Chapter 3 [Updated 19/6/23]

Serene felt the darkness dissipate and she opened her eyes again. She could see the vastness of space in front of her, with a world spinning with the giant letters 'ATLAS' in front of her. Right below it was the words 'START'. She gently lifted her finger, and lightly tapped on the start in front of her. Her vision blurred and now she was now in a giant empty white space. She tried to look down, but she couldn't see herself.

"Easy my child," a soft and gentle voice spoke out. Serene's 'eyes' widened in shock as she looked up. Before her was standing an old man, who looked to be nearing the end of his days. He was clothed in white robes and held a wooden staff, but that wasn't what shocked Serene so badly.

"Can you--," Serene was going to ask a question, but the sound of her delicate and soft voice that reached her ears made her pause. She just heard her own voice. She just heard the old man's voice, she just heard.

"How? What? Why?" Those were the only questions that Serene could even comprehend think of, let alone ask. She was well past the point of even thinking about her silent act.

"Easy child. Take a breath and slow down," the older man spoke again. Serene thought the man's words were wise to listen to. Plus he also looked like a wise old man, so his words ought to be wise too. Serene began to calm herself through some breathing exercises she had been taught. Soon enough she was calm enough to rationally think.

"Why can I hear," was the immediate question she was able to get out. Her heartbeat was still racing, but at least she could comprehend what was going on.

"The headset that you are wearing brings your consciousness into the game and only your consciousness. Hence deformities and disabilities are left in reality, and in Atlas, you are but your true self," the old man offered slowly. His voice was calm and gentle as if he was guiding a student. Serene almost got drunk in the ecstasy of being able to hear someone again that she almost didn't listen to the wise old man.

"So I will always be able to hear in Atlas," Serene couldn't help but ask. Her voice got higher the longer she spoke.

"Indeed," the wise old man said.

"Amazing," Serene couldn't but help let out.

"It truly is," the wise old man stated mystically. Serene studied the wise old man and found that there was something odd about his aura. Everything about him told her he was alive, and yet, it felt as if he didn't believe so.

"Are you real," Serene couldn't help but ask.

"I'm only as real as you believe me to be, my child." The only thing Serene could think in response to that was 'what'. Yet the wise old man's words had a semblance of truth in them. This was a game after all, who would say that the characters in it were alive?

"Are you ready to go to the world of Atlas my child," the wise old man asked. Serene paused for a second, after having been brought out of her thoughts by the wise old man's sudden words.

"I guess so," Serene said, unsure of what going into Atlas entailed.

"The first step you need to go through is your character creation then, you will go choose some smaller things, and after that, you will begin your adventure." The wise old man motioned his hand to his side, and there Serene found an exact replica of what she looked like floating a few inches off the ground. It slowly rotated such that Serene got to see what she looked like from all angles. She couldn't help but be surprised. Who wouldn't be when they finally got to see themselves through someone else's eyes?

"Am I able to just change anything," Serene asked.

"Yes, you can just simply state any changes and it will happen. Serene looked back at herself. With short black hair, sharp green eyes, and a taller stature, she couldn't help but feel disappointed. 'This is a new world,' she thought to herself. 'I don't want to be Serene in this new world, I'm going to be whoever I want to be.'

"Change the hair color to white," Serene told the image of herself. The image of her hair immediately changed to a pure white color. "Lengthen the hair and make it silky smooth." The image did exactly as she said it to, and it followed the exact image of what she had hoped would happen. "Change the eye color to an amethyst purple. Round the eyes, and make them look softer, not so sharp, and I want to be a little bit shorter." The image followed her commands to the letter. "I also want my torso to be shorter, and I want long, slender legs." Serene stated. She could feel herself blushing a little from such a request. However, she currently didn't have a body so the wise old man couldn't tell. Serene looked at the new image of herself in astonishment. The new image of her was almost the opposite of who she was in virtually every feature.

"That's what I want. That's who I want to be," Serene stated, still enamored by her new image.

"That's a good choice, my child. There is another thing for you to do. Every new player must choose a general pathway of evolution. Some games call it your class, others are your profession. In Atlas, it is listed as an Evolutionary Path. Do you know which one you would like to choose?"

"Um..." Serene lightly spoke, before bashfully continuing, "I don't even know what paths there are to take."

"That is alright my child. I can show you a list of them." The wise old man gestured his hand to the other side of him, and a large panel of words appeared. Serene was able to see them very clearly, even though the letters were rather small and a good distance away.

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Evolutionary Paths

- Mage: People who specialize in the ability to control...[Expand]

- Esper: People who differ in their abilities to control...[Expand]

- Cultivator: People who gather the natural qi of the wo...[Expand]

- Warlord: People who are particularly talented in learni...[Expand]

- Pugilist: People who are particularly talented in learn...[Expand]

- Diviner: People who use the powers of extradimensional...[Expand]

- Constructor: People who specialize in various ways of ...[Expand]

- Tamer: People who form special bonds with various types...[Expand]

- Life Weaver: People who use blood as a medium to perfo...[Expand]

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"Is it possible for you just to give me a quick summary of each of them?" Serene rubbed her forehead, feeling the incoming pain if she had to read them all. "I feel like reading through all nine of these would be rather time-consuming," Serene asked the wise old man.

