Chapter 5: Divine Intervention

Although full of doubt, day by day Drew kept himself going. But slowly, very slowly, he was beginning to panic, the whole world he had committed himself to crumbling down around him, and he could only kneel there, hoping, praying for a sign. For anything.

It all began when he was very little, it’s hard for him to remember the exact age, and he was wandering the city with only a cold wind to keep him company, a lonely soul surviving on pills and sheer momentum. But then, I saw God, he recounted, but now I need to see you again.

For six days he had knelt there, with no sleep and only a small grey canteen of water that now laid empty beside him, a tiny dull beacon of mess standing out from the bright golden arches and neat rows that surrounded his hunched figure within the church. Six days of no food and no sleep, desperately pleading for a sign, just a small sign, even the tiniest thing will do.

He was beginning to lose faith.

Drew Jackson, Father Drew Jackson now, was never the most pious believer. He preached and spread the word of God, but he knew that everyone’s journey was their own, and it was not his place to condemn others for their beliefs if they did not follow his word. But now, he could start to see where they were coming from. After his wife, the love of his life, had passed away only six days ago he became desperate and needed to know if the path he was taking was right. It doesn’t even have to be right, I just want it to be real. I need it to be. It had been so long since the first and only time he had seen god, back when he was homeless and desperate in the street and a bright light came down to change his life for the better. And he felt even more desperate now. Was it greedy? To want to see God twice while others never saw him once? Was he asking too much?

It’s funny how life can change so fast. Only two months have passed since those tests. The most painful two months of my 50 years of life, just spent watching her mind waste away. An unusual growth, a brain tumour to turn her, my whole world, to ruins.

And after she was gone, he began to doubt. Why would his god, who he had given everything to, leave him like this? A sign, all I need is a sign that you are out there, and that maybe things can get better.

And then a sign came.

Initializing system…

Initialized. Welcome to The System.

Congratulations Earth, you are now the 281,730,198,001,076th planet to enter The System.

To view hosts information, think ‘status’.

The ground shook, the earth moved around him. Noise erupted from all around him, but the lone figure of Father Drew Jackson remained still as he stared at the text that floated in front of him. A sign. Soon, the earth stopped shaking, and new noises rang out. Screams, shouts, sirens, car horns, buildings collapsing and the world in pain, a scene of destruction that was unheard of before, and the beginning of what would be known as the apocalypse.

A powerful being is looking down upon you and has seen your devotion to them.

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

And he knelt there amongst all the destruction, feeling that maybe everything will be alright. His god really was there, really was watching over him, and as his follower it was time to do his duty.

Newfound strength filled his body as he stood and walked out the church doors. After six days of waiting with no sleep, he should have been on his last legs, but instead he felt stronger than he had ever felt before. He was briefly blinded by the sunlight before finally emerging and taking in the scene that surrounded him. The sun stood proud in the sky over the ruins of their world. A city of steel brought to its knees, as buildings which had once loomed over humanity now lay under them. And completing this apocalyptic scene was what he could only describe as monsters.

Small, green childlike figures largely dressed in rags. But despite their sorry state Father Jackson found himself unable to muster any pity for them, likely due to the various crude weapons they were wielding with absolute gusto as they tore into the humans around them, the source of the screaming. Everything from small bent knives to machetes, made of a dull grey metal he had never seen before, now stained red. Their new colouring could only be attributed to the bodies around them, which were only moments ago going about their daily lives but now lay unmoving.

But it was not all one-sided. While the bodies of the humans far outnumbered that of these invaders, so too did the number of surviving humans outnumber the green figures. For the living around him, staying that way was the only goal, and while most simply ran in panic, there were some that had begun to fight back. A group of students still in their uniforms from what must have been an earlier baseball training were now laying heavy blows into several of the creatures with their bats. A hunched figure that could only belong to a man at least 80 years of age, firing bullet after bullet into the corpse of the beast. A man stands only 30 meters away from him, over the body of what could only be a loved one now viciously returning the pain back towards the culprits, and after using only his fists to break open the skulls of two of the monsters, a third snuck up behind him and slide a knife into his back, before quickly moving on to continue its rampage.

I have to help. Finally recovering from the sight in front of him, Drew ran up to the bleeding man that now lay on the ground. He quickly peeled off his shirt and attempted to stop the blood from flowing out of the wound, but despite having no medical training he could tell from one glance at the injury that help was no longer possible. The man lay there dying over the body of his loved one, and he could feel his pain, he had felt it not long ago. He could see the anger in his eyes, the fury at what had been done to him, the need to take revenge, and Drew wanted to help. He had to help. He needed to help him, to give the man a chance to fight back like he wished he could have. But the man knew it was over and could only shut his eyes in defeat.

But Father Jackson was unwilling to give up so easily, he had seen too much pain, now, he just wanted the man to [Heal].

Due to your actions, you have unlocked the ability;

[Heal] Rank 1 Level 1

* Guide mana into the injuries of others and use it to help them recover. Even those at the gates of death may be saved if the host has both the strength and the will to change their fate.

Due to your actions, you have unlocked the Common class [Cleric].

* Your desire to help others fills you and guides your mana. Your noble intentions can be felt by all.

* Stats per level: +2 Int, +2 Wis, +1 free.

Due to your actions, you have unlocked the ability;

[Holy Mana Manipulation] Rank 1 Level 1

* Through the good that fills you, you have purified the mana around you, giving it a holy attribute that allows it to heal many, and hurt some.

* Your mana has the holy attribute.

Drew could feel the energy of the world around him begin to follow his will, becoming pure as it entered the body of the injured man. He could feel the wounds begin to close up as the mana inside him began to feel more and more distant, slowly running out. But as the eyes of his patient now sprang open and began to fill with hope, he realized he had done enough. Father Drew Clements had found his sign, and he was ready to help others find theirs too.

The battle had barely begun, and he had so much work to do.