Its dark in the room that my now parents are sharing with me, my new father looks to be sleeping on a couch against the wall, and my new mom is resting quietly in the hospital bed. I still can’t move very well, but I manage to turn my head to look around it’s a small movement but movement none the less. My arms and legs seem to kick and punch randomly, guess it will take time for me to learn how to use them in my new body.

Looking around I notice things that concern me, for one it is very dark, the curtains are open so the light from outside is shining through a little, but I would expect it to be a lot brighter, I am unsure where exactly this hospital is but surely there would be more ambient light. That’s about the time I notice none of the equipment has any lights, nor is there light shining through the bottom of the door to the hall. From what I can tell there is no power, not only that but it’s quite quiet as well, no rushing people, sounds of traffic, nothing, it’s like the calm before the storm.

I want to wake the parents up, but am afraid of making too much noise, so I try to grunt and whimper, as quietly as it takes to wake one of them up, so they can see what is going on. My efforts are rewarded soon after as I hear my new father start to stir. ‘Come on you lazy good for nothing boy, get your butt up to do your fatherly duties, and sooth this savage beast’. It takes longer than I like to get the boy up and moving but finally I am rewarded with a very tired looking Dereck staring at me, I decide to play it cute and attempt a gurgling smile at him. ‘You want to pick me up since I am so cute’ I think to him while attempting to make my face muscles do what I want. I must have been successful as he soon picks me up and cradles me.

With a more elevated position I can better see the room around me and even a little out the window. ‘The only light is the moon and stars’ I notice as I look out across world outside. Soon I am turning away from the window as Dereck starts to move around the room. I’m gratified that I think he is starting to notice that something is wrong as well.

“That’s odd Trevor, I don’t see any lights on outside, and it’s awfully quite for being a major hospital, there’s no sound of footsteps or anything.” He says while moving me around the room and patting my back, I’ll be honest it feels wonderful and I find myself drifting a little.

Suddenly I’m moving laterally startling me a little. “Honey, take the baby, I need to look around and see what’s going on. Try and keep him quiet. Something is not feeling right” Trevor says as he hands me over to a still sleepy Stacy.

Content that the right man is on the scene, I figure now is an appropriate time to go through the rest of the help menu. ‘Open the help menu Argh’ today I decided since I cannot talk ill think in a voice like a pirate. Always got to keep things interesting and all that jazz.

Greetings and Salutations!

You have opened the Help menu! Please select from the following choices.

Tutorial

Options and settings

Wiki-Guide

Glossary

Storefronts

Guilds

‘Da Tutorial be denied ta me, so Options and Settings be next ye see’ Thought I was joking about the pirate speak? You try being an 87-year-old man stuck in a body that doesn’t move and doesn’t listen to your command. See how bored you get. Joking aside, I was again assaulted by a warning on this option as well.

Warning!

Some Options may not be available due to parental restrictions!

Privacy

HUD

General

‘Well, it looks basic all things considered. Privacy is probably what’s denied me’ Ohh well let’s check anyways’ I mentally select the Privacy option.

Warning!

Privacy options disabled in parental Guidance mode.

Titles

Bio

‘Looks, like I was right greyed out options.’ I check the other settings and customize my HUD a little. Health bars and Qi bars and what not. Also, I put my experience bar down near my lower left, but have it displayed as a reverse fuel gauge. Looks cool and provides a point of reference for all the other bars to attach to, I can change the transparency and it should disappear when in combat or other activities that would require my attention not wondering.

The las option General had some interesting choices. It seems that you could purchase system upgrades, like universal translation, and add in languages. Skill assist modules and the like were also possible.

While I was pondering the ramifications of the system and benefits it brings, I had to ask myself ‘Why would whoever it was use the Vheil to protect us from the system. What exactly is it protecting us from?’ Of course, just as I had these thoughts the universe in it infinite douche baggery, decides to provide me with the answer, or part of it I should say.

I first noticed it while looking at Stacy, she was looking at me and smiling, but I noticed she stopped blinking, and it seemed as though she had stopped breathing as well. It would have been a little more disconcerting had her hair not been frozen as it was falling. So, I ruled out her not being dead, ‘Must be a time freeze or something to that effect.’ I thought to myself. Shortly after noticing these details, my infant ears started to pick up the soft tread of feet heading towards our room.

I thought it might be Dereck coming back from checking things out, but of course the universe had other plans that night. The man that entered the room was tall, at least 7-foot-tall, so tall he had to duck under the doorway. Dark black hair, and slightly glowing green eyes. That it seemed were fixed on me. As he neared the bed he started to speak.

“Hello, little one. To think it would be my lineage that would be the only one to survive!” the man speaks as he lifts me up and away from my new mother.

