《Ecdysis》 Prologue 1 When the woman opened her eyes, she was sitting in what appeared to be a waiting room of some kind. The room was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see. It was also long, and she couldn¡¯t see an end to it. Numerous ceiling lights hung down in a perfect line, fading off into the green tinted distance. The waiting room was broken into smaller sections that consisted of blue chairs, boring plants, and the occasional poster on the wall. Many of the chairs were empty, but many were also occupied with people, animals, and creatures she had never seen before. Directly across from the waiting area was a marble counter that stretched to seemingly infinite lengths. People of all shapes and sizes stood behind the counter. While they didn¡¯t have a similar uniform, or seemingly any other physical trait in common, they did all appear bored and exasperated. They were also all talking to various beings. The woman drew her attention in and looked down, where she noticed that she was holding a small ticket with the number 65,409 in between her thumb and forefinger. Where am I? She thought as her head spun. How did I get here? A quiet humming interrupted her musings and she looked to her left, where an old man covered in wrinkles was sitting in the blue chair next to hers. He was mostly bald, but had a rim of tufty white hair wrapped around his head. From where she was sitting, the woman could see that the man had odd black hairs growing out of the tip of his nose. He was staring straight up toward the ceiling and giving it a wide gummy smile. He also had a ticket in his hand, with a similarly obscenely large number on it. She turned from the old man and continued inspecting her subdivision of this endless waiting room. Next to the old man sat a golden retriever. The golden was actually on the chair, which was surprising to her, until she noticed that the dog also had a ticket pressed between its paw and the cushion of the blue chair it was sitting on. It noticed her gaze, and cocked its head to the side questioningly, its tongue rolling out of the side of its mouth as it panted. She looked back down into her own lap and felt her face flush, as she had just been caught staring at the dog. Why am I embarrassed about looking at a dog? It seemed so intelligent¡­ As the old man continued to hum what sounded like an old army tune, she took a closer look at her hands. They weren¡¯t as she remembered them. Wrinkles and sunspots adorned the top of her palm. They trembled. She took a deep breath. The woman looked around for a mirror but didn¡¯t find one. Instead, there were some magazines and information pamphlets strewn about the table in front of her. The magazines had a myriad of pictures and titles, and she realized that she didn¡¯t recognize any of them. She reached out and sifted through them with wrinkled hands. One was called ¡°Top Dungeon Worlds¡± and had a cover picture of an ominous looking cave. Another was called, ¡°Abilities Today¡±, and had a picture of a woman on a stage, playing the violin in front of a massive audience. Eventually she settled on a small pamphlet that she picked up and brought back to her lap. On the front cover, there were two smiling women and a child. All three were dressed to go to the beach, which was behind them in the distance. They were standing on a hill above what appeared to be an enormous floating resort. It looked like a travel advertisement from a fantasy novel. On the top of the brochure and in large blue script, it read, ¡°Come to Elysium Today!¡±. ¡°That¡¯s where I hope to go!¡± A voice broke through the woman¡¯s concentration, and she turned to see the old man staring at her with his gummy smile. ¡°I¡¯ve been through here at least four times now, and never had enough tokens. Hopefully I do this time! I¡¯m getting sick of this song and dance.¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Tokens?¡± She responded, trying to return the old man''s smile, but ending up with a constipated looking smirk. The old man nodded, and the woman asked the question that she truly wanted to ask. ¡°Do you know where this is? Um, I mean¡­ Where we are?¡± She gestured around the enormous waiting room for emphasis. The old man chuckled before responding, ¡°It must be your first time here. I felt the same way my first time. It¡¯s not quite what you expected, is it?¡± The man¡¯s eyes were kind and knowing. ¡°Your first time?¡± She asked. ¡°Yes, the first time I passed away!