Damien opened his eyes only to see an infinite void. His mind, now free from it's hazy state, ran through a million thoughts. He didn't even notice that he was floating in a space filled with nothing, as a scene that played through his mind like a broken record kept repeating itself.
The blood. The sickening crunch. The horrified gasps and the defiant shrieks. It all felt so... surreal. The way the brick chafed his hand, the way he panted when he finished the woman off, it felt like a scene straight out of a survival novel.
Yet one undeniable fact kept Damien grounded.
He killed someone.
"...No... something."
Damien clenched his fist, feeling a bitter taste in his throat. He wasn't in control during that time. When he lashed out in panic, he wasn't thinking of how he looked or how to escape, he only thought about killing the monster in front of him.
That sickened him. To be reduced into nothing more than a cornered animal, it felt like an insult to himself and to the woman, since he barely even considered that the thing he killed was once a human being like him.
"...Shit... What would my parents think? Infront of so many cameras, their son killed a..."
Damien's mind finally regained it's complete focus as he stirred to life. Zombies. He killed a zombie. The rumors about the Malum virus... they were all true.
Shock washed through his mind as he took in the void around him. He wasn't in his universe anymore. Shock then turned to worry, as he began to think about all of his friends and family.
"My parents... shit, what happened?!"
Damien flailed around in the void, trying to grasp something. Even though he knew he couldn't actually do anything in his situation, as he instinctively knew he was already dead, he had to at least see what's happening to his world.
"Hey! Anybody out there!" Damien called out. Someone had to be here in the void with him. Novels and stories from mythologies always had someone overseeing the afterlife, in whatever form it was. "I know you can hear me! Where the hell am I?! What happened to my family!"
Damien could feel his heart beginning to race. While his parents did live in the suburbs, away from the large population areas, they were still a close drive away to the nearest city. That was enough to make him worry his trauma out.
"Damn it..." Damien bit his lip. He wasn't that worried about his father, that old man grew up in a military family and served in a few tours, what he truly worried about was his mother, who had a weak constitution.
Sucking in a deep breath, Damien forced himself to remain clam. After all, he knew he became irrational whenever he wasn't in his right mind. "Calm down, calm down... Dad is probably already packing his truck to the brim with supplies and weapons... And as for mom, we restocked her medicine a couple of days ago, so she'll be set for a month..."
As Damien reassured himself, he didn't notice a silhouette beginning to materialize behind him starting from the feet up. A man, with fair skin and long, shapely legs began to take form. Following his legs, a tunic also began to materialize, which clung to his frame and traced along his narrow waist.
"Hero..."
A voice as soft as clouds spoke into Damien's mind. But it did little to dampen the cold he felt. The stinging, almost mind-numbing cold that was the complete opposite of the burning sensation he felt when the bullets entered his body.
"Hero... Please listen to my request..."
Damien finally realized that the voice came from behind him. Using his arms as a counterweight, he spun around only to come face to face with a delicate-looking man slowly taking form. His head being the only thing missing, as his full, lithe body materialized completely.
"You. It's you, right?" Damien began, cutting him off. "The one who controls this void. Tell me, what's happening in my world!"
The young man, whose bright golden eyes along with his long, curly blonde hair, let off a soft glow as his materialization was completed, simply gave Damien a pitiful smile. A smile that, while giving off a depressive feeling, still framed perfectly against his symmetrical face. "Damien... Your world, it is ending."
Damien could only grimace in response. "My parents, where are they now?" He asked, his tone sharp and slightly rude. But he couldn't help it. His family was on the line after all.
"Fret not, for your father had already taken your mother deep into the woods along with his comrades..." Replied the delicate man with the same serene voice that would've captivated Damien in any other situation. "I... suppose you are wondering who I am..."
Damien nodded, his lips pursed into a thin line. As long as he knew his family was safe, he could focus on other matters. "You mentioned a request?"
"Yes..." Damien raised an eyebrow as he saw the young man shift and avoid eye contact, as if uncomfortable with something. "I... am a God. I control a world where, originally, was fated to be destroyed by my demonic counterpart..."
Damien saw the God gulp, as if trying to spit out his next words. For a deity, he was surprisingly human-like both in appearance and in mannerisms. "They are far more powerful than I, so as to avoid having my world brought to ruin, I summoned a human from your realm to mine, to hopefully change the fate of my world."
The God's hands grasped the fabric of his tunic. His eyes downcast, a grim expression forming on his beautiful face. "But the human I summoned was... infected. With the same virus that is now ravaging your world. I had no knowledge at the time, so I haphazardly blessed him with my powers..."
Tears began to form in the God's eyes as he stared at the floor, sending a wave of pity through Damien. The deity didn't look like a wise and powerful God in his eyes, but more like a fragile flower in a storm.
"The thing that came out... Took away everything. My devoted followers, my creations, down to the very soil... my army of angels, and even my demonic sibling, they all fell to the infection." The God held back a sob, as he stared back up to Damien. Deep, sorrowful eyes staring directly into Damien's assesful ones.
"Please save my world. I know I am pathetic and naive, that I brought death to my own realm with my own hands. But I promise you, it won't be for naught. I might be powerless now... But once I regain my powers and influence, I can help your world. I can grant you powers the likes of which no other mortal could have."
Damien simply gazed at the God blankly. He brought an apocalypse to his own world... just because he didn't bother to check and see if the guy he summoned was safe?
"...It's not your fault." Damien spoke calmly, on the line of being cold, as he looked at the God in contempt. "You were probably in a rush since your world needed a hero. Everyone makes mistakes, especially for people like us with a soul. I don't blame you for your mistake, but it's now your responsibility to fix this mess."
Damien pointed to himself as if to prove a point. "I accept your request. But only if you find a way to help my parents now."
The God smiled meekly, wiping away his tears with the back of his sleeve. "I... I can certainly do that, Sir Damien. Although faint, I can bless your parents to have a body stronger and faster than most... would that suffice?"
Damien simply nodded. While it struck him as odd that the God began to speak to him in an even more polite tone than before, as if speaking to a superior, Damien brushed it off. "That'll work for now. As for how I will help out your world... You said that even angels and another God fell to the infection, right?" Damien said, earning a confirmative nod. "What kind of power could you bless me with now? Considering your... weakened state."
The God thought for a bit, before replying; "I can bless you with the power to completely master one element, Sir Damien. Or at least be able to tame any surviving beast in my realm. I can also give you the power to summon spirits, but I have to warn you, most of the powerul spirits already left my realm and escaped to other dimensions..."
Damien shook his head. While it definitely came off as rude, he had to take this seriously. This was no game, the fates of two worlds were at stake. "I can guess that the elements and beasts thing won't do shit against a Fallen God, so that's off the table... as for summoning spirits..."
As Damien racked through his mind for ideas, the God shifted uncomfortably in the deafening silence. He had chosen this human in a panic since he couldn't maintain the connection to the other universe for long, so he picked the soul closest to him. Skimming through Damien's memories, the God noted that the soul he picked was fortunately, a bright one, with a good knack for figuring things out and an intelligent mind. Along with a personality and outlook on life that is hard to bring down.
The only thing that struck out as odd to the God however, was the morality of the mortal. While most of Damien's memories were one of naive youth and character-developing moments... there was this one memory tucked away in the deepest corner of his mind that disturbed the God.
"...I got it." Damien suddenly spoke up, jolting the God out of his thoughts. "Could you give me a system?"