“Damn bro this place is sick as fuck!”

Will was gushing while exploring his new room. The place they were put up in after going through the crack was huge. Seth, Will, and Sydney were currently walking through one of the places they were given. They all had separate ones, but they looked identical. As they were the size of a small house, each apartment had three bedrooms with their own bathrooms. They also had a huge living room with a connecting kitchen.

Interestingly enough, the level of technology in the rooms was odd.

There were no televisions or high-tech devices like at the facility they had just been in. Although, there was a console in the middle of the living room behind a set of plush couches. The building itself was even bigger than the Empire State building. Seth thought Will was going to piss his pants when he first saw it. He couldn’t even fathom how long it must’ve taken to build it. It did seem to be a trend in this new dimension for places to be incredibly large. It was a wonder how many beings must live here.

As the three of them sat down in the living room, a loud growl interrupted their thoughts. Will turned with wide eyes over to Sydney, about to open his mouth.

“Zip it, jackass.” Sydney demanded.

Seth hid a smile behind his black hand and glanced over to the console.

“Maybe they got room service here.” Will brightened up and strolled over to the console.

He clicked the only button on the block and a screen appeared before him. He was met with a list of arbitrary symbols until he scrolled down and found one in English. Apparently, it was some sort of language menu because afterward, a huge menu bloomed into existence.

“Woah guys, this thing does a lot more than room service.”

Sydney and Seth both got up and joined Will at the console. There were many tabs to choose from on the screen. Seth spotted the building services tab and pointed at it.

“We can check out all this stuff after we eat, hit the building services tab.”

Although he wouldn’t say it aloud, Seth was incredibly hungry as well. As Will opened the tab, they were assaulted with a number of options. Will clicked “Sustenance” and a menu of delicious looking foods popped up. As they scrolled through the meals, they found that not one of them looked familiar.

“I guess with infinite dimensions comes infinite cuisines.” Sydney commented.

“I’m sure they are all good, I mean just look at this place.” Seth replied.

As they finally hit the bottom of the endless list, the three of them gasped.

“No. Fucking. Way.”

They all stared in awe at the last meal option: A burger and fries.

 

--------

 

“This is heaven.” Will groaned.

Seth grunted in agreement while Sydney said nothing; she was too busy devouring her meal. Finally, Seth sat back, his meal finished. He felt better than he had in months.

“Well guys, they said we got a week to chill out before they send our last package. I don’t know about you but I want to head to my room so I can absorb the item I got then hit the hay on a real bed for the first time in forever.” Will sighed.

Sydney got up as well.

“Yeah, I could kill for a bath right now so I am going to head back to my room too.”

They both began to disperse when Seth spoke up.

“Hey, I don’t think we should split up. There is three bedrooms in each apartment, so I don’t see the reason why we can’t stay in one.”

Sydney and Will both exchanged curious looks.

“Sure man, I mean it doesn’t bother me.”

Sydney scrutinized Seth for a second.

“Yeah, I guess if it will make you feel better.”

She began to walk up the stairs toward the bedrooms.

“Don’t even think about coming near my room or I will kill you,” she called over her shoulder.

Seth and Will exchanged grins before heading up to their own rooms.

 

-------

 

Seth stepped out of the shower and dried himself off. He now stood in front of the huge mirror of the bathroom and examined himself for the first time in six months. The man staring back at him was a total stranger. His once whitish blonde hair was now tainted with thick shocks of ink black. Both of his bushy brows were also now onyx and haloing over a pair of widened eyes. One was an almost greyish blue while the other was a bright purple that faintly glowed on a background of black.

His once boyish features had now hardened to compliment his crooked nose. As he looked lower, Seth found that the slightly athletic, lanky body he had been sporting before was replaced with a lean and muscular picture of health. The only outlier was the grid of black crawling up his right arm.

“I look… good.” He muttered.

Seth thought back to the dinner he just had with his two friends.

They both also looked much more grown than back at school.