¡± The old man replied, smacking his lips together and grinning. ¡°Passed away¡­¡± The woman¡¯s head spun. ¡°You mean like¡­ died?¡± The man chuckled. ¡°Of course! What else does ¡®pass away¡¯ mean? Anyway¡­¡± The old man kept talking, gesturing, and laughing, but she slowly tuned him out as she stared at his mouth. Am I really dead? The woman heard a faint ringing, the idle chatter of the huge room blending into a churning mass of sound. Her breath quickened, and a black ring started to enclose her vision. How did I die? She wracked her brain, but the clearest memory she had was on a bus, with her peers - other students. She couldn¡¯t remember anything clearly after that, but knew that there was more. It was as if a steady and impenetrable haze filled with vague impressions and half remembered conversations had settled over her memories. Something was wrong with her. With her memories. She looked again at her hands, wrinkled and old. A low whine broke through the chaos in her head, and she looked down to see the golden retriever sitting on the floor in front of her, its head resting on the top of her knee. She looked into the kindly dog''s eyes and took a deep breath, then patted the dog''s head. Slowly, she brought her surroundings back into focus. She turned back to the old man, who was somehow still talking without having realised what his words had put her through. She cleared her throat, and interrupted the man asking, ¡°How old do I look to you?¡± He paused, and scratched at the bald patch on top of his head. ¡°Well I¡¯m no good at these games, young miss, but I¡¯d say you¡¯re about sixty. No, sixty five?¡± He chuckled, ¡°Or I guess you were¡­ How about it, am I right?¡± Sixty five?! She did some simple math, and realized that, if what the man said was true, that she was missing over forty years of her life. How could that be? ¡°Umm¡­ I don¡¯t know, exactly.¡± She responded ¡°You don¡¯t know how old you were?¡± The man replied, confusion marring his jolly expression. ¡°Odd.¡± The woman shook her head slightly. ¡°I remember being on a bus. a band trip with other students.¡± She looked up to see the old man¡¯s mouth close, and his forehead scrunch. ¡°Anyway,¡± she diverted, ¡°you said something about tokens?¡± The man hesitated before continuing, ¡°Yes. Tokens are used to-¡° ¡°Number 65,407, please come up to the nearest window!¡± A booming voice interrupted, echoing across the large room. The woman jumped and looked around. She noticed that the dog she had been absentmindedly petting had bent over, and now held its ticket in its mouth. It looked up at her, and then winked - before making its way up to the counter. The woman strained to hear what the person at the counter said as the golden briefly stood on its hind legs in order to put its front paws up onto the counter. The clerk mumbled something, looked down, and then back at the dog. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve been a good boy!¡± The clerk said, and the dog¡¯s tail started wagging furiously. She looked back to the old man, who was still talking. ¡°-anyway, I hope to use mine to go to Elysium! I think I finally have enough.¡± Embarrassed that she missed the answer to her question, the woman flushed. The old man didn¡¯t seem to notice, so she asked something else. ¡°How many times did you say you¡¯ve been here?¡± The old man paused in his ramblings, and gazed toward the ceiling. ¡°Oh I¡¯m not sure exactly. It¡¯s hard to remember. At least six.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry. This is just a little too much. You¡¯re saying that I died, and now I¡¯m waiting in line for judgement at some kind of mystical DMV?¡± She shook her head. ¡°On top of that, someone¡¯s pet dog was in line ahead of me?¡± The man shook his head and chuckled. ¡°Yes, I suppose that¡¯s an accurate summary. I don¡¯t know why they make the dogs wait though - all dogs go to Elysium after all.