“If I could have your attention,” rang out, waking me up from what had felt like a sound sleep. I rolled over before suddenly falling a few feet to land on what felt like grass. That forced me to open my eyes and look around. I was dressed in the underwear I had gone to bed in, but there was no blanket around me.

  The dim light around me allowed me to see that I was laying in the middle of what appeared to be a stadium of some kind. I worked to stand up and could see at least a dozen additional men standing around. There were no women to be seen, and every person looked to be in their early twenties.

  “Again, if I might have your attention,” the strange voice called out. There was a distinct accent to the speech, but I could not place it. I tried to spot the speaker, but other than the other equally confused young men, there was no one in view.

  A gust of wind tore through the stadium, causing several of the other men to cry out in surprise and panic. “Look up you idiots,” the voice growled.

  We looked up to see a strange bird hovering over the stadium. It flapped its wings with an unnatural slowness as it appeared to glare down at us. My mind immediately started trying to catalog the creature, but all I could think was that no eagle or hawk had a beak as large as the monstrous creature.

  “It has no feet,” someone called out. “What is it?”

  The bird immediately dove on the man who had cried out. Its beak whipped down and the man was cut in half. Blood splattered onto the grass as the monster rose back into the sky and circled around to return to hover over the center of the stadium.

  “As I was saying. If I could have your attention and your silence,” the bird called out again. I noticed that it did not move its beak to speak.

  The only sound in the stadium was that of grass being crushed down as a couple of the men shifted nervously. I just watched the bird as it turned in place, watching everyone carefully.

  The silence grew uncomfortable. During this time a few men moved to stand almost directly under the strange bird as it continued to hover on barely moving wings. I was debating moving when it tilted its head and gave a strange bob that almost approximated a nod.

  “Good,” the accented voice said. “I’ll start with answering the obvious question all of you have. You are not on Earth. In fact, those you knew on Earth will believe you died in your sleep. Do not attempt to bargain or demand that I return you. You have been granted an opportunity. Its not one that comes often and never comes with much fanfare.”

  “And it clearly is one we cannot refuse,” the young man standing closest to me muttered in a faux Italian accent. “Wonderful. I had finally scored a date with Camila, and instead of getting to finally see if she was as nice as she seemed, I’m stuck in some empty stadium under a bird that can cut me in half.”

  There were several other muttered comments coming from other places in the stadium. The strange bird just hovered and watched, its head spasmodically moving as it waited for the chorus of discontent to die down.

  When the crowd stopped muttering and everyone was again staring up at the bird it bobbed its head again. “Interesting. This time no one moved to attack or complain. Not that it would have mattered. None of you have the ability to harm me. Now, if you are prepared to listen.”

  It paused. I could see some of the young men frown and raised my hand. “Don’t!” I shouted. “Let’s just allow it to finish. Right now, we are limited in what we can do, so let’s make the best of it.”

  The bird stooped towards me. I flinched back, but it halted its dive ten feet in front of me. “You,” it said as the voice it used became deeper. “Few have the insight to see what is not in front of them. It will be interesting to see if you can survive what is to come.”

  I said nothing. Some of the men near me shifted away as the bird hovered just out of reach from the ground. Its head turned from side to side, making it difficult to guess what it was looking at, but after a long silence it rose back up, flying backwards in an unnaturally smooth glide.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  “Now, thanks to the one gentleman, who is right, perhaps I can begin. As I said, you are being offered an opportunity. Back on Earth, you were going to die. Instead, my partners and I have provided new husks to hold your spirit and soul. They are designed to appear much like you did before, but before you leave here you will be offered the option of changing your appearance. I should note that any flaws or injuries your old body had were not transferred over. You are in the best possible physical condition,” the bird said.

  I nodded as the bird began to move. It drifted towards one end of the oval shaped grassy area that we all stood in. One it reached the end it turned back around and looked at everyone.

  “The opportunity each of you has, is to be given a new life in another world. One with magic and adventure. Some of you might find new triumphs there. There are four possible worlds, and for each there are two different options. The field is going to split into eight zones. The zone you move to will determine which world and option you have selected,” the bird said.

  “But we don’t know about the options,” someone called out. I held my hands at my side, but I heard a couple of hands striking flesh and guessed that at least one man had facepalmed.

  The bird did not openly react to the shout, but I noticed the head turn as it gazed towards the speaker. “I’ll explain the two options first. One is to keep the body you have now, but accept some goods and skills that will improve your survival chances.”

  The field to the left of the bird lit up a warm green color. The color spread the length of the grassy area except it left a circle around all of the men who were gathered in the center of the pitch. The bird just continued speaking as if it had not noticed the change. “The area that lit up will be where the four gates to the preparation chambers will be. Don’t move until I finish speaking, but if you don’t want to change you’ll be heading to this side. The other option is to accept less from the preparation chamber, but to have an opportunity to initially review your current form and make changes. This can include changing your entire race if you desire.”

  “I can be an orc?” someone shouted happily.

  The bird looked at the young man. “There are many possible races, although you might want to wait to decide which world you desire to visit. Some would not welcome an orc.”

  I raised my hand. “Please, let’s keep the shouts and questions for the end, or for once we arrive in the preparation chambers. I get a feeling our time here and there is limited and more comments just slows down the process.”

  The bird turned to stare at me. I thought it was going to attack, but once again it just bobbed its head and then resumed speaking. “The four worlds, or rather universes you can go to are varied. The ground will light up as I describe each one. Please wait until I find, as your colleague suggested.”

  “First, we have a universe of power and travel. Your science fiction tales of spaceship and aliens provide a hint as to how this place will work. This universe does not have magic as you think of it, but some alien races have developed powers through improved or mutated mental processes. It does have the highest technology of the four worlds available.”

  The first quarter of the stadium nearest the bird lit up with a blue light. On the side where the bird had earlier indicated you should visit to avoid changes the ground was closer to turquoise. I could see a couple men take a step forward only to halt just as quickly.

  The bird ignored everything as the next quarter of the stadium lit up with a purple light. “If you enter these zones you’ll be transported to a world of what you call high fantasy. Elves, dwarves and wizards will be in your future. The technology will start primitive although you can work to improve it if you wish. Most lands there are in a near constant struggle with their neighbors, so a man of ambition can rise quickly.”

  “And if you’re an orc, you might find that many human areas try to drive you out or kill you,” someone muttered. “Next.”

  The next quarter of the field lit up with a pale pink color. “The color here is not indicative of the land. Rather it represents one of the major powers. It is a land that has centered around a system of improvement through meditation and cultivation of internal power. Many call the power found in this world Qi or Chi. A man of patience and drive can rise high, but be warned, the powerful in this world tend to be jealous of their position and challengers must be prepared to fight and strive for every improvement.”

  Before anyone could speak the final quarter lit up. “This is the interesting one. It’s a world that combines elements of all of the previous worlds. The technology on the planet you’ll start on will be largely primitive, but there will be a spaceport and improved technology can be found. Both wizards and cultivators stride these worlds and there are no restrictions on how you develop your abilities. The possibilities are endless, as are the battles and challenges.”

  “Now,” the bird said. “Choose and leave for your new adventure.”