《Survival for Revival》 I sleep in peace as my body runs cold, and i fade into the deepest recess of my mind! Just an ordinary day for Atlas, but was it going to end that way? Now this is Atlas Shade the man who lives for the challenge. Sitting on his bed ¡°panting¡± for more air into his lunges after a three-hour intense workout, sweat drips from his medium length ash black hair down onto his chest and down his body of bulging ripped muscle mass is the definitions of toned and chiseled. Once catching my breath back, I walk over to my freezer, I pull it open for my just dessert, vanilla ice cream. wishing it was tomorrow so I can dig into my specially made choc brownie fudge ice cream, that I save for Fridays. At this time, I would normally be playing Radiant sanction with my two best friends Lily Shade and Vector shade, however Sheila from my martial arts club recommended I watch my victory battle in the nationals of MMA that¡¯s airing in 10 min at 10:00 pm. The only area she beats me in fighting is her style is much more flexible and quicker¡­ and cruel enough for the down low shots. Ah ¡°sigh¡± no gaming tonight I guess but dam watching your own fight scenes on tv is a different feeling. Remembering their names brings me back to the time it was just the three of us idiot thugs playing territory wars with some back streets, laying claim to our own territory. I was the brawn of us three while Vector was the smarter of us. Lily was the cruelest that chased away other thugs with her whip when I was going down out matched ¡­. Like who the hell carries one of those on them! Shade became our gangster name that grew to be something to be afraid of until the day my fighting impulse got them put in the hospital. I quit the life and joined the army for 4 years. I was supposed to start a new life of a simple chef, but life¡¯s choices are funny with unexpected consequences now starting my 22nd year in one of the top martial art schools in the world. Putting down my ice cream I walk over to the glass door connecting to the balcony to see my reflection as I contemplates why I got such an unsettling feeling like the cold wind slivering down the spine as you sense eyes on your back from the shadows. I might live in an apartment on the second floor of these ancient stone church like buildings but that hasn¡¯t stopped others sneaking in while I sleep to fight for the title of king in this place. Which reminds me I frustratingly still need to replace the lock on my door, it¡¯s a bit faulty from the last person kicking it down to issue a challenge. ¡°sigh¡± while I¡¯m king here I¡¯m still challenging the kings from all over the world for the top spot of king in the martial arts world. Its deadly when there is no age limit and a simple grandpa can be deadlier than a world-famous body builder. Getting caught off guard by that geezer nearly lost me my right knee cap, despite him being half my size. All I can see is the world outside getting more darker while in my reflection I stare at my purple shaded eyes that stare back at me, A mutation I picked up from mother¡¯s side, extremely rare, but all I¡¯m thinking is that the last time I felt this way was my first trip out field on an exercise in the army. The unsettling feeling makes me unconsciously scrunch my fist with an expecting grin as I sense a new challenge is coming one that won¡¯t be having to leave due to ease like the army. Before I looked away from the window to go feed my cat, shadow and shower I hear two Dings in my head followed by a blue screen popping up in my head, Just before I think I must be dizzy headed from my earlier workout, It vanishes as I focus on with bewilderment my light outside swaying while growing ¡­.fur¡­.! THUMP, face to face with only a glass door in between the nightmare and myself I stare at a set of glaring red eyes that seized up every fiber of muscle in my body. Thankfully it seized my muscles instead of scaring them unresponsive cause I¡¯ve been holding my bladder since mid-exercise¡­close one however unwillingly my gaze concentrates itself forward with no room for responding followed by more¡°Dinging¡± in my head as I grow more confused due to not realizing if I fell asleep before I ¡°got up¡± for ice cream or I accidently picked the choc brownie fudge ice cream. When the sun went down on the 20th of March 2019 a shady haze ripples over Australia in a total of four seconds from its desert dry epicenter, all connection and visuals from the outside interrupted, simply¡­. Chaos, leading to more questions on how one of the worlds largest countries faded out of reality when a haze covered it. A sensation leading all governments into panic and co-operation as they desperately search for answers in fear of them disappearing next.
Ding Ding ¡°Re-Trial Starting¡± I say snickering, ¡°The higher beings have got bored enough to play a game with mortals¡± ¡­. I give pause to let it sink into their lower functioning brains. ¡°It¡¯s called survival for revival¡± I say with distain while knowing the ones surviving are the unlucky ones. [System override adapting to errors] ¡­. Geez I thought my system was whole when my higher ups chucked me together. Well when they rush out of boredom and do it that fast, they must¡¯ve made some errors¡­stupid, I think even after they already tri¡­time to compensate, fix, integration 100% successful, time to see who to pick, I quickly say as I realized my mistake of nearly saying a game secret next to my partner¡­ oh wait he hasn¡¯t seen me yet ¡°woops¡± I muttered as I watch my user fight for his life.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
¡°Welcome user Atlas Shade, I¡¯m your new assistant for the Trial¡± I mutter realizing there isn¡¯t a point knowing his about to be torn into 10 pieces. Then I¡¯ll be sent to look over another user who hasn¡¯t got an AI loaded into his system, yet I think with an unpleasant thought.
