Zorath's Digital Alterverse - Before the launch

''At long last it is complete!'' the man exclaimed as he put the final touch on his machine, a signature ''All we need now is to start mass production and I can open up my virtual universe!''

A few days later and the creator of the device, now known as the Virtual universe pod or VUP for short, was preparing for the worldwide launch. Already the demand exceeded expectations and everyone was working around the clock to get everything shipped on time. Zorath was very excited about what this could do for everyone and wanted to share his moment in the spotlight with his friends so he created some special codes that would grant a 100% discount to a purchase of VUP.

The young inventor sent them off through the internet to his friends across the world and proceeded to shut down his computer for the last time. He would have one on his wrist at all times in his universe. He stepped into the metallic pod, flicking the door switch and preparing for the shock of his mind being transferred into the digital space. He pulled the final lever and his body went limp. He was in the digital world now.

''Good day sir and welcome to the alterverse, a place of perfection. I need you to fill out this form please.'' a female android asked him as Zorath arrived in his creation. It worked flawlessly. He was in the plain white reception area he had built to get new players started. Instead of writing out his detail he simply swiped his wrist over the paper and his details appeared, one advantage of being the creator.

''Thank you Lord Zorath. Your status has been updated and tutorials set to minimal. Please head to your right to begin basic form training.'' the android said pointing to the doorway. Zorath gave his gratitude and walked on through. In this next room he knew he would be able to try out his various forms he had equipped himself with, such as his dragon forms, shade form or even forms from the video games he had. That was the awesome thing about the system, as long as he owned the game he could access their entire universe.

He set up some rings and targets to practice with and switched to his first form. Black scales shot across him as his nails sharpened to claws, his hair swapped out for horns, spikes shot from his back and his 3 new limbs grew out. Now in anthro dragon form he tested his agility, completing the ring course in mere seconds. A ice blast soon shattered the targets and replacements appeared.

His body warped further as he grew larger and more animalistic. His stance changed from biped to quadruped and he became his feral form. He launched massive blasts of black fire at the targets this time, causing massive explosions then he dived for the last target with his talons. A very powerful form.

Halfway down the dive his body began to lengthen and wings shriveled up into nothing again. Now he had become his eastern form and quickly coiled his massive body around the target, crushing it like a boa constrictor would. His roar pierced the silence of the room as more targets appeared on the ground. Showtime.

Abyssal flames enveloped Zorath as he changed again. He returned to his human height but gained much more strength. As the flames subsided a shadow creature was left, red eyes glowing with malice. It rushed forward, cleaving off the targets heads as it swooped past, wings outstretched. Although controlling this form was difficult to say the least, it would be very useful for taking out large groups alone.

Satisfied, Zorath returned to his human form and made his way out of the room to his area. Each player would have their own room which would act as their hub. Zorath had set his out like a top spec spaceship, with all his functions on the various control panels. He cycled through the main menu, past the basic sci-fi worlds, past the realm of pokemon until it read 'personal worlds'. He opened it up and selected a destination on the map. The teleporter behind him lit up green, telling him it was ready. He jumped in and was transported to his own private world.

He had named it Qunara. It was a place of magic and technology with plenty for a hero to do. Many areas of the world were unexplored and considered dangerous. His destination would be the main town today to prepare places for his friends to stay when they visited. A tap on his arm opened up a display built into his vision which showed off various items he could spawn in. After a hard decision he went with the hover bike over the rocket powered sleigh, not in a Christmas mood just yet. The vehicle materialized as a grid of light at first before solidifying into his bike. Zorath hopped on and rode towards his town.

Now back in his palace, Zorath could begin work on his friends homes. He had saved enough space for a few mansions in the town and had hired extra workers for them. A quick flick of his hand and a voice command of build conjured the luxury houses from thin air. Now everything was ready.

Zorath soon retired to the master bedroom with a web browser opened over his vision. It seemed a few of his friends had taken the offer. Good he might see them in the morning. He yawned and motioned for his lights to deactivate before falling into a happy sleep.