There was nothing.

That was the only way to describe it. There wasn’t even darkness in the traditional sense. Instead, it felt like he was in a place devoid of anything. The absence of everything was so complete that he was certain there was no name for it.

He drifted, or at least thought he did, without moving. That would be difficult since he had no body. He was just simply aware. A consciousness stuck in a void that went on forever in every direction. He felt naked, exposed, and fragile as he tried to make sense of his current existence. 

How much time passed like that? He didn’t know. It didn’t even feel like time existed here. There was nothing, except him. Something nibbled at the edge of his thoughts. The way a memory does when you can’t quite remember it, but you know you know it. He was only certain it was about who he’d been. But every time he tried to recall it, the memory would laugh and run away.

Who am I?

The question surfaced in his thoughts. He even wondered if he’d already asked himself that same question. Naturally, nothing answered. For the longest time, or perhaps only a few seconds, that remained true.

Then, he heard it.

A sound that made him frown. Or would have if he had eyebrows. It seemed so small, somewhere out there in the great emptiness. It was impossibly far away and close at the same time. Honestly, he couldn’t tell exactly where it came from. 

It was a voice. A woman’s voice.

He couldn’t make out what she was saying at first. Have you ever heard someone talking underwater? It sounded a lot like that. He felt drawn to it. Maybe he was reaching for it. For anything that meant he wouldn’t be alone.

“...please. I’m not asking for much. I just need one chance. One

real

chance.”

She sounds young.

He felt a pang as he recognised her tone. It was the sound of someone carrying a weight beyond their years. The ache of someone who had learned nobody was coming to help. No matter how much they pleaded.

“I’ll put in the work. I swear I’ll fight for it. It doesn’t need to be easy. Just please… make it possible. Someone. Anyone.”

There was a pause. 

“If anyone is listening…”

Ah, she’s repeating herself. I’m sorry. Whoever you are, I wish I could help.

Suddenly, he had a sense of

over there.

As if direction had become a thing in that place. He gained the distinct impression that was where the voice was coming from.

Please move. I have to get there.

As if the void were listening to him, the voice shot toward him, or he toward it. The distinction didn’t seem to really matter at that moment. That was because the absolute nothing seemed to thin. It gave way to… something.

A room. An incredibly small and cramped room, to be exact. He was sure he would be able to touch the ceiling without even standing on his tiptoes. Unfortunately, he still didn’t have a body. The only light came from a small candle on a crate next to a pathetic excuse for a bed. There wasn’t even anything to cover yourself with. 

A young, redhead woman knelt on the floor, her back to one of the rough wooden walls.

Her pale hands were clasped tightly in front of her chest. He couldn’t see what she looked like. With her head bowed like that, her long copper hair covered her face. Tears quietly dripped onto the floor as she continued to recite the words he had heard.

She’s praying.

That much was obvious. However, he couldn’t understand how he could hear her. Yes, he could hear her voice. No, her mouth wasn’t moving. To anyone else, she was simply silently crying in this tiny room. 

What is going on?

He kept watching her. Mainly because he couldn’t turn away. He had no control over himself at all. There wasn’t even anything else for him to look at. However, after all that time in the void alone, he wasn’t unhappy about this situation. Her hunched shoulders quivered as she started over again, and he could hear her becoming more desperate. He knew how frustrating that silent response could be when you really needed someone to hold out their hand.

I want to help you. I really do. I just don’t know how.

Warmth.

It burst into his thoughts, the first thing he’d felt since he’d been like this. The sensation exploded, spreading through every thought he had. Then, he discovered it brought something else.

A word?

No. Maybe my name?

It felt familiar, as if it had always been a part of him. He tossed it around in his mind, sounding it out. It was definitely something he’d said many times before.

Ludo.

The more he said it to himself, the more familiar it became. It was definitely one of those pesky memories he hadn’t been able to recall before. But this word, his name, gave him hope. That maybe, one day, he’d remember what he had forgotten.

Ludo, God of Games.

The second part came as a surprise to him. Why did he think that? Where did it come from? He was sure he hadn’t

meant

to think it. But now he couldn’t get it out of his head. Ludo felt a sudden ache. Like he’d lost something important.

Games.

