Monier was just about to be 25 years old in a month, but the universe had a different plan for him. Just as he finally managed to get a proper job, he was called to a different world.

As soon as he opened the door, everything turned to dust and vanished. He found himself floating in nothingness. He lacked direction, the ability to move, and he heard nothing; nothing at all; he couldn't even hear his own breathing.

But then, after who knows how long, finally something happened. In front of him, he noticed cracks forming in nothingness. As the cracks spread, they gained a dark purple color, and then eventually the ever-spreading cracks formed a massive mouth.

"Welcome, brave adventurers, or maybe I should call you heroes? Yes, that is a better title! Welcome, heroes!"

A deep voice echoed in Monier's head; however, just as the mouth was saying something, something strange happened. A window appeared before his vision. It was pure gold with red text written on it, which, strangely, was exactly what the strange voice was saying.

"You have been called to aid us in protecting the world from the tyrannical rule of the gods."

"Stakes are high, and we have high hopes for you! However, before you can be let out and start your adventure, you must pass a preliminary selection and training."

The voice was slow and felt unnatural; it was almost robotic, or as if someone was reading from a script. At the end of each sentence, there was a longer-than-necessary pause.

"Your aid will be integrated into you the moment the test begins; still, it could take a few minutes to fully start. As a result, the real test will only begin after eight hours. Everyone will be randomly scattered; some will be lucky, some may not, but it will all be part of the test! Now we shall begin!"

Just as the voice stopped and the last of the floating messages had vanished, the mouth began to scatter just as strangely as it appeared. When it finally ceased to exist, Monier felt that he regained his ability to move his head, so he turned from side to side to perceive his surroundings. 

Although there was no light and everything was black, he could still see thousands of eyes all looking around. It seemed as if there were an endless sea of eyes searching for some form of an answer simultaneously.

After what felt like hours in that environment without proper human ability, a thunderous sound came. and a massive crack appeared atop this strange alien world. Unlike previously, this crack seemed genuine, as if they had been inside a world of darkness that just split open. 

He couldn't even finish his line of thought as another loud, thunderous crack appeared in the strange world, then again and again. The once dark voice was now filled with cracks through which came a blinding white light.

Soon it got so bright that he needed to close his eyes, but at that moment, his senses finally returned. Though he had his eyes still closed, he felt that he was standing somewhere. He felt a light breeze caressing his cheeks, and at the same time, the feeling of the heat radiating from the sun hit his entire body in mere moments.

It felt almost reinvigorating. Being outside on such a sunny day felt like a nice change; it almost made him forget the previously transpired events; however, such an idyllic feeling lasted no longer than mere moments. Before he could even open his eyes, he felt a sharp pain radiating from his head, spreading across his body in strange waves.

With each wave passing through him, the pain greatly intensified. By the third wave, he fell forward. It felt as if the world was spinning around him. Even as he tried to open his eyes to see what was going on, he couldn't see. Everything was red, as if his eyes were bleeding.

The previous nice warm feeling vanished, and instead he felt as if his entire body was wet, but at the same time he was feeling cold. The light breeze had also disappeared, and although he didn't feel it due to the intense pain, he heard as if the wind had gotten much, much stronger.

Disorientation, fear, and nausea are the best words that could describe his feelings. His body was trembling from the pain, cold, and fear. Trying to understand what could have happened only further strained his already racing heart, but then, it all vanished simultaneously. 

He no longer felt anything; even his heart had stopped beating so hard in a moment. At first, he thought that it had stopped, but if that were the case, he would no longer be alive. 

And for some unknown reason, he felt calm, surreally calm. He felt that he was lying headfirst in the dirt. Using his hands, he slightly pushed himself up, then turned his body over. He once again felt the sun's warmth on his face, but he was not yet ready to open his eyes. He still needed time to process it all.