I stepped out of the black hole onto a tall, grass-topped hill under a cloudy sky. A city stretched out below me. At first I thought I might have been wrong. But then I recognized the artistic Roman-style architecture of the crumbling buildings, with their smooth white walls and cream-colored tile ceilings. The random broken sculptures that should have decorated small squares throughout the city, but now they were just piles of rubble. The last time I saw this city, I was in the middle of it and scared out of my mind. And the city was in a lot better condition then. In just the half year since I was here, the city went from trashed to ruins.

To the right of the city, a large lake of mist rose hundreds of feet into the air and spread all the way to the mountains in the distance. Stone pillars pierced through the thick cloud. I couldn’t tell if they were natural or not. From the outside, they seemed to be random, but who's to say there wasn’t another city inside that mist?

Movement drew my attention back to the city. Several Orcs were walking quickly through the yellow-sanded streets in the distance. I ducked down and watched as they hurried to the center of the city, where a huge building with a triangular roof and rows of pillars stood. I knew that building well. Knew the huge green fires on the outside and inside of the building. Knew the sounds of monstrous laughter from the Orcs inside. Knew the huge Orc that sat on the throne.

After all, it was the building I’d nearly died in. Or did die. Honestly, I wasn’t too sure.

Was the System down there? If so, I was in trouble. How long would it take for me to search that city alone? The Red Orcs obviously knew about the mist ability, given the way the one I found yesterday responded. If I used the mist to search, I would get swarmed by Red Orcs. I already knew from experience that the one Miranda had killed was not the strongest Red Orc in this city. It was sheer dumb luck that I encountered one that I could actually handle — and that he was scared enough of my ability that he kept making mistakes.

“Find me,” a female voice whispered to my right.

My eyes widened with surprise — I hadn’t sensed anyone getting close! — and I turned toward that sound. I was alone on the hill.

But the voice didn’t stop. “Come find me.”

I knew that voice. I’d only heard it once before and it only said six words, Then I will make you stronger. But that voice was ingrained into my mind like a tattoo. Somehow, I knew it more intimately than my own mother’s laugh. Than Aliya’s silly teasing. A sound that I craved deep in my soul to hear again.

Instinctively, I knew where the voice came from. I turned and ran across a large yellowing field toward the thick mist cloud. I encountered several monsters on the way, but I was able to take care of the smaller ones without losing too much HP or dodge around the large ones that looked like hell cows on steroids. I also found out that as soon as I created mist, every monster in the area no matter what their level was, would turn tail and run.

They were deathly scared of mist. Just like that Orc in Las Vegas.

I stopped outside the mist cloud and looked up. It rose nearly a hundred feet in the air. For the first time in a long, long time, I couldn’t see through the mist. I was so used to being in control of the water vapor around me, it felt wrong that I couldn’t bend it to my will. I reached out and touched the mist. It slid through my fingers like liquid velvet, soft and cool.

But it didn’t respond to my will.

There was something almost … alive about the mist. But not quite. Like it had a purpose, but not a will. Instinctively I could tell that it would let me in, unlike the other creatures I saw on my way here, but it didn’t consider me its master.

Curious, I let out some of my mist and watched. My mist touched the cloud and stopped abruptly. They were both particles of water, both the same thing, but they didn’t blend together. It was like two oils in the same cup, the same but obviously different. And it was blatantly obvious that my mist was the lightweight of the two. I didn’t even know there was a difference. I mean, mist was just a type of physical state of water, really. It wasn’t until now that I found out it could be so much more.

I stopped playing around and stepped into the thick cloud. Even though I didn’t own the mist, it still didn’t drench me. It sifted over me and curled into swirls behind my feet as I walked. There was a freshness in the air, like the smell of a cool summer rain with a faint hint of flowers, even though I couldn’t see any.

Then again, my visibility and perception were reduced to five feet around me. It was uncomfortable, since I had gotten used to my enhanced stats, but I somehow knew I was safe here. There were no monsters, nothing that was going to attack me.

Only I wasn’t alone in this mist. The System was in here, whatever that meant.

Just when I started to get worried about walking in circles, the dying grass turned into a pebble path, the first marker I’d seen this whole time. I used the heel of my boot to make a mark on the path to hopefully help in case I did walk in circles, then started down the path.

