The first thing Julius felt was the cold.
He shivered and rolled over, his hands pawing for the warm fur-lined blanket he had been sleeping with since he was twelve. When he couldn't find it he let out a moan of discontent and sat up. Using the heel of his palm he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and gazed around his room.
That brought him pause.
His room.
Where was he?
He lay upon the floor and looked around, just now noticing the strange pentagrammic sigil that lay beneath. Still groggy from the sleep Julius attempted to push himself to his feet.
That was when he noticed the other oddity.
He had no skin.
Julius stared at the long ivory sticks protruding from his hand. Slowly, his gaze moved upwards; moving from his fingers, to hand, to arm. He looked down at his legs, then his other arm, and finally his torso.
All of it being formed of long white columns with a disturbing lack of flesh or blood.
Confusion, panic, and fear struck Julius all at once. He threw himself backwards, scrabbling away in an attempt to distance himself from the strange creature he was inhabiting.
He opened his mouth to scream, but the only sound that came out was a dry wheeze. Like the death rattle of a dying, or in this case already dead man.
His hands grasped at the bone-like structure he was formed of, roaming over the humerus, sternum, and finally the skull.
That was what stopped him.
His hands flew to his head, it was baby-skin smooth with a complete lack of hair and most disturbingly, skin. His fingers ran down his face and the fear only increased as he couldn't feel his nose, nor his lips, or ears.
Julius screamed again, and once more that dry wheeze erupted from where his mouth would be.
“What the Hell is happening?!” Like the scream his voice was a sharp whisper. A harsh melody that strung together sounds and noises until it formed a coherent sentence.
Fortunately, his question would be answered as a small rectangular screen would appear before him. It sat there floating in the air, glowing a dull azure.
He stared at the message written on the screen.
[Quest]: Awakening
You awake, confused and disoriented in a strange place.
- Objective: Explore the ruins
Julius stared at the screen in confusion. “What is it?” He wondered. His hand reached forward and for a moment, Julius felt like screaming and crying as he looked at the bony appendage. But, in a moment that feeling was gone and replaced with a sense of calm.
Panic would do nothing but hurt him in this situation.
His finger touched the blue rectangle and the object pulsed as his digit lay within it. The way the screen fizzled and shook reminded him of TV static. Withdrawing his finger the screen went back to normal.
“A hologram?” He questioned.
Hesitantly he stood up as he did so the screen followed, he looked left, then right. Once more the screen followed, always remaining just a little below eye level. He took a step forward and of course, the screen followed.
“Interesting.” He murmured. The strange sense of calm he had felt had by now extinguished any panic he felt and although fear still roiled within his now nonexistent stomach. It was suppressed, controlled, even allowing Julius relative peace of mind.
He stared at the message once again. “Explore the ruins…” He looked around him, truly appraising the room he was in.
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It was a T-shaped chamber with himself located on the top part of the letter and the narrow end extending outward toward a set of double doors. Candles littered the room, many placed on the floor or tables in the area. He turned back to the symbol drawn onto the floor and hesitantly he touched the sigil. It was drawn with some kind of red paint, although the paint had dried by now, the symbol becoming crusty and flaky. He knelt down to inspect the symbol and that was when he caught a whiff of the smell.
He recoiled. “Blood.” He hissed. He took several steps away from the sigil, confusion and disgust spiking his mind. Once more however, a feeling of calm would come over him and his mind would settle.
Turning away from the grisly emblem Julius fixed his attention back to the blue screen.
Any attempts to physically interact with the display were met with the same static effect as before.
“C’mon give me something.” He grumbled.
Instantly the screen changed, displaying a series of words and concepts that Julius was somewhat familiar with.
{Identity}
[Name]: [Julius Carter-Martinez]
[Titles]: [None]
[Race]: [Undead]
[Rank]: [None]
{Journal}
[Quests]
[Store]
[Codex]
{Attributes}
[Power]: [E]
[Reflex]: [F]
[Mind]: [E]
[Anima]: [F]
{Specializations}
[1/4] [None]
[2/4] [None]
[3/4] [None]
[4/4] [None]
{Skills}
[Undead Physiology]
{Abilities}
[Soul Eater]
{Spells}
[None]
{Afflictions}
[Curse of Apathy]
Julius shook his head in amazement.
“Ok, so we’re going by video game rules.”
This wasn't any game system he was familiar with, even so his eyes scanned the character sheet in front of him. His eyes catching on the [Undead] slotted into the [Race] category.
He sighed, a feat he was surprised he could still do, given his lack of lungs. Julius took the time to thoroughly inspect himself. He could still breathe, feel, see, hear, and smell. Curious, he stuck a finger into his mouth, the bony digit sat there and although Julius pushed his “tongue” against it, he neither felt nor tasted anything.
“Alright, guess it doesn't apply to the things inside me.”
Following up on this thought he slipped his hand under his ribcage, once more although some subconscious part of his mind knew he should have a stomach and heart.
He felt nothing.
“Christ.” He muttered. “What is going on?”
Once more the [Quest] message popped into view.
[Quest]: Awakening
You awake, confused and disoriented in a strange place.
- Objective: Explore the ruins
“Go away.” He thought. The display compiled, vanishing from view.
“Guess it doesn't just respond to verbal commands.”
“Appear.” He thought. The screen appeared.
Julius felt himself smile, and although he knew he didn't have a face he couldn't help but feel some elation.
“Alright.” He glanced toward the set of double doors at the end of the room. “Guess I’ve got some exploring to do.”