《That Lightbulb Moment》 The Nine Realms: Prologue Genres: Fantasy, Adventure Tags: Female Lead, High Fantasy, Magic, Mythos, Progression, Supernatural, Xianxia
¡°Gran¡¯pa, read it again! Read it again!¡± ¡°Ol¡¯ chief, don¡¯t be stingy!¡± An old, shrivelled man sat staring at the few village kids before him. His wrinkled face displayed his age well, and the two bushy brows of white hanging over his eyes only furthered his ancient airs. The old man stroked his long and matted beard while pondering what to do next. ¡°Patience, children,¡± he wheezed, ¡°how ye gonna ¡®come immortal with no patience, eh?¡± In front of the old man, three young boys and a girl, all eight-or-so years old, sat shoulder-to-shoulder with bated breath as they waited for their elder. The shortest of the lot had a pair of limpid, pale blue eyes; wherever he looked, he seemed to see and not to see at the same time, his gaze forever filled with both curiosity and confusion at the world around him. Atop his head was a layer of black hair that barely reached his ears, doing nothing to hide his dirty face and scars. ¡°Gran¡¯pa, tell us ¡®bout dem Mortals!¡± the boy shouted. ¡°Is Immortal, dimwit, don¡¯t you listen?¡± rebuked a larger boy. ¡°Tha¡¯s enough, Root, don¡¯t be callin¡¯ others a dimwit, ye hear?¡± But the boy, Root, paid no heed to his Chief¡¯s scoldings and continued to mock the shorter boy, ¡°Is not my fault he¡¯s dumb!¡± The old man could only shake his head as he watched his grandson titter at the fatty¡¯s harsh words. He wanted to help his descendent, but what use was there? The boy, Root, was right. His grandson was a fool. ¡°Then I be sayin¡¯ the story of the Nine Realms, how¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Oh! Oh! I know that one!¡±, his grandson shouted, ¡°Granny Pebble told me!¡± ¡°Nah she didn¡¯t, bonehead.¡± Coughing, the old man waved his hands to calm the children down. ¡°Do ye¡¯s wanna hear or not?¡± he asked in challenge. The kids¡¯ eyes shone as they nodded their heads with vigour at the decrepit old man. ¡°I says it before, my father¡¯s father was a Celestial!¡± the man said. His eyes twinkled with undisguised pride as he continued, ¡°He used his Immortal power to break through the di-dimen¡­ diamond barrier! Tha¡¯s when he shots from the skies and landed here in ¡®dis here village.¡± ¡°Wha¡¯s a diamond barrier?¡± the girl asked, ¡°Is it shiny?¡± Root¡¯s eyes widened in awe as he heard the old man¡¯s words, ¡°Shots from the skies¡­¡± he gasped. The Village Chief ignored the two kids but choked when he looked at his grimacing grandson, ¡°Shots from the skies¡­ Shots from the skies¡­ Did he fall?¡± the boy mumbled, his knitted brow betraying his incomprehension. ¡°The Nine Realms are like¡­ are like nine houses! Three of ¡®em are bigger, and the rest a bit small. Right, like my house; three of my houses and five village huts.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it six?¡± the so-far-silent boy cut in. Startled by the boy¡¯s outburst, the man sat stunned for a moment before a snarl made its way onto his creased face, ¡°Is five,¡± he glowered. ¡°Is not!¡± the boy argued. ¡°I say it is, so it is! Disrespectin¡¯ yer elders, le¡¯s see if I don¡¯t beat you!¡± the man yelled. The boy lowered his head and stopped speaking, but his short sleeves couldn¡¯t hide the fists he clenched in righteous indignation. The old man sent a displeased glance in the boy¡¯s direction before pressing on with his story, ¡°Them three big houses are more like one house inside... each¡­ they¡¯re like a big house, like three big rooms in a big, big house!¡± The kids stared at the man, none of them understanding their elder¡¯s words. In fact, even the old man didn¡¯t quite understand what he was talking about, he just heard it from his old man. ¡°The three rooms are called the Mortal Room, the Divine Room, and the Infernal Room. We lives in the Mortal Room. Outside the big house are the six littler huts. Those be the Life and Death Rooms, and the Earth, Fire, Water, and Air Rooms.¡± Although indignant, the silent boy chose not to argue with his elder, deciding only to grit his teeth in frustration. ¡°Between each room is a diamond barrier. Tha¡¯s what stops the Celestials from comin¡¯ here and rulin¡¯ the Mortal room.¡± ¡°How¡¯d the Celestial grandpa get here then?¡± the silent boy asked. Glaring at the boy, the elder¡¯s forehead furrowed as he replied with some hesitation, ¡°He¡­ was very powerful.¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t Celestials Immortal, how did he die then?¡± With a snort, the old man¡¯s face twisted while his pupils flared in anger, ¡°What do ye know!¡± he barked. ¡°The Mortal Realm isn¡¯t like the other realms, there¡¯s no Celestial Essence here. How could grandfather keep livin¡¯ so long!¡± Upon realising what he said, the old man forced himself to calm down. He raised his balled fist to his mouth and faked a cough while turning a blind eye to the children¡¯s scrutinising gazes. He knew what they were thinking, ¡°If there¡¯s no Celestial Essence, why come here to die?¡± But how was he to answer? Who was he supposed to ask? Both his father and grandfather had long laid down to rest. ¡°As I been sayin¡¯,¡± his voice a tad quicker than before, ¡°the littler huts outside are spread out like a ball. The four Elemental Realms surround the big house while the Life hut is above, and the Death hut below. The four elements make up everything in all the worlds. And between Life and Death flows time.¡± The children exclaimed in wonder, ¡°Wha¡¯s flows time mean?¡± Root asked. A smug grin appeared on the old man¡¯s face, he could answer this one. Word-for-word, actually. ¡°Between Life and Death flows time, ah!¡± he cried, ¡°When one first enters this world, this is wha¡¯s meant by Life. And when one takes their leave, this is wha¡¯s meant by death! In-between is the journey of time; when one grows from young to old. Time flows through all the realms and affects all beings. Only in the Life and Death realms, at the start and end of time, can one be eternal.¡± he recited. ¡°But there is a price.¡±
Realm of Death City of R¡¯hokzel Beneath the darkness of the skies and within the haze of everlasting decay, with only the starlight to guide their way, a ten-thousand strong undead army marched, unhindered, towards the thick, ash-grey city walls of R¡¯hokzel. On the peak of a nearby mountain stood two figures, their gazes directed towards the city doomed soon to fall. One of the figures held onto a scythe, its crooked shaft engraved with various sigils and words written in a long forgotten script. The metal blade gave off a silvery sheen as it reflected the starlight, while a faint wisp of darkness seemed to infuse itself from the blade into its surroundings. The figure was concealed beneath a cloak of tattered, black cloth. At first glance, it was a beggars outfit; a longer look would reveal the graceful patterns of creatures, long-lost to time, that covered it head to toe. But stare too long¡­ stare too long, and you might find yourself one of them. A Reaper. The other figure, a man, wore a golden crown embellished with four jewels, each a different colour of the elements, atop his head. He appeared to be human, or something similar, his features handsome and his air cool. He was tall, about six feet so, and his long, mossy green hair extended past the tips of his pointed ears, which only exaggerated the man¡¯s sickly skin. A straight nose ran from his eyes to his mouth and displayed a confident and almost heroic bearing. But his thin lips belied his confidence, pressed together as grey eyes stared forward, filled only with sorrow and uncertainty.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. On the man¡¯s right hand, a ring with a laughing skull adorned his middle finger. The skull¡¯s mouth glowed with a gentle darkness, a whirlpool of black appearing just above its mouth, as if it were devouring the ever-present aura of decay around it. Perhaps there were other methods, but only the Imperial Family¡¯s Laughing Skull could escape Death¡¯s Law without repercussion. ¡°This is just the start,¡± the young prince said. He knew no response would come from his taciturn companion but felt irked, regardless. He knew the stakes. The Reaper beside him knew them too. War was nothing new to the Nine Realms. So long as there were people, there would be greed; that hunger for power, that thirst for more. No, war was nothing new to the Nine Realms, but a war between all the realms? Aside from Heaven and Hell, which dared? Only a few short battles existed in the Records of Time. Then what of a Realm-War? A war of such epic proportions that it could spread its way across all nine realms. Not since the Immortal World was torn asunder, ripped to pieces by the very Immortals it sheltered. Now, the World Spirit slumbers. And had been doing so for the past sixty-thousand years. The prince felt stifled, even a Realm-War couldn¡¯t get the guy to talk, but he knew better than to complain; he had no intention of speaking to himself. ¡°After R¡¯hokzel falls, I will return to the Palace. Now that the war has begun, the Scholar will have peered even further. I must seek his counsel.¡± The two continued watching as the army of undead stormed the walls, their flesh and blood returning to their skeletal frames as they entered the city¡¯s confines. Soon after, the city¡¯s Death Keeper shattered and the line between citizen and invader faded into nothing, only bones left behind. The prince departed with a sigh, but the Reaper remained behind, staring at the ruins of R¡¯hokzel and the skeletons that fought within, perhaps trying to engrave the last vestiges of peace into his memory. The Reaper raised his free hand and stared at the faded medallion grasped between his bony fingers. Etched onto the face of the medallion was a picture of a sleeping ghost. The Reaper focused his gaze on the ghost and watched as it began to tremble, as if awakening from its rest. The ghost continued to struggle for a while but eventually calmed down, falling into slumber once again. ¡°Who are you?¡± the Reaper hissed. ¡°Who are you to control my fate?¡±
Divine Realm Cathedral City At the centre of the Divine Realm stood a structure so large that it was difficult to see all at once. Fifteen spires shot into the skies of Heaven, three of them piercing the clouds above. Shaped in a circle, twelve of the spires sprouted from the surrounding wall. Only above the gates on opposite sides, and at the east and west, where the two large arcs began, were there no spires. Fourteen long walls joined the inner and outer walls of the cathedral. The walls were solid at the bottom, with large archways, stairways, stained-glass windows, and walkways above. Between the walls were many well-kept gardens, schools and places of worship. Behind the inner walls stood another temple, this one more triangular. From it rose The Three Pillars of Heaven; it was once said that these three pillars were what let the Divine Realm stand tall. The temple beneath was said to be called The Hub of Immortals, but not much else was known of it. Within the temple, a hidden chamber, unused since its inception, was now filled with five of the most powerful beings in the entirety of the Nine Realms. On each of their backs were six wings, each feather white and pure. A fourth pair of wings flittered atop their crowns, while a fifth covered their feet. Seraphim. Ten wings, no less. Though but a whisper, the deep voice of a certain Seraph resounded across the walls of the chamber, "Three miracles following nine tragedies. The prophecy has come true, Heaven cannot delay." In answer to the voice, a mocking laughter, or perhaps a cackle, bounced itself through the ears of the other Seraphim. "Prophecy? Ha! Uriel, you speak of tragedy, but where is there not tragedy? The Spirits do not obey us, the Hellions do not fear us. Curses! Even those pesky mortals no longer revere us as they used to. So, tell me, Uriel, which tragedy is it now?" The Seraph in question, Uriel, stood still, his expression stoic as he stared at the sarcastic grin directed his way. ¡°Six to defend the Realm, six to watch over it." A third Seraph frowned at Uriel''s words. "Where is the Herald?" he growled. Upon hearing the question, Uriel grit his teeth. A sudden pressure spread out across Cathedral City, many of its churches and divine structures shaking close to the point of collapse. "Gabriel... has fallen."
