Flames clawed hungrily at the blistering walls. Above, the ceiling groaned like a dying animal, dust and ash raining down with each creak. I huddled in a corner, my shirt pulled over my face as smoke scorched my lungs and eyes.

This wasn’t an accidental fire. The stench of gasoline coated the air like poison. Through the cracked window in my bedroom, on the second floor of my apartment building, I spotted masked figures in the alley below. Dark silhouettes with gas cans, moving quickly. They climbed into a black van and peeled off into the night.

My neighbors were scrambling down their fire escape, shadows flickering in the orange haze. Unfortunately for me, an inferno blocked my exit.

I dove under my desk as a chunk of burning drywall crashed nearby. Heat pressed in from all sides. Just as I braced for the ceiling to collapse, my darkened monitor flared to life. A window blinked open, unnaturally calm in the chaos around me.

Would you like some assistance?

Yes / No

I had no idea where the hell the message came from. Someone might have hacked my system, sure, but at that moment, it didn’t matter. I hovered the mouse. My hand trembled. I clicked ‘Yes’.

The computer screen flashed, then went black. Looking around the room, the flames seemed to dance in slow motion.

The fire didn’t just part, it recoiled. Out stepped a bald man, untouched by smoke or heat, clothed in a simple gray robe. His inhumanly long, pointy ears twitched slightly as if listening to something I couldn’t hear.

“Ahem… My name is Vitori. I will be your guide.”

“Um, how did you do that?” I asked.

“A rather simple task, where I come from. Now, it’s time for you to make a choice. You can perish in this crumbling shell of a world, or step into another, born of myth and sharpened by danger. Choose quickly.”

“What do you mean, ‘another world’?”

“A mirror world, one twisted by myth, shaped by forces you’ve only glimpsed in games. But don’t be fooled. It's as real as the fire you’re fleeing, and you may find it to be more familiar than you think.”

Somewhere between the shock and chaos, I rationalized that now was not the time to think about the crushing weight of discovering magic was real, after spending my entire life thinking it was a bunch of smoke and mirrors nonsense.

This all sounded disturbingly familiar. Arcainia, that new MMO I barely had time to try. Some indie dev project that skyrocketed on release day. Couldn’t be a coincidence... right?

“You will have to choose a new form, something distinctly different from how you look now. To simplify the process, I can use the template you’ve already created in Arcainia, or you can select a new form and race. 

“So you’re saying I just have to play the game?”

“Not exactly. You will be living in a world as real as the one you live in now. Arcainia is a very real place. You will have to learn to adapt to this new world and its challenges.”

“And if I choose to stay, will I die?”

“That’s not for me to say.”

I thought for a moment, the flames still slowly creeping across the floor. Whatever my decision, I had little time to make it.

“Okay, take me to Arcainia.”

The bald man, or elf rather, snapped his fingers, and everything went dark.

I was floating in an unending void. There was no noise, no vision, nothing. Just the empty blackness. 

My ears started ringing until a textbox appeared in the air in front of me, as if I were wearing augmented reality goggles.

You are about to start the character creation process.

You may not be able to return.

Would you like to continue? 

Yes / No

If you select No, you will be returned to your world.

There was no way I was going back to that burning building. It seemed I had little choice. I thought about clicking the ‘yes’ button, and the textbox faded out of existence. Another took its place.

First, you will choose a race and appearance.

A list of options appeared. The game was filled with fantasy creatures from elves to something called dragonkin. A button labeled ‘Use Template’ hovered beneath the list. It shimmered faintly, maybe because it recognized the halfling rogue I’d created before, back when it was still all just a game.

After taking a few moments to mentally scroll through the options, I decided to keep the halfling I had already made. These small humanoids were known for their bravery and luck. They got bonuses to Dexterity and Charisma, two of the six main attributes that make up your character stats. 

I saw my own new body as if I were standing in front of a mirror. Although I was still formless, I mentally raised my hand, and the reflection copied my movements. My template character sported blue eyes and slightly long brown hair that was tied back. He, or I rather, was currently dressed in basic linen clothes. White shirt, brown pants, leather boots. Halflings stood around three feet tall, but I gave myself a few extra inches, making me 3’4”. Just enough to feel slightly taller without breaking lore. 

