When James opened his eyes, the blue screen was there waiting for him, big and bright, hanging like the sword of Damocles.

Hmmmmm. I'm guessing that means everything I remember from yesterday was at least somewhat real. That fact that I have an inner monologue again would probably point to the drugs being out of my system. I can't remember much over a week ago, but the cold clenching in my gut when I try makes me think that it might be a good thing.

Looking around, James was surprised by the lack of pain present just about everywhere. Based on his most recent memories, he expected some deep aches and pains at the very least, with a genuine possibility of muscle tears or a concussion. Slowly sitting up, he waved his hands through the ever-present and annoying blue screen a few times before giving it up as useless.

"Go Away......Cancel......Fuck Off.......Dismiss."

The last one seemed to do it as his vision stopped being hijacked. Standing up, his feet were steady, and he glanced over at the pillar one more time. It was still the same weird blood-colored orb on top of a gray stone plinth, but the strange lines made of crazy headache writing were noticeably absent. James shuddered slightly at the imprinting memory but shook it off quickly and went towards the door. The note was still there, and on a whim, he pulled it down and tucked it in his jeans pocket. For good or more likely ill, this was his life now, and the note was as close to a souvenir as he was likely to get any time soon.

With a slight hesitation, he put his hands on the gray metal handle and pulled. It swung open smoothly and soundlessly as if it had never been locked in the first place. There was another room with the same oddly unchanging skylight. It was relatively empty, with just a plain square wooden table surrounded by four chairs. On the table was a fired clay pitcher with four pottery mugs. James moved past the table and headed straight for the next heavy wooden door. There was a note on it that he briefly ignored as he pulled on this one as well. Since it didn't budge in the least, he decided to read the note.

James,

If you're reading this, then you've made an excellent choice. I'm so glad we won't have to hunt you down and kill you. The pitcher on the table is pure water. Please refresh yourself and try to get familiar with the status menu. Dinner will be served soon after you are awake, and we will have a lot to go over.

Tiamat

This note felt much less important, so it stayed on the door. With nothing else to do, James went back to the table and pulled out the surprisingly heavy chair before sitting down. He poured a glass of water before taking a small sip. Despite being room temperature, it was amazingly refreshing with none of the processed chlorine aftertastes that he had become so used to in the city. Before he even realized it, he had drunk the entire mug. He poured another but restrained himself as a bathroom did not currently seem to be available.

Well. I don't really seem to have any other options at this point, so it'd probably be best to go with the flow. Being able to think again is nice, I suppose, but I'm honestly more than a little freaked out by whatever awful shit they've hidden behind memory door number 1. At this point, I'm truly into the nothing ventured, and nothing gained territory.

"Status."

James Lemuel Reiser

Level 0

Class

None Lvl 0

Physique

None

Affinity

Null

Skill Slots

1

Body

1

Mind

1

Soul

1

Attribute Points

0

Skills

Soul Siphon

James just stared, mouth slightly open, at the screen in front of him. It had his full name. Weirdly, his middle name made everything click as being real. He hated his middle name and never told anyone about it after being teased in middle school, but there it was. The screen was honestly pretty straightforward, but he was hoping for some sort of FAQ, help file, or at this point, even an annoying talking paperclip. He tried touching the screen again to see if that had changed. His hand went straight through as per usual, so it was a pretty safe bet that this was voice only. At some point, he was going to stop doing that he supposed but today was just not that day.

"FAQ......Help......Paperclip........Tutorial"

Initiating Basic Tutorial

Level You gain both Eldritch and Ætheric energy for many things in Pangaea. Once you have filled up your system reservoir, the energy is processed to provide a measured growth to both you and the system tied to your soul. At which point the reservoir is emptied, and a new, larger one is created. Your level is how many times this has happened and is considered a general indicator of overall prowess.

Class

A focus on ability growth and development. A class can provide bonuses to abilities, attributes, affinities, and physiques in rare cases. A class is leveled independently of its wielder. The leveling process for a class is the act of using Eldritch and Ætheric energy to engrave it into your soul. You may have more than one class, but only one may be active. All classes have a cap, and once that is reached, the class is considered mastered and fully engraved upon your soul. Switching out of a class that is not mastered will reset the class to level 1. Classes may be swapped or upgraded using a ReGS or System crystal.

