THE MOMENT
"...and thusly I invoke the power of Aurelio's Sun and call to the Void. Hear me speak your name and request an audience, Ballisea the Demon Queen," Justin was too busy enjoying the moment to notice the collective eye-roll from the rest of the group. Three of the five members were eager to start the game and the fourth, Justin's closest friend, was understanding enough. But, the passage sounded more like the high-minded journal entry of an edgy 14-year-old with no world experience than ancient words of power. Wade didn't know where Justin found the book, and he suspected the entire passage might have been written by his friend, but they were all there for entertainment and this was Justin's.
"... and, the Demon Queen did appear before the mortal king...," Justin sat down with a grin and began explaining the lore of their newest campaign. But, before he continued, a soft, gentle, female voice whispered as if directly in his ear.
"And then what happened?" she asked. As soon as the question was complete, all five friends jumped to their feet and disrupted the table in the process.
"AAAUGH!" Justin was up at the same time as everyone else and the table shifted.
"YEEOOO!" Shane stood up so fast his chair fell over backwards as he spun around looking for the voice.
"WHAT THE FU-" Wade felt a chill travel down his spine as the whisper gently caressed his eardrums. He knocked over the still open 3-liter bottle of soda all over the game board.
"AAEEIIUgh!" Debbie slammed her hands down on the table for leverage as she rushed to her feet. She moved to the side as she stood and her hand pushed the pizza box off the table so the pie and box fell on the floor face down. It was still open too and only one slice was missing.
"GAAHHH!" Devin, Debbie's twin, subconsciously moved closer t her as she moved closer to him and he glanced around the room like Shane for the mysterious voice.
It was a sudden ruckus. Each one was surprised as a whispered voice spoke to each one of them individually. Her voice didn't fill the room, it didn't need to.
"It's difficult to feel welcome after such a spectacle, and yet, you did summon me here; why?" Her voice spoke again; but, this time it came from a central point and they all looked. It was late in the evening, though the sun hadn't set yet. Justin lived alone in a modest single family home that was in a pretty solid neighborhood. They were playing in the living room with a sturdy card table unfolded just for the occasion. The blinds were open enough to let the setting sunlight filter through and there was still enough light to not need any indoor lights on yet. But, that also meant that as part of Justin's spartan decor, one small corner of the living room was covered in black shadow. This is where her voice came from, and then a tall pale woman with bone-white ram horns stepped out of shadow, as if through a bead curtain. The five friends watched the shadows bulge, then simply fall away as her imposing form emerged.
There was a thud as Shane fainted.
"You're real? Really Ballisea?" Wade asked. She looked at him, then giggled.
"You tried summoning me without knowing I'm real?" As she spoke, two skeletons walked out of the shadowed corner to stand on either side of her. "Allow me to make it absolutely clear how real I am," she giggled some more as the skeletons moved forward. Debbie screamed as Devin put himself in front of her, and Wade was surprised to see Justin step in front of him.
"I didn't know! It's my fault! It was just for a game! Take me, don't hurt them!" he said.
"A game?" Ballisea asked. She only tilted her head slightly, but the ram horns were large enough to make it an almost comical expression. She looked around the room and saw the table in disarray. "Ahhh, a tabletop game...," she giggled and the skeletons disintegrated into white powder. "A game where you create a new version of yourself to go on adventures in a fantasy world?"
"That's right!" Justin nodded eagerly. He didn't know where the conversation would lead, but it was a good sign that she dismissed her enforcers. "We're just starting a brand new campaign using this book I found your summoning ritual in! I didn't know it was real!" he said as he rushed to the table and picked up the soda-soaked sourcebook. Then, he put himself in front of Wade again to offer it to her
"Wade's a Paladin, Devin is a Lancer, Debbie is a Cyber Icon, and Shane is a Card Mage! We all used the new classes from this book too," he said. It was a gamble, but if she was really as powerful as portrayed in the book, the fact that she was still entertaining his explanations left him hopeful. "Do you... maybe want to play with us?" By this time, Wade, Debbie, and Devin had all managed to get Shane up off the floor, but he wasn't conscious yet. Ballisea smiled and shook her head.
"Dear child, the game you speak of existed long before this Earth, and the tabletop experience isn't remotely the same thing, nor as entertaining as the AlterNet itself."
"It's real!??" Justin asked. He had been too focused on the living breathing demon queen in front of him to consider anything else. But, if she was real, then maybe the rest of the book was too.
"I think I will play with your group," Ballisea said. It happened so fast that Justin had time to wonder why everything was so bright all of a sudden, before he even looked around. He was already squinting when he realized he was on a hilltop overlooking a vast field of golden wheat. He spun around to make sure, and the rest of his friends were there too, along with Ballisea.
"IT'S REAL!" Justin screamed. Even without any game trappings, he knew he was on another Earth. That alone convinced him.
"Uh, does that mean they are too..?" Wade asked. He pointed to a legion in military formation in the distance. They were marching straight toward the hill he stood on, and they were all skeletons.
"Over here too..," Devin added as he pointed out a couple more battalions moving toward them from different angles.
"Oh, this is promising to be quite entertaining already," Ballisea smiled. "I think I'll watch you from somewhere else," she said as a black portal opened next to her. "Welcome to the AlterNet," she said and stepped through. "If your group survives long enough to entertain me, maybe I'll let you."