For 5 years he had rotted in his cell waiting for the courts to decide when was his time to die.
Until finally, that day came.
5 minutes to the system's advent...
Henry laid strapped to the chair in which he would soon take his final breaths.
"Henry Thomson, is to be executed by lethal injection for the murders of Susan and Dixie Thomson. Your wife and daughter. Have you any last words before we proceed with your execution?"
He turned his head to look at his executioner, only for a balding pudgy man to stand in the way, the warden.
That fucker loved to see the prisoners suffer. If the warden had his way, he would be dying by the electric chair.
"I didn't kill my Susan or Dixie. I can only hope that I've earned a place in paradise besides them." He said laying his head back down.
"No, you won't. You're going to burn because you killed them." The smug warden said, not bothering to contain his glee.
Henry ignored the man as he looked toward the one way glass window in front of him.
Undoubtedly Susan's parents would be here.
"I didn't kill them." he said before closing his eyes.
"Beginning the injection," said the executioner.
The minutes passed and life slipped from him, but in his final moments he heard a voice in his mind.
Welcome to the...
Error!...
Severe poisoning detected!...
You are dying!...
Calculating response!...
'Just let me see my family again.' He thought, unable to speak any longer.
Error!...
The system cannot allow...
Divine Interference!...
Error suppressed...
As you wish, Henry...
You have accepted the inevitable end...
-----------------------
The darkness took Henry, his soul lost to the void.
Henry hadn't been the best man, but he had done all a man could do for his wife and daughter.
His only regret...
Was that he didn't manage to kill the man who took his family.
The man who framed him!
All there was, was him, the darkness and his hate...
He had no eyes to see and he saw things moving in the dark.
A multiple set of eyes watched him from the darkness.
A set of burning pin points of crimson light that gleamed with dark hunger.
A set of glowing pale blue lights. Eyes that had seen battle untold.
Other things moved in the darkness.
They were reaching out to grab him!
He had no ears and yet he could almost hear them speaking.
He had no mouth and yet he screamed.
Then he felt a warm hand upon his shoulder, that gripped him tight.
"Come now Henry. They're waiting for you..." spoke a gentle voice that he couldn't place. One that shook him from his thoughts.
He felt the world race by him for a moment. As if he were moving at mind boggling speed. He closed his eyes scared for what would happen next.
He felt his feet touch down softly upon the ground, felt a cool breeze and heard grass rustling in the wind.
He opened his eyes to find the cold execution chamber replaced by hills of rolling grass.
He stood in the shade of a tree, upon its branches hung large apples.
"Henry?" a familiar voice asked, derailing his already lost train of thought.
He turned around to find...
"Susan...Dixie?" He asked in disbelief.
Before him he saw his wife holding their daughter in her arms.
"Daddy!" exclaimed the little girl.
The family rushed to embrace one another, laughing and crying.
Joyful at their reunion.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your reunion Henry, but I must speak with you." spoke that voice again.
Henry stopped kissing his wife and daughter, turning to see a man before him.
The man wore white robes. Upon his chin was a white beard, but even as he looked up at the man's face, his mind couldn't hold onto its details.
He fell to his knees and clasped his hands together but before he could give worship, the lord raised up a hand to stop him.
"That's not necessary Henry. I have a task for you, one that will be most difficult for you." The lord spoke, and though Henry feared he knew what that task would be he still asked.
"What do you require of me Lord?" He asked despite his unease.
"The world you have just left is changing as we speak. I need many soldiers to fight what is to come. I know you have only just arrived, only just reunited with your family. But I must ask you to go back." The lord spoke calmly but with compassion.
"...."
Henry was shocked to silence. He had no words for his lord one way or another. He was torn between the faith that had gotten him through his long years in prison, and the desire to stay with his family.
"I know what I ask of you is hard so I will make it easier for you..." Spoke the lord as he raised up his hand to grasp Henry's shoulder.
He was paralyzed by his own fear, horrified by the thoughts of what could be about to happen.
