Chapter Four
Darkness On The Horizon
----------------------------------------
Adam laid on his back, rubbing his chest and staring at the ceiling while reflecting on his life choices. He tended to get excited about things and would start cracking jokes, being brutally honest or carrying on about nonsense. As long as he was able to stay level headed it was easy to be serious and professional. “I really should try and be more polite when I get excited,” he said to himself.
He noticed the wooden beam above looked stout, supporting lesser planks and a thatched roof. He pushed himself up on his elbows and looked around. He was in a large room with a tree running floor to ceiling offset from the center of the room. There were many tables cluttered with books, loose papers, glassware, plants, and other paraphernalia associated with wizardly activities. On the end furthest away from the tree was a cozy fireplace crackling away, plants hanging all around from the ceiling drying out.
Getting to his feet he walked around to take a closer look at the crazy tree house he was in. In his long career as a technician he had his own Leroy Jethro Gibbs list of what to do and, most importantly, what not to do. He never got around to getting them organized and having a numerical system for them. What better time than the present? Even if the present is presently in a world that is not my own. I need to make a note. To his astonishment, a transparent window popped up in his vision.
What note would you like to add?
He froze, mid step moving towards the fireplace, “Uh… I think we need to get something out of the way. Are you sentient or just reactive?”
Note added.
“Well that is reassuring,” Adam pondered about the monocle that had disappeared just moments ago, along with the wrist computer and the suite. The monocle appeared to give him a heads up display. He glanced down at his left forearm where the bulky wrist computer was and a hologram popped up from it. It was as interactive as the home screen on a cell phone. He found the note he just made and deleted it. He could feel his mind buzzing with all the possibilities that were laid out in front of him. He walked over to one of the hanging plants and examined it. Nothing happened. “[Scan].” He spoke to the empty room.
Herb : Dried Peacebloom. (Uncommon). Dried herb yields better results when used in crafting.
“Yup. I can get use to this,” Adam tried to mentally close all the small prompt screens that were in his vision and after a few minutes of staring off into the distance with a very crumpled up look on his face, they disappeared. He was so concentrated on trying to use the mental commands that he didn’t notice the other occupant in the room.
“I hope you weren’t messing around with my work stations. Some of these things can be volatile,” Simon’s voice snapping Adam back to reality. “Great day you scared me,” Adam said after he spun on his heel. “Oh, that reminds me. Make a note. Rule one : When invited into someone's home, do not touch anything you can not explain.”
Note added.
“I see you are getting the hang of this fancy stuff,” Simon said as he took a seat at a larger square table. Adam joined him, “It’s intuitive. At least for someone who has played video games and is somewhat tech savvy. I think I can navigate the two things pretty easily. The only question I have is the suit.” Simon waved his hand over the table and some fruit and drinks appeared with a wisp of cool blue smoke.
“The suit was engineered many years ago in conjunction with our recruitment program.” Simon took a sip of what Adam was guessing was wine and continued, “It allows for a few things. It allows for absorption of Zenith Cores and Crux Crystals without any medium, such as a magical ritual or any other outside process. Three Zenith Cores are fused to your shoulder and hip joints at random and create a Paragon Core that fuses to your final open joint. Most people refer to this as your Paragon Class. Those four are, in general, permanent and influence the skills you get from any Crux Crystals. The suit also allows for more precise combinations, allowing you to assign a Crux to a specific Core.”
Adam took one of the cups of water and drained it, “Oh my lands. This is some really pure water. I gather you are able to change out Crux Cores to help fine tune your abilities?” Simon nodded in agreement, “Yes. My Zeniths are Control, Growth, and Might. My Paragon Class is Inquisitor. Iron rank but more about that later. I have a battle set Crux and what I consider my recruiter set Crux. It gives abilities that are more utility and tend to make my life easier. A Feast Crux tied to Growth lets me conjure food and drink that gives restoration. Try bringing up your menu and selecting your status page. You will be able to customize your HUD and see status effects and what not.”
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Adam pulled up his status page and went through it, adding transparent displays to his monocle. He adjusted the sizing and location so as to not obstruct his vision. He placed all of the friendly status on the left, unfriendly status on the right and system prompts on the bottom. The most noteworthy were Health, Mana and Stamina. “Wait, do I have an inventory?” Adam asked with a look of a kid finding an extra present under the Christmas tree. “Ah,” Simon got up and pulled down one of the dried herbs. Adam walked and took it from Simon’s outstretched hand and used [Scan].
Herb - Dried Silverleaf (Uncommon), Dried herb yields better results when used in crafting.
“There are two ways to do this," Simon said, "The suit was designed with an ability to combine a bag of holding with the material. It essentially gives the wearer a dimensional bag, expandable to become a dimensional space at higher ranks. It’s tied into your interface. You can either open up the inventory tab and place things in and out from there. It’s a bit clunky but easier to do than the alternative. If you have ample concentration you can do the same but without the inventory screen. Almost like doing a quick rummage through a bag and always pulling out what you needed.” Simon plucked an orb out of thin air. Adam looked in awe at the magic trick made mundane. He opened his inventory tab and tried to place his herb into it. He reached out towards the inventory screen displayed in his vision, opening his hand palm up when it was instantly transported from his hand to an icon in his HUD.
