Story and characters written and created by JustSomeNumbers

  With the advent of the current outbreak (even a pandemic some would say-) much of the people around Liam Oliver Maxwell turned to a mix of unease and social anxiety. Liam however, was one of the few who desired to overcome such pressures. As an engineering student with a dual degree in civil engineering and economics, a bright blue paint seemed to color over all the sadness and tension he was subjected to. Every morning he would wake up, make a small cup of coffee next to his cute little fuzz-ball of a hamster (un-ironically named Hampter, though not for a lack of trying-), get attempt to make a small little heart using the creamer, ultimately fail- and excitedly rush through the front door of his student dorms.

  Seeing the empty streets littered with trash, a bright blue sky emerged to subdue any ill will the polyester molecular structures seemed to gleam. Quickly letting out a big smile and a joyous expression, Liam met with the dawn of a new day: eager to make the world a brighter and more caring place.

  “Good morning Finnlash! Today will be an amaze-tastic fricken day!”

  A goofy but endearing grin spread across as he jumped at the idea of starting today with helping the earth. Even if he was a bit cold due to the climate consistently being in the negatives, it was well worth it to provide at least a little positive change. To Liam, the breathtaking vista of the wintery city of Helisko was worth the risk of missing a lecture or two- and so he went about collecting the mis-placed pieces of trash. Careful to select what could be used as compost, and what could be dangerous to animals (or humans-) liam spent a solid 30 or so minutes making his neighborhood a bit more enjoyable. Sweating from the exertion, but proud of his accomplishment, a gentle nod and a clap of his hands allowed his mind to continue with the ideals he held so dear.

  Yeppers peppers, today I made the world a smidgen more hospitable!

  “This was a fantasmal-basmal success!”

  As he was doing this, local passers-by managed to greet the unusually spirited fellow. Even with a bright blue mask with a scribbled smiley face and flowers to block the encroaching infection- the neighborhood could tell that when Liam said hello, he was smiling the type of smile that could infect you for a good couple of hours at the least. Some (many) would argue that Liam shouldn’t have been this… Infectious of a personality with the ongoing pandemic. Unease was heightening, global superpowers were raising tensions, trying to pin the blame on who did what to cause such a thing. More and more homeless lined the streets, but Liam didn’t care who or where they were. If he could help, he wanted to- not out of pity or a sense of justice, but because he wants them to grow as people. Liam prided the feeling of seeing someone grow, to be free of the shackles of negativity. The feeling he was seeking was simple yet so elusive for the vast majority of humanity. He sought compassion for others. He was more than prepared to assist whenever he could. In-fact , that's why he decided to go into civil engineering in the first place. If the world around him was falling, he wanted to help pick it back up and make it a better place than it ever was! At any cost to his own goals. Almost like a robot that was infected with a damaged chipset, an architect obsessed with his magnum opus- there would always be a program or engineer to set the reality in motion.

  Liam was beloved by his community for sure, but others clearly took advantage of this idealist. Handing cash to passers-by who say they need to eat, giving the latest pieces of clothing to those who simply wanted to try it on. Others knew this to be a flaw, but no-body really seemed to stop it. After all, if Liam was genuinely happy- and no major pain or losses were affecting his well being… Why would you want to stop it?

  Today however, word of mouth had spread amongst some of his colleagues at the university. Some of the less fortunate from Liam's perspective, some who needed just another small push in the right direction. To outside observers, they were thugs who managed to extort others in the most manipulative and disgusting way possible. But would this matter to Liam? Ha! Of course not you silly goose! These precious human beings just needed one more push… after another one…. And another.

