No Free Lunch!
Jax had fallen asleep after his system activated, he wasn't prepared for the rush of energy his mind, body and soul experienced.
He had just become accustomed to absorbing energy at a slow and steady pace, and trying to control all that energy at once exhausted his mind and body.
He was super excited about the telepathy ability. He didn't have to grow up with only himself to talk to, he hated the idea of having to wait until he got old enough to talk.
The best part, in his opinion, was that he could speak with his mind long after gaining speech with his own voice. In a way, he preferred mental communication over verbal. It just seemed more intimate than speaking one's thoughts out loud. He decided before falling asleep he would only talk to his close friends and loved ones with his mind.
He would communicate with everyone else thru normal speech. After saying hello to his new parents for the first time and falling asleep he fell into a dreamless sleep.
Where people go when the sleep, is usually within their own conscious, but Jax found himself in a perpetual darkness. He couldn't tell if only his mind was here, or if his whole body was here too. He couldn't hear, or feel anything, all he saw was infinite darkness.
'Where am I? How did I get here? I remember starting the soul contract, and then I heard a voice saying I activated a system. I didn't have the time to pay attention to the notifications, holding in all that energy at once was a pain.' He thought to himself.
Looking around for any kind of indication of where he was, he began to feel a pressure building up on his mind, it was a gentle sort of pressure, but extremely heavy.
He finally sees a speck of light in the distance, he can't tell what it is, but it seems to be heading towards him. As the light gets closer, he begins to see an image. This image is of an old man.
The old man coming towards him is around 50-60 years of age visually, he had an average looking body, 6 ft tall and 220lbs. With shoulder length and almost solid black hair, with streaks is silver and grey throughout. His eyes were a mixture of green and grey.
As the figure stops in front of Jax, he looks him up and down with a serious expression, as if trying to search his soul for any anomalies. Afterwards, he looks Jax in the eyes, smiles and begins to speak.
"Remain calm, I have brought your soul into my domain. No harm shall befall you whilst here. My name is Magnus, and I am a higher god. I preside over and facilitate the laws of Karma. I brought you here to give you information and to answer any of your questions you may have."
"I am also the brother of the one who created Thorn, his name was Maxwell. I do not know if this coincidence or fate. However, I believe it's the latter, simply because my brother was a higher god as well. Only, he presided over and facilitated the laws of fate and destiny."
"I am also the one responsible for bringing your soul to this world, but I also believe that had already been determined by my brother as well." Magnus explained.
"I have two questions, if you can answer them. One, why me? Why was I chosen over all others? There are countless people who die everyday with regrets and wishes for a second chance, so, why me? Two, what is the blessing of the God of Karma? And what must I do for receiving this blessing?"
The blessing was the only notification from the system that wasn't explained or self explanatory. He was both worried and curious. He had read many web novels in his boring life, and one thing that was unanimous, 'There's no free lunch', everything comes with a price.
If this blessing, system and his new powers were given to him and meant to make him stronger, than its pretty obvious that he will have to fight someone or several someone's in the future.
"Like I said previously, I believe my brother was responsible for me finding your soul upon your death. He might have even been responsible for making your death happen! He was a god of fate and destiny, he would do many things that seemed evil or cruel, but in the bigger picture that is the universe, his actions prevented many disasters and saved countless lives on many worlds. He often regretted becoming the god of fate and destiny." Said Magnus
"The answer to your second question is more complex. The blessing I gave you will protect your soul from the darkness that you will have to destroy. We higher gods can't openly interfere in mortal matters, but, we can give assistance to champions we deem worthy. You are one such champion, only you will have to succeed alone. Other than what's already been given, I wont be able to assist easily in the future, for that you'd have to complete quests. The system will explain everything once you wake up." Answered Magnus
"So your saying I'm the champion you've chosen to defeat this darkness you spoke of? It seems I don't really have a choice, I mean I do but the alternative is becoming something I don't want to be, so I agree to terms, whatever they are." Said Jax after thinking about Magnus's words. He didn't want to become evil or be controlled by darkness, so he had no other choice than to fight!
"Yes, you have been chosen as my champion, therefore I've given you my blessing and granted you and your body advanced levels of power and cultivation, plus you've also been granted a system, that will help you become much much more powerful in the future. Depending on what kind of system you gained, determines your base power. Out of curiosity, what system did you manage to activate?" Asks Magnus, he was genuinely curious about it.
"If I'm not mistaken, I activated the Dragon Knight System. I'm also curious about this, do you know about Dragon Knights? Are they powerful?" Jax asks excitedly
"Dra.. Dragon Kn.. Knight! Our you sure? There hasn't been a Dragon Knight in centuries! The last known Dragon Knight was said to have killed an Ancient Immortal! Even higher gods fear ancient immortals. If you've really activated the Dragon Knight System, than I'm afraid your destiny is something no one can foresee. Dragons are the ultimate species, and they are destruction incarnate. When a mortal bonds with a dragon, that mortal becomes a dragon knight. The mortal also steps into the beginning steps of immortality." Magnus didn't want to believe that this was the system his chosen champion was granted. If so, his champions life would be very difficult.
"Yes, I'm certain that's what the system notification said, I awakened the Dragon Knight System. I've been prepared since coming to this world, somehow I knew something like this would happen after my wish was granted. It's quite alright, I fully understand the current situation and my future struggles, but I'm prepared to deal with them as they require. I'm fully aware that there's no free lunch in any life." Said Jax with determination and conviction.
"Ok, I will trust in your conviction, and like I said I will do everything I can to help you along the way, but I must give you a warning. There will come a time when you face your enemy, and you will also have to face your past. At that time you must face this obstacle alone." Said Magnus in a grave tone.
"It doesn't matter, past, present or future. No matter what it is, I will overcome and defeat it. I will not repeat my mistakes, I will live my life fully and for what I believe in." Said Jax
"I will return your soul to your body now, when you wake, take the time to get to know your system and it's functions. The system will answer your questions if the information is stored in its database. It will also guide you through your cultivating and mastering your skills and abilities. I will also leave knowledge on how to contact me within the system, but it will be held for emergencies only, and that will be determined by the system itself. It will also grow and learn alongside you."
"Until next we meet Jax Talen. I look forward to watching you grow and seeing what your able to achieve. Impress me by doing great deeds or accomplish a great thing and you will be greatly rewarded. I am the God of Karma after all. Ha ha hahaha." Magnus says and laughs. Afterwards his hands start to glow and Jax finds himself slipping off to sleep again, only this time he's back within his own mind and dreams.
AN - I deeply apologize for the late chapter release. I'm trying my hardest to write and upload chapters, but all my time recently has went to my job. Please, bear with me and continue to read and support my story.
Thank you for understanding
Blessed Be