<>(Zack)<>

The first sensation that I'm aware of is a cool, hard surface beneath me, slightly uneven at regular intervals. I open my eyes to find myself on a platform formed of dark grey stones. It is surrounded by blackness, and a pure white light emanates from something behind me. The stones themselves emit a powerful sensation, but I push it down.

I don't have time for that, I have more important things to do.

Such as think about my situation and figure out what the hell is going on.

I have no freaking clue where I am, or how I got here. Or who I am, for that matter. So I need to find out what I know, then assess my surroundings for clues, as there does not seem to be a threat to me. I cannot remember anything except my name, Zack, and the fact that I'm twelve, almost thirteen

For some reason, I trust my instinct that there's no danger around, and that relaxes me, but only by a smidgen.

The questions I come up with are as follows this statement. Where am I from? Where am I now? How did I get here? Who was I before now? What happened to me? Why am I here? Why does it feel as if the stones are attempting to overwhelm me with power?

You died.

The voice is gentle and cool, calm and peaceful. It sounds somewhat like a child, maybe my age.

It also enters directly into my head, which is just freaky.

"Show yourself," I command, narrowing my gaze and scanning the area in front of me. I sense no movement or presence behind me, so logic says that the speaker is in front of me, and yet there is nothing there, save the archway in the middle of the edge, with a swirling symbol to represent air at the top, and the blackness that rests beyond the border.

I am not hiding, but rather, am quite obvious. Look to the source of the light, and you will gaze upon my form.

I turn my gaze to the center of the platform, where four steps lead up to an altar, above which floats a crystal ten feet in height and about three feet at its thickest, right in the center, tapering down to each end. At each corner of the steps leading up to the platform stands a small pedestal, above which floats a foot-tall version of the crystal, each emitting the same pure-white light as the larger one. Other than that, there is nothing around me, save an archway on each edge of the platform I am standing on.

"Where am I?" I ask. "How did I get here? Why is a crystal floating in the air? How is a crystal floating in the air? How can I hear your voice entering directly into my head? Who am I? Why can't I remember anything?"

I am the Crystal of Light of Air, one of four Crystals of Light, and my role is to act as a passage between the realm of the living and the realm of the dead. Behind you, you will find the Gate of Air. Should you pass through it, you will return to the realm of the living, from where you came, back into your dying body.

I turn around to look at the stone archway set into the middle of that edge of the platform, the nothingness beyond, and the swirling symbol atop it. On the opposite edge from that archway is one with a stone symbol, on the right-hand side of the stone gate is one with a flame, and its opposite is a drop of water. Clockwise, from the flame, is fire, air, water, stone. Opposites oppose each other.

"And the others?" I ask.

The Gate of Stone shall carry you on to death, where you will soon pass to anyway, should you return to the realm of the living. Worry not of the other two, for our brothers have closed themselves to you. Only two gates stand open for you. Neither one is of any concern to those who come to my domain.

"So why bring me here?" I ask. "If I'm going to die anyway, I can't be of much help, can I? And why can't I remember anything?"

Tell me, child – what is your name? Your age? What do you look like?

"I don't know about the looks," I answer, but then knowledge begins to fill me as soon as I think about it. "My name is Zack Noruva, and I am twelve years old. Nearly thirteen. I have brown hair and blue eyes. I'm small for my age, but a ferocious little thing at the same time. Size isn't everything."

I look at him pointedly with that comment. He's probably trying to intimidate me with his size.

Your memories are gone, but your knowledge isn't. Most of it, anyway. Should you choose to pass through either gate, your memories will return. I have suspended them temporarily, and will propose to you a deal. Accept it, and your memories will be forever gone. You will find yourself using terms you don't know the meanings of, for they relate to the world you are from, and not the world you will be within, and that extra knowledge will soon fade away, as it's unneeded in the new realm, should you accept.

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"Why?"

Burning within you is a light that cannot be squashed. At the same time, there is a darkness there. In all people, the two exist alongside each other. You are among the rare few where the balance is delicate, and the two are entwined. Because of that, you are capable of existing in another realm.

"Another realm?"

Yes, another realm. This realm is a barrier between reality and fantasy, between what is and what is simply the dreams and hopes and thoughts of others. There, monsters take form and powers are very much real. These monsters serve under various beings, but in the end, all serve under a single entity: the Shadow of Life. The Shadow of Life wishes to breach the veil of fantasy and enter the realm of reality.