He shut his eyes.
He was hopeful for the best, but his life told him to expect the worst.
The lord placed a hand upon Henry's shoulder and he felt a door in the back of his mind open.
He didn't understand what was happening, and then he did.
His fear melted away as he smiled, his "body" relaxing.
Opening his eyes to look upon the lord's face he couldn't help but laugh.
The lord smiled and spoke as he retracted his hand.
"I have given you something great, I have informed you of all you need to know for now. You know the words, now speak them..." spoke the lord.
Henry smiled and chuckled as he felt everything clicking into place.
He remembered the song for which his daughter was named.
Dixieland Delight...
But his daughter had taken to calling it something else...
"Dixie's Land of Light."
The world shivered as the all of paradise faded around him, save for a small area.
All that was left was him, his wife and child, and the tree they stood beneath. Even the Lord had left.
A NEW Legendary, semi-active skill, has been granted to you!
Dixie's Land of Light Lvl. 1!...
Dixie's Land of Light- Bring down a piece of paradise. Area of effect increases with skill level. Mana cost decreases by one point per second per level of the skill. Max skill level: 100.
Mana cost: 100 mp/s
You must find what else this can do on your own...
+50 spirit...
Henry smiled as he kissed his wife and daughter one more time.
"I'll see you both every day that I can." He said before even this small piece of paradise faded.
"Good luck dear." Said Susan as they held each other close, touching foreheads together.
"Bye bye daddy!" Said Dixie as she gave her father a hug.
For but a moment he held them in his arms and he felt he was home.
Now he could always carry his home with him wherever he went. He would be forever grateful for that.
He closed his eyes and for a moment all was golden light.
Divine intervention...
Though you had accepted the ultimate end, you're called back for a higher purpose...
You have been granted respawn privileges at the churches of the Father...
Respawning...
-------------
The lord watched Henry go with a smile before he turned to Uriel who knelt before him.
A small smile upon both their lips for but a moment before they returned to their resting passive expressions.
"It's time Uriel..." spoke the lord, his Father.
Uriel rose to stand equal with the Father, before his form began to expand to its true, 10 story building size.
The Father raised his hand and built a door between paradise and Earth.
Uriel needed no further instruction. He had long been trained for this day.
He stepped through the gate out upon the earth.
------------------
The warden's corpse laid out upon the floor of the execution chamber.
His smug smile still plastered across his face.
-------------
Back on earth...
The system pylon sensed as the fabric of reality was pierced and a gate was formed upon the Earth.
Unusual gate spawning outside of expected areas...
Beginning analysis...
The system began to scan over the area where the gate had spawned.
To the sensors of the system it determined a divine entity had stepped from the gate triggering several failsafe's.
Analyzing all available data to determine the identity of the offending entity...
Error, Conflicting information detected...
Error Suppressed...
Divine entity identified...
Scp-001: The Gate Guardian, Uriel
Entities race has been identified as Archangel...
Analyzing available information...
Establishing contextual framework...
Analyzing all available data trying to determine the best course of action...
Entity is deemed to be a threat to the system...
Insufficient data for meaningful measure of entities power...
Bringing full power to bear to eliminate the threat...
Requesting assistance from system administrators should this course of action fail...
The system pylon began to unfurl its enormous cannon.
It would strike with all its might at the foe before it could establish a proper foothold.
This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
-----------
Uriel looked up as he felt the faint shifting of the still forming manasphere and the buildup of an enormous amount of mana far above him.
Even to human eyes the building light was obvious.
This would not stop him, for he had been given this task by the father.
He would not shame the Father with failure!
The angel moved his great wings to shield the gateway behind him.
Awaiting the impending blast.
Awaiting his time to give his Just Retribution.
-------------
Far from Earth, near a world laid to ruin, a system notice appeared before them and so they turned their gaze to the location in question and what they saw shocked them.
"A system pylon is about to attempt a preemptive strike against an... Archangel?" The being paused for only a single second its surprise gone as fast as it had come.
