The fluorescent lights hummed above, casting a pallid glow over the wooden desks stacked with documents and the greenish-gray linoleum floor of the police station. Officer Alistair Ryser stifled a yawn as he leaned back on his armchair; it had been an uneventful shift due to the poor weather, so he was stuck with desk duty. Behind him, a door opened. Turning around, he saw his partner, Simon, with two cups of coffee entering the room, giving him a knowing smile.

"Our shift is almost done. I got us some pick-me-ups," Simon declared before handing one to Alistair.

"Thanks, man. I can't wait to get away from the paperwork," Alistair complained.

"Yeah, yeah, a necessary evil," Simon said sagely before sipping. "It's been a slow week, and Wihler gave the only interesting case to Enya and Ryan,"

"Well, they were the first on the scene, and I don't envy them for having to write the report. Did they ever find that hand?" Alistair asked as he took a sip.

The coffee at the station had never been particularly good, but he had long since gotten used to it.

"Not to my knowledge. However, they found the wedding ring that was supposed to be on the hand," Simon said, sitting next to Alistair before taking another sip.

"Just the ring? Where did they find that?" Alistair inquired.

"That's the best part. In an open jar of pickles on the porch. Our guys almost missed it," Simon said with a severe expression.

"I'm not falling for your shit again," Alistair said, taking a sip and maintaining eye contact.

Simon's façade broke. "Worth a shot; it was in the bloody sink."

Murders were not common around the area; like most in their police force, they coped with such grim topics with gallows humor. Simon, in particular, had a flair for dark jokes. Alistair's best guess regarding the case was that it was a domestic dispute that had gone wrong. He had a particular distaste for that kind of thing, so he put it out of his mind for now. Looking at the clock, he noticed that they had reached the end of their shift. He and Simon had the night shift, so it was early morning, and Alistair still had to buy Christmas presents for his family. With a nod, Alistair made Simon aware of the time. Simon took a quick glance before turning back.

"Alright, let's get going then; you wanna grab a drink?" Simon asked

"It's 8 AM," Alistair said with a raised eyebrow.

"Hey, five o'clock was 16 hours ago," he said with a cheeky smile.

"Sorry, I got things to take care of, but I'll catch you next shift," Alistair said with a smile.

"Your loss, man," Simon responded.

As they walked through the sterile concrete corridors, Alistair could only shake his head. They put their gear into their lockers and left for the entrance. The police station was a massive concrete castle with many winding paths and elevators and a steel gate closing off a courtyard and underground garage storing their patrol cars. The fortification always impressed him, and he often thought, "If there ever is a zombie apocalypse, I am gonna set up shop here." It also meant it took them ages to just leave the building. As they exited, Alistair leaned in for their personal handshake as they bumped shoulders.

"See ya later, man," Alistair said with a smile, giving a quick wave, which Simon returned as they both jogged to their cars.

It was a snowy and cold day. Alistair hurried to his car to escape the biting cold. As he started to drive off, his car's multimedia system informed him that he had a phone call. Before leaving the parking space, he stopped in the intersection leading out of it to quickly check who it was; realizing it was his mother, he accepted the call.

"Hey, Alistair, I'm surprised you picked up so quickly." his mother teased.

"Sorry, Mom, I am driving; you caught me before leaving the parking space," Alistair said.

"Alright, by the way, Melissa and I managed to convince your brother to come over for Christmas, so I'd appreciate it if you'd come too."

She said with a warm tone.

"Count me in, and wow, that's quite the feat. James tends to vanish into his own world with his girlfriend, never to be seen again. So, I assume sis is joining us, too, since she's helping you coax James out," he quipped with a smirk before making another turn. "Is there Anything specific you need me to bring?"

"A Christmas tree would be great. James does not have the time to do it; also, a girlfriend would be a nice surprise," she said teasingly.

Alistair let out a deep sigh. "Same answer as yesterday, Mom. I don't really have anyone to bring this time," Alistair said, a bit tired. His mother was an incredibly caring person and could not stop looking out for him even after he had long left her house; she visited him regularly to cook a meal and check if he was alright, often pushing him out of his comfort zone, getting him hitched was just her latest project.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"If you would spend a bit less time just drinking with your buddies Simon and Remo, I'm sure you would..."

Suddenly, everything shifted as if ripped out of a dream, eyes wide, and his knee jerked as he found himself on a couch, not in his car.

"What the fuck?!" he said under his breath. "Did I crash?" He asked, looking around. The first thing that struck him was his eyesight; it was much better than it had any right to be, and his glasses were gone.

Looking around, he found himself in a modern but cozy-looking room. Many of the walls were lined with bookshelves.