  Today was a particularly nasty day for the weather. For the clear blue skies were deceptive and cold. While currently a sunny and beautifully clear sky reigned the prospective sapphire of the atmosphere above- it was also true that this was one of the coldest and windiest days the country of Finnlash has ever recorded. Breaking records far greater than a mere decade! But fret not, Liam made sure to pack his extra comfy snow boots- and very warm blue ear muffs that were shaped like his adorable little companion hampter. His striped blue gloves and a puffy overcoat let his day be un-affected by the wind-sheer and freezing temperatures. Surely it would also protect him in the place he was going to as well. It was around lunch-time when Liam landed in the Verifax Authority for a small capstone project. The Verifax Authority was a far western country that prided itself on freedom and the ability to do anything you put your mind to! That is… for the right price at least. While the Authority is considered one of the foremost industrial titans in the world, being the richest by far- its citizenry seem…Neglected… at first glance. Poverty was apparent pretty much wherever you went. Even in the freezing cold, those without the ability to heat themselves gnawed at the back of Liam's mind. Unable to really do much aside from watch from his shuttle-bus, his infectiously bright smile dimmed to a mere smirk at the sight of these poor souls. On his way to his project managers meeting location, a group of three fellow Finnlash colleagues stood before him discussing… Something? As Liam approached, more and more of the broken bits of conversation could be understood.

  “..No…. I’d….”

  “...Surely he’s….”

  “I feel like he…. Isn’t that stupid right? I mean c’m….”

  “Guys I don’t know. What if it's too cold? And there’s the pandemic to-”

  By the time Liam was able to fully comprehend the conversation taking place, that little light sparkle in the back of his brain over-rode any logical reasoning or rationale- noticing a small shiver in one of their group-members, Liam without a thought interjected and placed himself in the conversation.

  “Hello peoples! Are you feeling a bit cold? I can definitely help if you need some warmer clothing! Or- or if you want I can try to get some warm food for you fine-a-ronies?”

  A cringe swept across one of the female group members, as the one leading the conversation turned to look over who interrupted a private conversation.

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Hey! Uh…”

  A small pause kept the next words suspiciously withheld for a strangely awkward amount of time. But nothing seemed to jump out at Liam, the other member of the trio spoke up in his stead.

  “Heyyy man! I absolutely could use some protection from the uh… cold. And if you could get us some money too that would be, ugh, fantastic…o?”

  Liam’s heart jumped with joyous excitement! They did need some help, he could do something aside from watching! But what to give them? He can give them the spare change he had amassed for the trips food and souvenirs. The biting cold was trickier however. He could give them his hampter muffs, but he would feel a bit bad not having his adorable little guy next to him.

  Hmmmm… would it really help if I gave them what I’m wearing? I mean- like, c’mon it isn’t that cold right? Surely I could take it! I’m Finnlesh after all! And a proud good samaritan!

  With a sudden chipper and a softly muffled clap of Liams mitten protected hands, Liam gleefully exclaimed,

  “That settles it! I’ll just give ya all something to help with the cold!”

  Smiling that infectious smile, the trio turned to each other and exchanged awkwardly guilty looks. As if they had done something unspeakable to an innocent child- or newborn pup. Stripping down to just his shirt, thermal pants and socks- he gave each one of the trio a fluffy and cutely themed hampter apparel! Sure, the biting cold was certainly hitting him a bit… more than expected, but what can you do when you're doing it for a good cause? Smiling, Liam pulled out his phone and pulled up a GPS marker to the nearest restaurant- gleefully letting them know where to go.

  “Here, take this too! I think I have a bit of spare change with that card, so if you can go grab some food, warm up and then come back over to this place I can get my clothes and phone back- Easy peasies!”

  The looks of guilt were more pronounced- but the female associate seemed to be having a hard time processing how… trusting… this person was. The guilt or cold must have gotten to her, she left immediately following his sentence and waved goodbye. This led to the two remaining group-members to look at Liam, and rush to their friend in an awkward hurry. Before fully leaving ear-shot Liam could very faintly pick up a small couple of sentences as they disappeared behind a building. Something about a “sucker” falling down? Liam rushed to check the ground for any loose candy- but was relieved to see the strange people didn’t forget anything.

  Time started to pass, and the dazzling perfect day was coming to an end. Huddled next to a garbage bag- Liam, although still believing the odd group was coming back to return his crucial items, was beginning to… waiver on whether or not that was a… truthful statement. He looked down at his little cat socks, whos normally adorable and smiling prints were drenched with freezing water. Out of curiosity- Liam decided to just… double check that nothing bad was afoot. (he chuckled a little to ease the cold)

  It’s… been awhile- and it’s getting dark out. I wonder how my project lead will react to my absence… shoot. It’s really dang cold out here!

