Chapter 1: A Dream
The city life was always full of lights.
The night sky is blanketed by a shade of clouds and dust. Winston Heath stood atop a building, a cover of metal fibres above him.
It was constantly raining in this city, perhaps an attempt at washing away the corruption and filth that accumulated for years. The city called out to him like a cheap escort, it did not want him, but it needed him. A damp and despondent feeling crept up the environment like a fluttering flame slowly burning away at a forest.
Winston sighed, his sleeping robes feeling especially cold today. He quietly gazed at the rainy sky and the wide array of roads below. The hundreds of lights moving about the city gave him a restless feeling. He slowly twirled the glass of wine he held in his hands and gazed back towards the bedroom.
Among the mattresses, a gorgeous women of German descent slept quietly, her smooth hair sprawled all over. Winston's gaze was one of melancholy and solitude.
With a sight, he gulped down the wine and kept the glass aside on a table. Eddies of wind swept past him, prompting him to cover his body further with his robes.
Blowing out a breath of warm air, he walked back into the room.
This was the life of Winston Heath, a top tier theoretical physicist and an MIT graduate in engineering. There was very little time he had for himself where he could silently ponder and contemplate about his life.
Most of his nights were accompanied by beautiful women of all kinds, his networth was well over a billion, he led humanity on one of the most important projects of interstellar travel and also on particle physics. It would not be wrong to say that it was the life of a dream, something anyone would wish for.
However, there was always a creeping feeling at the back of his mind. A profound sense of loneliness and isolation. Even when he was surrounded by colleagues, or when he was making love to various women; it was something always on the back of his mind.
A cold sensation up his spine that he couldn't take care of, an itch on his body he couldn't scratch...
He was surrounded by all, but truly known by none.
An old man on a lighthouse shines the light, guiding explorers of the crashing waves,
Sailors gratefully regard his presence, but no one ever stops or stays.
Without the light, many would perish,
Yet, here he spends his days with no one to cherish.
With a sigh, he took off his robes and climbed back into the bed. The gorgeous women stirred up in the bed, wrapping her arms around his well built figure.
With a small smile at her antics, the man closed his eyes and drifted off into sleep.
~~~
A large expanse of a rain forest was before him. The tiny droplets that made their way to the bottom, through the dense canopy made for a light drizzle on his skin.
Winston closed his eyes, feeling the sensation of water pouring over him. He looked in front of himself as he stood over a large cliffside.
The gigantic forest extended on towards the distant horizon, the dark clouds bellowing above it all. The rain poured down with a light intensity. Mountains arose in the distance, with the forests covering a large part of them.
Rivers and lakes littered the landscape, painting a beautiful picture of nature.
The smell of wet soil, the soft feeling of droplets on his skin and the breathtaking view; it invited a smile to his face.
It felt so... refreshing.
Even thought it was only a dream, Winston reveled in it.
He sat down on a nearly stone, his naked figure getting wetter and wetter in the drizzle.
The humid air was not hard to breathe, and the chirping of birds behind him alleviated his stress.
Pitter-patter
Pitter-patter
Some time passed in stillness, just then, a small book appeared before Winston.
The book floated up into the air. Winston widened his eyes at the display. He was.. surprised.
He was a very accomplished lucid dreamer, able to make all kinds of things in his dreams. It was one of the things that led to his success. Visualisation of his goals was the key.
However, this was the first time since he mastered lucid dreaming that something he did not intend for had happened.
Without his will, the book opened up before him. The slightly yellowish paper appeared old and damp. It was completely devoid of any letters or information.
Just then, letters started to appear on the book.
[You have 3 spin chances!
Beginner's luck has been activated, your luck will be enhanced!]
Winston looked on in confusion.
Spin chances? His inner thoughts somewhat echoed in the surroundings.
"Umm. Spin?"
As his words fell, a small wheel materialized onto the book pages and began to spin.
It spun for about 10 seconds before coming to a stop. When it stopped, the wheel disappeared and a vial with a rainbow fluid appeared.
[Congratulation! You have gained:
Lord of the Mysteries- Three Pathways!]
"And what would this be?" He thought in interest. As if answering to his inquiry, more letter appeared on the book.
