You answer his question, although you opt out on extensive detail. You need to answer him, but you feel the need some of the more personal facts to yourself. If anything else, Myldir might already know everything about you. Considering everything that’s happened so far, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if you already got background checked.

Your names Samantha Dragotlovic, although you just went by Sam for most of your life. You were just a girl going to college after a short stint in your country’s military. Not that it gave you much of an advantage when the apocalypse came. Then again, no one really expects a cook to be the best survivalist around. That’s what you think anyway. If you knew things would have gone this bad, maybe you wouldn’t have been aiming for a culinary degree.

Myldir listened in silence. No response, no probing questions, not even a grunt of acknowledgment. You keep going regardless, the weight on your soldiers still ever present. When you spend what little information you are willing to give, you coincidentally arrive wherever you where heading. Nothing changed in this empty gray void but Myldir finally stopped walking.

“Well, I believe that is as much information as you will give me. Now on to the real meat of the matter.” Both hands on his cane, Myldir taps it on the ground. With a far louder and deeper sound than it should be possible to make, the ground cracks as a large stone wall rises from the ground. Made of deep blue material, there are plates of varying colors on it. From top to bottom, they follow a rainbow pattern of green, yellow, orange, and red.

Stepping forward, Myldir turns to face you, a smile on his face. “Now, before we make any other significant choices, we must first have you do business with the Sacrifices. And before we can even face those, you must pick what level of Sacrifice you are willing to take. This is simple but important step in your long journey in the MMO.”

Myldir’s smile dims a bit, his eyes focusing on something in front of him. Considering you can’t see what he’s looking at and the way his eyes move as if he’s reading something, you can only guess it’s another System window. He sighs, mumbling something you quite don’t hear. Then, as if nothing happened, his smile returns.

“What are Sacrifices exactly? A Sacrifice is the act of giving up something of yourself in exchange for something else of value. They are a method for you to gain Character Points that will be spent later to give you a boost when you start the game. Not all Sacrifices are equal, some being more demanding and personal than others. As such, the greater the Sacrifice, the greater the compensation.”

Myldir raises his cane and taps the green plate with it. Images of Earth fade in and out of existence on it. Different cultures, people, and maybe even different points in history? “This level of Sacrifice will have little to no impact on your experience with our MGS server. All these will be primarily focused on your old home world, although still related to you in some way. As such, the compensation is quite minimal. 1 point per Green Sacrifice.”

The cane moves down to the yellow one. The dame thing that happened with the green plate happens again, only the images are different this time. They seam to be focused on you from a third person perspective. Different points in your life, from childhood all the way up to your more recent years. Some are simple, like birthdays and time in school. It’s a bit embarrassing when ever some of your more personal moments appear, like your pet dying or your first sexual experience. Myldir doesn’t even look at them, much to your relief. Still doesn’t take away from how invasive the whole experience feels.

“The next level, Yellow Sacrifices are more personal, while still not limiting your capability to play. These are still primarily related to your old world but will have a more noticeable impact on you. It may take some time to properly cope with the changes, but nothing you can’t overcome completely. The compensation will be below average. 2 points per Yellow Sacrifice. “

Shifting down to what you assume is the Orange Sacrifice plate, the images on this one are more disturbing. They show you in various states of you in pain and suffering. In one you are kneeling on the ground bleeding from your gut. Another you are hospitalized, appearing sickly and weak. You are in a room, fetal position and crying as shadows converge on you. You are having sex but remain limp and unresponsive. On and on, more scenes of you in distress appear. Some are familiar, actual experiences you had in life. Other’s you are positive never had happened. The images are unnerving all the same.

Myldir seams mostly unaffected by these scenes, all but his smile dimming being his only reaction. “Now here is where the Sacrifices begin to hinder you in some way, shape, or form. Depending on which Sacrifices you select, there may be significant changes to your lifestyle. Some of these will be inexplicably difficult to overcome, much less reverse. You will be greatly compensated if you select any of these Sacrifice. 3 points per Orange Sacrifice.”

Myldir puts the cane down, taking a far more serious demeaner than he’s had the entire time you’ve known him. “Before we go to the next one, there is a point I need to stress, for everyone’s benefit. You have volunteered, willingly accepted of your own volition, to become a Player. For whatever reason that may have been it does not matter. Not at the beginning, possibly never at all depending on the choices you make. It is a decision you will forever be unable to take back.”

His eyes bore into you, their silver sheen taking a penetrating feature, as if to carve his words into your very soul. He has yet to blink once during his speech. Your chest tightens, an invisible hand grasping your heart.

“No mater how undesirable the Sacrifices may appear, no matter how personal and invasive the trade for power will be, it is necessary. If you want the capabilities of surviving, much less thriving in this new reality, steps must be taken to insure you are even capable of succeeding. How far you are willing to go and give much you are willing to give is your choice. But be aware, everything has its price.”

His eyes leave you, and you release the breath you didn’t even know you were holding. You flinch as Myldir taps the red plate with more force than you expected to be capable of. As the new images filter through, they hold far more variety than the previous ones. Some you are present in others you are absent. They are all make your skin crawl.

A village is being raided, the bandits mercilessly pillaging without mercy. Villagers are killed, raped, or collared, some experiencing all of them in varying orders. Insidious energy invades their corpses, forcing them to rise in a poor imitation of life. It shifts, now looking upon a child running in the woods, alone and terrified. A beast prowls in the shadows, malformed and multilimbed. A parody of a wolf, limbs too long, fur too black, movement too erratic, it pounces on the child and feasts. It turns, almost aware that it is being watched, and you see the face of the monster. A mockery of your own visage stares back, smiling as blood and meat leaks from your mouth.

More and more of these twisted images pass, each one a horror after the other. But the worst one is the last one. You see your parents. Joys on their faces as they look off to the side. You walk into frame, arms stretched for a hug. They return the gesture, love in their eyes and warmth in their hearts. The moment is lovely and soothing after everything you’ve just seen.

Its cruelly broken by a flash of light.

Where once your parents stood, alive and whole, now they lay dead. Their corpses mutilated and broken; you can clearly see the horror on their faces. Their murder stands above them, cold and analytical. Not a drop of shame and sadness to be found. Such a strange thing to see on your own face. Your doppelganger looks in your direction. You know without a shadow of doubt she knows you are watching her. She smiles a sad smile. A smile of acceptance and pity. A smile that promises more horrible things to come.

And with that the plate is back to its simple sold red color. Myldir speaks, not giving you a moment to understand what you just saw. “These are the be all end all Sacrifices. Selecting any of these will have permanent changes to your character. There is virtually no way to recover from any of these Sacrifices, as the System will restrict any attempt to resolve them, by you or a third party. That is assuming you are physically or mentally capable of attempting such a feat. You will be compensated to the full capabilities of the System. 4 points per Red Sacrifice.

“Now, the rules are as follows. You must select what level of Sacrifice you are willing to go up to. You will be required to select at minimum one Sacrifice from that level, the number of required Sacrifices doubling for every Sacrifice bellow it. An example: You select Orange Sacrifices as your limit. You will require one Orange Sacrifices, two Yellow Sacrifices, and 4 Red Sacrifices. This also functions as your limit for sacrifices. You can have no more and no less for the selected Sacrifices.”

He taps his cane on the ground, four pillars rising up in front of you. Each one has a similar color as one of the plates on the blue wall. “Now tell me Sam. Just how much are you willing to give for the sake of power and your own survival?”

What do you do?

Spoiler: Spoiler

Green

Yellow

Orange

Red

None

Multiple

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