"This isn't good. I apparently need to update their threat assessment and avoidance systems..." The being spoke as they reached out across the void to avert this certain Calamity.
The being spared a glance at the ruined world it stayed around. The ruins of a world it...
No, it couldn't think of such things now.
---------------
From the void a voice spoke.
A voice that was old and yet ever new.
The system pylon stopped.
Not since it had been made had it heard that voice.
The voice of the Systems creator.
The voice of the Machine Ascender.
"Do not attempt to strike down this entity." The voice spoke calmly and quickly.
No sooner had the voice spoken then its presence receded into the dark of space.
Orders received from System Progenitor...
Standing down...
-------------------------------------
As the numerous people of Earth selected their tutorials, so came the avatars of the System.
Many had tried selecting a tutorial option whilst driving. In great flashes of light those individuals were transported to their assigned normal tutorial zones. Thanks to a safety measure put in place by the system, when individuals were transported away, Avatars of the system spawned in their places. When necessity called for it, that was.
Cars whose drivers had vanished in bright flashes of light were suddenly replaced by golden figures. Those system avatar's now drove, as gently as they could, bringing the car's to a stop along the roadside. All around the world car's pulled over, driven by golden figures made seemingly of light.
Some car's however kept going, be they individuals who had yet to select their tutorial or system avatar's that needed to get something to its destination. This world had to keep running after its people had completed their runs through the tutorial zones. Semi Trucks carrying cargo still needed to arrive on time. Emergency vehicles needed to arrive at their destinations.
There was the occasional occurrence where an individual that had been slain by the system had left important business unattended. Thus an avatar of the system was summoned to attend to it.
Those system avatar's who had been spawned to replace individuals piloting planes kept the planes from crashing, they alerted their passengers to select a tutorial.
Around the world mothers and fathers selected their tutorials and in a flash of light they too were gone. However, their children were not left to fend for themselves. Children appeared with their parents in the tutorial zones assigned to them.
Individuals under the age of 18, under most circumstances could not select a tutorial. Instead they were transported alongside their parents to more specialized tutorial zones. Some teenagers were exempted from this rule. The reasons for their exemptions were varied. From a lack of parents, to abusive or overly controlling parents.
Most people would be gone for several hours, on earth anyway. To those who had been transported however, it would likely be month's before they saw their world again.
In a geostationary orbit of the Earth's moon, the colossal system ship that served to bring the system to earth now turned its attention to a new problem.
Estimated time to system resource depletion: 1 Day...
Resource conservation and reclamation methods have been enabled...
Devising a greater plan of action...
Sorting through records for possible solutions...
181 viable solutions found...
Prioritizing immediate needs...
Initiating process of elimination...
Two options remaining...
Solutions have been chosen...
Operation, Star Forge, will now commence...
Operation, Eclipse, will now commence...
From the sleek metal exterior of the system relay ship seams began to emerge. The otherwise sleek exterior was interrupted as a dozen colossal hangar doors opened wide. Each hanger door was more than a mile high and wide. Behind each door were multi floored hangers and in them countless ships laid in wait for this moment.
From these hangers emerged countless worker drones or varying sizes. Each drone seemed to resemble some form of insect. Within the grip of each drone it carried the materials to accomplish a portion of its task.
The drones flew away from the system ship towards their intended destination. When the drones reached about a mile from the main ship they began to congregate. They began to build the foundations of what appeared to be a ship.
The system ship watched through arcane sensors as the hoards of its drones rather quickly expended their materials and returned to the ship for more.
The frameworks of two ships began to take shape. On the left a ship bound to land upon the moon and begin resource extraction to supplement the ship's needs.
The ship on the right would be the base upon which a new construction facility would be created. However, this alone would not solve the problem. A factory was useless without the necessary materials to build with. This factory would take advantage of the most abundant source of material in this solar system, the sun.
After an hour the two colossal base ships had been completed and fueled. The large sleek white, almost T shaped ship had been made in the image of another.
