Chaos

"I have no one left to live for"

Blood-soaked hands left the wound.

Shao An didn't believe in life after death, even if he did there would be no glory in it for him. There would be no reunion with family after all they hadn't even wanted him in his mortal life. If there was a Heaven, it was no option for him. His day job was hardly fit for a saint. Sister Chen confirmed this when refusing him entrance to the church orphanage for the last time. So no, there is no immortality waiting for him. Shao An could only hope that the same was true for his murderer. Shao An felt a shiver go through him at the thought of that woman. He had known that sooner or later that jealous, obsessive woman would be the death of him. Shao An shook his head, he didn't need heaven, all he wanted was rest. How long had it been since he had been able to rest? Too long, he decided. He closed his eyes and sank into the welcome darkness.

BOOM

Even rest seemed to be too much for him to wish for. Shao An opened his eyes to a horrifying sight.

A blobfish was floating in the air right in front of him. The blobfish was an obnoxious pink that clashed with the garish sterile white room. The room had imposing walls stretching from the floor up into the ceiling, where drapes hung from each corner until converging with the chandelier in the center. The chandelier shone brightly with resplendence similar to the sun. Shao An couldn't help the shocked laugh that escaped his mouth.

"Yes!" The blobfish squealed excitedly, "I knew this form would make you laugh!" The blobfish flew around the room in figure eight, doing quick little flips.

Shao An's eyes widened, "You can talk?!"

"Of course, I can talk!" The blobfish scolded as it screeched to a halt in front of Shao An. "This one's name is Xiao Chi, I am your guide."

"Guide? What could I possibly need a guide for?" Shao An was feeling lightheaded, all of this was happening too fast. It didn't stop the sliver of hope from growing in the back of his mind. Perhaps there was still someone who cared for him out there. Perhaps the heavens recognized him after all.

"A guide through the chaos, silly!" Xiao Chi looked at Shao An as if he were the one not making sense. "You are one of the lucky souls chosen to collect energy from chaotic worlds, you will serve for the right-minded and bring order to the disordered," Xiao Chi looked off in the distance with a flipper held high, tears seemed to be filling the blobfish's eyes.

Shao An looked slackjawed at the emotional creature as it flapped its fins changing into a variety of dramatic gestures. Is this his fate? Doomed to be a companion to an overly intelligent teary-eyed fish? Shao An felt as though weights had been added to his shoulders, threatening to drag him down and never release him. He shook off the familiar feeling and tried to turn his focus back to the chattering blobfish.

"-and you will just love the superiors, well, it's not like you will ever see them, but still!" Xiao Chi exclaimed, eyes wide and sparkling with excitement, "If you are a good host then we will be rewarded with all sorts of points, which we can then use to buy snacks and eventually your freedom" Xiao Chi started to turn in circles with drool flowing from its mouth, already lost in its own daydream.

The seedling of hope that had been taking root was suddenly crushed. "My freedom? What do you mean by my freedom? Am I not free right now as we speak?" Shao An asked urgently, hands running up his face to push away his long black hair from his doe-like eyes.

Xiao Chi turned to him in a daze, "Huh? Of course, you're not free, where did you think you ended up? Etheria?" Xiao Chi tittered as if they had made a joke, "Come now, with your day job where else could you end up but right here with me? I will have to tell this to Xiao Li, they won't believe that a male stripper thought he could end up in Etheria. Not only a stripper but a homosexual one at that!" What used to be giggles were now full-blown chortles as Xiao Chi finished their sentence.

Shao An worked his mouth, trying to open it to reply. He had been a fool, of course, there was no respite for him. Shame started to surge up in his stomach, this humiliation that came with stripping seemed to even follow him in death. Shao An stared down at the ground struggling to regain his previous composure.

Shao An took a deep breath, steadying himself against the overwhelming emotions threatening to consume him. He refused to let despair take hold of his spirit. He had endured hardships throughout his life, and he wouldn't let this new revelation break him.

Raising his gaze to meet Xiao Chi's eyes, Shao An's voice carried a newfound determination. "If I am bound to this place, then I will make the most of it. I may not have chosen this path, but I won't let it define me. I will find my purpose and bring order to the chaos you speak of. Perhaps in doing so, I can earn the freedom you mentioned."

