I was unconscious and likely soon to be dead. I was back in that void, the one with nothing in it save for my character sheet.

  Alright, so.... my sheet wasn't gone. Normally, if a character dies in a campaign, you dispose of the sheet and go make a new one. Maybe erase the old one if you didn't have access to a printer or something.

  My name was still up there on the sheet. Not my name, I mean, but Chagrin's. Living in his body for something this surreal was starting to become some serious method acting.

  My hitpoints were at zero, so I looked at my death saves- one was already a failure. This meant time was still passing.

  When a character goes unconscious in combat in a D&D setting, they get 'death saves', these instances on their turn where they have to make a basic roll to determine how close to death they're getting. Three successes meant the character remains unconscious, but their wounds aren't so dire that they're going to die. Three failures were the opposite- their wounds or whatever happened to them were bad enough that they passed on. Another character could stabilize a person to forgo this entirely, counting as three successes on a successful medicine check. Any form of healing, like a potion or magic, could instantly bring the dying person back to consciousness.

  Alternatively, some campaigns ran it so that your hitpoints were like a resource that got expended whenever something could risk you getting taken out of combat. Some games ran their characters' lore like this- think of it like a pool of luck. An arrow shot gets past your armor class? Instead of hitting you, it removes your HP. Run out of HP, and the shot that took that last point (or went well past it) is what actually downed you.

  From my experience so far? I couldn't tell which it was for this world, or if it was an odd mix of both.

  This was why the strategy of having a familiar or unseen servant administer health potions if a character went down was so important- it saved time, resources, and was wonderfully preventative. I was again reminded of my stupidity for not preparing ahead of time.

  I stood there in the void, half expecting some figure to approach and tell me something like 'Ah, you're back. How does it feel to nearly die yet again?' or whatever. I felt like if something like that were to happen, it would have done so already.

  What was this space? I couldn't make out much of a pattern. Was it every time I was unconscious? Was it whenever my character info changed? Neither of these was true- multiple nights in the woods, I never returned to this space, and my inventory changing never modified it either. This was also the only instance of encountering a user interface like this.

  In novels, books, and shows I'd watched, whenever a reincarnated character had stats or abilities, they had a user interface, likely for the ease and the readers/watchers to make better sense of what the character could do. More often than not, the character could access the user interface whenever they wanted.

  I, on the other hand, could not do that.

  I was sure some god or goddess wasn't bringing me here. I didn't know of any religions on Earth that described reincarnation like this. I don't recall the Bible ever making someone do this. The closest I knew of was some characters receiving visions. Was this some sort of vision? I would equate it more to a dream, or maybe a simulation... I really had no clue how to test this.

  It couldn't have been a deity from this new fantasy world either- this was well out of the range of their abilities.

  Standing there with my arms crossed, I was again reminded of my isolation. It was nice I had met Bucket- nicer than I think I could understand even now, but still, being in this void with nothing else made me question my reality.

  Was this some sort of inception thing? Falling into multiple different worlds or dreams over and over again? Was this void a subspace of my life on Earth, and then the fantasy world was a subspace of this void? I didn't pay enough attention to physics class or YouTube rants to understand.

  Another failure popped up on my character sheet as more time passed. What this meant was that only twelve seconds had passed in the minutes I had been back in this void. I sighed, turning away from the sheet to look around.

  Gazing along the black nothing, I still heard nothing. Still had my own body. Saw nothing. Felt nothing. Was this symbolic of death? Just nothing at all?

  I tried walking. Into that abyss, into that black nothing. See how far I could go. I walked and tried counting the seconds in my head, and my paces on my hands. I got to five minutes and turned around.

  What interested me was that the sheet was farther away- there was space here. Distance, albeit hard to measure, existed in this void.

  How far could I go? I had no control now over what was happening to Chagrin. I'd best make use of whatever 'time' I had here.

  I started running. Screw pace, I wondered if a horizon existed here. Could I move the sheet out of my field of view?

  ...

  More time passed. My lungs hurt. My legs were sore.

  I couldn't see my sheet anymore. I was surrounded by the black. Still quiet. Still nothing. I couldn't make a difference between whether my eyes were open or closed, only that I could see myself in one of those states.

  Could I make noise in this space? I was speaking before, and even if I couldn't see anything, maybe I could do something with my voice?

  "Hello?" I called out.

  It didn't echo. I couldn't tell how far it traveled. It didn't sound muffled. It felt like I had just spoken into my ear- not painful or anything, but more like it was the only place the sound could travel.

  "Hellllooooooooooooooooooooooooooo?" I called again, letting it mellow out. I waited... nothing, same as the first.

