Awakening

[AUXILIARY BATTERY…ONLINE]

[SYSTEM JUMP…SUCCESS]

[INITIALIZING TIME JUMP SYSTEMS]

[INITIATING BRAIN WIPE PROTOCOL…FAILURE DATA MISSING]

[SYSTEM RECALIBATION…ERROR]

[SYSTEM MEMORY CORRUPTION DETECTED]

[SUBJECT VITALS…WARNING…MAJOR BRAIN DAMAGE DETECTED]

[SYSTEM REBOOT]

"Alright, we get the gist, you damn machine."

From deep within the darkness of my mind, a faint voice called out as the soulless machine voice faded out. I couldn't move or see a thing as if I were bound. The sound of pressure escaping an air-tight room filled my ears, and my body felt heavy. I gave a dry cough as cold air filled my lungs. It was as if I had not breathed for a while.

"Rise and shine, sleepy boy."

The voice from before had reappeared. Its tone was unbefitting of a human. It was too smooth and precise, yet emotionless and cold. Something around my body loosened. I was being freed; from what, I do not know. My memory was hazy, and a blistering pain shot across my head if I thought too hard. Bearing with the pain I had felt, I opened my eyes.

The sun's rays were the first to greet me, blinding me a little. After my eyes readjusted to the light, I looked around the surrounding area. I was sitting on top of several leather belts, the ones used to hold down patients who were being uncooperative. I stood up and looked at my attire.

"A bloodstained uniform?" I said out loud. My voice was raspy. I turned my attention to the surrounding area. An extensive field with scarce plant life met my gaze. Rusty cars and roads captured by barren dirt with a few patches of brown grass were all I could see. "Where am I?" I said as I turned behind me. "Whoa…" A large machine stood behind me. Several thick tubes stretched out from the machine connecting to nothing, as if someone had ripped the machine out of something and just placed it here.

I tried to walk towards the machine. As I moved, my body gave out, and I fell to the ground. A wave of sharp pain danced across my head.

"Seems like I used too much anesthesia." The faint voice from earlier called out. "Looks like I rushed the machine's functionally." I thought about calling out, but I do not know if the person was friendly. With my body feeling how it currently is, I have no means to defend myself. "The machine should have at least healed him a little. Damn Ariel, messing up our plans." The voice seemed to come from behind the machine. Knowing the risks, I walked behind to investigate.

As I discreetly wandered behind the machine, I tripped, tipping off the unknown person of my presence. I looked up, and her gaze greeted mine. She had shoulder-length, wavy black hair with blonde highlights at the ends. Her brown eyes peered through me as if I were some creature beneath her. Her face was defiled with dust and dirt. But besides that, I still found her beautiful. A sun-bleached uniform in poor condition covered her body, and a large blade made from scraps crudely welded together hung on her back. Maybe it was not a blade. It was more rounded than sharp. She felt familiar, but I do not know why. Perhaps I had met her before?

She watched me stare her up and down without a word. Somehow, this made me uncomfortable. She stood up from being hunched over a control panel connected to the machine and walked towards me. I took a step back and fell once again.

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to hide my fear as she reached for the bat behind her with a tense expression.

"Heh?" She let out a slight noise as she relaxed. She gave me a dry smile and extended her right arm out. Her arm was strange, to say the least. Several lines stretched across her arm as if it was not made of flesh. "The name is Mammon. Glad to make your acquaintance." Her supercilious smile turned sincere as she helped me up.

"Mammon?" I repeated. The name did not compliment her appearance.

"That is correct. I know the name seems a bit 'odd,' but I love it. It helps me keep those memories bound to me." What she said made no sense. But I did not have the strength to question her right now. As the minutes pass, I felt my body grow weaker. All I wanted to know was where I was and what I was doing in that machine.

"Say, where are we?"

"Don't you remember?" Without missing a beat, she gave me an instant reply. She then reached for the bat once again. She then spun around elegantly and stopped in a witty pose that helped ease my mind. "You are in a virtual simulation known as ApocaEarth Online Closed Beta ver. 0.6.19.2123, or just AEO for short."

"Hold on. Didn't you say I was under the effects of anesthesia?"

Mammon gave an unamused sigh and murmured something under her breath.

"Huh?"

"Yes, I said that. It's part of the game's script. Did you not read the synopsis the devs sent you before deep diving into the game?"

Is this really a game? No matter what she says, something felt off. This pain I felt was too real. Not to mention every time I fell, the ground felt too real. With every passing breeze that brushed across my face and the air that filled my lungs, everything felt too perfect for a video game. I gave up on questioning Mammon. My head was hurting from all of this information.

I turned back to the machine and noticed a faint glare of light glistening off of the machine. I looked up into the sky, and my jaw sank. The sky looked like it was ripped straight from a sci-fi game. What was once the moon was nothing more than a flaming ball of rock being orbited by pieces that had once belonged to it. Next to the moon was an enormous spaceship. Its appearance could have been more exciting. I guess there is only so much you can do with a vessel that can traverse through space.

"That is the U.N.S.S. Last Hope. The U.N.S.S. stands for United Nations Space Ship. They created it as a last resort to save what was left of humanity after the Nuclear war of '23." Mammon said in a soulless tone as if she were following a script.

As she spoke, the back of the ship burst out in a huge fireball.

*BOOOOOM*

A loud explosion followed moments later, startling me. Mammon looked at the ship, unfazed, as if she knew. I noticed Mammon's lips move but could not hear a word.

I closed my eyes to think. All I wanted was to know what was going on. This being a video game was the only justification for the things I saw. An enormous ship, a shattered moon, a barren earth; nothing made sense. I am missing the memories that led up to this point. Everything feels fragmented like I was trying to see something from within a thick fog.

I reopened my eyes and looked at Mammon. She gave me an anticipating stare as if she were waiting for me to say something. I gave her a gleeful smile and spoke.

"So, what's the aim of this game?" I hated the words that came from my mouth. It was like I was using them to cope with my missing memories. It felt so wrong, but I needed to push forward. If this were a game, clearing it would bring me back my memories. "Are we killing a demon lord? Liberating Earth? Are we the last two humans alive on this planet?" I turned back to the machine behind me. "Or did we escape from that ship above us?"

As I bombarded Mammon with my speculations about what this game could be about, she smiled. "Scenario Delta."

"What's Scenario Delta?" I felt sick. Her smile was no longer welcoming. A horrible chill went down my spine. I could not control myself from playing along. Something was not right.

"You'll see in a few seconds." She said ominously. Mammon then ran towards me and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. Her icy fingers brushed against my neck as she threw me into the air.

"Huh? HUUUUUUUUUUH!?" As I was airborne, a giant fireball came crashing below us and slammed into the machine I had awoken from.

"Keep your tongue in your mouth!" I turned to my side and found Mammon falling beside me. She reached out from my hand and grabbed it. Her hand felt like metal. Mammon pulled me close, and we crashed into the ground.

"Mmm…" My head was spinning. I felt a wave of nausea swelling up inside me. After the dust had cleared, a large escape pod took the place of the machine. The pod was heavily damaged, but no holes connected the outside to the inside.

"That, my friend, is our first objective in our journey."