Processing what happened a second earlier I was staring at my reflection in the glass when a black mass of fur seemed to materialize out of the light on the balcony, As it grows bigger and bigger while wriggling and squirming it droops down from the light like a water drop growing too big before rolling off the blade of grass hitting the ground with a THUMP. It lands in which seemed near to breaking the weight limit of my balcony as it starts to crack apart from its shear muscle mass, it rises from its crouched landing position and uncurls its body standing up. The creature stands 8 feet tall with a hunched body frame of sheer power. Time slows to a stop as I hear some dinging in my head and something in my vision but all I see is its eyes of blood red hatred and will to tear me apart. my face frozen with half a cocked eyebrow and wider eyes as I try to contemplate if that really was my special choc brownie flavored ice cream, I store for Friday instead of vanilla.... I desperately hope it¡¯s all because of the brownie ice cream as I think I¡¯m never going to have some again after this. Seeing it so close appearing so real I can see its features of tough mangled black hair and wolf like jaws with a mocking scowl, I take one step back when I see it twitch a heel and flew through the lv 3 cyclone proof glass door and wraps its claws around my neck as I dangle with my back to the wall. so fast I barely registered I had moved until I hear the shards of glass finally shattering on the ground, there our eyes are once again connected by nothing but elbow reach. I feel its hot steamy breath dry the sweat on my face right before it flicked its wrist the tinniest bit sending me cannon balling through my kitchen table that catches me in all its splintered fragments "cough'', blood drools out of the corner of my mouth. Definitely real!! Oh, I was really hoping it was the ice cream. Most men might''ve died just from the first contact we had which knocked the air out of my lungs, but this simple flick would''ve killed an athlete, luckily, I¡¯ve honed my body to its peak to challenge the fittest men in the martial arts world. Stars swirling and boxes.... flashing I managed to look up as a specter of a death¡¯s servant comes to claim my life. Is that a 30 above its head? Ah I really got my brain rattled too much as I think how I¡¯m going to kill this shit. It instantly appears before me as its maws dripping with saliva open and crunches deep into my right side barely missing my neck with some scraps just from its hair, shattering my shoulder blade and ripping apart my right chest muscles. Roaring in pain with blood shot eyes and salvia spitting my adrenaline starts to kick in from its previously frozen state as well as my fighting instincts, reaching for a pile of scattered knives blindly flailing around with my arm before I get a good look for one around me as every chef keeps a few on his kitchen bench. A habit of being an Army Chef for my first year in service. I get the first one my fingers can touch and with all my might I stab it into the werewolf¡¯s neck that¡¯s next to mine. The sound of metal shattering as sparks flew Shone in my eyes as I watched my second favorite chef knife shatter. It¡¯s been five seconds of excruciating pain that makes my mind a blurry level of nearly unconsciousness, but I grab my reality with all my might and keep awake as I reach for the second knife, this time it¡¯s my favorite with a blend of black and silver lines down the narrow blade. As I bring my right knee soaring up into the werewolf¡¯s reproductive area, I hear a blood curdling gargling growl in my ear as I¡¯m freed from its bite. Rearing its head and body back two steps, I leap towards it face with my left-hand piercing towards its left eye. Growing desperate thinking this is my last shot and its only weak spot must be the soft eyes in which I can pierce through. In the werewolf¡¯s blind fury, it sees it prey swing towards its face in which responding by swiping up with its right hand that has five ¡°7¡± inch claws leading to my left hand flying straight up bringing to my terror my whole arm as its torn off from the shoulder. Blood spurted through the air while a wild savagery over takes me knowing this is the final moment that decides my life and future, not even feeling the pain as I grab my left shoulder in my only good hand left, I roar my throat raw as I whip it towards the werewolf¡¯s face mid jump with the knife still in my left hands grasp. The knife pierces the shocked werewolf¡¯s right eye. Hearing it howl in satisfying pain and anger gave a brief feeling of satisfaction before it got so strong my ears lost their hearing while my will loses to stay strong my mind fades until I see death approaching, deep down a indefinable will boiled to the surface and with one last surg of consciousness I Leap up with all the power of both legs and slammed my forehead into the hilt of the blade so hard its pierces its brain. In its dying struggle I feel claws slid down my back splitting my skin into a bloody bird cage. "plop" I can''t even hear my knees hitting the ground followed by my body falling head first facing the front door. I stare paralyzed following only the sound of some dinging in my head and more blue squares instead of stars flashing everywhere.... strange I think remember seeing them earlier like game notifications in my mind I think right before my mind sinks down followed by my eyes closing, but just as my last drop of sight vanishes, I see my front door kicked in followed by a short haired red.... orc! Everything fades going black as my eyes roll into the back of my head. The sweetest of sleep I¡¯ve experienced in a long time washes away all worry as