His head hanging low, his posture marked by fatigue, Alex lazily put a half-burned cigarette into his mouth. Small drops of water bounced off his hair and brown coat as he walked quietly through the empty streets of his hometown. His eyes were tired, almost lifeless.

It had been a hard day at work. His boss had made him stay late again, and before he could leave, a storm quickly drowned the clear skies. In his mind, Alex consoled himself with the fact that he was done for the week as it was Friday. He wouldn't come to work this weekend, no matter how much his boss threatened him. He could finally relax after this hard week, enjoy his hobbies and spend time with his family. Happy thoughts finally entered his tired mind and his eyes came back to life.

As he approached an intersection, a traffic light stopped him with its red light, as if to intentionally prevent him from reaching his destination. He told himself that it was all right, that it would surely only delay him for a few moments, nothing more. But the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he stopped. A faint smell of ozone entered Alex's nostrils. His eyes widened.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the ground just a few metres behind him. The sound and light of it made Alex temporarily blind and deaf. Questions filled Alex's mind as time seemed to slow.

"How? How can lightning strike the ground between so many tall buildings?"

Strangely, Alex felt no burning or sharp pain like he would expect from being struck by lightning. Instead, it felt like a truck had hit him from behind. The tremendous force threw him onto the road. The exposed skin on his face scraped painfully against the asphalt as he finally hit the ground.

His whole body ached and Alex felt as if at least 4 of his ribs were broken. Still, he had enough sense to realise that he was on an active road. He put his hands under him, trying to pick himself up and move away from the dangerous road. But just as he lifted his head from the rough tarmac, his gaze was met by rapidly approaching bright lights.

The next thing Alex knew, he wasn't on the road anymore. His hands felt a different material beneath them. It was as cold as the wet road, but it was dry and less rough, almost smooth.

He no longer felt like his chest was broken in several places, instead he felt a sharp pain in his cheek. He pulled himself up and looked up. Standing in front of him was a large man, clearly used to hard work. He was bald and had several scars on his face. His belly bulged, obviously showing a sedentary lifestyle, but his arms were hard and muscular.

"You twat!" The man shouted.

"Tried to wiggle out of work again, didn't you?" The man asked, not expecting an answer before kicking Alex in the stomach with his hard leather boots.

"Get your lazy ass back to the forge or I will drag you there by your balls!" The man yelled, louder this time, causing everyone on the busy street to turn around.

Alex was disoriented, frightened and confused, but he was quick to realise that he wasn't where he'd been before. The street looked dirty and was filled with slightly less dirty people. Not to mention all the antique things on display in the nearby stalls and shops. The fact that it was daylight and that it had stopped raining also helped to clear things up.

So he quietly got up and followed the grumpy man. As they walked, he noticed that he was a little taller than he was used to, and also a lot lankier. He felt around his face with his hands, but even that wasn't how he remembered it. His stylish suit and coat had also turned into a couple of dirty, soot-covered rags.

As they walked, Alex looked out over the buildings on either side of the bustling city. It was then that he realised where he was. There in the distance, impossibly, was the Immortal Bastion in all its glory. Even from a distance, the fortress looked ridiculously large. Alex's heart almost stopped as he realised the implications.