"What... in the hell?" The whisper escaped my dry, cracked lips. I was acutely aware of the blood seeping from my side, but I couldn't tear my gaze away from the bold grey font hovering in the center of my vision. Cautiously, I raised a hand towards the words. My fingers brushed through the letters, and then my entire hand passed through them. My eyebrows drew together, and I gently waved my hand back and forth through the text. The shimmering words rippled like water disturbed by a stone, then reformed when I retracted my hand.

My eyes traced over the words again. 'New Soul?' The term resonated oddly within me, pulling at threads of memories that seemed to exist on the brink of my mind, both alien and somehow intimately personal. Hesitant, I gave in to curiosity out of pure interest and let my eyes flick over to "Review Status Sheet." I mentally thought about clicking it.

The change was instantaneous.

I jerked my hand back as if scorched, and fell to the deck boards, scrambling backward until my shoulders pressed up against the curvature of the hull.

The floating interface began to warp and shift as the letters and lines swayed and reformed into—

I made a noise in my throat, and my mouth fell open.

"...No way. That’s… Ha- I mean…”

It was a character sheet. An honest-to-God character sheet of me, to be precise. There was a mini-me avatar clothed and displayed in a side box next to a grid pattern that screamed “inventory space.” My avatar was even wearing the same clothes: a sun-bleached, threadbare shirt, stark white except where blood had darkened the fabric at—

I absently brought a hand up to the burning wound in my side.

"Jesus Christ."

The replica was so accurate. So real, even down to the details of the avatar’s sleeves being rolled up and frayed at the edges, and its trousers thinning at the knees in a faded, indeterminate gray. There was even a pair of simple canvas shoes on its feet. On my feet. It was all there. Each piece of clothing was detailed as an individual item equipped on my character, arranged in ‘Attire’ slots that matched the proportions of the avatar—spaces designated for headwear, torso, arms, hands, each finger, waist, legs, and feet. It was so structured. So simple, yet intricate. It couldn’t be real. Right?

I pinched myself then and there. Hard.

Despite my disbelief, and the slightly burning spot of skin, the character sheet and inventory space remained visible, floating in the center of my vision like a wide computer screen.

I glanced down at the dagger in my hand. Having already committed to one risky move that fortunately worked, I figured another wouldn’t hurt. I pressed the blade's tip against the thumb of my free hand, wincing as a small drop of dark blood formed. Looking up, the interface remained stubbornly in place. The pain confirmed I wasn’t dreaming, effectively ruling out a hallucination caused by blood loss. Not wanting to dwell on my recent brush with death, I shifted my focus away from the fight—if it could even be called that. Experimentally, I moved my head, shifting the interface to obscure the sight of the creature’s lifeless body. It worked. That was interesting.

"Fire as they bear!"

The command from the upper decks cut off my train of thought.

In the next instant, it was derailed as the ship groaned and pitched, the timber beneath me creaking in protest. A series of powerful, staggered blasts from the cannons shook the ship to its core—and me along with it. The deafening roar vibrated through my bones, drowning out even my own thoughts. As the noise slowly subsided, it left an echoing ring in my ears. Then, the sharp, bitter scent of gunpowder mixed with the musty sea air, disorienting me like a flashbang grenade.

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"Rally to me! Man the pumps!"

Once my vision cleared from seeing double, I found myself lying on my side, cradling my head with both hands as I tried to shake off the disorientation. The loud shouts gradually brought me back to myself. Groaning, I carefully stood, favoring my left side.

“Have to move,” I muttered under my breath, spitting bloody phlegm off to the side before focusing on the scene before me.

The body of the creature lay directly in the center of the... broken stairs. Damn.

Now what? I couldn’t actually—

"Hello. I am Ada, your personal System Navigator Assistant!" a calm, synthetic female voice filled my mind.

I stopped dead, blinking rapidly and scanning my surroundings with wide eyes. Nothing. There wasn't just no one around—it was clear. I was completely alone. I was dead certain of it.