Infernal Realm Wrathport A sea of blood spread out as far as the eye could see. Waves tumbled and roiled, not because of the moon, for there was none, but because of the undercurrents brought forth by the forever warring monsters below. Along its coast stood a city of mismatched buildings, many of them broken and ruined. There seemed to be no law or order within the city, its only rule being survival of the fittest. A large signpost, accompanied by the corpses of various demons, hung from a towering, purple mushroom. On it were the words, ''Welcome to Wrathport!'' written with many skulls of different sizes. Beneath the greeting, as if only an afterthought, was a smiling face painted in blood. Of the six Sin cities, aside from Lustasia, perhaps Wrathport lived up to its namesake the most. Within the Annals of Hell existed a popular saying; ''If you want something in Wrathport, trade a fist. If that''s not enough, trade two!'' At the centre of the city, atop the blackened earth, stood the Crimson Fortress. Its circular walls angled outwards and towered over the rest of the city, so tall that even the giants of old would shrink before it. Of the Six Wonders of Wrathport, the Crimson Fortress topped the list, for no one knew what lay behind its walls. Nor why it had no entrance. Deep underground, beneath the Crimson Fortress, within a black and gold cauldron adorned with both Angels and Demons alike, a crucifix, seemingly forged from the Abyss itself, held fast against the whirlpool of white and black that threatened to sink it. Upon the crucifix, a mighty being with ten wings hung limp with its limbs nailed to the elusive metal. ¡°Gabriel,¡± a voice jeered, ¡°haven¡¯t you had enough?¡± The Seraph known as the Herald, Gabriel, raised his head. ¡°I¡­ can still go on,¡± he wheezed. But as he spoke, another feather turned black.
Mortal Realm Axel City In the midst of the night¡¯s strong winds and harsh rain, a certain bed tried its damnedest to outdo the noises from outside. It creaked and groaned as its two occupants squeaked and moaned atop it. Outside, several pairs of footsteps could be heard rushing toward the courtyard in question. Banging noises rang out alongside a chaotic drumbeat as both fists and rain met with the wood of the outer door. ¡°Miss Reina! I beg you to open the doors,¡± an old man cried, ¡°Your father, h-he won''t listen to me, he is coming!¡± To the man¡¯s despair, only a soft cry came in response. Behind him, a middle-aged man with a well-practiced scowl appeared from the shadows of the night. Hearing the cry of both pain and pleasure, the scowling man''s brows furrowed in complication, but quickly resumed their discontent as his expression darkened further. He grabbed the old man by the shoulder and shoved him to the side. From his coat pocket, he pulled a key and all but stabbed it into the door in front of his eyes. By this time, several well-dressed women had caught up with the group. "Stay back!" the middle-aged man shouted. But the women ignored his warning and continued on, the clacking of their heels competing with the downpour to vex the man even more. The two remaining servants quickly moved forward to push the door open. As it opened, the voice from inside grew louder, surprising the man with its vague familiarity. Just as he was thinking of how he knew the voice, the women interrupted him as they squealed at its vulgar words. Angered, the master of the servants signalled one of them to hold back his wives and daughters as he entered the inner courtyard. But the scowl he had worn so far started to fade as a strange feeling gripped his heart. Crossing through the courtyard garden, the old servant once again shouted for forgiveness from his master. But the scowling man didn''t listen, in fact, he didn''t seem to hear the servant''s words at all. In the midst of his absent-mindedness, his frown quickly turned to fear as he finally recalled where he''d heard that voice before. The garden itself was quite small and the group of men soon found themselves in front of the doors of the inner chambers. Not wasting time to order his servants, their master raised his foot and burst through the door of Miss Reina''s bedchamber. Inside, a mess of garments and undergarments lay scattered across the floor, the more feminine of which had been mostly ripped apart. On the bed, in a tangle, were the nude bodies of a man and a woman. Neither of the two moved despite the disturbance at the doorway, but, listening closely, the group could just about hear the soft sobs of the girl above the howling of the wind outside. Stunned at the sight before him, he walked with unsteady steps toward the bed, his face now as white as the head of hair he stared at. He reached his hand forward and pulled at the unconscious man, turning him onto his back. Ignoring the girl now uncovered, he grit his teeth as he confirmed the identity of his daughter''s defiler and with only the slightest delay, said, "Bring him to an inn- no, a brothel, one that doesn''t ask questions. Let him sleep there. If he wakes up along the way, unwake him. I don¡¯t care how you do it, just don¡¯t let him know who you are." The last remaining servant nodded and, still in shock of the situation, proceeded to grab the man and drag him towards the door. "Fool!" his master yelled, "Dress him first! And cover his head, lest you kill us all." A few seconds of thought later and the man added, "Use the back entrance and avoid the streets. The sky may be dark, and the weather angry, but the city rats are always watching. It¡¯ll be your heads before mine if you fail." "Yes, my lord," the servant shivered in response. "As for my daughter," he snorted, his fists clenched with popping veins, "I gave her a good marriage, yet she dares to defy me. Since she enjoyed giving herself to some random street worm so much, let her enjoy the streets." "My lord," the old servant gasped, his face full of defeat, "Miss Reina, she-" "Shut it!¡± Reina¡¯s father interrupted. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to tell me her crimes." He gazed at the now-limp body of his eldest daughter, at the bloodied sheets between her legs, the bites and bruises that covered her skin, and at her tear-stained makeup. His eyes which had softened for just a moment soon found their resolve, "Old man, you played a part in this scheme too, no need to pretend otherwise. To the streets with you as well. Begone!" The Tower from Hell: Chapter 1 Genres: Fantasy, Adventure Tags: Female Lead, GameLit, High & Low Fantasy, LitRPG, Magic, Progression, Strong Lead
Ting-a-ling-ding Drifting into the quiet reception, through the just-about open doorway, and past the still hand of the room¡¯s intruder, small flakes of snow made their way towards the floor; a sudden gust of wind pushing them further than they had any right to go. A bell? Cute. ¡°Be out in a sec,¡± a voice yelled from a nearby room. Shaken from their reverie, the intruder slipped their way inside, their slim figure managing to drag only a little snow with them. ¡°Quick,¡± the same voice spoke, closer, but more hurried than before, ¡°close it quick, it¡¯s freezing!¡± The door was already half closed at this point, and was all but slammed shut a moment later. And if their foggy breath was anything to go by, the outsider was in complete agreement with the mystery voice. In front of the outsider was a wooden counter, real wood, she noted, though it had clearly seen better days. Plenty of scratches and dents peeked out from beneath a green and gold embroidered runner, the cloth itself home to several coffee and other stains. It was small as far as counters went, but still big enough to fit one person comfortably. Atop the counter, a pen and well-scribbled-in notepad lay covered in a messy pile of multi-coloured post-its. To the discomfort of her squinting eyes, the room wasn¡¯t all that well lit. A lone floor lamp stood in the corner of the room, giving off a light just dim enough to be useless, without being turned off completely. Most of the light came from outside, through a single, albeit very large, window on the same wall as her glass entrance. But behind the glass was possibly the dreariest late morning the woman had ever known, so overcast and foggy she¡¯d relied on the street lights to find her way. Behind the counter, part of the wall seemed to shift as the low-light played tricks on her eyes, only to realise it was a moving curtain when a humanoid form made their way out from behind. ¡°Hi,¡± managed the strange being while they struggled with the fabric, ¡°ack! What the f¡ª¡± Standing prim and proper, a young woman in her late teens removed herself from the treacherous curtain, wearing a somewhat strained but well-practiced smile. For a moment, she frowned in the darkness, before flicking a switch to her right. ¡°Hi there, got an appointment?¡± Don¡¯t laugh. Don¡¯t laugh. Don¡¯t laugh. In an effort to avoid her gaze, the outsider glanced around the room, finally settling on the countertop notepad, the light from above morphing the list of scribbles into a legible list of appointments. ¡°Actually, no, I don¡¯t. Well, it¡¯s kind of a long shot, but do you do walk-ins?¡± ¡°Sorry, appointment only,¡± she blindly gestured toward the pile of post-its. ¡°It¡¯s not a big town, but Mum insists on keeping organized, you see.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ I can see that.¡± Confused, the young woman followed the others¡¯ gaze toward the post-its, and blushed. As she moved to stealthily tidy the pile of doodles, another teen, almost identical to the first, walked out from behind the curtain, ¡°Mary, my half¡ª Oh, hey, a customer! Are you my 10:30? But didn¡¯t you just cancel? Did you want to go anyway? Why did you¡ª¡± ¡°Liz!¡± the first woman cheered, ¡°You said your 10:30 cancelled?¡± ¡°Yessy! She¡¯s just after ringing, but looks like she came anyway. Weird.¡± Mary turned from her sister, and toward the outsider, ¡°Looks like you¡¯re in luck, miss. Liz can take you now, if you¡¯d like?¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not my 10:30?¡± ¡°No,¡± the outsider answered, ¡°I mean, yes! Please. I¡¯d like that, I mean. The appointment.¡± Mary smiled at the woman¡¯s awkward response, but Liz just looked a little lost, ¡°Okay¡­ weird, but sure, okay. Let¡¯s go. Follow me!¡± Liz then turned and walked back through the curtained divide, and into the hallway beyond. ¡°Sorry, she¡¯s a little dopey, but don¡¯t let that take away from her skill. By the way, I didn¡¯t get your name, I¡¯m Mary, if you didn¡¯t catch it already. And that was my sister, Liz.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Mary, I¡¯m Cass. Is it just the two of you here?¡± ¡°Mum runs the show normally, but she¡¯s watching Lucas play football today. It¡¯s the semi-finals, so she wanted to support him.¡± At that, Mary snickered, ¡°Even though he¡¯s really embarrassed about her showing up.¡± ¡°Lucas?¡± ¡°Oh, sorry. Lucas is my little brother, he turns 16 next month.