I reached out to grab the coffee cup handed to me by the smiling barista when everything simply vanished. I was surrounded by a bright white light which almost hurt my eyes. Then I saw someone standing in front of me. An androgynous human made entirely out of the same white light as the rest of the surroundings. Still, I could clearly see where it was. It was entirely faceless and featureless. It felt like it was the same height as me, but it felt taller and smaller at the same time. The being spoke with a mix out of every voice I could ever imagine, “I have picked you to fight as my champion. You will be sent to a different world and will have fifty thousand years to prepare. After the time limit, will you fight against the champion of the other god.”

  I was stunned for a moment, by the bluntness of the being in front of me. Still, I didn’t feel an ounce of panic in my mind. It was completely calm and focused on the being. I asked after a moment of thought, “Why would I fight for you? Also, why do you look so human if you are a god?” The being in front of me responded as soon as the last word left my lips, “If you succeed, I will grant you any wish you might have. I have chosen this form, since it makes talking to humans easier. Lastly, I am a god, not just a being. It would make things easier if you just accept that fact in your mind.”

  The god must have read my mind. I considered for a moment forming my next questions when the god interrupted my thoughts, “Yes, you can wish for infinite wishes. You can also wish for the same power me, although you will die if you do. This will be clearer in fifty thousand years. This is enough proof. I will allow you to speak normally again.” I sighed and continued the questions I had prepared, “What can you tell me about the other champion and world I would be sent into?”

  This time the god finally didn’t immediately answer but had a normal pause before it answered, “The other champion is another human picked from a completely identical earth as you. The other god had picked them, but I do not know anything about the champion. I cannot tell you anything about the world, nor will I give you hints. Cheating would make the game between us two boring. The only thing I can tell you is that it is possible for you to survive fifty thousand years and that the other champion has won thirty six thousand fights already.”

  I sat down and noticed that I barely felt my body. It was in a similarly numb state as my mind. Not hindered in any way but strangely calm. I pinched myself to see how it would feel and felt nothing outside of my skin being pressed together. I turned back to the god and asked, “How many champions didn’t make it to the fight? Also, what can I bring into the fight? And how long can I stay here?” I wanted to be as prepared as possible, if I were to take on this challenge.

  The god answered while it sat down as well, “You are the sixth million person, I will send to challenge the champion.” Sensing my coming question it continued, “Just because it is possible to live this long, does not mean it is easy. Especially considering what is required if you want to get strong. You can bring weapons into the duel itself as long as it is reasonable. You for example could not claim that the entire universe is your weapon. At least it would require special circumstances to be true. You can stay here as long as you want to, but I would recommend you not to stay for too long. It would make the start harder if you have lost your emotions and pain for too long.”

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  I nodded and decided to ask my final few questions, “How exactly will I transmigrate to the other world? Will I be a child again? Also, why did you pick me?” The god just stared at me and for the first time I felt it smile, “You will keep your body, but it will change. Although you won’t notice it immediately, the changes will make it easier for you to become powerful. The other champion had the same benefits. I will also pick where you start and you will be able to speak and write the language of that region. I should also mention, you and the other champion would be sent to identical copies of a world, so you don’t need to worry about them using something you couldn’t. And lastly, I tried six million other people, so why not try you as well.”

  I laid down and began to think about the choice in front of me. I could either spent my probably long life in this new world to have a good life or I could try to go for the wish. While I didn’t know what the other world was, it was either more technologically advanced than earth or it had magic of some kind. Either way, it sounded like I could have a nice life there. The god hadn’t forced me to fight either, so I was free to do as I wanted. On the other hand, if I fought for the wish. I could wish for a perfect life. I could wish for the best life I could experience. And all I would need to sacrifice were fifty thousand years.

  I decided to think a bit more carefully about what exactly it would mean to fight for the wish. I would need to be as strong as possible within fifty thousand years, that meant I couldn’t waste a single second of my life. I would need to be a machine training for a single fight. I would need to be able to abandon everybody who would ever stand with me, just for a smidgen of more power. Was I even able of doing something like that? Could I really be so heartless? It would be better if I just made of my life, if I ever made a single misstep. Fifty thousand years were an incomprehensible time frame to any human and I would need to make a decision for the rest of that time.

  I knew that the possibility of living fifty thousand years in peace would be the better choice. There was no guarantee that I would win even if I made the decision to try to fight. But still, the greed in me spoke to me. I could have more than fifty thousand years of a good life. I knew that it would be fifty thousand years filled with fighting and an eternal race to get stronger. I would need to be able to abandon every friend I would make. I needed to be willing to throw my pride aside, for more power. I needed to be essentially inhuman. Still, even with all of that. I still wanted to try. There was no big reason behind it, but I still wanted it.

  Since my decision had been made, did I think about my precise goal. I still remembered the videogames I played. I could try and become as defensive as possible, I could try to be as aggressive as possible, or a jack of all trades. I decided that I wanted to adopt an aggressive fighting style if possible. It was simply for the reason that I could have more fights and thus fighting experience, if I finished my fights fast. I just assumed that more fights would be useful. Of course, if the situation demanded it, I would switch to an appropriate style. I decided to leave as soon as possible, since I was unsure how I would feel about the decision when I regained emotions. And the longer I stayed here, the more of my memories would be emotionless. This could cause my decision to falter, wasting time.

  The god read my mind, and I vanished from the white space.

  Upload schedule: At least 2 chapters each Sunday 4 pm GMT+2 (if I write more I will upload more)