  The removal of his sock made Liam’s heart skip a beat. As the twilight started to fade into view, and the street began glowing with the lamp-posts of cheaply maintained road lights- Liam saw his foot had turned suspiciously purple.

  OH… That… Doesn't look good? It’s not cold though…. In-fact I feel very warm…

  Liam, making the decision to start walking towards the nearest signs of life for some assistance in warming up (and maybe finding a new phone and credit card) started to walk. Strangely- he started losing the ability to feel how cold the snow was, it started sticking to him as though he was the one that was colder- even though it was paradoxically him who felt like he was burning up… What is this?

  Liam's steps grew slower and slower, eventually coming to a sluggish shuffle into a strange view. His view was narrowing- and the burning fire he felt began to twist into an infinitely more freezing crystallization feeling. Struggling to think, Liam saw a pair of lights- flashing blue and red. Liam could make out some sort of words being yelled- but he couldn’t focus enough to truly decipher what the police officer was saying. Squinting, a large mass was rapidly approaching him. Was another officer going to help him? Meekly and in a very soft voice- only able to be heard as a frosty sultry whisper Liam attempted to ask for help.

  “Sir… if you c-could h-help m-”

  Liam was thrust forward without any warning, falling face first into a pile of snow. Thoughts slowing down to a crawl, Liam attempted to push himself back up- lumbering his mass upwards only to be met by a weird resistance. Was something on top of him?

  “W-wha-”

  A booming voice filled with authority and the concise power of restrained violence yelled directly to his ear. A bit.. Discomforting to Liam, but understandable from his perspective.

  “DON’T MOVE! Suspect down, can I get a pair of cuffs for-”

  Liam, now reaching his limit for the cold, simply wanted to relieve the oppressing loss of feeling in his hands. Shakily he reached for his hand warmer that had long been frozen. As much as he wanted to lash out, or yell at the officer for not checking anything before hand- of all people that could be in this situation, liam deserved it. Or so he thought, so at the very least he couldn’t argue for anything better or worse. Not after what he did to his…partner… So Liam did the only thing that would make this jarring experience at least a bit less scary-

  “I uh- would like to g-get a h-hand warmer-r”

  As Liam reached for his hand warmer- perhaps due to the fact his brain was slowly shutting down, he forgot how quickly he wanted to move and accidentally shifted all of his weight in one direction. A spasm of the muscles, desperation to get any amount of thawing reprieve. As he did this, a sharp sudden pain entered his lower back- and a sense of warmth started to pour out from him. Confused, and feeling incredibly numb: the waning and waxing vision was replaced with a smokey haze- below his snow covered hands he had managed to collect some of this “warmth”. Struggling to move, as if something was anchoring him in place- A strange crimson appeared- warming, but the realization that this was probably his blood started to sink in. Scared, but hopeful that a medical professional would most likely be nearby, he allowed his eyes to close. Accepting of the future and proud of who he was and what he’s done. The cold started to fade- and his thoughts began to quiet. This was the end for Liam.

  As his final moments passed- the officer who did not shoot him arose from the scene still expecting some sort of weapon to be found. However his face was twisted from immediate realization that he had pressed this young adult into a jagged piece of construction equipment- which was now impaling his upper body at multiple points. At that moment- time seemed to stop. A diorama of the world holding still for a new type of existence. A void leading to nothing and everything at the same time appeared from the twisting and final interfering of some other universality.

  Interventus appeared before the now almost frozen over body before him. A brilliantly shining wisp of blue formatting before him. Careful as not to damage this precious finding- and careful to ensure its safe transfer, the second soul was collected.

  “An incredibly pristine soul indeed. Seems this was a rare individual indeed. Rest now mortal, for I shall move you to a place you’re needed now.”

  —---------AUTHORS NOTE—------------

  Hey peoples, the next chapter is the introduction to the final soul interventus will be collecting. After this we’re moving on to the actual isekai and world building! It’s a slow burn- but I promise you (half-heartedly because it does really depend on your personal tastes-) an amazing story I hope you can all enjoy :)

  -JSN

  —---------END OF AUTHORS NOTE—------------