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Both women stared at each other for a few seconds, though to Cass, it felt like an eternity. ¡°Would you¡ª¡± ¡°Should I¡ª¡± ¡°You fir¡ª¡± ¡°You go¡ª¡± Finally, from the hallway behind them, Liz joined the conversation, ¡°What the hell are you two doing? Come on, hurry hurry, my 12 hasn¡¯t cancelled yet, y¡¯know?¡± Smiling, Mary gestured for Cass to head through to the hallway, ¡°Liz, this is Cass. Cass, Liz. If she gives you any trouble, Cass, just give me a call. I¡¯ll tell Mum on her later.¡± ¡°Traitor!¡± All three laughed as they made their way down the narrow hallway, toward a side door with the name Liz on it, and a bunch of rainbow coloured hearts. While Liz and Cass entered through the doorway, Mary waved goodbye and continued toward the set of stairs at the back. Upon entering the room, Cass covered her mouth in pleasant surprise, ¡°This is beautiful, Liz! Did you decorate it yourself?¡± There¡¯s so much character, it¡¯s not like a workplace at all, she thought. The room she found herself in wasn¡¯t too big, maybe 3 or 4 metres squared, but it was brimming with personality, and all too clear how much love had gone into decorating it. On the back wall, a full-size mural had been painted of what looked to be a mother bird doting on her newborn, while helping her two elder children learn to fly ¡ª one being much more successful than the other. Against the same wall, a small side table, covered by a delicate-looking, white cloth, had been buried in picture frames and small trinkets. To her right, several wall-shelves were in the same state, crowded with pictures, plants, trinkets, and other interesting items to the point of almost falling off. A small, pale green sofa was placed against the right wall too, a couple of books and magazines littered carelessly between the yellow and ash-grey cushions. Beside the sofa, a person sized bookcase filled with all sorts of books and items leaned against the cream wall. In the corner, between the sofa and the back wall, a large, artificial plant stood tall in its pot on the floor. To her left, a number of tasteful storage units stood either side of a light-oak table in the middle, with a large, circular mirror attached to the wall above it. Surrounding the mirror were numerous lit bulbs, none too bright, but enough to make a person¡¯s reflection crystal clear. Finally, a spinning, black leather chair was placed in front of the table, secured to the dark wood floor by a heavy-looking, metal base. Liz turned to Cass with a pleased grin, ¡°Yessy, it was all Lizzy! Thank you for the compliments. I guess, when you spend so much time in one room, you just want to make it your own, y¡¯know?¡± ¡°You make it sound like you live here,¡± Cass joked. Liz simply laughed in return, ¡°You must be new in town, Cass.¡± ¡°Is it that obvious?¡± she asked, trying hard to hide her surprise. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t claim to know everyone, but this is a small town. We¡¯re one of two salons, y¡¯know? Everyone who knows anyone, knows us.¡± ¡°I get it, makes sense. But, if you don¡¯t mind answering, of course, do you live here?¡± ¡°Happy to!¡± Liz smiled, while gesturing to the leather chair. ¡°Me, Mummy, and Lucas all live upstairs.¡± ¡°And Mary?¡± ¡°Mary moved out a few months ago when she started Uni. Oh! She doesn¡¯t actually work here, she¡¯s just helping out while Mummy is at the football thingy.¡± Cass took the offered seat and spun round to face the mirror. ¡°I¡¯m just surprised, is all,¡± she said, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect something so¡­ personal. I¡¯m used to dozens of people in the same room, and big windows showing off my bad hair to strangers.¡± While failing to suppress her giggle, Liz responded, ¡°I guess Mummy and me prefer things more personal like this, y¡¯know? In here, it¡¯s all about you and your hair, and isn¡¯t that better? No annoying distractions, y¡¯know?¡± Cass smirked, and gave her a small nod. ¡°But enough about me! This is about you and your hair. So, what would you like? Just a tidy-up, or something new? Your hair¡¯s long enough to do most styles, but I can cut it shorter if you¡¯d like.¡± Liz paused for a moment, taking the chance to circle her latest customer, ¡°A medium cut would look great on you, bonus points if we make it a bit shaggy, and we could add some waves for fun too. I wouldn¡¯t recommend something too short, I mean, you¡¯ll look good whatever you do, you¡¯re super pretty, y¡¯know? But I think you suit some length.¡± Liz continued fiddling with Cass¡¯ hair, showing off different styles and lengths in the mirror, all the while trading thoughts on each of them. ¡°So, what do you think? Any of those interest you, or do you want to keep growing it out? At this rate, it¡¯ll just be another one or two months to reach your mid-back.¡± ¡°My boyfriend¡­ ex-boyfriend, liked it long, that¡¯s why I was growing it. Don¡¯t think I want to grow it longer any more.¡± A frown, a few blinks, and a smile later, Liz met Cass¡¯ determined gaze with her own, and asked, ¡°All of it?¡± ¡°All of it.¡± ¡°Well, if you insist. First time I¡¯m shaving someone bald, but hopefu¡ª¡± ¡°Not bald!¡± Cass yelped, ¡°Not that much,¡± she laughed. ¡°Of course.¡± Liz grinned back, ¡°How¡¯s a little past your chin?¡± Cass sighed, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s good.¡± ¡°A shaggy bob then¡­ fringe? No fringe?¡± ¡°No fringe, please.¡± ¡°You got it, girl.¡± Liz continued fiddling with Cass¡¯ hair, lifting and pulling it as she measured the lengths in her mind¡¯s eye. Finally, she picked up her scissors and began cutting, lock after lock separated but held tight in her grip. Before long, she lifted her closed fist, displaying her prize to its previous owner. Cass looked into the mirror and saw almost two years worth of hard work and effort falling effortlessly from Liz¡¯s hand. She looked up a little further, and watched her hairdresser¡¯s cheeky smile turning nervous at her silent stare. I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t regret this even a little. ¡°But it feels good,¡± she murmured, ¡°feels free.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Liz interrupted, ¡°judging by your smile, I¡¯d say you want me to keep going?¡± ¡°Yeah. I like it, thanks.¡± For a while, they proceeded in silence, broken only by Liz humming a vaguely familiar song Cass couldn¡¯t quite place. As Liz worked on her hair, Cass watched with wonder as her previously straight hair transformed before her eyes. But it wasn¡¯t long until that wonder, that awe, turned toward Liz herself instead. Liz was meticulous. Every hair was cut with purpose, and every layer made with love. From the furrow of concentration in her brow, to the small smile she wore throughout, this clearly wasn¡¯t just work to Liz, this was her passion. It was as obvious to Cass as it would be to anyone, hairdressing was an art to Liz, and Cass was her canvas. Cass wasn¡¯t sure how much time had passed, but it looked like Liz was just finishing up when a knock came from the door. ¡°Yeah?¡± Liz shouted back. A second later, the door clicked open and Mary popped her head through, ¡°Sorry to interrupt- Wow, Cass, you look great!¡± Cass smiled, amused as she noted the smug look of Liz through the mirror. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she?¡± Liz bragged, ¡°One of my best works, I think. Could do with some colouring, though, but we¡¯re out of time. Maybe next time, Cass?¡± ¡°Well, about that, Liz.¡± Mary sighed, ¡°Your 12 cancelled.¡± Liz froze. ¡°What? Another one? What does that even leave?¡± ¡°Nothing, everyone else cancelled too.¡± ¡°Weird. Today is weird.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably the fog,¡± Cass interjected, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve been outside, but it¡¯s bad. Well, it was bad when I came in. It¡¯s a miracle I even found this place, to be honest.¡± ¡°Cass is right,¡± Mary said, ¡°it¡¯s actually got worse in the past hour.¡± The three women grew silent at the revelation, none of them too sure what to do with the news. ¡°Well, it has to clear up at some point, right?¡± Cass chuckled, her half-smile not quite as confident as her words. Liz frowned at Cass, then looked to Mary, ¡°Has Mummy rang?¡± Eyes wide, Mary stuttered, ¡°N-no, you don¡¯t think something happened, do you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, y¡¯know? Maybe the fog is only here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ring her now,¡± Mary hurried, as she tapped her phone, ¡°I¡¯ll put it on speaker.¡± Once again, silence reigned between the women as they waited for the other line to pick up. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. ¡°Why isn¡¯t she picking up?¡± Mary fretted. Beep. Beep. ¡°Mummy normally picks up really quick. Weird.¡± Beep. Beep. Beep. Be¡ª ¡°Hey Mary!¡± A voice, a little deep, but distinctly female, called out from the phone, ¡°How¡¯s the shop? You two okay?¡± ¡°Mum!¡± ¡°Mummy!¡± ¡°Oh, is Liz there too? Did something happen?¡± ¡°No, nothing happened.¡± ¡°Mummy, it¡¯s terrible,¡± Liz cried, ¡°all my clients cancelled!¡± ¡°Mary, I thought you said nothing happened? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°We think people are cancelling because of the fog.¡± ¡°The fog? I thought it lifted hours ago.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s really heavy. I looked out front and can¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°That bad, huh?¡± The woman paused, ¡°Okay, if everyone cancelled, I want you two to lock up. Don¡¯t go outside. Put on a movie or something, and hunker down. Mary, can you make dinner for the two of you? There¡¯s a few things in the fridge, just take whatever you feel like.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you coming home, Mummy?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try, honey, but if the fog¡¯s too heavy to drive in, I¡¯ll take Lucas and book a hotel for the night instead. But, listen girls, I have to go, the match is beginning, and I still have to find a more embarrass¡ª I mean, supportive spot for Lucas to see me. Bye!¡± ¡°Stay safe!¡± ¡°Bye, Mummy!¡± Liz and Mary both let out a relieved sigh after the phone call, the invisible weight of worry lifted from their shoulders. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re having a movie night, Mary!¡± Liz grinned, ¡°Have we got popcorn?¡± ¡°I think so,¡± Mary said, a frown forming on her face, ¡°give me a minute to lock up, and I¡¯ll check. Cass, if you¡¯d like, you can stick around for a few hours to see if the fog lifts?¡± ¡°Oh, thanks for the offer, but it¡¯s only fog. I live nearby, so I¡¯ll just follow the street lights home.¡± ¡°I guess if you¡¯re walking, it shouldn¡¯t be an issue. But let me know if you change your mind. Liz, are you almost done?¡± ¡°Yess¡ª Wait!¡± Liz shouted. ¡°This is perfect, Cass.¡± ¡°What is?¡± ¡°Since my 12 cancelled, I can colour your hair now, what do you think?¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯d be brill, thank you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to it then,¡± Mary jumped in, before closing the door behind her. ¡°Give me a call if you need me,¡± she shouted. ¡°So, what do you want? Just highlights, or a totally new look?¡± ¡°A new look, huh?