"…"
"I'm not dead am I?"
Gabriel within the first few seconds of being revived. With a quick cursory glance of his surroundings, he immediately grabbed the weird tassel ornament hanging on a curtain he happened to open his eyes to.
Within a few seconds the the long ornamental rope had already been tied into an exquisite, textbook(?) definition of a noose.
Standing on a chair; the only piece of movable furniture within his odd room, Gabriel let gravity do its work again once more.
Hopefully this time he'd stay professional.
(You can still save them.)
A quiet whisper suddenly echoed within his mind.
The ever dull eyes suddenly flashed wide open as Gabriel's toned arm grabbed the top of the noose, preventing it from strangling him. He swayed lightly from side to side with only the strength of his left arm keeping him alive.
"H-how?"
There was no question on who or what just spoke to him. Nor did he bother questioning his own predicament. All he had to ask was:
"How? How can you bring them back?"
[BY PLAYING A GAME OF OF COURSE!]
"Wha-"
[WELCOME TO *THE COSMIC COMBAT LEAGUE* CONTESTANT E2319 GABRIEL SMITH!]
Suddenly a projection of a flamboyantly dressed emperor penguin wearing a luxurious red velvet coat with gold buttons and trim, adorned with a matching feathered hat appeared before Gabe who continued to hang from the ceiling.
"Ehm ehm. Yo yo yo, Mr Gabe. Back from the dead and already halfway back! Damn! See I told em there was no need to furnish your little holdi- ehm, waiting rooms. But never in my life hav- huh?"
The penguin paused abruptly.
"Huh? Oh uh yeah yeah, I got it. Ehm ehm - Ahoy, matey! Welcome to the Cosmic Combat League - where the greatest fighters come to bow down to my supreme awesomeness! That's right, I'm the host, the one and only Captain Pwing! You're about to enter a world of hurt, but if you're lucky, you just might survive long enough to bask in my glorious presence! So, let's get this show on the road and see if you've got what it takes to impress me!"
Gabe honestly felt like loosening his grip and ending it all. But when one is ready to die for another, one should also have the courage to live for them too.
In a quick a practiced motion, Gabe climbed the rope using just his two arms. In a few minutes the ceiling fan that Gabe had been using as his pulley system came crashing down.
A couple more minutes and Gabe was already free from his noose.
"Ok nice trick kid but I have things to do and places to be. Think fast!"
Gabe caught what seemed to be 4 identical cubes loosely put together to form a larger cube with neon lights occasionally flashing from the gaps.
"Choose one of the 4 corners to register. You'll be a random mob for now that's just here to make up the numbers till you pass your first world. If by some chance you do pass, you'll be awarded your very own |Title| that's like your very own name that your Universe itself gave you-"
"My Universe? You mean to say-"
"Ah ah ah. QnA over. Run along lil man. Oh right, I think I was supposed to let you know you were fighting for something way bigger than what you thought…hmm well times up anyways ciao"