Abel stared at the notification on his screen, his excitement from beating Voriel draining as a feeling of unease began to set in.
A whooping hundred thousand dollars from an anonymous fan.
One weird fan.
His first thought wasn't gratitude, it was suspicion. The internet had taught him better than to trust random acts of generosity, especially ones with that many zeros attached.
For all he knew, tk_BOOMerang was some rich brat using daddy's credit card, and in a week he'd get a chargeback notification that would tank his account into the negatives.
He clicked on the username, hesitated for a second, then hit [Send Friend Request].
The acceptance came almost immediately.
Abel raised an eyebrow. Okay, that was fast.
He opened the direct message.
OP: Hey, thanks for the gift. Just making sure, you didn't use your dad's credit card or anything, right? Because if you did, I'd rather refund it now than deal with the mess later.
The reply came within seconds.
tk_BOOMerang: (^^)
tk_BOOMerang: Not at all, don't worry. It's my money.
Abel exhaled, some of the tension leaving his shoulders. Still weird, but at least it wasn't fraud.
He typed again.
OP: Alright, cool. So… any chance I could get some ID? Or maybe we could meet up? I don't usually take this much money from strangers without knowing who they are.
There was a pause, longer this time. The three little dots appeared, disappeared and appeared again.
tk_BOOMerang: I'm a girl, if that helps.
Abel raised an eyebrow. A girl?
tk_BOOMerang: And I'd rather stay mysterious for now. I don't want to distract you from the game. But if you complete it… I'll tell you everything you want to know. I'll even meet up.
Abel leaned back in his chair, staring at the screen. There was something about the way she texted that made the conversation feel natural. Casual enough, but with just enough weight behind her words to make him believe she meant it. She wasn't some troll. Or a bot as he thought. She was a real fan.
And for the first time in a long time, he felt… interested.
OP: Alright deal. But when I beat this thing, you better not ghost me.
tk_BOOMerang: I won't, I promise.
Abel didn't even notice when a smile crossed his face, then he glanced at the time. He'd taken a longer break than planned. His hands itched to pick up the gamepad again.
OP: Guess I should get back to it then.
tk_BOOMerang: Good luck, Player.
He closed the DM, cracked his knuckles, and restarted the stream.
Within seconds, viewers started flooding back in.
"Alright chat, let's see what's behind those gates."
---
THE GAME
DUN!
[YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE ARCHANGEL'S MEDALLION]
The notification appeared in glowing gold text as the medallion materialized in OP's inventory a circular disc engraved with wings and scripture.
OP approached the Gates of Heaven. Up close, they were even more imposing. The carvings seemed to move under the light. At the center of the door, just above the seam where the two halves met, was a hollow indentation, perfectly shaped to fit the medallion.
[Hold X to Place Medallion]
Abel pressed and held the button.
OP raised the medallion and slotted it into place.
RUMBLLEEE
The vibration shook through the gamepad, rattling Abel's hands as the doors began to move. Slowly at first, then the massive gates parted faster, revealing a blinding white light that consumed the screen.
"Chat, I'm in," Abel said, leaning forward. "First time anyone's making it this far."
"Tututu, All-Gods what do you have for me?".
The chat exploded again, but Abel ignored it. His full focus was on the game.
OP stepped through.
The light faded into dark.
And the name appeared in his HUD.
[THE COUNCIL OF THE ALL-GODS]
A cutscene began. This time, Abel didn't skip.
---
The hall was massive. massive didn't even do it justice, it was infinite.
The floor stretched out in polished white marble that reflected a sky that shouldn't exist. The ceiling, if it could even be called that, extended upward into space itself. An endless void with stars scattered across the darkness like frozen fireworks. Nebulae swirled in slow motion, painting the black with streaks of violet and gold.
And around the hall, arranged in a perfect circle
Holographic figures.
They were humanoid, but far larger than any human. At least twenty feet tall each, their forms flickering like projections made of light and divinity. Their faces were obscured, their bodies shrouded in robes, but their forms showed vast diversity. Above each one, a name hovered in glowing script.
[THE ALL-POWERFUL]
[THE ALL-KNOWING]
[THE ALL-PRESENT]
[THE ALL-SUFFICIENT]
[THE ALL-GOOD]
[THE ALMIGHTY]
[THE ALL-WISE]
[THE ALL-CREATING]
And above them all, larger, brighter, as crowned in radiant gold
[THE ALL-FATHER.]
In their presence, there was a pressure like standing at the bottom of the ocean and feeling the pressure of a million tons of water pressing down on you, Abel's character responded slowly.
Then, one of them spoke.
"WHO ENTERS THE COUNCIL OF THE ALL-GODS?"
The voice of the All-Powerful rang out like thunder, shaking the entire hall. Abel's speakers crackled from the bass.
"TO THINK THAT ONE SO YOUNG DARES TO CALL HIMSELF OMNISCIENT."