"I can," the wise old man nodded as if this was something he expected. "The Mage is an evolutionary path where those who partake on the journey uncover and use the mysteries of the arcana. Using the natural magic of the world to create miraculous spectacles. Though in order to get stronger they need to take time to study and understand the natural magic of the world. Esper is an evolutionary path where those who take it have discovered their natural ability to do the unnatural. Their abilities are the hardest to explain because everyone's powers differ and as such the way they get stronger is unique to each individual. The cultivator is an evolutionary path that uses the natural qi to enhance their bodies. They also use it for things similar to the mages, however to a lesser extent. Cultivators are also well-versed in martial arts, however, that is not where the entirety of their focus lies. Warlord and Pugilist are very similar evolutionary paths but differ in their focus. The Warlord is a strength-focused Close Quarter fighter. Their tendencies are to focus on overwhelming strength through all means. The Pugilist focuses more on their Dexterity. They are not as overpowering as the Warlords, but their applications have a much greater range, from using ranged weapons, to also being stealthy assassins. Diviners make a pact with an extradimensional being to gain power. The power they inherit depends on the being they make a pact with, so they are the most widely ranged evolutionary path. Constructor is an evolutionary path that focuses on the building of materials to assist them, as well as being able to sell them. This can follow a mechanical aspect or can follow a different more mystical manner. Tamer is an evolutionary path that focuses on making pacts and building relationships with a variety of creature types to assist them. Tamer and Constructor are similar play styles but differ in the way they use their power. Finally, Life Weaver is an evolutionary path where people use their own blood or the blood of others to create miraculous spectacles. Similar to the Mage, but differing in the medium in which they use. Is that enough information?"

"You said Esper's all have unique powers and that no two people are the same," Serene asked excitedly.

"That is a blanket statement, but yes."

"How do people figure out what ability they get?"

The cheeky smile that started to blossom on the wise old man's face should've warned Serene something was up, but she was much too interested in the Esper Evolutionary Path to take notice.

"You roll the dice," the wise old man said cheekily.

"So I won't know what I'll get till after I choose it?"

"No, you will not."

Serene began to think to herself for a moment. Life Weaver was most definitely out. Serene did not want to use her own blood, or the blood of others to do things. That just screams at being an evil type of person. Pugilist and Warlord are also obviously out of the picture. Serene didn't want to play a game where she would always be up close and personal with people all the time. Using melee weapons as a central focus of a play style just wasn't her style. Plus the idea of grooming the idea of becoming a ultra jacked woman was not what Serene wanted to do. Constructor and Tamer seemed interesting, but she didn't want to have to rely on other things. The idea of having to use your tamed beasts, or your equipment to get by wasn't that interesting. The same logic also applied to the Diviner, she wanted her power to belong to her. Which just meant that the only things left were the Mage, Esper, and Cultivator. Of those three, the Esper was the most unique. From the wise old man's descriptions, the cultivator was a cross between Pugilist and Mage, and cross classes were usually more difficult to understand and play. Finally, though the mage seemed cool, she didn't like the idea that she would have to 'study' the uses of magic in order to get stronger. Serene never liked academics, and so having to play something that might even have a connection to academia was disgruntling. That left the Esper, and even though Serene didn't like the idea that she didn't know what kind of power she would have from the beginning, it was still the most interesting choice. Having a natural power that was explicitly unique to her was just something that she couldn't give up.

"I want to choose the Esper evolutionary path," Serene said to the wise old man. The wise old man could only smile in return.

"Good choice," the wise old man responded, his voice oozing with schadenfreude.

In front of Serene, a massive game show wheel suddenly appeared, with what looked like thousands upon thousands of tiny little slivers. Before Serene could even think to do anything, the wheel began to spin. The buzzing of the pointer slapping against the metal rods as it spun was the only sound in the large white space she was in. Slowly the wheel slowed down and landed on a tiny sliver that she couldn't even read. However, a smile plastered onto the wise old man's face as he began to speak.

"Congrats. It seems you unearthed the 'White Mist' power. Now the last step before you go into the world of Atlas is to choose your username. Your username will be can be visible to all players. What would you like your name to be," the wise old man asked.

"Wait, are you not going to tell me about the new ability," Serene asked in a hurry.

"No, now your name," the wise old man asked once more.

Serene only had to think about it for a few moments before she knew what she wanted. Her username was going to be the only thing that kept her tethered to her old reality.

"Soundless Rain."

"That one was not chosen before, so your username is 'Soundless Rain'. Is there anything else before you go my child," the wise old man asked gently.

"I don't think there is," Serene said hesitantly.

"Alright, well I will send you off now." The wise old man waved his hand, and Serene could see the white space she was in began to dissolve. Slowly at first, before speeding up rapidly.

"Wait," Serene yelled out. "I never got your name." The white space was already almost completely gone, all that was left at that moment, was the wise old man, her, and the few feet of space between them.

"I am just a nameless helper my child. But you can call me Bel-" the wise old man's words were cut off, as Serene lost consciousness and everything went to black.