After a couple minutes, two gray shadows appeared on either side of me. I frowned and slowed to approach them cautiously. It wasn't until I was closer that I realized they were columns of a decorative stone arch that straddled the pebble path. The details etched in cloudy gray and white marble were beautiful and whimsical. But the most shocking thing was that the free-standing arch was one solid piece of stone. There were no lines to indicate that multiple blocks were put together to make it.

On the other side of the arch, the pebble trail stopped and became soft white granite. In the pale light that penetrated the mist, I could see little flicks of crystal in the flooring. It was undoubtedly the most expensive flooring I’d ever seen, and I felt like I should clean my boots before I stepped on it. Unfortunately, I was getting too low on supplies to entertain that thought right now. Silently, I kept going.

The arch faded behind me and another structure appeared, made out of the same material as the first arch. A thought dawned on me and I walked around in a circle. That was when I realized that I was standing in an entrance hall to a roman-like palace. Decorative arches connected the columns somewhere high above me where I couldn’t even see.

This palace wasn’t like the one in the city. The city palace might have been pretty before the world collapsed, right now it gave off a confined and oppressive air. The palace that I was in now was airy, with no apparent walls. Everything was clean, a mix of cool grays and white marble without a single seam in sight, as if the whole palace was one giant piece of marble.

The entrance hall opened up to a garden courtyard. I could tell by the shape of the planter boxes that it should have been a gorgeous garden, but the boxes were mostly dirt with a handful of beautiful, colorful exotic flowers inside.

As soon as I stepped in the courtyard, the mist lifted, revealing the whole large area surrounded by the pillared hallways.

In the middle of the garden stood a beautiful young woman. Half of her silvery hair was piled on top of her head in a sophisticated bun while the rest fluttered in loose curls to her knees. Fluttered was the right term, because her hair kept drifting around as if there was a breeze. Her long white dress was always on the move too. The modest bodice hugged her slender form, and a thick, intricate silver band wrapped around her waist. The white, multilayered skirt flared out from there.

I couldn’t pinpoint how old she was. She could pass for a fourteen year old as well as a twenty year old. But there was something timeless in her steady gray eyes. It was different than Kesstel’s gaze, which looked like he’d seen more hardships than I ever will. No, this young woman’s eyes had seen everything.

A warm smile curled her pink lips. “Hello, Jyn. I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.” I knew that voice. It was the one that called me here.

I blinked at her. I’d lived long enough to know that I should be wary of a strange person who knew my name, but a stronger part of me wanted to trust her. And it wasn’t a cheap trick like the Nixies in Prine Lake. “Who are you?”

She didn’t seem bothered by my guarded words. She walked — no, glided, toward me. I thought Miranda looked ethereal when she moved. It wasn’t until I saw this young woman move that I realized what a knockoff Miranda was.

“I will answer all of your questions, but first there’s something I need from you.” Even though her hair was silver, her brows and thick lashes were black. Her childish cheeks had a faint tint, all making her gorgeous instead of washed out. She reached up with her slender hand. “I know you aren’t much for physical affection, but I hope you’ll permit me.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tight. She didn’t seem bothered by the fact that I was covered in blood.

I stiffened in surprise. Not because of her sudden physical closeness, but because I didn’t reject it. I never thought I’d accept a stranger’s touch like this. Only she didn’t feel like a stranger. In the end, I was so lost — should I hug back or not? — that I didn’t move.

“Did you really call me here for a hug?” It was like Kesstel. Was there a sign over my head that said, ‘free hugs to non-humans?’

“No, silly child.” But she didn’t let go either. A musical chuckle fluttered out of her lips, soft and sad. “So warm. I remember hugs, but I’d forgotten how warm they are. It’s been so, so long since I’ve touched another person.” She stepped back and tilted her head, smiling at me. “Thank you.”

I thought she’d be smeared with the grime all over me, but her person was still perfectly clean. In fact … I glanced down at my body. I was perfectly clean now. I wasn’t just clean, my HP and MP were at full health.

“Now that that’s out of the way for now, shall we get back to your first question?” The young woman asked. She lifted her hands and spread them out, displaying the garden.

“Welcome to Vapria,” she said. “You know me as System. My actual name is Goddess. I am the soul of this planet.”