I go into a deep dream. Memories of past As everything goes black a silent comfort wash¡¯s over me, I open my eyes to find I¡¯m standing on an unending body of water, looking up to search around there is nothing but darkness above and water below. My world suddenly spins as I find my world flipped upside down. Suddenly submerged in water with nothing but darkness below I swim up and up until I saw a shimmer of the surface. A light to guide me. My hand goes through followed by my arm, I close my eyes from coming face to face with the light to only open them a second later, I find myself stepping out of the light into a dark back street of a distant memory. There I watch myself an 8-year-old boy beaten and bruised looking for food in bins going from one to the next in the back-alley way. I remember it was that day I met Lily, she sat next to the last bin I was about to salvage through. She sat with knees to chest and a knife in hand, cutting off the bitten part of a ham and cheese sandwich. I watch like a ghost in my own memory with a throbbing heart. When she looked up her eyes narrowed into a cautious glare as her hand tightened around her knife, worried she thought I was after her food I take a step back while still staring blankly at her hair, a pure whiteness with shoulder length straight hair, I unconsciously raise my hand to my left eye as I realized we both had something others didn¡¯t. We had a unique trait that others shunned and cursed us for having. As I starred at her I found her staring back for the similar reasons I thought, yet as I approach with a gentle smile to say hi, I find her thrusting her knife up, giving me a parallel bloody ridge on my cheek stopping right before the bottom of my right eye with the blunt knife edge finishing by flying with the circular motion of her swing to end up resting by her side. I froze in udder shock, wide eyed right before stumbling back with a ¡°splash¡±, falling on my ass holding my cheek in my right hand as blood runs down my forearm arm from the wound. My brain freezes while the sound of dripping blood comes from my elbow as it trickles into a puddle of water under my feet. I see her walk towards me with eyes in a deranged daze. Realizing she isn¡¯t thinking and only acting based only on what¡¯s going through her mind I stumble to think of what I might have done, yet just as she stands before my fallen figure again, I watch from the side like a ghost to see a 12-year-old boy running to stop her. I remembered this is where I first met her brother and my friend for life, Victor Shade the only one of us three with normal characteristics like long deep red hair he has always worn in a ponytail and to later grow into a man of intelligence with keen eyes and sharp facial features. He first grabs his sister¡¯s wrist to restrain the blade she holds while yelling to call her back to the present. Finally, he snapped her out of a dazed state to only glance at me to receive a face full of shock followed by a knowing look on his face that says he knows what happened as he takes a step back to apologize on his sister¡¯s behalf. He starts to explain my purple contacts bring me a unique look that makes her think of the nights, she went through which changed her hair from deep red to white while I looked down in a daze as I watched the water below turn color. As the puddle swirls redder and redder, I stare down remembering last night was the night it happened, with a thunder storm raging while rain poured from the sky like a volley of arrows hitting my face. I appear watching my younger self as I stare my opponent in the eyes while standing in the ring. My third opponent straight that night still fresh, full of vigor and anger with an unbruised body I study her from under swollen eyes. Tired and exhausted I want to quite but knowing my dad would never let me collapse until given permission I force my tired wobbly legs to stand until it¡¯s another night of fighting until no one else is willing to place bets with their child in the ring. I was being raised in the ways of carrying myself through life by living off the money I make during ring fights just like my father who lives off the money from his illegal cage fighting. My cage is nothing but a shallow mud pig pen with an inner electric wiring which was powerful for kids getting thrown into and a thick wooden fence for the audience to lean on. In my neighbor¡¯s pig pen, I fight tooth and nail to keep my undefeated score I¡¯m so proud of. That was the day I lost fighting a girl two years older than me. I can take a beating until my muscles start to fail me but when one lowers there guard just before victory to end up losing and having your record of unbeatable crushed by a girl who held you close enough to block the audiences view from the knife. She slipped it out from her sleeve and held it up against my gut when grappling on the ground. I was faced with admitting defeat or the fear of watching my insides slip out like a sausage production line. Anyone put in this ring is crazy enough to do anything unless you admit defeat. I guess what hurt more was the look on my dad¡¯s face of utter disappointment and anger however right before I got up, she leaned closer to me to whisper in my ear ¡°That was for my brother and revenge for how you won against my brother with your teeth to his neck. He told me right before our father discarded his now fourth adopted son to the streets. He was my real brother who was found dead 1 year later stabbed in the gut for food the police said. Now I feel better knowing your dad¡¯s reputation you¡¯re going to be killed in anger or discarded too she said with a snicker and an odd smile¡¯.