"Welcome Alex" ....
As I open my eyes I see a seemingly endless barren expanse as far as the eye can see. The only thing I can see is the figure before me and even that is unclear with only a black silhouette never more than that but never fading further.
"Where am I."
"You're dead, do you not remember? But I guess that is to be expected considering how horrifically you died."
As I look down I see my body spectral yet still showing dozens if not hundreds of wounds; bullet holes, burns, slashes, every type of battle scar imaginable lining my destroyed body. And with that I remember, I remember how I died; a foolish order from the top. An order that was certain to fail and made to buy time for the generals to escape to their fortresses. I was sent to die so that those lazy, disgusting bureaucrats could live.
"So, do you remember now? Not that it matters to you now but would you like to know the outcome?"
As it spoke I dared not think of what I would see and yet still I answered with "Yes". The shadow waved its hand and spoke in little more than a whisper "Then so it shall be" and with this the landscape shifts to a scene I know all too well.
A mountain pass lined with bunkers and fortifications. Bodies everywhere and the air filled with screams of agony and the stench of blood and gunpowder. I am left looking down on the scene from about 50 meters above the ground and yet with a single thought I can see anywhere on the battle field as if I were mere inches away. My men gathered around my body resolving to sell their lives dearly and scream the battle cry that our band of mad men and women were so well known for a cry I could not help but to join in with as well as a cry that caused many to tremble it fear " who are we, we are the survivors. Why do we fight, to honor the fallen. Why do we live, to spread the glories of the dead." The 12 greatest men and women of our age and the final 12 surviving titan soldiers. All of us were monsters in our own right and every one of them sworn brothers and sisters. In the beginning there were many of us titans. But as the war grew in length so did the losses until us 13 made our last stand alongside 150 state militia all of whom were sent there to die. I watch as wave after wave of enemies pour over the dying titans tanks rolled in only to be crushed and planes flew in for better shots only to be destroyed with little more than bits of rubble. Each titan inflicting devilish losses on the foe before falling with each loss more tears fall down my face and another name comes to mind Hugo is the first to fall a man of few word but great kindness he was our technical specialist able to make anything from simple traps to guns and ammunition out of little more than scrap metal. As the weakest of the titans he was the first to succumb to the devastating amount of fire power brought to bear finally taking a tank round to the chest he charges into the lines of the enemy detonating a self-made bomb destroying the offending party. Then Hannah falls she was always reckless and preferred to get close to the enemy destroying them in close combat with a hammer the size of a grown man. Falling with the use of a bazooka round taking out her leg before being shot to pieces at a distance. The twins Jess and Jane weaved in and out of combat picking off commanders until they are targeted from the air by and enemy strike craft. As I watch on they all slowly die, Kuro our self-styled samurai, Jonathan our sniper, palmer our gunner falls next and then Drummond our demolitions expert, tears roll down my face as more and more of my brothers and sisters die before my eyes and finally I scream out for it to stop.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Instantly it does and I am back in the barren land from before and I ask "what do you want from me?". The shadow then responds with "nothing, I am only here to help you move on to your next life." "My next life you say" "Yes you are to be reborn in another world, although it is not quite rebirth as you will keep you looks, skills and memories" I stand there in silence and ask what is this other world you speak of like." "It is a world of swords and magic where strength of arms is all that matters and where the power is shown in levels. And you are lucky you know many do not get the chance you are getting now as to be reborn in this way you need a god to intervein which is rare as the god has to give a gift to anyone they do this for and that uses up a portion of their power in relation to the request. For you not only one god but three decided you were worth the risk as the gods of war, of honor and of memories came forward to grant you passage. With this you can make three requests a scene that has not been seen in almost 10,000 years!" I then start to think about the gods and start to speak "I understand why the gods of war and honor have come forward to an extent but why the god of memories what did I do to get their attention?" The shadow chuckles and replies " You are the one who should know best why but I guess there is no harm in explaining the choice to you, the cry you and your men repeat what is the last line again "Why do we live, to spread the glories of the dead." You and your men remembered the name and face of every titan you fought beside and chronicled every battle logging the names of the dead and ensuring that they were not forgotten that is why the god of memories favors you." "Then I shall make my first request I will to bring the 12 other titans that were beside me when I died to come with me. The oath of standing together in life and death shall be upheld." The shadow moves as if listening to a distant sound " The god of honor approves of this request" "The second request shall be for a perfect memory so that the fallen shall never be forgotten and finally I ask that I can save my last request for a time when I have a greater understanding of the world I am taken to." The shadow pauses for a moment as if deep in thought and replies "The requests are approved however, while I understand your third request are your sure all you want is a perfect memory? Afterall this is a gift from a god you can gain the greatest of boons from these requests and yet you only ask for a chance to remember all you see." I look forward and ask "In that case is it possible for my kin to gain the ability also?" The shadow flickers as if in suprise and replies " In that case the requests are approved and only one thing remains before sending you off and that is a warning. Due to you titans being soo far from a true human you are no longer recognised as a human by the world system and instead as a demi-human. This is both a boon and a curse as you will not be able to take advanced human classes that the system provides but it allows for you to use the evolution system. This means that when you reach a leveling threshold every 25 levels you can use the system to mould your bodies to a from that fits your skill set and with that I will send you off." I start to watch as the world slowly fades and then darkness.
End of Chapter 1
P.S Thanks for reading guys this is my first attempt at writing like this so any construtive comments such as ways to improve or ideas for where to go from here with the novel would be appreciated, True Honor