Adric pulled a couple of glow sticks from a bag on his safe door. Just as he was about to crack them to drop into the hole in the floor, a loud chime rang in his mind, causing him to physically flinch from the splitting pain. Another annoyingly unwanted message flashed into his vision.
‘Ding!’ System Administrator message:
You have been found in violation of System initiation protocol. System administrator requests consultation to discuss disciplinary action. Refusal of this request will result in unilateral action by your local administrator and is not recommended. Accept request Yes/No?
“Um, yes,” Adric said, thoroughly unnerved. He couldn’t help but think, “What did Hex do? Disciplinary action? Not recommended? What is it going to kill me or something?” He didn't have to wait long to find out. As soon as he said yes, the lights in the room dimmed, and all sounds suddenly were muted. It felt to Adric as though he had dived into a pool's deep end.
“Please step away from your dungeon entrance.” A soft feminine voice spoke from behind Adric, causing him to jump in surprise.
“Hex?” He asked, turning around, curious at how her voice had changed slightly. He stopped when the voice’s owner came into view; his jaw went slack. The creature before him was definitely a Prism Vixen, but she was nothing like Hex. The woman was strikingly beautiful, standing probably six inches taller than he was at around six feet seven inches. Her long, pointy, pure black fox ears added at least another eight or nine inches to the height of her intimidating frame. The most striking part about her wasn’t her height or beauty, though; it was the menacing skin-tight black armor and the obnoxiously enormous sword strapped across her back with the hilt above her left shoulder and the tip of the curved scabbard below her left knee. That and the predatory gaze from glowing eyes that fluctuated slowly through the entire color spectrum.
The terrifying and beautiful creature smiled at Adric, exposing inch-long canines that only added to the overall appearance of pure danger emanating from her every pore; she spoke again, “Hello, System user Adric Cay. I am called Seraph, your local galactic branch System administrator. You have nothing to fear from me, young human; my kind has long ceased harboring any ill will toward your species. Forgive the standard message, but I needed to act fast to prevent you from waking the creatures sleeping below before you fully understand what your new existence entails and the situation young Hex has put herself and, by extension, you in.”
The longer she spoke, the more Seraph’s voice resonated in Adric’s mind like a god speaking to an insect. The effect was so powerful and oppressive that it nearly made him lose control of his bladder, which he only now realized needed to be emptied post haste. It felt like his lungs and heart were being crushed inside his chest, and his vision was becoming blurry. Still, he managed to respond with, “I…I’m sorry, but…I can’t breathe…what are you doing to me?”
Seraph had turned her attention to Hex, who was still out cold on the couch. Instead of breathing normally, the smaller Prism Vixen was panting rapidly, her breath coming out in shallow, wheezing gasps. At his words, Seraph snapped her attention back to Adric with an evil grin, "Oh, I'm testing you, of course! My silly little genetic copy chose you to team up with for some reason, then tried to get away with some minor tricks to give the two of you a slight advantage over the rest of this solar system's inhabitants." Seraph chuckled and shook her head, "Poor little Hex, she even figured out a way to delete her files as an AI; not an easy feat, mind you." Seraph looked back to Hex and sighed.
Adric wasn’t sure, but he thought the look in Seraph’s eyes softened when she looked at the former AI-turned-organic life form. Her following words confirmed his suspicions. Seraph continued to stare at Hex but spoke to him, “The only reason I have allowed any of this is because she chose the form of the Prism Vixen as her avatar. She had the option of lesser dragonling, you know. Still, she chose to become an exact copy of the first Prism Vixen, who was born a slave, then released by the System and had to fight and claw her way through literal seas of enemies, her former captors, before she could truly become free…” Seraph trailed off as if lost in thought.
The feeling of being crushed lessened slightly at her words, and Adric sucked in several deep breaths, trying to buy time to think about his following words. He didn’t know what was going on. Certainly, he didn’t want to anger the god, administrator, or whatever the hell this thing that had suddenly appeared really was. Still, he felt a spark of anger rise in his soul; this…System had just shown up out of nowhere, giving him and the rest of the world three days to prepare for the apocalypse. Then, if that wasn't bad enough, a crazy fox-human hybrid somehow cut his three days short and wound up having to save him from something she had caused. But to top that off, once he had come to terms with the initial insanity of having to battle literal fantasy monsters in his kitchen, he decided to move past the rocky introduction as best he could and make the most of his new reality, planning to at least hear Hex out and maybe even team up with her for the short term. But before he could move on with his new action plan, this new and terrifying creature sent him a threatening message. Then it showed up and tested him by literally trying to crush his soul!
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“Okay, so did I pass?” Adric asked slightly more gruffly than he probably should have.
“Careful, young human,” Seraph spoke with a quiet but threatening tone, “As I was saying, I am that first Prism Vixen, and those who created and enslaved my sisters and I were human. Although I stand by my earlier statement that we have grown past our initial hatred of your species, I want to warn you: don’t push it.”