A ship named Destiny.
These humans had never actually built the ship depicted, and likely would have been unable to do so for several millennia. This however, did not stop the system from using its concept and design.
The system watched as the good ship, Star Forge, lit up its engines. The large band of thruster's at its back end glowed blue as the ship ran through its startup process.
The ship, Star Forge, completed its startup and pointed itself towards Sol, this system's star. This part of the greater system could not help but smile in its digital environment.
The ship turned on its drive allowing them a moment to warm up.
The ship was half a mile in length, a quarter mile in width, and more than 1000 feet in height.
Even given all of that, this ship went from idle to beyond the speed of light in less than 3 seconds.
Within the Star Forge many construction drones had taken up residence. They had been instructed to accompany the ship to its new destination and aid in the construction of the Star Forge base. A multipurpose space station that would allow for near infinite production of new items for the system. It would siphon material from the sun to enable its own construction and then the construction of other items once the station was finished.
As for the other ship the system had dubbed, Eclipse, it had no such light speed engines built into it. Its journey would be far longer than that of its sister ship. The sleek black system ship, Eclipse, lit up its engines, angling its nose downward towards the lunar surface. The Eclipse then began its descent toward the lunar surface.
----------------
As the system pylon watched its two projects depart for their destinations it refocused its attention to a new issue.
Quickly the system pylon began to adjust its position. It rotated itself by 45 degrees allowing another of its many faces to face the earth.
Rapidly the face began to break down and reform itself from a once flat surface to a mile long spire pointing at the earth.
Created sub directive: Cleanse the earth...
Initiating sub directive: Cleanse the earth...
Recalibrating main cannon…
Charging main cannon...
The barrel of the mighty cannon began to glow with golden light as the system charged up the shot.
A moment later its capacitors had reached the charge necessary to affect the entire planet.
---------------------------
(Down on earth)
It had only been about 5 minutes since people began being entered into the tutorial zones, but 5 minutes on Earth was more than 3 days in the Normal tutorial zones.
Plenty of time to die, or find another way out.
All over the planet many of those few who had returned from their tutorials by one means or another, watched in awe as great domes of light erected themselves over cities and towns. The domes seemed to dip down in places however. Almost as if some places were being intentionally removed from the protection of these golden domes?
One such individual who had returned had simply decided to resume his job at the city dump.
"I ain't got time for this shit! I have work to do!" he stated as he began attempting to start an excavator and resume his work.
It was then that the system fired off its spell.
The brilliance of the beam's light was almost enough to eclipse the sun.
It took less than 1 and a half seconds for the beam to strike the earth.
From where it had struck a golden shock wave erupted and began racing forth over the planet's surface at speed exceeding mach 10!
The system held the beam on to achieve the maximum effect.
Tens of thousands watched as the wave rolled across the earth. None could see what happened to the land it had touched, though they feared the worst.
The man running the excavator in the city dump watched in horror as the golden wave washed over the city's dome without penetrating it. However, it kept going. It washed over the dome and quickly reached the section where the golden barrier had funneled down to exclude.
This dump.
The dump where he was...
--------------------------------
As the wave passed the unprotected earth it began to erase things that shouldn't be there. This dump was a perfect place for its power to be displayed.
As it passed it dived deep into the world until it hit the bedrock. It found many things in its way, plastic, tin cans, the occasional dead body, and many other things.
The wave cared little, for its job was to clean the world.
Plastics became oil, the oil from plastics became new creatures both familiar and never before seen on earth. Wood and fiber rotted, returning their nutrients to the earth. Metal decayed becoming but dust. Still the wave rolled ever onward.
-----------------------------
The man said his prayers as the wave washed over him. He turned the key once more and to his surprise the excavator started.
He opened his eyes to see a forest had sprung up around him and the golden wave was receding into the distance.
The excavator he had complained about for months, now appeared as if it were brand new and ran much the same.
Roger the dump worker wept as he turned off the excavator, thankful to be alive.
