Kaveen K’Abara, Emperor of the Abar, First Arbiter of The System, System Diplomat, looked at the report in his hands, his face a careful mask.
The man in front of him trembled under his aura. Actualized may he be, one could not compare to a Sovereign. He put down the crystal display, took a deep breath and commanded.
“Leave us. We need time to understand our current approach.”
The poor man left, and with that the Emperor’s mask, that he wore everywhere fell apart.
Kaveen sighed, his lips turned into a bitter smile. For the first time, in a long, long while he let his mind go and just relaxed. He looked around his office, the Eye of The Palace, recalling all the effort he had invested in making this place. It was a marvel of engineering, and he laughed now, at all the accidents that had occurred then.
He stood up from his desk and looked out at the city through a huge circular window.
From the Eye of The Palace, Kaveen looked at Hentok, Capital of Abara, his eyes taking in everything. From the most ordinary Humans and Elves, to the insectoid humanoid forms of the Krokpinaes, to the unstable forms of the Xi’kal’ti. Hentok was a showcase of unity of the various cultures across the Known.
Kaveen considered another way, another plan, any other alternative.
There was no other way… without them knowing.
Kaveen sighed turned back to his desk. With a flex of Intent, the protections in place around the Eye disappeared.
With that, multiple portals appeared.
From the grey portal, a veiled feminine figure emerged.
From the dark portal, emerged a man in a button up shirt with various tentacles waving behind him.
From the strangely pulsing green portal, an insectoid Krokpinae emerged.
From a yellow portal, a muscular Human emerged.
Kaveen smiled, “Looks like you all felt it.”
“Kaveen, are you really sure about this?”
Kaveen looked at the Human who was frowning worriedly and greeted him with a fist bump.
“It’s been a long time, Chhatrapati. I am sorry to say, but yes. This is the only way.”
Chhatrapati kept looking worriedly before letting out a sigh.
Kaveen looked around the room and saw that everyone had agreed.
“Let us begin—”
“Excuse me for the interruption but Kaveen, are you truly certain this will work? We all know the consequences of failure, and I cannot even peek into the future where this plan succeeds… or fails. The Empire could be destroyed, Kaveen”
Kaveen looked at Dvaetohes, the tentacles around him whipping and lashing out in worry. It is just like Dvae to never commit to a plan. No wonder he’s the Jack of All in our group.
“We have no choice, Dvae.”
Dvaetohes looked deep into his friend’s eyes. Something within them told Dvaetohes, that this was indeed the best way.
“So be it, Kaveen. I agree.”
Kaveen looked around the room, noticing that the rest had resolved themselves into committing to the plan.
“Well then, without further ado, let us begin the Ritual.”
***
Zayn was an ordinary young man. He had no special talent, but that was good for him. He wanted to be ordinary, and definitely did not want to go exploring, joining the March. Nor did he want to go about engineering great marvels, or becoming a miracle healer.
No, he would be an ordinary [Farmer], just like his father before him.
He stood in front of the System Node, and accessed the System.
[Welcome, Zayn Agricola to the Node.]
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
[Detected Integrated to be Unclassed.]
[Available Classes]
[F̸ạ̸̈́͂̒̚͝r̷̦̳͈͇̯̣͗̓͂̐̾̾̑͂ͅm̶̬̗̄̔̇́͒̾̊e̶̱͈̳̰͔̻̐͗̀͐́͋͌͌͝ͅr̴̨̯͈͉͖͈̐̀͜]
Zayn frowned. Was there something wrong with this Node? But bright red color flashed in front of his eyes
[Ė̵̲̭̜͔͕̻͒̋̽͑̏̚͜͝R̵̟͖̱̠̠̱̜̜̎̀̑̓͒̕͠R̶͍͎̙̈͑̾̀̑̕O̵͙͈̫̺͜͝Ṙ̵̨̬͙̦̤̣͉̳̼̆̓̈̐]
What in th- ?
Suddenly a burst spread out from the Palace. Zayn was shocked.
Who, in their right mind, would start a fight in HENTOK??
But then he saw the palace. Smoke was bellowing out from an iconic part of the Palace, a part that was rumored to be the System's birthplace.
The Eye of The Palace had exploded.
***
In a dark void.
Multiple bright lights lit up as various figures teleported in.
Among these figures, there was one that others avoided. He was Baldur, Divinity of Light and Salvation.
Baldur waved his hand, and with that the darkness lifted, revealing a room etched with intricate runes and circles.
