[Rex!] A barely hushed call echoed through a dark void. ‘AL?’ Rex thought. ‘Where?’ White noise invaded the darkness. Rex hurt, he was tired, he wanted to sleep. ‘Sleep.’

[Captain! Don’t give up!] So much white noise barely made Alfred’s voice clear. Then Alfred began to make a similar noise. ‘Please no more. Let me sleep.’ He tried to drift off into the darkness.

“Not today, little one.” All other noise died the moment this voice shook the darkness.

‘Why not?’ Rex thought angrily.

“This is your rebirth, young one.” Then, a bright star made of many colors burst into existence, pushing back the darkness.

‘What are you?’ He was stunned by the light, and it forced him to witness its glory.

“I am fragment. I am here to fulfill my purpose.” A large phoenix formed within the star. Its feathers danced with flames made of colors unknown to him. The eyes took his attention the moment they met.

‘What is your purpose?’ Rex wondered why he saw such a mythical being. ‘Am I hallucinating before suffocating to death?’ His mind felt oddly calm about this whole thing. An invisible force gripped him tightly as gravity increased.

“My purpose is to give you a rebirth. Your Fate is yours alone.” The phoenix flapped its majestic wings, causing a torrent of colorful flames to engulf Rex. “Do not waste this chance, young one.” With its task complete, the phoenix faded away.

‘What do you mean?’ Rex began to feel a comfortable warmth spread throughout his being. The flames burned away his body, yet a new form lay beneath. ‘So nice.’ The lights formed a shell around him. ‘Sleepy.’ As he drifted in the comfortable feeling, he began to feel things.

New smaller lights similar to how the phoenix appears to start to pop up, yet no matter the amount that showed, none could match the phoenix’s light. Rex watched from within his comfortable shell as a ghost-like beast started to materialize like holograms. ‘I wonder what this is about?’ Just as he observed them, a few more giant balls of light dazzled into being.

The massive amount of light made monsters begin to battle when the larger creatures appeared. The defeated ones were absorbed by the winner, which looked to increase their strength. Rex tried just to watch the show, yet one of the more enormous monsters wanted to eat him.

‘No.’ Rex stood up from his spot. The light vanished into his body as he took a step forwards. His formed blurred out of existence, stopping the creature in its tracks. ‘You’re the food.’ A large claw descends from the darkness crushing the light monster while absorbing its orb. ‘I’m hungry!’ His voice echoes through the darkness. All the other light orbs fade away as he absorbs them.

“I’m hungry!” Rex shouts as his eyes snap awake. He blinks a few times, trying to adjust his vision. “Haven’t dreamt like that in ages.” The stress from the recent battles and weird dream seemed to melt away as he calmed his breath.

[Goodmorning, sleeping beauty, did you enjoy your nap?] Alfred leaned over Rex’s head to poke fun at him. [I can’t believe you left the weapons behind.] His old silhouette-style holo avatar was gone. Instead, a more human-like appearance took its place.

“Wait a minute! How’d you get a new face!” Rex stared at Alfred in surprise. His A.I. friend went from a green outline of a person’s silhouette to look like a jade green moving statue, with emerald gem eyes and forest green silky hair. “I know you like green, but seriously dude?” Rex gave Alfred another once over; the over-glow of green light from his body just seemed to absorb the rest of the colors.

[It’s my favorite color.] Alfred crossed his arms, sighing. [I leave you for a few minutes, and you almost get yourself killed. Do you just attract trouble or something?] He waved his hand, making a few screens appear. [Got a souvenir for you while I was away.] The screens flashed as they vanished. A smooth, sleek-looking jade bracelet was in their place, with a large emerald strip running through the center. Rex could see little flashes of light streaking through the gem band, making it sparkle. [My first creation as a spirit, the Captain’s Ring.] Alfred threw his head back with pride. At the same time, he was holding the item out for Rex to take.

“But it’s a bracelet.” Rex was staring at the stunning work of art in the hands of his green friend. “Wait a sec; you’re a what now?” His face snapped back to focus on Alfred a bit more.

[It’s rude to stare so intently.] Alfred walked closer to touch the ring to Rex’s forehead. When it made contact, his eyes shot wide in disbelief. A bright light shone from the ring, electing a short curse from Rex, who was staring directly at it. [A lot happened after we split ways, but yes, I got a promotion essentially. You did as well.] The bracelet was gone as the light vanished. Rex was blinking profusely and muttered a promise of payback under his breath.