Physique

A body modification or mutation. While they are sometimes naturally present, often a strict regimen of activities combined with various substances will result in a permanent mutation. Everyone can only have one physique to prevent chimeraism. Changing your physique is incredibly dangerous and difficult, so choose wisely. Affinity Æther is the ever-flowing blood of the universe that courses through all of the existence of this universe and can be touched with a sentient being's soul. Using Æther is what creates magical effects. Æther can be pure, but much more often, it comes in a myriad of different varieties. Whether the Æther is mimicking the essences of the world's it flows through or the worlds are mimicking the Æther is a long-standing debate. An affinity gives a natural bonus to that type of Æther handling and a natural negative to its antipode. Skill Slots There is a limit to the number of ReGS skills a user may possess. The number of open skill slots increases at every tenth level, not counting a host's innate ability they have gained upon bonding with the system. There is a maximum of ten open slots.

Body

The overall state of the body. This is primarily manifested with enhanced strength, toughness, and healing. The subordinate statistics of Power and Vigor are locked until body level 6 is reached. Mind The connection between the body and the soul. The mind primarily governs senses, nerve impulses, reactions, and resistance to mental exhaustion. The subordinate statistics of Alacrity and Will are locked until Mind level 6 is reached. Soul The strength and flexibility of your soul. Due to its very nature, this is intrinsically linked to Ætheric control and manipulation. The subordinate statistics of Aura and Connection are locked until soul level 6 is reached. Attribute Points These points are earned when the ReGS system evolves or "levels up." They are primarily used to grow a user's Body, Mind, Soul, or unlocked subordinate statistics. Growing a subordinate statistic only requires 1/2 an attribute point. Skills These are skills stored within the ReGS system by the user. They can be changed out once mastered or upgraded with the help of a ReGS or System crystal. ReGS will offer the user access to skills stored in its matrix when there is an unused slot, and the prerequisites are met. The user may also upload their own unique created skills for a bonus. While you will always have skills you can use outside these slots, they will be harder to use and grow more slowly. ReGS will also help evolve any abilities in slots as they rank up a tier. Note - Abilities cannot be a higher overall level than the owner.

That lays it out pretty well. I mean, I really don't know how it all applies or anything even roughly related to Æther much less half of the other stuff, but it could be worse, I suppose. I don't really know how to move forward at this point, but I think I at least understand what I've got going on so far. There's not much else to do at this point but wait for dinner.

As if summoned by that thought, there was a knock on the door. It then swung open with no sound of it being unlocked in the slightest. At least 6'6" with curly black hair and honest to goodness golden eyes, a giant of a man walked through the door carrying a covered dish with a spoon. He had light olive skin and a tight-cropped curly black beard. A legitimate white greek toga with leather lace-up sandals completed the look of either greek god or the most popular guy on fire island this Halloween.

How did he get in here without unlocking it? It's dead silent in here. I'm pretty sure I would hear it if tumblers were turning or a simple bar for the door. Oh shit, magic lock, I suppose. Despite everything that's happened in the last day, it's probably going to take a minute to wrap my head around that. I guess for the time being fuck Occam. It's Copperfields Razor. The easiest explanation is magic until proven otherwise.

“Hello. I’m glad to see that you are up and aware. We were a little concerned about any side effects of putting off the bond for so long. You’re going to need your strength, so how about you have dinner, and I’ll answer any questions you might have.” His voice was a solid rich tenor without any major accent, or maybe with a small trace of all of them. Whatever was going on, this guy was unlikely to be entirely human. James didn’t know why, but he was 100% sure of that.

“Hi, I’m James.”

“Sit and eat while it’s fresh, James.” After a couple of seconds of silence, accompanied by what James felt to be the ideal amount of raised eyebrows, he got the hint. “I’m Prometheus, now eat.”

“Nice to meet you.” Then the newest piece of mind-altering news finally reached its destination in his brain, and James plopped back down hard into the chair. Old habits die hard, though, so he pulled the dish to himself and began to eat on autopilot while the hard reset of his cerebellum took place. Swallowing a mouthful of a fairly thin fish stew, he managed to stammer out some of the multitudes of thoughts rattling around his mind. “THE Prometheus, I”m assuming….”

He didn’t smile at all when he said, “Unfortunately, the one and only….” A slight crease formed between his eyebrows as he frowned slightly. This infinitesimal imperfection helped things slightly and made the constant reality-bending adjustments a little more bearable.

“You don’t seem thrilled by that,” James said between mouthfuls of stew. “I would have expected a little more oomph from a literal demi-god. I mean, I’m still really impressed, I’ve never met a demi-god before, and you certainly look the part.”

He heaved a sigh that could have blown out candles. “I went through a lot of trouble to bring fire and knowledge to humanity. I paid a heavy price for it. You’ve mostly made me regret that decision in the last couple of decades.” He was looking a bit annoyed now. James at least hoped it was just annoyed and not smiting levels of irritation. Still, long-term cluelessness is not an easy habit to break, even if the enablers are gone.