The All-Knowing's voice cracked like a whip, coarse and piercing.
"OH, PLEASE. SPARE HIM, HE TOOK DOWN VORIEL. IF ANYTHING, I AM IMPRESSED."
A soft feminine voice resonated from the Almighty. warm, and pleasurable.
Abel's eyes widened.
Wait.
This wasn't a pre-scripted cutscene.
The dialogue was too specific. They weren't responding to OP as a generic player character, they were reacting to him specifically. To his username, and what he claims to he in realtime.
They didn't seem like programmed NPCs.
They seemed conscious.
But then again, with everything Abel had seen in this game, he wasn't too surprised.
"ENOUGH, CHILDREN."
The voice that cut through the others was ancient. It didn't just fill the hall, it was the hall. Every word resonated in Abel's bones, even through the screen.
The All-Father.
"HE HAS ENTERED A REALM NO MORTAL SHOULD TREAD. AND HE SHALL BE TRIED."
RUMBBBLLLEEEE
The entire hall began to quake. The stars above flickered and the marble cracked beneath OP's feet.
Abel regained proper control of his character.
He spun OP around, aiming for the exit, but the Gates of Heaven had sealed shut.
From above, the empty space of stars...
Twinkle
A light flickered.
Then descended.
cRAcKA-DOOM
A single bolt of lightning struck the center of the hall.
Blinding and Absolute.
OP disintegrated on contact.
[YOU HAVE DIED]
Abel exhaled slowly, leaning back in his chair.
"Oh boy. I clearly wasn't prepared for that, chat."
He rubbed his face, half-laughing, half-groaning.
"That's cold. I mean, come on. What do they want from me?"
He glanced at the viewer count.
127,000 viewers.
One hundred and twenty-seven thousand.
The number had sky-rocketed since his last playthrough. His chat was a blur of messages scrolling faster than he could read.
"So chat, I think I rushed that," Abel said, smiling despite the one-shot. "I'll take a break, think of what to do about that Zeus thunderbolt. And come back with something proper."
[Killshock9: YEAH! That's the spirit man, we're all rooting for you!]
[QueenB: YOU GOT THIS OP]
[The_Table_Turner: WE BELIEVE IN THE GOAT]
Abel grinned. "Hell yeah. I didn't come this far just to quit, guys."
He waved at the camera.
"Catch y'all later."
[THE STREAM ENDED]
Abel stretched his neck, and reached for his water bottle.
A notification popped up in his DMs.
tk_BOOMerang: looks like someone just got one-shot…
Abel snorted.
OP: So does that mean I won't be seeing you anytime soon?
tk_BOOMerang:Nah, I was only kidding with that.
...
...
[tk_BOOMerang sent you a file]
Abel's hesitated for half a second, then clicked.
The image loaded.
It was a girl, she looked like she was in her early twenties. Long dark hair pulled into a loose ponytail. Alluring eyes that looked directly at the camera. She was sitting in what looked like a gaming setup, RGB lights glowing faintly in the background, a high-end monitor visible at the edge of the frame.
She was a real beauty.
Abel leaned back, scratching the back of his neck as a let out a slight smile.
OP: That you?
tk_BOOMerang: Yeah.
OP: Cool.
He paused, then grinned at a thought.
OP: I'll be honest, you look real good for a stalker fan.
tk_BOOMerang: STALKER FAN??? OMG I'M CRYING, LOL.
OP: Hehe. So where you at?*
tk_BOOMerang: Constin City.
Abel's eyebrows shot up. Constin was only a few hours away, close enough to drive.
OP: Okay, not bad. Any chance I get to see you in person?
tk_BOOMerang: Maybe. I want to see you finish the game first.
OP: Or maybe you could watch me finish it live?
There was a longer pause this time. Abel was sure she was considering it.
tk_BOOMerang: Mmmmm… okay, Player. That doesn't sound so bad at all.
Abel leaned back in his chair, grinning like an idiot. He was already getting caught up in the conversation when...
His monitor screen lit up.
A notification. It wasn't from the chat the stream.
From the game.
Abel frowned, sitting forward. He clicked on it.
The notification expanded.
[CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ENTRY TO THE COUNCIL OF THE ALL-GODS]
[CONGRATULATIONS, YOU DIED AT THE HANDS OF THE ALL-FATHER]
[THE EYES OF THE ALMIGHTY ARE UPON YOU]
[YOU HAVE NOW UNLOCKED A SPECIAL EDITION]
[DOWNLOADING… 10%]
___________
Abel stared at the screen.
Confusion creeping across his expression.
He'd just been congratulated for dying, one of the All-Gods was supposedly watching him.
And now there was a special edition auto-downloading onto his system.
He hadn't clicked anything.
It was all just kinda happening.
"What the hell…?"
The progress bar ticked upward.
[DOWNLOADING… 15%]
Abel's unease deepened, things had just gotten a lot weirder.