"What is this?"
The man muttered as he looked around his surroundings. White. Endless white, stretching in every direction, as if he were standing in the middle of a fog without horizon or ground.
Then, with a ripple like water disturbed, a polished oak table and a single chair materialized in front of him. He stiffened instantly, hand brushing where his holster should've been, only to find nothing. His sidearm, his gear, everything was gone.
"Commander Spencer," a voice echoed, soft yet resounding, as if it came from the air itself. "Please, sit."
He froze. Years of counter-terror operations had burned paranoia into his blood. But he wasn't the kind of man who hesitated. If this was an enemy interrogation trick, he'd play along until he saw a way out. Slowly, he lowered himself into the chair, muscles tense.
The air shimmered again. This time, the figure of a woman appeared—tall, radiant, almost painful to look at. A gown of light draped over her, long hair flowing like molten silver. Her eyes glowed like suns. She's not your ordinary type of woman, this one, he couldn't describe.
"Do not be alarmed," she said in a soothing tone, her words reverberating in his ears like he was being spoken to by a higher being. "You have been chosen."
"Chosen? What the hell are you talking about? And who are you? And where am I?"
"I'm Goddess Sylphie and you are in the realms of the gods," she answered.
"Am I hallucinating?" he muttered under his breath. He has experience dealing with advanced technology, the so-called augmented reality used in interrogation by the government. But this is too vivid for that. Perhaps, did they perfect it? And how did he get here in the first place?
He was sure he was in Afghanistan, along with his men, and this kind of facility is only available in the country as it was an experimental technology. Could it be that he had been sold out? Sure, there were a lot of illegal things that are tantamount to war crimes but he had so much dirt on the politicians to the point they wouldn't touch him.
"What you are thinking is wrong," Sylphie said, interrupting his train of thought.
Commander Spencer stiffened. His eyes narrowed, a soldier's instinctive alarm flashing through him.
"You just read my mind?"
The Goddess inclined her head slightly, the faintest trace of amusement tugging her lips.
"In this place, stray thoughts are as clear to me as spoken words. Your doubts, your suspicions, your anger… they echo like bells."
Spencer clenched his jaw, forcing his mind into the same iron discipline that had carried him through interrogations and black sites. Don't let them see weakness. Don't give them anything.
Her voice cut through again, smooth and unyielding. "Discipline will not shield you here. You question if you were betrayed, if this is some scheme by men in power who fear what you know. But no—those shadows belong to your world. This is not Earth, Commander. And no human device could bring you here."
His heart thudded. She's bluffing. She has to be. But even as the thought formed, her glowing eyes locked on him with quiet certainty.
"No bluff," Sylphie said, her tone carrying no malice, only fact. "You were in Afghanistan. I plucked you and your soldiers from that desert, along with your military hardwares. The reason why you are here is because I have a request from you."
"Request?"
"Albert Spencer, you are the CEO of Atlas, the most sophisticated paramilitary group on the planet Earth. Can even rival a medium to small nation with your armies numbering 40,000. Not only that, you were an elite soldier yourself. Delta Force."
Spencer's eyes narrowed dangerously. How the hell does she know that?
"I know all about you. And it's the reason why I chose you and your company for a request. A request that will save my planet."
She continued.
"I want you to help the denizens of my planet to thwart the demon race invasion," the Goddess simply stated.
Hearing that, there are words that he hasn't heard of. For example, the demon race. He was familiar with demons, but an entirety of race? Those things only exist in fiction.
"In your world it's a fiction, but in my world they are not. And they will not stop until all the planet's surface is theirs."
"Seems like the demon race that you speak of is a very powerful army. You said that they can take over the world, how are we going to fight something like that? And even if we fight them, our arsenal isn't that large to sustain a long conflict. My army requires continuous supplies and if you are going to send us to another world, the moment we run out of ammo, fuels, and other sophisticated materials, we are doomed."
"I have encountered that, your world's army requires supplies which is why I am giving you a system that will allow you to summon military hardware and supplies from your world. Basically, that'll be your superpower."
"System?" Spencer repeated but the Goddess added more words.
"Also, I'll be giving you 500 billion dollars after you finish your job."
Hearing that, his eyes widened open. Did she just say that? 500 billion dollars? That's a half a trillion! That'll make him rich and heck even pay his men handsomely and still have more in his pockets. But 500 billion? How would she even get that money?
"Don't worry about where it came from, I'm a Goddess, I can simply influence things to make the supernatural…natural. So what do you think? Are you going to accept the job?"
She can really read his mind.
"Wait, how about the system you speak of? How does that work?"
"Well, a system is like a warehouse of a variety of military hardware from ground, air, and sea." With a flick of her finger, a holographic interface appeared before Spencer.
"What's this?"
[Military Hardware Summoning System:
Weapons:
Land vehicle:
Aircraft:
Naval vessels:
Supplies:
]
"Tap any tab you'd want to see and witness the magic," Sylphie said.
Spencer tapped the Aircraft and suddenly, the display changed into a vast collection of aircraft ranging from NATO, Russians, Chinese. But there are prices, the cost is similar to his world.
"Tap the icon of any aircraft you'd wish to see for example," the Goddess instructed.
Spencer tapped the most used helicopters in his company, the Blackhawk.
In an instant, a three-dimensional projection burst into existence before him.
"As you already noticed, the cost of the hardware reflects that of your real-world, your credits will be based on the contract price, for example 500 billion dollars. Why don't you purchase that aircraft? Don't worry, it won't be deducted to your credits."
Spencer looked back to his system again and then tapped the purchase tab.
[Please confirm your purchase]
"Confirm," Spencer confirmed and immediately after, a magic circle appeared before him and then slowly, the figure of an UH-60 Blackhawk emerged out of it, until it was fully realized.
Spencer's eyes widened again, this time in surprise. This was his first time seeing what would be described as magic.
"So, 500 billion dollars and a system that can literally bring any weapons from your world. Are you going to accept the contract?"
Spencer pondered for a moment. Sure, the offer of the Goddess was a steal. Half a trillion dollars and a magic that can summon any military hardware with a price. If he accepted this contract, this would be the largest one he'd ever receive.
However, he has to consider his men. After all, it won't be just him but literally his entire army. This is not like them going to another country and setting up a base, this is literally them conducting a mission in another world.
But for sure, they'll be onboard if they heard of the contract price. 500 billion dollars. And, it's not like this mission would be impossible given that the Goddess seemed to believe they are the ones that can save this planet.
Spencer exhaled as he made his decision.
"Fine, we'll take the job."
Hearing that, the Goddess clapped her hands.
"That's good to hear! Now, let me reiterate. I'm sending you to another world to stop the demon race invasion and exterminate them. The contract price is 500 billion dollars, which is also the balance of your system. Whatever is left after the mission will be the money paid to your corporate account. Do you any questions before we proceed with the ritual?"
"I have none."
"Then, I'll be sending you to another world now. Good luck Albert Spencer, may you bring peace and prosperity to my world by eliminating the threat."
After saying that, the Goddess flicked her fingers and suddenly, he disappeared from the realm.