  I squatted down, tapping my fist on the... floor? Wherever my feet stood. I couldn't comprehend the texture. It was hard, but not stone or marble. Not rock. It was smooth, but impossibly so- impossibly flat, as well. Very disorienting- it was like I was touching nothing- as soon as I pulled my hand away, it felt as though I hadn't touched anything at all. There wasn't dust or residue or anything at all.

  I tried jumping. I didn't float or slam down, I didn't even land. I just... elevated? I was higher than before, or at least my brain was telling me I was. There wasn't anything to orient myself to. I wasn't even sure there was gravity- I couldn't tell if I was floating, since my body didn't register I was standing on anything or touching anything. This was insanely weird.

  Fun, but weird. I wasn't sure Earth could ever reproduce something like this, even in space.

  I was dumbfounded. What was this space? There had to be air, right? I could breathe and produce sound. Don't count that second part, I didn't know for sure if there was sound, if I was the only one who could hear it. I couldn't tell if it traveled anywhere. Did I need to breathe in this space? Was I a tangible object?

  I looked at my arm. I could feel my pulse, and I could feel my chest rise and fall. I tried inhaling hard- felt normal. I flicked my arm- a small red splotch mark appeared. I pulled a hair off my head- normal too.

  "Oh, wait."

  I took another hair off my head after a bit of difficulty and tried setting it on the ground.

  As I lowered it and let go, it...

  "What-"

  It vanished. Just... gone. I blinked twice. Yup. Gone.

  "Fuck this place- tripping me out."

  I stood up again and rubbed my forehead with my thumb and finger, tired of trying to figure out this place.

  "Character sheet, please," I called out. In a flash, it appeared before me again. Same as before, as if I had never run away from it. Whether I flashed in front of it, or it flashed in front of me, it was impossible to tell.

  Still on two failures, when suddenly they both vanished.

  "Excuse me?"

  I tapped the sheet a few times, my hand phasing through harmlessly.

  Then I saw my hitpoints rise, and then my temporary hitpoints.

  "Holy shit, she actually did it."

  She was thirty feet up a pulley system last time I saw her. Had she fallen? There was no way she hadn't hurt herself in the process. I imagined she would ditch me- did she need that much help in getting that anvil back?

  Soon enough, the void began to fade, and any semblance of senses that I had vanished.

  ...

  I regained them in a completely different space from that ravine. It was a lush, radiant garden. Flourishing flowers, gargantuan trees with fruit that looked like they could feed a household of twelve for a week. Vegetables and gourds that could win size competitions, and not a stone's throw away, sat a river that looked like a lake, even with how serene it was. It flowed so smoothly that the only way I could tell it was moving was the fish swimming through it. Trout and bass that looked like miniature boats, how large they were, just rushing by.

  The sun was glistening down, but it wasn't overbearing, only comforting warmth. The insects didn't cling to my skin or try biting at me, just buzzed between flowers and plants along the forest floor. The wind was comforting, not so violent that it would blow me off my feet. You could tell me this place was the Garden of Eden, and I would believe you.

  It smelled like ripe peaches, and I swore the air tasted sweeter. Birds sang softly amongst the canopy while clouds lazily drifted around in the stark blue sky. I was convinced this place was some sort of fae realm, but it wasn't nearly chaotic enough to count.

  I looked down, and I was Chagrin again. As far as I knew, this meant I was in the fantasy world again- and based on what I was looking at, this was Eldath's domain, plain and simple.

  Beginning to walk around, I explored her grove. Unbelievably peaceful. The normal senses of concern, fear, paranoia, and anxiety that riddled me when I explored anywhere else were completely absent here.

  Soon enough, I happened upon an offshoot of the river, flowing through and into the garden rather than dividing it. I stepped down towards it, and that was when I saw her.

  Brown hair, green eyes, body partially translucent. Flowing white garments adorned with gold, emeralds, peridots, and revealing to the point it hardly covered what would count as a bare minimum. The other thing that stood out was the fact that she was easily over ten feet tall. I would put her at over fifteen feet tall. Exact measurements for this incarnation of her I would put at fifteen feet and ten inches, so may as well call it sixteen. Giant woman. Not to mention her beauty was very literally divine- looking at her face had my jaw drop and my eyes water, as if I was looking at some masterpiece of art. In terms of assets? I didn't even have to use my imagination. According to game lore, Eldath's appearance was supposed to soothe rather than create feelings of lust, but right now?

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  I wanted demigod kids immediately.

  ...

  I smacked myself in the face.

  She looked over, apparently not having recognized my presence, which I doubted, but said nothing as a soft smile dawned on her face.

