The gems light began to dim as she stood before him, her presence seeming to bend the light of the moon in her favor enhancing her otherworldly existence. It was a rather abrupt meeting and the fatigue from the day was starting to wear on his mind, but he had questions and now that he was in a less perilous situation he was going to get the information that he needed.

"It seems like you managed to survive while I was away, good for you." As always she talked in an amused tone, he had managed to escape death on luck alone after she had plunged the cavern into darkness. He still had a sour taste about it but that could wait for a later time.

"It seems you managed to escape into the stone, why'd it take so long for you to appear?"

"My... my..., little Shin did miss me, how cute. Possessing such a powerful stone isn't as easy as you might think little Shin, even with its low durability it nearly took me 2 days to have complete control, not that you would understand such a system."

"Sen what exactly is this system, how does it work?"  

Pondering the question for a moment, she tilts her head towards the sky, "What kind of question is that? The system is everything and everyone, every belief, every ideal, every god, and every person has access to this system, from the very soul that sits in your body to the limitless stars in the sky everything is incorporated in the system. As to how it works," Looking back at me she draws closer her face only inches apart from mine.

"The same way it worked before the world was reset." 

Before the world was reset? Did such a system exist? Of course not, how could it, with such an advanced system there would be no need for computers, phones, cameras anything electronic. She couldn't be serious, and how did she gain such knowledge about the world after the wipe?

"How do you know all of this? It's not like there are textbooks to explain things and no offense but you're a spirit, you survived a few days in this world before dying, the things you're telling me are beyond your knowledge." Staring at me her aura pulsed, as the tone of her voice grew more serious.

"I'd watch your mouth Shin," the words heavy as they spilled from her mouth. "Spirits are envious beings who possess mass amounts of information, of course by interacting with the physical world, by interacting with a living being I've been cast out of the knowledge pool."

"Your were cast out of the pool of knowledge because of me? Is it really that big a deal?"

 He could see the spirit flare from his foolish question, "Knowledge is power everyone knows that Shin the living and the dead, and I have been cut off from every other spirit in existence for granting you the ability to see and hear us, the

ability to bend your soul to your will isn't something that is easily obtainable."

She has been exiled from the pool of knowledge for granting him the abilities, of course, he felt a little guilty for it, but seeing as there was nothing he could do about it, he didn't continue on the subject. 

"Is there any information you can tell me that isn't in the pool of knowledge?"

"The only knowledge I possess is of spirit relation." Pausing for a brief moment she continues. "The only thing I can tell you is that the system is centered around the manifestation of our beliefs before the wipe, other than that I know nothing else."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Thinking about her explanation was starting to give him a headache as he began to massage his forehead. He still had one more question to ask, "Do you know where Azel is?"

Strangely the ghostly figure didn't react, he had expected anger or rage but she stayed silent. "I don't know where Azel is, only that he is still alive still walking on your world." The monotone was void of emotion as she spoke before she began to fade.

"I have things to deal with in my world now, try not to get yourself killed while I'm away." And like that she disappeared, before giving him a chance to respond. He had probably pissed her off with a few of the questions, "Oh well, I'll apologize the next time I see her."

Laying down in the grass he thought about everything Sen had told him about the system, his mine to fatigued to put the pieces together he closed his eyes and let his mind wander.

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 The sun shined brightly in the sky as he awoke from his deep slumber, standing up his body had gone stiff and as he began to stretch he noticed someone had woken up before him. Sitting at the now empty firepit Takashi sat cross-legged his eyes closed as if he were sleeping, the only reason he knew he was still awake was due to him not being there before he had gone to sleep the previous night.

Walking towards him the air seemed to become warm, although where he sat was shaded by the trees. It was strangely calm, the breeze subtle and the closer he got the more peaceful he felt before sitting on opposite sides of the fire, he simply watched him. It was mesmerizing he assumed it was a type of meditation and wondered how long he had been sitting here.

He watched for what felt like only a few minutes before the hut door came flying open, Francis sprinting over with an excited look on his face.

"Hey Venge!! You've got to check this out!."

Just like that the feeling was gone the peaceful calm had abruptly vanished and as I looked at Takashi he stared at Francis with annoyance, before standing up and walking away disappearing behind the hut. Arriving in front of him he plops down next to him, his eye's a bloodshot red.

"I stayed up all night analyzing the My User and the system, it was a bit difficult at first but I finally figured out how it works. It's adaptive!"

Looking at him, he gave off the impression of a guy with a few screws loose. "What do you mean adaptive?" 

Bursting with excitement he replies " I mean based on of your actions, your thoughts, feelings, interactions everything you do and what others do defines what messages you get. Although the specifics on how to gain an ability, and the requirements I have no clue."

He was talking fast almost to the point it was hard to understand what he was saying, and the more he talked the less I understood. Francis continued to ramble on as I thought back to the things Sen told me last night, about how the system manifested our beliefs, stating this would mean it could read our thoughts and that was a very uncomfortable feeling. If it was true then you were only limited by your imagination.

He knew one thing for sure though, Azel had survived. He was still alive somewhere in this unknown world and he had no clue how he was supposed to track down one man when he couldn't even find his own way out of a forest, and if he was going to kill him he needed power. He knew Azel would dominate in this new world, he had always prepared for it and he didn't doubt he had already deciphered the secrets of Cosmos and The Being of Many Names.

More people began to trickle out the hut, and soon the chatter began to fill the area, Eugene had begun explaining to Trace the layout of the forest, and how to defend himself against the Rattlers him being the veteran at fighting them. Lars and Sara began preparing the second Rattler for breakfast, and Takashi had returned from the forest out of breath and sweat dripping from his face.

As usual, he didn't say a word, he did glance at Francis, still annoyed about this morning. Everyone began to sit around the fire as Lars brought over the meat. staring into the fire he thought about his situation. It was depressing and nearly hopeless it was hard not to give up, dropping his head he sighed deeply  Sen's words echoed in his mind before a small smile formed on his face.

Knowledge really is power, he thought to himself.