It was a hot summer day. An old wooden cottage could be seen in the forest clearing. An old man in his nineties settled in a creaky chair on the porch. In one trembling hand, he held a glass of cool water. With the other, he lazily swatted away annoying insects. His wife hovered nearby, she was always striving for absolute order, undeterred by the peculiar weather. Frank had long thought that it was for the best. At such an age, one needed to maintain some life goals and activities, otherwise, one wouldn't last long.

"Martha, the kids will come to visit us tonight," Frank said. "Kyle called some time ago, he said they had a day off with Betty and wanted to have a family dinner."

There was no response.

"Can you hear me?!" he asked again, louder this time.

Martha momentarily stopped dusting the shelves and turned to him. "Oh, what? Do you want me to bring you your pills?"

"The kids are coming over today!"

"Oh, the kids. That's good. So, do you want me to bring the pills?"

"No, thank you. It's still too early."

"Remind me later, I keep forgetting about them."

"Of course, don't worry about that."

Martha continued dusting the shelves, muttering to herself. Despite being ten years younger than him, she was already experiencing a noticeable decline in hearing, memory, and cognitive abilities. But her physical form remained well enough. In that regard, Frank was her complete opposite: any movement required great effort from him, but his mind worked perfectly. He could even remember some parts of his early childhood.

Lately, various events from his life had been resurfacing more frequently, events he could meticulously analyze. So he would sit for hours on the porch, lost in the memories of the past.

Since early morning, I've had this feeling of impending global change. It's as if my body is signaling that its time is up, and it's time for me to rest. I just need to make it until the evening, and see the children and grandchildren one last time. The drowsiness is creeping in, damn that heat. In this state, it's better not to fall asleep, but it seems I'm on the verge of losing it...

"Frank, are you okay?" Martha asked, concerned. "You look pale. Maybe you should take your medication a bit earlier?"

"Thank you for your concern, dear. But really, it's not necessary. You know what, bring me some cold milk instead. I think there's no better medicine than the dairy from our girl Bella."

"Now that you mentioned it, I haven't milked her in a while," his wife replied and disappeared into the doorway. "I'll be back soon!"

I really don't want her to see me in this fading state. This request was a distraction, just to divert her attention from examining my dying body. I don't want her to remember me like this.

A solitary tear rolled down the old man's dry, wrinkled cheek. His head slowly dropped forward as his eyes closed. His strength was leaving him. Frank Cooper's last thoughts were: farewell, Martha, I hope to see you in a better world...

Soon, he fell into a deep sleep. The most memorable and vivid events from his past flashed in his mind: his participation in military actions during World War II, sustaining several dangerous injuries, and how he had managed to recover and even excel in sport so successfully that he made it to the finals of the national boxing championship. In the end, the challenge of the reigning champion ended with a crushing defeat. Later, Frank would replay in his mind many times the mistakes he had made in preparation and during the match. How could his life have changed had he crossed that threshold? But ultimately, due to his character, he pushed away those thoughts and just continued on with his life. Perhaps he had lost that fight, but in the end, he won the most valuable prize one could dream of...

Then, in a series of memories, came their meeting with Martha. They crossed paths on a bench in the park, and at that moment, Frank behaved quite unexpectedly, even to himself, starting a conversation with a stranger. Usually, he wasn't one to engage with new people. This incident was particularly significant for him. Sometimes it is necessary to overcome one's established habits, step out of the comfort zone to get the results you want. 

Time flew by unnoticed, their whirlwind romance grew into true love. They had two children, Kyle and Betty, and later three grandchildren — Stephanie, George, and Abigail. George was the oldest of them, recently turning thirty-five. Following him was twenty-seven-year-old Stephanie, and the youngest, thirteen-year-old Abigail. Overall, their family could be considered exemplary, without any drama or quarrels. Perhaps the rarity was how well three generations got along and understood each other. The only thing that saddened him was that they hadn't given him great-grandchildren yet...

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Of course, Frank wanted to live longer, to see how his grandchildren's lives would unfold. Not to leave Martha in grief at his departure. But everything has an end, and he had long felt and accepted the approaching end as inevitable.

A bright, white flash illuminated Frank's consciousness, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

Am I dead? Where am I?

Surrounded by pitch darkness and complete silence, he found himself in a seated position, but instead of his usual chair, there was something dark and fluffy, enveloping the space beneath him. Frank reached his hand underneath and was puzzled to find that it moved freely in space. With his fingertips, he felt something akin to steam. Or... a cloud?