He remembered the last thing Sydney had said before she retired to her room. A certain image flashed in Seth’s head. He glanced down quickly as something else showed their new growth. Clearing his head, Seth stepped out of the sweet smelling bathroom and into his room. He walked over to the closet where he had found a set of clothes before he showered. There was only one, but it consisted of a rainbow damascus patterned t-shirt, shorts, and undergarments.

It’s cool that they gave me clothes that fit but why is it all rainbow colored?

He shrugged and continued to put on the clothes. They were quite large compared to Seth’s stature, but he found that after he finished, they all compressed to fit him rather snugly. Seth waddled back over to the mirror and was met with a rather detailed outline of his business against the fabric. He tried to stretch it out but right after he would stretch it enough, it would just fit back exactly how it was before.

A thought struck Seth and he activated True Sight. His suspicions were proved correct when he saw a small amount of dimensional energy radiating from the clothes. Seth pulled a thin strand of energy from beneath his skin and attempted to infuse it with his shorts. He quickly deactivated his ability and watched as the shorts began to loosen. Soon enough he had to actually remove some of the energy because it became so loose that it fell to his feet.

He finally got it to the point where it fit as well as a pair of normal Earth shorts and then he continued to loosen up his underwear to where it didn’t give him a horrible wedgie. The shirt he left as is because it was quite flexible, and the material was breathable.

He turned his gaze over to the rather large bed and decided he would go check out the console in the living room. Seth wasn’t yet ready for sleep because he knew who would visit him as soon as he closed his eyes. As he made his way down the stairs, Seth noticed a soft light emitting from the main room. He activated Specter State and entered the room.

The second he walked in, Seth’s jaw dropped like a cartoon character.

Sydney was currently bent over the console, scrolling through the tabs. What had floored Seth was the fact that Sydney was currently dressed in a similar set of clothes as him, but she on the other hand, had seemingly not figured out how to stretch it out. Seth unconsciously saved the view of her basically naked outline to the recess of his brain.

Sydney was facing away from Seth (to his delight), so he hesitantly deactivated Specter State and coughed aloud while casting his eyes away.

Sydney whirled around with a dangerous looking revolver in hand.

“Woah! Chill out, its just me!” Seth blurted out.

Sydney did not lower her gun.

“Why can’t I feel your energy and why were you just standing in the dark?” She interrogated.

“It’s a trick I learned from Ty, and I just got here I wasn’t doing anything.” He said evenly.

Seth looked at her to see if she believed him. She began to relax and lower her weapon when Seth’s eyes involuntarily flickered down to her generous chest. This was not lost upon Sydney as she re-raised her weapon with an icy glare.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry! Force of habit.” Seth sputtered as he painfully dragged his eyes away from her.

“Just so you know, if you infuse dimensional energy slightly into your clothes, they will become loose like regular clothes. Just make sure it’s only a little, too much and they will fall off.”

He heard a grunt in return as Sydney began to loosen her clothes while keeping an eye on Seth. He heard a click but continued to stare at the wall as Sydney lowered her weapon.

“Alright jackass, you can look now.”

Seth hesitantly glanced at her before turning his full gaze. Sydney’s shirt was normal now and her shorts were now loose, but they were actually quite short in length, so Seth did his best not to look anywhere but her face.

“So why are you down here?” She questioned.

Seth gestured at the console behind her.

“Same as you I guess, just wanted to find out more about our new reality.”

It had not slipped past him she was still holding the weapon after he turned around so he was relieved when he watched it disappear in motes of multicolored lights. Sydney sighed and turned back to the console. Seth took the invitation and cautiously approached the console next to her. They both silently scrolled through tabs upon tabs on the console, learning about this new place and all the species that resided here.

The only sound that occurred for the couple hours they stood there was when Sydney muffled a giggle at a particular species that resembled an Ewok. Finally, they both had just finished analyzing a local street map when Sydney paused.

“Your tests were combat oriented, weren’t they?” She muttered.

Seth continued to watch the screen.

“What gave it away?” He said in mock surprise.

Her eyes turned to look at him from under her black bangs.

“It’s your eyes. I watched how you looked at Ryan, it was like you didn’t even think of him as a human being.”

