My bones ached, a dull and constant pain that had steadily been increasing and spreading for the last two years. Each step brought a small burst of pain as if pressing a wound. But through the pain I persevered, refusing to stop until I had reached the bench, releasing a weary breath as I sat on its uneven wood. Looking around, I saw the surrounding park that seemed so much greyer and darker than the one in my memories. My mood couldn't help but drop further. The park, like me, had been decaying it seemed. I couldn't help but reminisce about the last few years.
Cancer, already at a very advanced stage, the doctor had diagnosed. I stayed on chemo for the better part of the first year, until it was clear it wasn't having any effect besides making my body even weaker. My parents were devastated after knowing that there was no curing me. At first, they frequently visited and supported me, but as my physical and mental health deteriorated they slowly distanced themselves, or rather, I did. How could I bear their looks of pain and resignation as they looked at me? The forced smiles, the pitying stares, the feeling of being a burden. I hated it. I hated my condition. I hated the burden I had become, never letting them move on or let go, a dead man walking, a constant reminder of their son's incoming death.
Now here I was, sitting on a dilapidated bench in a deserted park with a gun in my hand. I couldn't help but notice the irony. The park that I am so fond of, which used to be so well-cared for and so full of life, now is abandoned together with most of the city. Like me, it was decaying, barely a shadow of its former self. While I was being eaten away from the inside by my own body, the park was slowly being run down by the elements as no one cared for it over the years.
For too long I have felt like a consciousness trapped in a prison of flesh. Would this free me? Free me of the pain, free me of the guilt or the suffering. I looked at the gun in my hand. No matter, I had already decided, I didn't have long to live and I'd rather go out on my own terms rather than alone on a hospital bed drugged out of my mind. Mechanically I brought the gun up and pressed it against the roof of my mouth. The coldness of the metal almost made me second guess myself, but a familiar dull throb in my bones sharpened my resolve.
Slowly, I closed my eyes. Then I pulled the trigger.
...
Disorientation hit me when I opened my eyes. Surrounding me were countless shapes and forms of bizarre colors that seemed to move and transform in impossible patterns. These fractal-like shapes were enthralling, I couldn't bring myself to look away even though my head was beginning to hurt.
"Hello Mark," I heard a deep and ancient-sounding voice.
Immediately, all my focus turned to a figure that seemed to have just popped out of nowhere in front of my vision. It was a man-no, a being made of light, vaguely in the shape of a man. The light coming from him seemed to encompass all the colors of the light spectrum, maybe even beyond it since I had a hard time distinguishing many of them.
"Are you God?" I asked, starting to reconsider all my atheistic views.
"I can be considered a God, I suppose," the being said somehow managing to express an expression of pondering through his featureless face of light.
"Am I in the afterlife?" I asked tentatively.
"No, I have brought you here for a mission," he spoke solemnly.
"What mission?"
"ENTERTAIN ME," he declared, his voice suddenly gaining an unbearable air of authority that had me drop to my knees.
For a moment, I couldn't breathe. The space surrounding me feeling as if ready to swallow me. Looking at the now gigantic being in front of me I finally understood what it felt to be face to face with a God. His whole presence seemed to focus on me and I felt like it found me wanting. Suddenly, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. But now I knew, whatever this being wanted I would give it to him, I had no choice.
"A-and how am I su-supposed to Entertain you?" I asked still shaking from the shock.
"I will send you to the universe of Worm, to Earth Bet specifically"
The moment I processed his words, I began to feel a sinking feeling in my gut. If this is the Worm that I'm thinking about, then I am fucked.
"B-But how will I entertain you there? I would most likely die there without achieving anything significant," I asked while slowly standing up.
"I have seen your life. In your last year, you read quite a lot of fiction about this universe. So I will give you something you are familiar with. Something you desired even," he said, his tone turning mocking at the end.
Just as he finished speaking, a floating screen appeared in front of me. At the very top of the screen, I saw something I was painfully familiar with. When the medications stopped being enough to escape the pain, I turned to escapism fiction as a form of reprieve, many of them featuring the infamous CYOAs. They were a form of self-indulging escapism where people imagined themselves choosing a world and powers to go on an adventure. I began to examine the screen. Although the sinking feeling in my gut didn't seem to go away, at least I gained a shred of hope.
