Alex tapped the keycard against the metal sensor, and the door opened to a small but luxurious room that lit up when he stepped in.
It had a soft bed on the right side, a table and chair in the corner, a dresser to the left, and a door that led to the bathroom at the back. There was also a TV on the wall opposite the bed and a small fridge tucked beside the dresser. Everything looked new, and it was warm inside.
Alex was so preoccupied with the quiet luxury of the room that he didn't notice that there were no windows.
'Damn… what an upgrade.' he thought as looked around the space.
Compared to the cramped, dilapidated one-bedroom apartment he had back on Earth, this really was an upgrade.
Everything he ever needed in a room was here.
He turned to the bedside table. On top of it, beside the night lamp, he saw several gray cards. He picked them all up to study them one by one. One had "Remote" written on it. Another had "Service," and another had "Climate."
'Hmm…? Are all items in this world cards?'
He even saw one that had "Umbrella" printed on it.
"Strange…"
At that moment, he could smell the stench of blood and sweat coming from him. After sniffing twice, he scrunched his face and muttered, "Ugh… gosh, I need a shower."
He dropped the cards back on the table and headed to the bathroom.
***
As the hot water hit his skin, Alex moaned in relief.
'Ah… I think I could get used to this.'
For someone like him who spent the majority of his life in an orphanage, even something as simple as hot water was a luxury. He never really got to have things for himself or enjoy things like this. From the information he knew from his file, his parents had abandoned him at birth, so ever since he was an infant, he had lived in that orphanage.
Earlier this year, he had turned eighteen years old and finally had to leave to make a life for himself. He was lucky to land a job at a convenience store, and through saving every cent he could, he managed to rent a small apartment of his own.
At the moment, he didn't have anyone on earth who would really miss him now that he was gone. And of course, he didn't have anyone that he would really miss. Despite the years spent around so many others, he hadn't formed any lasting bonds, so Steve asking him to forget about his life and past on earth didn't feel like a heavy request.
In fact, the only thing he was leaving behind was a half-eaten cup of noodles and a landlord who would probably be thrilled he didn't have to chase him for rent anymore.
Plus, who the hell misses nine hours behind a counter almost every day?
Alex turned off the tap off the tap after about thirty minutes or so, and walked over to the towel rack. But then he stopped when he saw his reflection in a mirror.
At first, he almost stumbled back in surprise. Of course, he looked the same as he was back on earth with black eyes, short black hair, and that same tired expression he'd carried for years. However, now, there were no dark circles under his eyes. His jawline looked like it had finally been sharpened up, his skin was smooth and clear, and his slender and lean muscles looked much more defined.
But what really caught his eye were the abs.
'Whoa… look at those bad boys.'
He spent a good minute flexing in the mirror, turning this way and that to admire himself. Sure enough, he really had changed and he could tell it was because of his ascension.
'I think I've gone from a background extra to a main character,' he thought before turning away from the mirror and grabbing a towel from the rack.
When he got to the dresser in his room afterward, he could see many clothes, all of which had a tiny embroidered logo of a P with a line across it.
He took out a dark robe and not long after he had tied the belt around his waist, he heard a knock on the door.
'Ah… that should be dinner.'
As if on cue, his stomach growled at that exact moment. Without wasting any time, he hurried over and opened the door.
That was when he could see a fairly young woman in her forties behind a large silver serving cart. She was dressed in a crisp uniform that also bore the same "P" symbol he had seen on his robe.
After giving a small polite nod, the woman muttered in a quiet voice, "Good evening, sir. I've brought your first meal. Should I set it inside for you?"
Alex gave a nod and stepped aside.
The woman stepped inside and as she wheeled the cart toward the small table, Alex noticed that this woman was a mortal. She quickly set the plates out then turned to leave, but as she reached for the door handle, Alex stopped her.
"Excuse me."
The lady flinched after he spoke. He then pointed to the cards on the bedside table. "How do I use them?"
"Oh…" She turned and walked over to the small table, then picked up a card. Then she looked at Alex but avoided his eyes.
"Everything here responds to intention. To use the cards, all you need to do is hold it with the intention to use it."
After she spoke, the card shone faintly and expanded into a gray telephone. Then she dropped it on the table.
"Please ring if you need anything else."
"Thank you."
She gave a nod in response, then practically hurried out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.
"That's… convenient." Alex muttered as he looked away from the cards and headed to the dining table.
'By the way. Dinner!'
As he looked at the different dishes laid out before him, his mouth began to water. All the dishes looked like something only the rich ate at a luxury restaurant. "I can't believe I was craving instant noodles before. I'm so cheap."
He sat down and immediately began wolfing down the food. As he ate ravenously, he kept shaking his head and making "mhm" sounds of satisfaction due to just how good it was. It was the best meal he had ever had in his entire life.
'I feel bad for those who are broke and don't get to eat this. Actually, wait… I was those people one day ago. I feel bad for the past version of me.'
He chuckled at the thought. After a few seconds, his train of thoughts changed, and he began to think about just how much different the current version of him was.
'I'm curious to see just how strong I've become.' he thought as he put a piece of steak in his mouth.
When he was finally done with his meal, he walked over and flopped down on the edge of the bed with his feet on the floor, staring at the ceiling. However, after a moment, he suddenly sat upright again.
'Right. My powers!'
He really wanted to find out what his powers were. After thinking about how to go about it, he decided to summon his cards first.
Closing his eyes, he tried to reach for the cards within him. He thought it would be a bit difficult, but almost immediately after trying, he could feel the presence of a large card, with a smaller one beneath.
'…feel the cards, …call them out.'
In the next second, wisps of black smoke began to flow out from his hand into the air, after which they coalesced until two black cards of the same size took form in front of him.
When he opened his eyes, he smiled.
'Well, that was surprisingly easier than I thought.'
He reached out for the first card. It was his soul card and the words, Hades, were written on it in gold.
'Steve said that the soul card contains everything about my authority. But all I see here is Hades.'
The moment he had that thought, something else happened, startling him.
'Huh?'
The card in his hand dissolved into smoke that coalesced in front of him into a large black tablet that looked like a dark mirror. The tablet didn't reflect anything and it kept oozing smoke. Then almost immediately after, words began to etch themselves across the smoky tablet in gold. The words were in a different language, but Alex seemed to understand them perfectly as if it was his mother tongue.
***
Name: Alexander Mortimer.
Authority: Hades.
Epithet: The Hidden One.
Stage: Initiate.
Domain: Underworld.
Deck: —
Insignia: [Helm of darkness.], [???], …
Divine Essence: [0/1000]