He

remembered

what they were. Different rules for games he couldn’t remember playing shot through his mind. Whether it was played with dice, cards, or on a screen, he remembered them.

I miss them.

The warmth grew, drawing memories of lying down in front of a gas fire. A crimson carpet spread out under him, and his favourite game started up on the TV. Then, the voice of an elderly woman…

Suddenly, he could see a transparent text box. Not in his memory, but right there in the room with him. It quickly filled up with notifications.

Character Creation Loading…

Name Confirmed: Ludo

Domain: Games

Rank: Nascent

Followers: 0

He knew what this was. A game menu. It looked exactly like how he remembered it should. The screen refreshed itself at that moment. 

Incoming Prayer Detected

Source: Mortal (Human, Female, Young Adult)

Request: Intervention

Wait, is this a quest?

Ludo felt perplexed as he continued to stare at the woman. Was this some kind of crazy dream? However, before he could think too much about it, another line of text appeared.

Potential Follower Identified. Establish Connection?

Follower?

He hummed to himself as he watched the desperate woman wait for an answer that she was unlikely to receive. Then, he thought about the term follower. Normally, in a game, it would be someone who would, well, follow you around and help complete quests. But, there was a hiccup in that train of thought. 

God of Games. So, would that make her a religious follower instead? Ah, my head hurts. What am I supposed to do here? A tutorial would’ve been nice. Hm, but what’s the cost? There’s usually some sort of quest or price to be paid for this sort of thing?

There was no mention of anything like that. Which had him worried.

Maybe it’s one of those where the cost comes after accepting it?

Ugh, why bother thinking about it. Sure, I’ll accept.

Connection Established.

Another burst of warmth flared through him. Then, his interface updated again.

First Follower: Teffania

Faith: +1

Teffania.

He read the name again.

That’s surprisingly quite nice sounding. Hm, alright, I’ll call you Teffy.

Just then, the candle on the crate flickered wildly. A gentle, golden light filled the unassuming little room. It seemed to come from everywhere. The walls, floor, and even Teffania.

It’s amazing!

That was all Ludo could think when he saw the specks of dust floating in the light. 

Teffania’s eyes snapped open as her mouth made an ‘o’ shape. She scrambled backward, or tried to, before she quickly bumped up against the wall. Ludo saw her chest heaving in the way that tells you someone is panicking.

Is she… looking at me?

That’s when Ludo realised it. The golden light wasn’t coming from everywhere else. It was coming from him! He was the source of the strange light show, and at the same moment he came to that conclusion, he noticed he could feel how cool the air was.

Ah.

He looked down at himself, or at least what was supposed to be him. There was just the golden outline of a man without any details. He was floating a few inches above the old floorboards, and as much as he should’ve been amazed by that, he was more concerned about something else.

No! Where is it? 

Yeah, that all-important third leg of a man was currently nowhere to be seen. Which, given the circumstances and his current company, probably wasn’t a bad thing. A floorboard creaked, and Ludo’s attention was drawn back to the young woman. 

Surprisingly, she didn’t scream. There wasn’t even a whimper as she stared wide-eyed at the golden man. However, she was gripping the straw on the bed rather tightly. 

Divine Manifestation: Minimal Form Achieved

Visibility: Faint

Ludo ignored the latest notifications.

Holy fuck! What should I do? She’s staring at me! Don’t do that. I don’t have any answers either. My God. No, wait. Ugh. Okay, it should be fine to treat this like a role-playing game, right? What does a God sound like?

He wanted to say something to her. You know, tell her he heard her, and he was here to help. That kind of thing. But how could he? He didn’t have a blasted clue as to what he was doing. Hell, he didn’t even know

how

he was doing it. Eventually, after a couple of minutes of awkward silence, he decided to go with a classic.

“Teffania.”

Nailed it.

Yes, he decided to simply say her name. Ludo was sure he’d seen it somewhere before that the gods tended to use your name right away before dropping any bombshells. But he could be wrong.

She flinched at the sound of her name coming from the golden man. When nothing else happened, it dawned on her. Whatever this thing was, it didn’t mean to harm her. It took her a moment to remember that just a while ago, she was praying to the many gods out there. If this were a cartoon, no doubt this would be the moment where a little lightbulb appeared over her head and turned on.

“Eh? Are you a God?”