Prologue 1: The Bored God's Calling

The streets looked familiar... for the most part. I lived here, but this world seemed darker somehow even though it's high noon.

I looked to my right. Tessa was there beside me. We were running from something. I look back and see the sun... it looked like it was going through a perpetual total solar eclipse.

A ring of fire trapping a void.

Funny thing is that it looked like it was holding the void back from growing...

Then it rose, blocking most of the little light the sun gave off... it almost looked like a-

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"HEY!"

I was brought back to reality as I bumped into my friend's arm, stretched out to stop me from walking onto the street as a truck sped by, almost running me over.

"You really need to stop daydreaming, you know, at least while you're walking home," he sighed, "You nearly got isekai-ed there."

"It was about *her* again, wasn't it?"

I laughed it off, "What're you talking about, man?"

"You had that silly grin on your face again," he replied immediately, "You know, the one you always have when you're thinking about her."

"W-wait, I thought I got over that habit?"

'I mean, I really did think that'

"The one where you're just staring at the sky like an idiot," he continued.

"Ok, I get it."

"And you're just smiling off into the distance," he started laughing

"Seriously man, I get it," I replied, chuckling with him.

"Sometimes, you even go cross-eyed and one time-"

"OKAY! I GET IT!" I yelled out.

He sighed again, "If you're really gonna be like that, why don't you just ask her-?"

"W-Woah there! You know I can't do that! We haven't even seen each other in," I paused and took a second to double-check with my memory, "t-two... two years," I went silent, "Yeah, my chance passed me a long time ago."

Fact checks are almost always depressing.

"Then just tell her and just let go of it. Seriously, it's pretty pathetic watching you keep going like this." He shook his head and we part ways and I make my way home.

'Maybe...,' I thought to myself, 'if it'll ever happen.'

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"I'm home," I said as I walked into the living room. My mother was there, waiting for me expectantly.

"Welcome home," and she put out her hand.

"Right," I go through my bag and bring out another bunch of papers.

"Sweetheart," she said as she looked at the first page of the paper, "if you go at this rate, you'll be a doctor for sure"

**Why?**

"Of course mom," I replied with a smile on my face.

"I know your exams got over recently, but you've had a nice long break between the last test and right now, so, you could just go for tuitions for your NEET exam."

**What about your plans?**

"Of course, I'll do that."

"My son will be a doctor soon," She looked back at me, "You know, when you were born, I knew that you would grow up to become a doctor. I just knew you were smarter than the others."

**Why does she have to make it so hard for you to say no?**

"Don't worry about it. I'll manage."

With that, I retreated to my room's plain white walls, the only sign of habitation, a well-maintained bed, and a messy table. I laid myself down on my bed and turned on my phone, the colors bursting out of the screen. I opened the usual applications on my laptop and start creating "them". Characters, monsters, worlds, it didn't matter. I couldn't afford to lose any of that for as long as I can remember. I still can't.

I plugged in my headphones and started playing music while I jotted down the ideas. Then I moved over to start sketching. It was a sort of representation of Wrath, the thing I was drawing that day, an emaciated man who, on getting enraged, has barbed wire grow out of his body forming structures similar to muscle fibers, hurting him as much as he hurts others... *if* he can even manage to hurt others while he's enraged. At least I'm able to find a use for the information I got from school this way.

Then my mother walked in.

"What are you doing!"

**Here we go again**

"All you ever do is play all day! You know that everyone else your age has already been going for tuitions for their entrance exams for at least a year or so or have some sort of plan for the future!"

**As if you can tell yours out loud**

"How are you supposed to survive in the outside world after you become independent? Do you know how much we spend on your school fees? Do you?!"

There was a pause.

"I'm only saying this because I'm worried about your future."

**That's the main problem isn't it? If she didn't give a damn, then you could at least blame her. Right now, though, she's done nothing wrong, she's just trying to guide her son on the right path.**

I listened in silence. As much as I didn't want to hurt them, my family, I think it's time I leave. There's no other way for me. I can't take this anymore, not unless something changes.

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I had a bag packed and ready. It was the dead of the night. I leaped out of the window which, considering my room is... was on the ground floor, wasn't as impressive as it could've been. Not that I would've made it if it was, say, on the first floor.

I ran for an hour or so, and I mean ran in the loosest definition of the term. More of five to ten minutes of actual running and then just catching my breath. Anyway, I ran for around an hour and stopped, taking a small break on a bridge overlooking a river.

Then I heard a familiar voice, "You come here often?" I turned around to see the last person I expected to see, let alone talk to after all this time.

"Oh, uh, no. It's my first time here. Been a while since we last spoke, huh?" She stepped up beside me, looking over the bridge to the river running below. "Yeah. Well, I come here a lot. It's quiet here, just the water."

*"Then tell her and let go of it. Seriously it's pathetic watching you keep going like this."*

"I have a crush on you." I blurted out, regretting it almost immediately. I stepped back putting my arms out in a sort of awkward defensive position. "I... I just wanted to get it out of the way." I added immediately, "We probably won't even see each other again except, maybe for a class reunion." I sighed and placed my hand on my neck "Yeah, I... guess I'll just... get going then."

She giggled at that

I started to turn away and go on my way when she put her hand on my shoulder. "You know, if you wanna hang out later, we could. Maybe catch up on what happened in all that time since we last talked? Anyway, I'll let you think about it. See you later. I'm going home now." With that, she walked away.

'Did that just happen? I just asked her out... kinda. Was that her saying yes? I should probably go home now. Yeah, go home. I can just talk it through with my parents. Just have a small chat about my dreams and they'll be fine. I can have the change I want without hurting them like this. They'll be fine with-*

Then I heard her screams near the base of the bridge. I rushed to where she was to see pitch black, slender arms with long claws grabbing at her feet dragging her into an almost inky black dark puddle on the bridge. She saw me and then looked down at the arms, struggling all the while, trying to pull herself free of the grasp of the hands.

There were more climbing up her legs. I grabbed hold of her arms and start pulling. The arms were digging its' claws into her legs, climbing. I pulled her back in my direction again. That's when I realized that I was rooted in place. I felt the stinging on my legs but I kept pulling. The arms reached up till her shoulders, digging into her flesh. Blood dripped down some of the arms. I felt blood trickle down my legs as well as the claws dug in.

She was crying, who wouldn't be at that point. For all she knew, she was going to breathe her last breath a few seconds later. The arms engulfed her head, leaving the only part of her left her hands, which went limp as it disappeared into the darkness as well.

"Tessa?!"

It almost looked like a cocoon as the darkness condensed. Then it bent, twisted and contorted in odd angles as it shrank, seeping into the cracks on the floor.

'Is she dead? With the way that would've messed up her body, I would expect her be... is she... no... She's gonna make it, right?'

*Hopefully*

I staggered. Did I lose too much blood from the claws? Was I going to die? I felt light headed as my vision blurred.

I watched as my body was engulfed in a sea of darkness...

'I still hadn't told them'

Then light pierced through.

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"Thank you for coming. I was just beginning to get bored."