My eyes struggled to open as the bright, luminescent light buzzed all around me in this strange room. As I fought to keep my eyes open and process what was happening around me, another problem arose as quickly after I felt the full wave of pain enter my body from the massive crater where my core used to thrive. I screamed in pain at the feeling of a thousand knives continuously stabbing me until my voice faded and the feeling of a bright warmth wrapped around my entire body, soothing me and my pain in the process. It felt almost magical, as the pain ceased to exist, yet all-white could still very clearly see the gaping hope inside my stomach.
As I stared bleakly and confused at my cavity for a few minutes more, I slowly began to turn my attention to the room around me. An all white box surrounded me from all sides, simply bright with no real walls, flooring, a roof, or really anything…
Just another fucked up thing to worry about, I thought to myself as I started to remember my final moments before I passed out previously. I remember the final floor fight, the cathedral, the deity, then the… oh, the people who had fought and killed me, my closest friends in the world. Now it all seemed so stupid that I was even able to momentarily forget it.
My emotions started to flare as my brows furrowed and I got lost in thought yet again as I pondered all the reasons for the betrayal I just experienced, yet to no avail. No great reasoning or understanding popped into my head. I simply became lost in thought for what felt like nearly an hour before I finally gave it a rest. There was no benefit in this, I reminded myself over and over. Simply wasting my time not recovering and planning my escape.
I glanced around my surroundings once more before suddenly feeling a crushing set of eyes gazing on me from above. I shielded myself from an attack which never landed, before a slight, murky laugh was let out from somewhere above me. Or wait, maybe in front of me? Or under? The sound seemed as though it was bouncing from wall to wall as it sent chills down my spine in the process of each bounce. I continued there, shielding my body from any possible attack when a realization finally hit me.
The voice.
It, or he, mentioned revenge right as I was stabbed, so what did it want? Obviously I’m not going to trust this random fucking thing after everything I've just seen. However, I needed answers and a way out of here, so the only option was to play along with it for now, or at least until I find a way to fix my body.
The voice slowly faded after about a minute, followed by a long silence as the voice seemed to be deciding on what to say.
Then it spoke. Each word reverberating within my whole body, paralyzing me in the process while my head locked forward at the location of the voice, “I’m sure… you have plenty of questions, my dear Kai, but you must wait for answers as I am running out of time for now.” It paused for a moment before continuing, “As I’m sure you have noticed, I have been watching you since your first breaths on this planet, and I have been secretly shielding you from the eyes of the other deities up until recently when the high prophet had a vision.”
I thrashed in place as he continued speaking, half listening and half fighting to convince my body to move, yet to no avail, with no choice but to let the mysterious voice continue.
“As you can tell, they acted quickly and with the aid of your ‘friends’ as you liked to call them, they were able to eliminate you without even receiving a penalty from the system.” He paused once more before speaking, yet in a much more clear and deep tone this time, “So let me ask you, Kai, will you sit here and accept their actions with your head down? Or will you do something about it?”
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I froze. Silence filled the room faster than I could process it as his words made my body shiver and erupt in goosebumps. Who was this? Watching me? Protecting me? Then why did I die? A million questions ran through my head before an indescribable sight descended from thin air right in front of me.
A single pair of dark rose-colored eyes appeared, each as big as a human and each appearing to contain the mysteries of the world within them. The dark eyes seemed to be filled with a galaxy in each pupil as they gazed right through my physical body and straight into my soul while I lay perched up against what acted as a wall. I gazed at the eyes in pure shock, unsure of what to say or do yet admire the sheer sight.
The eyes blinked, which took me aback as I flinched out of my trance and gathered my attention for the eyes, which stared at me silently for another minute before I finally realized my position and spoke up. “What kind of chance can you offer me? I want my revenge, and I’m not going to be your little fucking soldier just because you want some too, so why should I take your side?”
The eyes stared at me again, this time moving up and down my body before settling on the hole still sitting in my lower abdomen. It continued to stare at my missing core before my stomach magically started rebuilding itself, nerve by nerve, tissue by tissue, bone by bone. It was something I had heard was simply impossible for the magic of our world, yet here I was watching it happen in real time. A minute passed by, then two, then five, and no more than a total of twenty minutes later of slight discomfort and pain later my entire stomach was rebuilt and I looked normal again. I stared at the eyes deeply trying to understand the spell it had just casted on me before a new, young voice from that of a woman no older than 25 rang inside my head more clearly than my own.
[Player Kai Nautica - System Access Granted]
[Regeneration Lvl 1 - Unlocked]
The voice rang out inside my ear causing me to pull my hands to my ears in attempts of drowning the noise, but it soon got quieter. More questions arose but I held back and simply met the eye’s view and waited. The eye’s quickly responded after, “This is what I can do for you. Your core is no more, that is a fact which we both must accept. But I have the power to gift you a weapon much stronger than any deity or human can ever replicate. This is my one and only gift to you as you train to take your revenge from scratch. Kill the deities, Kill your friends, Kill whoever decides to cross your path. Just remember who is giving you this chance, as it is your goal to continue up the tower and unlock more of the system to figure out why.”
We sat in silence for a brief moment once more as I pondered on what I was just told. I could have a second chance with this power.. a way to achieve my revenge and complete my goals once more if I accepted this offer. But could I truly trust this deity? After all I had just experienced however, this may be my last chance. What else is there to lose?
I turned my gaze upward from my newly replaced stomach to meet the eye’s gaze. As we locked eyes, I took a final deep inhale and slowly exhaled until there was no air left in my lungs. I brought my hand to the floor and pressed firmly to bring myself back to my feet before dusting myself off and looking around the bright white room one last time.
I had made up my mind. With this last chance, I vow to end the lives of my old friends, and take down every single one of those fucking deities with me.
Just as I had expected, the mysterious eyes could read my mind as they squinted into what could only be interpreted as a grin. Then, it spoke its final words to me which rang throughout my body, mind, and soul all in one go.
“I will now send you back to your first day of the tower, 25 years ago today. Learn to use the system to your advantage, relearn how to fight, and train like this is your last shot at life.”
A final pause rang out among the silence as the being left me with its last piece of advice. The same advice I kept in mind throughout the rest of my journey to the top.
“And remember, Kai, there is nothing scarier in this world than one with nothing left to lose.”
…
My eyes closed as a violent stream of colors criss-crossed my eyelids, and my body flung through what felt like a never ending sonic tunnel, slamming me into walls and floor alike until I finally landed into a soft mattress located within my old home. I opened my eyes to find myself on my bed with my bare yellow drywall surrounding me. A 10ft by 10ft room filled with nothing but a bed, dresser, and closet made up my childhood room, as well as the same place I spent my 15th birthday morning alone until I entered the tower.
Just as these unpleasant memories started to resurface, however, a loud, familiar voice rang out in my head…
[Welcome to the system, player Kai Nautica]
[Congratulations on reaching Level 1]
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