¡±¡± The woman continued to chat with the old man, but it wasn¡¯t too long until he was called up as well. He said farewell and wished her luck when he left, then walked away down the room to an open counter. Prologue 2 ¡°Number 65,409 please come to the nearest window¡± The booming voice said. The woman took a breath. It hadn¡¯t been long since the glowing white creature had vaporized the murderer. She scanned the counter, and realized the window assigned to her was the same window that he had just ran from. On unsteady legs she rose from her chair, and started making her way to the window. She was careful to avoid where the glowing creature had been, instead slipping through the gap between chairs to get to the tiled floor ahead. As she walked towards the open window, the woman inspected the various other beings whose number had already been called. She passed the old man with the gummy mouth and strange nose hairs. He looked slightly disappointed, but still happy, as he flipped through some kind of touch screen display with intense focus. The golden retriever was also still at the counter, the clerk who was helping the dog was giving it headpats and smiling. From what she could see, none of the other clerks looked as happy as the one helping the dog. She continued walking, and passed more and more creatures that looked nonsensical. There was a large lizard man, who was hissing at the clerk helping him. The clerk was hissing back. She passed a djinn, a bunny with chicken legs and eye stalks, and a large snake that was coiled up on the counter. None of them gave her a second glance as she walked past them, trying not to stare, and in some cases, failing miserably. When she was finally nearing her assigned window, the woman walked past a handsome raven haired fellow. He was tall, slim, and very pale. His hair was long, and fell past his shoulders and down his back. As she was observing him, he turned and made eye contact with her. His eyes were black with red irises, an orange slit in the place of his pupil. The woman¡¯s face flushed, and she noticed that when he turned, his long hair pulled away from his back. It had been covering a set of black reptilian wings. One of the wings seemed to wave to her, and as she looked back to his face, he winked. She looked at her feet and picked up her pace. Definitely not human, she thought to herself, and her face felt hot as she heard his deep sultry laugh. Basically speed walking at this point, it didn¡¯t take long for her to close the distance to her designated window. She glanced up at the woman who did not flinch at the murderer¡¯s attempted attack. The clerk''s form was smooth and lithe, her face sharp and pointed. The clerk was rubbing her temples, and didn¡¯t seem to notice her approach. She was wearing a nametag that labeled her as ¡°Betty¡±. The woman gently cleared her throat to get Betty¡¯s attention. Betty opened her eyes and forced a smile to her face, exposing teeth that were too long and pointed. It took a lot for the woman not to step back in fright, which the clerk, of course, noticed and frowned slightly before speaking. ¡°Give me a ssecond to pull up your file¡­ Okay. It ssays that you haven¡¯t been here before. That¡¯ss quite rare, mind you. You wouldn¡¯t believe the amount of people that die on a daily bassis.¡± When Betty spoke, a fork tongue shot in and out of her mouth. The woman took another step forward, and went up on her tiptoes to have a closer look at Betty before responding. From the waist down, Betty was a snake. She faltered for a minute and then responded. ¡°So I¡¯m really dead?¡± The woman asked hesitantly, ¡°Can you tell me how I died?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Betty responded, looking down at a screen that lit her face with pale blue light. ¡°Your family took you off of life support.¡± ¡°Life support?¡± ¡°Yess. It looks like you were in a coma for many yearss.¡± Betty¡¯s face was apologetic, but stern, as if she had given similar news many times before. The woman¡¯s mind raced, and then stumbled. It did make sense. The haze of half remembered conversations and memories, the years missing, how old she was¡­ She realized that she was holding her breath, and let it out in a long and slow exhale. ¡°Can you tell me what happened to my family?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, your file only contains your life. The most I can see is that they came to visit you periodically.¡± ¡°Would it be possible for you to tell me about what they were like when they came to visit?¡± She asked, her eyes pleading. ¡°I can¡­ show you some moments if you¡¯d like.