“Let me tell you a little story about your mother, and a boy named Bruce” he continues while walking over to the rocker in the corner and sitting down. “You see, Dereck, although a good person, is not your real father, your real father, well to be honest, he died, on the same night you were conceived. Your mother is young and in all things with the young they make mistakes. The night you were conceived she had had a fight with Dereck and went over to a friend’s house to stay for a couple of nights. I believe her name was Bethany, or some such but she is not important, what is important is the young man that was staying there as well. You see Bruce was a young Man that recently lost all his family, it seems that they were all killed in a very tragic airplane accident. Of which it seems was exactly that.” He paused for a minute in contemplation, as if remembering something that didn’t agree with his view on the world.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“It was this that brought your mother and him together, you see she had lost her family a long time ago in a fire, although she adjusted and moved on with her life, he had not. They spent the day talking and the night drinking, one thing led to another and you are the product.” He sighs, and starts to stroke my head. “It’s a shame that shortly after that, a matter of days, Stacy and Dereck made up. And what do you ask happened to Bruce. Well he left the night you were conceived, unfortunately he was still a little drunk, he never made it to the cemetery to say goodbye and move on. Went a little to fast around a curve, car jumped the barrier and he rolled down a ravine.”

All this time I had been silent in my thoughts, but the sorrow I see in his eyes moves me to attempt to console him, or at least ease his sorrow, seeing as how I am a baby, I attempt what all babies use to make adults smile, Time to use my baby smile. ‘Look at the smiling baby, that’s it no more tears when there is a cute baby smiling at you’ I think to him while attempting that patented baby smile and laugh.

“I appreciate you trying to cheer me up but the fa….” Suddenly he is picking my up and holding me in front of his face scrutinizing me. “Hold on now, babies are not supposed to be thinking in complete sentences. Who are you and why are you in my sole surviving offspring!” he shouts.

I suppose if I had control over my facial muscles better my eyes would be wide and bugging out, but alas baby muscles just don’t give the look I should have done justice. ‘Holy crap, he can hear my thoughts…. Well this is going to be interesting! Testing, Testing 1…2…3. Is this thing on?’ I think to him after bugging out a little.

“More explaining you little shit before I get angry, what have you done with my offspring!” now he is shaking me a little bit while yelling. Honestly, I can see why babies laugh when you shake them a little, its like riding a roller coaster, but with your whole body moving.

‘Easy there! young man, I’m not as young as I used to be, well okay maybe I am, but is that anyway to treat a baby!’ I think to him in my sternest old man voice. ‘There is and easy explanation for this, you see it all started when the messages…’ I proceeded to tell him of my past life and of how I died and was reborn without assumingly going to the Sea of Souls to be washed of my memories. Ending with him walking through the door and pronouncing me the last in his line of whatever he is.

“Well, I’ll be. I think this must be a first in the entire system that someone has been reborn with their prior memories intact. Well come to think of it its only the 3rd time that a world has used the Vheil to escape the system. In fact, the other two worlds that used the Vheil, passed down the knowledge and when the Vheil failed, they were prepared! Not a single pregnancy, Nor a child under the age of ten.” He exclaims while looking me up and down.

‘Which begs the question, what pompous ass activate the Vheil on my planet and failed to see that the knowledge was passed on!’ I scream into my head at him.

“To be honest we don’t know and besides most of your species had not evolved a form of writing yet. Most used pictographs and oral traditions to pass on the histories. Almost all reminders of the system were probably lost. As to whom activated the Vheil, we may never know. The requirements and resources it costs is enormous and normally takes a global movement to accomplish.” He goes on in a lecturing tone of voice, while moving me back into a cradling position, and returning to rocking on the chair.

I’ll be honest I didn’t listen to much after he started rambling on and on about the costs and the effort required. You try listening when you are being held tightly and securely and being rocked like in a… well babe in a cradle! So, I drifted in and out a bit! It wasn’t until he said his name that I began to realize I probably should have been listening all along.

“…. Name is Loki, you probably never heard of me…” He goes on saying as I ponder interrupting him or not.

I decide to go all in and see if I can cause him some more surprise. ‘How’s Thor and Odin?’ I project to him.

Suddenly stopping his ramble, he again looks at me with those glowing green eyes “You know the Names of the Gods?” He asks with wonder.

‘Yeah, your kind of portrayed as a bad guy, and a real dick in most of our stories and fictions’ I say in an ironic manner ‘God of Mischief and Games, If I am not mistaken.’ I continue with.

“A bad guy, Mischief and Games!!” he’s shouting again, looks like the stories probably got it wrong, I mean I couldn’t put the amount of affront in my voice without naturally being affronted. “I’ll have you know that I am the God of Chance, awarded by the system itself for being well, being the luckiest son of a bitch, the galaxy has ever seen.” He finishes in the Proud tone only a God could achieve while saying that.

‘Guess that explains my luck stat’ I conclude remembering the seriously inflated number.

“What do you mean it explains your luck stat, as a baby it should be no more than 1 or 2 at the most, well maybe a 4 or 5 since you did survive the reintegration at an early age” he states while looking at me with that raised eyebrow look that was made famous by a certain pointy eared bastard.

‘50’ I think to him succinctly, leaving it at that.

“Impossible” he shouts “show me your stats page…. Please” he adds in a pleading voice when I don’t immediately comply.

‘Uhh… Yeah.. how do I do that?’