¡± Cass stared wistfully at her reflection, taking in the new shaggy bob she sported, admiring whatever magic Liz had worked to make it so¡­ her. Whether it was her hooded eyes, her in-between cheekbones, or her rounded jawline, Liz had brought out the best qualities in them all, and hid the worst. She couldn¡¯t believe how much the new style suited her, going as far as wiggling her button nose just to make sure it wasn¡¯t somebody else. And if that didn¡¯t give it away, her reflection¡¯s growing blush from Liz laughing at her antics did the trick. But Liz is right, the highlights I had are all wrong now. ¡°I¡¯ve tried a few colours before, but nothing really fit.¡± ¡°Well, what about pink?¡± ¡°Pink?¡± Cass squeaked. ¡°Not a fan of pink? What about blue or green? Or something purple, maybe?¡± ¡°Do you really think pink would suit me?¡± ¡°Fair skin and pastel pink hair are a perfect match,¡± Liz exclaimed, her enthusiasm almost infectious, ¡°and you¡¯ve even got blue eyes to boot! But if you¡¯re not sure, we can just do some highlights. Or I can blend it out from your natural brown.¡± Cass looked at her reflection again, turning her head from side-to-side while trying to imagine her hair in different styles of pink. Screw it. Isn¡¯t something new why I came here? ¡°Pink it is then,¡± she said, with only a small frown. ¡°Highlights or blend?¡± ¡°Blend, please.¡± Liz grinned, ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d say that. Let me just finish up the cut, and I¡¯ll get colouring.¡± Time passed as Liz continued cutting and styling, then contouring and colouring her hair. For the most part, Cass just closed her eyes and relaxed, only opening them every so often to answer Liz¡¯s infrequent questions. She was thankful for the questions, and maybe it was why Liz asked them in the first place, but Cass was sure that without them, she¡¯d have fallen asleep. It¡¯s just so peaceful in here, with Liz. I have to come again. Maybe tomorrow I¡¯ll get it cut even shorter. Ha! Wouldn¡¯t that be funny? I wonder what Liz would say? Probably just call me weird. With her eyes still closed, Cass couldn¡¯t see Liz raise a brow at the strange face she was making; a kind of mixture between laughter and constipation. A few seconds later, Liz just shook her head and smiled. ¡°Weirdo,¡± she murmured. Some more time passed before Liz put down her tools. ¡°All done,¡± she leaned in to say, her voice soft, but close enough to Cass¡¯ ear to interrupt her daydreaming. Opening her eyes, Cass first shot a glance at Liz before moving to her own reflection. She watched as the corners of her lips lifted into a pleased smile, then she turned her head this way and that way, admiring how the colours of her hair reacted so naturally to the light. ¡°I love it,¡± she said. ¡°Me too!¡± Liz beamed. ¡°Actually, do you mind if I take your picture? I wasn¡¯t joking earlier when I said you were one of my best works, y¡¯know? I¡¯m super proud of how your hair turned out.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t planning to blow up my face on a big window display, are you?¡± Cass asked with a playful smile, eyeing Liz with half-hearted suspicion. Liz wasn¡¯t looking at Cass, instead, she was warring with her phone to open the camera app, her face scrunched up in frustration. ¡°Stupid button is broke,¡± she muttered. ¡°No, I just want to show Mummy when she gets back.¡± ¡°Well, if that¡¯s all, sure.¡± Liz grinned, then lifted her phone in front of the now-posing Cass. ¡°Perfect!¡± she chirped. The flash was on, which surprised Cass, but Liz seemed delighted with how the photo turned out, even if she wouldn¡¯t let Cass see it. Cass pulled her own phone from her pocket and noted the time was close to 1pm. No wonder I¡¯m so hungry, she thought, I didn¡¯t even get breakfast this morning. ¡°Okay, Liz, I should get going now. Thank you so much for everything, I absolutely love my hair, and you can bet I¡¯ll back for more.¡± Liz lit up at Cass¡¯ compliment, grinning from ear to ear as she led Cass back out to the front reception. Soon, their conversation moved away from hair care tips to their favourite movies, her excitement for movie night with Mary rearing its head. Eventually, they passed through the curtained divide, and into the unlit reception area. By the time they found the light switch on the wall, Mary had joined them, squeezing herself behind the counter. While she searched for the payment machine, she gushed over Cass¡¯ hair, swearing she¡¯d never seen such a natural pink. ¡°Seriously, Cass, you really suit it. And, Liz, great job, I can¡¯t believe how much you¡¯ve improved these past few months.¡± While waiting for the card reader to load up, Cass moved to the window and tried to take a peek outside, only to find the fog was even thicker than before. ¡°It hasn¡¯t lifted at all, has it?¡± ¡°No,¡± Mary said, ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping an eye on it from upstairs, but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s stayed the same or got even worse.¡± ¡°Worse? I can¡¯t see a thing out there. How could it be worse?¡± Mary placed the card reader on the countertop, and gestured to Cass, ¡°No idea, all I can say is that it hasn¡¯t got any better.¡± ¡°Weird.¡± ¡°Liz is right, it¡¯s weird. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to stay a little longer?¡± Cass swiped her card in the reader and entered her pin. ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯ll feel better when I¡¯m in my own home. Besides, I still have a bunch of boxes from moving to work through, and today seems like the perfect day for that.¡± ¡°Alright, if you¡¯re sure. Let me get the door for you.¡± After confirming the payment went through, Cass waved goodbye to the two women. She shuffled through the door, the cold wind and flakes of snow enough to restrict her normal gait. ¡°B-bloody hell, it¡¯s cold.¡± Cass wrapped her arms around herself, encasing her body in as much material as she could, before looking for the nearest street light. Squinting her eyes, she could see two floating balls of light in the distance, but failed to find the lamppost supporting them, the thick fog obscuring anything substantial. In a way, it looks like magic, she thought. Orbs of enchanting light, floating whimsically within a deep fog; winter faeries waiting to lead me astray. Well, fuck that last part, now it¡¯s creepy, she thought; shivers running up her spine, either from the cold or the implications. Barely able to make out her own feet, Cass sighed, then began trudging her way through the ankle-thick layer of snow she felt, and heard, crunching beneath her feet. It was an endless expanse of white all around, where even her footprints were devoured by the bleak void behind her, a couple blurry lights the only proof of her progress through the fog. Finally, she reached the fated lamppost; its surface covered in an unnaturally thick layer of frost. That¡¯s new, she thought. Cass couldn¡¯t see the full thing now, but she remembered the Victorian lamppost being distinctly frost-free not even three hours ago. She looked up, the undersides of the lamps just about visible to her eyes, and judged about a metre¡¯s worth of visibility. Crazy, she thought, shouldn¡¯t there have been warnings for fog this heavy? Glancing ahead, Cass noted the next set of lights in the distance, and restarted her march home. Gotta be careful I don¡¯t go over the curb, she warned herself, at least I¡¯m wearing trainers; some silver lining that is. Step after step, she took, while her eyes remained dead-set on the fuzzy lights ahead. Step after step, she took, and then another. And Another. An¡ª Cass stopped. She turned, bewildered. ¡°Where the fuck are the lights from before?¡± she demanded the fog, ¡°And why aren¡¯t the next ones getting closer?¡± Cass balled her fists, her eyes a little teary as the anxiety inside her spiked. ¡°What¡¯s with this fog?¡± she muttered, her voice every bit as shaky as the rest of her. Worried, she turned back to the only remaining pair¡ª ¡°Why are there three?¡± she yelled. Panicking, Cass wanted to run; it didn¡¯t matter where to, she just had to get away, but her feet were stuck, frozen not from the cold, but from her fear. She watched in terror as the three lights split apart and granted her earlier wish, creeping ever closer to her through the fog. ¡°Hello?¡± she cried, though she knew it to be useless, ¡°Liz? Mary? Please, if you can hear me, anyone, say something, please!¡± It was in the midst of her shouting when Cass noticed it. Or rather, she noticed she¡¯d stopped noticing it¡ª them. The quiet shrieks of the wind down an empty road. Gone. The soft crunch of her feet upon the snow below. Not there. There was no wind. No footsteps. No birds, or other animals. There was nothing. It was just her. Just her voice, alone, within the silence of a suffocating fog. Her cries for help, unanswered. Her grievances, ignored. Her laughter¡ª She stilled. Laughter? Cass focused on the sound, trying to gauge its direction, but it was as if it came from all around, yet nowhere at all. Before long, the quiet cackle disappeared, and so too did the lights, leaving behind only Cass and the sound of her heavy breathing. Cass spun around, searching, desperately, for something, anything. Before, there were at least some lights to lead her way, but now there was nothing, even the deafening silence remained. Just¡­ a silent, white void. No. No, there was a shadow. Dead ahead of her. It was a fuzzy thing; the small form shrouded by the thick veil of white around her. ¡°H-hello?¡± Cass whispered, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m over here!