8. Pillars of Creation

“Dreamer? Can you hear me?”

I felt as if waking up from a coma. My senses were dull. It took what felt like an eternity for my eyes to open up.

“Dreamer?” A young, feminine voice echoed through me.

When my eyes focused, I made sense of the vibrant colours around me and gasped in awe. Stars. Thousand of them, each more beautiful than the other, basking me in their warm light.

I wanted to speak. Where am I? What is happening? Can I stay here forever?

But my voice was gone. My body too. I was nothing but a mind. A thought. Something ethereal.

“Dreamer,” echoed that beautiful voice, “I want you to listen very carefully.”

I nodded. Though there was nothing to nod with.

“You are a painter. The world you inhabit is your canvas. What shall appear on your canvas?”

A blank canvas manifested itself before me. At its leg were buckets of paint, various colours.

“Dreamer, show me what you desire!”

I took a moment to consider.

What is it really that I want? I don’t care for things such as money or fame. So long I got a roof above my head and something to eat, I’m good.

Maybe if I never had to work again...? That sounds pretty lame. I want to earn my things and have pride in my achievements.

I never really had a girlfriend, though. I had a few crushes here and there, but they always rejected me for one reason or another. Still, though, is this really what I want? To earn love through a wish? That feels like cheating. I want my girl to love me for who I am, not because the formless voice said so.

Crap, am I really that lame? Is there truly nothing I yearn for?

…

Oh.

Come to think of it, I never had a chance to feel some boobs. Maybe that’s what I should paint––

Wait, shit! What if this voice is an evil one? What if I ask for boobs, and I get the ripped-off boobs of some poor girl?

You gotta’ be careful with floating voices, you just never know!

In an attempt to save someone’s boobs, I focused hard on the canvas and painted a naked woman with my mind. The brushes moved at my will, digging deep into the buckets before ejaculating colours onto the blank sheet.

There. Yes, it’s a stick figure with huge oversized boobs, but who cares. The voice will understand.

“Thank you, Dreamer,” echoed the voice. The canvas suddenly disappeared, and my body was pulled what felt like light-years away. “Now, I will present to you three choices. You may choose one to change your world eternally. But be wary, for every matter is influenced by balance. Should you wish for a dream and an equal nightmare may manifest.”

Three constellations appeared before me. They were like papers, having names and descriptions.

My eyes widened. They bore the names of mods, created by fans of Ancient Blades!

The first one was named Knightmaster’s Women Overhaul.

[ Knightmaster’s Women Overhaul ]
[ This mod changes the way women look in Ancient Blades! ]
[ + More hairstyles, more clothes! ]
[ + Better looking skin! ]

Up to these, it was pretty much the same mod as the one I knew. However, there was something more to it. The last line appeared to be a hindrance or disadvantage that was not originally part of the mod.

[ – NPCs may not converse with the Player due to a lack of money, status, or skill. ]

I believed I was an average-looking man, but money and status I missed in this world. Hell, I missed it in the previous one!

The next mod was titled Weeboy’s Cutey Followers.

[ Weeboy’s Cutey Followers ]
[ This mod adds cute gal followers to romance and help you out in your adventures! ]
[ + New followers ]
[ + New romantic interests ]
[ – Enemies may attract female followers ]
[ – Highly unstable personalities ]

This mod’s creator used to be notorious in the Ancient Blades community. He had a fondness for anime and such, which would not have been a problem if he did not flood the fan community with his perverted mods. Seriously! This guy was one of the biggest, weirdest creeps.

Finally, the last mod was titled True Statue of Fertility.

[ True Statue of Fertility ]
[ This mod adds boobs to depictions of the fertility goddess. ]
[ + New art! ]
[ – New fertility-themed monsters. ]

Holy shit.

What the fuck is a fertility-themed monster???

Does it, like, damage you by giving birth? Or what, sprays you with acidic milk?

Even just the thought of it made my stomach turn, not even mentioning that the monsters in the starting area of the game were zombies. Just what unholy abomination would a fertility-themed zombie be?

Only one of the present choices bore any significant positive, and that was Weeboy’s Cutey Followers. As much as I hated the idea of anime-inspired followers, none of the others possessed anything that would help me out in my current situation.

A few followers could be rather helpful.

Thus, I chose Weeboy’s constellation and the stars shone up.

Then, I awakened.