Ȩ̶̨̛̥̮̖̘̙͇̫͎͓̖̽̈́̒̆͊͒̾̒̊͊̓̋̕͝ḉ̸̢̡͚̖͔̬̦͎̤̝̺̝̙̰̙͓̂̍̀̀͊̂̊͑̕͜͜ͅȁ̸̡̨̰̬͍̩̣͇͍̤̺͔͎̪͑̌̓̈́̾̓̅͆͐͝͝͠͠ŗ̶̧̣̥͍̝͎̞͎̹̼̹̗̠̣̇̆̓̆͒͐́̑̃͐̆̋̄̂̊͑̓ͅi̴̡̩͖͎̰̓ǒ̶̢̟͉͚̟̠̤̰̙͕͔͙̙͚̬̾̐̂̊̈́́s̴̛͕͖̫̝̺̺̗̟͆̓̑̽͌̀̃̽̎̋͘͝ Worm CYOA
Points: 0
Difficulty | Scenario | Perks | Drawbacks | Shards | Missions
The first thing I noticed was the broken and distorted word that I assume was the name of the being who is in front of me. I couldn't quite decipher what was written, giving me the impression that it was too complex for me to comprehend it. Next, I looked through the layout. It was quite normal, having categories that are common among many CYOAs. What concerned me the most though, was that I started with zero points considering CYOAs usually give a starting amount.
Deciding to begin filling the CYOA, I gingerly lifted my arm and pressed on the first category.
Difficulty
Points: 0
| Mundane (- 500 pts) |
[LOCKED]
The overall power level of the world is reduced, Scion is dead, and the world is much less Grimdark.
| Easy (- 100 pts) |
[LOCKED]
Scion is much weaker, and the world is significantly less Grimdark.
| Normal (+ 20 pts) |
The world is the same as canon.
| Hard (+ 100 pts) |
Scion is no longer depressed, and the world is significantly more Grimdark.
| Impossible (+ 500 pts) |
The overall power level of the world is increased, Scion is no longer depressed and Eden is still alive, and the world is much more Grimdark.
After reading through the options, I couldn't help but notice how mundane and easy were locked. I sneak a glance at the being a few meters in front of me, and can't help but feel the dark amusement emanating from him.
"There is no fun on an easy journey is there? The fun lies in conflict, in struggle. And struggle you will," I heard him speak. His tone became more and more ominous with each word.
I can feel the dread building in my chest. Looking back at the screen I quickly select the normal difficulty. Worm was already a horrible and grimdark world on the verge of destruction, no number of points would justify making it worse. I don't have an exact idea of the worth of points yet, but if they do turn out to be worth it, I can go back and change my selection. Next, I pressed the Scenario tab.
Scenario
Points: 20
( ...... )
| Scion first appearance (- 50 pts) |
May 19th, 1982
| Formation of the protectorate (- 20 pts) |
May 1st, 1988
| Apearance of the Simurgh (- 10 pts) |
December 30th, 2002
| The day Taylor triggered (+ 20 pts) |
January 3rd, 2011
| Gold Morning (+ 50 pts) |
20 June 2013
( ...... )
Looking through the scenarios, I only found five of them which weren't locked. The first three were a no-go, entering the world too early would completely derail canon and I didn't have a good idea of how the world was before the start of the story, which was dangerous. The last one would bring me straight to the day Scion's rampage began, which gave me no time to prepare. It would only be worth it if the powers I choose don't need any time for growth or preparation. For now, I selected the safe option, the day Taylor triggered. It was a few months before the start of the story, giving me some more time to prepare where my knowledge of the world would still be useful. Then I went to the Perks tab.
Perks
Points: 40
[You may choose up to 5 perks]
( ...... )
| Peak Condition (- 10 pts) |
Your body starts in its peak condition and tends to maintain this state. This results in a small resistance to diseases, mutations, and other negative effects.
| Superhuman Condition (- 20 pts) |
[Requires Peak Condition]
Your body gains a low-level Brute/Thinker rating improving all of its aspects. This results in moderate resistance to diseases, mutations, and other negative effects.
| Blind Spot (- 50 pts) |
You are invisible to all forms of information gathering, precognition, sensing, and surveillance.
| Inviolate mind (- 50 pts) |
You are immune to all forms of control, manipulation, Master effects, and influence.