¡± Betty said. The woman nodded vigorously, and Betty gestured for her to give her her hand. She complied. The woman¡¯s vision briefly went dark before she was transported - looking down at herself in a hospital bed. A familiar man sat beside her, holding her hand as he talked about his day, about meeting a woman that he liked. About how he missed her and her teasing. He apologized that their parents didn¡¯t visit. The scene switched, and she was older. The man was back again, with a comely yet angular woman. The man introduced the woman to her, but she didn¡¯t respond. She tried to. To get her body to move and say something, to say anything, but she could only observe. More and more scenes swam across her vision and across the years. It was almost always the man who visited - she instinctively knew that he was her brother. Sometimes he came with his wife and children, most of the time he came alone. The chair he sat in was worn and used. Each time he talked to her, giving her updates on his life, news of his family. The woman took solace in the lives he spoke of, and the life he had built for himself. Eventually she watched a memory where her hands looked as they do now. Her hair was gray, her face withered. The man was there. He was old like she was, and was introducing her to a new baby. His children - now adults - were standing and looking on fondly. They were smiling a sad smile, watching the old man talk to his lost sister. He was introducing a little baby to her - a baby that was named after her. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. She drew all of her attention to the man, but when he said the baby¡¯s name, the woman didn¡¯t hear anything. She realized that anytime a name was mentioned, it was completely erased. She couldn¡¯t remember her own name. She panicked. How did I not realize that I don¡¯t know my own name? Abruptly, she was removed from the vision. Betty was sitting across from her and grimacing. The woman stared into Betty¡¯s eyes, and took multiple shaky breaths before talking. ¡°Why can¡¯t I remember my name?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡± Betty replied, ¡°They take them once you die.¡± ¡°What? Who?¡± ¡°Whoever controls this.¡± Betty gestured around her to the endless room. ¡°Why?! Why would they take my name?¡± The woman asked. ¡°Apparently it helps with transitioning into your new state of being.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± the woman trailed off and pointed to Betty¡¯s name tag. ¡°Oh that.¡± Betty rolled her eyes. ¡°My name isn¡¯t actually Betty. Can you imagine? A Yuan-Ti being named Betty?¡± She cackled and it sounded strange, reptilian, and alien. ¡°It¡¯s just one of the rules. I get a new tag periodically.¡± The woman forced a hollow chuckle, even as her stomach dropped and her mouth went dry. ¡°Well anyway, thank you for showing me that.¡± She said, ¡°It helped, and meant a lot to me.¡± The snake woman¡¯s eyes softened as she gazed back at her. ¡°Should we move on to your tokens?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± The woman responded. ¡°Tokens are the currency of this place. You may spend what you¡¯ve earned in life to choose what happens next.¡± ¡®Betty¡¯ responded. ¡°How many do I have?¡± ¡°One thousand.¡± ¡°Is that a lot?¡± ¡®Betty¡¯ actually winced before responding. ¡°No. I¡¯ll pull up the menu for you, so you can see what your options are.¡± As she finished talking, a faint blue screen materialized in front of the woman.
Life Summary Tokens Earned: 1,000 Afterlife Options:
    1. Ascension - Conditions not met
    2. Elysium - 10,000 tokens
    3. Reincarnation - 1,500 tokens
    4. Atonement - No Cost
    5. Hidden - Conditions not met
The woman¡¯s breath hitched as she looked through the menu. Once she finished, she stated, ¡°The only one I can afford is ¡®Atonement¡¯. What does that mean exactly?¡± ¡°Atonement is where you go to earn enough tokens to be reincarnated. The standard rate is one token per fifty years.¡± Betty sighed and looked down at the screen in front of her. ¡°The closest thing you have from your world¡¯s mythology would be the concept of Hell or The Underworld.¡± The woman¡¯s breath caught in her throat. She clenched her fists, her voice breaking as she yelled, ¡°How is that fair? I only have enough tokens for hell?!¡± ¡®Betty¡¯ straightened in her chair, and scanned her eyes back and forth. ¡°What a day¡­¡± She mumbled under her breath before responding, ¡°Look. It¡¯s really not as bad as it seems. I¡¯m in atonement right now, working at this desk.¡± The clerk¡¯s expression brought a flash of memories to the woman¡¯s eyes, of a murderer being frozen in spot, his flesh burning to crisp and flaying from his body. A cold sweat ran down her back, and she forced herself to calm down as frustrated tears ran down her cheeks. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but how do I only have enough tokens for atonement? I didn¡¯t do anything that bad in my life! I didn¡¯t even get to live most of my life because I was in a coma.