THE MOMENT
"And what have we here?" God-Emperor Brad's voice echoed around his empty throne room a low rumble. He had no attendants at the moment, and never really needed them. A young girl, looking about 10 with brown hair and green eyes, was approaching; an unexpected guest. She walked along the lush black carpet leaving small miscolored indentations. The rest of the chamber was made from dense black stone, except for the God-Emperor's golden throne. It was bulky and boxy giving the God-Emperor an almost childlike appearance as he sat in the center.
"My name's 23," the girl smiled once she was close enough to be heard. "I wanna challenge you for your empire," she said. "I'm a Card Mage," she added. It was polite to state your Class when presenting a challenge.
"I am a God-Emperor," Brad smiled as he stood and approached the girl. Despite how small his throne made him look, he towered almost three feet over her. "Are you sure you want to challenge me?"
"Huh?" 23 was caught by surprise for a moment, but then she recovered quickly. "Oh, a custom Class?" He nodded. Her face soured as she thought. "I've never seen a G-E, before, can I see your status?"
"I suppose...," Brad nodded with a friendly smile. "Maybe the knowledge will help keep you from making a mistake. I am God-Emperor of 1000 worlds." He flicked his wrist upward, and his Slate appeared. It was a 2' x 2' glass pane that was initially greyed out to 23, until Brad allowed her to see his info displayed. God-Emperor wasn't an official class, it was a custom design, which was apparent by his assortment of Abilities from disparate Classes. He only equipped heavy-hitting moves that drained resources, and the bare-minimum of those available. He likely didn’t have any points left to beef up the pools after investing in unlocking them for his Class. She glanced at his overpowered stats and bloated loadout before a notice in the top corner drew her attention.
Custom Classes were popular, and they existed in a grey zone of legitimacy. A well-balanced class could begin a long path of approval into the main game with its worth increasing along the way. But his personal design was dismissed enough by others. She’d been wondering how he could even claim to have 1000 worlds and realized it in that moment.
"Oh, wow," 23 sighed in defeat. "Yeah, thanks. That did help. I don't need to waste any time here."
"Smart move, little girl," Brad laughed. "But, aren't you afraid of giving up too easily? You know, I was not always this way. I was born a slave." 23's mood seemed to brighten up in temporary amusement.
"I know, I saw your bio. And, like that's literally all it says. 'Born a slave. Now, God-Emperor.' But, no," she shook her head. "I'm not giving up cause you'll beat me; it's just not worth it. ‘God-Emperor’ isn't even remotely approved, so I wouldn't get the credit for winning anyway."
"That's a lucky excuse," Brad laughed.
"It sure is," 23 giggled as she opened a portal to leave. She made a gesture with her fingers and a tall black portal opened next to her. "I just need the points, not the worlds. It would've been a headache having to decide what to do with 906 worlds," she giggled as she stepped inside. The portal closed behind her, but Brad heard her final musing. " A full thousand would’ve been easier to unload."