  In a voice that could get me to melt like butter, she spoke.

  "Chagrin, it is good to see you, my child. I see you've come across quite the trouble."

  I had to repeatedly squeeze any muscle I could, as hard as I could, to restrain the absolute fire burning in my loins at the moment. I quickly glanced at my things- I had my equipment, including my bag of holding. Not certain what else to do, I only gave her a quick nod before dipping behind the trees, and shoving my third leg in my bag. It was uncomfortable, but the bag made a much more manageable bulge than the canon would've when talking to this divine beauty.

  Returning, she had a bit of an estranged look on her face, before it softly faded as I replied.

  "My goddess, thank you for bringing me here. Yes, I am suffering at the moment."

  She nodded, slowly rising out of the river, and crossed the distance between us in no more than two steps. She knelt, and my eyes darted between her legs for just a moment. This was the part where an anime character would get a nosebleed, but I think I'd have to clean out my bag when I got back to my body. I tried to hide the feeling rushing through my body by clenching my fists and tensing my face, or at least as subtly as I could.

  Clearing my throat,

  "My friend Bucket is fighting on her own at the moment, and I am worried about her. I don't think our adversaries will show her any mercy."

  "No, they will not." She confirmed, almost solemnly.

  I looked up at her, trying to avoid diverting my eyes anywhere else. It was very difficult since, given the angle, I could hardly see over her prominent front. Repeatedly going over the most painful memories I could think of while still speaking normally,

  "I request your help, beautiful goddess, please. I am not certain we can overcome these foes."

  Even in the midst of this, I still intended to at least make a pass at her. You miss every shot you don't take, right? Lore-wise, as far as I knew, she was single, and supposedly shy and enigmatic. I may not be leveling cleric anymore, but who said I couldn't become more devout? I certainly didn't care I wasn't even as long as her leg.

  She giggled, putting a hand over her mouth and... blushing? It quickly faded before she spoke again, but hey, that was something. I subconsciously grinned.

  "Yes, my child. Although if I do meddle in your affairs, I will need something from you as well. The power I can grant to you could cause many disruptions- and may put a target on your back."

  I paused, unsure of what she could be speaking of. What, a blessing? Any sort of benefit a goddess natured like Eldath could offer was paramount to a straight stat buff with no downsides. I combed through my memories of the different blessings gods could offer- nothing was coming to mind that could pose itself as negative in any manner.

  "Miss, I would take anything you'd offer me with a smile on my face," I said, with a bit of a grin leaking up at her.

  She paused, raising a brow, before rolling her eyes and batting her hand a bit.

  "I don't remember you being this devious, Chagrin, my how you've grown."

  Eldath giggled again, and I felt some serious arrogance arise in my chest. I was one billion percent certain I either had a serious weakness for fantasy women, or the influences of fae gods were incredibly strong. Either way, I felt like I would become the greatest jester in the history of everything if I could get this goddess to giggle more. I would give worship a completely new meaning.

  I smacked myself in the face again.

  She gave me another look, but I just awkwardly smiled before she continued.

  "I shall grant you a more potent blessing. Do not think I have not noticed your uptake in the arcane arts, child. If you can be as devout in your prayers and worship to I as you are to your studies, then I shall see to it this blessing grows with you. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, your grace, I do. I accept your blessing with every part of my being." I said, kneeling before her.

  I was then scooped up by her hands and brought to her chest, which was the equivalent of having two bean-bag-sized breasts envelop the entirety of my face and front. I couldn't breathe, but I didn't need to. I heard her speak again, albeit muffled.

  "Then be blessed, and go out and perform great works in my name. Spread the faith, spread peace, and help others who cannot help themselves."

  I felt my body begin to dissipate, although it wasn't painful. The garden disappeared, and for a moment, there was that same void. No character sheet, as I realized I was back in the 'real' fantasy world. At least my original plane.

  How could I tell? My head fucking hurt. A lot.

  "SHIT!" I shouted, bolting up off the ground as I saw a mephit two feet from me, just flying down. Leftover healing potion spilled out of my blood-filled mouth as a shower of yellow light washed over me, covering me in a protective shield.

  I saw the earth elemental over by the pulley system, hardly thirty feet away, and Bucket beside me, groaning in pain as she was slowly getting back to her feet. Her right leg looked weak, but she could still move, and she was still in the fight. My stomach hurt, my head hurt, and I swore my shoulder was either broken or dislocated.

  I had a few seconds to act before that elemental came storming over here.

  "Bucket, get in your bag of holding, I'll carry us out of here. I can fly us up faster than these things can keep up with me." I said, before firing a chaos bolt at the mud mephit directly in front of me.