| Trumped the Trump (- 50 pts) |
You are immune to all Trump effects, and any outside influence on your powers
| Iron will (- 10 pts) |
You have a will of iron. This gives a small resistance to all negative mental effects. It will help you survive this harsh world.
| Pseudo-Shard (- 100 pts) |
Your shard is part of you and resides within your soul, giving a moderate boost to shard-host compatibility. Results in immunity to precognition and Master/Trump effects that affect your shard directly. Be warned, precognition and Master/Trump effects that don't rely upon or affect your shard directly will still work normally against you.
| Papers, Please (- 5 pts) |
You enter this world with an identity and all the documents you will need. However, if anyone searches for your past they won't find anything, as if you popped out of nowhere, little do they know...
( ...... )
The perk list is the largest so far, having dozens of perks. Out of all of them, there were three that were crucial: Blind Spot, Inviolate Mind, and Trumped the Trump. In Worm CYOAs they were a requirement. Without invisibility to precognition, you placed your fate in the hands of the likes of Coil and Contessa. Without Master resistance you would become the puppet of the first powerful Master that appeared, losing all free will. Without immunity to Trump's powers, you would eventually get blindsided by some Trump effect and possibly die.
The problem, however, is that I only had 40 points and I could only gain so many from the drawbacks. That's not even considering how much I would have to spend on choosing my shard. Fortunately among the list, I found the Pseudo-Shard perk, which gave a limited effect of the other three perks together with some other benefits. It's not perfect, I would need to somehow find a way to shore up its weaknesses like emotional and biological Mastering, or analysis-based Thinkers like Tattletale, all of which don't affect my shard directly. However, it would help me save 50 points. Peak Condition, Iron Will, and Papers, Please were nice-to-haves but with the way I had already blown my budget, it was better to leave them for now. Quickly I selected Pseudo-Shard and then moved to the Drawbacks tab.
Before looking at the tab, I glanced again at the being that brought me here. The being stood there, unmovingly staring at me. I could already feel the sweat beginning to form on my back. He had made it abundantly clear that he wanted to see me struggle and, considering the amount of points I got so far and how expensive the perks were, I was bound to take a lot of drawbacks. I could only hope they wouldn't too bad.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Drawbacks
Points: -60
[You may choose up to 10 drawbacks]
( ...... )
| Weak body (+ 5 pts) |
Your body is weak and frail. You are malnourished and your body is underdeveloped. This drawback cannot be picked if the user's powers or perks directly negate its effects.
| Sickly (+ 5 pts) |
Your immune system is somewhat compromised. You easily get sick and the time it takes you to heal is longer. This drawback cannot be picked if the user's powers or perks directly negate its effects.
| Terminal Illness (+ 15 pts) |
You are terminally ill. Choose a terminal illness to have. This drawback cannot be picked if the user's powers or perks directly negate its effects.
| Locally Wanted (+ 5 pts) |
[Can be picked multiple times]
As soon as they know about you, they will want to either try to kill or recruit you. (E88, ABB, Coil, Merchants)
| Globally Wanted (+ 10 pts) |
[Can be picked up to 3 times]
As soon as they know about you, they will want to either try to kill or recruit you. (PRT, Gesellschaft, Cauldron)
| Sink or Swim (+ 10 pts) |
[Synergises with Natural Trigger]
You enter this world with a rough start. Good luck surviving.
| Natural Trigger (+ 10 pts) |
[Synergises with Sink or Swim]
You are not special, you have to trigger like everyone else.
| Conflict Drive (+ 10 pts) |
Your shard makes you feel attracted to conflict, especially involving capes.
( ...... )
There were even more options for drawbacks than there were on the perks tab. However, most of the drawbacks were absolutely brutal. The only ones that were anywhere near acceptable were the ones that gave the least points. If I could I would have picked none of them, but I was 60 points in debt and I still needed more to get a proper shard. In the end, I picked Weak Body, Locally Wanted by E88, ABB and Merchants, Sickly, Terminal Illness, Globally Wanted by the PRT, Sink or Swim, Natural Trigger, and Conflict Drive. The easiest choice was Terminal illness, it gave 15 points and I was already terminally ill, even now I could still feel the dull ache of my bones. Natural Trigger and Sink or Swim were the real hard choices. They highly increased my risk of dying at the start but if you picked one the other may as well be free. As for the local powers, I choose all except Coil because I didn't think I would be completely invisible to his power.