"How exactly did I get a promotion?" Rex grunted in frustration, his body could not move, but thankfully his vision was slowly restoring itself. "I didn't even know I was anything more than an experimental subject until a few hours ago!" His anger was slowly building up. "I was comfortably enjoying my solitude until you dumped me in an oversized meat suit due to our ship getting destroyed by a sailing ship in space, crewed by space pirate goblins with glowing weapons!” He was struggling against a weight holding him down. “Let me up so I can hit you once!” He was fuming mad now. “Why can’t I move?!” He screamed out in frustration.

[I had the crew strap you down for my safety.] Rex looked down, rage clearly on his face. He was strapped down by a glowing blanket of light that covered his whole body but his neck just above his shoulders. [When we started to heal you, the medic ran into some problems.] As magic raised the bed into a standing position, Alfred's finger glowed a moment. [I’ll let you go if you promise not to hurt me. The sensations of this human avatar are a bit much for a first-timer.] Rex stopped struggling, his rage dying out.

“Crew? Problems?” Rex gave a hard stare at Alfred. “How long was I out for, and what's going on now?” A banging on the door followed by white noise has repeated itself a few times by now. “What is that bloody noise?!” His head was hurting like something was stabbing his brain directly.

[That’s one of the problems; try to hold on. This may feel painfully uncomfortable.] Alfred had a look of pity on his face before snapping his fingers, opening the door. Painful white noise blasted from Alfred's mouth. Another source of the noise came from the doorway. Rex screamed out as he passed out with his eyes and ears bleeding.

The noise followed him into the darkness again, echoing around the space. It stopped abruptly as a melodic noise burst out, silencing them. A cool icy blue light flowed around his body, relieving the pain. A deep rich red slowly seeped into his body, followed by a growing heat.

Before Rex could make sense of anything, more light monsters manifested in bright flashes. Then, they surrounded him with roars sounding like faint echoes of what the beast represented. Then, they began their assault with Rex in the middle of them all.

"Good timing; I needed a stress reliever." Rex rolled his shoulders while cracking his neck in anticipation. With a predatory smile and glare on his face, he waited. "Bring it!" The first light beast lunged at him.

>>>>>

Alfred watched Rex's face with concern, and a smile crept on Rex's face that sent chills down his spine. "What do you think he is experiencing?" He watched as crystals flowed through the air in front of Rex. Then, finally, they would break into dust before glowing and rushing into his body.

"Who knows." An older-sounding voice answered him. "It's a battle of the souls, so only the owner will understand." A short younger-looking girl that didn't match her voice was sitting before the unconscious Rex. She would pick a crystal from a crate next to her; after whispering indistinguishable words, it would glow and join the rest flowing in a pattern before Rex.

"He can handle it. Is this all of it?" Alfred watched as a few others walked through the door, dropping crates of more crystals and gems in the room. "Where did this all come from?" He asked the girl after the workers left.

"This should be all of it." The girl moved her now empty box next to the door, stacking it with the others. "If we are to power him up to be able to survive on this ship, this is a good way to do so." She picked up a box of smaller gems, taking them back to the few crystals still hovering around. She began the task of lighting them up and setting them afloat.

"Don't worry, sir, I'll make sure he stays healed up!" A cheery voice full of positivity called out from the left of Rex. The young-sounding woman stood resolute with visible energy in her eyes and on her face. "I'll keep the Captain in on piece, sir!" Alfred bet she would have saluted him if her hands went glowing while placed on Rex's heart and head.

"Keep up the good work, Medic." Alfred nodded to the excited woman. "Let me know if anything happens, Sprite." He turned to the girl making the crystals glow and float. She nodded while continuing her task. "We need the Captain ready as soon as possible." He turned to leave. He missed the days when his avatar was only a hologram and not a fleshy body to care about.

"Why are you doing so much for this man Sir Spirit? I don't understand. You can have anyone Captain your vessel; why this powerless human?" The girl calls out, catching him in the doorway. He turns around to face her with a solemn face.

"He has managed to outlive the civilization he was born into; before my creation, he created what my creators call their society." His eyes rested on the unconscious Rex, claw marks and other wounds appearing yet getting healed at an astonishing rate. The medical woman's hands glowed a bright icy blue as she worked her magic to keep him alive.

"He may be human, but he is a human with more than a thousand years of survival experience. Death can't seem to catch him, even when he actively seeks him out." Alfred had a proud smile on his face while looking back at the girl. "Following this man has led to me this." He motioned to himself, showing off his spiritual avatar then the ship itself. "Why wouldn't I continue following him?" While a twirl, he exited the room.

The two left alone in the room had faces locked into complex thoughts while looking at each other. They seemed to be communicating with just their eyes and slight facial changes. They nodded to each other after a moment of contemplation. Both returned to their jobs with renewed vigor, eager to see where their choice to follow this spirit would lead them.

>>>>>

Rex looked around the vast empty darkness, looking for his next target. All he could see was glittering light particles floating around after he tore through all the beasts that showed up. Then, taking deep breaths to calm himself, he noticed something strange while breathing. All the dust was slowly gathered above him somewhere he couldn't see with every breath.

Interrupting his discovery of the pretty dust, more light creatures began to renew their assault. Claws of many colors left bloody marks across his body. Prismatic teeth tore his skin apart. Yet every time the monsters caused an injury, a cooling icy blue light spread over his wounds, healing them at a visible rate.

“Y’all want to play as well?” He opened his arms wide in a welcoming fashion. The light creatures didn’t hesitate one bit, and they blindly rushed forwards. “Then come join the party!” He roared out as he leaped to meet the one out front. He began to laugh while so many flashes of colors danced in the dark space. The cool icy glow always washes away the heat from pain.

Rex fought for what seemed like hours—doing anything he could to survive while destroying the light beasts which attacked him. Every short pause between battles, he was able to watch as the dust of the defeated joined the rest swirling above him. There were some close calls with a few monsters, but he had his icy glow keeping him alive. “Icy blue, it’s you and me!” He watched as his hand mended itself coated in the frosty healing light; it was finally quiet again.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Rex stared up at the massive swirling storm of magically glowing dust above his head. The dark space has been replaced with a violent hurricane of glowing dust. As he watched it moving in chaotic ways, he fell into a trance. The mesmerizing colors led him to slow his breathing to a rhythmed beat.

His blood began to race through his veins, heating his body. His heart loudly beat against his chest with every breath. The clouds swirled faster and faster, in the eye of the storm of technicolor lights, a small gem formed. It sent out a pulse with his every heartbeat. With every pulse, more and more of the storm clouds of light get pulled in. He held his breath, and his heart was beating faster and faster. The little gem gluttonously shallowed every mote of magic dust there was. A thunderous clap rang out, brightening the space to a more pleasant feeling.

“What the hell?” Rex was broken from his trance as he stared around the space, waiting for more monsters to appear, only for none to show. “Worse dream I ever had.” A metallic ding sounded from behind him, making him spin around. “Is this it?” A little gem was floating before him. It looked like a rough-cut obsidian sphere, almost like a dodecahedron, but the facets were a bit puffy, more so than flat. “All that for this?” He reached out to touch the gem.

The moment he touched the gem, a phoenix cry rang out from everywhere. A bird of fire flew from his chest into the gem, lighting it up from the inside. “I hope Alfred isn’t testing his new meds on me; I don’t need a bad trip right now.” Rex just watched as the gem grew larger into a crystalline shape. Its obsidian color started to fade slightly, allowing some other colors and light to begin shifting and glowing like little blinking stars. An aura of shifting colors manifested around the crystal, orbiting it in a constant shifting flow. “Now that’s a view.”

Once the crystal stopped growing and the aura stabilized around it, Rex let out a sigh of relief. He had no idea what just happened, but he had some part in whatever this was, so he felt a bit proud. While admiring this fanciful, magical sight, his own body was slowly beginning to glow. The warmth from his blood rushing around his body started to light up different parts as it passed on through. Finally, a line of similar light shot out from his body to link up to the floating crystal.

He could feel a power slowly seep into his body. He felt cold water flowing under his skin. A fire burned as it spread through his veins. Waves of electricity shocks causing his every muscle to twitch uncontrollably. He screamed, and it was all over. “Was that all?” Rex laid on his back, panting from the feelings of something powerful. A soft ding of a bell got his attention.

{Beginning System Scan}