¡± And then it was growing. Not growing, but getting closer. From a small smudge of grey within a world of white, the ball of shadow formed limbs, a head, a¡ª Cass crashed backwards, her heart hammering a million times a second. Adrenaline pumped through every fibre of her being, as her brain finally registered the deep gash across her upper arm. The world had slowed down just in time for her to dodge, but she could only watch on as it played catch up. First was the pain. Then more pain. From her left arm, where the flying spear had gouged out a piece of her flesh. From her other side, where she¡¯d smacked her elbow and shoulder on the hard, very snowless, ground. And even more from her head, when it followed the others and bounced off of the dry earth in concussive agony. Dizzy and disorientated, Cass groaned as she gripped her head; the pain from the rest of her wounds throbbing at the movement. She tried to look around, forced herself to focus, even as her headache intensified in the struggle. She knew there was something there. Something trying to harm her. To kill her. And she knew she had to get away. But her eyes failed her, too woozy to see the incoming enemy. She threw herself to the right, rolling her body over her injured arm. She couldn¡¯t see it, but even over the deafening rush of blood in her ears, she still heard the vile screeching of the creature that attacked her. Mercifully, the sharp pains of her possibly fractured elbow helped clear her head, letting her take in the full form of her aggressor. In place of where her head had just been, the monster¡¯s clawed hand pierced the ground with its black, talon-like nails. The creature¡¯s leathery skin was wrinkled and dry, a dull green in colour, and covered in warts and scars. Around its waist, the creature wore a simple, dark grey loincloth; the rest of its body exposed to the elements. Its arms were thin and short, attached to a similar torso. Supporting its scrawny figure, two sinewy legs suggested the source of its shocking strength. "What the fuck are you!" she screamed, more a statement than an actual question. Goblin, was her first thought. No. Nononono! It''s not a goblin. Can''t be. That''s just not possible. This isn''t the lord of the fucking rings. Can''t be. Can''t be, no way! The creature turned its hairless head and snarled at her; spit flying from behind the yellowed fangs of its grotesque maw. Meanwhile, its muscles tensed, exerting all of its strength to free its hooked digits from the dirt. It''s a bloody goblin! Once more, the goblin lunged at her; its bite ripping through her blouse as she tossed herself to the side. Now on her front, Cass pushed everything to her legs and shot forward, up and away from the goblin. She didn''t know where she was running, the ever-present fog still concealing the world, but the goblin was fast on her tail, its hand now free from its earthly prison. So she had to move. Now. It didn''t matter where, even if she risked running face-first into a wall, there was no other option. A surge of relief spread through Cass when she looked back, seeing herself outrunning the enraged shadow of the goblin. It may have been quick, more so than she expected from a creature half her size, but Cass was quicker; just about. I can do this, she thought, as long as I keep running. Then it screamed. And she stumbled. Unable to steady herself, Cass tripped and slammed into the ground. Everything hurt. Her previous injuries worsened from the shock, and new injuries appeared all over her body, as they protested the sudden impact with the ground. Worst of all was her right wrist, which had cracked against something round and sturdy¡­ and loose. In the background, the goblin cackled in glee, a strange and ugly mixture of sounds escaping its mouth while it cheered its coming feast.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. With a woozy head and murky vision, and left with no other choice, Cass bit down on her tongue. Hard. ¡°Fuck!¡± she screamed, though it was muffled by the blood pouring from her mouth. Sight restored, she steeled herself and began searching for the item she¡¯d banged her wrist on. Cass knew there was no more time, no more chances. She was facing away from the goblin, but she could tell it was close, only a few metres; seconds from carving her up. She couldn¡¯t dodge any more, maybe once, but with the state her body was in, she was living on borrowed time. All this while, Cass could feel herself weakening, only the adrenaline pushing her this far. There were just too many wounds. On her left side, the goblin¡¯s spear had taken with it much of her upper arm, only missing her bone by a hair¡¯s breadth. On her right side, her wrist was likely sprained, her shoulder surely bruised, and the agony of moving her elbow spoke of fractures. Finally, her head throbbed from multiple visits with the ground, while the rest of her body ached from the most recent. To top it all off, she was exhausted. But¡­ Have to¡­ It took a few seconds, more time than she had, but her hands finally knocked against her prize hidden within the fog. Found you! She grabbed a hold of the goblin¡¯s spear, wrapping her arms around the shaft, and, with the last of her strength, hefted it toward the goblin. But, as she turned to meet the monster, Cass despaired. It was so much closer than she¡¯d thought, and, even worse, it was in the air. It must have jumped at some point, making Cass lose track of its footsteps. She¡¯d swung low, aiming for its torso, and now there was no time to adjust. She was going to miss it. And then she was going to die. Time slowed as the goblin came ever closer to Cass. She saw, in detail, the wrinkled skin on its face stretch as it revealed the contents of its mouth, each of its teeth as pointy and as sharp as any dagger. She watched as it raised its two hands to meet her, preparing to claw through her skin and the flesh below with its piercing nails. And even as she closed her eyes, ready to accept her fate, she noticed the goblin raising its feet, positioning them to land on her, cutting off any chance to escape. Why? She cried, Why is this happening? What even happened? I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t want to die. Time had slowed down, but that didn¡¯t mean Cass had stopped feeling anything. In fact, she felt it all in even more agonizing detail than before. From her wrist, her elbow, her shoulder, and her upper arm; her knees, her hips, her back, and her head. It all hurt. It was all too much. Finally, it was just a thought, but it was enough to break her, Even if someone wanted to help me, they wouldn¡¯t find me in this fog. Nobody is even going to know I was here. First, her right arm drooped, her bones too weak to carry it any more. Then her shoulders sagged as she fell backwards, her strength no longer enough to keep her upright. Lastly, the spear, wrapped in her arms, and too low to hit the goblin, rose up just in time for the monster to impale itself through its chest. For the last time, Cass crashed onto the earth beneath her; this time managing to avoid bumping her head too hard. Stunned, she observed silently as the spear slid from her arms, and fell forwards with the still-spasming goblin corpse at its end. A thump was all she heard as the body landed on the ground in front of her, the goblin¡¯s howling having stopped almost immediately after it was run through. It took her a few seconds, but she eventually raised her head and stared, wide-eyed, at the fuzzy corpse. What?
Congratulations Player_6852! For being the first of your species to survive the Initiation Test, You have been awarded 1 (ONE) Achievement Point! Current Achievement Points: 1 For gaining a ¡®first of your species¡¯ achievement, You have been awarded the title, Pioneer. Please now choose a difficulty mode for your Tutorial: EASY - MODERATE - HARD - NULL
All of a sudden, a strange, blue menu screen appeared within her vision, immediately causing her headache to intensify. The world around her was blurry, not just because of the fog, but mainly due to her injuries. Between the pain and the blood loss, Cass could feel herself on the brink of passing out. But the menu screen was clear, and the juxtaposition between it and the blurred¡­ everything else, was causing her no small amount of pain. Perhaps strangest of all, despite her bleary eyes and pounding head, she could actually read it, or rather, as she focused on it, she simply knew what it said. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± she mumbled, ¡°Null?¡±
You have chosen the NULL difficulty. Please wait while you are transferred to your Tutorial.
¡°Hold on¡±, she groaned, her injuries worsening now that her focus wasn¡¯t entirely on the goblin, ¡°that¡¯s not what I meant!¡± But the menu ignored her, disappearing from sight, only to be replaced by a third window a few seconds later.
???? ERROR: ARGUMENT_NULL_EXCEPTION (TutorialProfile): ?????????????Value cannot be null. ??SOLUTION: RESTART TUTORIAL SELECTION ????ERROR: SECURITY_EXCEPTION (Player.Tutorial.Reset): ?????????????This command requires elevated privileges. ??SOLUTION: TRANSFER PLAYER_6852 TO THE NULL ZONE ????ERROR: ARGUMENT_NULL_EXCEPTION (Player.Tutorial.Zone): ?????????????Value cannot be null. ??SOLUTION: REASSIGN TUTORIAL MODE OF PLAYER_6852 ????ERROR: SECURITY_EXCEPTION (Player.Tutorial.Reassign): ?????????????This command requires elevated privileges. ??SOLUTION: CONTACT ADMINISTRATOR ?????????????¡­ ?????????????¡­ ?????????????¡­ ????ERROR: TIMEOUT_EXCEPTION (System.Error.AlertAdmin) ?SOLUTION: ERROR: ARGUMENT_NULL_EXCEPTION (Solution): ?????????????Value cannot be null. ?SOLUTION: ERROR: ARGUMENT_NULL_EXCEPTION (Solution): ?????????????Value cannot be null. ?SOLUTION: ERROR: ARGUMENT_NULL_EXCEPTION (Solution): ?????????????Value cannot be null. ?????ERROR: STACK_OVERFLOW_EXCEPTION (System.ErrorHandler): ?????????????Process terminated due to stack overflow. ??SOLUTION: INITIATE SYSTEM REBOOT
Seconds passed. Then minutes. Cass soon lost track of time as she lay on her back, staring into the nothingness above, wondering if the menu was just her imagination. She was dying, but she didn¡¯t even feel sad about it. She didn¡¯t really feel anything any more. By this point, the pain had all but disappeared, just a constant numbness all over her body. The cold she experienced was different too. Where before, the cold was like a freezing fire, burning her from the outside, scorching her skin with layers of ice, and spreading chaotically throughout her body; this new cold was much more abstract, it was like a concept rather than a thing, and Cass could understand what it was telling her. It was like a calm lake, serene in its inevitability; it told a story of death, and of destiny. It spread through her body, just like its sister cold, but with order instead. One step at a time, it conquered her body from within at a slow but steady pace, whispering words of encouragement, that everything would be okay, but Cass had a feeling that, once it was finished, so she would be too. That¡¯s weird, she thought, I could''ve sworn the fog was¡­ thicker. In her last moments, Cass watched as the all-invasive fog, the catalyst for her demise, began to fade. She remained silent throughout, just waiting to see what would be revealed, under no illusion that she would be returned to the streets of her new home. She knew this wasn¡¯t a dream; she knew it was real, that she¡¯d been taken somewhere, for some reason, by some... thing. So she continued watching, even as the cold crept closer and closer to her brain, to her end. She kept watching, until, at last, the final remnants of fog faded from her view, revealing an array of glittering stars she¡¯d never seen before. With the fog gone, and the starlight to aid her vision, Cass was confused when she noted the missing goblin corpse. She turned her head ever so slightly, just enough to cast her eyes to her surroundings, and almost gasped at what she found. An island. She was on an island of charcoal sand, floating amidst the stars. What¡­ what is this?
Congratulations Player_6852! For being the first of your species to survive the Initiation Test, You have been awarded 1 (ONE) Achievement Point! Current Achievement Points: 2 Please now choose a difficulty mode for your Tutorial: EASY - MODERATE - HARD - HELL
Once again, the blue menu appeared, though if it was timed or just a coincidence, she wasn¡¯t sure. If she were being honest, she didn¡¯t really care about the choice she was presented with, But, what if¡­ ¡°Easy,¡± she croaked. She didn¡¯t know what would happen, but maybe, by some miracle, she¡¯d survive. And if she had to pick anything, she sure as hell wasn¡¯t going to choose hell.