“Was it the weapons of mass destruction or Keeping up with the Kardashians? Also, what’s with the soup? it’s good and all, but I guess I pictured something a little heartier after the last day.”

“They’re both bad,” Prometheus’s expression didn’t shift in the least, “but if I had to pick one, it would be the second. To have all the potential every one of you has and waste it on vapid liars and the celebration of your worst aspects. It’s truly deplorable.”

“Have you seen Rock of Love?” James asked out of sheer morbid curiosity.

“Unfortunately.” The annoyance wrinkle was back. It was probably time to switch subjects.

“Getting back to the soup, it’s excellent, but do you have anything a bit heartier? I feel like I haven’t eaten in days.” As if to emphasize this point, James heard his wooden spoon hitting the bottom of the bowl and was surprised to realize he’d eaten the whole thing in the short time they’ve been talking.

The sigh made a return appearance, though softer this time. “This is all you can have at this time. While we don’t have a large variety of foods, all the rest would most likely kill you. You don’t even have your first level yet. There is no way you could handle the energy levels present in richer foods.” The annoyance wrinkle was in full force now, with the ghost of a frown tugging down one side of his mouth.

Giant men do look a little odd when they sigh, James thought. It’s funny what odd little nuggets will pop into your mind when you are well and truly off-kilter. “So, how do I get that first level so I can stop ordering off the kid's menu?”

“Normally, the god or goddess responsible for your summoning would provide it to make sure that this sort of thing isn’t an issue. Unfortunately, some village idiot decided to take an eight-hour nap instead of doing the only thing he was told to do. The conversation that shook you awake in time to save your life cost Tiamat an obscene amount of energy for one who was already depleted from bringing you here."

"Honestly,” Prometheus was starting to get a bit heated at this point,” What kind of imbecile goes and does something like that?” He opened his mouth to provide the finishing blow to my newly rediscovered ego when his eyes briefly flashed. They literally flashed golden for a second before returning to normal. His tone dropped back to neutral suddenly, “I’ve been told there were extenuating circumstances and that I should leave it alone for now.”

“ I know I’m pushing my luck, but how did a conversation tire out a goddess so much?” James didn’t know why it mattered, but he wanted to know. This was the most conversation he’d had in the week he could remember, and he suspected for a long time before that.

“Imagine the strength needed to hit a walnut with a sledgehammer, but not damage the nut in any way. Then picture a sledgehammer with a head the size of your body. It wasn’t the conversation that drained her, but the fact that she cared whether you would be a drooling vegetable afterward.”

James thought about it for a moment. “ Please thank her for the effort.” He said it meekly and sincerely, and it seemed to soften up the man-mountain in front of him, if only marginally.

“If you make it through the next few days, you can tell her yourself.” Then he did smile, and it was not very comforting. “We need to get you enough skill to get to level 1 and then do so without you dying. I don’t like wasted effort.” Prometheus suddenly stood and walked into the other room. A couple of seconds later, he was walking out with the pillar and orb over one shoulder like it weighed nothing at all. “I’ll see you in the morning with breakfast.”

"I just woke up. Shouldn't we do something with the day?"

"You were in the bonding for over a day. It is currently a late dinner, and there is no way you are rested."

Upon hearing those words, all the tiredness James was holding back by the sheer weirdness that was now his life let itself be known. He visibly sagged in his chair, and Prometheus seemed to take that as his cue to go. Heading to the door, he gave a little half wave over his shoulder. As he headed towards the door, James blurted out, ‘Hey, where is the bathroom around here?”

Prometheus looked at the room he had just left was a bit smug sounding, “It’s the other door out of the bedroom.” He then strode from the room and shut the door.

James got up quickly and went to the room that was now his bedroom. On the opposite wall, there was now a light green door. Opening it showed a tiny room that somehow had a toilet, a shower, and a pedestal sink with a mirror crammed inside it. Shutting the door, he reopened it quickly. That repeated several times until he was relatively sure that it wasn’t going to disappear on him.

I know that wasn’t there before. Or was it there and I couldn’t see it? Man, I want magic. I mean, I want Gandalf magic, not Property Brothers magic, but I’d probably take whatever they offered me at this point. Well, not David Blaine magic. Everyone has their limits.

James laid down on his small thin mattress after a quick trip to use the newly discovered facilities and did what he currently did best. Sleep came surprisingly easy and was blessedly dreamless for tonight.