Chapter 2 - Means

As Eric entered the luxurious limousine hired by his boss for the sole purpose of making his useless, unkempt employee look at least decently successful, he started rifling through the stack of logistics reports and financial statements that he had to convey to new company clients.

Nova-Tech was a company specializing in defense mechanisms and not the flimsy home alarms most put on their front doors in a bid to scare away the average thief. Nova-Tech was responsible for the invention, implementation and maintenance of the World renowned Nova-Tech Anti-ICBM and Nuclear Missiles system - the system that US had fully absorbed and deployed across America for the past 20 years and the very system that ensured no harm came to America during the thermonuclear scare of 2057 where tens of nuclear missiles were fired at the US by a previously unknown underworld organization called Skullz. The system itself was ingenious in it's use of an array of high powered infrared laser emitters which simply and efficiently melted the entire missile into a useless flying blob of metal.

You may be wondering 'How did this guy get a job at such a good company?!?' but I warn you that the answer is a little shocking. Eric Sullivan's official role at Nova-Tech is...lead inventor in the AINS(Anti-ICBM and Nuclear-Missile System) project. You read correctly my dear readers, this idiot with the acoustic sense of a mongoose actually helped invent the entire system! Anyways, let us ignore our own mental deficits and focus on the story.

Since Eric held a very prestigious position in the company, it was rare for him to be called out to say a few words. This is a good reflection of the status of his clients and the ones he would be making a presentation to today - the President of the United States, 7 members from UNI-CEF and the United Nations. Even with this sort of line-up at the meeting today, Eric still decided to be fashionably late. However it was this decision that would change his life, this laziness that would lead him on a hair-raising, adrenaline pumped, blood boiling adventure.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM

An explosion thunders through the street as a pillar of flame seemingly pierces the sky. Moreover the pillar of flames is exactly where Eric's hired wheels were! As Eric's eyes melted away and his bones charred, as his heart fell out in front of him and as people ran in terror, Eric's last thought, his final words in this world were forced out of his mouth, "Why did I go outside?...".

'WAKE CHILD, WAKE FROM THINE SLUMBER AND HEED THE SUMMONS OF THE PANTHEON'

HONGGGG

'Wha....wai.....no...fire....five more minutes'

'.....WAKE UP YOU INSUFFERABLE LITTLE.....'

Eric's eyes flew open! Astonished at the situation before him and the memories which clearly indicated that he had died, he looked forward in a daze. What lay before him was a swelling ocean, grand and majestic Islands faced the powerful waves showing no weakness. A regal and majestic building carved from gold and silver stood tall at the center, like a King in his prime surrounded by Royal Guards brimming with vitality. The grandiose design with the carefully crafted yet sturdy pillars looked divine, the imposing image was burned into Eric's mind forcefully and he simply would not be able to forget it no matter what happened.

'COME FORTH AND PROSTATE BEFORE THE PANTHEON OF THE GODS' - A voice thundered with authority. Eric was forcefully pulled toward the grand gate of the pantheon complex. He tried to resist but to his horror he found that he could not feel his arms! For that matter, he could not feel anything! He looked down but he saw nothing below him. He had truly died and become a soul, a soul in the grasp of the pantheon of the gods, an existence unimaginable for humanity. The Pantheon had searched for 90 cosmological decades, across countless realms to find a soul suitable for the pantheon's purpose.

The Pantheon was seeking the creation of a new god! One who could tilt the balance in the war between Gods and Devils. However it was here that the narrator of the story, the great and righteous me, would like to inform the readers that there had been a great mistake! The Pantheon in it's tireless searching had forgotten to actually check up on the war. About 80 cosmological decades ago the war had already ended! Devils and Gods found common ground between them and were now coexisting peacefully, in fact, there had already been countless marriages and intimate relations between Gods and Devils because, and I quote, "It's the 80th cosmological decade after the war my dudes. I can be, like, whatever I want! freedom of expression and whatever. It's in the constitution!". Although there was no constitution the message has already been passed...