《Soul Forged In Iron Links》


 Barbeque and a cliche beginning?

    It was warm as always in Orlando, Florida. A persistent summer. Though the heat had begun to taper off, the sun was still relentless, and it inched toward the horizon as it prepared to retire for the night. It was close to 6pm, and in a nicely sized suburban home, there was a cookout, the hiss and pop of meat as a grizzled man tended the grill, women gossiping and sipping drinks to stay cool, kids running around a pool with screams of laughter. Lux Meridian wasn¡¯t much of a social butterfly. That wasn¡¯t to say he was some antisocial nerd who couldn¡¯t handle five minutes of socializing, but he¡¯d much rather not talk if given the choice. He¡¯d just turned twenty, and, still living at home with his parents, he was very aware of the stigma. In this economy, he wouldn¡¯t survive on his own. Not with the dead-end job stocking shelves in a dollar store. That was neither here nor there. This gathering¡ªa barbeque, a get-together, call it whatever you want¡ªit was a family function. Cousins, uncles, family friends, and even some of their partners. A place where someone would definitely come up and say, ¡°Hey Lux, got a girlfriend yet?¡± or ¡°Lux, buddy, pal, what¡¯s that job situation looking like?¡± Safe to say he did not want to be here, but the word of his mother was law. That was how he¡¯d been raised. He was making the rounds, dodging people he didn¡¯t really want to talk to and searching for the only group of family or friends he could handle without putting on a filter.


    The nerds. The ones who talked about manga, manhwa, anime, and everything else he liked. Lux dabbled in those forms of media, but as the working man he fancied himself to be, he mostly favored audiobooks. His usual RBF, resting bitch face, lightened up when he spotted one of his younger cousins talking to someone. He made a beeline for them, sliding past one more person, and cleared his throat.


    ¡°Ma¡ª¡±


    ¡°System Initialization.¡±


    It was such a clich¨¦, to the start of the end of the world. Lux had listened to dozens of audiobooks that started out just like this, though the first message always seemed to be flavored differently. Time almost came to a complete stop. Colors faded, leaving his surroundings a mishmash of grey, white, and black. He couldn¡¯t move. He kept staring at the black pop-up screen with white letters flashing its announcement.


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    ¡°Welcome, denizens of Earth. Due to an influx of system-bound creatures, your universe has been inducted as an automatic defense protocol. Good luck, have fun, and don¡¯t die.¡±


    System-bound creatures? Did that mean aliens? His head began to ache. Despite his unmoving form, he groaned internally. Why couldn¡¯t he move? One second he was at his uncle¡¯s house; the next he stood in a vast, lightless void. How had this happened? Despite the lack of illumination, he could see his own body. Was he floating or standing? It was all surreal. On one hand, his inner nerd was jumping. On the other, he knew damn well he wasn¡¯t some main character with an unbreakable spirit or the ability to just push through agonizing pain. Or was he? No, that was a dangerous path to run down. He¡¯d be stupid to entertain that idea. The black space around him seemed to warp, and a figure that was more of an outline in the dark miasma took shape. The more Lux stared at it, the more he realized it was him.


    Okay, not exactly him, but it was shaped like him.


    It was above average height, close to 5¡¯11¡±. A little wide. It had the suggestion of shaggy hair on top of its head. But there weren¡¯t any distinct features other than the outline. It just stood there. Or floated. He still didn¡¯t know which one he was doing himself. Before he could think on it much longer, the figure splintered. Like it was cracking. Light leaked from the brakes, blinding him. Then the shape shifted. Shrank. Lux could see it taking on new details. New hair. New curves. New features. His eyes went wide as he realized who it was.


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    ¡°Welcome, Initiate Lux Meridian. The system is now terraforming your universe for initialization. This process will take time, so we have taken to putting the denizens of your universe into a tutorial whilst the work is being done. I am [Redacted], and I have taken to this form as a means to keep you calm.¡±


    Yeah, keep me calm, my fucking ass. The sight of this thing taking the shape of his mother did the exact opposite of that, and Lux could feel his own heart speed up as it kept going on and on. There was no mouth, so he couldn¡¯t see it speak, nor did the sound travel; it was as if the words were directly implemented into his brain, leaving no room to deny the truth. This was real, and it was happening. He should say something, complain, ask questions, or do anything other than floating here and staring dumbly.


    ¡°You will be randomly teleported to a tutorial world; there you will learn the basics of the system. Be wary: Lux Meridian death is a possibility in the tutorial; that is your only warning. Let us begin with class selection. I provide you with the basic classes that everyone is at first offered.


    Either oblivious to Lux¡¯s mental fight with himself or uncaring, the robotic voice that gained more and more emotion almost sounding like his mother at this point, continued to info dump onto the young man.00000