Author's Preface
Blue opened his eyes after a long night of deep sleep. He swung his feet over the edge of his bed and placed them on the ground. He rubbed his eyes, and that's when he noticed. "What the fuck?" Blue's head swiveled left to right, then up and down. The room was white from top to bottom. The bed he sat on was the only piece of furniture around. He stood and looked around. No doors, no windows. Then a bright flash of golden light began to pour into the space. Blue covered his eyes with his arm. "Okay, ha ha. Really funny, guys. Can you stop now?"
Blue waited for Ilho and Jinhu to pop out from somewhere. Nothing.
Blue lowered his arm and let his eyes adjust to the bright light. As his vision regained focus, twelve figures began to materialize in front of him. No faces, no bodies. Just outlines of beings draped in golden light.
Outside the room, Ilho shook Jinhu awake. "Dude, wake up! Something's happening."
Under the door, a bright blue light shone through the gap. Ilho and Jinhu stood and opened the door. Blue's body was floating in midair, his pendant hovering above him and projecting a blue barrier around the entire bed.
"GO GET WU JIN!" Ilho yelled. Jinhu stood still and didn't move a muscle. "Tch. Fine, I'll go get him." Ilho punched Jinhu in the arm. Jinhu flinched and looked at Ilho. "Make sure nobody comes in, Jinhu. You got that?"
Jinhu nodded as Ilho darted off toward Wu Jin's office.
Blue looked at the twelve beings standing in front of him. "You. You're the Golden Gods?"
A voice rang out. "We are."
"You sons of bitches! My friends could be dead, and you closed the damn gate!"
One of the beings moved toward Blue. It raised its hand and touched Blue's forehead.
Blue's consciousness was transported back to Earth. He hovered over the Eclipse Guild Hall. The twelve gods hovered above him. Suddenly, Blue could see through the buildings. He watched as Chris threw him through the portal. He watched the gate close as Grayson touched it. Blue stared as Grayson walked away and out of the building. A hand touched his forehead again, and Blue was back in the white space, sitting on his bed. The twelve gods sat on thrones in front of him.
"Your friends are safe. The dark elf can do nothing for the time being. He isn't one to act outside of his own interests."
"Okay, what are his interests, then?"
The god in the middle raised his hand. "We do not have enough time to discuss him."
"Then what the hell is there to discuss?"
"Your future."
Blue shook his head. "What about my future?"
"You are our champion. You have been given the power and ability to traverse the golden gates. You must accumulate power to finally stop Hatred. He has taken over one universe. Two more hang in the balance, this one in particular."
"You want me to fight a fucking god?"
"Indeed."
"Have you lost your minds? Why can't you guys just fight him?"
"It is forbidden. We have broken oaths and rules by giving systems and establishing the golden gates," the god on the far right said.
The god on the left stood. "It is why we gave you the mantle of champion and gifted you with divine energy, so you may carry out our will in our stead. We have laid the path in front of you. You must simply walk it."
"Oh, just simply walk it, huh? That's all?"
"Yes."
Blue began to laugh. "You really have no clue what is going on, do you? I hit a wall. I can only use your divine energy for like five minutes. And your system! Your stupid fucking system is broken!"
One of the gods laughed. "My child, everything is as it should be."
"What does that even mean?" Blue hollered.
"Just walk," one of the gods said.
"You know what? No. I'm good."
"Excuse me?" The god in the middle stood.
"I said no. This is bullshit. I'm hopping between worlds, getting reincarnated, and I have a system that doesn't work half the time. A dark elf tried to kill me, and the ones who I do trust to have my back can't even fucking follow me through the gates."
"That is an easy fix, and something we perceived as an issue you might bring up. You will be allowed to bring three people through any gate with you."
"No."
"What do you mean, no? The universes are dependent on the champion to serve his purpose."
"Find a new one."
"You impudent creature! We have given you a blessing!"
"You call this suffering a blessing?"
"Are you aware that every other champion fell at our feet and revered us when we chose them?"
"So why aren't they the ones doing this? Why do you need me?"
The gods looked among themselves.
"They are all dead. Killed by the same dark elf that attacked you. The one you know as Grayson."
Blue blinked a few times. "So, all of your previous champions are dead at the hands of Hatred and Grayson. You expect me to take that as comfort? What the hell is wrong with all of you? How am I supposed to stay alive if every other champion is dead?"
Outside Blue's room, Wu Jin raced to the door. Yeol and Cheng followed shortly behind. Wu Jin opened the door to see Blue floating in midair. He looked back at Cheng and Yeol. "Any ideas?"
Cheng peeked inside. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he reached nirvana. But knowing what we know, it appears those behind all of this are doing this to him."
"What do we do, then?" Wu Jin asked.
"What can we do? We wait and do not disturb him." Yeol reached around Wu Jin and closed the door. He looked at Ilho, who had just caught up, and then at Jinhu. "You two are dismissed. Speak of this to no one, understood?"
Jinhu looked at Yeol. "And where are we supposed to go, huh? You want us to go relax? How about train? Pretend what we saw isn't happening? That's not happening."
Wu Jin slowly retrieved his rod from his sleeve and looked at Ilho. "Take him somewhere now. When this is over, you two will be the first to know."
Ilho bowed and grabbed Jinhu. "Fucking idiot, you trying to die before we can even talk to Blue? Damn!" Ilho hurried Jinhu away.
Back in the subconscious space, Blue stood with his arms crossed. He stared at the gods as they stared back. Finally Blue sighed. "I have a condition."
"How dare you speak to gods in such a manner?"
"How dare I? You fucking forced this on me. I didn't ask for it. So if you want me to walk this path, I have a demand."
"Very well. Speak."
"Give my friends systems. If I have to face grayson, and that demon here in Murim, and whatever the hell else is out there, I want my friends with me. I want them to be able to grow stronger and help me."
The gods looked among themselves and spoke between themselves. The one in the middle leaned forward.
"We can give two of them systems. That's it. Any more than that would take too much power from us."
Blue didn't hesitate. "Ilho and Jinhu."
"Wise decisions. Those two will make fine companions." The god in the middle looked to his right, toward the god on the far end. That god waved its hand as Blue watched golden runes appear and then disappear. "It is done."
"Okay, so what about my broken system you gave me?"
"That is not for us to tell you."
"What? You created it, and now you can't tell me why mine is jacked?"
"Correct. It is not for us to explain."
"Well, isn't that just fucking wonderful? So what now?"
"Now, you walk your path, grow your strength, walk through the golden gates to other worlds, and train until you can face Grayson and the threat of Hatred throughout the cosmos and put an end to all of this."
"Oh, you make it sound so simple."
"It is. Now go, walk your path. Our time is up."
The gods started to dissipate. The endless white space began to fall apart piece by piece as Blue's room began to reappear. Blue began falling through the space until he fell back into his body.
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