Chương 2: First encounter

"What is this place?" Eric asked, clutching his head. The Grim Reaper moved off in a random direction while Eric was still dizzy from the impact earlier. Everything in this realm was white and distorted. Structures floated in the distance, far away from them, but Eric had no idea how any of this worked. Instinctively, he followed his new boss. With each step, the ground vibrated as if they were walking on water. Soon, floating pieces of land began merging to form a path forward.

"My realm." Grim continued walking without waiting.

"If we don't hurry, it might not be my realm much longer." Eric glanced toward one of the floating structures just as a chunk broke away and disappeared into the white void. A falling star crashed into an upside-down castle and shattered it into a million pieces.

"That doesn't sound reassuring."

"What did you expect? We have to hurry. It's not entirely safe here."

"Not entirely safe? What do you mean? Aren't you alone?" Eric's eyes widened.

"Less talking, more walking, Mr. Graham!" Grim turned around, then paused for a moment.

"At this speed, we'll never reach Gateway. Are you up for some adrenaline?"

"Adrenaline? No, wait. Just explain…" Grim jumped into the white void and transformed into a black mass resembling a flock of birds. The ground pieces beneath Eric fell, but the one he stood on didn't move at first. A few seconds later, it shot forward, flying toward Grim. Wind rushed past Eric's face, but it wasn't as strong as he expected. He stayed upright while the ground piece surged forward with incredible speed.

Looking around, Eric saw the realm was full of upside-down flying structures, lone staircases, portals, floating books, and scattered pages. In the distance, a field stretched wide, where he could make out something resembling people running across it. Are those souls? Chains dragged people across the field while others hung lifeless from them. Those still able to run scattered in every direction as swords and arrows tore through the fleeing crowd.

A soldier on the field below looked up and pointed at Eric's floating block. His armor was gold and white with cracks that emitted black light. Soon after, a set of wings sprouted from his back, and he flew upward.

"Grim! We have company." The black flock swerved sharply and slammed straight into the winged soldier. Eric couldn't hear his scream from this distance, but he saw the armor collapse inward before the entire body disintegrated into ash and scattered across the white void. Grim flew over and landed on Eric's block of land.

"I don't get even a minute of peace here."

"What was that?"

"The Shattered. They're here to take over the realm. Is that enough?" Death dusted his robe.

"And you hired me to fight those things?" Eric asked.

"You'll be doing this all the time when I'm gone. Patience, Mr. Graham." Grim slashed the air with his scythe, and the floating rock sped up. It moved through the air and smashed into unsuspecting soldiers and conjurers flying in the realm.

"Why do you need my help?" Eric asked, crouching behind Grim as the Reaper tore through bodies in the air.

"Because I can clear a path while I'm here, but I can't stay." Grim tore through another soldier with his scythe.

"Every minute I spend babysitting you is another minute souls pile up on Earth. You have to keep fighting after I leave. Occasionally, I overlook someone, and they end up famous as the oldest living human. Imagine that, but for everyone!" Grim turned around and shot a flaming skull from his hand. It chased down a soldier and devoured him in one bite before exploding. More of the Shattered saw the floating block in the distance, and a swarm formed behind.

"Time for your first assignment!" Grim summoned a skeleton bow.

"Shoot everything that moves. Just not me." The bow materialized in Eric's hands, and he tried to pull the string. The moment he tightened his grip around it, a translucent description appeared in front of him. Grim slapped the system window out of view and elbowed Eric.

"What are you doing? Are you trying to get yourself killed? I said shoot, not read!" Grim turned around and cut another Shattered soldier. He continued slashing, but enemies swarmed from all sides. At that moment, Eric tried to pull the string on the bow and saw white flashing arrows appear. His muscles tensed, and he aimed the bow toward the Shattered. When Eric released the string, the arrows shot forward and split apart in the air, striking most of their pursuers.

Several diverged off course and disappeared into the realm. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The projectiles pierced armor, leaving traces of green energy in the air as the Shattered fell one by one. Grim turned around and glanced at Eric.

"There are too many of them, and I don't have time for games. Let's end this." Grim spun the scythe around them, forming a protective sphere around the floating rock. Energy accumulated along its surface with a violent buzz until the barrier suddenly exploded outward. The resulting wave tore through every Shattered caught in its path.

