6:00 PM, Friday. An evening like any other, and the end of another exhausting shift at your crappy retail job.
You walk past rows of shops on your way to the parking garage, as you have done for the past 3 or 4 months. The small-ish shopping center could barely be considered a mall, but that's what everyone calls it. You can't help but wonder how long this place will last.
As usual, most of the shops are closed or in the process of closing around this hour, and only a few people mill about like bugs hovering around a lamp post.
As you pass the same familiar stores you've passed a hundred times before, you notice something new out of the corner of your eye.
Or rather, something old?
The tiny shop, sandwiched between an ice cream parlor and a toy store, sticks out like a sore thumb. The crumbling brick facade is framed in dark wood and the entrance is covered by a bead curtain. A strange purple light shines from within, and the window displays are packed with piles of unidentifiable objects of various shapes and sizes, all covered in dusty old cloth.
The rustic wooden sign simply reads "The Magic Shop".
You can't help but pause for a moment, transfixed. The store can't be new, as it's practically decaying before your very eyes. Yet, you surely would have noticed it on your daily trip to the parking garage if it had been here the whole time.
Well, since it's still open and you don't have much else to do these days, you decide to check it out.
As you push past the beads and step into the cramped store, the spicy aroma of incense burns your nostrils. There's barely enough room to stand. Objects of all kinds are littered across every surface and wall. Obscure, ancient-looking antiques and plastic toys in scuffed cardboard boxes are placed side-by-side and in indiscriminate piles, the whole store resembling a garage sale that's been hit by a tornado.
Something on a nearby shelf catches your eye, a dust-covered, ornately carved wooden box marked with skulls and demonic figures. You carefully pick it up and gently blow on the lid, releasing a choking cloud of dust that leaves you coughing and spluttering, but also reveals some large text in a faux-medieval font: DEMON CONQUEST - AN IMMERSIVE FANTASY ROLE-PLAYING GAME.
As a somewhat nerdy guy in his mid-twenties, you can't help but be drawn to dorky things like this.
"Ahh! Good eye, there!"
You jump at the unexpected sound and look up from the box to find yourself face to face with an old, hunched man with a beak-like nose, scraggly hair and a wide grin. One of his eyes seems larger than the other, possibly a glass prosthetic, and he is dressed in shabby clothes that look about a century out of date.
"I'm personally quite a fan of that game, myself." he continues in his raspy voice, "Yes, yes, many campaigns under my belt, I'm quite experienced. In my last campaign I achieved victory in only three years!"
He seems incredibly pleased with himself and you can't help but nervously smile back.
Gently taking the box from you and placing it on the counter, he begins to ring up the cash register.
"Seeing as it was recently returned to me, I'll give you the pre-owned discount." He smiles. "Seven dollars in total, my friend."
You consider protesting and telling him that you were just browsing, but you can't deny that you're interested, and seven dollars seems fair enough, especially if the game is as good as the old man seems to think.
Handing him the cash and tucking the wooden box under your arm, you complete the journey to your car and drive home to your apartment.
Sitting on your bed with the little wooden box in your lap, you decide to examine your new purchase. While you're not quite in the mood to play a long-winded fantasy game at the moment, you still feel like you need to assess your new acquisition.
Lifting the lid reveals an intricately decorated metal skull and a single card. The faded text reads "Instructions for play: Touch top of skull for three seconds to begin game. Further instructions will be provided once game begins."
What game? Surely there are pieces missing here. Shouldn't there be cards or booklets or a board or something? Sighing in frustration, you decide to at least see if the skull does something cool. Placing your finger on the top of the cold metal skull, you notice that it can be depressed like a button.
You press it down and wait.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three sec-
A cold breeze rushes over you and your room melts away. You're hurtling through an endless expanse of darkness and light and the dizzying, disorienting sensation forces you to close your eyes.
Almost a suddenly as it began, the rushing sensation fades and you open your eyes to find yourself somewhere else.