In a grand castle on a different realm there were 5 dark figures with humanoid bodies sitting at a table. They were plotting their game of human souls because they hated how the Living God favored them. They sat down and argued how to achieve their plan. "We can't take their bodies or snatch them without intervention, " said one. He was holding a staff on his right hand while pounding the table with his fist. A female with horns and armor said, "there's technology we can use. They're not going to be taken from earth, but transport their minds and souls to trap them." She gave a wicked laugh. One with a crown asked, "How will they go unnoticed?" Silence was throughout the room for a moment. Then one with a viking helmet and large body said, "It won't go unnoticed. We can have our minions to temporarily cover for them. Only very few will recognize the change and notice the imposters.""And their bodies?" asked the crowned one after. The female spoke again "That can be arranged. They still believe in aliens. We can tell our devoted worshipers to call it an alien abduction or attack. Better yet, we can have them collect the bodies and disguise it as if it's their government helping to find a solution to a problem." Then the one with long white hair spoke, "We should use the so-called abominations that refused to side with us because of fear. We still have them in different realms, some managed to hide, but the prisoners can be used for our entertainment. Getting tortured by the race they didn't want to wage war with because of fear of divine judgement." The female laughed maniacly. The one with the staff said, "The lingering magic by thoughts can be collected and we can bring to life the tales written by man. To add more diversity to our fun" The crowned one snorted and said, "the only souls that I want to trap are the human ones, but I'll allow the excess use of power and energy to make this game come to life." The female gasped in excitement and said, "Let the games begin!." On the table laid a large map of the world they were planning on using. Before they got up to leave, the crowned one said, "three rules, the humans cannot die in the game unless their physical body perishes. Second, you cannot intercede and carry off your own wishes. Three, once you establish your rules you must follow them or there will be a penalty. The rest looked outraged, "why must you set boundaries to the game we want to create?" asked the female as she scowled. The crowned one said, "I am the game master."
Natalia was sitting on her bed watching a movie, but not paying attention. She had a very simple way of living. Her room had a bed, office desk, Television stand, nightstand and a lamp next to her. She kept her favorite books on the head board of her bed. However, there was something that looked out of place. It was a poster her mother gave her to decorate her room. It has a knight kneeled on one knee and holding a sword. It was fully covered in armor. There were words inscribed above the knight,
"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places " Ephesians 6:10-12
Natalia worked as Security Supervisor at a nearby hospital. She was busy thinking about her day and how to turn it into a training drill. She then took a deep breath, and said to herself, "maybe I'm too focused on this job and that's why I can't seem to finish my Bachelors. I need a distraction, something that will pull me out of this world and into a different one."
Just then, she got a notification on her phone.It was her social media notification. Natalia frowned and tapped on her phone.
What the heck? she thought to herself. "I always turn these notifications off on all the apps because I don't like to be bothered. When did I turn this on? Did I do it by mistake while it was in my pocket? I'll need a new phone cover then," she groaned " what a pain."
She opened the app and went to settings to turn off the notifications. Then she got a pop up ad on her phone when she was checking her social media. It was an advertisement for a war game with castles, mystical beings and knights. There was a knight on a horse charging with a sword. The knight was standing pulling out both his blades from his back waiting for him as a dragon flew over them to burn the army behind the man. The ad for Throne War stated it was a strategy game. "Maybe a bit of gaming might help put me on chill mode," Natalia thought as she tapped on the ad. It first asked, name your kingdom before going to select your avatar.
"Well, I don't want to be boring and use my real name as a username and it said kingdom, but I don't want it to be weird. So I think I'm just going to use the Garden of Eden." thought Natalia and she typed it, the system came back and said it was taken, Natalia groaned and then typed Great Eden. She then selected an avatar with full armor and two swords on her hands. The screen switched to a page that said, travel to your city with an enter button in the middle of the lower half. Natalia pressed it. Then notice the screen said, traveling to your kingdom now and clouds started forming on her screen. Natalia smiled and said "Cool, I want to see everything then." Slowly the screen was filled with clouds before smoke started emerging and pouring into the room. Natali dropped the phone on the bed and then kicked it away. "Oh snap, my phone is setting on fire. It's smoking. Must have been a virus in that," thought Natalia as she rushed to the closet in her bathroom and grabbed a fire extinguisher she kept under the sink. Then she ran back into her room to see that the room was filled with fog. She looked around for her phone on the ground and before she could pull the pin on the extinguisher she felt as if she was levitating in the room. The room no longer had a floor anymore and only smoke filled her vision. Panic then started to sneak inside Natalia's heart. She had no idea what was going on. She looked around and began to start focusing on her breathing. "Think Natalia", she said to herself, "all you have on you is the clothes you're wearing and this stupid fire extinguisher. Well, I guess this isn't the worst way to die if I passed out from the smoke, but how is it possible for all that smoke to be created by one phone? I was sure I reacted quickly and I wasn't coughing." Seconds later she feels her feet touch the ground and falls on his behind.
Natalia was looking up when she noticed the clear blue sky and the sun shining bright above her. She saw she was in a grassy area. There were hills from afar with a hint of snow over them. Some trees in the area near her, but not many. She then sat up and felt a little heavy. When she looked down at herself, she noticed she was wearing armor. It was made in silver and fitting. The armor was flexible in the areas she needed to maneuver. She got up and looked at her boots, they were made of leather with a two inch heel. She looked over to the right where she heard a horse call to her. It walked over to her and nudged her arm. The horse was trying to urge her to get up. It was wearing a saddle and a helmet. The horse was black with a diamond shaped white patch of fur on its forehead. Natalia got up and rubbed her hands together to get rid of the dirt from the ground. She took a deep breath and said, "Okay, so I have a horse that knows me, I'm in armor and let me check my skin, yep I'm still brown at least. I don't have a mirror, but I hope I still look good."A robotic voice said, "You may select the race of your guide." Natali looked around to see who said that. There was no sign of anyone. "Oh dear God, did I lose it too?" she said as she looked up at the sky. "Your guide is responsible to ask any questions you have regarding game rules and some functions" continued the voice and a pop up screen appeared in front of Natalia. Like a menu it showed the different types of races, fairies, demons, elfs, giants and so on.