You have chosen the EASY difficulty. Please wait while you are transferred to your Tutorial.
?????ERROR: ARGUMENT_EXCEPTION (Player.Tutorial.Assign): ????????????Target has already been assigned to a Tutorial.
Her heart stopped.
??SOLUTION: TRANSFER PLAYER_6852 TO THE HELL ZONE
No! The Tower from Hell: Chapter 2 Genres: Fantasy, Adventure Tags: Female Lead, GameLit, High & Low Fantasy, LitRPG, Magic, Progression, Strong Lead
Cass shot up, panting heavily, each breath of hers sucking in as much of the room as possible. ¡°I¡¯m alive,¡± she gasped, ¡°I¡¯m actually alive.¡± She started laughing, a soft giggle, which quickly turned into a sob as she raised her knees to her chest, and wrapped herself in her blanket. She continued like this for a while, tears forming from her eyes as she wept, and her body shook, her mind trying and failing to grasp the terrors she¡¯d faced just moments ago. ¡°Wait,¡± she rasped, her words scraping by her dry throat, ¡°blanket?¡± She looked up, raising her fists to rub any remaining tears from her swollen eyes, and stared in wonder at her surroundings. ¡°This¡­ this is my room!¡±¡ªshe looked down¡ª¡°This is my bed!¡± Cass lay bundled beneath a winter duvet of blue, yellow, and white geometric shapes. A soft mattress of foam comforted her from below, her body partially sunken into its surface. Around her was the bedroom she¡¯d just moved into a few days ago, complete with a wardrobe, a dresser, and a cardboard box acting as her bedside table. Atop the bedside box was the source of her bedroom¡¯s light, a table lamp which brightened the room with its soft, golden glow. On the wall, off-white, drawn curtains blocked her view of the outside, but the lack of natural light at the edges suggested it was nighttime. Opposite her, a few more boxes had been piled up against the wall, while the bedroom door next to them was ajar. Thinking quick, Cass began patting up and down her body, the most noticeable change being her very healthy left arm. ¡°Was it really just a nightmare?¡± she asked, half expecting a blue screen to pop up and pester her. But nothing happened. ¡°But it all felt so real¡ª no, it still feels real. The pain, the blood¡­ the cold; the memories are so fresh. Did I really just dream it up?¡± Slowly, she lifted herself off of the bed and stood up. She was dressed in the same clothes she¡¯d worn to the hair salon, which she found odd, Actually, how did I get home? She asked herself, shrugging when she couldn¡¯t think of an answer. Head full of questions, Cass equipped herself with a frown, and made her way toward the bedroom door, her steps growing more and more cautious as she crept ever closer. Her mind warned her of the possible danger beyond, and she couldn¡¯t help but imagine the corpse of a very dead goblin barging through. With all the courage she could muster, Cass shook her head, and reached out to yank the door open, jumping behind it even as she pulled. She waited a few moments before letting out the breath she¡¯d started holding, ¡°Nothing there,¡± she giggled, her taut nerves relaxing with each laugh. After calming down, she took a few seconds to listen for any noise in the hallway, tiptoeing to the open doorway when she confirmed there was nothing. Cass poked her head out the doorway, looking from right to left to spot anything suspicious, but not seeing anything, she began looking for the light switch. Finding it on the other side of the hall, Cass started toward it, her tiptoeing easing into a slow walk as her confidence grew. After some time, she flicked the switch on, revealing a bright and empty hallway. The walls were painted white, decorated only with several holes the previous owner had been so kind to leave behind, while the floor was laminated with light-oak wooden planks. Still a little jittery, she remained careful, prodding the next door open and reaching for the cord inside. On, the light went, revealing a less-than-modern bathroom fit with a shoddy toilet, a too-small sink, and a shower-bath combo; the beige tiles reaffirming Cass¡¯ need to renovate. Above the sink, a small cabinet with a mirror on the front was secured to the wall. In her frightened state, she¡¯d ignored the mirror in her own bedroom, only now getting a chance to see herself. As she turned to face the mirror, her jaw dropped while she raised her hands, touching and poking at her pink hair, not quite believing what her brain was telling her, ¡°So the haircut was real,¡± she murmured, ¡°but what about after? Did I enter the fog or not?¡± She couldn¡¯t remember¡ªCass shuddered¡ªno, she could, it¡¯s just that her memories were¡­ wrong. Stepping out of the bathroom, Cass moved into her living space. It was an open-plan kitchen and living room, not something she was overly fond of, but it suited her now she was living alone. The walls and floor were similar to the hallway outside, only differing in the kitchen where half the wall was replaced with black, brick-shaped tiles. The room was empty of any furnishings, just several boxes against a wall, and a TV sitting on the floor, accompanied by a comfy-looking cushion and woollen blanket. Cass sighed, ¡°Maybe it was all in my head.¡± She was relieved, of course, and reassured that her sanity wasn¡¯t in question, but it didn¡¯t stop shivers running up her spine when she recalled the harrowing experiencing from her dreams. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t explain how I got home, though,¡± she muttered. She walked to her kitchen sink and turned on the cold water tap, reaching for her kettle in the same breath. Once it was about a quarter-full, she placed it on the base and flicked the switch, nodding her head when the ¡®on¡¯ light lit up. Finally, she grabbed a mug from the overhead cabinet and dropped in a teabag. ¡°Oh, please tell me I have milk,¡± she mumbled, opening the fridge to see an almost-empty bottle of semi-skimmed in the tray, ¡°well, it¡¯ll do.¡± Leaving the milk on the counter, she stared for a second at the kettle, willing it to heat faster, before shrugging and moving toward the closest window. ¡°Did I close all the curtains when I got home?¡± she wondered, It¡¯s like I¡¯ve got amnesia or some¡ª Cass stopped. ¡°Do I have amnesia?¡± She stood for a while, considering the implications, until the rumble of boiling water woke her from her musings, ¡°Maybe I just wanted to block out the fog. Right, the fog! Whatever way I look at things, there was something off about it. It¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s not still there, is it?.¡± Completing her journey to the window, Cass heard the click of the kettle telling her it was finished, but chose to ignore it in favour of looking outside. She reached for the curtain, drawing it open with a quick pull, and froze, ¡°Wha¡ª Wher¡ª N-nothing?¡± She back peddled, ¡°How?!¡± and tripped, bringing the curtain and its rail with her as she fell on her backside. Outside the now curtainless window, a thousand stars shone their brightest to illuminate nothing. ¡°Nothing. There¡¯s nothing.¡± Cass stared, wide-eyed, out the window as she muttered to herself in incomprehension, ¡°How can there be nothing.¡± Suddenly, she threw the felled curtain aside and shot toward the window, her hands slamming against it in desperation, ¡°Where the fuck am I?¡± she shouted, ¡°Where¡¯s my street? And the rest of the houses? Where the hell did they go?!¡± She stared at the stars, a deep feeling of dread settling within her. ¡°They¡¯re wrong,¡± she whispered, ¡°they¡¯re all wrong,¡± but even shaking her head didn¡¯t rid her of the strange deja vu that now held her thoughts hostage. Cass turned and sprinted for the door. She had to see. Had to see the stars. She fumbled with the locks, hands not quite keeping up with her mind as her digits thrashed at the simple mechanism. Once she got it, she all but tore down the door, shoving it back with all her strength as she barged through the opening. Finally outside, Cass was forced to end her reckless charge early when she found herself standing not in the hallway she expected, but atop a barren and cracked earthen island. An island floating in the void, beneath a starry sky she didn¡¯t know. But¡­ she did know it. Cass fell to her knees, one hand clutching her chest as her heart threatened to break free, while the other restrained her mouth, fearing what her scream might attract. She did know these stars; they weren¡¯t the ones she was used to, and even though every reasonable part of her brain was screaming she shouldn¡¯t, she knew why. She looked at the starry sky above, the pale earth below, and the endless void around her; and for a brief moment before the panic set in, she wondered how she could still breathe. ¡°It was real,¡± she managed between rapid breaths, ¡°The fog,¡±¡ªbreathe¡ª¡°the lights,¡±¡ªin¡ª¡°the gob¡±¡ªout¡ª¡°oh god, the goblin!¡± she cried. Memory after memory from her nightmare came rushing back, and along with them came the pain. Even though her body was fully healed, she wrapped her arms around herself, no longer caring about the noises she made, as the phantom pains ravaged every part of her being. Every injury she sustained returned with a vengeance, furious at her for forgetting; from the top of her head, to the toes of her feet, agony she didn¡¯t understand descended upon her just as she herself descended face-first to the ground. But as quick as the pain came, it disappeared just as abruptly when her face smacked the hardened earth, and the small campfire in front of her lit up as if by magic.
????ERROR: ARGUMENT_NULL_EXCEPTION (Player.Stats.Endurance): ??? ??????? Value cannot be null.
Welcome, Player_6852, to the HELL ZONE resting area. As this is your first time entering the Resting Area, Please take note of the following information:
  1. While inside the Rest Area, dying will result in your automatic revival within your home.
  2. While inside the Rest Area, your natural healing is increased by 10,000%.
  3. While inside the Rest Area, you cannot attack or be harmed by other players.
  4. You may not enter another¡¯s Player Home without their express permission. Likewise, another Player may not enter your Home without your permission.
  5. You may leave the rest area at any time by entering a Player Home, or by entering the Tower.
As this Rest Area is located within the HELL ZONE, Please take note of the following restrictions:
  1. While inside the Rest Area, dying will not result in your automatic revival within your home.
  2. While inside the Rest Area, your natural healing is increased by 0%.
  3. While inside the Rest Area, you can attack and be harmed by other players.
  4. Player Homes are not protected from unwanted intruders.
  5. Entering the Tower will be restricted to certain times. Please wait for the Tower Portal to enter.
SOLUTION: EVALUATE APTITUDE AND INITIATE ABILITY ASSIGNMENT
Congratulations, Player_6852! For being the first of your species to challenge the Tutorial, You have been awarded 1 (ONE) Achievement Point! Current Achievement Points: 3 As this is your first time challenging the Tutorial, You have been awarded the title, Challenger.
As this is your first time playing the Tutorial, Your Skills and Stats have been calculated and assigned by the System. Please see the Player Log screen for an in-depth review of your gains.
