“I ask you this now... WHAT ARE YOU? Hmmm? Are you free? Are you alive? Are you strong? Kind? Proud? Endless? Infinite? The answer, my dear students, is one simple truth. You are all this and more. Yet, you are also none of this and never will be. The choice lies in your hands. Will you grasp power and rise? Or will you succumb and die unknown and useless? Choose for yourself. Yearn for it, suffer for it, and The System shall deliver. So it is witnessed. So it is known.”

Da’kuma the Younger, Oracle and Philosopher, “Teachings of Life and Living, Book III.”

Jax stumbled. Pain lanced from toe to top as his stride faltered. His left leg struggled. It didn’t matter though. He didn’t have time to worry about pain. He didn’t have the luxury to sit and relax. His mind was eerily calm. Focused on the task at hand.

Moving as quietly as possible, Jax and Duke shuffle-jogged after the pack of Goblin Scouts. They kept close to the affluent yet dated homes that marked the area Jax lived in. The East side of FairView City. It was were the wealthy went to die. At least, Jax joked that it was. No one younger than 60 lived here. All of them, retired residents that were happy to retreat from the rest of the city through the natural barrier which FairView Forest provided that separated a few cul-de-sacs from the rest of civilization. Only now, it seemed that no one lived here.

As Jax moved, keeping out of the line of sight of the Goblin Scouts while staying back hundreds of feet, reality haunted his every sight. Doors busted down. Windows shattered. Blood painted on the streets. Yet, no bodies. Not a single person, living or otherwise could be found by Jax.

Okay. Think. Think. Use your head. It’s noon, so that means many of them are out, probably shopping or on the golf course. But not all. Where are the rest? At least two dozen people should still be here. They couldn’t have all been...kidnapped? That’d be impossible! It was only an hour since the change happened and-

His mind halted. His feet planted in the ground. A spike of pain lanced up his foot and tears burned in the corner of his eyes. It was a small price to pay considering. Crouching low, Jax pressed his back against the side of a Victorian style house. His heart thumped in his throat while his hand caressed Duke. Soothing the pup as he lightly growled and bore his canine fangs.

“Shhhh. Shhh. Shhhh. DukeDukeDukeDuke. Duke! Hush now boy! Please! Shhh..... Shhh...”

Jax’s words, whispered in fear, were mumbled together as he gripped Duke tightly against his chest. In sync, their hearts beat. One in anxiety. One in aggression. It consumed Jaxson. The noise. Pounding, pulsing, throbbing beats of his heart that drowned out any thoughts. Then another sound, distant at first, began resounding louder and louder in his ears. Footsteps. The sound of bare feet on burning asphalt. A guttural growl followed by child-like squawks. Each step that Jax heard, closer and closer to him, sent spikes of pain jolting into his heart. Each throaty growl, turning his own throat baren and dry.

Then, as death’s bony hand crept just around Jax’s neck, the footsteps stopped, paused, and then padded away. Then one was joined by many. Like a herd, the pack of Goblins charged off. As they did, Jax violently exhaled the breath he was holding in. Between heaving coughs, he greedily sucked in air. Duke, eyes filled with worry in almost human-like concern, whimpered quietly as he nudged his snout against Jax’s check. When that didn’t work, Duke head-butted Jax.

Startled awake from his despair, Jax peered in confusion at Duke. A number of wet licks was the only response he received. Then Duke trotted forward and peered around the corner. Jax copied his human-like dog. What he saw, was a pack of Goblins rushing out of the cul-de-sac. Seven Goblin Scouts, carrying a total of three adults and one child, down the middle of the street before turning left. At the back of the pack though, lazily jogged a final figure.

Goblin Archer (Level 6)

Taller than the rest of the Goblins by a full head, the Goblin Archer carried a shortbow at the ready. It was the only thing he could see, before the creature and its pack filtered out of view. Leaving Jax and Duke alone. Instead of moving to follow though, Jax remained paralyzed. Eyes, distant and hazy, remained trained on the now gone pack of Goblins. Involuntary, he moved one step forward. Then nothing.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. What am I doing? This isn’t me. This isn’t me! I can’t...I can’t do this. This isn’t a game. This isn’t a dream. I’m not a hero. I’m just...just some regular guy.

