//------------------------------// // The role // Story: The traveler // by king of the abyss //------------------------------// I close the front door after coming home from work, another boring day packing boxes full of games and consoles to be sent out and sold. I head into my kitchen to get a nice cold cola when I spot something that makes me sigh. "Dammit, Mckayla! You left the fridge open again!" I yell at my sister as I look at the now spoiled and curdled produce in the said fridge. "Oh, gods! Sorry, CJ. I didn't mean to!" she tells me as she pokes her head around the kitchen door. I sigh again and empty the spoiled contents but a few things were still okay. "Don't worry about it, I'll just get some more from the store," I reply and tie up the bin bag. "Here, at least let me pay for some of it," she says and pulls out her purse before handing me a forty-dollar bill. "Thanks, while I'm down there do you need anything?" I ask her as I take the bill and pocket it. "Na, I got enough beer to last me the weeks," she replies with a shake of her head. I frown and shake my head back at her. "You need to quit on those, I am getting tired of picking you up from the bar," I tease her and she huffs at me. "HA! I got more chance of being shot before I quit on my mind melters," she retorts and walks off back to the living room to look after our mother. I walk into the living room as well and smile at my mother who smiles back. "So mom, do you need or want anything from the store? I need to restock the fridge thanks to Kay here," I ask her and playfully glare at my sister who sticks her tongue out at me. "Oh just some scoops will be fine," she replies as she adjusts herself in her wheelchair. Her legs are getting worse and I just don't earn enough for the operation she needs, so I try to make her as comfortable as possible. "Alright, I'll be back in a while. Kay, don't touch my stuff alright?" I reply and warn my sister. "Yeah, yeah. Now get going before the store closes," she replies and I chuckle as I grab my keys and phone. I plug my headphones in and select shuffle on my playlist. After a long ten-minute walk I reach the local market and grab a shopping basket, I then head down the aisles to get scoops, milk, mince beef, and some other things and decide to look at the rack of for old game cub as I pass it by. I hear the door open with its usual bing bong sound and look up to see a guy wearing a motorcycle helmet with a mirror-like visor on it so I can't see his face, in his hand is a handgun that he's pointing at the clerk who raises his hands up. "oh...dia" I mumble making the guy point his gun at me. "Get on the floor and don't move!" he yells at me, but before I could comply the clerk pulls out his own pistol and takes a shot at the thug. The shot hits him in the shoulder making him fire his own gun, I feel pain flood my chest as I look down and see a red patch that's growing bigger by the second. My grip weakens and I drop my basket as I cough which sprays a bit of blood onto the floor. I fall to my knees and grip my chest as it gets harder and harder to breathe. More shots go off and the thug manages to get out the door and runs off. I start choking on my own blood as I fall onto my back shivering in pain and panic. "Oh crap, hold on man. Help's on the way..." the clerk tells me in his own panicked state as my vision starts to blur. 'Is this how I die? Not becoming an old man passing in his sleep or from some street brawl? I get shot by some thug! Kay was right... the chances of getting shot to death are higher than one realizes,' I think with a pained chuckle which just ends up choking me more. The clerk puts pressure on my wound making the pain flare up more but I don't think it matters... there's no coming back from this... "I'm so sorry man, this is all my fault," the clerk says sadly, I think he's shaking his head as I can't tell anymore. I then hear the doors open and people rushing inside, but my body feels numb and cold as finally the pain stops, my eyes close and I let out my last gurgled breath. I open my eyes and the first thing I feel is weightlessness. I look down to see I'm transparent grey in color. "The hell?" I mutter in an echoed tone. I then look around and see worlds hovering in the sky with the milky flowing between my feet. "Where the hell am I?" I ask myself. "Good question, this could be considered a form of space, or more commonly known as the space between worlds," a deep two-toned male voice replies to my question from behind me. I try to turn around but I can't seem to do it. "Who's there!?" I call out in slight fear. "A dying soul, one who has an offer for you," he replies and I see what can only be described as a dark blue transparent figure he moves a few meters in front of me. He's a gaint in size easily towering over the planets in this space and has a golden crown on his head, large fang-like teeth, pointed ears, slitted eyes, a bat-like cloak, and a long tail with a spear-like tip on the end. "I have been waiting for a soul like yours to come here, so I have offered for you if you listen," he tells me. "What offer?" I asked cautiously as I look around again but see nothing else. "I offer you my power and a chance to be reborn, but in exchange, you must swear to the oath," he tells me as I notice his legs are starting to dissolve upwards. "And what if I don't want it?" I ask him which makes him chuckle. "Then you move on to paradise, " he replies with a grin. "What I can go to heaven, mama always did I had a kind soul! Though I wonder about this offer so I will hear you out?" I shout out wide-eyed. "But why me!?" I ask him. "I lived for countless eons, seen things you would not believe even exists. Though your world and its souls have the potential to surprise even me. I need a freshly deceased soul to take my power, and your pure soul could change things in reality for the better... I don't have much time, you must make a choice," he tells me with a smile. "So you're saying I could choose to be reborn or go to heaven?" I ask with a puzzled look. He stops laughing and smirks at me. "Correct, you either take my power or go to heaven for all eternity," he replies as his legs are gone from his knees. I look down in thought. 