Chapter 2: The System

My consciousness fluttered, drifting aimlessly.

I was asleep—I remembered closing my eyes and fainting—and yet I could feel everything, from the wriggling of my toes to the clenching of my hand. Was it the wind that brushed against my exposed skin, or cold water?

With blurred vision, I looked around, seeing only dreary, drab darkness. There was nothing here; nothing that I could see, at least. Touch was different.

I glared at the blackness until two white dots appeared, stretching themselves into lines that formed a box. A blue rectangle flickered into existence with a flash. It glowed, shimmering in the same hue as the butterfly. Indecipherable symbols emerged on its smooth surface before they, too, shifted and changed into letters.

WELCOME.

I stared at the text, flabbergasted and confused.

EVERYTHING WILL BE EXPLAINED IN TIME.

The text blinked, changing into something else. This time, a small, pixelated boy with purple hair and pink eyes stared at me. A speech bubble appeared above his side-swept hair.

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN AS A CANDIDATE TO BECOME AN [AWAKENED].

Was I dreaming? What was this? The questions piled up at the back of my mind.

THERE WILL BE A TEST TO DETERMINE IF YOU SHOULD BE CHOSEN AS A REPRESENTATIVE OF YOUR WORLD.

I swallowed hard, forcing past the lump in my throat. A hallucination. That's all it was, right?

NO, THIS IS NOT A HALLUCINATION. THIS IS REAL. EARTH IS IN DANGER. WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IS A WINDOW KNOWN AS THE "SYSTEM." YOU MAY ONLY WIELD A FRACTION OF ITS POWER. THIS IS A TEST TO ADAPT YOU TO ITS POWERS AND DETERMINE WHO AMONG YOU IS MOST FIT TO ACCEPT MY QUEST.

What quest? I wondered. As if reading my thoughts, the mysterious System responded.

YOU MUST SAVE MY WORLD FROM A DISASTER. THERE ARE EVIL GODS WHO WANT TO DESTROY IT. YOU MUST BECOME A HERO AND PROTECT THEM.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT. WHEN YOU WAKE UP, DO NOT BE ALARMED. THIS IS ONLY A FRACTION OF THE SYSTEM'S POWER. JUST SURVIVE THE TEST.

Blinding light erupted all around me. I winced away from the light and closed my eyes.

A long moment of silence lapsed before something sharp and hard prodded me in the stomach. I opened my eyes and warily scanned my surroundings. An elderly man with a weather-beaten face looked down at me from behind a crudely sharpened stick.

He was tall and maintained a muscular physique despite his age. Grey hair adorned his temples, and white stubble lined his cheeks. He wore nothing out of the norm; a simple, plain shirt, jeans, and leather boots.

"Who—who are you?"

Everything about this was insane.

Trees of all kinds surrounded the two of us. They were so diverse in color and leaf shape that it was simply impossible for any of them to have been from Earth.

Some were short and squat, like bushes. And perhaps they were. I had no way of telling, except that they looked a great deal like pine trees. Others were so tall their trunks spanned the length of entire houses.

I couldn't help but notice some had shapes like lightning.

It was maddening. In the distance, beneath a great, colossal mountain, was an enormous waterfall cascading from the clouds. I could hear its thunderous roaring even here, so far away.

My name came as a breathless murmur. "Isaac," I said weakly, too exhausted to sit up straight. If ever there was a place from a fairy tale, it would be this unimaginable forest. "And yours?"

"Martin," the old man whispered. His voice was hoarse and bordered on a despairing sob. "I—do you know where this is, young man? I've never seen anything like it in all my days. I need to get back to my grandson, y'see, and…"

His voice trailed off as tears crept down his wrinkled face.

I took a deep breath. There was nothing I could do, nothing I could say, to make this any easier for him. I had too many thoughts and questions to sort out.

THIS IS THE FIRST OF THREE TESTS. ITS DIFFICULTY SHALL BE SCALED IN PROPORTION TO YOUR ESTIMATED EFFECT ON ADESERIA.

The blue window appeared for the old man, too. He pointed at it with a gnarled finger. "What's this?" He asked, tears glistening on his cheeks. At least he wasn't crying anymore

"I think it's called the System," I answered. "And to answer your question, old man, I know as much as you."

He mumbled something under his breath. "I don't understand…"

I understood his concern, but aimlessly worrying wasn't going to help us. "We just need to wait for this…System…to give us more information."

TEST 1/3: SURVIVE 7 DAYS IN THE [SUBSPACE]

We both looked at the System. Seven days? I glanced from left to right, studying the forest. It didn't seem that hard, but there would be a problem finding shelter safe from animals.

Are there bears? I wondered. Well, anything's possible. If I can faint and wake up here, who knows what might be in the forest?

Martin took a deep breath. "I was in the army," he told me. "This will be easy."

Funnily enough, I believed him. He was old, sure, but the confidence with which he spoke those words filled me with hope. Sure, surviving in the wilderness was going to be hard—it couldn't be much harder than anything else I'd done in life. There was the waterfall in the distance, and where it fell there was most likely a pond. It could very well be that there were fish in the pond.

When I told Martin about it, he agreed. "At the very least, the soil will be healthy," he added, grabbing his stick and marching towards the mountain. He set a slow pace, not too fast but not exactly what would be expected from a man his age either. I followed close behind. "I'm sure there are berries we can eat here. Possibly even fruits."

While we trotted through the forest, shouldering past ferns and bushes and ducking beneath thick branches, we spoke. Martin was eager to talk about his grandson, whom he assured would one day be a famous and successful comedian.

"How old is he?" I asked.

"Thirty-one," he answered, full of confidence. "He's a tall young man, and every day he's practicing his comedy. He's good, you know? It's just hard for people to notice you when you're starting."

I smiled. "You're quite a supportive grandfather. I'm sure he's happy to have you in his life."

Martin's nod was unusually sluggish. "Yes," he mumbled "Yes, I suppose he is."

That's odd, I thought. He was excited to tell me about his grandchild, but when I said he must've been happy with Martin, his voice stiffened.

"When this is over, let's go to one of his shows." I ran to Martin's side. He gave an appreciative nod, and we fell into silence. It was enough for both of us to simply appreciate the company. Strange things had happened to us, but at least we weren't alone in dealing with them.

Knowing there was even one other person sharing my experiences put my nerves at ease if ever-so-slightly.