At the same time, a small fireplace in front of him crackled peacefully, creating the only ambient sound.

Looking to the left, he saw a window front looking out to the night sky illuminated by an ever-changing aurora borealis.

Approaching the window, he saw a large lake down some rolling hills and a large mountain in the distance that suspiciously looked like the Matterhorn he visited once on vacation as a child. However, the surrounding landscape was all wrong. Looking back over his shoulder momentarily, he noticed the lack of a door.

"Where am I?" he asked out loud.

"You are within your soulscape," an elderly voice responded.

The hairs on Alistair's neck suddenly stood on end. Spinning around, he spotted an elderly man in a suit sitting in an armchair that had not been there moments before.

Alistair bit his tongue, now firmly believing it was another of his vivid dreams again, and felt relieved when it did not hurt.

"No, you are not dreaming. You just can't hurt yourself like that here," the elderly man said.

Alistair inspected the man suspiciously, realizing he could not make out his exact features and his own mind was in a strong haze. His head started to hurt as he tried to make out the man sitting before him.

"Am I dead?" Alistair asked in a worried tone.

"No, you are very much alive, perhaps even more so than ever before," the elderly man said in a soothing tone.

"The Akashic Records have been initiated, and all restrictions have been lifted. Your universe is joining the fold," he said calmly.

"What does that even mean? And who are you?" Alistair asked curtly, slowly approaching the couch in the center to sit opposite the elderly man.

"It means exactly what I said. I am the system representative who will guide you through your initiation. I'm doing this for every individual in your universe right now," the old man stated with what Alistair thought was an expressionless face.

Upon hearing this, Alistair had to suspend his disbelief. Everything was strange, and he could swear the old man read his mind for a second there. For now, he would listen to the old gentleman in front of him. As a Policeman, Alistair was used to stressful situations, but this was the strangest one he had ever found himself in.

"Good, now that I have your attention, I will say my piece. You may ask your questions after."

Alistair furrowed his brow at the statement but decided to listen for now.

"With the integration, everything has changed. The reality you once knew is being transformed, expanded, and reshaped to prepare every race for the changes. Everyone will be provided the tools to survive and perhaps even thrive in this new reality."

He gave what Alistair thought was a smile, but it was gone as fast as he noticed it.

"In a little under three hours' time from now, you will be transported to a trial world. Before that, you will be given choices, and you may ask me questions. Needless to say, after you enter the trial world, death is a real threat. You will arrive there alone and must survive for one year. After that, you will be placed back on Earth, which will be transformed at that point in time."

Having ended his spiel, the elderly man looked expectantly at Alistair. Alistair's frown only deepened as he leaned forward, folding his hands loosely together, looking at the elderly man in front of him. This whole scenario reminded him of some fantasy novel he read years ago, but ultimately, he decided to play along.

"Alright, my first question would be why I can see so well? My body feels strange, and my head is a mess. Did you do something to me?"

"Every individual has their body reformed and all ailments removed, be that a physical or psychological ailment, without exception. However, this only applies to ailments recognized as such by the individual's soul. To guarantee a level playing field for everyone, everyone's body has been transformed to the minimum standard of humans in the post-initiation."

"That's… okay. You mentioned choices and a trial world; what kind of choices, and what is a Trial world?"

Alistair said, worried because he did not seem to wake up, and this was way too lucid to be a dream. The elderly man waved his hand, and a menu appeared before Alistair.

"This is your status, and within it, you may glance at your records. You can summon it whenever you want. Nobody else can see this status, and you should be careful about sharing any information."

"As for the Trial world, it is one among many. You will find Monsters, Dungeons, and other Challenges within them. Due to its size, the chances of you running across another individual in your trial world will be negligible. You are offered the opportunity to grow more powerful within, which will give you a chance to survive on your Home Planet, which will be a lot more dangerous than the Trial worlds."

Alistair stared in disbelief at the floating screen in front of him:

[Status Tab] Name: ? Age: ? Race: Human Level: 0 Grade: 10 [Skills Tab] [Title Tab] [Stats Tab] [Bloodline Tab]

“What the hell... this is so video gamey, you can’t be serious?” Alistair said with a raised eyebrow.

“How you interact with your status is different for every individual. The fact that it is a screen has more to do with how your mind comprehends the Records. Your world did not interact with many concepts and terms, so your mind is doing its best to translate anything I tell you into something understandable. For some, the status is a book. For others, just voices. Some races prefer psionic images. It is a screen because YOU decided it would be your preferred method of interacting with your Records,” the elderly gentleman said in a monotone voice.

“This… is a lot to take in,” Alistair said. Three hours might not be enough time, he mused.