Recovery

Everything is white. Blindingly white. I try to shield my eyes from whatever the source of the light is, but it's no use. And then... she's there. I know it's a she and I don't even have to look. An oddly calming presence radiates from her like a warm spring day, even as it makes my heart race.

I take a deep, shaky breath, my eyes wandering over her figure and taking in as much detail as possible. She's the epitome of beauty in human form, but there's something too precise about her. Like every detail was chosen instead of born. Golden hair spills down her back in soft waves, her skin flawless to the point of being unnatural. And her figure... yeah. There's no way that's accidental. She's wearing a sheer, practically see-through toga, the sides of which are tied together just above her hips, revealing her generous curves.

"Where am I?" I wonder aloud. I look around, seeing nothing but her, and white. And then there's something that looks like a tablet sitting on a pedestal in front of her.

"Uh... excuse me," I say, trying not to startle her, though her bright blue eyes haven't left me once, so I doubt I could. "Where am I?"

She lets out a small giggle. It sounds like small chimes tinkling in a gentle breeze and makes my heart flutter.

"Come, child of Adam. There is much expected of you and little time to do it."

She gestures to the tablet, inviting me to step forward.

"'Child of Adam'?" I ask, moving to the tablet. "I'm sorry, I just don't know what's going on here. Where am I? And I feel like I already know you, but..." I pause, studying the soft curve of her plump lips that are shaped into a gentle smile, her high cheekbones and her long eyelashes that frame her sky blue eyes. "I'm sorry, I don't know what's going on right now. I'm confused, and you're... really making it hard to focus with how incredibly hot you are." The words slip out before I can stop them, but she just giggles again, soft and warm.

"The tablet, Aaron," she says, redirecting my attention to the pedestal once more.

I look from her to the tablet, my hand hovering over it. I glance back up at her one more time before I press my finger to the blank screen, waking it up.

As soon as the screen lights up, it immediately shows a character sheet. Every option is familiar. The same character sheets I'd studied every week with friends before diving into magic and mayhem around a kitchen table. When I didn't have to deal with anything else and could be one of the heroes. Every race, every stat block, every ability. It's all there. "This is a character sheet from Dungeons and Dragons." I pick the tablet up, looking through every option like I'm reading my favorite book.

"That's right!"

A new voice appears. Brighter, more playful. My head shoots up and there's someone else there. She's lounging in midair like she's sprawled across an invisible bed. She's rail thin. Her black hair is pulled into a high ponytail, a streak of neon pink cutting through it like a warning sign. Metal glints at her nose. Straps, chains, mismatched layers. It's like she got dressed in the dark and made it work.

"We figured you might like something familiar," she chuckles.

Her laugh hits me. Not because she's funny, but because I don't have any choice but to laugh. I manage to stifle it, swallowing hard and covering my mouth for a quick moment as I carefully set the tablet back on the pedestal.

"Okay," I say slowly, fighting the smile. I nod as slowly as I speak, looking between them. "Yeah. I think I know what's going on, now. Either I got isekai'd, and you're sending me off to save the kingdom, or I took too many shrooms last night."

The floating woman's smile falters for a fraction of a second before she winks and pokes the tip of my nose.

"Yep. You got it." Her voice is just as playful as before, but the way she rolls out of her invisible bed says she's done playing around. "You got sucked off into another world." She gives me a playful grin as she rests her chin in her hands like she knows what she just said.

"Okay, phrasing," I say, unable to hold back the small chuckle as I turn back to the tablet to look through it again while trying not to add another innuendo. "But fine. Just uh... just give me a few minutes and I'll have my character figured out."

I take a seat on the ground and begin looking through my options, muttering to myself as I scroll through each class.

"Okay. Let's try to keep this simple," I sigh, choosing human as my race. "So, I usually play as a paladin, but... well, warlocks are pretty cool. Edgy thieves are too cliché. Clerics would be good if I wanted to heal everyone and not spend much time attacking. Monks are fun, but something tells me I probably won't like flipping around the battlefield the whole time."

I feel a presence behind me and turn to find the thin woman peering over my shoulder at the tablet.

"Can I help you?" The giggle starts bubbling up again, but I suppress it as she backs away.

I turn back to the tablet and pick my class. As soon as my finger touches the option, a feminine, flat, robotic voice rings in my head from nowhere.

"Warlock selected.

Celestial patron assigned automatically.

Patron abilities granted.

Healing Light added.

Sacred Flame added.

Please select subclass.

Options: Armor of Shadows. Eldritch Mind. Pact of the Blade. Pact of the Chain. Pact of the Tome. You have chosen Pact of the Tome. Please select five additional spells from the list below."

I go through and select a few spells, including "Find Familiar". Mostly just because I think it would be cool to have a pet I'm not allergic to. The voice keeps saying each spell out loud as I select it.

"That's not gonna get annoying," I mutter.

I then get to the background selection, but the option is already chosen for me. The flat female robot voice sounds off in my head again, repetitive and droning before I can get the question out.