? ?ERROR: ARGUMENT_EXCEPTION (Skill.PainResilience): ??? ?????? ?An item with the same key has already exists. SOLUTION: REMOVE [PAIN RESILIENCE] FROM PLAYER_6852 ??? ERROR: SECURITY_EXCEPTION (Player.Skills.RemoveSkill): ??????? ????This command requires elevated privileges. SOLUTION: EVOLVE [PAIN RESILIENCE] INTO [PAIN RESISTANCE]
Congratulations, Player_6852! For being the first of your species to evolve a Skill, You have been awarded 1 (ONE) Achievement Point! Current Achievement Points: 4 Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.
Overwhelmed by the number of blue screens that suddenly bombarded her vision, Cass shut her eyes as hard as she could, too confused to deal with whatever any of this was. The pain was no more; there one moment, and gone the next. It was the strangest sort of feeling, Cass thought, like going from freezing cold to burning hot in seconds, but even weirder because another second later there was nothing at all, not even a memory of it, no residual feelings or anything, it was as if it never happened. She still remembered the pain from the goblin encounter itself, but it was much fainter, as if the memory had aged decades or longer. It was a good thing, she supposed, since it meant the spectre of suffering that had terrorized her just moments before had also disappeared. One good thing to come of the pain was that her breathing had returned to normal. Having a panic attack alone, on a floating island, in the middle of space was probably a bad idea, she reckoned. Knowing what was to come, she gently smacked her forehead a few times on the ground to prepare herself, then opened her eyes to the ghostly blue windows that haunted her dreams, and now her reality. Before focusing on them, Cass sat up and took a deep breath, ¡°Okay, ready,¡± she said, ignoring the quiver in her voice, ¡°big one first, I guess¡±. Cass spent the next few minutes digesting the contents of the blue windows, sometimes biting her lip in frustration, or cursing softly, dreading the implications of what she read. ¡°This is crazy,¡± she stated, ¡°reading this makes it sound like some sort of video game; the tutorial, player homes, portals, bloody revival. It¡¯s all so absurd I almost can¡¯t believe it.¡± Rubbing her tired eyes, Cass continued to think about the windows and what they said, ¡°But¡­ but I have to. It¡¯s much too real to be a dream, and whether it¡¯s some sort of virtual reality or not doesn¡¯t really matter¡ª it¡¯s my reality now, regardless. But the revival stuff is concerning. If I die, do I get booted from the game or do I actually die? Thinking about it, when I¡±¡ªCass shivered¡ª¡°killed the goblin, it said I was the first to survive. Were there others that got attacked? Was I just the first to survive after everyone else died? That¡¯s right, it keeps calling me player six thousand eight¡ª Oh.¡± At her own revelation, Cass began dry-heaving, ¡°Oh. My god. Six thousand. Dead. Oh my god.¡± A few more minutes of throwing up nothing, Cass managed to calm herself before returning to the blue screen, ¡°The biggest problem for me are these Hell Zone restrictions. Permadeath and no increased healing are worrisome, but more concerning is what they imply. Am I going to have to fight more monsters like the goblin? It also mentions other players, will I have to fight other people too? There¡¯s no way, right?¡± She frowned as she thought of the atrocities humanity was committing across the globe even in her day, and even of local crimes where citizens of her own country were being murdered, or raped, or worse; almost on a daily basis, if she went by the news. She clenched her fists, ¡°Somehow, it''s people I have to worry about more than monsters. Sure, there are plenty of good people around, but one bad egg is all it would take to kill me. Or worse. The lack of player home protection is possibly the worst restriction on that list, even the rest area can¡¯t be rested in.¡± ¡°Hold on, I didn¡¯t even choose Hell, I chose Easy! Why am I receiving all these restrictions if I chose Easy?¡± she demanded, but then it hit her, ¡°The errors! Before I blacked out, there were a bunch of errors, just like the one here, what¡¯s it say, skill assignment? Skills? Uhh, oh, here¡¯s the solution, reinitiate? Is there another window, maybe?¡± She flitted through the blue windows, quickly skimming their contents before she found the one she was looking for, ¡°Player Log?¡±
Player_6852 [Profile] - [Inventory] - [Stats] - [Skills] - [Titles] - [Achievements] - [Log]
# START OF LOG # Player_6852 gains 1 Achievement Point # Player_6852 gains Title Pioneer # Player_6852 gains 1 Achievement Point # Player_6852 gains Passive [Pain Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 gains 1 Achievement Point # Player_6852 gains Title Challenger # ABILITY EVALUATION BEGINNING¡­ # ABILITY EVALUATION COMPLETE # ABILITY ASSIGNMENT BEGINNING¡­ # Player_6852 gains 7 Vitality # Player_6852 gains 7 Perception # Player_6852 gains 2 Intuition # Player_6852 gains 4 Strength # Player_6852 gains 4 Endurance # Player_6852 gains 6 Agility # Player_6852 gains 6 Willpower # Player_6852 gains 7 Focus # Player_6852 gains 7 Creativity # Player_6852 gains Language [English - High] # Player_6852 gains Language [French - Moderate] # Player_6852 gains Language [Latin - Moderate] # Player_6852 gains Language [Ancient Greek - Low] # Player_6852 gains Language [German - Low] # Player_6852 gains Language [Italian - Low] # Player_6852 gains Language [Spanish - Low] # Player_6852 gains Language [Hindi - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Language [Mandarin Chinese - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Language [Portuguese - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Language [Russian - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Arithmetic - Moderate] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Communication - Moderate] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Reading - Moderate] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Typing - Moderate] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Speaking - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Writing - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Cleaning - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Cooking - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Drawing - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Singing - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Dancing - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Breathing - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Digging - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Falling - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Running - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Climbing - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Diving - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Jumping - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Rolling - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Swimming - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Throwing - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Yoga - Low] # Player_6852 gains Mastery [Spear - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Blood Regeneration - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Flesh Regeneration - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Alcohol Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Anaesthetic Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Bacterial Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Caffeine Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Fatigue Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Fungal Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Pain Resilience - Slight] # [Pain Resilience - Slight] evolves into [Pain Resistance - Slight] # Player_6852 gains Passive [Viral Resilience - Slight] # Player_6852 merges skills into [Poison Resilience - Slight] [Alcohol Resilience] [Anaesthetic Resilience] [Caffeine Resilience] # Player_6852 merges skills into [Disease Resilience - Slight] [Bacterial Resilience] [Fungal Resilience] [Viral Resilience] # Player_6852 gains Active Skill [Analyse] Lvl 1 # [Analyse] reaches ... # [Analyse] reaches Lvl 7 # Player_6852 gains Active Skill [Slow Time] Lvl 1 # ABILITY ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE # Player_6852 gains 1 Achievement Point
¡°Oh,¡± Cass exclaimed, ¡°that¡¯s a lot. Where to even begin? Achievement points, titles, strength, endurance, agility¡ª this really is a game, huh? The rest of it just looks like a record of my skills, even my languages are there.¡± Cass took a second to close her eyes and breathe, forcing herself to accept the reality in front of her. ¡°Just what I needed,¡± she muttered, ¡°a judgemental list of my life¡¯s accomplishments. Except the list is shorter than I¡¯d have liked, and the ratings are clearly wrong¡­ I mean, my dancing isn¡¯t that bad, right?¡± Glad there was nobody around to answer that one, Cass decided to move on, ¡°I guess the resilience stuff is good, blood and flesh is a little disturbing, but I¡¯d be a fool to disregard them¡±¡ªI¡¯m not stupid, I know what¡¯s coming¡ª¡°especially with the restrictions on the rest area, I¡¯ll need as much healing as I can get. Then again, this is just a record of my own aptitude, slight regeneration might just heal scratches. I wonder how I can upgrade it.¡± Tapping her lips, Cass put aside her musings and moved on, ¡°Active skills? I wonder how that works¡±¡ªshe looked at the campfire at the centre of the island, just metres from where she¡¯d fallen¡ª¡°Analyse!¡± she shouted. Nothing happened. Frowning, she glared at the small campfire with all her might, Analyse!
[ANALYSIS RESULTS] Tower Beacon The Tower Beacon marks the centre of the Tutorial Resting Area, And is where the Tower Portal will appear. It will light up when anyone approaches. Time until Tower Portal appears: 00:34:53
¡°Nice!¡± she shouted, ¡°Where was this skill on all my digs?¡± Analyse!
