Among the trees, beneath the shadows of mountains and the pulsing sun, Reginald stood in the middle of nowhere, confusion written across his face.
"Did someone teleport me here?" he muttered, glancing around.
There wasn't a single figure in sight. Maybe someone was hiding behind the trees, but if they were the ones who brought him here, there was no reason to hide.
"Come out! I already saw you!" he shouted. "Come out, or I'll come for you. What do you want?"
He waited for a minute, then sighed. "As expected, that trick doesn't work."
Suddenly, a rustling sound came from a nearby bush. He turned his head sharply, eyes narrowing as he slowly approached.
"Who are you? What do you want from me?"
There was no answer. As he stepped closer, he pushed the bush aside and there was... nothing.
Then, a small shadow darted away, so fast it left a blur behind.
"Hey! Why are you running?!"
Without thinking, Reginald chased after it, following the figure into the forest.
Seconds turned to minutes as he ran, weaving through trees until he found himself deeper within the woods. There, in a small clearing, stood a hut. The shadow figure had slipped inside through an open window.
"A hut?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes as he cautiously opened the door.
The inside was dim. No lights, only sunlight filtering through cracks in the ceiling and window.
He looked around. The place was nearly empty. No one in sight. No furniture, except for a table. A single sheet of paper lay on it.
He glanced around once more before picking it up.
[If you are reading this, you must already be here.]
The words slowly appeared across the paper, forming as he read them.
Reginald's eyes widened in surprise.
"Who are you?" he asked aloud.
New words began to form beneath the first line:
[Who are you? I know this will be your first question.]
[I'm… the one responsible for sending you to this world. Anyway, that's it, knowing who I am isn't that important. You'll find out soon enough.]
"What do you want from me?" Reginald asked.
[Let's get to the point. This world… is your soul. Your soul. I don't have time to explain it properly, but remember this entire world is your soul. Your purpose is to protect it… and the multiverse.]
[I know you have a lot of questions, but here's what matters most:
Your soul, this world, is connected to something called the Dimensional Gap.
The Dimensional Gap is the gateway to the multiverse. To countless worlds, dimensions, and realities. If something can enter it, it can leave it too. Which means… monsters and other beings will come through it with one goal: to destroy worlds.
And now, your job is to protect your world from those monsters.]
[If your world is destroyed… so are you.]
Reginald's eyes widened slightly as he read through the rest of the letter.
The world he was standing on… was his soul.
It sounded crazy. It was crazy.
But he didn't question it; somehow, deep down, it made sense.
This world was his soul.
The Dimensional Gap was a bridge between realities.
And monsters were coming to break it all apart.
Then came the next part.
The letter explained how to strengthen the soul:
His job was to help return beings, people, and characters from the wrong worlds to their original ones.
Because of a massive event that happened a few years ago, the multiverse had become unstable.
Worlds collided.
Fictional characters got stranded in the wrong stories.
Some were trapped in entirely different realities.
Reginald had to find them… and send them back.
Fictional characters. Characters from stories.
Yep. That's what the letter said.
His job was to "rescue" fictional characters that had ended up in the wrong fictional worlds and help them return to their original fictional universes.
Reginald wasn't even shocked anymore.
Ever since the day he woke up inside a game world, he'd accepted this kind of reality.
But the most ridiculous part? His role was basically a multiversal janitor, cleaning up the mess across infinite stories.
He let out a long sigh.
Even though he didn't exactly like the idea, especially how dangerous it sounded, he couldn't ignore the benefits.
Every time he successfully returned a character to their proper world, he'd earn something called Destiny Points.
These points could be used to strengthen his world.
And the stronger the world… the stronger he became.
"Alright."
Reginald let out the deepest sigh he had ever taken in his entire life. After a long pause, he muttered, "So—"
But before he could finish, a small shadow moved behind the table.
It was the same shadow he had been following earlier. As he leaned in for a closer look, he realized, it was a black cat. A small one, with piercing blue eyes.
The cat leapt toward him.
Instinctively, Reginald reached out to catch it, but,
The cat passed right through his hands and dove straight into his chest.
Right into his heart.
A sudden warmth spread through his body as the paper in his hand began to glow.
New words appeared on the surface.
[I know this job will be dangerous for you. With your current strength, I don't know if you're ready. But I've left you a gift.]
[That cat, it was once the Will of a world that has already been destroyed.
Now, it will help you manage your own.
By fusing with it, your world will gain a Will.]
[You don't need one, exactly… but it'll make things easier.
Convenient, let's say.]
[Anyway, see you soon. And… good luck.]
The glowing stopped.
The paper slowly caught fire at the edges, burning to ash in his hands.
"That was strange..." Reginald let out a sigh. "Now what?"
"Meow..."
Following the sound, a book appeared in his hands. It was brown, with no cover. He flipped through it, and on the first page, he saw his name. His status.
- Reginald Void
- Race: Half-Void
- Tier: 10-A
- Destiny Points: 0
It was a page about him. Everything about him, from his age to his background, to his race and name… things he basically "didn't know".
That was shocking...
"What the heck is Void? And how am I Half-Void..." Reginald frowned. His entire life, he thought he was human. Never once did he think he'd be a different race. And now, this book was telling him he was Half-Void, and that his last name was Void?
He didn't remember ever having a 'Void' name, let alone being a 'Void' race. He was human, from Earth, born to human parents. And he was sent here… by...
"By what? What is it that sent me to this world again...?"
He tried to recall, but he couldn't quite remember. It was hazy. He knew for sure something had sent him here. He remembered it… But now he couldn't. Maybe it was his age catching up to him, or something else...
"Fuck..." He shook his head. "Let's think about it later."
He then flipped the page. Now it was showing his world, from its size (half the size of Earth), to its population, races, and the many living beings that existed in the world. The page left nothing out. It contained everything, from the various hidden places, the continents, locations, every tree, every blade of grass, literally everything. However, for now, the only living being in this world was him.
And the next page showed information, the population data.
He flipped again, and again, and finally, Reginald came to a conclusion: this book was everything and anything about his world. It was like the Akashic Records, except it didn't contain the past or present or whatever. And with this book, he could control his world through Destiny Points.
Reginald chuckled dryly. "Let's just hope I'm getting paid well for this cosmic cleanup gig."
...
"Boss, you okay?" A voice came from beside him.
Reginald opened his eyes and said, "I'm fine. How long have I been out?"
"Just hours. Work must be stressing you out, boss, huh?"
He glanced at the worker beside him, who was a Yordle, working as an engineer for his Guild. His name was Feil, and like Aurora, they had met in Bandle City, where Feil decided to follow him.
"How about your work? I heard great tinkers don't like to leave their caves," Reginald replied with a small smile.
"I had free time, so I took a break, didn't expect that break would turn into taking care of you. Aurora said you're fine. I should go get her." Feil, ever serious, ended the small talk and left the room.
After seeing no one else in the room, Reginald sat at the edge of the bed, rubbing his head as he thought. "I should take care of things properly in the Guild before I leave. I want Aurora to come, but it'll be dangerous… and she needs to take care of the Guild on my behalf."
Aurora was a mage, and she could travel between the Spirit Realm and the Material Realm. She would be a huge help to Reginald. However, he knew how dangerous the fictional world could be, and he didn't want to put her in danger. Besides, he needed her to keep things running, and he didn't even know if he could bring someone with him anyway.
"What danger? Are you leaving or something?"
A soft voice entered his ear, it was so close, he could feel her breath.