  All sorts of bundles of mana surged between my hands, in rapidly changing colors and elements. I could select one out of a randomized pool. My eyes darted between the different bolts, and as I hurled it towards the mephit, I saw it already about to dip off to the side, about to be useless. Enraged, given the situation and my lack of preparation, I used my next instance of chronal shift, forcing it to go back on path as the world blinked again. The options were a dark purple and a violent lime green- I went with the green, forming the bolt into a powerful beam of acid that practically obliterated the mephit in a cloud of toxic gas.

  "Eldath, bless me. Guide me. Strengthen this weak form of mine, so that I can do your bidding." I whispered, as divine light radiated from my mouth, a wisp of it flushing out of my mouth and drifting down to my chest, filling me with more bodily endurance. Healing word came in clutch with how quickly it could be used.

  The elemental began to move, its limbs smashing against the ground as it charged towards the two of us, trampling over the dead body of the mephit it had made. It brought down a fist against both of us. I ducked to the side, landing on my ass before planting a foot under me, shooting back up onto my feet. Bucket rolled off the other way, bouncing off her shield and landing as gently as she could on her bad leg.

  She unstrapped her bag of holding, firing off a blast and an acid splash with what looked like a hyper-powered wooden squirt gun from her hip, before diving into her bag, dropping to the stone floor with a flop.

  The acid splash and bolt of force fired right at the earth elemental, tearing and dissolving a considerable chunk of it off, shattering on the ground or rolling down to the other end of the ravine.

  I dove for the bag, dipping under the arms of the elemental as I scooped it up. I began to soar into the air, taking particular care not to get caught up in any follow-up swings from the hulk of rock. It tore its arms out of the twin craters it had made, before trying to swing its left one at me. It grazed the bottom of my hooves, and it felt as though the tiny glint of mud it left there was trying to bite into me. As I scraped it away and soared up, I realized- it didn't have any mephits.

  Could I take it on? Probably, so long as I stayed an ample distance from the walls in the event it climbed up and jumped at me. Its mephit summoning, I assumed, was unique to it. Either it worked similarly to demons and devils, who summoned set amounts of each other once a day, or like a recharge ability, which would be far more dangerous.

  I didn't necessarily want to figure it out, but at the same time, I desperately wanted the experience and drops I could get from an elemental. I opened the bag and pulled Bucket by her hair out, getting her head and chest to pop out enough for her to wrench her arms free. She became heavier in an instant, but not terribly, given everything I owned was in my own bag.

  "We're gonna blast it from up here, just be sure to keep blasting it back with your turret thing, got it?" I said with a racing voice, continuing to fly higher and higher.

  She took a gasping breath before reaching down with her arms, whipping out her turret and what looked like that squirt gun from before. "You got it, moose!" She shouted.

  The elemental began steamrolling its way up the wall, covering easily three stories before we got a chance to start blasting at it.

  With my last first-level spell slot, I spoke another prayer to Eldath before casting bless on both of us- a faint golden light enshrouding us as I flew another three stories higher. Bucket repeated the same process as before, firing acid and energy from her turret in tandem.

  The projectiles hit the elemental, and while they did noticeable damage, it hardly slowed it down. It continued rampaging upwards, six stories higher now, the space readily closing between the two of us.

  I flew us up higher now, matching the pace at which the elemental moved. If this could continue, not only would I stay out of range of any jumps or attacks, but we would steadily increase the distance between us with the help of Bucket's turret.

  She fired over and over as I continued to fly higher and higher- the earth elemental charged with endless stamina, only slowing down periodically as the turret blasted it, but chunks continued to fly off of it or melt completely with her acid splashes, steadily weakening as the seconds flew by. This pattern looked like it would continue, and that was all I could hope for.

  ...

  Amazingly, this worked. We had reached the top of the ravine, and by the time I landed on solid ground again, exhausted beyond a shadow of a doubt, the golem that came over the top of the ledge was little more than a shambling, crumbling mess of animated stone.

  These monsters weren't known for their intellect, and it seemed like we had actually managed to lure it enough to break itself enough in its pursuit that Bucket was able to finish it off without issue as it came to the top. I knelt down, breathing heavy from flying so hard, and so fast, for so long.

  I sat there as Bucket worked through the rocks, humming to herself some even with her busted leg. Eventually, she popped out of the rubble pile with a glowing orange gemstone easily the size of her head. Holding it over her head like the prize it was, her bloodied grin was all I needed to see to know we'd made it.

  She limped over and sat beside me, putting her head on my shoulder as she held the stone in her lap. Now us both lying against a tree, the sun beaming down as it was hardly the afternoon, neither of us wanted to head to sleep just yet.

