It was a blast!
He had never had so much fun before. Finally, he was able to defeat the strongest enemies of the Solarium: the Demonic Infernium and the Eldritch Hive.
Wartopia was a game like no other, by far the largest tabletop war game in the world. Although its player base was enormous, it was extremely exclusive; its lore was extensive, and its merchandise was the talk of all geeks and gamerkind.
While the majority of people played video games, not everyone did. Tabletop RPGs were another option, but no matter how complicated and vast they could be, nothing held a candle to a tabletop war game. You didn't just control a character or a miniature; you controlled an army of them. You bought them, assembled and painted them, and sometimes you 3D-printed or cast them. Once they were deployed, organized in formations, and sent to battle, it was peak satisfaction.
But Adam didn't stop there; his game wasn't like any casual, normal game. It was almost 10 years long, elaborate, and each side had multiple players. Even Adam, with all his might, couldn't control an army like that alone.
But after all that pride, exclusivity, and years of geeking together, the publisher decided to make an Action RPG video game and ruin the secret club. With that, a ton of lore was dropped, and hordes of "normies" stormed the stores to buy the new "LEGENDARY" miniatures as if they were mere collectible figurines.
It was all too difficult to collect all the new, cool stuff on his tight budget, but the Lore Books were easier to get a hold of. They were what set apart the "normies" from the "die-hards," and Adam and his group were total "die-hards."
Even better, since the miniatures were based on the world's factions and were mostly personal property (as each player would usually commit to their favorite factions), lore books were something every true tabletop wargamer would lust over. Thus, even with the help of Adam's rival parties, collecting them was a mutual effort built upon respect, camaraderie, and beneficial exchange.
But miniatures still held a significant role, and when Adam got his Captain Creed miniature, his whole party was worshiping it in awe. Nothing was as cool as the protagonist of the Action RPG game, of course.
The role of painting that miniature fell upon Adam's shoulders; he was a master of his craft. He holed himself up in his apartment for 24 hours, not eating, not sleeping, and not performing his biological duties, only to paint that miniature to a meticulous degree and then miss the world's end in his sweet slumber.
And the result?
Captain Creed came to life!
Actually, (read that part really fast) it was because Adam had absorbed the Puppeteer Rune by touching the Gobzkin Shaman's club, which the latter used to cast magic on his puppets. This caused him to be able to summon Captain Creed as a high-quality puppet that a crude Gobzkin's craft would never match, but he would come to know all that later.
Now, face-to-face with his hero, Adam was experiencing the shock of his life. He thought he had gone mad and lost all sense of the world. He uttered the name as his eyes met the man's behind his helmet's visor.
"Captain… Creed?!"
How shocked the citizen in his arms was had nothing to do with the pragmatic Creed, who replied:
"That is correct. I am Captain Solomon Creed of the Slayers, the 22nd Doom Company. You bear the gaze of one who knows me, citizen. So be it. Recognition hastens purpose."
The shock was one thing, the realization another, and then these words glowed right in front of his face...
——————————
≪ Captain Creed ≫
< Familiar, Unique >
Hero of the Slayers Legion, Captain of the Doom Company. Solomon Creed is a 150-year-old Star Paladin who stopped the Demonic Incursion of the Infernium despite being abandoned and left for dead. He devastated the demons from behind enemy lines and bought enough time for Solwoken Orlion the Hammer to lead the Legions of Star Paladins and end the threat of demons in the Sacred Solar System. He is armed with his basic gear: a Plasma Pistol for long-range combat and a Solar Blade, as well as donning Slayer-grade MK-III Power Armor with Solymer plates.
Sunforged: Captain Creed possesses superhuman strength, endurance, and agility, as well as enhanced reflexes, perception, and a healing factor. Golden Fiery Eyes: The Eyes of Sol Imperius that can discern Truth and Evil.
——————————
That was nothing like he had ever seen before in his 25-year-young life.
A System Window!
A Star Paladin and a System Window!
A System Window and a Star Paladin and a System Window!
At first, he thought he was tripping, but now he was sure of it.
He looked around, then back to where he was supposed to be standing, and finally at the dead Gobzkins that had been brutalized while he wasn't conscious.
Adam then looked at the Star Paladin standing in front of him, trying to process it all at the same time. He waved his hand at the System Window, and it disappeared like swiping a notification off a smartphone screen.
"This isn't PTSD, right?' he spoke, looking up at the towering Star Paladin while holding his head, which was throbbing with a headache."