“Ohh yes, well you bring up your stat page and then just kind of will it to be shared, and think about the person or entity your wanting to see it.” He response in an overly exited voice. I can tell the anticipation is getting to him. I do as he says and watch carefully at his reactions. It started as a slow tic on the left side of his mouth, then proceed through a smirk, then a smile, then the Cheshire cat grin, ending with laughter. This proceeded for a good 2 minutes before he was panting and out of breath Finally after several deep breaths he continued. “This is astounding! 50 luck! I don’t know weather to congratulate you or say I’m sorry. “

He goes onto explain Luck in a broad sense and how many and what type of theories there were that luck did and effected. Basically, it boiled down to, they have no clue, but the higher the luck stat on certain individuals, the more things tended to happen around them that pulled them in. Good or bad. What was definitively known, was that it increases the drop rates and quality thereof, of system generated mobs/loot and within dungeons its doubled.

Around the time he was winding down, I started to hear more footsteps coming down the hallway, Loki had left the door open, and the sound carried well in a seemingly deserted Hospital. Shortly after the step were brought to my attention, a Large man entered the room. Blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, he had laugh lines around his eyes, and a full golden beard. “Loki, what in all the worlds are you doing with that baby, good grief we finally return to our rightful world, and what is the first thing you do, go and steal some poor waifs’ baby!”

“Brother!! You wound me!! Can you not recognize him!! Behold!!” Loke starts in with dramatic flair and holds me up to the giant of a man/god/thing. “The sole surviving remnant of our human descendants!”

The big mans eyes grow wide at hearing this and he starts to bend in to get a better look at me while Loki is holding me up. Being true to my roots, I let him get right up in front of me then ‘BOOO’ I mentally project at him. First, let me say, seeing a big guy like him jump and scream like a little girl is hilarious. Second, remember to run should you ever accomplish this. Third, I figured out who this was, as a ginormous hammer was now interposed betwixt himself and me.

While wielding his hammer he starts jabbering in some unknown language that I still cannot understand to this day. But here’s what I think they said. It makes me laugh.

“By my Holy Hammer!!! Loki release that wretched deamon, I shall smite it with my mighty hammer, then go and change my pants!”

Loki Responds “Thor, you’re a complete moron, do you not already think I knew he could talk and comprehend as an adult? Put that hammer back, your embarrassing yourself!

“He thinks at an age that should have no thoughts! He must be possessed by a deamon, now set him down so I might smite him with my massive hammer” He says while gesturing with the hammer in one hand and at the ground with the other.

Loki then proceeds to tell him to eat crow or what not, probably explains my luck and circumstances. Then says something about Thor compensating for a lack of something by referring to his “massive Hammer” all the time, because Thor seems to deflate a little, and looks back and forth from his hammer to the ground.

Finally, they are speaking in English again, “Apologies, Trevor, I did not mean to scare you with my outburst, but I was not informed of your good fortune.” Thor says while making his Hammer disappear.

‘No harm no foul, sorry about the fright, as a descendant of Loki I guess I couldn’t resist a good prank.’ I try and smile but all I can really do is drool a little while holding my mouth open. Damn baby body... going to have to learn everything again.

By this time I feel that I am getting pretty tired, even though I just woke up and I start to feel myself slipping back into dreamland. That is until Loki starts making mouth noises..

“Listen Trevor, there are some important things I need to pass onto you, I won’t have much more time here before we have to leave and the system locks us from visiting except under very strict circumstances.” Loki says while shaking me awake a little to ensure I am paying attention.

‘Sit me up’ I think back to him ‘So I can stay awake hopefully’

Loki sitting me up begin to explain why he is here “Originally I was going to talk with your mother after a little holding time. But since you can think and all… I think this will be much more fun! You see, when the Vhiel was activated, the party that did so decided to do a complete cutoff from the system. In the other known instances, of the Vhiel being deployed, all they stopped was the outside influence of the System Monster and Loot System and stopped travel to and from their solar system. They kept in tact the interface and leveling systems, and the Property management system. In this way when the Vheil lifted, they were seamlessly Brought back into the fold, mobs spawned in unclaimed areas, not marked in a safe zone. Earth on the other hand, when whoever activate the Vheill, cut the system off completely. Nothing in or Nothing out, not even Mana or Cosmic Energy. What this means is that all this land everywhere, is marked as unclaimed and Not a Safe Zone.”

‘Which means?’ Although I think I already know I have to ask just to make sure

Loki sighs “huuhaaa, which means, that by the end of 2 of your weeks there will not be a single building or man-made thing left. Nothing created or changed while the system was not in contact with your solar system will survive. It will all be marked as trash and decay in a matter of minutes, hours, days, or at most 2 weeks”

My brain freezes as he finishes speaking. Everything gone. Monuments, wonders, how much has humanity changed the face of the earth in the last millennia alone? ‘Fuck’

Loki smirks in a sad and sympathetic way “Succinctly put. So, with that said here is my advice to you, get your parents to the most natural location, with the least man-wrought changes away from heavily populated areas soon. Otherwise... you won’t stand a chance in the coming storm.”