It arrived without warning and brought devastation.
The System arrived, and integrated the planet, initiating a brief tutorial for the natives. Hostile forces were brought to bear on them, to test them, and to drive them to reach their potential.
But they failed.
Earth failed to fend off its assailants, and their integration resulted in the planet and its inhabitants being conquered by various forces and factions of the Multiverse.
These forces use the natives of the earth as slave labour, barely providing the bare necessities for survival, while exemplary work will be rewarded with more.
They never receive enough to have much energy to spare.
Ten years had passed since the Earth’s failure, and the hostile forces and overlords had made drastic changes.
Through forced labour, the humans were made to tear down their homes, and cities, to build fortresses, and palaces for their rulers, resulting in a lack of accommodations for themselves. Most had been relocated to various work camps, but a few remained near their rulers.
The high and mighty required servants, and such after all.
In the dirty, filthy residential areas those people inhabited, the rulers would pick and choose among the ones they preferred, often snatching any young men, or women who caught their eye. None were seen again.
That is what happened to Selene, but her story would shake the foundations of oppression.
This is her story.
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Selene sat on the floor, dazed. It felt wet and sticky, and a strange smell assailed her nostrils as she breathed deeply. Something dripped from her fingers.
“Wh-what?” her mind felt sluggish as if stuffed with cotton. Every thought felt strenuous. Bit by bit, her head cleared up, and memories started resurfacing.
Running through the shanty-town, playing with the other kids, and trying to forget the truth. Forget about the System and the Kin’Tai Syndicate that had taken dominion over the region. Forget about her friends disappearing, and her parents’ gaunt faces as they gave their food to Selene. The kind smiles on their faces, as the strength left them. The empty beds, and silent home.
Selene’s breath became ragged, and her heart beat a rapid staccato in her chest as if it wanted to burst.
She remembered the goons, the four people who had come for her, who dragged her into the palace of Lon Thast, the local ruler.
She remembered the looks on the servants as they stripped her, cleaned her, and gave her the first full meal she’d had in over ten years.
She remembered the look in Lon Thast’s eyes as she was pushed into his chambers.
She remembered the feeling of his fat, sweaty fingers on her body.
“Urgh,” she retched, but only bile came out. “No, nonononono!”
She clutched her head and felt something sticky. Her eyes opened, revealing the bloated body of Lon Thrast, covered in blood. The floor beneath him, and Selene was saturated with crimson, and his throat was a mangled mess.
A silent scream escaped Selene’s lips as she scrambled away. Her back struck the wall, and her vision swam, as more memories resurfaced.
Tears streamed down her face, as she felt a surge of emotion, and something else.
Unbearable cold enveloped her, as she screamed.
It was a shrill scream that seemed to echo infinitely in the room, as if accompanied by a chorus of the dead, it reverberated and a deathly chill spread from her form. Crinkling sounds accompanied the echoing scream, as the crimson liquid froze. Rime spread along the floor, and wall, until it covered every surface of the room.
In Selene’s mind, a chime sounded.
[Ding! Spiritual Essence absorbed. Stage 1 reached.]
[Congratulations to Selene Parson for overcoming the restrictions of the System. Full System access granted.]
[Stage 1: Niflshade Initiate reached.]
[Skills gained: Shadow Strike, Chill of the Grave, Spirit Echoes.]
[Shadow Strike: Envelop your fist, or weapon in shadows. Every strike will drain life from the target, replenishing your reserves.]
[Chill of the Grave: Create an area of deathly cold, draining the strength, and health of anyone caught within.]
[Spirit Echoes: Sense the lingering echoes of the departed. See the spiritual energy in your surroundings.]
Name:
Selene Parson
Race:
Human
Affiliation:
Earth
Stage:
1 - Niflshade Initiate
Level:
1
Stats:
Strength(STR)
6
Agility(AGI)
7
Vitality(VIT)
4
Intelligence(INT)
4
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Wisdom(WIS)
5
Charisma(CHA)
3
Skills:
Shadow Strike
Novice
Chill of the Grave
Novice
Spirit Echoes
Novice
[Quest issued: Escape.]
[Escape: Find your way out of the predicament, through force, or otherwise.]
“E-escape?” Selene frowned as her mind was a jumble. “What do-”
Her eyes widened, and she looked around. The room, which was lavishly decorated, was still frozen over. The corpse of Lon Thrast lay in front of her, by the bed, a grimace of pain marring his face.
“Escape! I need to get out of here! Someone must have hea-,” she stopped herself, and shook her head. “No, they’d be here already if that was the case. Plenty of screams must come from this room for nobody to react to it…”
Her thoughts drew her back into herself, and she clutched her knees and sobbed gently.
“I need to get out of here, but how?”
The room had several large windows that overlooked the beautiful back garden. Manicured hedges, neatly trimmed green grass, fountains, and paths made for an idyllic sight, but Selene could only see the blurry outline of it, and the movement of servants guards, due to the layer of clear frost that covered the window.
“Any sound, like breaking the glass, would draw attention,” she thought, distracting herself successfully. “Alternatively, I don’t think there would be anyone too close to the entrance to his chambers. Unless he expects to call on servants for something. No, I don’t think so.”
