Prologue

This is it, this is where it all ends. In front of me stands the villain, the person who brought this world to suffer, the one who killed my family and my lover. I will avenge them here and now. I look at the un-human figure in front of me, what once looked like an elf is now corrupt, his body constantly changing and convulsing. His elegant clothes are torn to shreds from his constant changing as well as from our battle. He has cuts and slashes all over him, he’s losing this fight. I look at him in his red gleaming eyes.

“Jalyndor, it ends now. This is your gift after all the pain and suffering you brought, this is what you get for killing my family. My lover. I will kill you here so you can’t bring any more suffering!” I yell out, readying my sword to deliver the final blow.

“You. You are a fool to think you can end me. I did it all for order. To keep this world balanced. Can’t you see or is your human brain too small to notice this?”

He charges at me, swinging his arms at me, his fingers take shape as he launches himself at me. Quickly changing into sharp knives, each one of his fingers extending to be around ten inches long.

I quickly duck down, realizing he’s going straight for my head. I hear the air ripple from him swiping his razor-sharp fingers. I swipe my sword up, catching his chest with my swing. The little bit of his once elegant clothes covering his chest gets sliced, he covers his chest. However, my sword has already done its damage, he’s finally weakened, he can’t fight anymore. He drops to his knees, unable to defend himself. His conquest for balance through bloodshed is over.

“You’re a fool, an idiot. You're gonna wish I was alive with what's happening after I die.”

He mutters out, his words don’t serve any meaning to me. My revenge is almost done, I almost finished what I set out to do. I walk up to him, his weak self as his body slowly returns to a regular form. The same elf I once trusted is now in front of me. Without a word, I raised my sword one last time against him. This time to end it all, end all the pain and suffering he's brought to this world. Without a word I brought it down, slicing at his neck. I watch as his body goes limp.

He’s dead

Music blasts out of the broken speakers of the small television in front of me. It’s all too familiar, the battle-win sound. I finally finished the game, the final battle is won. I can finally stop playing. I lean back in my chair, grabbing the slim case of the game.

“And they said you were a tough game. Not tough enough for me though.”

I say grinning, tossing the game back onto the table in front of me. This was Fantasy Quest 7, supposedly the hardest one to beat in the series. The writing of the game was decent, but people loved this one for the difficulty. I get out of my chair as the credits for the game roll on the screen. As I do I end up kicking the bag of trash behind me.

“I’ll take care of those tomorrow. What time is it?” I pull my phone out of my pocket, it’s cracked and the sides are chipped. It reads 3:24 am. “Oh fuck, I gotta be up soon.”

I make my way to my bed, dodging the bags of trash and junk scattered on the ground, as I make it to my bed I push the pile of clothes on it out of the way and lay down into the newly open spot. I plug my phone into the charger near my bed as I set almost 30 alarms to go off at and after 7:30 am. I let out a sigh, taking a look at my small apartment. The kitchen in sight is cluttered, full of unwashed and dirty dishes, a container of ramen noodles is on the counter, over half of the package is missing already as it's all I eat. The only other part of my room that's not my bathroom is what I use as my living room and bedroom. The floor is littered with trash bags and junk. My TV stand which holds my television is littered with empty cans and bottles. The shelves in my room hold many different books, all now dusty and unopened and unread for years. I look at this decrypt, empty, lonely room and only have myself to blame. I bring my arm to my face, covering my eyes as I cry into my sleeve.

Three constant loud beeps keep going off in my ears. The first beep is long, followed by a short beep, going up an octave. Then it ended with another long beep, the same as the first, before a couple-second pause. It continues again, I decide to count the time between each tone. The three beeps go off before the silence.

One.

Two.

Three.

The first beep goes off again, ending my count at three seconds. How long have I been waking up like this? One year now? No, I dropped out of college almost 2 years ago now. Or was it 2 years ago? Why did I drop out?

“It was because of her.”

I say, finally opening my eyes, looking up at the ceiling of my apartment. I don’t want to be reminded of what happened back in college and what led me here. I grab my phone, slicing my finger on the cracked glass. I look at my finger as the blood slowly starts to drip out. A queue for me to finally get ready. I turn on my phone and turn off all of the many alarms I have set before getting up and making my way to the bathroom. Hitting my feet against some of the bags of trash on my way there. I open the door to the bathroom. The only clean space surprisingly. I walk up and lean on the counter, looking into the mirror. It’s me, it always has been me. The twenty-two-year-old me that threw his future away. The one I’m mad at for all he has done. I look at my features, my long black hair is a mess, needing to be taken care of badly. My facial hair is growing back, I’m supposed to keep it shaved for my job, but they won’t care. They haven’t done anything so far. Under my eyes are dark eyebags, my insomnia showing through. Why? If I kept going to college, would I have ended up this way? I back up from the mirror, I’m tired of seeing this person. The one who threw my life away. I turn around and face the shower, the bathroom is small. You can’t fit two people in here, maybe one in the shower and one out. I don’t have to worry about that. I finally turn the water on, before taking my clothes off and getting in. The cold water hits off my skin, cleaning me. It reminds me of that night. The night where my life turned around.