¡± Betty hesitated, and looked down at her screen. After a short moment she replied, ¡°You make a good point. It looks like you had enough tokens to be reincarnated, but many were taken away due to you not progressing in your goals and stagnating.¡± The woman¡¯s mouth dropped. ¡°Are you serious? I was IN A COMA. I didn¡¯t want to be in a coma or ¡®stagnate¡¯.¡± She sucked in a breath, ¡°This is not fair!¡± ¡®Betty¡¯ stared at her, thinking. She took a breath and responded, ¡°You¡¯re right. Let me see what I can do.¡± The snake lady seemed to pause, a silky white film covered her eyes and she sat motionless in her seat. Unclenching her fists, the woman realized that there was a small amount of blood in her palm, welling up from indentations left from her fingernails. Her mind rushed through a million terrible ways she would have to atone, but she slowly forced herself to focus on other things. She looked around and took in the scene around her. The dog and old man were gone, as was the handsome demonic fellow. A few windows down from her, a cat was sitting on the counter with its leg above its head, cleaning itself and ignoring the screen floating in front of it. The clerk with the cat rolled her eyes, but had a small smirk on her lips. Well I guess cats aren¡¯t fazed by this whole situation. She thought to herself, idly wondering if cats really did have nine lives. The woman turned back to the floating screen in front of her, and as she stared at the word ¡®Atonement¡¯, a description popped up in front of her eyes. Atonement: This option is for those that did not achieve enough tokens. It is typically reserved for those who lived their lives in a way that requires more instruction. If this option is selected, you will earn 1 token per 50 years of torment. No Cost. The woman scoffed. Requires more instruction? That¡¯s a joke. Also that rate is insane. It would take me¡­ TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND YEARS? Her breath quickened, but she forced the resurfacing anxiety to the back of her mind. I need to be calm right now. She decided to gather more information. She was hoping the snake lady - ¡®Betty¡¯ - would be able to help her out, and wanted to be prepared just in case. ¡®Betty¡¯ was obviously frustrated, and had even said that she was currently in atonement. After witnessing how the murderer acted, and what had happened shortly after that¡­ Well, she could see how this could be a personal hell for someone. She turned back to the menu, and mentally prodded each of the other options, reading each description that popped up in turn. Ascension: Ascend to a higher level of being. This option has pre-set conditions, and can only be accessed by those who have achieved magnanimous feats and accomplishments during their lives. Conditions not met. Elysium: Move your soul to Elysium, a veritable utopia where life is easy, relaxing, and wonderful. Spend your days doing whatever you desire and never have to worry again! Cost: 10,000 tokens. Reincarnation: Get a second chance at life. If you select this option, you will be reincarnated to a new world where you can attempt to live a more accomplished life. Upon selection, you will be given world, vessel, and ability options that you can spend your remaining tokens on. Cost: 1,500 tokens. Hidden: This option is not available to you. Description is unavailable. Requirements are unavailable. Cost is unavailable. She idly wondered why this was even on the list if she couldn¡¯t see any information about it, but her thoughts were interrupted by a soft ding. Instinctively, she looked up to where her tokens were displayed, and watched the amount rapidly increase before settling in on 1,500. Thank the gods and everything holy in this creepy ass place, she thought to herself. A weight lifted off her shoulders, and she looked up to see Betty smiling at her. ¡°I was able to get you your tokens back.¡± The snake lady said and nodded to the menu, ¡°I¡¯m guessing you know what you are going to choose?¡± ¡°Yes. I¡¯m going to choose reincarnation!¡± Prologue 3 ¡°Excellent. Now that we have that figured out, all that¡¯s left are the details.¡± Betty stated, giving the woman a fanged smile. ¡°The world you will be going to, along with your vessel and ability.¡± ¡°That sounds good.¡± The woman replied. ¡°Will I get to choose any of that?¡± ¡°It costs tokens, unfortunately. You¡¯ll have to go spin the Wheel of the Tokenless to have those assigned to you.