Even after picking the maximum number of drawbacks, I only had 20 points. The shards needed to be cheap or else I might really have to go back and pick even worse drawbacks. I still had to create a power that would allow me to shore up the limitations of Pseudo-Shard, and because of my terminal illness and the Weak Body and Sickly drawbacks, I was basically shoehorned into taking some form of Tinker power that could cure me indirectly since they couldn't be taken otherwise. Full of dread, I went to the next tab.
Shards
Points: 20
Shard Ranking | Shard Choice | Customization | Packages
This tab was different, it had many subcategories. Curious, I pressed the first.
Shards > Shard Ranking
Points: 20
| Normal (- 50 pts) |
(Low Potential)
This shard is not considered an important shard for the Entity.
| Vital (- 100 pts) |
(Medium Potential)
This shard is considered an important shard for the Entity, and so it will not discard it lightly.
| Noble (- 200 pts) |
(High Potential)
The lack of this shard will severely hinder the Entity.
My heart dropped after I looked at the prices. If I wanted to have an actual chance of surviving through Gold Morning I needed to have a noble shard, but I couldn't even afford a Normal one. I clenched my teeth as I thought of how the being brought me here from a peaceful death to this mockery of a game, not even giving me a chance to succeed. However, a single frown from the entity froze the anger that had begun to simmer in my chest. I already suspected it, but the being seemed to be able to read my mind or my emotions, which was unsurprising in hindsight.
"You can refuse you know? You would simply die as you were supposed to and your soul would return to the void, to simply fade away. But I know you won't, you can call me unfair all you want, but in the end, I chose you for a reason," the being spoke condescendingly.
I could feel the mockery in his tone, it angered me, but deep down, I knew he spoke the truth. Despite all the anger, and all my complaints, I still would choose to go through this. Because I wanted to see the world of Worm, because I desired to have superpowers, and most of all, because I wanted to live. And if I had to make a deal with the devil, so be it. Resignedly I picked the noble shard, I needed it to survive, If the points really weren't enough I would look again through the drawbacks. A sigh escaped my mouth as I pressed the next tab.
Shards > Shard Choice
Points: -180
( ...... )
| Queen Administrator |
This shard determines and rearranges the configurations of the shards in an Entity.
| The Shaper |
This shard is responsible for the clean-up of all the lifeforms at the end of the cycle.
| The Observer |
This shard ensures that the actions of the Entity are successful.
| Coruscant Knave |
This shard is used for the travel of the Entity through Space.
| Ascending Consciousness |
This shard is used to coordinate the components that form the consciousness of the entity.
( ...... )
This tab has the longest list so far, there are hundreds of options. I even managed to find Taylor's shard, Queen Administrator. But, while scrolling through the long list of shards, I found one whose name resonated with me, Ascending Consciousness. It brought me back to one of my last thoughts before pulling the trigger, of how I felt like a consciousness trapped inside my ailing body. I took a better look at the description and, even though it was vague, ideas already began to form in my head. I needed to have a Tinker power that would let me indirectly heal myself, and I also needed to shore up my defenses against biological Masters and Analytical precogs. Quickly I selected Ascending Consciousness and went to the next tab.
Shards > Customization
Points: -180
Potential: 200
Mover | Shaker | Brute | Breaker | Master | Tinker | Blaster | Thinker | Striker | Changer | Trump | Stranger
Due to your choice of a Noble shard, your power will be allowed to directly branch into three of the power classifications. The price in points of the shard will be converted into Potential for you to spend.
Classifications
(100 max pot)
Main (0 pot): Not Selected.
(70 max pot)
Auxiliary (0 pot): Not Selected.
(30 max pot)
Minor (0 pot): Not Selected.
| Specializing (+15 pts | - 15 pot) |
[3 maximum specializations for Main, 2 for Auxiliary, and 1 for Minor Classifications]
You specialize the power of a classification to a single field, exchanging potential for points.
| Limiting (+? pts | - ? pot) |
[One maximum limitation for each Classification]
You limit the power of a single classification, exchanging potential for points.
Looking at this tab my hope returned. If I Specialized and limited my powers properly I should be able to reduce my debt to a manageable level. The problem would be finding a compromise between the strength of the power and my budget.