"See? It's not that hard," Grim said and chuckled. He put away his scythe and snapped his fingers. The rock they were standing on flew even faster.

"Finally, some peace and quiet. Speaking of which, I think we should officially mark the start of our partnership." A large green screen materialized in front of Eric with white letters and an ornate finish. He didn't know what to do with it, but the interface was similar to a video game, so he felt comfortable interacting with it. /———————————————————————————\ New Quest: Death's Job Purgatory has been invaded by a hostile faction known as the Shattered. The Grim Reaper extends his hand, requesting your aid.

Objectives: Clear Purgatory of all invaders. Confront and defeat Airon. Destroy the Soulstone. Restore all the original functionality of the realm. Warning: Failure in this quest will result in your irreversible doom. You cannot respawn at this stage. Accept this quest? YES | NO \——————————————————————————/"What do you think? Purgatory adapts to the eye of the beholder. I watched you play video games when I had time. It was fun hearing you yell at your friends when they missed an open goal or stole your minion.

I didn't know such words existed!" Grim let out an audible chuckle.

"I… you watched me play video games?!"

"Oh, come on! Everybody had fun, including me. Nobody died, right?"

"Who is Airon? What's the Soulstone?" Eric's eyes scanned the description.

"Airon is the reason the Shattered are here." Grim glanced toward the battlefield disappearing behind them.

"The rest can wait until nobody is trying to kill us." Eric motioned toward the quest window and touched the edge cautiously, careful not to press either of the two buttons. The menu shifted back slightly and returned to its original position. He reread the warning one more time.

"What happens if I say no?" Grim shrugged.

"You can stay here and hope the Shattered don't find you." Eric stared at the two buttons. So much for having a choice. He pressed YES. Moments later, a newly generated character screen lit up directly in front of him. /————————————————\ Character Information Level 1 Name: Eric Graham Age: 24 Class: Reaper Acolyte Statistics: Strength - 5 Vitality - 4 Stamina - 4 Insight - 10 Willpower - 6 Awareness - 2 Bonuses: No active bonuses applied. Inventory: Empty. Achievements: None. \———————————————/ Reaper Acolyte?

What does it do? Touching the name of his class, a small tooltip flashed open. A description began appearing beneath the class name, along with several locked icons. Grim slapped Eric's hand away before the window could fully load.

"Oh, come on. Could you stop opening descriptions?"

"How do you expect me to learn more about my class?" Eric frowned.

"I don't know and I don't care. Right now, we need to do something about your transportation." I'm stuck with this prick for an eternity? Sounds great… The rock they were standing on started to crumble. Piece by piece, it fell into the void until only a small patch remained beneath Eric's feet. Grim transformed into a cloud and laughed.

"You're definitely not gonna like this." Is that the demonic taxi? Blaring its horn, the vehicle cruised alongside him, but it was no longer the bright yellow taxi he'd seen on Earth. Its body had turned dark green, with skulls and horns covering the frame. He scoffed at it at first, but its door conveniently opened. What the hell was I riding in back on Earth? Inside was a big box of chocolates and a bottle of wine wrapped with a red ribbon.

"Treat this as a sign of an apology, but nothing more. I could've crushed your skull any minute now." Eric cast a quick glance at the taxi before turning away.

"I'm not getting in. Not if you drive."

"Don't worry, I won't drive. I can guarantee the trip will be nice." A skeletal foot emerged from the cloud and kicked Eric straight into the taxi. The door slammed shut behind him before the vehicle sped away. Sitting in the vehicle, Eric glared at the dashboard as Grim's voice came through the speakers.

"Ladies and gentlemen, adjust your seatbelts. They are for your own safety! Please, if you feel like throwing up, kindly provide a warning so you don't create modern art all over the interior." I don't know how many of these antics I can take… The seatbelt snapped against Eric's chest as the taxi sped up. Everything seemed blurry, and the taxi's speedometer needle was spinning like crazy from the insane acceleration. The world beyond the windows mashed into one streak of white.

"You and your stupid jokes!" The taxi skidded to a halt at Gateway's entrance. Before Eric could recover, the seatbelt released itself, and the door flew open, dumping him onto the ground.