"You are disoriented, citizen. Remain seated as I signal Command."
The Paladin spoke in his deep, mechanical voice, and as he turned, Adam felt the air move with terrifying force and the ground vibrate from his heavy steps.
That was... intense. It was the only word Adam would use in a situation like this.
He had just had a brush with the Grim Reaper; then, a figment of fantasy materialized before his very eyes. Unless he was lost in a dream or his mind was making things up because of trauma, there simply had to be a rational explanation.
The first thing he would do was run after Captain Creed before he left the parking lot; maybe this fantasy he was imagining would then be broken. Hastily, Adam collected his backpack and his M16, which was shot and clearly jammed, and kept looking around for his miniature, which he used to wear on his vest, but he couldn't find it.
He then ran and ran, his heart racing. When he reached the street outside the parking lot, he found himself alone in the middle of the ruined city he had once called home.
To the right, there was a long street of burnt-out cars and ruined buildings; to the left, a pulverized line of what was once a military blockade. This long street of a once-prosperous city was now nothing but an abandoned battlefield.
All that, with no Star Paladin in sight.
"Fuck! I'm fucking tripping, aren't I?"
No matter where he looked, no nine-foot-tall metal giant was wandering about.
Then what had killed those Gobzkins in the garage building just now?
Adam looked desperate, still grateful that he was alive, but as he sucked in cold air, he realized that he was all alone and that the recent fight would soon attract more Gobzkins.
They would come in droves.
He needed to run. He needed to...
CRUMP!
Too late!
The earth shook as something landed behind him with a deafening impact.
"OH, GOD!"
Adam's heart almost jumped out of his chest. He stumbled forward, catching himself on his hands just before they scraped against the rough asphalt. Luckily, he had his gloves on, and in an agile move, he held his rifle and aimed at whatever was behind him.
Click! Click!
The gun was surely broken; the trigger was stuck for some reason, and he was no gunsmith, so whatever it was...
"Citizen! You will answer my questions now."
But from that rising dust cloud, that familiar metallic voice from a couple of minutes ago spoke to him, and he was no less surprised than before.
"Holy shit! You're real!"
The scene was too clear. The dark, humid garage might have obscured things, but now, with the sun reflecting off the Slayer-grade MK-III olive-colored Power Armor, complete with red pauldrons and a winged-sun crest, there was no more room for doubt.
It was a Star Paladin!
The Star Paladin!
Captain Creed!
And he was not happy.
"I. Am. Real!"
Impatient, the Star Paladin took two steps as his shadow covered Adam, who looked up at him like a two-year-old looking up at his father. It was a certified moment of pure horror once he remembered the lore about the personality of Star Paladins.
Ruthless immortals with sophisticated personalities. While under 100 years of age, most of them were considered warriors of justice and heroes of hope, but those who exceeded the limit of mortal life became easily irritated, irrational, and quickly prone to violence.
Captain Creed was no exception to that; he was a menace who solely roamed the harrowing pits of the Infernium, killing demons with extreme prejudice, ultimate zeal, and unending passion.
While more lenient than most paladins with the poor Men-at-Arms, he was no Banneret.
He was a Slayer!
Driven by survival instincts, Adam dropped his rifle in surrender.
"Please. Ask away!"
The Paladin's pressure never ceased as he looked down at Adam. Once he analyzed the puny citizen, he held in his anger and, with his left hand, tapped on the side of his helmet.
PSSSS!
Pressurized gas was emitted in four white trails from all sides of the helmet as its front piece was lifted by two hydraulic arms, revealing the face of the man underneath.
The ashen skin, the platinum brows, the golden, fiery eyes, the crack-like scars around his eyes. He was too real.
A human the size of an ogre, if ogres were now a thing in this monster apocalypse. Captain Creed took a deep breath of the outside air and looked down at Adam.
"Everything is strange to me, citizen. By Sol's light, where have we been cast?' Captain Creed asked. Before Adam could rack his brain for an answer, he pointed at Adam's rifle. 'That relic... it is ancient. Speak! How did it come into your possession?"
Adam's chest was gripped by fear, but as soon as his eyes started looking all over for an answer, he noticed something on the Paladin's armor that made him frown and tilt his head.
"Is that..."
Those patterns...
It couldn't be, could it?
In those exact same spots, he had added some touches to the miniature. With his mini-drill, he had made what seemed to be a large round deflected by the pauldrons, and over the thigh, he had made a small hole with the drill.