“BBBZZZzzzz T-That is correct, New-w-w Soul. You are the-the only- BZZZz- biological lifeform on the lowest-st-st deck-k of [The Sea Sovereign-gn],” the same woman’s voice was now ominously warped.

This time, I knew something was very, very wrong—and not just because I was hearing voices in my goddamned head.

“…Hello?” I tentatively whispered to the musty dimness around me. I had to try, because I had an idea of where her voice was coming from, and I didn't like it.

Unfortunately, only the creaks and groans of the ship answered me. That, and the distant sound of musket fire. Then,

"H-Hello, New Soul-l-l. I a-am Ada, your personal Syst-em-“

“No. Stop.” I said to the air.

A long second of silence stretched.

“…I am Ada?”

“What?” I blinked. “No, just, stop talking. Please?” I tried. Now I was certain the voice was coming from my head. I didn't know exactly how or why, I just knew.

[Initiating Text Mode – Authorization_Code_USER_000.001]

‘Text Mode has been initiated. Hello, New Soul. I am Ada, your personal System Navigator Assistant!’

The following text continued without any acknowledgment from me.

I squinted, focusing on the words. Half dazed, and even more confused.

‘The System that I help Users to manage is designed to help you navigate and access your personal capabilities and resources more effectively in Qi-heavy environments. You may think of it as an interactive, real-time strategy guide and management tool. It can display your health, skills, inventory, and objectives—all tailored to your own design. Within reason, of course. It's also capable of providing real-time feedback and tactical suggestions based on the situations you encounter.’

I massaged my temple with my fingers, feeling the beginnings of a headache forming. I kept reading, though. How could I not?

‘I am here to act as an assistant. I will help you interpret System data, manage tasks, and can even provide vital information about your environment or any changes to your condition.’

It was almost too much to take in all at once—this voice, no, apparently this A.I.-esque thing, named Ada, of all things, was somehow speaking to me directly in my head. And based on her responses so far, she could effectively read my thoughts. It made me pause, forced me to truly stop and try to process all of this. It made sense, in a way, but the invasion of my privacy, of my very mind, felt overwhelming. That was too much, right? That, and the dead sea creature blocking the only stairs I could use to get anywhere else but the bottom of a boat at sea.

I was up shit creek without a paddle and a bad case of dementia because the last thing I easily remember was going to sleep in my own bed back home in... In... Goddamnit.

"…Okay.” I took a deep breath. I exhaled. “Okay.” I needed to focus. I needed to focus on the here and now. I had to cut through the bullshit and get to the issue at hand. And I was very much experiencing the classic example of an ‘issue.’

“Okay. Ada?" I spoke like I was talking to the ceiling. "I’m trapped and hurt. I need help. Help me.” My voice sounded small, even to me, and the groaning timbers nearly drowned me out.

But she, or it, or whatever it was, started answering again in text, when I had to interrupt her for my own sanity. I could take a voice talking to me inside my head, but reading floating text was unusual and disorienting.

“No. Stop. Switch to... to audio? Save me—get me out of here before I bleed out, please. I don't feel so good.”

[Initiating Audio Mode – Authorization_Code_USER_000.001]

“Hello. I am Ada. Your personal-“

“Yes! Yes, I know, Ada. I know. Now please, help me. Please. I- I don’t know what’s happening.”

“Processing request…” The A.I.’s voice took on a monotonous tone. Then,

[Initiating Audio-Visual Mode - Authorization_Code_USER_000.001]

“Follow the blue line, New Soul. And yes, I understand your reservations, but you will need to climb over the corpse of the [Sea Demon Fledgling]. This will get you to the upper deck where you can rendezvous with likely allies. Warning: Caution is advised; multiple hostiles have been detected en route.”

A thinly luminescent blue line appeared on the floor, snaking its way through the debris and past the still body of the creature.

I looked at the blue line.

I looked at the sea demon’s corpse.

I swallowed down the lump forming in my throat.

“Fuck it. Here goes nothing,” I muttered.