Adam was speechless. His mind was racing faster and he could not find the words. He spent the next several minutes hyper focused, pulling the dried silverleaf in and out of his inventory. It wasn’t until Simon cleared his throat that he remembered the world around him. “This…” Adam trailed off, handing the herb back to Simon. “Pretty wild ain’t it? You just wait. You haven’t even seen outside,” Simon said as he hung the silverleaf back up in the bunch. “What do you mean?” Adam asked, “Isn’t this what you wanted to show me? Your fancy tree house or whatever this is.”
Simon chuckled. He moved to the backside of the room, closest to the tree trunk and made his way down the stairs. Adam followed the winding stairs down the tree. The way the stairs wrapped around the tree eventually went into the tree itself. The two made it to the bottom after several flights and came to a single wooden door. Simon waited silently, resting his hand on the handle with his head down. Adam was about to say something when he realized Simon was praying. He lowered his head in reverence and prayed silently himself. Simon opened the door with an “Amen” and light poured into the hollow of the tree.
The two stepped out into the light and Adam, not for the first time today, was in utter amazement. They were on a cliff top by the sea. Towards the downward slope Adam could see a vast forest that went down into a rolling hills valley tucked in between two mountain ranges. It was as if the home he had known for the past decade was turned into a fantasy world, untouched by industrialization or housing developments around every turn. He found a few stumps near a part of the cliff that rose up past the entrance of the tree. He sat down and stared off into the distance, at peace with where they were at.
Simon leaned up against the rock face and pulled out a pipe, lighting it with a wand he pulled out of nowhere. The two enjoyed the sounds of waves crashing distantly and the sun creeping down behind the western mountain range, spreading its tendrils of light over the valley below. It wasn’t until the sun fully disappeared behind the mountain that Adam finally spoke, “I have a feeling there is a long, complicated and dangerous explanation of this land. With that being said, I’m in. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s worth it.”
“There is darkness on the horizon coming to Earth,” Simon started, “I was sent here to get people ready.” “Sent by whom?” Adam asked. Simon sat down on the stump closest to Adam. He took in a deep breath and placed his hat in his lap, “The Lord Jesus sent me. I am here to get people ready for what is to come. Heaven needs people to fight when the tribulation comes. These pocket dimensions were created long ago. This, and many other places around the world there are holes poked into our reality by the enemy.”
Adam peeled his eyes away from the darkening valley and turned to Simon, “Hell?” Simon shook his head, “When the seven seals were revealed, Satan started mobilizing. The largest gate he opened was near the Tiger and Euphrates river. As his invisible forces moved throughout the world, they created portals they could return to Hell and bring his invasion forces through.” Simon stood and placed his pointy wizard hat back on, “Come on. It isn’t safe out here at night.”
They walked back into the treehouse and back up the stairs, returning to the conversation around the table where the food and drinks were. Simon continued, “In short, we have the ability to use this space to train up and get stronger. We should have a considerable amount of time before anything major happens. As beautiful as this place is, the forces of evil have tainted it. I’ve spent a few decades building up fortifications as I find these portals. If we are able to defend this area we can diminish the armies of Hell and help protect the people who are going to live through the tribulation.”
Adam waited a long time before he spoke. He had worked so hard to build himself up as a Christian. He was diligent in going to church twice a week. He read his Bible and did devotionals daily. He gave up worldly pleasures to sanctify himself and, through all his shortcomings, strove every day that he might make the rapture and not have to live in a literal Hell on Earth. Finally, he spoke, “I thought you were bringing me some virtual video game. What you are asking me is to forgo my salvation so that others might be saved?” Simon simply grunted.
“What is,” Adam ran his hands over his face, searching for the right way to put his sinking feeling, “I mean, why me?” Simon shrugged, “I’m looking for two types of people on this planet. The first is people who have the seed of life inside of them but it is dormant. This will give them a chance to dedicate their lives to Heaven's purpose.” “What about the other type?” Adam asked. “People like you. People who are a shoe in for the rapture but are willing to sacrifice that to stay and fight. There are still going to be billions of people who will need a guiding light through this. Just because people miss the Rapture doesn’t mean they don’t get into Heaven. They just didn’t get the VIP pass.”
Adam finished another crisp cup of water, looking at the flames dancing in the fireplace. He wondered if it was fueled by magic. He was too distracted to bother asking. The sobriety of the situation really sat heavy on him. Simon spoke softly, “You are not going to forgo your salvation. You are just delaying your reward.” After Adam contemplated for some time, he stood, “Okay,” he said, reaching across the table, taking Simon’s hand in his own, “I have some concerns, but I’m in.” They made their way back through the portal and back to Earth.