Darkness again. What I am currently feeling can only be described as a sleep paralysis. I am pretty certain that I am conscious, however, I cannot move my body one bit. This state is becoming a recurrence too fast for comfort, I’d much rather be completely awake and conscious.

It soon felt like a couple of hours had gone by and I am slowly becoming anxious. Every normal human would be slowly, but surely eaten away by anxiety in this situation. Believe me, it is incredibly uncomfortable to have only your thoughts and not your body. At least I feel like I can think clearly than usual when my brain isn’t unconsciously occupied with looking after my body’s different kinds of systems that keep a human alive.

It’s a win! A small one, but a win nonetheless. It has helped me carefully think through everything that happened. And for the sake of my well being, no matter how absurd and ridiculous it seems, I am taking everything that happened as a reality and not as some real dream.

I mean yes, it does sound quite strange and well fantasy-like, however, it is not entirely impossible. Nothing is. With how much we know about the universe as a whole, I wouldn’t put anything in the section impossible.

What I got from my brainstorming session is the following. Judging from the way the Voice spoke, apparently I am being, well transported I guess, to some kind of a game or competition? And these trails that I was put through detern if I am apt to participate. And then judging from the trails this particular competition is not going to be friendly or safe.

Then there was disconnected state I fell under when I used the weapons to fight against the last trail, it felt like it was me, but not me. There definitely was some kind of outside influence, which is disconcerning. I’d like to at least have my own thoughts and consciousness to myself.

Suddenly I felt the sensation of atmospheric air brush against my skin, the surroundings around me shifted and my vision was bombarded with light. I took me a couple of moments to adjust my vision from complete darkness to my new surroundings.

It was still relatively dark, it seemed like I am in some kind of a.. Ritualistic or altar room. It a relatively big dome-shaped room with all kinds of different drawings on the floor and walls. The drawings definitely had some hidden meaning behind them, they seemed to follow some kind of a system. There were lines that curved around each other creating strange, yet appealing shapes, with some circles and different symbols here and there. There was a big two sided wooden gate, while at the center of the room laid what I believe is a broken and long-forsaken altar. The whole room was quite foggy and dirty, coupled with the dim light that barely slipped past the long cathedral looking windows high on the walls, it gave the place a rather ghastly and creeping feeling.

I was always a bit creeped out from the prospect of religious cults and their strange rituals and altars. This definitely looked like one.

WELCOME TO THE REALM OF AGELESSNESS, IT IS TO BE YOUR HOME FOR THE FOLLOWING YEARS AND MOST LIKELY YOUR GRAVE! HA HA HA.

Oh great, it is mr Voice again. And that was quite the ominous greeting.. Leaves me quite excited for the future..

HA! THAT’S THE SPIRIT HUMAN. NOW LISTEN CAREFULLY FOR I SHALL EXPLAIN IT ONLY ONCE.

THE REALM OF AGELESSNESS WAS NURTURED EXACTLY FOR THIS GAME THAT YOU ARE GOING TO, OR SHOULD I SAY ALREADY PARTICIPATING IN. WE CALL IT THE GAME. THE RULES ARE QUITE SIMPLE, SURVIVE, THRIVE, GET STRONG, STRONGER THAN ALL. THIS REALM HAS NUMEROUS WORLDS UNDER IT, YOU AND FOUR MORE HUMANS FROM YOUR PLANET HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CRITERIA AND TELEPORTED TO DIFFERENT RANDOM POINTS ON THIS PARTICULAR WORLD - THILARIA.

THE EXACT SAME PROCESS HAS OCCURRED ON FIFTEEN DIFFERENT WORLDS, DIFFERENT BEINGS AND RACES WERE TRANSPORTED IN STACKS OF FIVE AWAY THEIR HOMES TO DIFFERENT WORLDS UNDER THE REALM OF AGELESSNESS. THEIR FATE THE SAME AS YOURS.

IN EXACTLY TEN YEARS FROM THIS MOMENT THE FIFTEEN DIFFERENT STACKS OF FIVE BEINGS WOULD BE TRANSPORTED AWAY FROM THEIR WORLDS INTO THE GRAND ARENA WHERE A MORTAL COMBAT TOURNAMENT BETWEEN THE RACES WILL BE HELD.

