《Defiance of the Fall》Chapter 1 - Roll For Survival
Advertisement
[Initiating System…]
[Welcome to the Multiverse.]
A cold, detached voice echoed in Zac’s ears. Or in my head? he thought while looking around, confused. Nothing in his life had prepared him for his current circumstances, and he for a second thought there was an extreme solar eclipse happening. All that greeted his eyes was complete and utter darkness. The only thing visible was himself, as if there was an invisible source of light shining just on him, leaving the rest of the world in black.
“Heatstroke?” he muttered hesitantly even though this didn’t feel like some heat-induced delirium. But before he could further analyze these baffling events, the monotone voice interrupted his train of thought.
[Planet Earth scanning complete. Low F-grade mass, ungraded energy.]
[Adjusting…]
[Due to insufficient energy and size, planet Earth will be merged with additional planets drafted for initiation. New values: Low D-grade mass, low D-grade energy. Topography readjusted. Spawn points randomized based by cohorts. Wildlife upgraded due to insufficient challenge. Link to the Multiverse system activated.]
“What? Hello?” he shouted, or at least he thought he did, as the utter blackness seemed like a natural dampener, quenching all sound. But the voice seemed unaware or uncaring of his calls.
This was starting to feel less like some extremely elaborate practical joke or heatstroke, as everything felt just too real. Zac pinched himself, and the sting told him he hadn’t passed out either.
Trying to glean any meaning from the ramblings from the odd voice only made him more confused as well. It spoke about Earth, but also used some terms that felt like they came out of a sci-fi movie or a video game. However, the voice gave Zac no opportunity to figure the situation out, as it heedlessly droned on.
[Initiating Incursions. Spawning Heral–]
[ERROR! Herald occupying same space as you! Adjusting…]
A more blaring version of the same mechanical voice interrupted itself.
The ominous voice and the message quickly accelerated Zac’s heartbeat, and he got a sinking feeling. This was all too real in its craziness, and if this was real, he was in deep shit. He was told he occupied the same space as some herald, and no matter how he looked at it, it couldn’t be anything good.
Erring on the side of caution, he jumped to the side to avoid whatever would happen, but it was as though he were in space. He made the motions of movement but still was stationary at his spot.
Advertisement
[Merge unfeasible. Protocol SL-34572 initiated.]
“Phew.” At least he wouldn’t be turned into a half human, half herald, whatever that was. But the fact that the voice seemed to be ready to mash him together with another being was extremely unsettling, and unease was quickly turning into panic.
Zac mentally tried to force himself to awaken, and when that didn’t work, he even slapped himself hard in the face. But nothing worked, and he was still stuck in the darkness.
[Roll for survival. Due to the massive power gap between Herald Ur’Khaz and you, odds heavily in his favor.]
“SHIT!” Zac screamed, or rather squeaked. The panic was now full-blown, and adrenaline was coursing through his veins. “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”
But again, the only thing greeting his inquiries was utter silence until there was a break in the darkness. Seemingly from nowhere, a screen popped up in front of him, hovering silently.
The window looked like something taken out of an old video game, blue with white edges and text. The surreal situation made him blank out for a few seconds before registering what the screen actually said.
Ur’Khaz
1-100 000
ROLL
Zachary Atwood
1-100
ROLL
It looked just like a prompt from a video game, and the familiarity actually calmed him down for a second until he read what it said and realized the implications. At that point the panic came back in full swing, threatening to evolve into hysteria.
It looked like the window was a prompt for rolls between him and this herald, but instead of loot, they were rolling for their survival. And the roll ranges were clearly skewed in his opponent’s favor, giving Zac abysmal odds for actually surviving.
“Hello? This isn’t funny anymore. Let me out!” he screamed, grasping at some last straws that this was all some insane experiment. But the reality of the situation was starting to set in. Zac just stared numbly at the screen in front of him for a few seconds as if to comprehend what he was seeing.
