My hands and feet feel numb as I use my Carving knife to open the last can of food I stored in my storm shelter. I grab the pen from the clipboard hanging from the shelf and cross out the last entry on the paper. Walking over to sit at the dinner table as I use the knife to eat the peaches from the dented can. Shivering, I look over to the clipboard hoping that it could somehow bring back the food that I had eaten over the past 7 months. The light bulb flickers as the generator splutters from the other room.
Sighing after looking over all the entries I had crossed out my mind wanders to the thing I have been thinking since the 2nd month after entering this shelter, 'Why am I trying to survive'. Since the beginning of this Apocalypse I hoped that my family would find their way to the cabin where the shelter is but the only encounters I've had with people were strangers desperate to survive pleading with me to let them in. The first time this happened I was ecstatic to finally see another person, That feeling ended when they charged the open door with a knife and a sharp pain that embedded itself into my left shoulder. I had barely overpowered them after that and had to strangle them as the panic that set in after pain slowly died like they did. It took weeks for my shoulder to heal enough to hold any weight, and the faded bloodstain is still there marking that something happened within this shelter.
After that when others were at the shelter's door begging to be let in I forced myself to remain quiet. Looking back to that event I shift my shoulder to deal with the uncomfortable feeling that had set in as I gathered what remained of my supplies. Carefully setting them within my backpack, I double check to see how much supplies I'll have for this looting run. '9 rounds, shit that's all I have left?' I think as I check my pistol's magazine. Slinging my backpack over my right shoulder, my mind wanders once more as I walk into the generator room to turn the generator off. 'Thinking my family survived this was stupid, they must have died when the world ended. Who am I kidding, I hope they died when the world ended. That end is more merciful at least.'
Brushing off those thoughts from my mind I begin to focus on what I need. 'Uncontaminated food, water, medicine, and of course bullets. Heading to town might be my only option but if anyone else is still alive there I will have problems to deal with. Houses are gonna be a start of the search as I think most stores and other high value places have already been looted.' Pulling my Pistol from its holster, I brace myself for the cold to come and open the shelter's door. The freezing cold of the new world hit me like a wave causing my shivering to be renewed with a vengeance. Shuffling out of the quickly draining warmth of the shelter, I shut the door and lock it attempting to trap the warmth within.
Beginning this looting run I trudge up the stairs to the first floor of this cabin. Looking around scanning the room with both my eyes and pistol to see that nothing has changed. The windows still boarded up with tall furniture pushed up against the boards and a thin layer of dust covering everything except where people have walked. Walking to the front door of the cabin, I once again brace myself for the freezing cold to get worse. Checking all the clothing I bundled myself in I silently agree with myself that I'm as ready for the outside as I'll ever be. Grabbing the door knob I step out into the world, another wave of cold even worse than before washes over me as I drag my feet through the buildup of ash and snow. passing a grave made from rocks, I look to the distance where I remember the mushroom cloud that I had seen months ago. I continue on walking through the dead forest that surrounds me, killed by this freezing cold that threatens to take my mind and life from me. Hours pass as I continue to trudge through the snow, life preserving heat being sapped from my limbs and it grows harder and harder to think. I finally get to the top of a hill and see the half berried town in the distance, the power poles being the only marking left that roads lead into and out of the town. Quickly I continue walking as another harsh gust of wind takes even more of my strength from me. Inching ever closer to town I begin losing the feeling in my upper arms and legs replaced by the numbness that I felt.
As more time passes the numbness in my hands and feet shift to a burning pain, my mind screaming at me to remove clothing from the areas that burn. I mutter under my breath that removing the clothing will make the feeling worse, repeating these words that feel foreign to my frostbitten mind. My body continues to shiver as I walk battling with the urge to remove the only thing protecting me from death. I finally make it to the first house in my path, climbing onto the patio roof I Break a window to the inside. Removing the glass the movements in my arms and legs grow sluggish, climbing through the now cleared window I start searching the bedroom I found myself in. 'nothing, no cloths nothing to help with this burning cold. Dammit this cold will kill me if I can't find anything else to cover myself with'. Moving to the door I walk through and continue searching the entire house. The Burning cold spreading all the way to my shoulders and thighs as I finish searching. There was nothing, it looks to have been looted already. A bitter laugh escapes my mouth as the only words I can think in this state repeat 'I'm going to die'.
Going to the living room of this ransacked house, I use what's left of my strength to pile the furniture in a corner of the room and hide in the center of the pile hoping that putting anything between me and the cold will help. I curl up into a ball on the floor, the shivering increasing as the cold continues to spread across my body, my mind occupied by the burning cold that only getting worse. My sight begins to fade after minutes? hours? Darkness crawling from the corners of eyes as a can't remember anything else and the burning pain that engulfed me fades as well.