She shivered but stelled herself.
“I’ll use the door, and try to sneak my way out,” she nodded, turned, and strode toward the door.
She heard no sounds from the outside when she put her ear to the door, and after taking a deep breath, she pushed.
The ice was tough, but it was only a thin sheet of it, so it cracked and crumbled without much effort, and the door glided open.
The corridor was deserted, so Selene darted forward, light on her feet from years of scrambling around the town.
Plush, red carpets with golden trimmings covered the floor of the palace, and paintings in ornate frames hung on the walls. Doors lined the corridor on each side as Selene moved forward.
She kept her eyes peeled, and her ears alert as she went, trying to recall anything about the layout, but it was like the memories had disappeared, or something.
“I’ll find it eventually,” she thought. “I just have to be careful. I’ve ascended, but I’m still weak.”
She reasoned internally over her path forward. She didn’t have any confidence in facing the guards of the palace head-on, so all she could do was sneak around.
“Fortunately,” she smirked. “I’ve got plenty of experience with that.”
The corridor seemed to wind around the floor she was on, with a central chamber, or more. Other rooms lined the outside of the building, and opposite the bed chamber, she found a staircase heading down.
Before she could descend, she heard sounds. Footsteps moving around the floor below.
“Guards patrolling?” she thought as she retreated from the stairs. “Not good.”
She leaned back against a wall, breathing deeply.
“Are there other ways down? What about the servants, would they use the main staircase? I’ll check some of the rooms on this floor, maybe I can find another way.”
The floor remained silent, but Selene didn’t want to gamble on how long it would remain that way, so she started to make her way through the corridor again, this time she put her ear to each door, listening, before she opened it slowly.
The first door led to a small bed chamber, while the next two led to a bathroom and a storage room respectively.
The fourth room looked like a kitchen, and preparation area, and there was a small spiral staircase leading down in one corner. The only issue was the sound of voices coming from below. Selene crept forward until she crouched behind a counter near the staircase.
“Haah,” she heard a female voice sigh. “Isn’t there anything we can do?”
“No,” another voice resolutely responded. “Don’t even think about it. If the guards hear you or think you might act out in any way, you’ll suffer. Close your heart to it, and be grateful for remaining alive.”
“But, she was so young,” the first voice argued. “How can he be so cruel? Haven’t we suffered enough?”
“Quiet!” came the urgent whisper of a third voice. “You’ll get us all in trouble. Listen to Miriam, and ignore it. At least we’re not suffering that fate.”
“You saw what happened to the last ones,” reminded the second voice. “You don’t want that.”
“Urgh,” the first voice groaned softly but didn’t say anything more.
“Anyway, we should return to work,” the third voice said after a small pause. Sounds of reluctant agreement sounded from the others, followed by the sound of chairs moving. Selene heard their footsteps, and a door opening and then closing.
She squeezed her eyes shut, holding back the tears.
“They’re afraid,” she thought. “They don’t want to suffer. It’s normal. I shouldn’t hate them for it, but I can’t help but resent them.”
She took a breath and opened her eyes.
“Alright! Let’s get out of here.”
She descended the stairs slowly, hoping none of the steps made a noise, and made it to the first floor.
Chairs and tables littered the floor, with a small counter to one side.
“Right,” Selene thought as she started moving to the door. “Shouldn’t be too far from the servants’ entrance now, but would that exit to the interior of the compound, or outside? I can’t imagine Lon Thrast would let his servants live in the main building. Hopefully, the servants’ quarters are outside the main compound, or at least near the outer edge of it.”
She put her ear to the door and listened.
Footsteps sounded in the hallway, fading with each step. Various sounds could be heard from further away, but Selene couldn’t identify them.
“Guardsman,” she deduced. “Just passed, or perhaps another servant going about their business. I can’t hear any other footsteps nearing me. This could be my chance!”
She opened the door and peeked through to the hallway. It was decorated very similarly to the upper floor and seemed to share the same layout. To her left, she could see some guards watching over the main entrance, and the corridor continued to her right before reaching a corner.
“Only one way forward,” she steeled herself with a breath and moved. The carpet dampened her footfalls, and since she didn’t wear anything more than socks on her feet, she was moving almost soundlessly.
She darted forward to peek around the corner and saw the retreating back of a guard before she started to investigate the doors in the corridor.
The first several doors revealed sounds of activity, so she didn’t dare open them to check, and when she finally found one that appeared empty, the door opened into a bathroom.
Just as she was about to continue, one of the doors she’d passed opened up. Without thinking, she dashed into the bathroom and closed the door as quickly as she could without making noise.
She heard muffled voices talking, as they passed, but they didn’t enter the bathroom door. Neither did they pass by.
“They’ve stopped,” she realized and looked around. There were no other entrances to the bathroom, but there was a small window high up, above the toilet. She moved as quickly as she dared, stood on the toilet and opened the window.
It looked out onto the back area of the palace. She didn’t spot anyone in the vicinity, but she had a limited field of vision.
“Risky, but I can’t afford to be caught,” she decided. Just as she was about to climb through, the bathroom door opened.