“This is crazy. Wanting me to gamble with these odds? Why the hell would I roll?” Zac muttered. But the second he said “roll,” the screen changed, and the numbers next to his name started to rapidly change.
Advertisement
[Protocol SL-34572 accepted by participant. Rolling…]
“No, no, no, wait, wait. Stop. Let’s figure out a different solution!” he shouted, waving his arms in a panicked attempt to stop the proceedings. But no matter what he did, the numbers kept spinning. It was as though they were rapidly counting down his remainder of time on earth.
Panic was slowly turning into rage in Zac’s mind over the messed-up situation he was in. Rage over the complete and utter lack of answers. Rage over the obviously paltry assessment of him by the voice, seeing the obvious disparity in treatment between him and this Ur’Khaz guy. Rage over the scammy way the voice had started the roll, as though it looked for a loophole to proceed.
With a red tint that suffused his otherwise blue eyes, Zac roared and smashed the hovering screen in an effort to vent his fraying emotions. The screen, however, did not acquiesce to his feelings and shatter in a million pieces, but rather only flickered slightly.
Unheeding of any attempts at a physical catharsis, the numbers once again flickered slightly, and the spinning started to slow down until it stopped at a final number. Almost as an afterthought, it also added an infuriating line instead of the roll button.
Ur’Khaz
1-100 000
ROLL
Zachary Atwood
98
Re-Rolls unavailable
Something about the reroll message just sucked the energy out of him. It really wasn’t a bad roll. If it were in a game, he’d definitely have won the loot, he thought with a morbid sense of humor. But he was quite aware that this was no game by this point.
He still held out some hope that he was still lying in the woods with massive heatstroke. But if that was true, he most likely was a goner as well. So either he was about to be got hurt by the sun, or by a video-game god. Neither was an ending he had expected nor hoped for. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, so his face settled on a sickly grin as he blankly stared ahead.
Of course, all hope wasn’t lost, as the other individual hadn’t rolled yet. But it didn’t really feel like it mattered when the game was rigged. He once again took a glance at the screen, and his eyes lingered for a second on the roll range of the other entity.
The smile slowly shrank away from his face. A sigh escaped his mouth like a deflating balloon, and he closed his eyes and slumped down to a sitting position. All of Zac’s strength and energy were wrung out by the situation and the roller coaster of emotions. Left was only a bleak sense of despair, realizing that this was it. Dead alone in the woods, never being able to say goodbye to his family or loved ones.
Zac had no epiphanies or huge regrets at the end of his life, except that he wished he had been closer and better to his family. His mind drifted to memories of his past as a solace and escape from the insanity he was experiencing.
, her long brown locks cascading around him in her embrace. His dad giving him a quiet smile as he opens the door of their apartment to head to work, his eyes sad and tired but full of love. Spending most of his youth plastered in front of the computer, largely ignoring his smaller sibling. College years drowned in alcohol and partying. First day at his job, and the humbling realization of how ill-prepared for adult life he was even after seventeen years of school and university.
[Protocol SL-34572 accepted by Herald. Rolling…]
The monotone voice again droned, like an executioner giving final rites.
[Congratulations!]
Zac didn’t bother with the voice anymore, and memories flashed past in his mind one by one. Friends, family, and events both happy and sad. Not the most exciting of lives, but it was his…
Wait, what, congratulations? His eyes snapped open and refocused on the monitor.
Ur’Khaz
91
Rerolls Unavailible
Zachary Atwood
98
Rerolls Unavailible
Stunned, he stared blankly at the screen until the voice interrupted his lack of thought.
[Protocol results in the continued existence of Zachary Atwood. Ur’Khaz vanquished. Resuming standard protocols.]
A nauseating explosion of light, color, and sound took over, disorienting him and turning his insides to mush. His body suddenly felt like it was on fire, tearing and scorching him all over. The last things he saw before passing out were the small clearing he disappeared from and a huge red pillar reaching toward the sky.