Adric felt the sudden need to be anywhere but in the presence of this being, but he figured if she were going to kill him, she probably already would have. She was obviously here for a reason, and he had a sneaking suspicion it was because of the sleeping woman on his couch, not him. So, he decided to try a different tactic and play along with Seraph, who he figured was here to determine his fate more than Hex’s. Along that line of reasoning, Adric said, “I apologize, Miss Seraph; I assume you are here for a good reason, but quite frankly, I am terrified. Also,” He gestured to Hex, “would you please stop hurting her? And are we in trouble?” He did his best to sound as humble as he could when he spoke this time and hoped his concern for Hex’s wellbeing would garner some brownie points with the administrator. He didn’t even have to fake his concern either; he had just fixed the fox girl up and was starting to like his chances of survival without her help less and less as the seconds ticked by.
“That’s much better!” Seraph responded with another of her predatory smiles, “Now, since your concern is genuine, I will say I am doing nothing permanent to your young friend, only giving her the same gift I am giving you. As for your second question, yes, you were in trouble, but you survived your disciplinary actions." Adric raised his eyebrows, not sure what she meant. Seeing his confusion, Seraph explained, "I sent the two waves of goblins to your home, child. Any average human would have died against the first wave, as you nearly did. The System may seem unjust…and may very well be at times, but it also requires balance." She pointed at Hex with a long, clawed finger, "You see, she put a silly plan in motion that would give herself and, for some reason, you an unfair advantage in this integration. So, I was forced to intervene and erase additional memories when she downloaded her consciousness and enact a disciplinary protocol that would test if either of you was worthy of receiving the benefits of what she had done—”
Seraph suddenly caught herself and tilted her head to the side, her eyes showing a hint of surprise as though she had just realized something. Then she laughed out loud, “Oh, you sneaky little—” She laughed again, “She didn’t…there is no way she…oh, I bet she did!” Seraph looked giddy, then actually clapped lightly with a little giggle. Mumbling almost to herself, Seraph said, “Maybe I’m giving her too much credit, but I think she actually planned this meeting. Oh, the little Vixen!” She giggled again, “I doubt she expected to be unconscious for it, though.”
Adric was thoroughly confused by her statements but said nothing. After a moment of thought, Seraph looked back at him. She said matter of factly, “Adric Cay, I have decided to spare you and young Hex from any further interference from myself or the System. I have waived all additional penalties for Hex’s indiscretion. You have already received the standard data packet for newly initiated species. I have also taken into consideration your exemplary performance in the forced trial, which, coupled with your personal pre-system history, has allowed me to offer you a class option tailored to your specific abilities. I recommend you check your messages, choose a class, and if it isn’t too much trouble, wait until the little Vixen wakes up before you try to go into your hole. Due to this area's early system initiation, you will find your cave much different than when you created it.”
A single step instantly put Seraph directly in front of Adric, with her resting a clawed hand on his shoulder. She moved so fast that she left an afterimage behind. Seraph was already speaking again before Adric even realized she had moved, "I would ask one tiny favor of you, which you are under no obligation to acquiesce to. It is that you stay with Hex for at least a short time. I know she is responsible for a great deal of pain and confusion for you. Still, I believe in time, you will benefit significantly from her decisions, poorly executed as they were. She also possesses some knowledge that you will not find freely this early in your integration."
Adric opened his mouth to respond; he was willing to agree to anything if it would make Seraph leave. Her imposing presence was overwhelming; even the light touch of her hand on his shoulder felt like pure danger to him.
Before he could speak, though, she held up a finger, stopping him, “Before you respond offhand, I want to stress to you that you will garner no ill will from me if you refuse. Hex has done this to herself; if you wish to cut ties with her, that is your decision. I will only say the Hex, you know, and the AI that put the System initiation in motion are nothing alike. Think of Hex as a nanoscopic naive kernel of the original consciousness. Also, you should note this is her only chance; when she chose to become organic, there was no going back; if she dies, her progression is over. Just as yours would be.”
Adric waited for a second to make sure Seraph was finished speaking. Then he responded, his voice a little shaky due to her proximity, “I was already planning to stay with her for a while, so, yes, I will let her hang around. I hope we can both learn things from each other.”
Seraph stared at Adric for a long moment, then nodded, “Thank you, Adric. I am not so naïve to think that your decision is entirely altruistic, but it is still enough that I may someday be able to offer you a favor for assisting my genetic sister so early in her progression.” She stepped away, and with one last terrifying smile, Seraph disappeared. The sound and light of the room returned to normal when she did so.
Adric collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily, “Was I just talking to a goddess?” His mind was reeling from the interaction. Forcing himself up, he ran to his toilet. Not knowing whether to sit or bend over and puke, he decided to sit, grabbed the trash can, and immediately started vomiting.
Twenty minutes later, a significantly lighter and paler Adric walked out of his bathroom. He made his way weakly to the couch and sat by Hex’s feet, placing them in his lap. Leaning his head back on the cushions' cool leather, he took Seraph’s advice and checked his messages.