In a hospital room, we see a teenage boy, around seventeen years old, calmly watching gameplay footage of Sonic Dream Team on his tablet.
"It really was fun… a world where all you need to do is dream and be happy… hehehe… I wish I were a god so I could share a concept like that," he said softly, amused.
This boy was Elliot Walker. His illness was, in a strange way, ironic. When he asked the doctor what it was called, the man simply replied, "Do you want to choose the name?"
Elliot's skin was unnaturally pale, white as snow. His left eye had been removed, and the area around it was overtaken by a strange growth spreading upward. His once curly hair had grown long and messy, now a mix of black and white. He even joked with a nurse that he was turning into an X-Men. Eventually, the disease received a name: White Spider Plague.
[Faith System activated! Please choose a name for your new body and your faith.]
A voice echoed inside Elliot's head. He glanced around the room, seeing no one, then took a deep breath and looked back at his tablet. The wallpaper showed one of his favorite characters from an online fandom.
"Well… my god's name will be Armitage. And the name of my faith? Hmm… Arachne," he said calmly, as a strange buzzing sensation spread through his body.
[Due to emotional attachment to the media content "Sonic Dream Team," the system will grant power equivalent to Eggman Nightmare. Warning: Eggman Nightmare's power is normally limited to the dream world. The system has amplified it to the point where it can interfere with the real world. The more devoted souls under your faith, the stronger you will become.]
As the system spoke in a calm tone, Elliot felt his surroundings slowly change, until everything dissolved into a vast black void.
…
[The disease "White Spider Plague" has evolved. This evolution is unique. The host is now something beyond humans, demons, angels, and archangels. The host is one of a kind in the entire universe.]
Elliot—now Armitage—stood revealed in a new form. He had long white hair tied into a ponytail, with a multicolored fringe split in two. Four horns resembling spider legs extended from his head, and atop it rested a white top hat adorned with two red eyes. He possessed four red eyes in total: two smaller ones positioned above the main pair.
His body showed traits of a black spider. He wore a white long-sleeved suit with folded cuffs, each fastened by a single button, a white collared shirt, and a diagonally striped gray-and-black tie. White pants completed the outfit. From his sides extended four black arms ending in claws. His feet were thin, black, two-toed, sharp, and shaped almost like tuning forks.
"Wow… this… is new," he said calmly, observing his surroundings. The space around him was a dark purple void with pinkish hues. "Is this the dream world?"
He attempted to move—and despite the lack of ground, a path formed beneath him.
[Please create your 'paradise' for the souls that believe in your faith.]
Armitage looked around thoughtfully.
"If I'm going to make a paradise, it has to be free of the miasma called sin. A place where dreams are something good… I've got it!"
Clapping his hands with excitement, he focused. A city began to form—one he loved in both his past and present life. It looked almost cartoonish, as if made of paper. White paper houses lined the streets. In fact, everything was paper, save for a few details like fruits on trees and blooming flowers.
"Well, let's begin. First, I need a basic understanding of the world I'm in. If my powers are tied to dreams, then in theory, I can make dreams into reality—like a child dreaming of a beloved pet coming back to life. Since the system said my power mirrors Eggman Nightmare but can affect the real world… in short, I'm a literal god."
He spoke calmly as he created a sheet of paper, studying its blank surface.
"If I'm going to manage a paradise for my souls, I'll need help—something to regulate emotions, to keep desire, pride, greed, gluttony, envy, sloth, and wrath in check."
The paper ignited in a pink flame, giving rise to a strange figure. Her body resembled Amy Rose's, but without the red dress. Instead, she wore a skirt with pockets full of paintbrushes. Her face was hidden behind a sheet of paper, drawn with two X's for eyes and a simple smile.
"Your name is Kokoro—the heart of the dream world. Your role is to suppress emotions tied to the capital sins, while still allowing feelings to exist. My world won't be perfect, I know… but I want it to be better than the one I found. I hope I can rely on you."
Armitage knelt before his creation, gently taking her gloved hand and placing a respectful kiss upon it. Kokoro simply looked at her creator, nodded softly, and began wandering through the city, familiarizing herself with her future workplace.
"Well, I'll create more avatars in the future. For now, I should focus on taking care of my home…"
He opened a portal to the real world and stepped through, emerging in a forest. The place felt strangely familiar. Suddenly, he sensed an energy that filled him with immediate disgust. Turning toward it, he spotted a cabin. His form shifted—his legs vanished, replaced by a ghostly tail, allowing him to float upward. Inside, he saw three beings he recognized with some difficulty.
"Am I in that damn Hellaverse?" he muttered in disgust. Not that he hated it—but the show's ethics were… questionable. Very questionable.
"Well, I guess this can be my ticket to the top~"
He smiled, revealing razor-sharp teeth, and vanished from the area to take care of some "dirty work."
Author's note:
Hey! This is a story I'll be focusing on for a while, which means some other stories may go on hiatus. Sorry about that—but this one is something I really enjoyed creating. Now hand over your Power Stone.