Advertisement
- In Serial18 Chapters
Rachel Kalos: World Protector
Rachel Kalos dreams of being the first Beast Tamer in more than a generation to reach the lofty status of 'World Protector' - those heroes who, through daring deeds and epic adventures, save the world from certain doom. But first she has to finish her training. With her band of misfit friends, Rachel embarks on one adventure after another in her quest to become Rachel Kalos: World Protector!
8 162 - In Serial31 Chapters
Unnecessary Evil
(It's a slowburn. Contains 18+ scenes. There will be also smut later...) Vladimir D. Svoboda. A hailed, but troubled genius from the planet Earth. The first person who made teleportation reality. The Rotshields, a mysterious family that ruled from the shadows, couldn't leave it just like that and wanted it for themselves. Needless to say, the operation went terribly wrong. After that our hero, Vlad, finds himself in an extremely hostile metallic city, Koul'E. The capital of orcs, devilish wizards (quite literally) and enslaved goblins. Decadency, greed and brutality rules in their society; even gods steer clear from them. Odds stacked against him, cancer slowly eating him from the inside, he will raze his way through the impossible situation and beings that vastly outclass him. However, he is not completely without friends and alone. An unlikely being decides to help him even though they went through a rocky start. They form a bond that will shake the whole city, and maybe the world. Magic, technology and all the other esoteric powers are just a stretch of an arm away. Editor, cover creator and overall great person: BlancChapters around 2.2K words long.
8 88 - In Serial45 Chapters
Their Wife
Nea Riar, a human, accidentally stumbles upon a portal to another world full of everything she has thought to be a myth. There she meets five men; Fae, Demon, Shifter, Warlock, and Incubus. What these five men have in common is that they are each seen as a threat in a society ruled by matriarchy. In the world of Asorix, Arradona is a Queendom where women are superior. Most are physically closer to the size men, the difference in high not as great, and their magical capabilities are naturally stronger from birth. They dominate and tame men, claiming those they see fit as husbands to add to their growing harems. Those of the upper class compete with one another by comparing the number of husbands they have in their harems, ranging anywhere from the tens to the hundreds, and even a rare few in the thousands.In these lands, five men; Zev Dubois, Cassius Montgomery, Jaxon Novak, Ezra Larsen, and Axel Dimitrov are anomalies. They're stronger than any male that has existed, physically and in terms of magical capabilities. The extent of their power is unknown, but it's speculated that they are more powerful than women also. Their power and wealth has earned them a high status without having to marry a wife to gain it, something that was impossible before them. They are seen as a threat by the Council.In an attempt to control them, the Council orders that they must each take a wife in hopes that she can tame these men who show signs of being dominant. The women of Asorix stumble over one another trying to take at least one of the five as a husband for their harem because of their looks, money, and status in society that would all become their own.During this time the five men come across Damanea, a woman who isn't like the rest. She's the opposite of what women in their world are like. Instead of being dominant, assertive, and abusive, she's meek, cautious, and weak. So what do they do?They marry her.WARNING: Slow burn dark romance
8 229 - In Serial8 Chapters
Reincarnation Brought Me To An Otome Game World
Sakura, a student who just graduated from university suddenly had a car accident resulting in her death. However, she finds herself reincarnated in an otome world that she plays often. But, she was reincarnated as Violet the villianess in the game!! Will she be able to avoid the road to her doom? Wait... was that too cliche?
8 133 - In Serial12 Chapters
Zedd x King Trollex
This takes place with the Trolls World Tour. Cursing warning. My version of it.
8 151 - In Serial15 Chapters
Long Way from Home | A Daredevil Fanfiction
As Frank seeks refuge in Matt's home, they begin to bond into something more than just friends. (EDITING)(This story is based off of the Daredevil Netflix series and takes place after Frank escapes from jail). Was once rated:#19 in Matt Murdock#5 in Frank Castle #17 in Punisher
8 91