[ATC]: Foreword

It was not my intention to write this novel—at least not yet. The reason behind that lies in the inception of its idea and how it came about.

I have been struck by ideas (inspirations), threads that have no begging and certainly no ending. And I get them all the time. So a little while (actually a few months ago) I had this idea—no, it would be more accurate to call them two ideas. One for a fan-fiction and one for an Original.

So, how exactly did that led to the creation of this book? For that you have to understand the idea itself.

I don't take much inspiration from the fan-fiction idea itself, and perhaps the most it had contributed is the title of this book "At The Crossroads" that was initially reserved for that.

The fan-fiction itself was meant to be a generic jumpchain fiction, with main character's power-set based on the Celestial Grimoire. I wanted to integrate lit-WC mechanics where the characters rolls for a particular instance randomly. The points would've been earned through completing milestones. All in all, it was nothing fancy, but still something I would've wanted to read.

But the main attraction comes from the Original fiction.

I'm sure some of you must've read a fiction where the main character owns a store. There are plenty of those on this site alone, much less to say about everywhere else. Suffice to say, it wasn't exactly a groundbreaking idea. But, that was just the beginning.

I intended to create a tavern, owned by our beloved MC. Now this tavern would exist everywhere, and nowhere in particular. And every once in a while, a legend (not living, I assure you) would walk through the door and tell us a tale. But these are not just heroes—myths made manifest—these are resentful spirits that seek to see their goals fulfilled.

That's where the MC came in.

In exchange for offering him whatever they boasted their long lives, or short in some instances, our MC would accept a quest on their behalf and strive to complete it.

It was slight deviation from the Original Store Owner stories take, where MC's hole up in their shop all day, selling legendary immortal stuff and being perceived by everyone as Emperors of Cosmos.

And this story largely takes an inspiration from that. But it doesn't stop there. I wanted to craft something grand—something all-encompassing and this radiates the feeling accurately.

Instead of Legends and whatnot asking our MC to fulfill their quest, I took a largely similar yet different path.

For one, this story focuses on MC owning a tavern and it intends to fully make use of that tavern and expand on its functionalities and make it an integral part of the story as we progress further.

As you might've already read, this story features world hopping. Basically, tavern will act as a cosmic shuttle or an elevator that delivers our character to diverse realities. And when I say diverse, you better believe that it's going to be distinct.

You've read stories with different power systems. Mages, Warriors, Immortals, Superheroes and whatnot. And I promise you everything of those mentioned above. And more.

A story, that doesn't just shift to a different world that's different in make only, but a world with an entirely diverse foundation and rules. Mundane to magical. And magical to scientifically advanced. All the way to adobes of Immortal that seat above the clouds.

And you know what's the most alluring aspect of this work. It's semi-reader interactive.

Now, I don't care if you read the bit above, but what I am about to mention is really important.

Normally, a reader interactive story is choice based, though most of those choices usually lead to a dead-end, with only one true choice to progress the plot. Then there are stories where authors base their plot progression on readers suggestion. This is going to lean toward the latter.

Basically, our story will be divided in Arcs. Each arc will focus on a single plot-line and they may or may not play out in the same world.

First Arc has already been decided—plot characters and all.

What I will do is provide a few parameters that you can fill-up. Like for the Arc 2, what should the Reality be like? Now, here you have to remember that the Reality itself will depend on the Reality Tier, which basically alludes to the power of that particular verse.

Tier 1 basically refers to a world like ours. Consider it a perfect copy. Even the strongest of the people will only be as strong as Peak athletes.

Tier 2 will instead feature characters that superhuman in a way that certain movies depict. A character like Captain America will reign at the top in terms of sheer power.

Tier 3 will be where we introduce actual superhuman category with characters that are as powerful as Spider-Man at the top.

To avoid giving any spoilers, I will cut the info short. Of course we won't be needing higher tiers for the time being as well.

Now that we have that sorted out, let's move on to the world itself. If it fits any of the above category, then you're free to suggest it.

You have the freedom to choose a single character (not central, but relevant to plot) if you're reading from the free platform and if you're a patron, you get the privilege to choose more than one characters but less than three and only one can be central.

You can also suggest the entire plot, but leaving it vague also works. You also get to choose an entire repertoire of your character who offers MC the quest. If you don't understand what I meant by that, read a few chapters.

And once again, patrons get the privilege to choose the setting of the new world (power system and all).

While the arc is ongoing, you can leave your suggestions in the comment. Though if you have plot recommendation, I suggest you only offer a single sentence that sums it up. We can then discuss it in private. Got off the track a bit there, but anyway, as I was saying, once the arc is finished I will compile all the data from all the platforms and using my ultimate authority, I will choose a few plot threads, few characters and few of everything. And then we will hold the ultimate poll to decide the our next story.

However, let me make it clear that patrons will be given priority.

On the side note: While the a particular is ongoing, I will provide two advanced chapters to my patrons. But near the end of the arc, readers on both free and paid platforms will have access to all the chapters. This is so that you can make accurate judgment all the while keeping patrons happy, I hope you understand.

That said, there are few other things I need to clarify.

Thanks to MGM, most of you probably expect this to be a Harem fiction. It's not. It won't be. Rest assured that I am done with the harem genera and won't be starting another project for the foreseeable future.

MC is morally upright person, but it may not remain that way for long. Once he comes to face the truth that the choice is the privilege of strong, he may also also achieve enlightenment and achieve what is known as character development. So no promises there; what I can promise you instead is that he won't turn into a murderous psychopath that repays petty slights.

I don't think I have anything else to say; if I forgot something I will just add it as a note to the chapter.

— Drifting Embers