Jax drowned on his thoughts. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground. Panic set in.

I’m only a normal person. And those...those are monsters! What the hell is going on? What is going on? How is it like this?

Confidence left him. All that remained was truth. Truth in his situation. Truth, that he was not the hero in this story.

Oh dear god.... Oh dear god...

Huddled against the house, Jax’s eyes wandered. Devastation was all that greeted him. Blood tainted sidewalks that dyed grey concrete to crimson stone. A house with claw and slash marks on the dark, oak wood door frame. A worn and old truck, dead and lifeless with an arrow piercing the front window and driver door. Over the forest canopy, plums of black smoke rose and wafted to darken the scenic California sun. The same sun, that now glowered with a bizarre green hue.

This isn’t normal! This...this isn’t what is supposed to be happening!

Jax’s sunk low. Back pressed against the wall as he rocked. Panic and fear drowned him. Gripping him and pulling him out toward a perilous depth. Across the pavement, a dead dog laid still. A house begins to burn as smoke pours out. A haunting scream, far and distant, rings in the air. A doll...

I.....I....

A doll lays crumpled in front of him. Homemade and worn. The stitching is loose and unwoven. The baby blue cloth, stained bloody. Discarded and wet in the gutter of the street. One, black button eye missing.

It is insignificant. A doll. Yet it burns itself into Jax’s mind. All around him, the world burns. As if not real. But the doll, worn and bloody and ripped, bears the facts. The world Jax knew is gone. Now, here, he resides in the world of his new reality. The same world he once wished to enter. The world he imaged and dreamt of. Conqueror. King. Ruler. Lover. Hero. Invincible. He dreamt to be these things. And now...

Look at the man in the mirror. What do you see? Know this, sonny. How you see yourself does not matter. What matters is who....what, you truly are. The man in the mirror isn’t your competition. It is the true measure of your worth. Of what you are, rather than what you want to be. So tell me, do you see the hero of your story? Or do you see someone who isn’t good enough?

Resolution took ahold of Jax. His grandfather was right. He is not those things. He is just a scared man, a boy really, in over his head. But he could be more. As the thought entered his mind, it was like he was reborn. His feral smile formed something primal on his lips once more. Legs moved. His back straightened. Fear receded.

Congratulations! You have pushed the boundary of your limits and grown stronger. You have earned: +1 Tenacity

The System message doesn’t startle Jax. It strengthens him. Unknown power seems to well up within his chest. It eletrifries him. A gentle hum of adrenaline settles into his body before it subsides. The newfound strength only energizes him. He will not be like his father. He will not be weak. He will be the hero of his story. Of the story of those around him. So, with adrenaline coursing through him, Jax stooped down and grabbed the ragged and bloody doll. Missing his backpack, he kept it in hand. One hand gripping the KABAR. One hand grasping the doll. He couldn’t say which one was giving him more strength.

Rising fully with renewed vigor, Jax shot a quick look to Duke. He was ready. Waiting for Jax to move. So he did. Subtly, but with a quick pace, the duo moved. No longer did Jax look around. The chaos did not need to be witnessed. It needed to be prevented. So they ran after the danger.

Their feet padded against pavement. Lungs huffed for air. Through the cul-de-sac they moved, turning the same corner of the Goblin Pack. Before them, lay the sole road that connected his cul-de-sac to the rest of civilization. FairView Forest encased both sides of the road. Behind him, the road continued on as a dirt path. Before him, it stretched and connected to four other cul-de-sacs of the ‘Elder Community’. At the end of the road though, lay the true prize.

The Goblin Pack.

It numbered fifteen now. Thirteen smallish green hell-spawn that speedily wobbled away with their ‘loot’. Guarding them, stood two taller Goblins. One with a bow. One with a spear. Then, under the throaty chant of the spear-wielding Goblin, the pack darted away. Dirt and sand kicked up. They were racing through the woods, on one of the side-access roads that cut through FairView Forest.

