A/N: this has minimal to no changes at all. Enjoy
Maximilian, also known as Max leaned back in his chair, the dim glow of his computer screen illuminating the small, cluttered room.
A long day of work had left him drained, but a persistent pop-up ad on his screen refused to let him close it.
"This is what you get from being a cheapo and going on shady Chinese sites for movies" he grumbled to himself, trying to cancel the Ad.
"Would you like to go to another world?" the ad read, its words glowing faintly, almost hypnotically.
He scoffed, dragging the cursor toward the "X"—but the button wouldn't work. Frustrated, he clicked "Yes" instead.
The screen flickered, and another prompt appeared.
Choose Your Bloodline:
Blood of a Dragon $45.
Blood of an Ogre $10
Blood of a Dark Fey $25.
Blood of a Phoenix $40.
Human $5
Viking $8
Blood of a Vampire $15.
Blood of a Werewolf $15.
Primordial Bloodlines $10000000
Choose Your Abilities:
Devour $50.
Flight $10
Fireball $15
Ginormica $10
Black Sand/Dream Sand $45.
Access to Magic $10.
Super Strength $15
Choose Your Artifact:
The Hook of Maui $10
Amulet of Daylight $15.
Soul-bound Weapon $55.
System $50.
Magic Mirror $20
Winter Staff $15
Staff of Merlin $10
The staff of Jack Frost $15
Maximilian clicked through the options, his curiosity overriding any common sense. As he selected, he tried to see if he could pick two or more bloodlines, and to his surprise, he could.
Thinking this was all a game that would ask him to sign up once he was done, Max went for the bloodlines, thinking like this was life or death. Max picked the Blood of a dragon, who doesn't want to be a strong dragon that can possibly breathe fire.
Blood of a Phoenix, the masters of fire themselves, and basically an undying fire chicken.
Maximilian looked at the Blood of a Dark Fey, said to be an evolution of Phoniexs, Dark Feys are more humanoid with horns and wings, with one of the strongest even having a great connection to magic, and picked it.
Blood of a Vampire, masters of the night, are able to control blood, and shadows and also gain sustenance from blood, becoming stronger from sucking blood.
Blood of a Werewolf, masters of hunting, their beastly strength makes them a formidable adversary, and it all amounted to $145, for the bloodlines.
Next was the abilities devour, the ability to devour and incorporate the devoured species and their ability.
Black Sand/Dream Sand, the control of dreams and nightmares, and also the ability to control sand-like constructs.
Access to magic, one of the once Maximilian was hesitant to get, as most of the blood he chose already had great affinity with magic, but he picked it anyway as with magic access that meant spells and that meant guaranteed power, and it came to $105, 'Thank goodness I still had money, but why does the money mirror what I have in my bank account?' Max thought.
'Never mind that, the last thing I have to do is the artifact,' the first thing Maximilian picked was a Soul-bound weapon, it grows with him, so he knows that he shall never outgrow it.
The amulet of daylight, as a kid seeing the troll hunter use the amulet, always kept me in awe, so he felt like it was my turn to be a troll hunter or something more.
The last thing was a soul-bound system, having a system is most people's dream and Maximilian was one of them, so that equaled $120. Max went to the final choice, the screen went black.
"Damn Chinese site, the freaking thing crashed my PC," Max jumped up pissed off as his screen had gone black, and any time that had happened on this site that always meant his PC had been given a virus.
"You could have been less cheap then," a voice light and warm said.
"I barely have enough money to pay rent this month and …" Max stopped talking, eyes wide in horror.
Maximilian lived alone, and the voice he had heard was not his, slowly turning around he saw a small girl, the thing that stood out to him was a golden crown horn on her head.
"Well bye, bye" the little girl said as Maximilian surroundings seemed to warp and blur.
Heat surged through him, and the last thing he saw was glowing words in the Air:
"Welcome to your new reality. And try not to die too early," an ominous voice said in Maximilian's head.
Then it was darkness, the Darkness cradled me, a void of silence and emptiness. I had no form, no name—just the faint awareness of his existence. Then, without warning, light erupted around him, fierce and blinding.
The searing heat was the first thing I felt, consuming me in waves of unbearable fire. His body began to take shape, forged in flames that burned with the power of creation itself. I gasped, my lungs filling with air as he fell to the soft ground beneath him.
Maximilian opened his eyes to a forest unlike any he had ever seen. Towering trees stretched endlessly into the sky, their branches entwined like an ancient cathedral. Golden light filtered through the canopy, illuminating the lush moss and vibrant flowers surrounding him.
He pushed himself up, his hands trembling. His body felt unfamiliar—strong, yet untamed. His skin glowed faintly with an inner fire, and when he flexed his fingers, sparks of golden flame danced across his palms.
Something stirred at his back. He turned to see enormous wings, black like the wings of a raven, imperceptibly streaked with veins of molten gold. As he moved, the wings unfurled with a grace that felt both alien and instinctive. But it wasn't just his wings. He reached up and felt them— spiraling horns curving elegantly from his head. Their texture was smooth and warm, and they pulsed faintly with magical energies. They gave him an aura of strength, yet they also marked him as something otherworldly, something to be feared.
A/N: The wings
(This does not belong to me)
(images are above if they can not be seen)
"What… am I?, was the advertisement actually real?" he whispered, his deep, resonant voice unfamiliar even to himself.
The forest was silent, save for the faint rustle of leaves in the breeze. Maximilian stood alone, the enormity of his situation settling in. Memories of his former life were fragments—flashes of a mundane existence, far removed from this fantastical situation.
As he took his first steps, the forest seemed to react to him. The ground beneath him pulsed faintly with light, and the air shimmered. He tested his wings, spreading them wide before launching himself into the air.
The sensation was exhilarating. He soared above the treetops, his black-and-gold wings cutting through the air with effortless grace, with a Maximilian formerly being scared of heights; this was an astounding situation. But the farther he flew, the more questions filled his mind.
Where was I? Why am I here? And what was this power coursing through me?
When he landed, Maximilian found himself drawn to a nearby pool. The water was impossibly clear, and as he leaned over it, he caught his own reflection.
His appearance was striking. Horns curved upward like a crown, eyes burned like molten gold, their intensity almost too much to bear. My skin shimmered, as though lit from within by an unquenchable flame.
For a moment, he felt fear—