[ANALYSIS RESULTS] Dry Earth, the Ground
Cass sighed, ¡°Never mind.¡± ¡°Slowing time seems ridiculous, probably just my perception of time, like a rush of adrenaline, maybe. Or does it actually slow time? How would I even get a skill like that? And how do I test it? Best leave that one for later,¡± she mumbled, ¡°Next are a bunch more of these errors; I can only assume this system is utterly broken. How many does this make? Ten? Twenty? So far, the errors have worked out well for me, I think, I mean, pain resistance has got to be a plus, but how long until they don¡¯t? Sure, some bugs can be fun, but most are destructive. God knows how many essays I¡¯ve rewritten because the software crashed. Something to keep an eye on.¡± Finally, she finished reading through the log, and looked up to stare at the stars. She felt a heat well up in her eyes as her shoulders began to quiver, but pinched herself in the thigh before she could feel any more sorry for herself. She had to get out, and crying wouldn¡¯t help. But it wasn¡¯t pain that drove away the depression threatening her mind, but rather, it was the lack of it. She felt the pinch. She was completely aware of her nerves begging her to stop, but their screaming simply didn¡¯t affect her any more. ¡°Well, shit,¡± she mumbled, still in shock, ¡°is this pain resistance?¡± She let go of her thigh and once again stared wistfully at the stars, ¡°One eye on the system errors, but the other needs to remain on my mental health. Too many weird things all at once, and I¡¯m bound to go weird. Case in point, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever talked to myself for so long in my life.¡± Cass closed her eyes and took one last deep breath before returning her gaze to the blue window, ¡°Okay then, enough moping, what¡¯s next?¡± The Strange-Face Illusion: Prologue Genres: Fantasy, Horror, Contemporary, Mystery Tags: Female Lead, First Contact, Magic, Secret Identity, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Time. Now that¡¯s a curious thing, isn¡¯t it? And that¡¯s how it goes, right? Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. On and on, never stopping. Sometimes it slows down, yeah, you know how it is, like it¡¯s a particularly dry Friday morning and the only work you have is some boring spreadsheet you don¡¯t care about while you wait on the weekend. But sometimes it speeds up too, to be fair; when you¡¯re having fun or you¡¯ve just been given almost a week¡¯s worth of work to finish in an afternoon because somebody forgot to do it, it¡¯s like ¡°Hey, Sarah, listen¡­ I get it. You¡¯ve had a pretty crummy week, your boss is a total twat and you¡¯re still single! I get it, Sarah, I do. You could really use this, but I kind of already slowed things down this morning, you know? You understand, right?¡± Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Never stopping, always moving forward. I mean, I guess it could stop and you just don¡¯t realise it. Stop. Start. Stop. Start. If a tree falls in the woods and nobody¡¯s there to hear it, does it still make a sound? Obviously it does. I mean, it might not, but obviously it does. I think. Likewise, if time stops, and nobody¡¯s there to¡­ what? Watch it? Right, watch, if nobody¡¯s there to watch it, does it still stop? Yeah. Of course it does. I mean, maybe. Probably. There¡¯s no way to tell, really. Time doesn¡¯t stop, so it¡¯s pointless to think about, honestly, which leads us to my current predicament. So we¡¯ve established time doesn¡¯t stop. It doesn¡¯t. It can¡¯t. I mean, maybe it can, but really it can¡¯t. It¡¯d be nice if it could though, it would make explaining this whole thing a lot easier. Well, I guess death would work but I¡¯m leaving that one as a last resort. Time doesn¡¯t stop, but I seem to have, maybe, just a little bit, become paralysed? Unable to move. Petrified without the stone. I¡¯m stuck. I literally can¡¯t move a muscle. I can¡¯t speak, can¡¯t blink or move my eyes, I can¡¯t even breathe. I have no idea how I¡¯m still thinking, my body should have shut down ages ago. The same goes for the woman across from me, she¡¯s just sitting there, frozen, with her wrinkly, old face glaring icy-blue judgement into my eyes. I don¡¯t like her. I think she did this. Maybe you¡¯re sitting there thinking, ¡°Sarah, don¡¯t speak to your Grandmother like that!¡± but it¡¯s what she gets for saying I¡¯ll be alone forever; she can blame the three cards all she wants but it¡¯s her who made up their stupid meanings! Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s been. Days. Months. Years¡­ Probably just a few minutes if I¡¯m honest, but it feels like an eternity has passed. Don¡¯t believe me? Trust me, go find some old hag with a toothless frown and lock eyes for a minute, we can compare notes later. Okay, sorry, I¡¯ll stop insulting Nana now, she¡¯s a sweetheart most of the time. She might not let me hug her, but I know she means well. I¡¯m over it, I forgive her. But I wonder if she¡¯s like me, stuck in her own mind, afraid. Maybe she¡¯s thinking of all sorts of occult reasons and ways out of what¡¯s happening. Or maybe she¡¯s just staring at me, trying to communicate something, trying to tell me she¡¯s sorry for saying I¡¯ll die alone. Yeah, that¡¯s right, I lied. Deal with it. Guess who¡¯s not getting a card from me this Christmas. I don¡¯t even know why I came here. The company? Nana¡¯s sweet but the generation gap is almost as long her dull, grey hair; talking to her is tough, especially when all she cares about is the occult. Then did I come for the cards? Some good that was. The false hope would have been nice though. Maybe I just wanted something to do. Something that wasn¡¯t going home to do nothing at all. Again. I guess I got my wish in the end, now I¡¯m counting the wrinkles of an old woman¡¯s face. I think I¡¯m up to a thousand now. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. I think Nana might actually be awake as well! Her eyes, they aren¡¯t just looking at me, it¡¯s like they¡¯re looking back at me. I wonder if she feels the same, can she tell I¡¯m awake too? Or maybe it¡¯s just my imagination from staring too long, but I really feel like there¡¯s some intelligence behind her inky eyes. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. It was the Lovers. That was the card she played first. I¡¯ll admit, I was pretty impressed at this point; the first card represents my current position, or my intention, and getting out of my current dry spell was absolutely my intention. Out of 78 cards and the Lovers pops up first? Damn, I was over the moon! For a while, I really thought today was my lucky day. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Next was the Tower. Disaster. Well, fair enough, I didn¡¯t need the cards to explain my love life was a shambles. What I also didn¡¯t need was Nana explaining the second card represented my obstacles, and that the Tower as an obstacle meant I was aiming too high. Bitch, what do you mean I¡¯m aiming too high?! The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I¡¯m perfect. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. You know, maybe the worst thing about all of this is the pose I¡¯ve caught Nana in. I say worst but it¡¯s actually pretty funny, I can see right down her throat! Yeah, can you believe it? Right down! I don¡¯t even know what she was doing before we got stuck, her mouth is so wide open I could probably fit my whole fist into it. I wouldn¡¯t do that though, obviously, those pointy teeth aren¡¯t just for show. I¡¯ll be honest, Nana seemed a little hesitant when she flipped the Hermit next. The third card represents cause and effect, it¡¯s the foundation of why I¡¯m asking the question. In this case, I¡¯m seeking a partner, so drawing the Hermit in a love context would mean I¡¯m recovering from heartache or something like that, and I¡¯m ready to start something new, something better. But drawing it reversed, well, that could mean a bunch of other things, like I¡¯m lonely or I fear I''ll always be alone. Or¡­ or I had my shot already, I missed it, and I¡¯ll never find anyone as good as him again, or¡­ I¡­ Yeah. Whatever. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Judgement was next. Reversed again. I¡¯m not that sure what Judgement means as the fourth card, something about my past, maybe? Sorry, I wasn¡¯t paying much attention for this one. I don¡¯t think Nana knew much either, though, I remember she was frowning. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Have you ever stared so long at someone they become unfamiliar? Well, not unfamiliar, that¡¯s not fair, she¡¯s still Nana, just¡­ was her skin always so grey? Maybe I just haven¡¯t spent enough time with her recently, hell, I can¡¯t even remember the last time I did. I mean, I have been busy; with work and everything else, it¡¯s difficult to find the time for anything, really. Am I a bad person? A bad granddaughter? No. No, it¡ªit¡¯s not my fault, if anything it¡¯s society, right? The world demands so much of us already, you can forgive me for not noticing her skin turn blue, can¡¯t you? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen Nana so confused before. I heard her mutter something about five majors when she flipped the fifth card. She was probably talking about the Arcana; out of 78 cards, only 22 are Majors, and I¡¯d drew five at this point. At the time, I thought my luck was turning for the better, I¡¯d even managed to draw the Wheel of Fortune as my fifth. Turns out the fifth card represents my goal, my destiny, my best outcome. That¡¯s right, my best outcome was wishing for good luck. That one pissed me off, not going to lie. Tick. Tock. Tick. Nana¡¯s hands were shaking when she flipped the sixth. An upside down star that spoke of a hopeless near future. But Nana¡¯s a sweetie, did I tell you that? She made sure to let me know it¡¯s not that everything¡¯s hopeless, just that I¡¯ll feel like it is. And true enough, it hasn¡¯t even been that long but staring at Nana this whole time has got me pretty worried. Is her hair loss hereditary? I don¡¯t want to go bald! Tick. Tock. Tick. There¡¯s someone else here. I can¡¯t see them¡ªI can¡¯t move my eyes¡ª but I can feel them. I¡¯ve no idea how, but I can feel their stare boring into me from behind. I don¡¯t know who they are, or what they are, but I¡¯m certain they weren¡¯t here before. The seventh card is a measure of how I feel, or so Nana says. The Moon is the card of intuition, it¡¯s a warning bell for thing¡¯s not being as they seem. But in the context of love, The Moon can be a sign of longing. It¡¯s quite romantic, don¡¯t you think? After all, The Moon is beautiful, isn¡¯t it? I need to warn Nana. Tick. Tock. I asked Nana if she wanted to stop, she was holding her hands as tight as she could but the rest of her body shook instead. I was getting a little freaked out myself, but she said we had to keep going, that it was bad luck to stop early. Then she reached out and gasped, flipping the eighth consecutive Major Arcana card, The Hanged Man. It¡¯s a pretty scary sounding name, right? But it¡¯s actually quite inspiring, it encourages self-sacrifice in order to help your loved ones. The card doesn¡¯t actually say who should make the sacrifice, or even what should be sacrificed, all it tells you is that someone needs to give up something for the betterment of the others. That sounds a little sinister, doesn¡¯t it? But it doesn¡¯t have to be, for example, you could give up a bad habit which everyone else hates. Take Nana for instance, I would really appreciate it if she gave up her want for physical affection. I love you, Nana, but you¡¯re hugging me just a tad too tightly. It hurts. Tick. Tock. There are more now, I can hear them whispering to each other in the background. The language is foreign, like nothing I¡¯ve ever heard before. It echoes in my mind, each incomprehensible syllable rebounding off of the edges of my consciousness, coalescing into a raging storm of insanity that threatens to overwhelm me. I still can¡¯t see them but I know I¡¯m not imagining it; the eyes in front of me, they¡¯re¡­ looking at me, observing me. They aren¡¯t human. It isn¡¯t human. The ninth card voices my fears, The Devil. I¡­ I should have trusted him. I didn¡¯t have a reason not to but I just got so caught up in my own head that I broke down. Things were going so well, too well, I thought. Maybe¡­ maybe I hate myself, maybe that¡¯s why I made it all up, those ridiculous accusations. Ironically, it¡¯s me who betrayed him. Where did Nana go? Tick. I had to flip the last card myself; Nana refused. I don¡¯t know why, she just said she didn¡¯t want to any more. She didn¡¯t dare to. Death. That was it. The final result, the likely outcome. The Death card doesn¡¯t actually mean I¡¯ll die, instead, it represents transformation. It tells me that I should be expecting a great change in my life, a metamorphosis of sorts. It¡¯s usually a change for the better, but can also be¡ªoh, but that¡¯s right, it was reversed wasn¡¯t it? What does it mean if it¡¯s reversed? Did Nana tell me? She did? She did. Reversed is slightly different, it¡¯s telling me that I¡¯m resisting change, that it¡¯s inevitable, and that I should just let go and accept it. It¡¯ll be much easier if I just submit. I think I¡¯m losing my mind, I¡¯ve been stuck in this abyss for what feels like forever. No, you¡¯re right, I¡¯ve always been here, haven¡¯t I? They say you shouldn¡¯t stare into the abyss for too long, lest something stares back but I don¡¯t see anything. Is this really it? Or am I somewhere else? Is the abyss supposed to be so slimy? It is? Okay, if you say so. I trust you. Tick. Tock.