“Well boy,” Jax squatted next to Duke, “It’s time to be a hero. Eh?”

There was no confidence in his voice. Yet still his feet moved. Stride opening. From a walk, to a jog, to a sprint. Wind, salty and boundless, wiped across his face. It pressed against his back. Forward and faster he moved. Before him, the Goblins raced. Bobbing and weaving among the fallen trees and ripped ground. Toward the billowing flames and clouds of ash.

For minutes they raced. Closer and closer to the town they moved. Closer to the screams that sent the Goblins into giddy laughter. Screams that gnawed at Jax and turned the ancient anger in his bones alive.

Minutes stretched onward. Away from the ‘Elder Community’ and into FairView City. Away from what little grasp of reality Jax had, and into the truth. As Jax sprinted after the pack, hidden among the trees and shrouded in the shrubbery, the concept of what was real quickly left Jax. Trees, once brown and vibrant, towered taller than possible as their ash grey trunks stretched and grew at a snail’s pace, albeit still visible to Jax’s eyes. Piercing the air like skyscrapers, they climbed into the sky. A sky, once crystal blue, that seemed to warp and split as streaks of deadly colors arced through the air. The very ground shifted beneath Jax’s feet. Rising and falling like an earthquake was in the distance. To his right, nearly out of sight, the ground rose like a wakening giant. With its movement, came the rumbling wail of the Earth as it reformed anew.

“We’re....not....in California....anymore....Duke...”

The pun was in poor taste. Huffed between laboring breathes as he trudged forward toward the pack of Goblins that were slowing down. All the same, it was true.

Before Jax, lay the Fairview City Park. Or rather, the remains of it. The once immaculate park grounds, dotted with football and baseball fields, lay in ruin. Weed and roots and the life of the world sprouted endlessly. Like a paradise, the land was a vibrant oasis in the destruction that burned and charred the world around it. Trees rose like awakening giants from the earth, stabbing tall into the sky. Beneath them, bountiful harvests stretched far and wide. Flowers and plants, unknown and foreign, basked in the pulsating green glow of the Sun. Gone was the FairView City Park. Arising, was a jungle.

But it was not the scenery which sent Jax stumbling to a halt. It was the horde of Goblins that did it. Dozens of their fiendish forms, moving like ants at work, streamed in and out of a small hill which stood proudly in the middle of a field. The very same hill that the pack of Goblins that Jax had been following strolled up to and then entered. As they did, Jax scooted closer, trying to see where there disappeared to. His answer came not with his sight, but with The System

Congratulations! You have unlocked the Achievement [ Apprentice Tracker Mastery ]! You have tracked five enemies to their final destination without being seen. You are no hunter, but the shadow which views from afar. You have stalked and tracked your prey with the guile of a true practitioner. Yet this is but the first step in the journey of a true master. You have earned: +1 Agility

Congratulations! You have found the [ Goblin Monster Den ]! For further information, enter the Monster Den.

The information is easy to understand. By now, Jax has gotten somewhat accustomed to The System and its actions. Instead, it is the shock of power which startles Jaxson. Like before, when he acquired a point in Tenacity, power bolts through his body, pouring from his chest to the edge of his being. It is uncomfortable at first. Like when your foot falls asleep before coming back all tingly and slightly numb. His entire body contained that feeling. It was maddening to Jax. Then, it settled. The power still present, yet no longer foreign.

With the power, comes something more. Confidence. Before Jax, scrambling and moving, rove dozens of Goblin Scouts with Goblin Archers and Goblin Warriors in their midst. Jaxson’s blood boils at the sight. The ancient anger in his veins rears its head. In merely hours, the world has been flipped upside down and on its head. It has changed. So too has Jaxson Stratford. Excitement. Anger. Need. Hunger. They burn in him. He is alive now. No longer a dying ember. He is the whole fucking fire.

“Come boy,” he mutters to Duke. Eyes scanning the surrounding. “We need to hide. We need to hide, and we need to find our target.”

With those words, he and Duke depart. Melding back into the forest edge. One hand gripping the KABAR. One hand gripping the childrens doll.