# The Summoning

Matt trudged through the park on his day off, a half-eaten hot dog in one hand and his phone in the other. The afternoon sun was warm, but not unpleasant—a welcome change from the stuffy warehouse where he spent his days loading trucks. He was just a regular guy, twenty-six, no remarkable skills, no grand ambitions. Just a guy who liked anime, video games, and quiet afternoons.

He was scrolling through a forum about gacha games when the world shifted.

The sky didn't just change—it replaced itself. One moment it was blue with scattered clouds, the next it was a brilliant gold, like staring into a polished mirror. The grass beneath his feet turned to marble, smooth and impossibly white. The air smelled of ozone and old books.

"What the—"

"Matthew. You have been chosen."

The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Matt spun around, dropping his hot dog, and found himself face to face with... a woman? She was tall, easily seven feet, with silver hair that floated around her head like it was underwater. Her eyes glowed with soft amber light, and she wore robes that seemed to be woven from starlight itself.

"Whoa," Matt said. Then, because his brain couldn't come up with anything better: "Am I dead?"

The woman laughed, a sound like wind chimes. "No, child. You are very much alive. I am Celeste, Patron Goddess of the Human Royal Family of Aerthan. And I have brought you here to save my people."

Matt blinked. "I'm... sorry, what? I work at a warehouse. I load boxes. I play video games. I'm not exactly hero material."

Celeste smiled, and there was something sad in it. "Perhaps not by your world's standards. But here, in this world—a world that has known war for fifty thousand years—you possess something we desperately need." She gestured, and a phone materialized in her hand. It looked identical to the one Matt had been holding moments ago, except it glowed with a soft blue light.

"Is that my phone?"

"It is now something more." She handed it to him. The screen displayed an icon that looked like a slot machine wheel, labeled "GACHA." "This device can pull from the Afterlife of this planet. Every soul that has ever lived and died in this world resides in the great cycle. And you, Matthew, can summon them. Specifically, you can …