I selected the Main classification and, quickly noticed that all classification options except for Tinker, Thinker, and Master had greyed out. It seemed the purpose of the shard influenced which classifications the power would fall on. One by one, I accessed the available classifications and began to look at them. Each offered more subcategories and the option to choose a power.
After probably hours of messing around with the creation of my power, I finally looked at the Customization menu again.
Shards > Customization
Points: -80
Potential: 0
Classifications
(100 max pot)
Main (45 pot): Tinker
* Hyperspecialist Tinker(AI) (+ 50) [Biological Specialization] (- 15)
* Magi Tinker(Nanotech) (+ 50) [Biological Specialization] (- 15)
Limitation: Has to use tissues/materials from your own body (- 25)
(70 max pot)
Auxiliary (40 pot): Thinker
* Proficiency Thinker(Coordination) (+ 35) [AI Specialization] (- 15)
* Proficiency Thinker(Efficiency) (+ 35) [AI Specialization] (- 15)
(30 max pot)
Minor (15 pot): Master
* Self-Control Master(Neurons) (+30) [Nanobots Specialization] (- 15)
In the end, I managed to remove 100 points of debt, placing any more limitations would break the build I was going for. After looking at all the options I had available, I realized the best way to make the most of my build was to mix AI with nanotech. My Tinker powers would let me build biological computers and nanobots with my own tissues. As for my Thinker powers, they would let me coordinate and improve the efficiency of my neurons, letting my brain work like an AI. Finally, my Master power would let me control all my neurons. Since all my nanobots and computers would be made of my own tissues, they would fall under the effect of my Thinker and Master powers. Thus, creating a powerful synergy.
The problem, as with every Tinker, was that my power had a very steep power curve. I would start very vulnerable, but if I managed to survive long enough to cure myself and see through Gold Morning, I might be S-class by then. This powerset had the added benefit of protecting me against biological masters since I would already be mastering my own neurons.
After finishing my build, I selected the Packages tab. It basically listed pre-made builds of the characters from Worm. Since I was already satisfied with mine, I mostly skimmed it out of curiosity. Skitter's powers cost was 120 points, Alexandria's was 150, Panacea's was 180, and Eidolon's was 200. For some reason, there was also a Scion package costing 5000, and I was pretty sure it was impossible to accumulate this many points. What looking at the packages showed me though, was that the cost of the package wasn't necessarily proportional to its effectiveness. My own build was an example, being extremely min-maxed, all powers tailored to create a very specific synergy, it probably could punch above its weight.
Satisfied as I may have been with my build, I was still 80 points in debt. Before going back to the drawbacks, I decided to at least check out the Missions tab first. So I opened the tab.
Missions
Points: -80
[You may choose up to 5 Missions]
( ...... )
| Ender of the End (+ 30 pts) |
You must directly or indirectly cause the death of an Endbringer. Failure means death.
| Warlord (+ 15 pts) |
[Can be picked up to 3 times]
You must directly or indirectly cause the destruction of a minor power (E88, ABB, Coil, Merchants). Failure means death.
| Diverging Paths (+ 5 pts) |
You must directly change a canon event. Failure means death.
( ...... )
Relief washed over me as I realized that the missions also gave points. I already had picked the maximum number of drawbacks, and even though I could change some of them, the other options were horrifying. What made me hesitate, however, was the warning in all missions that failure meant death. But, after thinking it through, I would most likely die anyway if I couldn't afford my power, and some missions seemed feasible enough. So after some deliberation, I picked Ender of the End, Warlord (E88, ABB, Merchants), and Diverging Paths. Leviathan was likely going to die already, due to the drawbacks I would have a conflict with those three gangs anyway, if you could even count the Merchants as one, and Diverging Paths was basically free points.
Luckily, I just barely managed to bring my point balance to 0. I had to take the maximum number of drawbacks and missions and min-max my powers to the limit, just to have a chance at surviving. Still, I went back to look through the CYOA for anything I might have missed. But just as I start going back through the menus, I am interrupted.
"Enough. You already made your choices," declared the being.
I was about to protest, but it died in my throat when I considered that it would be best not to anger a God.
"Okay, but what happens now?" I asked.
"Now it begins, your adventure," he responded in a fake cheery tone.
The being raised one of his arms and snapped his fingers. Soon after, my vision was consumed by darkness.