Seth didn’t meet her eyes. He didn’t want to tell her the truth. Before he learned enough about his new life, Seth had to make sure he kept some allies just in case.

Slowly, he met her eyes with a steady gaze.

“Sorry about that, it had just been a while since I've seen other people. My mind was still in survival mode, so I attacked out of instinct.”

Sydney showed no reaction until after a moment she began to slowly nod and turn back to the console.

“Mine was mostly combat too.”

Seth continued to watch Sydney.

“That must’ve been rough, I’m not sure how yours was operated, but I understand the tole that everyday combat can take on a person.”

A confused look crossed Sydney’s face and she quickly faced Seth. Sydney looked like she was about to say something when she abruptly stopped and turned off the console, leaving the lamp next to the couch as the only thing illuminating the room.

“We should probably get some sleep,” she said as she headed toward the stairs.

“I can’t wait to sleep in a real bed tonight, it’s like a dream come true.”

As Sydney promptly left the room, Seth watched her go, slightly lost.

Did I say something that upset her?

 

--------

 

Sydney sat alone in her room, staring at the floor. Had Sydney been in any other interaction, she might have been embarrassed about what happened with her clothes just minutes ago. Unfortunately, her mind was nowhere near that little situation. A shiver ran down Sydney’s spine.

He was in combat every day?

She couldn’t even imagine what six months of constant fighting could do to a person. Sydney had talked with almost all of the other people in the white room while they waited for the tests to end. Of everyone she talked to, Sydney had one of the most combat prevalent tests. The thing is, even at the most stressful times, she only had to fight maybe once a week. Not to mention, the tier twos she had to fight could be really difficult at times.

Even if he was only fighting tier ones constantly, what did he do on the first test to warrant having to fight every day?

The first boss monster, apparently a tier three according to the quest, had been a living nightmare. Sydney had barely escaped with her life after delaying the beast long enough to escape. Now, she would most likely be able to defeat the beast, but back then, it was an impossible task. She sighed and sprawled back onto the bed. Sydney was certain there was something almost inhuman in Seth. Just the way his eyes were on her the whole time they talked was enough to know.

His gaze on her was that of a predator watching its prey.

 

--------

 

Seth was only lying in bed for a couple seconds before the chaos ensued. Nightmares overwhelmed his senses as he saw countless visions of death and destruction. Something was off about his trip this time. Although Perdition always made Seth feel like he was there for an eternity, this time he could feel like it was longer than usual.

Finally, Seth felt a pull and he woke up in a room of black. It felt just like the first time he traveled to Perdition. His whole body wracked with shivers and he was covered in sweat. Luckily, he was still in control of his mind, so he did his best to calm down. It was to no avail though, and it took him a full ten minutes to shakily get on his feet. As he finally got his wits about him, he turned and glared at the chained figure grinning in the corner.

“What…the hell…was…that?” Seth demanded in between breaths.

The foul being leaned forward, “Sorry about that little one, just a little issue on my end.”

He, or it doesn’t sound very sorry. Seth thought.

He really didn’t know how to refer to the being. It had the tone and figure of a man, but Seth had no real way of knowing. Folly tilted his head to the side, his grin widening.

“Is my sex really what you are concerned with right now?”

Seth froze for a second before doubling the poison in his stare. Folly burst out laughing, his black tongue flailing about. It mocked Seth for a couple minutes with its sporadic cackle before finally settling down.

“Ah little one, I do enjoy your visits.”

Seth regained his breath and stood up straight.

“I did what you asked.”

Folly greedily leaned forward,

“And?”

Seth sighed before continuing.

“It’s in my cache, I don’t know how to get it here.” He motioned around.

The creature rattled in its chains.

“Just think about what you want to retrieve from your cache, and I will take care of the rest.”

Seth shrugged and closed his eyes to focus on the item. A clink on the ground caused Seth to peek.

“Bring it to me, little one.”

He curiously picked up the item from the dark floor and brought it closer to the writhing inmate. Seth himself wasn’t even sure what he chose from the catalog at the facility. He just picked the first one that said “manufactured” like he was instructed. Folly’s tongue slowly emerged from his mouth to approach Seth. Cringing in slight disgust, Seth raised the item toward the slithery member.