'So I'm dead and some god thing has brought me here with a choice in my afterlife. I either accept his offer or go to paradise...' I look back up and he's now up to his mid-thighs. "Let's say I take this offer and go through with it, what then?" I ask him. "Once you take the oath you must maintain the balance, and watch over the worlds of time but you must never interact with fixes moments," he tells me and holds out his hand. "But here's some advice, you must never enter the land of the dead, or else bad things will happen," he says as his waist starts to vanish. " Now then here is the oath you will watch over the mortal realms. You will defend the world against awful unbalance that could wipe out reality. You must pay close attention to the rifts of the realms, and that the walls between worlds, keep the walls strong. Though if the world becomes unbalanced you must do the star lord's duty do you swear?" I look at this hand and grasp his hand. " I swear upon the oath," I grip his and he grins widely. "Very good, with this pact I, star lord Citlalincue pass my power on to you, you will be sworn to hold to your oath until the end of time," he says and his dark blue color flows down his arm and into me, turning me dark blue while he turns dark grey. My body then becomes solid with my pale white skin again and I'm now wearing a pair of black trousers, a white shirt, and a black Leather trench coat with a mask on my face it v in shape with an orange pattern along the cheeks and the eye hole turn to make my eyes became orange. "The pact has been set, now all left is to give you these," he tells me as he takes his hands and takes the crown of his head, and hands me a book. His body began to crumble away from him he hand the crown to me. " Guard this like your life depends on it, this crown is powerful enough to make all tremble at the mention of its name, powerful enough to destroy all life, and also capable of restoring." I take the crown from him the crown as only his head now remains. " Good luck you will need, for the hard choices ahead of you." With that, his body crumbles into stardust. I look at the crown and the book in my left hand for a minute before placing the crown on my head and the book in my left hand. I feel everything all at once, it was a supernova exploding inside my head. I resist the urge to scream as five jewels appear on top of the crown. Afterward, my eyes become white as I look at myself with relief "I understand now what I must do!" I yelp as I sprout blue bat wings from my back and fly to the nearest planet. I land on the ground seeing a throne in front of me I walk toward I and sit on it and open the book and read aloud. "Now where to begin, chapter one. You are now a star lord in your first stage. Here are three things you know before you start your job. One you will be restricted by the laws of the world you visit. Two in your current state you cannot handle the full power of the crown. Finally, to use your full powers you need to conjure your servants. I look at the page with a confused look. Servants, I have a How do summon them? I turn to the next page and show a picture of three planets in a triangle shape with figure waves and say a spell. I place the book down on my throne armrest and stand up. " Okay let's do it. Almighty Trinity of reality hears my cry, transform thy self from your bonds of time. Envelop the star with your glow, and rise from the grave forever. Unlock yourself so that we may rise and win. Appear before me and serve your master as call your name: solas na réalta." As the spell finished, three planets began to move into a triangle shape as a beam of light connected them. The planet then each shoots a beam of light to form in the middle a portal opens. From the portal, a pair of eyes glow as a gaint claw grips the edge of the portal, and out pops the head of a creature. It jump out of the portal and landed in front as it let out a roar. I take a step as I look a the creature. It appears to be a gaint fifty-meter-tall purple lizard with green spikes going from its head all the way down to its arrowhead tail. It was wearing golden armor with a star symbol on its chest. It looks at me with emotionless eyes it spoke as got down on one knee and bowed its head. " I Spike the dragon knight answer the call of the starlord." The dragon now named Spike spoke with pride as he look at me. I was confused this massive beast is my servant. "what have I got myself, this job might be harder than I thought." I fold my arms as I start thinking of as I try to think of the best way to approach then I remember my oaths. " You said your name was Spike?" " Yes mighty one, but you know my name you formed a contract with me." Spike looks at me with confused "Oh, you see I am the new starlord your former holder has passed to be one with the star." As I said this Spike flinch at this remark and could tell he was sad by this news. " I see lord Citlalincue did say his time was coming. So your who the master chose to be the next starlord, may I have your name? "It's CJ McMahon's pleasure to meet you, Spike," I said with a bow and the dragon immediately let out a roar of laughter. "Did I do something funny?" I said with a question mark forming in the eyes slit on my mask. " Starlord never bows before others, that tells me your kind is so young that your people do not even know what a starlord is. This too rich I didn’t even think it was possible for a race to be that young." Spike said with another roar of laughter as he started getting watery eyes. " I guess my species is young, in terms of our planet's years. So can you stop laughing and explain it to me?"Spike stop laughing and wipe his tear away as he lowered his head to look me in the eye. " You have taken the mantle of the cornerstone to reality itself. CJ you have become the great champion of the trinity of realities. Do you understand this you are the sword and shield, the idol of the strong and the defender of the weak, you have become what most of dream all their life, a hero to all. " said with a serious tone Spike look at me with such depth. "You mean I am a hero" " Not just any hero you have the potential to be the god of all heroes," I look at Spike with a shocked expression I could feel my whole body trembling. I could barely contain myself as I fell to my knee in disbelief. " I can be quite a shock, I remember Citlalincue told me it nearly broke his mind that he was chosen to be a starlord." I get back up to my feet and look up at the sky with a far-off look. "So you say I have taken the role of the hero of heroes?" " Yes you have CJ" With a look of determination, I stare at him with fire on my face. " Well then Spike the dragon knight it's time to get to work"