Maxwell took a moment as his senses had to take in light for the first time in what he felt was a very long time. Maxwell slowly looked around the new place he found himself in and, for the first time in what felt like centuries, saw something other than an unending void, though the new place he found himself in was no less strange.

  It was a strange, ever-changing landscape where the hives of different giant insects were constantly colliding with the mountains belonging to dragons, which were pushing through oceans belonging to kraken. Maxwell wasn't entirely sure how any of what was going on around him worked, but before he could start to lose his mind to the constantly shifting landscape, he heard a polite cough behind him.

  So Maxwell turned and beheld the being that the hand that had guided him to the new realm belonged to. Just like the landscape around him was constantly shifting, gaining and losing limbs as it formed shifted from a hybrid of a centaur and ogre to that of a dragon and a crab. For a moment, the two just stared at each other, taking in the others presence before Maxwell spoke.

  "Welcome lost souls into my domain. I am the god of monsters, Phabium, for the world of Zostrora. I have called you here to bargain for your aid." Said Phabium, who waited with trepidation for Maxwell's response to a possible offer from a being as terrifying as him.

  Maxwell merely stared at Phabium for a moment before responding. " Yes." Maxwell said he agreed to whatever Phabium wanted, not bargaining at all on his end of the deal. The sudden agreement clearly shocked Phabium, who was currently in the form of an eight-headed horse.

  Phabium looked at Maxwell for a moment, trying to think of the words he should say but finding he could only ask one. " Why?" Phabium asked, wanting to get to the bottom of the sudden agreement considering what little he knew was what his colleagues had told him about these summonings, which had told him that he should be offering an arm and a leg, not getting an easy yes.

  "You saved me." Maxwell said with a blank stare, and suddenly Phabium understood this soul was not some normal person torn from their world and offered great power as compensation. No, this was a lost soul that had been trying to escape being devoured in the void for who knows how long.

  Seeing the pain in the stare of Maxwell, Phabium spoke again. "I am in need of a ruler to lead my people in an age where they are slaughtered for sport. Would you lead them in this dark, hopeless time?" Phabium asked again, being sure that Maxwell knew what he was getting into, to which Maxwell merely nodded and eagerly said yes.

  Seeing that Maxwell was still eager to return the favor of freeing him from the void, whether the task was doable or even survivable, which wasn't likely all things considered. So to try and return Maxwell's blind eagerness as well as increase his odds of surviving, he began to show Maxwell the hundreds of options he had available to him, as Phabium was the god that ruled over the entire monster pantheon and so could provide any monster race as a starting option.

  For a while, the near limitless possibilities scrolled in front of Maxwell in a blue light. For a long moment, the endless options caused Maxwell's head to spin as he saw monsters he'd heard off, ones he could guess the nature of, and hundreds more he couldn't even pronounce.

  Phabium saw that Maxwell was overwhelmed by his options and decided it would be better to ask if he had preferences for a specific monster. "My brave lost soul, would you perhaps have a favorite you would like to choose?" Phabium asked, to which Maxwell nodded rapidly, causing Phabium to stop the floating blue scroll from showing its endless options and both it and Phabium to wait for Maxwell to tell them what monster he liked best.

  Maxwell took a moment to shake off the dizziness the endless list going through his eyes had caused; once he did, he spoke. "I would like to choose an undead race." Maxwell said wanting to become the ruler of a race he played the most as. Phabium nodded to the request and had the scroll show basic undead races for him to rule over as the more advanced ones would have far too specific requirements to function.

  Maxwell looked at his three choices for the starting options that branch out to all manner of undead. Looking at them, he had already figured out a few things, but if he wanted to accomplish his task, he should be sure, so he decided he should ask. "The great Phabium, would you mind going over how the status of monster ruler works so I'm sure I've got what I'm choosing?" Maxwell asked politely, to which Phabium nodded.

  "Of course I would be glad too." Phabium said before pointing to the list of options. "Each undead race had its advantages and disadvantages, as you no doubt know." Phabium stated, to which Maxwell nodded his agreement.

  "Well then, since you know the obvious, we can move into the advance. Each of the undead races will provide you with a body for your new undead life as a ruler. Each of them provided different benefits and weaknesses; they will also be affected by the strength of the kingdom you build." Phabium explained to Maxwell, who gave a happy smile at the thought of such a cool form after so long being a glowing light in the void.

  "That sounds awesome, great, Phabium, but just to be sure if everything works, how does the starter building work?" I figure there is the building I start with, but surely not the only one I can have." Maxwell asked politely, to which Phabium quickly gave his assurance.

  "Of course they will be the building you start off with in your new undead land, but you will build others as you grow and expand your undead kingdom." Phabium said, answering Maxwell's question and putting any fears he might have had about his building option to rest.

  "Well then, that's all the question I had; the only thing to do now is decide." Maxwell said for a moment, thinking on it, then remembering his old skeleton knights and wanting to create real ones to command, which ended up being the deciding factor for his choice. "I chose skeleton." Maxwell said in a confident voice.

  Phabium nodded and raised his hand, causing a portal to form. "Then go forth, new ruler of bones, and build your kingdom!" Phabium declared, to which Maxwell, with firm eyes, walked through the portal and found himself in a tunnel of pale light that carried him for a long time.

  Eventually the light show ended, and he found himself about to land in a pile of bones in an old cave when the portal sudenly changed location as a strange energy took over the exit of the portal just it was about to drop him off so instead of safely landing on the ground in a land of undead where he was suppose to be he was instead dropped high in the sky above a forest. He found himself as a skeleton, flying, throwing the air, and shattering against several trees, his bones scattering across the forest until he was just a skull.

  Maxwell took a moment to let the agony pass as he felt the pain of all his bones having been violently broken off. Once the pain finally passed, he looked around with the undead sight all skeleton had and saw he was in a forest that was very much the magical kind of the fairies dancing around the forest creatures were anything to go by. "Well, that could have started better." Maxwell said to himself as he tried to figure out how exactly he was going to start his undead kingdom as he was. Or had he already failed at the start?