It was a Ritual circle, one meant to connect and channel their Authority through, to the System.
And to take control of it.
Baldur turned towards the various figures finally addressed them.
“For eons we, the postnatal Divinities struggled to make a foothold in this vast world. For eons, we were hunted, contained, deprived of basic mortal rights. Those Eternal Gods enslaved, demeaning us as a mistake.”
Baldur paused and releasing his Aura, he roared.
“NO LONGER! No Longer. I pledge my Divinity to our Cause! DO YOU?”
The rest of the Divinities roared in unison.
“WE DO!”
“We must make the System OURS! I WILL DO IT. WILL YOU?”
“WE WILL!”
“Then let us Mark the System. Let the Ritual—”
Just as they were about to begin the Ritual, a wave spread about them.
The numerous Divinities looked about in confusion. Half of them then proceeded to faint and the rest looked disorientated.
God of Light and Salvation, First of the Divinities, He-Who-Brought-Hope, Baldur was shaking in anger, his Aura completely released.
The Ritual had been interrupted.
***
Peter looked at himself in the mirror.
A man in a nice burgundy linen shirt and light brown chinos stared back at him.
Peter tried to calm himself down.
“Looking good, Peter. You got this. Cassandra’s gonna be smitten with you.”
He looked around his room and found a worn black leather briefcase., peeking out from under his bed.
“You will not interfere with my date.” He said to the briefcase threateningly. The case said nothing in return.
“Get it?”
Once again, the briefcase did not deign to reply.
His scowl only deepened. An alarm rang from his phone.
He only had 15 minutes left to reach the cafe. And it took 15 minutes to get there. And coming late would not make a good impression.
Peter quickly grabbed his sunglasses, a bouquet of red roses.
He ran down the stairs, fumbled his way into his sneakers, locked the door behind him and ran to the bus stop.
Fortunately, he did not miss the bus and caught it, right on time. He sat down on an available seat, wiping the sweat from his brow.
He raised his head, and had a minor heart attack. A man in a ridiculous medieval robe like cosplay costume was there right in front of him. Impossible, I am the only person—
The man disappeared.
Peter blinked, immensely confused. What…?
Peter suddenly stood went to the front and asked the old driver.
“Was there anybody else on the bus?”
The driver, without looking at him, just simply shook his head.
Peter went back to his seat and absentmindedly ran his hands through the bouquet of red roses. His eye caught a flash of white. He frowned, and picked it out from between the stems of the flower. This was not here before.
He found a folded piece of paper. Unfolding it, he found a letter addressed to him. He started reading it.
Dear Mr. Rookwood,
This letter serves to inform you of a significant and unforeseen opportunity that has arisen within Multiverse System Inc. Due to extenuating circumstances, we are unable to divulge the specifics of this situation at present. However, we assure you that this development adheres to established protocols and regulations.
We are writing to formally offer you the position of [System] at Multiverse System Inc. This role carries significant responsibility and offers substantial rewards for successful incumbents. We understand the abrupt nature of this proposition; however, it is essential to emphasize that you were personally selected for this opportunity by the company's founder. We encourage you to dismiss any reservations you may harbour regarding your qualifications for this position.
We sincerely apologize for the unavoidable lack of prior notice. Unfortunately, the aforementioned circumstances necessitate this unconventional method of communication. Please be rest assured however, that assistance will be granted in settling in your new position.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Multiverse System Inc.
P.S: Upon reading this letter, you will have exactly till the Flux Solstice before you will be transported to your working location.
Peter looked at the letter once. Its wording and style was unlike everything he had seen. He was sure it had not been in the bouquet when he bought it, and for someone to put it in here would be nigh impossible. He had always been around the flower, after all.
I really hope that it is not those guys. I have constantly told them that I am done with this job, that I need to retire. I was no longer suitable.
…besides what the hell is the Flux Solstice?
Just then the bus stopped and the doors opened. Peter glanced at the letter one more time, before discarding it.
He had a date to attend to.
***
“Bye Peter”
“Bye Cassie, c’ya later tomorrow.”
Peter crossed the street with a happy smile on his face. A decade of work later, finally he found somebody that he felt he could trust. Although the fifteen minutes was kind of awkward due to nerves, they somehow managed to break it. She was such a sweet girl…
In his distraction he had not noticed Cassie’s horrified face, nor did he see the truck blaring at him to get off the road.
And so, Peter Rookwood died, leaving the Earth behind happy and confused.