Actually, he had added a few more battle scars to the armor to make it look cool, but that was merely a miniature. He hadn't even replicated the battle scars from the game's poster.
This was his own craft.
Adam looked up at the Paladin, unable to fathom the idea that had just crossed his mind.
His miniature!
It had come to life!
"Citizen! Are you testing my patience?"
Maybe not as mechanical as before he had removed his helmet's mask, but the man's voice was no less terrifying than it had been. His power radiated from his eyes as he stared at Adam, but Adam was more baffled than unnerved.
"Sir,' Adam spoke, 'You don't seem to recognize this world."
"And you know something of it, do you not?' the Paladin asked."
"Well... that is hard to even explain to myself... let alone to you, sir,' Adam replied."
"Is that so?"
The Paladin looked doubtfully at Adam, but there was no falsehood in his words, just vagueness and obvious ignorance.
The puny citizen was shifty and suspicious, especially when he kept looking at the Paladin's armor with such eyes.
"You have knowledge of who I am, Citizen. You probably know more. Speak all that you know. Leave nothing unsaid."
"Yes, sir,' Adam gulped as he started to rack his head on what to say and what not to say. 'My name is Adam Clay."
"Irrelevant!"
"Ouch! Alright,' Adam said, almost laughing at the typical response from a Star Paladin. He then decided to start with the basics. 'This is BH... Brighthaven, I mean. The city."
"The ancient city?' Creed narrowed his eyes."
"Does it look ancient to you?' Adam asked, shrugging his shoulders while looking around. 'Three months ago, this place was as modern as they come."
"You claim this is no mere ruin of the past?"
"Yes. I mean... where you are from, is there even a place that looks like this?"
To Adam's question, Creed's face became distorted in anger.
"Enough obfuscation. Speak plainly. This is your final warning."
Adam almost jumped from fright and held up his hands.
"I swear, I have no idea how you are here. I am not hiding anything. I am not even sure how you are real!"
As Adam stepped backward in fear, his back hit a ruined car that suddenly started to blare an alarm. Annoyed, Creed grabbed his Plasma Pistol and shot a hole in it so big that the car moved five feet away.
BEW!
"Mommy!"
Adam jumped to the side and fell, covering his head before seeing the Paladin's heavy stompers land right next to him.
He was lifted by his clothes like a kitten and came face-to-face with Creed. He could feel the powerful breath and the heat coming from Creed's face, even from three feet away.
Creed spoke in broken words that made Adam shudder:
"Answers. Only."
Nodding like a chicken, Adam answered.
"Totally."
"How do you know of me?' asked the Paladin."
"…"
Yep, that was the paradox. Adam averted his eyes, not knowing what to say.
Would the Slayers' Hero accept the fact that he was a fictional character from a fictional world, let alone a miniature or a toy turned man by some heretical means?
Adam knew the lore well. If that Paladin were to think he was in some sort of an illusion, he'd kill everything that walked. He'd not only end up killing every monster, but he'd even kill all survivors.
That was the kind of monsters the Paladins were.
What else could he tell him? That he was from the future? But a man from the future was usually the one telling others that he was from the future, not the people of the past telling him he was from the future. If so, how did they know things from the future?
Still, if a paladin were to hear that, he'd still think he was in some sort of illusion and kill every man, woman, animal, plant, and monster.
"SPEAK!"
Creed's shout was so loud it made Adam's ghost escape his body for a second, and when it returned, his mouth started yapping like a recorder on double speed:
"Okay, okay, okay, just listen! You're not real; I mean, you are real now, but you weren't! You're from a story (Wartopia) from another place and time! I swear! We had books, rules, and lore: everything! You're Solomon Creed, Captain of the Doom Company, the Slayers Legion; I know all of it! I didn't make it up! I just read it! I had a memento before the monster invasion: a mini... a statue... yours! This isn't supposed to be possible! I don't know how you're here or still alive! You had a last stand at the Pale Gate and died stopping Asmodeus until the Solwoken arrived!"
The way Adam spilled all his beans at once was enough to make the unfeeling Star Paladin's angered face soften little by little, displaying the rare emotion of shock that had hardly graced his features before. As a final blow to his ginormous pride, he was left dazed.
Eyes wide, staring into the distant space, and facing reality as it hit him like a reincarnation truck, his mouth opened, and he spoke two words.
"All... checks!"