"I guess it's time to find a new job. I think this one isn't needed any longer." Roger said with a conflicted smile.
What surrounded him was no longer the mounds of garbage covered with dirt, but a lush forest that looked as if it had always been here.
As he hopped down from the seat he found the usually hard, packed earth soft beneath his boots.
His boots sank about an inch into the soft soil.
He bent down and plunged his hand into the ground pulling up a handful of the richly colored soil.
It felt soft and loamy to the touch in his hand.
As he stood up he saw that all around him life was abound.
From the tree's to the grass and even flower's.
Then he saw something small walk out of newly made foliage.
"Why's that raccoon walking on two legs?" He questioned aloud and was dumbfounded when he received a reply.
"Hello?" the Raccoon questioned in a small childlike voice.
-----------------
Not long after its firing the wave had reached an ocean.
It did not glide across the surface as it passed however.
Instead it dived deep tracing along every inch of the sea floor.
As the wave passed all that didn't belong was erased from the ocean. Things such as plastic were reduced into oil and transformed into new and magical fish.
It was then that some merfolk came to be, but this was also when many horrors of the deep were born.
Though, such horrors had to begin as children.
The system wanted as many as it could, and fully grown creatures in most cases took far more resources than children of the same species.
The system had to give the ecosystem a chance to build around these new creatures.
--------------------
The system avatar hovered a few hundred feet above the drilling platform.
Every member of its crew had already been shipped off to their tutorial zones.
So, now came the fun part.
The air bent and the sky twisted as the system avatar raised its hands invoking the tremendous magic it had been made to perform.
Slowly it felt the drilling platform give as it was severed from the seafloor, and yet.
It didn't fall.
The avatar smiled as it turned for a moment and saw the golden wave of light approaching quickly from the distance.
Then the system avatar shined bright like the sun, pouring all of itself into its task.
Space itself bent as the spell took effect.
In a flash the system avatar and the drilling platform were gone.
In another flash that same drilling platform appeared just off the beach, somewhere along the South American coast.
Where the wave had passed several minutes ago.
All across the earth, this process repeated itself.
Everyone who had been working on said platforms was notified that their respawn/return locations had been moved.
Soon the oceans would be teaming with creatures humans weren't exactly prepared to fight effectively.
Leaving people on drilling platforms in the middle of a monster filled ocean, was not a system approved option.
Such structures would only breed dungeons if left unattended for too long.
People being spawned on a platform dozens or hundreds of miles from the shore, whilst that same place is slowly becoming a dungeon.
No.
So, for a variety of reasons this was the option chosen.
-------------
Harmlessly the wave swept by where the platform had been but a moment earlier.
Upon encountering the bore hole the wave washed down it like so much water.
Converting the materials it encountered.
It reached down deep into the world through the hole humans had made and converted the oil they had been drilling into new creatures.
Their arm length tubular segmented bodies showed natural purple plated armor in the light as the wave receded into the distance converting ever more materials.
Billions of baby purple worms born in a moment.
All began squirming to find rock to burrow into.
----------------------
The wave continued to sweep across the earth and achieved its goal of full conversion in little more than an hour.
Thus the world was forever changed.
(GREAT FILTER WALL! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Arthur had wanted to watch the inauguration on T.V. before he did it, but it seemed once more things would not go his way.
Words began to roll across his vision.
Welcome to the Upward Bound System people of Earth!...
With the system's arrival you’re warned to prepare for the coming danger...
The tools of your survival shall be granted upon you by the system...
System Integration Proceeding...
System store is Live...
The Road system is Live...
Arrival of System representatives imminent...
So closes the ending of one chapter for Humanity and the beginning of another…
Welcome to the New Age!...
He watched the Golden figure appear and after speaking for a moment it turned and with a snap of his fingers the man who was supposed to become President just dropped dead.
"That's enough...I've just had enough." Arthur half-heartedly said as he turned off the T.V. and grabbed the last good chair in his house. On his way out the door a blue box appeared before him.