"Acolyte background and origin selected automatically. Please select skill proficiency. Persuasion selected. Please choose an origin feat. Origin feat selected. Magic initiate selected. Please choose Spellcasting ability for the additional spells from the list below. Charisma selected. Resistance selected. Mending selected. Guiding Bolt selected. Please choose which of the following three ability scores you now wish to increase. Charisma selected. Increased by two points. Intelligence selected. Increased by one point. Please choose four skills for proficiency from the list below. Deception selected. Investigation selected. Intimidation selected. Perception selected. Please choose up to two additional languages you wish to speak. Common Sign Language selected. Elvish selected."

The voice drones on as I go through each selection. Next come the ability scores. I can choose to spread points out amongst them, or choose to do a standard array. I choose the standard array. I also get a bonus from the feats and subclass, so they're automatically added from those earlier choices. By the end of it, the disembodied voice speaks flatly into my mind again.

"Strength total score: eight. Modifier: minus one. Dexterity total score: thirteen. Modifier: plus one. Constitution total score: fourteen. Modifier: plus two. Intelligence total score: twelve. Modifier: plus one. Wisdom total score: twelve. Modifier: plus one. Charisma total score: sixteen. Modifier: plus three."

"Alright, man!" The thin one floating behind me says. She sounds like she embodies youthful mischief. Fast, chaotic, a little unhinged. "I love me a warlock. So dark and broody. Looks like you're gonna get yourself a little pet, too. What we thinking? Alligator, lion? Oh! Maybe something to match the whole 'I'm Batman' sort of vibe I'm gettin' from you?"

"Leave him be, sister," the tall blonde one interrupts gently before any more animals can be listed. "He's almost done and we must show him his purpose."

I scroll through and pick a few standard Warlock spells. Some long range, some close range, and a couple healing spells just in case.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that, actually. What 'great threat' am I gonna be facing?"

"Ooh, even more fun stuff!" The thin one sits back down on her invisible bed, and with a puff of pinkish gray smoke, an old movie projector and a white screen pop in from nowhere and suddenly I have a bucket of popcorn in my hands instead of the tablet as she continues. It shows a caricature of a stereotypical demon lord, spiked black armor and all as he marches across a map of the world with a shadow following him with every step. "See, there's this big bad evil demon lord, right? And the demon army has been workin' it's way all over the world for the last few centuries. What we need you to do, is stop it all. You can go in solo, or you can put together a team. You know, your own Ocean's Eleven kinda thing, or you can go in all Rambo and blast your way through him and his army. Either way, that's your job."

I set the popcorn down without eating any of it. The thin one slowly wraps her arms around herself as the imagery on the screen goes from cartoons depicting the G-rated violence, to actual images of what's been happening. We watch as an army of demonic beings rips through villages, tearing apart the landscape and leaving behind bodies and shattered lives.

I don't look away, even when the thin one curls into herself, wrapping her arms around her knees.

That's when the blonde speaks up again, much softer, though somehow incredibly urgent. "Your job is to stop the demon lord and the dark forces from spreading any further. We've given you a boon in your character creation. Unfortunately, though, we cannot tell you what that is. You'll simply have to work that out for yourself, I'm afraid."

My eyes don't leave the screen. The images of every atrocity committed by this demon lord continue to play. "Got it." I say quietly, watching the screen and projector disappear with the same puff of smoke they appeared with. I'm silent for a long while, jaw working as I try to calm myself. "So this is your typical 'we can't directly interfere with mortal affairs, but this is the work around' kinda thing. Right?"

"Wow, sis. You really did pick a smart one this time." The thin one lands in front of me, the humor from earlier escaping like she can't help it, even as she grows quiet. Her face hardens as she steps into my space. "Look. I'm gonna shoot straight with you, Aaron. We've tried this before. We've found every loophole, every crack in the system, everything. But nobody's gotten close enough to ending this the right way. So what you need to do is get down there, get leveled up, and get it figured out. Alright?"

"How many?" I ask, keeping the question direct. "How many have you sent?"

She says nothing. Just looks deep into my eyes, telling me that it was too many with only a look. She's worried. Our noses are inches apart, she's got her finger in my chest like she's ordering me to lay down cover fire, and she's worried. It's written all over her face.

"Alright," I say gently with a nod. "I'll take care of it."

"Thank you." Both of them speak in unison this time. Softer. Almost grateful.

"We'll leave you with some money," the blonde adds. "But you'll have to buy the weapons and armor that go with the class you chose. You'll wake up in an inn, wearing common clothes for this world, and access to your character sheet, inventory, and other things you'll have to figure out for yourself. We'll keep in touch. We and the others will send messages through the system interface from time to time, though we cannot give you direct advice. Only... gentle nudging. Understood?"

"Yeah," I say, the same odd calm washing over me before that same bubbly giggle rises up again.

"By the way, I'm Lyxara," the thin one says, back to floating on her invisible bed with that playful smile returning, suddenly mere inches from my face yet again. "And you can call her Aethiria. Goddesses of Mischief and Love. Respectively."

"Sister!" Aethiria chides, giving a stern look at Lyxara who simply shrugs and backs away from me.

"Anyway, I guess we'll catch you later, buddy!" Lyxara snaps her fingers and my eyes slam shut.