A list of Choices appeared next (that being ‘Choices’ with a capital C). The options were the Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Mage, Monk, Priest, Ranger, Rogue, Templar, Tinkerer, Warlock, and Warrior. Naturally, I picked Rogue since it was the one I was most familiar with.

Next, a screen opened that showed my six main attributes: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. It stated that a score of 10 was average for a common human. Each race had a couple of modifiers, such as orcs being naturally a bit stronger. At the moment, most of my scores were set to eight. Dexterity was already set to 10, and Charisma was at 9, due to my racial modifiers. I had twenty-seven points left to distribute.

I maxed out Dexterity, no brainer for a rogue, then gave Intelligence and Charisma decent boosts. I wanted to be clever and charming enough to survive in a world I barely understood. I put two points into Wisdom and the rest into Constitution. 

Strength: 8

Dexterity: 16

Constitution: 12

Intelligence: 15

Wisdom: 10

Charisma: 14

This was insane. Somewhere in the real world, my apartment was probably nothing but ashes, and here I was, optimizing Charisma like it would save my life. Maybe it would.

My heart was still pounding from the fire. The smoke and flames still clawed at the edge of my mind. And yet, here I was, calmly floating in endless space, picking stats like it was just another weekend of starting a new video game. Maybe shock had taken over.

Feeling satisfied enough with my choices, I moved on. Next came skill proficiencies. Six picks from a glowing list. I went with Stealth, Persuasion, Deception, Sleight of Hand, Investigation, and Perception. 

My next option was to add a small bonus to two of my skill proficiencies because of my Choice as a Rogue. I decided that Sleight of Hand and Thieves’ Tools would work best with the build I was going for. 

Finally, I was able to choose my starting equipment. My weapon choices were limited to two shortswords, a rapier, or a shortsword and a shortbow. I chose the sword and bow for a balance of ranged and melee. 

There were several starter packs to choose from. I picked the burglar’s pack because it seemed the most useful to my class, or rather, Choice. I was also automatically given leather armor, two daggers, and thieves’ tools. I watched as my new gear materialized on my character’s body.

I was a little surprised that the next choice I had to make was a minor Boon. Several options were grayed out, but three options presented themselves as available: 

• Keen Mind: You always know which way is north, and you always know the number of hours left before the next sunrise or sunset. 

• Gift of Tongues: Grants you the ability to speak and understand any verbal language, as long as you have heard at least three words spoken in that language. This ability does not work on Beastspeech, the language of wild beasts, or Celestial, the language of the gods.

• Poisoner: Allows you to deal a small amount of additional poison damage to your attacks. 

All of these choices seemed useful, but the most intriguing was the Gift of Tongues. Being in a new world with who knows how many languages, it could greatly benefit me to eavesdrop on passing conversations and learn how to talk my way out of trouble in many languages. Too useful to pass up. But what if everyone I met just... spoke Common? I decided just to pick it before I spiraled down a rabbit hole of thought.

Finally, I was asked to pick a name. I thought of using my own, but that seemed too boring and didn’t really fit a fantasy setting. I searched my mind for various halfling-sounding names until I settled on one, Vernon. Not exactly legendary, but it felt right. Like slipping into an old hoodie. The UI didn’t seem to give me an option for a surname, so I moved on.

Feeling pretty confident with my appearance and loadout, I was asked to confirm all my settings. I hit ‘yes’, and there was a brief pause.

The elf, Vitori, reappeared in the void in front of me. “I will be sending you to the city of Port Ellias.” He spoke, “There you will begin your adventure and gain experience, which will help you both level up in your Choice and learn about the rest of the world.”

I glanced down and saw my new body, much shorter than my human form. A distant glimmer appeared beneath me, swelling into a swirling sphere of land, water, and light. I plunged toward it like a comet, air screaming past me, heat licking at my new skin. The city of Port Ellias rose to meet me, towers gleaming, streets sprawling. Then, light. Blinding, all-consuming. And a thunderous sound like the sky itself was tearing apart. 

Vitori's voice called out, somehow still penetrating the deafening noise, “Good luck, adventurer.” Then he vanished. The world swallowed me whole. And all I could think was: What the hell did I just agree to?