Be Careful What You Wish For

"Sucking up or sucking me off." Noah pulled up to the pool party in his sports car, already knowing how things would play out. "Same difference these days."

And just as he'd expected, the moment he stepped into the pool area, cheers erupted from the crowd of socialites lounging by the water. Some raised their drinks as cries of his name filled the air.

"Noah! Good to see you man!" 

He flashed his signature grin, the one that had both graced the cover of business magazines and charmed beautiful women, even if he didn't know who the fuck most of the party goers were.

But that was the burden of being him, and he was happy with it.

Noah Webb, young billionaire, suave businessman, and certified heartbreaker, had arrived.

He made his rounds, exchanging pleasantries and indulging in shallow conversations that he barely paid attention to. 

Nice to know I'm still everyone's favorite flavor. 

He chuckled, but his mind was elsewhere, tired of the predictability of it all. 

Even as hands clapped his back and flirtatious eyes roamed his well proportioned body, he felt a strange detachment, like he was watching a scene play out from a distance.

Maybe he was tired of his life now. Everything was just the same. Everybody bending over backwards just to please him. 

Maybe he needed a change of scenery. A new challenge.

And that was when the dizziness hit.

It started as a slight headache before he was hit by a wave of nausea. In a few seconds, it turned into an overwhelming force that made his vision swim. 

He excused himself, ignoring the concerned voices around him, and stumbled toward the bathroom inside the mansion. 

The moment he shut the door behind him, the floor beneath his feet shifted.

"What the—"

The air cracked, and a force stronger than anything he had ever felt yanked him downward, dragging him through a swirling rift that was as dark as darkness itself. 

A colorless void whose name forced itself into his brain.

This was the Abyss.

His body twisted and stretched in ways that could not be explained. Every nerve in his body switched between screaming in agony, and settling into a bizarre numbness. 

He couldn't see. He couldn't breathe. 

He wasn't falling, but he wasn't standing either.

Then, something else joined him in the void.

A consciousness.

No words were spoken, but he felt it latch onto him, burrowing into his mind. It clawed at his thoughts, pushing, prodding, trying to take over. 

Instinctively, Noah fought back. 

He had no idea what kind of monster he was up against, but he refused to let whatever this was win. He focused, imagining himself as a fortress, his walls thick and unbreakable.

The presence grew desperate, writhing, lashing out, but Noah held firm. He had clawed his way to the top of the corporate world, fought battles that had nothing to do with swords or magic but were just as ruthless. 

This was no different.

With a final push, the consciousness broke down with a blood curdling screech, and before he could do anything, its energy latched unto him, merging with every part of what he could tell was his soul.

Then, reality snapped back into place.

Noah staggered to a stop.

"—fuck?" 

He looked up to find himself standing in the center of an enormous, glowing magic circle. 

The symbols pulsed beneath his feet with an eerie purple light before going inert. Smoke curled up from where the symbols had scorched the ground.

Hooded figures surrounded him, some slumped on the floor as they all caught their breath.

The air around them smelled of burnt incense and something darker, something metallic.

His eyes traveled across the dark hall, taking it all in. 

Prominent on the magic circle was a massive five-pointed star, and at the end of all five vertices, the ground was scorched black, as if something—or someone—had been sacrificed to make this ritual work.

The smoke cleared and the figures finally saw him. They threw back their hoods, revealing a mix of men and women, their expressions filled with awe.

"We did it." One of them whispered, his voice trembling with emotion.

"The prophecy has been fulfilled!" Another cried, falling to his knees.

A man who looked like he was in charge stepped forward, his eyes shining with excitement. 

"Hero! You have been summoned to save our world from darkness. The Dark Lord's forces grow stronger by the day, and only you possess the power to stop them."

Noah stared at them for a long moment, processing their words. Then, he spoke. 

"No."

The room fell deathly silent.

The excitement on their faces froze, like a sculptor had chiseled away all the joy in an instant.

The man in charge blinked, as if he hadn't heard correctly. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I said no." Noah crossed his arms. "I don't know who you people are, and I don't care about your Dark Lord. Send me back."

Murmurs spread through the gathered summoners like ripples in a pond. Some looked horrified, others confused. 

A young woman, her eyes wide with disbelief, whispered, "That's… that's not how this works."

The leader took a step forward, his expression shifting from excitement to concern. "Hero, you don't understand. You were chosen by the gods. Your fate is bound to this world."

"We'll see about that." Noah said, already looking around for an exit.

But there wasn't one.

"Where the fuck am I?" He asked, a frown on his face. 

He could tell what was happening. He really had been summoned to another world. The Abyss had been too real to be a prank. The monster was just as real as he was.

He was just in too much shock to even be in fear or disbelief. So, he fell back on something familiar. Being in charge. 

"Where in the everloving fuck am I?" He asked again with the confidence of one who could not be ignored.

The leader hesitated before answering. "You are in the Kingdom of Camelot."

Noah raised an eyebrow. "Camelot? Like King Arthur and the Round Table?"

"It is the name of our great land." The leader said, clearly not understanding the reference.

Noah exhaled slowly, trying to suppress the frustration bubbling inside him. 

Why? Why had they summoned him specifically, against his will, to fight in a war that was clearly none of his business?

Was this because he'd thought about wanting a challenge? Well, they were in for a rude awakening.

"Alright." He said. "Let's make this simple."

"I'm not fighting your war, I'm not your hero, and I'm definitely not going to play along with whatever prophecy you cooked up. So unless you have a way to send me home, we're done here."

The leader's face darkened. The others exchanged nervous glances, as if they had never considered this possibility.

One of them, an older man with a long beard, whispered, "What if the ritual was incomplete?"

Another, a woman in heavy robes, shook her head. "No, the ritual was performed exactly as the texts described."

"But the hero is rejecting his destiny." Someone else said, voice filled with panic.

Noah clapped his hands together, drawing their attention back to him. "So what's the plan? You keep me here against my will?"

The leader hesitated before answering. "There are… alternatives."

Noah didn't like the sound of that.

Before he could respond, the doors to the hall burst open, throwing light into the room. 

A group of heavily armored knights stormed in, their weapons drawn. Their captain, a tall man with a stern face, looked between Noah and the summoners before addressing the leader.

"Is this the hero?"

"Yes," the leader said. "But he is—"

The captain didn't wait for him to finish. He turned to Noah, his expression hidden behind his helmet. "The king requests your presence. Immediately."

Noah stared at the man, then at the armed knights surrounding him. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, sure. Why not?" He muttered. "Let's see what your king has to say."