Could one man alone truly change the course of history?
"Dim!" Tears streamed down the Dim Sum God's face as it nudged the head of the young man lying on the ground.
Dying screams surrounded them as the entire city devolved into madness and pure chaos.
"Sorry, Dim Dim," the young man said. "This is as far as I can go."
"Dim! Dim! Dim!" Dim Dim tried to pull the young man's finger as if trying to drag him somewhere safe.
However, the young man didn't budge, lying still as blood pooled beneath his body and stained the ground crimson.
"Dim Dim, listen to me," the young man murmured, forcing himself to keep his voice calm and steady, even as his life slowly drained from his body.
"Find a person who will reach the end of this journey with you, Dim Dim. Someone with an unyielding heart. Someone who will not give up until the very end. And someone who will protect your world in my stead."
Blood trickled from the corner of the young man's lips as he mustered the strength to gently pat the head of the weeping God who had never left his side.
Seeing his little friend so heartbroken, the young man felt his own tears fall. Even as his vision blurred, he forced himself to speak and leave one last piece of advice.
"This time, please give your chosen one endless possibilities. Perhaps, he will be able to do the things that I wasn't able to do..."
The young man's voice trailed off as the light in his eyes slowly faded.
The Dim Sum God nudged the young man's head with its cheek many times, but he never spoke again.
Soon, the cries of the innocent, pure-hearted God spread in the surroundings as the world around it burned in a hellish inferno.
Then and there, the God of Games, Eriol, slowly opened his eyes, waking up from the dream of the future that had yet come to pass.
"What's wrong, Eriol?" the Goddess Lily asked as she fed the Dim Sum God, Dim Dim, a small candy. "Did something happen?"
"Dim Dim~" Dim Dim chewed the candy happily with no idea of the future Eriol had seen—one that would break its little innocent heart to pieces.
"Here. Have some more candy, Dim Dim." The little angel, Cupid, fed another candy to the Dim Sum God, whom he treated as one of his dear friends.
"Dim Dim~" Dim Dim thanked Cupid and ate the candy in a carefree manner.
Eriol looked at the three Gods and knew that he needed to do something to prevent the future that he saw from happening.
"Say, Dim Dim, shall we make a game together?" Eriol asked, scooping the little God into the palm of his hands.
"Dim?" Dim Dim looked at the God of Games with a confused look on its face.
"A game?" Lily echoed. "What kind of game?"
"Are you talking about those games played by the humans on Earth?" Cupid suggested. "I love their first person shooter games! My enemies always blame me for cheating because I kill them all with a head shot. Those weaklings~"
Eriol nodded. "Yes. We're going to make a game. A game of endless possibilities. I already have a name for it."
"Oh, and that is?" Lily asked.
"Endless Leveling Online," Eriol replied. "Sounds fun, right? I'll make sure to make you three the game's mascots."
"Really?!" Lily asked, visibly elated at the thought of gaining more followers simply by becoming a mascot of the game Eriol planned to make.
"Even me?" Cupid asked.
"Dim Dim?" Dim Dim pointed to himself.
"Yes, yes, and yes." Eriol chuckled. "The three of you will be in the game. So... want to help me?"
Eriol nodded as he started forming a rough plan in his mind.
Even if it was difficult...
Even if it seemed impossible...
He would prevent that kind of ending and ensure that his dear friend, Dim Dim, wouldn't have to suffer a heartbreak.
He would prevent the world of Arcana, which the Dim Sum God had created with all of his heart and divinity, from being destroyed.
From the Celestial Realm, the God of Games, Eriol, looked at the world beneath him and observed the young man who had answered his call.
The sight of Dim Dim peacefully sleeping atop the chest of the snoring young man made Eriol smile faintly.
"Can one man truly change the course of history?" Eriol muttered.
He remembered all the advice the young man in his dream had told Dim Dim.
To look for someone with an unyielding heart...
And to give that someone endless possibilities...
That way, they could better help the Dim Sum God prevent the calamity meant to befall its world.
To perfectly select that someone, Eriol decided to find a person in Arcana meant for an end so tragic, it seemed impossible to reverse.
The God of Games searched high and low, using his abilities to find someone who met those requirements.
Soon, he discovered Charles Lambert.
With his ability, he simulated Charles Lambert's life countless times, all of which resulted in a bad end.
No matter what kind of variables were added, Charles Lambert's fate seemed to be set in stone.
Dying at a young age and unable to reunite with his sisters, he perished inside the Dungeon of Beginnings, never to be seen again.
Eriol added all the simulations he had created to the newest patch of Endless Leveling Online, waiting for someone who might be able to change the course of history.
The moment someone completed this task, he would give them an invitation and summon them to the world of Arcana.
He had great faith in humanity. After all, he had personally witnessed, on more than one occasion, humanity managing to reverse a hopeless situation from happening.
One of them was a Shepherd who had saved the world of Hestia.
The other was a Heaven's Necromancer who had saved the world of Elysium.
Both had faced hardships that would've made ordinary mortals give up and accept their fate.
But they had held their ground and accomplished things deemed impossible.
After sending Alex to Arcana, Eriol tried running another simulation to see what the future held.
But all he saw was darkness.
Eriol sighed. Just as he was about to end the simulation, he noticed something small flickering within that darkness.
It was shaped like a shield, faintly twinkling like a lone star in the darkness, about to disappear at any moment.
The God of Games observed this small shield, and a small flame of hope was ignited inside his heart.
Although it was faint, a possibility existed.
And that was all that Eriol needed to believe that perhaps a single man might indeed have the power to change the course of history.