“Stop it.”

I slap myself in the face, leaving a red mark on my cheek. Getting this topic and subject off of my mind. I turn the water off, letting what’s left drip off me. I turn my head to my phone which is going off. Playing the same three beeps that I woke up to. It’s my alarm letting me know to go to work. A last resort to get me up, or to get me ready to go. I sigh as I slide the curtain of the shower open and turn the alarm up. I grab the towel that's hanging on the bathroom door, using it to dry off. I exit the bathroom and walk back to the bed. Going through the pile of clothes, pulling out a blue polo shirt and a pair of khakis. On the right chest sits a plastic golden name tag. It simply says Jace in big bold black letters. Under my name, it simply has 2 two years, also in black letters. I put them on, grabbing a jacket to put on over my shirt. I look at the time. 7:57 am. I have to go to work. I grab my wallet and keys off my nightstand, making my way to the door before stopping, looking at the fridge. I open it up, looking for something to eat before work, in the fridge sits a couple of beers, takeout from who knows how long ago, a couple of vegetables bound to go unused, and a pack of sliced cheese. I decided to take nothing and make my way to the door, leaving my dark apartment and heading to work.

As the doors slide in a gentle ring goes off, letting the person working know someone has arrived. The guy working at the counter looks up at me, I know exactly who it is. He’s been here almost as long as me and always worked mornings.

“If it ain’t the birthday boy.” Aaron says from behind the counter. A smile on his face as he looks at me. His brown eyes stare at me.

“Birthday boy? Who? Me?” I reply with confusion at his statement. I take my phone out and look at the date. It reads November 19th, 20XX.

“Yeah you! You forgot your birthday or something?” Aaron says in a teasing manner. I did forget my birthday, there's no point celebrating it now.

“No, just trying to trick you is all. I’ll be out here in ten.”

I head towards the back which says employees only in bold letters. As I open the door I’m met by a small hallway, on my left stands two bathrooms for the employees. One for the males, and one for the females. There's also the janitor's closet used for cleaning the place every night. On my right is the manager's office. I never see her as she’s here at night. I’ve only met her a couple of times, she’s around the same age as me. Of course, she’s done more in her life than me, so now she manages this location. The other room on the right is the break room, it’s dark, the only light being the two vending machines lighting it up. I walk into the break room and over to this computer which has a small old computer. I put my employee number into it and my password, clocking in for the day before heading to my locker. As I open it a small note falls out onto the ground. I pick it up, opening the folded note.

“Happy 23rd Birthday! Hope it goes well for you. Thank you for your hard work.”

It’s signed by Sydne, my manager. I guess my hard work means something to her of all people. I start to slide the note into the pocket of my jacket, I stop suddenly and open it back up. Twenty-three? Am I really that old now? I put the note into my jacket and take it off, hanging it on one of the hooks in my locker. I make my way back to the floor, I open the door, the faint sound of music can be heard playing from the store's speakers. It’s the latest hit song. I look around the small store, no customers yet. This convenience store does well business-wise, but the morning rush is already over so it’ll be quiet till around the time I leave. I go behind the counter. Aaron is at the second register messing with his phone. I often forget how young he is, he’s only 20 and he’s already making a name for himself. He told me a while ago his band is supposed to sign a deal with a company soon. Officially graduating from the unknown rock band into something new. He’ll probably stop working here when they do sign. I look at him, he has short spiky hair, his face is toned, and you can tell he takes care of himself, he has to for his future career.

“So, when are you here till?” I ask, making simple conversation.

“Started at 7am, here till 3:30pm. So I got the end of the morning rush but leaving way before the after work rush. You?” Aaron responds by asking a question of his own in return.

“I got the 8:30am through 5pm. So I should only deal with the start of the after work rush.” I respond with, not worried about what I’m going to do today.

“So, what’s your plan after work? It’s your birthday after all.”

He asks, my face turns white at his words. Do I tell him the truth or lie? I mean, I can’t let him know about my non-existent life outside of work.

“Probably hang with some of my friends or something.”