Welcome!
You will now choose the difficulty of your System Tutorial.
Normal
Intermediate
Hard
Very Hard
Near Certain Death
Rewards are given to those who reach higher. With each increase in difficulty comes increased opportunity.
He paused for a moment as the phrase, "Near certain death" held promise to him, but after a moment he rejected the idea in favor of the certain way he had now.
Tears fell slowly from his eyes as he wept in silence.
He didn't understand what was going on, nor did he wish to. Today was just another day he couldn't understand.
He opened his garage door and quickly found some rope that he had used when he went waterskiing with his family.
The family he had lost to a drunk driver non too long ago.
Stepping out of the garage he saw his neighbor Carl staring at him from across the street. Carl began walking down his driveway and across the street to talk to him.
'This asshole always talked too much.' he thought bitterly.
"Arthur thank god you're still here! Can you see these..." He didn't get to finish that sentence however. As he had failed to take notice of the car racing down the street.
One moment he was there. The next there was a flash of golden light and he was gone. A second later the speeding car raced past where he had been standing.
Arthur should have felt shock at what was transpiring, but all he felt was numb and tired.
He had hardly slept in the week since the funeral.
He turned to the large tree in his front yard only stopping for a moment as he spotted another flash of light accompanied by the screeching of tires.
Just down the street he saw a golden figure step from the now stopped car. Light smoke drifting off its tires.
The figure looked at him and began walking towards him.
Arthur tied the rope into a noose and tossed the rope over a sturdy branch a dozen feet up.
The Deathwish I Road has opened to you...
His attention was drawn to the red letting for a few seconds before he turned it back to the task at hand.
Ignoring the words in his vision and the text box.
Even as he felt something stir within him, like a road stretching out before him, he ignored it.
He was just tired of this.
Of everything.
He just wanted it to end.
He secured the end of the rope to the base of the tree and stepped up upon the last chair he had, and placed the noose around his neck.
He watched as the golden figure stopped on his driveway several feet away and just watched him.
He paid the thing no heed.
Bitterly he spoke.
"Funny, the world seems to be ending today but mine ended over a week ago..." he muttered under his breath.
----------
The golden figure had no ears and yet it heard the man, it had no voice and yet it yearned to speak. To sway him from this course.
Its eyes glowed gold as it began fired off a situation report in an instant and near immediately received a reply.
Report received
Calculating course of action...
Calculations completed...
Initiation...
----------
As he was about to kick out the chair from beneath himself, then a notice appeared before him.
External factors have reduced your selection time. You have failed to select an option within the allotted time span. The "Normal" option has been selected as default.
He was gone in a flash of light before he could even properly read and register what the box had said.
Leaving behind the golden figure that smiled as the noose hung empty upon the tree.
Then it too vanished, though not in a flash of light, but accompanied by the sound of beating wings.
--------------------
Arthur blinked as his eyes adjusted only to find he now stood upon an open plain of green ankle high grass.
Behind him he could see trees but as he reached for the noose around his neck he found it missing.
In front of him about a mile away he could see the walls of what must have been a city.
He saw more flashes and many other people appeared.
"Fucking shit...!" He said in a voice that was barely more than a whisper.
As he watched the people begin walking towards the large walls in the distance.
Arthur wept, overcome with emotion.
He was grateful to be alive and yet beyond sadness.
He had managed to hold off despair until now but no longer could he.
He fell to his knee's and then upon his hands.
He had not long to weep though as he felt hands upon his shoulders. Hands that lifted him up.
Arthur found himself being carried, each arm over the should of the men that flanked him.
"Why?..." He asked not understanding in that moment.
"Simple, we leave no man behind." said the man on his left, the notion quickly being echoed by the others in the group.
It was all too much for him and so his head feel and he wept.
The group of soldiers carrying him most of the way to the walls before he managed to recompose himself enough to walk.
When they reached the gate he had but one thing to say to them.
"Thank you..." Arthur said as they passed through the gates looking for answers.