What exactly am I sitting on? I don't understand.

Frank tried to lower his leg further down, and it moved freely in space. It seemed like he could hover in space without exerting any effort.

His contemplations and analysis of his surroundings were interrupted by another flash. Before him, a white silhouette suddenly appeared, contrasting sharply with the dark emptiness. Frank found it difficult to gauge the scale of this figure, as he felt a distortion in his perception of space. The contours were very blurry, and the figure could change dramatically in shape depending on the viewing angle. At one moment it looked like a human, at another, like an octopus… 

Did I have a sunstroke while sitting on the porch? Is my body now dealing with its consequences?

"Welcome, newcomer!" a thunderous voice echoed in space from the silhouette. This voice was akin to lightning, tearing through space and cutting off any stray thoughts the old man could possibly have.

As Frank recoiled from the unexpected sound, the silhouette continued speaking, "It's your turn for interdimensional transfer to another reality. You have just been connected to the universal progression system, Akashic Network, presented to you in a form understandable by your species."

Frank finally gathered his thoughts and began to attack with questions that one after another visited his mind, "Allow me to inquire, what are you? Where is this place? What is this system thing? I have no idea what you’re talking about!."

"Let me explain. For the sake of simplifying things, you can consider me a divine entity. In this situation, I serve as a Guide for the transfer of human bodies and consciousness to a new world."

"So, am I dead?" Frank clarified with a hint of disappointment.

"The time of your death has not yet arrived. I repeat, you are currently in the stage of being transported to another dimension. The current location is the Star Bridge, which serves as a channel for transfer between Earth and its planetary prototype — Terra."

"Why do I need to be moved there at all? I would like to spend my last days at home, close to my loved ones."

"A ubiquitous energy has awakened on your planet — Aether. It influences all living organisms, unlocking magical potential within them. However, due to its sudden surge, serious mutations may occur, some incompatible with life. My goal is to transfer as many people as possible from there before that happens — you’re valued as a unique form of sapient life, after all — to prevent the complete disappearance of your species."

"What a disaster... Wait, so some people won't be transferred? And they will die?"

"Unfortunately, this is the case," the silhouette shook its head in disappointment. "Moreover, it will be a majority of Earth's population as rather strict conditions are necessary for the transfer. Some may survive this surge, but they will likely be rare exceptions. Perhaps death would have been more merciful for them. In any case, they would hardly be considered human anymore."

"Oh my, that’s terrible! I hope this is some kind of mistake, it can't be true! What about my family?!"

The Guide didn’t even acknowledge Frank’s worries and continued indifferently, "To answer your question about the system: it is an Aethiric network that analyzes the potential of every living being. To know your current status, focus your thoughts on receiving the data and you'll receive the information directly from the Akachic Network."

It seemed that the Guide had no intention to tell Frank about his family. After a few more unsuccessful attempts at getting the white being to respond, he gave up, and he attempted to follow its advice and find out what the system had to say about him. Responding to his thoughts, a screen appeared in his mind.

Basic Status

Race: Common Human 

Rank: Common 

Runic Slots: 0/5 

Level: 8 (41/45) 

Strength: 4 

Agility: 2 

Constitution: 3 

Mind: 12 

Spirit: 20 

Free Attribute Points: 0 (Experience: 0%)

How should one even understand this? Level, am I a building to you? An eight-story one at that! And why is my experience at zero? Is all my life experience really so insignificant? Or does it imply something else? Hm, I had Martha as a partner, and some other girls before that, so I’m not some inexperienced youth... The agility attribute is very low, which is not surprising considering my age. At the very least my spirit is high enough, that's comforting!

It seemed like his brain was overwhelmed with questions for which he couldn't find answers.

"How do I make sense of all this?" Frank asked bewilderedly.

"Understanding will come with direct experience and practice," responded the booming yet indifferent voice of the Guide.

Before the old man could protest in response, the silhouette continued speaking.

"Your time on the Star Bridge is coming to an end. You are about to arrive at the starting location, which roughly corresponds to your position on Earth before the transfer. I wish you luck in battles and swift advancement in power. Survive and thrive, human being. Thrive and survive. And then, one day, you’ll reclaim what is rightfully yours…"

Before Frank could say anything in response, he found himself in a completely new place...