"In a realm that is nothing but fantasy, is that even possible?"

It is because it is a realm of fantasy that this is possible. My brothers and I maintain one part of the veil, while our cousins, the Crystals of Dark, maintain the other. Together, the eight of us stand in the way of the Shadow of Life, keeping him sealed away and slumbering. But on his monsters march, seeking to wipe out the warriors we've chosen and sent to the realm to fight his hordes.

"So how will they breach into reality?" I ask. "I mean, that just seems weird."

Will you stop interrupting me? And ignore that, it's not relevant. Not to you, anyway. If you accept my offer, you'll become a warrior in this realm, chosen by the Crystals of Light and the Crystals of Dark. You'll become different, able to evolve as you go on through a Leveling system, gaining new Skills as you grow.

"That sounds familiar," I say. "Why does it sound familiar?"

Oh, for reality's sake! You are exactly the kind of person that makes the others not want to deal with the request, and so dump all of this on me! It's based off a gaming system from the world you're from. Many, actually. We made these changes because it makes things easier and simpler for you. Plus, it fits with the world you're going to be in. Stop questioning everything! So. Want to be a warrior for good? Or do you want to just die? Also, if you die in this other realm, you're dead for good, there's no passage, there's no other world, you're gone, you're dead, no more, bye-bye, you'll be missed temporarily and forgotten shortly.

I think I got on the Crystal's nerves.

"Sorry for annoying you," I say, and I hear it exhale heavily in my mind.

I suppose it's only natural for you to be curious; after all, that's a part of your nature, even if you are small, scrawny, skin-and-bones, and pretty weak. Know that if you accept, a variety of things will be based on who you were and are as a person before your death. You'll probably have no Stats and a high Experience requirement and scaling. Do you accept? If not, then just take one of the passages. One for instant death and passage on to the next life, and the other to just die a painful death, the way you're supposed to be dying.

"Life's better than death," I state. "I suppose I'll give it a chance."

Even though you won't get to move on to heaven, a place of paradise, for accepting this?

"What's heaven?"

Oh, never mind! You've already accepted. I'll be glad to get you out of here. Bye. Congratulations on your new life, hope you live a long and prosperous one, becoming strong and powerful, and so on. Blah-blah-blah. Enjoy. Oh, and before you go, know that you can pull up windows with your thoughts, such as your Stats and your Skills and items. Your memory loss, as I never finished explaining, is to make you more adaptable to your new world, as you'd need a certain level of suspension of disbelief at first to come to terms with it.

My surroundings fade, and in their place forms trees and dirt. Well, one tree immediately in front of me, a few more scattered here and there, between the buildings surrounding me. I'm in the yard of one of the buildings. The property is surrounded by a low stone wall, the building itself constructed of the off-white brick as the wall.

The building itself is shaped like an L – at least, the part of it that I can see. There is a well pump not far from me, and in one of the openings on the wall, what looks like an old kitchen. At least this facility has a bath, as there's no way I'd want to live somewhere without one.

Returning to the yard, I lean against the tree as I take in what's around me with a quick gaze. I'm smarter than the average boy of my age, that I know for a fact. My mind works differently, it's more analytical, and more adaptable. I learn fast. My Intellect is likely high, here.

Speaking of my Intellect, I need to find out what my Stats are, as those are, no doubt, quite important. I think Status, and immediately, a window appears in the air before me.

Character Information Dark of Fire Name: Zack Primary Class: None Level: 0 Unavailable: Unavailable Title: None Unavailable: Unavailable Health: 10/10 Mana: 10/10 Strength: 1 Intellect: 1 Endurance: 1 Willpower: 1 Vitality: 1 Wisdom: 1 Agility: 1 Perception: 1

I'm not completely sure, but I think those Stats, while they look like starter Stats, are actually really low. Everything is sitting at base, no doubt, and it says my Intellect is only 1. That's insulting. Very damn insulting.

A high Experience requirement, he said was likely for me. Well, Big C – since I can’t see how much I actually need, other than the percent, then I guess I’ll just have to find out for myself just how difficult it will be for me to gain Levels.

I just hope I don’t die, first…