The black tongue quickly snatched it up and disappeared back into the void of Folly’s mouth. A low groan started emitting from the being as it devoured the item. As he watched the odd monster, Seth repeated the memory of his last meeting with Folly. Last time they talked, the being had told him that his reward would be an ability granting item of his own choice. Folly asked that he bring a manufactured version of this item to him, and in return, the creature would give Seth a choice of personalized abilities as well as some “present” Folly seemed excited about.

“Ahhh… Well done, little one.”

The being had finally finished whatever it was doing with the item and its attention was back on Seth. It briefly gurgled before a stream of oil spurted from its mouth. Seth almost took a step back in disgust before the liquid froze in mid-air before forming a series of words. As they snaked through the air, separate groups began forming into flaming colors before finally settling in front of his face.

“Here you are, your reward awaits. As promised, I will not attempt to steer your choice, even if I can make you more powerful than you can imagine.”

Seth rolled his eyes and began reading the vast number of choices in front of him. There were too many choices to choose from. They ranged from tactical abilities, to combat abilities, all the way to certain merchant and trade abilities. Seth had no idea how they all could fit his growing skill set, so he simply kept scrolling. It took quite some time but finally, Seth decided on five abilities to choose from.

 

Nemesis Rider:

-Your never-ending force of will allows you to follow your foe to the ends of existence.

 

Nightstalker:

-The world is your playground as your presence is unknown.

 

Limit Breaker:

-Go beyond. PLUS EXTRA!

 

Insanity Eternal:

-Your adversary’s worst nightmares come to life.

 

Myth of Light:

-Your enemies will not know the existence of the light even after their demise.

 

Seth had to think very hard about what he wanted his style to be like. It looked like he was already on the baseline of some sort of dark overlord type. This made obvious sense, as his abilities all stemmed from a land worse than hell. He thought about it for a while. Folly did not make a sound the whole time, and Seth unconsciously dismissed his presence.

What do I want from my new life? What do I want to be?

Memories of his past life flashed before his eyes. He had nothing in his previous life. No friends. No real family. No hobbies or real interests. Nothing to live for. This will be different. I will live this life my way. Seth grit his teeth and really focused. Instantly, he ruled out Limit Breaker, although a hilarious coincidence, even if it gave him something like One-for-all, it wouldn’t work well with his current abilities.

Next, Nightstalker and Nemesis Rider were taken out of the running. He already had concealment abilities, and instead of a tactical type, he wanted something that could invoke real power. It was a choice between two vague abilities. Insanity Eternal sounded like a possible branch of mental abilities, while Myth of Light sounded truly dangerous. There was a possibility that it could just be some sort of tactical ability though.

One basically has a good chance of mental manipulation. The other is a gamble that I really don’t need.

“Fine. I made my choice. I want Insanity Eternal.”

The dormant being finally moved. Chains squealed as the living phantom leaned ever forward. Suddenly, it stopped moving and Seth watched the restraints begin to shake. For the first time, he saw the runes on the shackles begin to pulse violently.

“Are you sure about your choice child?” Folly spoke with an eerily calm tone.

Even behind the dark chains, Seth felt the monster’s eyes bore into him.

This is my first step.

He turned his hardened gaze to Folly’s face.

“I am certain.”

Folly’s grin curled as his impossibly wide mouth slowly opened. Seth did not flinch as the being’s mouth unhinged far enough to swallow his skull. After a moment, red mist began wafting from its jaws. The thick cloud touched Seth’s skin and a wave of intense pain rippled through his body. Despite the agony, Seth did not move from his spot. Minutes past as he absorbed the dense bloody mist. Eventually, the jaws closed and the cloud dissipated.

“Now little one, it is time to go.”

Seth’s body became heavy as the weight of the mist set in.

“What about the present?” He mumbled groggily.

“Rest now, little one. The present is already waiting in your cache.”

Seth’s vision came in and out as he began to lose consciousness.

“Until we meet again…”