Damn it all to hell.
One minute I'm scarfing down instant ramen,binging cat videos,the next… *this*?
Cobblestone streets,buildings that looked like they were designed by a drunken gnome,and people dressed in what I could only describe as medieval cosplay.
My head throbbed,a dull ache behind my eyes.
I tried to dredge up some memory,some sliver of an explanation,but my mind was a blank slate,wiped clean like a hard drive after a particularly nasty virus.
Where the hell was I?
And how the heck did I get here?
Panic gnawed at mea cold,creeping dread.
I patted my pockets instinctively,finding nothing but lint and the faint scent of ramen seasoning.
No phone.
No wallet.
No keys.
Just the clothes on my back,which,come to think of itwere a little… archaic?
I glanced down at the roughspun tunic and trousers.
Definitely not my usual sweatpants and band tee combo.
I stumbled down the bizarrely winding street,a fish out of water.
The locals eyed me with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity,their hushed whispers following me like shadows.
I tried to ask for help,but my words seemed to bounce off them,meaningless and foreign.
Their language,while vaguely familiar,twisted and turned in ways that my brain couldn't quite untangle.
It was like listening to a drunk Shakespearean actor try to recite lines in Klingon.
Just as I was about to succumb to full-blown,gibbering panic,a hand clapped me on the shoulder.
I jumped a mile high,my heart hammering against my ribs.
"Whoa there,easy,friend" a voice said,surprisingly gentle
I turned to see a manhis face weathered and kind,his eyes the colour of warm honey.
He wore simple clothes,similar to mine,but they looked comfortably worn,like an old favorite pair of jeans.
"You seem a bit… lost," he saida slight smile playing on his lips
"Names Jack
"
"Lost
" I echoedthe word feeling woefully inadequate
I think Im misplaced.
"
Jack chuckled.
"Misplaced
That's one way of putting it.
New to Oakhaven,are ya?
"
Oakhaven.
The name rolled around in my head,unfamiliar and strange.
I nodded dumbly,clinging to Jack like a life raft in a stormy sea.
He began to explain,patiently and kindly,the bizarre reality of this world.
Apparently,magic was real.
Not the cheesy,illusionist kind,but the honest-togodfire-from-your-fingertips,teleport-across-continents kind.
He spoke of "Aether," an enigmatic energy;it flowed through all things.And there were those called "Aetherists" who had the ability to manipulate it.
These Aetherists were ranked;from the lowest being the "Spirit Vein",and then there was the renowned "God Realm".Each of these had nine sublevels.
It was a whole new power structure,a hierarchy built on something I barely understood.
The more Jack explained,the more the knot of fear in my stomach tightened.
This wasn't some elaborate prank.
This wasn't a dream.
This was real.
And I was stuck here,in a world where magic was commonplace,and I I was just me.
A sudden chill prickled my skin,a feeling of being watched,of being hunted.
The air around me crackled with an unseen energy,a pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Jack's easy smile vanished.
His eyes,previously warm,now hardened like glacial ice.
He leaned inhis voice a low whisper.
"Somethings not right…" he mutteredhis gaze darting to the shadows that danced in the alleyways
"Stay close
"
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end.
A sense of dread washed over mecolder than any winter wind.
I could feel it nowa palpable presence,dark and menacing,closing in.
"Who… whos there
" I stammeredmy voice barely above a whisper
Jack didn't answer.
He just gripped my armhis fingers digging into my flesh.
His eyes,wide with alarm,locked onto something behind me.
He pushed me forward,his voice urgent.
"Run
"WhatWhy?Who—"
I didn't wait for an explanation.
Jack's panicked urgency was contagious.
I bolted,adrenaline surging through my veins.
My legs pumped,my lungs burned,the cobblestone street a blur beneath my feet.
The scent of woodsmoke and something faintly metallic filled the aira strange,unsettling combination.
The alleyways were a labyrinth,twisting and turning,each corner revealing another dead endanother shadowy recess.
The sound of pursuit echoed behind meheavy footfalls pounding on the stone,growing closer with each panicked breath.
My heart hammered against my ribs,a frantic drumbeat against the rising tide of fear.
Just as I thought my lungs were about to explode,a voice,cold and mechanical,sliced through the chaos in my head.
Soul binding protocol activated.
Host identified:Lynn.
"
System?
Soul binding?
Host?
What in the fresh hell was going on?
Was I hallucinating?
This whole day felt like one giant,terrifying hallucination.
The voice continued,its tone devoid of any emotion.
"Threat detected
Consume enemy memories to acquire Aether abilities.
"
Memories?
Abilities?
This was getting weirder by the second.
I didn't even know what "Aether" *was* five minutes agoand now I was supposed to be stealing it from some unknown enemy?
It was like being dropped into the final boss battle of a video game Id never played before.
A dark figure emerged from the shadows,blocking my path.
Tall and cloaked,its face hidden,it radiated a chilling aura of menace.
I could feel the Aether crackling around ita tangible force that pressed down on mestealing the air from my lungs.
This was it.
Game over.
I braced myself for the inevitable,squeezing my eyes shut,waiting for the pain.
But it never came.
Instead,a faint hum resonated around mea gentle vibration that tickled my skin.
I opened my eyes to see a shimmering,translucent shield surrounding mea barely visible barrier of energy.
The cloaked figure lunged,a shadowy blur of motion,its hand outstretched.
It slammed into the shield,the impact sending ripples of energy across its surface.
The air cracked;and the alleyway was filled with the sharp scent of ozone.
The figure recoiled,surprised.
I stared at the shield in disbelief.
What the… How…?
Warning:sustained defense unlikely.
"
The system's voice was clipped,almost frantic.
It sounded like a glitching computer program,struggling to keep up with unexpected events.
The cloaked figure circled meits hidden face tilted in what I could only assume was confusion.
It tested the shield again,its touch sending another jolt of energy through my body.
The shield held,but the strain was palpable.
Itactually,felt as if it might break at any given moment.
I needed to do something,anything.
But what?
I was clueless,a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.
I didn't know how to use this "system," how to "consume memories," or even how the hell this shield had appeared in the first place.
I was winging itimprovising in a life-ordeath situation with absolutely no idea what I was doing.
The cloaked figure paused,its movements suddenly hesitant.
It seemed just as confused as I was.
A raspy voice,distorted and unnatural,echoed from beneath the hood.
"Interesting… a Vessel…"