¡± ¡°The Wheel of the Tokenless?¡± She questioned. Betty nodded. ¡°I can¡¯t give you any details, but you¡¯ll understand when you see it. Are you ready?¡± The woman nodded, and Betty reached down to press some sort of button. A vibrant blue vortex materialized next to the woman, causing her to jump and let out a high pitched yelp. It was large enough that two people could have walked through it holding hands, and had streams of white and blue light swirling continuously within it. ¡°You could have warned me!¡± The woman accused. ¡°Sorry,¡± Betty replied. ¡°But it¡¯s best if you stay on guard for this next part.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The woman asked. Betty looked around before whispering, ¡°He¡¯s not like me or the other clerks. He chose to be there.¡± ¡°Who?¡± Betty gave her a sad smile before saying, ¡°I hope everything works out well for you. Step through the gate when you are ready.¡± ¡°Thank you for all the help.¡± The woman responded, then stepped through the blue vortex¡­ And onto a stage. Her surroundings had changed drastically. No longer was she in the largest afterlife DMV she had ever seen. Looking around, she noticed that the floor consisted of crisp white tiles, and had an elevated circular platform in the center. There was a large unlit sign hanging above the circular platform that read, ¡°The Wheel of the Tokenless!¡±, and had a large arrow pointing down. Directly below the arrow there was a single podium with ¡°Contestant¡± written on the front. She looked across from the raised section of the stage, and where she expected to see a large screen divided into numerous small green squares, there was only darkness. Yet, it wasn¡¯t like any darkness the woman had seen before. It was an all-consuming, endless void. She gulped nervously. A large clanging sound echoed through the strange set, and the pale white lights of the sign began lighting up. They flickered on and off, which vaguely reminded the woman of various horror movies she had watched in her previous life. Slowly, the lights on the arrow began to alternate, giving her the impression that she needed to stand at the podium to begin whatever this was. The woman hesitantly walked across the tiled floor, her footsteps echoing over the faint buzzing sound the lightbulbs from the sign made. making her way to the steps that led up to the elevated platform, she noticed that the circular portion was a wheel. The wheel was large, and separated into thousands of different sections. It began to light up as she claimed her spot at the podium. The majority of the sections on the wheel were grey, some were green, and there was a single blue tile. Other than color they were completely blank. An odd cracking sound broke her attention from the wheel, and she looked towards the sound. The air across from her - on the other side of the wheel - was twisting and contorting, as if space itself was trying not to sneeze. A tall, humanoid form pulled itself from the twist in the air and immediately bent over to dust its black dress pants off. As it stood up, the woman realized that this man was very tall. He had an unusually long tophat on, which obscured his face as he finished brushing off his suit coat. Then he looked at her. The woman¡¯s breath caught in her throat as she gazed into the empty black pits in the man¡¯s face where his eyes should be. His skin was off-white, a dull grey that looked as rotted as the teeth that made up his wide, face splitting smile. ¡°What are you looking at hag?¡± The man spat with a voice and face made for radio, before smoothly walking to stand next to the wheel. ¡°Let¡¯s get this show on the road.¡± As the words left his smile - which never moved even as he spoke - more lights lit up around the wheel and the stage. He stood there, unmoving, for a moment before his form burst into animation as he gestured to the wheel and projected his voice into an old fashioned microphone. ¡°Welcome back to Wheel of the Tokenless! You¡¯re favorite all-stakes game show, where you can scout for your favorite mortal. Our contestant today is a frail old lady with the mind of a young adult!¡± While he was speaking, the woman felt one - then many - presences fill the void beyond the stage she was on. She tore her gaze away from the man, and towards the vast abyss. She could see numerous shapes moving in the darkness, and while she couldn¡¯t make out any specific forms, she could feel them pressing against her soul. It was terrifying, and unlike anything she had experienced before. ¡°Will she be lucky and have an ideal next life, or will she be one of the many, many beings sentenced to yet another mundane and unimportant existence?