THE GOALS IS SIMPLE, BECOME STRONG ENOUGH AND WIN THE TOURNAMENT BY ELIMINATING ALL OTHER GROUPS OF BEINGS. THE OBVIOUS STRATEGY WOULD BE SIMPLE, FIND AND TEAM UP WITH THE OTHER FOUR HUMANS. STRENGTH IN NUMBERS RIGHT? BUT NOT REALLY. THE THING IS THAT IF YOU KILL ANOTHER CHOSEN ONE YOU WILL GET A 50% PORTION OF THEIR STRENGTH, BOOSTING YOUR OWN IMMENSELY. AND EVEN IF ALL OF YOU KEEP YOUR URGES UNDER CONTROL AND DO NOT KILL EACH OTHER, GOING AS A TEAM OF FIVE TO THE TOURNAMENT DOESN’T GUARANTEE YOU ANYTHING.

THERE CAN ALWAYS BE SOMEONE ON YOUR TEAM WHO IS WEAK AND IS ONLY DRAGGING YOU DOWN. THERE HAVE BEEN PREVIOUS INSTANCES WHEN A TEAM OF FIVE PEOPLE HAVE LOST AGAINST A SINGLE OPPONENT DURING THE TOURNAMENT. DON’T FORGET THAT THE RULE OF GETTING 50% OF THE POWER OF A KILLED CHOSEN APPLIES TO THE BEINGS FROM THE OTHER WORLDS AS WELL. THEREFORE IF ONE OF THEM KILLS ONE OF YOU DURING THE TOURNAMENT THEY GET 50% OF THE VICTIM’S POWER INSTANTLY, PUTTING THEM IN A BIG ADVANTAGE. AND BEFORE YOU ASK, DO NOT WORRY, YOU WILL KNOW SOMEONE IS A CHOSEN JUST LIKE YOU WHEN YOU SEE HIM OR HER. IT IS INSTINCTUAL.

HAHA MY PERSONAL ADVICE IS TO GET RID OF THE SLOW LEARNERS AND WEAKLINGS IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE. BUT, IN THE END IT’S YOUR AND THE OTHER FOUR HUMANS’ CHOICE HOW TO PROCEED FROM HERE ONWARD. YOU MAY SEEK EACH OTHER AND TRY TO GET STRONGER TOGETHER, KILL EACH OTHER FOR MORE STRENGTH OR SIMPLY NOT EVEN MEET EACH OTHER UNTIL THE TEN YEARS ARE UP AND YOU ARE TELEPORTED TO THE TOURNAMENT SITE, THAT IS IF YOU EVEN SURVIVE THE TEN YEARS HA HA.

NOW THAT IS ENOUGH FOR THE TOURNAMENT, I AM SURE YOU GET THE IDEA. NOW ONTO THE WORLD ITSELF.

I AM NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE OUT MUCH OR ANYTHING REALLY. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO GO IN AS BLIND AS POSSIBLE, SO YOUR ADAPTABILITY AND CREATIVITY ARE TESTED TO ITS FULLEST. WHAT I CAN TELL YOU THOUGH IS THAT IT IS INDEED A FANTASY WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE AND ASSOCIATE WITH FANTASY EXIST AND EVEN MORE EXISTS ON THE WORLD. REMEMBER, EVEN IF YOU ARE CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TOURNAMENT YOU DO NOT GET SPECIAL PROTECTIONS, DO SOMETHING STUPID AND YOU DIE. THERE ARE BEINGS ON THE WORLD WHOSE POWER YOU CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO FATHOM HAHA.

FINALLY LET’S MOVE TO THE MORE PRESSING MATTERS, THE SYSTEM WORKS. IT IS BASICALLY A SYSTEM ASSISTANT. IT IS AN UNBORN SEMI-CONSCIOUSNESS THAT WORKS BASED ON DIFFERENT RULES AND PRINCIPLES INGRAINED IN IT’S INNER SELF. THE CLOSEST THING THAT I CAN COMPARE IT TO FROM YOUR WORLD IS AN ALMOST PERFECT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HOW EXACTLY IT WORKS AND HOW IT WAS CREATED IS A TOP SECRET THAT ONLY THE MEMBERS OF THE CIRCLE KNOW.

JUST LIKE IN THE RPG GAMES OF YOUR WORLD, IT BESTOWS DIFFERENT STATS AND TRAITS TO BEINGS BASED ON THEIR ACTIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE REALM. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE STATS, SUCH AS YOUR STRENGTH OR AGILITY IN NUMBERS, HOWEVER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MILDLY FEEL EACH OF YOUR BODY’S CHARACTERISTICS AND HOW THEY ADVANCE.

THE SYSTEM IS PRONE TO EXPLAINING DIFFERENT ITEMS, TITLES AND TRAITS. TITLES AND TRAITS CAN BE ATTAINED THROUGH DIFFERENT ACTIONS AND ALL HAVE DIFFERENT CONSEQUENCES AND BONUSES.

ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THE REALM IS STRICTLY OBSERVED BY THE SYSTEM, EVERY LITTLE ACTION CAN HAVE A CONSEQUENCES TO YOU AND YOUR FUTURE.

EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE SYSTEM YOU MUST FIND OUT YOURSELF. A WORD OF ADVICE THOUGH, BECAUSE I LIKE YOU. THE SYSTEM IS NOT TO BE FULLY TRUSTED. FOR IT IS FORBIDDEN TO LIE TO YOU, IT CAN QUITE EASILY CURVE AND SNAKE AROUND THE TRUTH AND MISLEAD AND MANIPULATE YOU. YOU ARE BETTER OFF NOT TAKING WHAT IT SAYS LITERALLY. IT IS USUALLY SOME INTERPRETATION OF THE TRUTH, BUT NOT EXACTLY THE TRUTH.

I WISH I HAD MORE TIME TO EXPLAIN THINGS FURTHER, MY DEAR NATURAL, HOWEVER, I AM ALL OUT OF TIME. MY LAST ADVICE TO YOU IS:

I KNOW THAT YOU ARE BEAMING WITH QUESTIONS, WHY WHERE YOU CHOSEN, WHY THIS TWISTED GAME, WHAT’S THE POINT AND WHAT’S THE BENEFIT OF IT ALL. YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES, TO COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND AND CONQUER A GAME YOU HAVE TO FINISH IT. AND TO FINISH A GAME YOU MUST FIRST PLAY IT.

FORGET THAT YOU ARE HUMAN, FORGET YOU ARE PAST, FOR THEY WILL ONLY BURDEN YOU IN THIS NEW LIFE OF YOURS. EVOLVE BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY, ADAPT AND WIN.

And with these final parting words, the voice ceased completely, leaving with a throbbing and hurting head in the middle of a completely still and quiet creepy-ass ceremonial/ritual chamber.

That.. was a lot of information at once. This stupid voice means to tell me that I was forcibly extracted from my home to play some kind of a twisted, demented game? And for what? For the sick pleasure of some beings with power? Well, that’s definitely fair.

Okay, okay focus, let’s think this through.

Taking a feel deep breaths I relax myself completely. I guess it is done, nothing to do about it now. I shall work with what I know. Firstly, he did mention a system, that I am apparently not to.. Fully trust? Brings up the question should I even trust the voice not to trust the system? Damn.

And apparently this is one of those RPG worlds, a genre of novels that is quite popular back on Earth. Now when I think about it, I am in quite the cliche situation, aren’t I… That’s just great. Fantasy? Magic? Different beings and creatures that I have only thought of as fairy tales up until now? Can’t say that it doesn’t make me a bit jittery inside. The prospect is quite interesting. And not only that, but there are four more humans on this world as me? When I first heard him say that, I immediately thought it would be for the best if I find them. Perhaps it was the sense of safety that I was going after, you know, when you are some place that’s completely unknown to you, something familiar can ease the stress and anxiety quite a lot.

However, now when I think about it, that’s quite a dangerous risk. Human’s do tend to be extremely egoistic and illogical when it comes to their personal safety and power. It’d be for the best to avoid them.

For now.

Haaaah, my head actually started hurting from trying to process what is happening. The human brain is not prone to such big shocks. I’ll think about all of it later, first, I need to find some water, my mouth is beginning to feel quite dry.

Slowly my eyes landed on the huge gate across the room and I slowly made my way towards it. A slight grin plastered over my face. Is this excitement that I feel bubbling in my gut?

Slowly I reach for the door knob and push the wooden gate forward, revealing a breathtaking scene. I find myself on top of a small hill, surrounding my are lush green valleys and mountains full of thick and moist forests. The air is humid, quite pleasantly brushing my skin with mild bursts if wind. A few rainbows could be seen arching over different parts of the forest, creating painterly, surreal feel to the environment. The sky, clear blue, not a single sign of clouds, reveals three absolutely huge moons, or at least that’s what I think they are. One gray, almost white, similar to our own moon back on Earth. The other two washed out red and light blue respectively.

“Damn, a new world huh?”, the words slip away from my lips unconsciously. When I think about it, there really wasn’t anything interesting in my life back on Earth. I didn’t have any relatives, at least none that I could remember. True I had some friends, however, we weren’t exactly close to each other, it was more like a mutual pact, trying get rid of the boredom that we all felt. But this, this is an opportunity. An opportunity to escape my previous life, an adventure that I couldn’t possibly experience back home.

Slowly my grin grows wide as now even my teeth are showing.

“Play the Game huh? I might as well do it”, thus I took the first step towards this new future.

What can possibly go wrong?

Well, according to the Voice.. A damn fucking lot. But that’s part of the adventure, isn’t it ha ha ha!