Chapter 1

In a hospital room, a young man lays in a bed staring out of a window as the machines attached to him beep. He struggles to breathe, reaching for the mask to the oxygen pump with his frail bony fingers, clutching the mask with what little strength he has. Laying back onto his pillow, he continues struggling to breathe as one machine blares and he feels a sharp pain in his chest. The doctors rush in bringing out their equipment and tools, trying to resuscitate the dying man as he closes his eyes.

“I can accept this.” He thinks to himself as his consciousness fades away. “It wasn’t a long life, but it was decent. Mom and Dad still have the others, now I won’t be a burden on them.” Flashes of people pass through his mind as what little strength he has slowly leaves him. “If I had one regret, I’d have to say. That I never got to experience what love is.” As the heart monitor flat lines, the doctors stand up. “Call it.” One of them says.

“Time of death, eight pm.” The nurse says as the darkness claims the young man.

There’s nothing more than darkness, just a vast empty void of nothingness where only he exists. He floats wondering about what happens next, whether he’ll be take in by the light or bask in a hellish fire. But he simply sits there in the vast emptiness, waiting and wondering. He tries to talk but no words escape his lips, his limbs refuse to move, and his mind only continues to think.

“You will be the thirteenth.” A voice cries out through the vast void. “The thirteenth of this set.”

“What?” He asks, suddenly stunned by his ability to say words. “What’s going on? Are you a god?” A figure appears, not a man nor a woman, but both at the same time. A being that changes in a moment’s breath from young to old, from healthy to sick, from darkness and light back and forth never cementing a form.

“I am what you make of me. But some would call me a god.”

“So, I’m dead.”

“Yes. You are deceased, but you shall not move onto your world’s afterlife.” Those words caught his attention. His world’s afterlife. “I’m going to another world?”

“Perceptive, I like that.” While he died somewhat young, the young man had heard of those types of stories. People who move on from one world to some new fantasy world. A world full of adventure, magic, dangers, and love.

“Do you mind that? I won’t force you; I’ll move onto another if you are unwilling?” He clenches his chest. “Do you think? In this new world, do you think I can find love?”

“Possibly. The decision is up to you. I may be a god to some, but I do believe in free will.” The being says. “But I have one thing to ask of you.” Of course, nothing comes without a price. Even in his state he’d known one simple fact. Nothing in the world is free, of course, the same must apply to other worlds. “Name your price.” He says. The figure seems to smile with its odd contorted face. “In this world. There are four dungeons, each one marked by one of the four foundations of the world!”

“And I have to go into these?”

“Yes. I ask of you to go into these dungeons and take the treasure from within. Then once you have claimed those four bobbles, I will grant you a single wish.” A wish? What more could he ask for besides another shot at life? Well, maybe as he explores the world, he’d find something else to ask for, but as for now, he couldn’t think of anything.

“So, are you ready?”

“I just have one question. You said I was the thirteenth in this set?”

“Correct, you are the thirteenth, the thirteenth individual I will send to that world. The thirteenth I will grant special privileges. And the thirteenth in this set of individuals who will go out and change the world, I hope.” He wonders what that means? Change the world, why is that necessary? No matter such thoughts can be pushed aside for now. There are a lot of questions, but for now, he only has one thing on his mind.

“I accept your offer.” He says.

“Good. Now, I welcome you to the world of Dominus!” The so-called god yells out as the vast emptiness slowly warps and changes. “I hope you enjoy yourself.”

A young woman stands before a sigil carved into the ground and dyed red with blood. A group of three robbed men stand watching excitedly as she chants and the sigil glows a faint red. Blood pours out of her eyes and she vomits blood as she collapses onto the ground, her blood being drained into the glyph.

“Will it work this time?” One of the robbed men asks. “We have to summon them this time.” Another man sighs, staring at the woman. “It’s a shame we’ve lost so many already. This will be the fifth sacrifice.” The oldest man strokes his long white beard. “It’s no matter. If this one dies then, we’ll just use another, we have plenty to spare.” The three nod, looking to one another as they then turn their attention to the woman on the ground. The glyph on the ground forces the blood out of her body, flowing into the sigil on the ground as she coughs and convulses. The sigil glows and a bright red light fills the room rapidly as the three smile excitedly.