A complete lie goes out of my mouth. What friends? We lost contact after I left college. Hours go by, me and Aaron talk a little, I mainly let him tell his stories. I don’t care but they pass the time. The door chimes a couple of times as customers come and go, but nothing eventful happens. The customers wear either casual or business clothes. Buying their items and going on their way.

The time is 3:16 pm. I entertain Aaron's stories, the door chimes again. I turned my head to welcome the customer but was taken aback by their clothes. This older gentleman comes in, he looks old, almost around eighty or ninety years old, and he’s wearing a long white robe. He takes a second looking around with his gray eyes before looking at me, making his way to my register.

“Hello there, do you enjoy your life?”

He says bluntly, catching me by surprise. As I go to open my mouth, I can’t make out words. I’m there frozen, unable to respond. Do I tell him the truth? Tell him I wish I could go elsewhere. I wish I could start my life over. I wish I could be in a different world. One where I can take my life back? Escape the current one, running away from all my problems. Or do I lie? Say everything is fine? Hide my true wants, the true me behind this mask I made. The one I’ve had on for a long time.

“Hello sir, you need any help?”

Aaron says. Saving me from this encounter. I look over at him, he winks at me in response. He recognizes the confusion and stress I’m in. The old man turns to him.

“Silence mortal.”

He responds in a demanding tone. What sounds like thunder crashes out, then suddenly everything stops. I look at Aaron as he’s frozen, frozen mid-blink. I rub my eyes, thinking I’m dreaming or seeing something wrong. The old man turns back to me.

“Do you enjoy your life, Jace?”

The old man asks again, this time more demanding. How does he know my name? Who is this old man? What is happening, Why is everything frozen?

“I think so. Who are you though, what is happening?” I respond, wanting an answer as I look into his eyes. His once gray eyes now shine a bright gold. He looks more intimidating, however, his figure resembles a god.

“Really now? Well I know what you really think. I just came to give you this.”

He says, ignoring my questions, before he puts a business card down on the counter. It’s a simple white card. The text on it says New Life Co. with a number under it. I reach my hand out, grabbing it off the counter. As I do, the old man in front of me disappears. I look over at Aaron, he’s facing forward, on his phone. I quickly put the card in the trash can below me. Wanting to forget about what even happened.

“Hey, you okay Aaron? That old man was weird just now.” I ask Aaron, still in a confused state.

“What old man? It’s been quiet for a bit.”

Aaron responds, clueless at what I’m asking about. He looks over at me before returning to his phone. He doesn’t know, does he? It’s like his memory of it is gone. Who was that man?

Eventually, the end of my shift arrives. The entire time I can’t get what happened with that old man out of my head. Who was he, what did he want, and is he even human? I can’t get that idea out of my head as I clock out and make my way home. I ignore everything around me, the crowds of people on the street, the people arguing, the constant horns of traffic. Before long I make it back to my apartment, quickly entering and closing the door behind me before making it to my bed. Tossing myself on top of it. What did that old man mean? Do I enjoy my life? No, I don’t. But why ask such a random question? I reach into my pocket, pulling out my phone. As I do a card falls out, and I pick it up. It’s the same card the old man gave me. How did it get here? I threw it out at work, so how is it with me now? I stare down the number, and a want develops in my head, a want to call and see what happens. I enter the number on the card into my phone, I take a deep breath before pressing call. I hear the ring-back tone a couple of times, just as I’m about to press the end call button someone picks up.

“Hello Jace! Do you enjoy your life?”

The robotic voice says. I take a minute, thinking of the question it just asked. Must be some weird company.

“No, I don’t.” I respond, telling the truth for once.

“Do you wish for a new life?” The robotic voice says.

Do I want one? Yes, of course. But to get a new life would be a miracle, an act of god. I look around my room and take a deep breath.

“Yes, I do want a new one.” I finally respond after a minute of silence.

“Okay.”

The Robotic voice responds, ending the call right after. Weird company, hopefully, they didn’t record that or anything. I set my phone to the side and bring my hands out the side and close my eyes. If only that could happen. A new life would be amazing, a way to start fresh and leave this dull mess of life behind. As I’m thinking of this I feel a breeze hit my face. It’s cool and refreshing. Reminding me of the countryside. What a weird feeling, especially here in the city. I hear a bird caw, it’s close, must be outside my window. I open my eyes as the bird ruined my relaxation. As I open my eyes all around me is a light blue sky with white clouds surrounding me. Wait. Clouds? I look around, I’m in the sky now. How did this happen? And that below me, that’s the ground. What is happening!?