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Kalen
Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kalen opened his eyes to find himself in a circular room of stone, perfectly lit by a crystal embedded into the ceiling. There were six wooden doors in total, one door was behind him while 5 were equally spaced in a semi circle in front of him. He remembered touching the crystal, no, the shard of the first world and something about connecting to the realms. He scratched the back of his head in thought, what are the doors for then?

He looked at the door behind him and found that it had a crystal much like the one he touched in that fort carved into its surface. The more he looked at it, it was almost as if it came alive as colour seeped in. The crystal moved. He panicked and moved back from the door. Light swirled inside the crystal on the relief much like he had seen back at the fort. on closer inspection it was the room he was in back at the fort. He touched it, the wood underneath moved with the swirls, thankfully it wasn't some sort of portal. He opened the door to find he couldn't see beyond the threshold, it was as if light couldn't enter. He closed the door, wishing to check the others before he came to any decisions.

He went to the left most door of the five first, It was covered in chains, a giant lock rested upon its surface. Through the chains, he could see the door portrayed giant pillars of stone dwarfing a mountainous landscape. The pillars moved, shifting into different configurations over time as the part levitated. He tried to open it but the door wouldn't budge.

The next door didn't have chains. The low relief depicted a vast sky with island floating amongst the clouds. Flying creatures were everywhere as they darted from island to island. He opened the door to find that it was exactly like the first, only darkness lay beyond.

The third door was of an overgrown forest. Every so often new plants would grow. Some of them survived and thrived in environment whereas others became fodder. In each one of these cycles parts of the relief changed permanently, it was like evolution on steroids.

The forth was of a deep ocean, only one creature could be seen, It was serpent-like however the way it moved felt wrong. The creature coiled around and into itself. The more he looked the more his head started to hurt. The moment he looked away it felt like it had stared back at him, making his hairs stand on end.

The fifth and final door showed jagged stone outcroppings amongst an endless desert. There were creatures made of bone wandering aimlessly as they were battered by the sun and sands .

Kalen assumed that he had to make a choice. Each door showed dramatically different places or he supposed realms. The problem was, he did not fully understand what this choice meant. There was context missing and he didn't like that there was no way for him to get more information.

He could go through the door that showed the temple he came from. At least if they were some kind of portal, he wasn't going to end up somewhere deadly. A part of him didn't think this was the case, this is a system of some kind and the first impression it gave him was of magic and strength. He knew it was a complete guess in the dark but what if behind each door was something that would help him? He might be forfeiting that help by choosing the temple door.

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Regardless of what he picked, there were certain doors he wouldn't choose. He looked at each of the doors once more. First off, the door with stone pillars was out as he couldn't even open it. Next, he wouldn't choose the door with the serpent creature, nor would he choose the desert with undead. They both felt like deadly choices to make if it was a portal. If they were there to give help, would the help he receive be frowned upon? He didn't think many cultures would be pleased if he raised the dead, especially if it was like earth. As for the serpent the way it made his mind feel made him think of eldritch abominations and he didn't want to be involved with that.

That leaves going back, a world of sky islands filled with birds or a less than friendly forest. He looked at the three doors one more time before he decided. The forest. The idea of adapting and changing to suit the environment kind of summed up how he felt about his currently situation. He pushed open the door and looked into the darkness.

Kalen took a deep breath before he walked forward. He held onto the door frame before putting a foot out and down in the dark. Surprisingly, he could still see his foot and it hit something solid. He let go of the frame and moved inside, still lightly tapping the floor to make sure it was stable. He moved further and further into the darkness and the door behind him slammed shut, making him jump. He panicked and looked at his body but was relieved to find he could still perfectly see.

He looked up to find his surroundings begin to change as he walked. colour rush in like it did with the low reliefs and within moments he found himself in a Autumn forest. Reds and oranges dominated the canopy above him. The leaves rustled gently amongst the cool breeze.

There were balls of blue light amongst the leaves darting back and forth out of sight. The more he looked the more he found them amongst the tree trunks or grasses around his feet. He watched in wonder as they floated unaffected by gravity and seemly phasing through the plants.

A loud crack came from behind him. He turned around and watched in horror as bark-like limbs reached out of a tree. He backed away as something barely humanoid pulled itself out. It crouched on all fours and stalked towards him. he didn't know what to do. he was trapped with it. it reach him and leant towards him. He closed his eyes expecting to be mauled but the attack never came. instead it eyed him inquisitively moving its head to the side. It gently reached out a gnarly hand towards him and waited.

Kalen reached out apprehensively and took the hand. Warmth filled him as once again, the system spoke in his mind.

// Do you wish to accept aid from the [Scion of Wisps]?

he smiled, he knew it! He was right. The doors were for getting help. Kalen said yes to the prompt.

The moment he refocused on the outside world he was already back in the temple room. New prompts flashed in his mind, one after the other.

// First spell Acquired.

// Awakening Complete, [Status] is now available.

"Status"

Name: // Register name

Heritage: Human

Rank: 1

Vessels

1. Wisp Companion 1/1 rank 1 - 0%

2. (Empty)

3. (Empty)

4. (Empty)

5. (Empty)

6. (Empty)

Current Attribute Totals: 20

Body

- Power: 1

- Endurance: 2

Mind

- Alacrity: 3

- Will: 6

Soul

- Vitality: 2

- Presence: 6