¡± The host paused, ¡°Personally, I think it will be the latter, but let¡¯s find out!¡± The wheel lit up, and each section glowed with a faint underlight. As the woman looked at it, words began to scrawl across the many different green and white sections of the wheel. She tried to read some of it, but was interrupted by loud and unsettling game show music. It was discordant and ominous, sending a spike of ice down her back.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°First up, spin for ability!¡± The man proclaimed. The woman didn¡¯t respond. She tried to tune the music out as she looked back down to the wheel, and was able to glimpse some of the words. She noticed that the grey sections of the wheel had things like, ¡°really good at making tea¡±, ¡°can put keys into a lock on your first try¡±, and ¡°time travel: +1 second into the future at will¡± written on them. She glanced back up at the host and asked, ¡°These are abilities?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± He said to her with his wicked grin, before turning back to the amorphous shapes in the void. ¡°Hopefully the old bag will get, ¡®can remember where she is¡¯ as her ability!¡± A mixture of laughter, hissing, and deep booming guttural clicks came echoed across the stage at his words. ¡°Well go on, spin it already!¡± The host demanded, an edge of irritation creeping into his voice. Shakily, she reached out her hand and grasped the wheel. With a light pull, she sent the wheel spinning. As it rotated, the needle in front of the podium clicked loudly against the edges of the wheel. She watched the colors of the wheel blur into a single dark green color as it spun faster and faster. As the wheel continued to spin, the host addressed the audience once again. ¡°What will the decrepit old woman get as her ability, I wonder!¡± He loudly asked the abyss. When hardly any of the creepy sounds came back in response, he turned to the woman. ¡°I suppose I can¡¯t keep calling you an old woman - what¡¯s your name anyway?¡± The inflection in his voice when he asked the question clued the woman in to the fact that he knew. Anger and frustration pulsed through her mind at the fact, and made it difficult for her to respond. Her face flushed an angry red. The host didn¡¯t wait for her to recover, before jumping on her hesitance with glee. ¡°Oh that¡¯s right! You can¡¯t remember!¡± The host cackled vindictively. She looked back down to the wheel amidst the demented laughter, and noticed that it had finally started slowing down. The needle was currently ticking past a grouping of green panels, and the woman peered at the words. She was able to read ¡°musical prodigy¡± and ¡°calm mind¡±. At least those would be more useful than the grey options. The wheel looked like it was going to stop at a grey ability that read, ¡°moderately good at tying knots¡±, but at the last second it clicked over to the only blue space on the wheel. ¡°Wheel upgrade, spin again.¡± The colors and words on the wheel shifted, blended, and briefly went dark before it lit up again, having undergone a drastic change. The grey and green spaces were replaced by blue and purple. Instead of a single blue panel, there was a single gold one. The woman¡¯s eyes darted up to the man, who¡¯s posture had become strained, but he quickly flicked back to his normal domineering bearing. ¡°Well. It looks like this old crone will get something a little more rare, but will it matter? Even a smart pig is still a pig. Well go on, spin it again.¡± She repeated her previous action, and sent the wheel careening around again. While the host continued to mock her, she tuned him out and focused on the wheel, trying to pick out the words as it spun by, but had trouble picking out specific characters. The wheel had a hypnotic quality to it as it spun, drawing her attention but not letting her focus on any one aspect. Before long the wheel had once again slowed, and the pin was sliding over and almost past the only gold tile, pressing up against the outer edge of it. The needle bent, and seemed like it was going to tick over to a purple tile that read, ¡°begin next life with one wish¡±. She thought that wouldn¡¯t be bad, but the force of her spin wasn¡¯t able to push itself out of the gold panel. It once again read, ¡°wheel upgrade, spin again.¡± ¡°FUCK!