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Realizing I¡¯m in big shit when I get home today, I wished I never won against the fat kid that way, I wished I didn¡¯t have to fight in here all the time. As emotions boil to the surface, men would have never known an eight-year-old could have this much emotion inside like a fierce ocean night with waves of emotions battering the walls of his stomach. As I see my end tonight, I resigned myself to accepting what¡¯s going to happen and walked over to my father instead of making it worse by running. As soon as I tried to explain the knife part my sentence was cut off with a fist knocking me blurry mindedly to the ground. I laid still with no energy to move until I felt myself picked up and flopped over my dads¡¯ shoulder. I sat in the car dreading when the silence would be broken when we arrived home. I remember my first years in this pig pen, it was when I was four with scraped knees and elbows, I kneeled in the mud with tears in my eyes. My first fight was against a big fat 5-year-old who had experienced a couple fights, I felt it through his experience in the fact I hadn¡¯t landed 1 punch while being pushed, dragged and sat on¡­. When I was about to give up, I looked up from my kneeling position to my opponents face and was about to say no more when I noticed my father in the back-ground scrunch his hand into a fist! I knew that means I¡¯ll get punched for thinking of giving up after this and a dozen if I do it. I feel tired, helpless and as my chin trembled to hold back curling up crying on the ground I instead froze my face in a half determined and still half crying look as I slowly rise on one leg at a time until I slowly step towards the big boy¡­My mind twists and churns with thoughts and fear of my father as I stared into his neck like a predator about to make a kill, my eyes glaze over with the concentrated stare past the point of looking at the boy but at something I¡¯m going to do. Noticing the look in my eyes the boy steps back with uncertainty and hesitation. A boy with a few fights had no idea what to feel after seeming intimidated by a kid nearly half his size. I suddenly launched by self forward with all the awkwardly technique of a shoulder barge I rocked my opponent off balance as I instantly rushed on him as he fell and before his head hit the ground I had already placed my teeth on his neck to send a desperate message that I¡¯m not stopping until you give up. The big boy, feeling a set of teeth resting on his neck after the pain wears off felt terrified to the point of peeing himself as he assumes the kid is about to bite into him, remembering the kids earlier look shook the poor boy to screaming out he surrenders and burst into tears asking his dad to come save him. Knowing I won I rolled off him and laid in silence¡­just happy I¡¯m only going to get hit once instead of many times. Who knew this was what lead me to end up on the street 4 years later? I stand there as a ghost in my own head flowing through what seemed like key events in life, I feel like exploding into a screaming rage as the emotions run so deep in the pit of my stomach I contemplate if demons are going to start crawling out it goes that deep. As my mind starts to become unstable, I fly through memories faster and faster in an emotional roller-coaster of ups and downs before coming to a pleasant one. I stand by the side like usual watching myself wrestling Lily before Vector comes over giving us both a knock on the head with the butt of his pistol in a friendly way to break our squabbling up. I smiled as that was the day vector and lily used up some savings to buy me a cake for my first year in our family of now 3. Its only when there is peace and quietness in my head do I hear a yelling in my head¡­.why does it sound like Lily I think before everything starts to fade and I feel my eyes open to a dim room lit by candles I lay on the floor looking up at the bathroom ceiling. ¡° oh wow I¡¯m surprised you even lived I thought such a weakling would be dead the second I appeared to see you fighting a second ranked werewolf boss truly a miracle ¡­..oh so curious about the bonus rewards and first accomplishment rewards you will get¡± I tried to move resulting in pain shuddering through my body and with a groan I realized the voice came from my head until I hear a second voice but this one much familiar yet a bit off. I turned my head to seeing it sitting on the toilet I assume from lack of floor space. What I muttered as I stare wide eyed at what I just realized sat next to me¡­ I remember back I saw a red orc like thing kick my door down before I passed out. ¡°lily?¡± I asked out loud with confusion in my voice, I mean yeah it has similar features, but the white hair is now red! ¡°idiot I swear I was going to kill you if you didn¡¯t wake up soon¡± it spoke with a distressed expression. ¡°holy shit it is you Lily¡± I yelled out loud followed by a hand quickly covering my mouth and a shush coming from a serious face I would recognize anywhere. ¡°the dire wolfs are still strolling around the building¡± she said in which I give pause to suddenly piece everything together now I have time to think. Blue boxes appeared with voices in my head sounding like a notification system with a bitchy attitude. A creature looking like a werewolf just attacked me with strength and speed not belonging to our world not to mention knife proof fur. I recall there was a Lv 30 above its head in bright red now. I somehow didn¡¯t die due to my fatal injuries and now my friend turned into a red Martian from mars saying there is wolves roaming around, oh and the bitchy toned voice said the werewolf was a second level boss probably the boss of the wolves¡­..THE WORLD IS A GAME NOW!!!