!CHOMP!
"ARGHH-, WHAT THE F*CK, MY FACE, That bloody b*stard bit my face, huff huff"
Panting and screaming as a result of his traumatic death, Mateo looked around warily, trying to register his new environment whiles looking for any trace of the zomb-hobgoblin that killed him.
"Fear not child for you are in a sanctuary, far away from anything that could possibly harm you."
A soothing voice echoed around the majestic gold themed hall Mateo found himself in.
Looking around once more he was finally able to see the face behind the otherworldly voice and he was filled with mixed feelings.
Draped in a long silk robe which swept across the floor from the absurd height of the suspended throne, Mateo saw a face which could be described in three words.
Cute. Heaven grade cute.
Unfortunately though, the face belonged to a male which stirred up some mixed feelings when the smoothness of the earlier voice was questioned.
The arrogant smirk didn't help either as Mateo felt his palms itch like hell.
Suppressing the edge of slapping away the smirk, Mateo politely asked, "Where the f*ck am I."
"Oh, it seems this little child is both deaf and uncultured in speech, haaah, what a bad combo."
Whispering loud enough for Mateo to hear, the childlike being got up from his Sky throne and jumped, causing Mateo's heart to follow suit. Tap Tap Tap
It seems his worry was unfounded as the being gently floated down, his golden robe shrinking by the second as he eventually landed on the floor and walked in Mateo's direction, his now smaller robe still gathering the silver dust on the floor.
"What I said, is that you are in a sanctuary, a place of peace that I created myself."
Mateo found himself unable to focus on the explanation being given by the being.
His focus was all on one thing; this mofo was barely 2 feet tall, a bit higher than his knee but definitely shorter than the zomb-goblins he faced earlier.
'Heh, this guy has an attitude ten times his size. I could probably make him fall by stretching my legs, should teach him a thing or two about talking big.'
"I would advise you not to do that Mateo Addy Smith.
And before you ask, yes I can read minds but I can also do much much more."
Before Mateo could even utter a word in denial or accusation he was grabbed by the neck of the being whose body was expanding before his very eyes.
Within seconds they had surpassed the height of the sky throne and showed no signs of slowing down.
When the being finally stopped, Mateo was allowed to open his eyes that had been shut tight from the force of their ascension.
All around both of them was nothing but endless darkness, the being's eyes which shone like two blazing suns providing the only light in the gloomy area.
Stunned by the rapid change in scenery he had experienced for the third time that day, Mateo tripped and fell on his butt.
Forcing himself back up on his weak shaking legs Mateo took a glance at where he had fallen and saw stars.
Not the feeling of dizziness but actual stars, the ones depicted by books and the Internet.
His eyes traced the line of stars before he discovered where he was, on the palm of the childlike being whose body was now made up of stars, planets, comets and others.
Basically a whole galaxy.
"Do you now see what I am capable of or you want more."
The being's voice boomed, disorienting him as a question rang through his head, 'More, what more could he show me, how could there possibly be more.'
Moving his other palm, the being brought up a familiar looking blue planet and Mateo's home world, The Earth.
Instantly Mateo was surrounded by dozens of buzzing figures on a tarred road that meandered through the bustling city of New York.
Before he could gather his bearings the beings voice rang again, this time in his mind.
"Watch how feeble and weak you all are in the grand scheme of things."
!SNAP!
The being snapped his fingers and everyone but Mateo froze.
Another snap and they resumed moving, none of them noticing anything.
Another snap and a massive earthquake struck.
Another snap and Mateo was pulled from the Earth, forced to watch as all the volcanoes erupted simultaneously, killing everyone.
Another snap and time reversed only, everyone died by drowning this time.
With a final snap Mateo found himself back in the golden hall, the same cosmic giant now in his 2 foot tall state.
Eyes wide and wet, breathing erratic, mentally unstable, Mateo asked, "Why. Why did you have to show me all that, huh. Why?"
Calmly the being answered, " Because I want you to know what true power is and what being weak means. You have the chance to become as powerful as I am. Many already are, fewer are much stronger and an uncountable number much much weaker. The question is, where do you want to stand."
Still shaken, Mateo stared at him before stuttering , "A-Among the strong."
"Louder."
"Among the strong."
"Say it louder, with conviction and not like a spineless wimp."
" I WANT TO BE AMONG THE STRONGEST."
"Good. Now accept the prompt that comes, don't bother reading anything, just accept and begin your journey to the top."
Confused about what the god-like being was rattling off about, a prompt flickered into existence right in front of his face.
____________
Does the user agree to adhere to the terms and conditions, therefore accepting THE CODE.
[YES.] [NO ]
______________
Looking for confirmation on the child's face which no longer had an annoying smirk, Mateo nodded, affirming his choice to click
YES.
______________
Congratulations and welcome to THE CODED UNIVERSE.
______________
Following the message, a rush of information slammed into his already tired mind, chipping away at the last bits of his sanity.
Not long after, a cool rush of energy made its way into his mind, relieving him of the migraine he got.
Before he could digest the excess information, the child spoke again.
"Now that you have gotten access to THE CODE the only thing stopping you from growing stronger is yourself."
"Your time here has come to an end. Make sure to check out your Assessment Page and the CODE MARKET. First purchase has a 50% discount so choose wisely. Adios, I've got a scheduled sitcom to watch."
"Wait, venerable one, you still haven't told me your name when you know mine."
"Hoho, venerable one, I like it, but ass kissing isn't gonna get you anywhere with me. As for my name you ain't gonna need it since we may never meet again but you can call me ETERNAL CHILD, or EC for short.
Cherio and get strong quickly, for your own sake."
!ZWWOOONNGG!
Without giving the confused boy a chance to unleash the barrage of questions he had, the being teleported him back to Earth.
"Haaa, finally he's gone, time for me to catch up with my favorite series."
"Not so fast CHILD, you have to face the consequences of your actions."
"Ahh, THE JUST ONE, I was wondering when you'd arrive."
"Did you think you'd be able to escape punishment after abusing your power like that?"
"Whaat, me, noo. I didn't abuse my power. We are required to enlist more people unto the CODE and that's what I did, now if you excuse me, I have a program to catch "
"Hmm, I see. The intent was right but the process was wrong. I mean, the boy now has some info on your powers which he could give to our enemies in exchange for anything, so for that I'll still punish you." The JUST ONE said, his monotone voice making the statement sound like a death sentence.
" Mmm, whatever. Just wait till I finish this episode." The ETERNAL CHILD mumbled.
"By the way why did you risk punishment for that boy, I detect nothing special about him."
"You're right, he ain't special, but he lasted the longest among today's batch, even going as far as killing the 1st boss and clearing the boss room, though he died in the process."
"That doesn't excuse your actions, after all it's only the first batch of trial takers, there could be equally or even more talented individuals in the next 364 batches. As punishment for your actions, no entertainment for a month."
"What, no you can't do that. Wait you can but please don't. It's because of these cruel punishments that I'm far behind in the series." The EC begged, hoping his cute expression would soften the judgement.
"Hmph, my judgement is final. Enjoy."
And with a few hand signs, the man with a blinding ball of white light for a head created an imprint on EC, enforcing the punishment.
Double checking it, the JO teleported out of the golden sanctuary amidst EC's wails of protest.