Xiao Chi paused mid-chuckle, taken aback by Shao An's sudden resolve. The blobfish's eyes widened with a mix of surprise and admiration. "Well, I must say, you're quite resilient for a mortal. It seems there's more to you than meets the eye."

Shao An offered a faint smile, gratitude shining through his weariness. "Thank you for the compliment. Perhaps here I can find redemption."

Xiao Chi's playful demeanor softened, and the blobfish bobbed in the air, a gesture that resembled a nod. "I believe in second chances, Shao An. We may not have control over where we end up, but we can choose how we face our circumstances. Together, we will navigate the chaotic worlds, collect energy, and strive for balance."

Shao An's expression grew resolute as he absorbed Xiao Chi's words. "Then let's begin. Lead the way, Xiao Chi. Show me what I need to do to fulfill my role as a guardian of order."

Xiao Chi stared at Shao An for a moment, gaze unreadable. Then suddenly attempted to clap their fins together. "Very well. I will explain the first chaotic world we will visit. This first world should be very easy to bring order to, there are also no repercussions for failing to bring order to the world. Such aspects will change as we advance to more chaotic worlds in the future." Xiao Chi said this all with a very serious face, making it look sort of silly on the pink blobfish.

Shao An fought the upturning of his lips. "Am I able to know more about this first chaotic world and the role I will be playing in it?"

Xiao Chi pulled out a set of constellation playing cards in a puff of smoke. The cards looked dark and vast, with sprinkles of stars shining from them. "Pick a card, any card. This will be the first world we go to. The worlds we pick will always be random, this is the way that the superiors make sure we can't just pick the easiest sounding ones." Xiao Chi gave a wink.

Shao An stretched forth his hand, picking the card in the middle. The second his finger landed on the card it exploded into a dark dusty cloud, the cloud swirled around and around seeming to get faster and faster with every second gone by. Multiple seconds had gone by when it stopped. Stars appeared spelling out words. Shao An took a step closer trying to make out the words.

The words explained that the world Shao An had picked was a modern-day world. The protagonist went by the name Chen Tai. He was the definition of a cold domineering businessman. With a fast-moving company on the rise, he had built himself from the ground up. The world had become chaotic due to the involvement of the female lead with the protagonist. Her name is Zhen Xinya and had slowly broken down the barriers of Chen Tai leading to a relationship between the two. Zhen Xinya had an older brother who thought Chen Tai was too cold to his sister. At every turn, Zhen Yong opposed Chen Tai, and this caused issues for the economy due to the rising prices of each company therefore leading to its collapse.

Shao An stared speechless at the words. What the fuck? A disagreement between two men caused the collapse of the economy? Were the people in this world brain-dead? He could not even believe it.

Xiao Chi poked their head through the glowing words. "Your goal in this world is to stop the protagonist and the female lead from ever getting together. It is important to note that you will be unable to directly cause harm to the protagonist or female lead. So you must find other means to accomplish this feat. The body you will be placed into goes by the same name as you, Shao An."

Shao An put a finger up to his chin, "That will be easy to remember at least."

Xiao Chi shook their fin at Shao An, "Of course, this is thanks to me! I take my job very seriously!"

"Yes, yes, you are very good at what you do." Shao An waved his hand at Xiao Chi still deep in thought. "Do I get to know anything else about my character?"

"Nope." Xiao Chi said, popping the p at the end. "You will have to discover more about the world by living in it. To give you any more information I could very well risk the ire of my superiors. It is also a precaution against you becoming too attached to any specific piece of information."

Shao An heaved a heavy sigh. He didn't see how this first world was a beginner world. It seemed to be quite difficult with the few pieces of information he was given. "I am ready to step into the first world then." It was better to just get started with the world rather than mull over the aspects of the world.

Xiao Chi gave a little shake of their tail fin. "Great! Give me your hand and I will transport you there now." Shao An placed his hand on Xiao Chi's fin, and a tingling sensation started to spread from his hand to his whole body. His vision started to go dark when he suddenly heard Xiao Chi's voice. "Oh wait remember that if you need my help you only need to…" Without hearing the rest of the sentence Shao An had already lost consciousness.