----------------------------------------
As my Consciousness slowly awakens, I find myself in a void, a lack of any color or light. My mind begins to race. 'Am I dead? What is this? Did I freeze to death?' my mind bounces from one question to another until something pulls at my mind, focusing it to one point within the void.
Influx of souls detected within the void
Calculating Source....
'What the fuck is this?' Looking around I am certain I cannot see my body. Figuring this out causes me to start panicking before my spiral to likely insanity is halted in place by another blue box.
Source of Influx detected
A new Calamity.
Calculating Response....
My mind tries to process this jarring event that is occurring in front of me. 'So I am dead, is my family dead as well? my little brother Desmond and little sister Sarah too? I begin to focus on my sight to see if anything thing else is happening. The Blurred sight I have begins to focus as the pitch black and grey fades in as my surroundings sharpen. Floating within a void of darkness, small orbs of light surround me to many to count, each one has its own color. Another orb- or soul suddenly appears to my right in this void. The color of it is a navy blue and it feels familiar, something inside me screams that it is Desmond's soul. 'Shit he died too, and after me since his soul just shown up.' My mind starts to refocus as another box appears.
Response to current events formed
Due to the quantity of souls it is unwise to allow these souls to be left for the Ancient Ones.
To Prevent a new Calamity from happening to Hatoria, all souls that are gathered will be processed to Bolster Hatoria's Defense against the First Great Calamity.
Soul Categorization will now begin....
'What. The. FUCK?'. Looking over the the entries of the text boxes that appeared directly in my vision, it took mere moments to process the info. 'So I'm being magically drafted in a war against a world ending disaster on par with World War 3? That isn't even the worst question I can think up, but if I'm being forcefully drafted in a fucking magical war of some kind I need more information!' I try to reach out to the navy blue soul and see a portion of my soul reach out and poke him. I feel a connection form as I see some grey line go between me and him.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Query detected...
Your soul will undergo classification so that you may have a chance at survival within the world of Hatoria, and unlike the others you seem to be more awake to ask these questions. Henceforth I will be allowing you to keep your memories. Good luck!
Stat Generation based on Skills from previous life commencing...
'okay I feel like I've been saying this a lot but.... WHAT THE FUCK. First off I didn't even think you would answer me, second what do you mean-' My line of seemingly mental questioning was cut of with a new box appearing.
Stat Generation Complete!
Congratulations Soul Designated #591,245,257
[System Description] will now be shown.
Name: Not Assigned Titles: The Unyielding Race: [Highborne Animated Armor] Class: [Artificer] Level: 1 Rank: Beginner 1 Exp: 0/300 Hit points: 45/45 Mana points: 140/140 Stamina points: 135/135 Strength: 9(+4) Dexterity: 4(+2) Constitution: 10(+5) Intelligence: 2(+1) Wisdom: 7(+3) Charisma: 3(+1) Traits: [Dungeon Boss], [First Of Your Kind], [Mana Sight], [Unyielding Mind], [Unbreakable Soul Link] Skills: [Artificer's Intuition], [Enforced Duel], [Mana Manipulation] Spells: [Mending Touch], [Might Of The Manaborne]
'lots of questions are on my mind right now but I feel as though you won't give me any explanation...' I muse to myself not expecting an answer.
Query Detected
You are certainly correct on that assumption, #591,245,257. Though anything you have access to can be answered. For the second time today good luck!
'Least you can do is call me Johnathan, though the whiplash you put me through isn't appreciated' getting fed up by whatever this [System] is, my mind continues to buzz from question to question.
Name Updated!
Commencing soul transfer...
'huh' I mentally say as the vision of countless lights around me fade to darkness as my other senses start slowly with a bombardment of information. The sound of water dripping to the floor surrounds me, next sense to appear is my sense of smell as I'm overwhelmed with the smell of a damp, dusty, and deathly smell that you could imagine could be found within a Mausoleum or Catacombs. My mind feels as though it been shrouded in a fog that only a severe lack of sleep could cause back on Earth. Gathering my mind I begin to focus on the events that led me here, Hoping something would show itself within my mind. 'Wait what does [Unyielding Mind] even do?'
[Unyielding Mind] Even through the trauma of death, your consciousness remained intact as your soul ended up within the Void where the Ancient Ones house their power.
You will never lose access to any of your memories due to any process that can cause it.
And yes, even through low intelligence! -[System]
'This mental fogginess is caused by low intelligence? Now how does this work' Looking over my memories as if they are book within a library I continue going over everything I learned. 'so I was drafted into a war of some kind in another world named Hatoria, Looking over my [System Description] it seems I'm now a [Dungeon Boss]. The stat array seems similar to D&D stats, but I've got little other info that is useful to the immediate situation.'