As I walked through the light, I found myself in the midst of a lush forest. Surrounding me was an old stone building covered in vines and plants.

Calexa floated towards me.

"Alright, a few final things before you go," she said.

"You're not coming with me?" I asked.

"I am, but I'll be mostly stored away unless you need me. My role is to mentor and guide you, but the bulk of the work will be on you alone."

I nodded, and she continued.

"Your map won't reveal everything from the start; it will gradually unveil itself as you travel through the Tower."

"Pretty standard," I replied.

"I suppose so. On the map, you'll encounter multiple icons. You can review them in a new tab called 'Info' along with everything we've discussed so far. But the key thing to remember is that red dots represent enemies, white dots represent NPC, and green dots represent other Revivals like you, which means they could be either good or bad."

"So, what do I do now?" I asked.

"You keep climbing until you reach the top." she replied.

"How will I know where to go?"

"You'll find out."

I stood there perplexed. No quests, no map markers, no breadcrumbs leading to my next goal. This was going to be more complex than I had expected.

Suddenly, I noticed a new countdown on my HUD. It displayed a timer counting down from 7 hours and 32 seconds.

"What's the new countdown for?" I asked.

"Oh, right, I forgot!" she chuckled.

"You forgot?! Isn't it your job to know all of that?" I shouted.

"Sorry, there's just so much to remember," she laughed, "This is a countdown to nightfall. Nights in the Tower are significantly different from the day. The mobs are more powerful and numerous. Moreover, once night falls, any safe places get locked down. So if you're caught outside, well, you'll have to wait for sunrise."

"Is there any advantage to being out at night?" my game designer brain inquired, knowing it couldn't be that simple.

"There is, for the brave—or crazy—ones. At night, your XP gains increase as the mobs are higher level, and you also get better loot. Some loot and quests are only accessible at night. It's a risk-versus-reward situation."

I knew it.

"Do you have any other questions?" she asked.

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"Just one last thing—how do I find a safe place?"

"Once you reach a certain level, you'll be able to buy your own safe house. But until then, you can use motels scattered around the tower. They're indicated by a bed icon on your map. However, you'll need gold."

"Which I guess I obtain from slaying mobs."

"Correct!"

"Okay," I thought to myself, "this is more standard."

"You should find one close to here. There's usually an easy-to-find safe place near the starting point. Although, you're quite late now, so you better get going."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Calexa," I said.

"No problem!"

And as she said that, she rushed into my forehead.

I looked around and realized I was completely alone. For the first time, it sank in that this wasn't just a game. I was dead, in a crazy afterworld, and I had no idea where to go. But above all, I was alone.

I took a moment to breathe.

I couldn't shake the rush of sadness washing over me. I was alone. Dead and alone.

I shook it off.

"I can do this," I said aloud.

I accessed my map, but there wasn't much there—no safe places, no dots—just a stylized version of the forest and a lot of empty space.

I closed the map and pulled out my knife. It was in terrible shape, but I didn't have much else yet.

"The Gem!" I shouted.

I had the orange Gem.

I tapped it on my armband, and right in front of me, a futuristic hoverboard materialized, floating atop the fresh grass. It looked brand new, shiny, and without a scratch, which was quite different from the rest of my gear.

I cautiously stepped onto it, trying to maintain my balance. It took a few tries, but I finally managed to stand somewhat stable and comfortable.

"Okay, got this," I said to myself.

Then I stood there for a while, and nothing happened. I could hear chirping insects around me. Nothing was happening.

"Okay, now what?" I asked myself.

A small, peculiar-looking animal hopped in front of me. It resembled a rabbit with bigger legs, more like a badger but with long ears. Actually, I had no idea what it was. It was just pink and weird.

The animal stopped a few feet away, staring at the human struggling to maintain his balance on a high-tech hoverboard, going nowhere.

I must have looked like an idiot.

I tried leaning forward—nothing. I tried shifting my weight forward—still nothing. I looked for any kind of button, pedal, or trigger mechanism. There was nothing.

The pink rabbit-badger-weird-thing continued to stare at me, occasionally scratching with its hind leg, as if mocking me.

"Do you know how to activate this thing?" I asked the animal.

It just stood there, staring, munching on some grass, then stared some more.

"Thanks for nothing," I said.

I used FOCUS on the hoverboard.

"'Celestial Chariot' - Vehicle: Self-powered Hoverboard, remains active for 1 second for each Dexterity and Engineering point. Cooldown: 4 hours.

Source: Orange Gem of Hermes, Category II

Time Remaining: 23 seconds.

Health: 2000/2000."

"Crap!" I shouted, frustrated at having wasted so much time.

As I did that, the weird creature seemed startled and barked at me like a freaking dog!

"Shut up!" I exclaimed.

The creature darted away, and to my surprise, the hoverboard followed suit, gaining speed.

"Intention!" I finally said. "It's all about intention."

I leaned forward, and the board picked up speed. I quickly passed the creature, which jumped into the bushes. I was starting to get the hang of it.

The board emitted an energy-like sound, reminiscent of the hoverboards in "Back to the Future II." I maneuvered between trees, gradually growing more comfortable and gaining more speed.

"Yahhhhoooooooooo!!!" I shouted.

This was a ton of fun. As I became more accustomed to the hoverboard, I attempted to push the speed even further. There seemed to be no limit; the board followed my intentions.

"I am the king of the world!" I proclaimed, striking the iconic pose from "Titanic."

BAM!!

I was suddenly thrown off the board, struck by something. I ended up lying on the ground, my health dropping to 106/145. The board crashed into a tree, splitting it in half before coming to a stop a short distance away in the grass.

I looked up, wondering what had hit me.

Two goblin-like creatures were staring at me, holding makeshift batons. They wore mischievous smiles on their faces.

"I guess we won't be going home empty-handed," said the left goblin in a high-pitched and nasal voice.