¡± The host screamed once the needle settled, causing the woman to jump. Her eyes snapped back up to him and she took in the overbearing silence and tension that filled the stage. The host froze for a moment, before slowly turning back to the abyss. With what sounded like forced joviality, he said, ¡°Well it would appear that she was given ¡®great at spinning life altering wheels¡¯ in her previous life.¡± Two loud clacks burst from the abyss, but other than that it was completely silent. The woman did not speak. The host turned to her and said, ¡°Well?¡± She looked down at the wheel in front of her, and she realized that she had missed its transformation. The separate spaces on the wheel were now all brightly glowing gold or red. The spaces were also much less in quantity, having gone to what she would estimate as thousands down to a few hundred. This made the words on each tile much easier to read, and she urgently scanned the new abilities. While she didn¡¯t understand all the terminology, she did immediately realize that they were amazing. No matter what she spun, her next life would be vastly different to the life she had lived previously. She looked back up to the host, and gave him a big smile. ¡°Are you having fun?¡± she taunted. She was feeling good, her fear at the situation, the host, and the abyss having faded to the back of her mind. Well maybe not the abyss. She mentally corrected. The host¡¯s posture visually tensed, giving his wide smile a somewhat feral look to it. She looked at his hand clenching the old-timey microphone, and saw that his fist was clenched so tightly that the metal on the microphone had begun to dent. ¡°Just spin.¡± He hissed. Not wanting to push her luck, she spun the wheel yet again. As it spun, she looked at the potential abilities with excitement. Why wouldn¡¯t she, when she could be starting her life with ¡°stop time without aging¡±, ¡°plant growth¡±, and ¡°true prophecy¡±? She held her breath. The obnoxious music that played when the wheel spun earlier was absent, and no sounds were coming from the host or the abyss beyond the stage. The only sound was the needle clacking against the edge of the wheel as it spun. Finally, the wheel came to an abrupt halt, stopping directly in the middle of one of the red spaces. It read ¡°Ecdysis¡±. A moment later, a blue window popped up in front of the woman¡¯s face.
Ability Determined: Ecdysis Grade: Mythic Description: The Ecdysis system will allow you to shed your various forms and weaknesses, continually advancing down a path of power.
As soon as she finished reading the message, another replaced it.
Ecdysis system activated. Overriding system "Wheel of the Tokenless" to find a suitable vessel and world.
She glanced up to see the host, wheel, and abyss dissolve into small motes of golden dust which swirled together and blue off into the distance. She thought she heard the host swearing but as she looked around, she realized that she was completely alone and surrounded by darkness. The only light present was the faint blue glow of the system message.
Calculating a suitable starting vessel and world¡­
The woman idly wondered what the message meant by ¡®starting vessel¡¯ as the system was calculating. Clearly the ability she had gotten was powerful, and she couldn¡¯t help but feel thankful to it that she didn¡¯t have to be around the host or whatever lurked in the abyss beyond the stage. While she was still floating in darkness, this one felt¡­ empty. Safe. Her thankfulness did not last long, however, as another system message ballooned into her vision.
Suitable starting vessel found: Poisonous Snake Attributes: Strength: 2 Dexterity: 16 Constitution: 11 Intelligence: 1 Wisdom: 10 Charisma: 3
¡°A snake?!¡± The woman yelled, her mind reeling. ¡°You¡¯re telling me I¡¯m going to be a snake? Are you kidding?¡± Unfortunately, the next system message did not answer, or even acknowledge, her outburst.
Suitable World Found Class: Dungeon Type: Monster Infested Hellscape Description: This world is a variation of a dungeon world. While this world has many dungeons, the world outside of those dungeons is similarly dangerous. Places of relative safety are few and far between, as many monsters dominate the landscape in an unending war of attrition and survival.
This is insane, the woman thought, I couldn¡¯t even live a good life on Earth! How am I going to- Her thoughts were cut off as the next message appeared, and her perception faded to black.
Beginning reincarnation...