[Lord of Mysteries- Three Pathways:
- You get access to the abilities of the three pathways of the Lord of Mysteries- The Fool, The Error and The Door.
- You gain the ability to ascend to godhood.
- Through meticulous acting, you can ascend from sequence 9 to sequence 0 and beyond, simultaneously on each pathway.]
"That... seems overpowered?" As someone that read a lot of pieces of fiction when he was about 19, Winston was somewhat knowledgeable about these things.
Sequence pathways from the franchise Lord of Mysteries was one of them.
Having all the abilities from the three pathways of Lord of Mysteries. Its overpowered for sure... He thought as he read the entire thing again for good measure. He had read the first book of the Mysteries series from Cuttlefish in his free time. It was, in essence, one of the greatest pieces of fiction ever written in his eyes. At least in terms of webnovels.
"Heh. I wonder how stressed I am, to be unconsciously materializing such things in my dream.." Winston gave a selt deprecating laugh. Extending his hand, he touched the small vial diagram on the book.
A bright light that seemed to be made of a thousand colors suddenly flashed, and the same vial materialized before him.
Winston's reflexes kicked in as he hurriedly took a hold of the vial before it could fall.
"Now let's see." He said as he inspected the vial from all angles.
"I'm supposed to drink this right?" He thought as he removed the cap and poured the contents into his mouth.
He had expected the fluid to have some sort of taste. However, there was only a slightly cool sensation on his tongue.
Well, can't be hoping this much from a dream. He thought and once again looked at the book.
[You have successfully consumed and assimilated the Triple Pathway Sequence 9 potion of Lord of Mysteries!]
[Congratulations! You are now a Seer, an Apprentice and a Marauder!]
[Your soul had been made anew!]
[You have 2 spin chances!]
"That's... that oddly seems like something I would really like as a teenager." Winston muttered under his breath.
Remembering the type of material he used to read and the type of fantasies he used to have as a teen, a small smile appeared on his face.
"I was so immature back then. Always thinking of impossible stuff like second chances." He laughed heartily, although his expression was one of melancholy and sadness. "Spin."
The wheel on the book began to spin once again, this time, after it stopped an image of a golden monkey like human came into view.
[Congratulations! You have gained:
Instinctual Fighter!]
Winston touched the image of the human, which made it disappear.
He held his chin in contemplation.
What is this supposed to be?
Just like before a description of the reward came into view.
[Instinctive Fighter:
- You are naturally adept at fighting.
- Combat and ways of martial arts come naturally to you.
- Through proper training and years of experience, martial arts can be copied through sight alone.
- Hightened resistance to stressed and diseases.]
From the description is was clear that the second reward was also very very powerful. It wasn't anything that his first reward wouldn't allow him to achieve, but just a great starting buff. His first reward was something that would take time to accumulate strength after all.
This would've helped me in my wandering years.
[You have 1 spin chance!]
"Spin."
The wheel once again began to spin, this time, as it stopped the image of a perfectly smooth sphere appeared on the book.
[Congratulations! You have gained:
Spherical Soul Crest!]
[Spherical Soul Crest:
-A Spherical Crest that resides in the Soul.
-Converts the soul into a perpetual motion machine that it always in a state of inequilibrium.
-The soul will never reach a state of equilibrium, making the soul effectively Immortal.]
Winston marvelled at his luck.
"Wow... Any one of these things would propel any person to the top of the world..." He spoke happily.
What a weird dream...
The book continued to float in front of him mysteriously.
Looking at it for a moment, Winston Heath decided to stop dreaming for now and wake up.
Closing his eyes, he simulated the sensation of falling.
And then, darkness overtook him.
~~~
The next day was one of transcendental surprise and sorrow.
For one of the greatest minds of the human race; one of the most intelligent and qualified theoretical physicists had been found dead in his bedroom.
The post mortem reports say he died mysteriously, without any ailment, disease or physiological disorder.
The death day of Winston Heath was triggered a world wide movement of sadness in the populace.
~~~
A/N: This is a new novel idea I had.
I'm only writing this to delve into a bit of character writing and sentence structure along with philosophical proses.
Anyway, this is only for experimentation, so don't expect me to continue on indefinitely until an end. This fanfiction is viable to be dropped.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone