomped its foot against the ground and leapt into the air, using its speed to close in on a woman straggling behind the others.

Landing on her shoulders, it tore into her with a flurry of attacks, before finally ripping out her throat.

The woman didn't even get the chance to scream before she hit the ground, her blood pooling in the street.

Kairos stifled a scream and stumbled back, only to trip over his own feet and sprawl onto his back.

Looking up, he found himself staring into a beady pair of eyes, their gaze full of a thirst for blood.

In a flash, Kairos sprung to his feet and shot from the alley, his veins surging with adrenaline.

Behind him, the goblin let out a piercing screech, which alerted the others. They respond with a chorus of ecstatic howls and squeals,

Kairos went as fast as his legs would carry him, but the numerous corpses throughout the street made running difficult.

A single misstep sent him crashing into the ground, and allowed the goblins to catch up, their ugly faces alight with wicked grins.

"No, please! Help, someone help me!" Kairos shouted, but his pleas went unanswered.

As the goblins closed in, he clenched his eyes shut and covered his head, cowering beneath his hands.

'Please... someone, save me. I don't want to die like this. Not here, not now.'

'BOOM!'

An explosion shook the ground for miles around as a fiery wind surged through the streets.

This was followed by a multitude of squeals and thumps, and then silence broken only by the crunching of footsteps.

"Hey, kid. You still alive?"