  For the first day traveling, this was one hell of a find, and easily the most dangerous fight I had been in. The sudden appearance of the mephits was enough to make me realize that preparation was easily one of the most important aspects of surviving out here.

  I sighed and just rested my head atop Bucket's. My mind was scrambled from the fight, the visit to the void, meeting the literal goddess Eldath, and then coming back only to see Bucket manage to survive, and finally beating that elemental, and coming out on top? Good god.

  "Let's... let's take an hour or two. Give ourselves a bit, yeah?" I asked, groaning as I spoke. It felt like my lungs got caved in from the boulder hitting my chest, but her leg looked no better than how I felt.

  "You read my mind, moose." She mumbled, already beginning to doze off into a nap.

  I spent ten minutes ritual casting an unseen servant to keep watch for a bit, before I too dozed off with my head resting on hers.

  ...

  Eventually, we got up, and being somewhat less tired, Bucket's leg seemed good enough to walk. Standing up again and shoving the gemstone into my bag, I helped Bucket to her feet. Glancing around the woods again, the sun was a bit closer to the horizon, and I estimated it to be maybe three or four o'clock. The birds were growing quieter, their chirps less frequent, and the afternoon breeze was dying down. My wings still felt sore, so I elected to walk. Bucket quickly tapped my arm before we got moving.

  "Do you mind if I hang out in your bag again? I don't think my poor leg is going to be able to handle many more miles."

  I was ready to sigh and decline, but this short-stack had just saved my life. I owed her this and a great deal more. I took off my pack and offered her to get in, to which she smiled and stepped inside, making sure I had hold of her bag of holding. Shouldering my bag again, I got to walking.

  With her head and arms sticking out, it wasn't too much heavier, and even if it was more tiring, again, I wouldn't bother complaining. I would be dead without her.

  We continued our trek, deeper into the woods, on and on.

  "I'm amazed we survived that. I thought it was going to make more of those mephit bastards as it was chasing us." She piped up with a grin.

  "I thought so too, I think it could only do that every so often. We got lucky it wasn't a more powerful elemental." I nodded.

  "Do you think we could've taken one on anyway?"

  I paused to think.

  "No, not if it could summon friends. If it were solo and we could outmaneuver it like with that elemental, big maybe. I think if they learned how to throw things, we would have been screwed."

  She hummed, her arms drooped over my shoulders, and her head beside mine again.

  "Well, I'm glad you're not dead. Wouldn't have nobody to come help me get that anvil."

  I could feel her ears twitching against my hair. I laughed, smiling,

  "I'm grateful you saved my life. I'll repay you in any way I can, and I mean that."

  "Really? Not often a gal gets told that y'know. I could make you do something super gross, and you'd have to be all 'Yes ma'am! Right away, ma'am!'" She said, giggling and squirming on my back.

  "If you said so, sure. I know you'd do the same if I saved you." I chuckled, shaking my head.

  Bucket paused, still against my shoulders.

  "Yeah... I suppose I would. Let's just make sure that doesn't happen, yeah, big guy?"

  "Sure, sure."

  "So, where do you come from, huh? I ain't seen you around Brudside ever, or the other ones nearby- what's up with you?"

  "I'm from nowhere special. I certainly don't want to go back."

  "Ah, I see. Keep your secrets. What are you trying to do? What's your plan after we get this anvil?"

  I paused, unsure. The leaves crunched under my feet, and the odd stone in the path rolled off the trail with a kick of my hoof. I adjusted the pack's straps, jostling her a little.

  "I need to learn things. There is so much I don't know, and so much I haven't seen. I want to uncover the secrets of the world we live in, and the worlds outside it."

  "Alright, big guy, so you intend to just go study in some ancient library for a while? Or what?"

  It was clear she didn't have the patience to sit and study for an extended period. That, or she found the idea of historical texts boring. Couldn't blame her- I didn't either. Chagrin certainly did, but I didn't.

  "If that's the best way I can learn things, sure. For now, though, I need to acquire magical strength. More spells, more mana, more trinkets and items." I said with another nod, ducking under a branch.

  "That makes some more sense, and that's what I like to hear. I have a feeling we'll find plenty of things for you to get your yellow fingers on."

  "I hope so. I think I'm gonna need a few days to recuperate after what we just dealt with though..."

  My chest still hurt some, even after the momentary break, and I desperately wanted a long rest.

  Getting that close to death, to the point where my life was directly in the hands of a person whom I was still questioning was even real, wasn't gonna fly for me.

  From this point on, I'd be more prepared, more paranoid, and more thorough. I wouldn't let something like that catch me off guard ever again.