[New elements detected, processing…]

"Why am I "hearing" brackets?" I say, or at least I think that I'm saying it, because I can't feel my mouth moving.

[Conscious thought detected, ERROR, sub-process started…]

"Wait, I can’t feel anything… I can’t even see… am I dead? And what’s with the brackets?"

[Cognitive mind found, ERROR, switching integration-priority…]

"Hey, whatever you’re blabbering about over there I think I need some hel- AAAARGH, PURPLE!" and indeed, 'argh, purple', but more precisely: I could feel myself being blinded by the 'purpleness' of the space around me, that same ever-changing shade of purple from before; but I don’t mean that I 'saw' it, because it was like 'seeing' was the least of what I was doing.

[Warning: Genetic Incongruity detected. Pattern analyzed, genetic abnormality found, compatible match with inborn potential detected and found, generating gift…]

"What the hell are you talking abo-URGH!" a flash of pain assaulted me where my eyes would be, and should still be ("I hope").

[Gift generated, genetic abnormality resolved, restarting integration…]

And now, I could really see 'the purple' (that for now, I have no other name for) and past it, finding noticeable patterns, like those you would find across the art of a known author… and yet, it resembled nothing I had ever seen before (while still feeling deceptively familiar).

"Woah" I rendered utterly speechless, everything I was seeing was so magnificent and complex than ever trying to describe it would be a disservice to it. But some 'brackets' decided to ruin the experience and 'speak up'.

[Analysis completed]

It added, with something that almost felt between smugness and tiredness.

[Race added to catalog, relative inborn and racial traits added to catalog, meta-physical template added to catalog, soul matrix added to catalog]

Now, having all those 'bracketed' words slung at me was kind of jarring, especially so when you get so many at once, leaving me with an impression that they were pushing against my temples. I had to start massaging them and- "oh wait, I have temples and hands now", I easily concluded, noticing that my entire body was there, although it was purple too, but with a golden tinge on it. Now that I was paying attention, almost everything defined had a different colored hue to it, and the more I focused on it, the more its brand of 'purple' faded in the background, finally giving me a somewhat normal vision.

"Still very disorienting, but I'll take it."

[Initialization completed, catalog successfully updated]

"Is it over? Can I go back?"

[There is nothing to go back to] it surprisingly replies.

"Well, that was not ominous at all!" I respond sarcastically.

[Integration into 'New-Nexus' completed, starting materialization…]

"Wait right there you robo-fucker, what thE FUCK IS GOI-" but once again my thoughts are cut short, and the darkness consumes everything once more.

"This shit is getting tiring."

* * *

“Oh, I’m conscious again” was my first thought when I woke up again, “and this time I can properly feel my body, and it’s VERY sore” was the second one, and the third was about how I really didn’t want to open my eyes.

Why? Because, since now I wasn't suffering from 'the mother of all sensory-overload' anymore, I could finally rationalize what the heck just happened (and on that note I apologize for being crass before, but, as you can imagine, I was a bit overwhelmed): something akin to an artificial-intelligence was cataloging me and others, (humans, as far as I could tell), and then 'integrating' us somewhere else.

And that, in my weird and nerdy mind, could mean only one thing: we somehow got adducted into another world, maybe even dimension (or we got 'scanned' in a VR game, but I don’t want to ponder over something that would leave to an eventual existential crisis, so I bury that thought in the far recess of my mind).

But it's not like I'd dislike a chance to start over in another world, after all, I didn't really accomplish much until now in mine, which made me depressingly ponder over how many opportunities I had wasted; the only thing that I'd say that I regret, would be leaving my parents behind: I mean, being a hot-head, I didn't have the rosiest of relationships with them, but I still loved them, and the thought of never seeing them again made me squeeze my fist in impotence since I probably couldn't do anything about it now.

There was also Raymond, but we were close when crap went down, so he should be here too, wherever 'here' is, no?

Soon a soft ringing sound forces me to pay attention to whatever is happening outside of my body, and so I start by noticing that I'm lying down on something springy, yet soft, not too dissimilar to a latex balloon; the ringing becomes a distinguishable sound of an array of bells, and it's weird how it almost sounds like they’re reverberating inside of my chest, resembling an old school RPG chime.

"Oh no, it’s an isekai" I mumble in defeat.

"Ah, one is up!" exclaims a placid, angelic, and feminine voice.

1) I don’t want to simp without having even seen her, but~… 2) she just reaffirmed my hypothesis that I wasn’t the only one to… is 'transmigrate' the correct term here? I don’t know and I don’t really care, I’m just stalling with coming to terms with what is happening.

And so, I heroically decide that it is time for me to open my eyes, charge ahead in my new life, and- HOLY SHIT LOOK AT THOSE TITS!

Sorry, but gotdamn, as soon as I got my eyes open, I got a face-full of breasts, which were practically covering my entire field of view, and I’m sure of what 'assets' they were because her face quickly descended into view: and what a face! My first thought was "maybe not only her voice was angelical” and the second one was “why is she turquoise?”

Smooth turquoise skin, pouty and full teal lips, luscious aquamarine hair (I’m an artist, I know my colors), elongated elfin ears (oh, wow, it’s really happening), and exquisitely deep blue eyes, currently locked with my own.

"Hey you, you’re finally awake" she said, with a kind smile, and in complete seriousness.

"Here’s a tip for you, my fair elf lady, don’t say that to any other of us, if you don’t want them to audibly groan in your face" I said, a bit shakenly at first, but with more and more confidence as my rambling continued.

She gave me an amused glance, and seeing no reactions on my part added a raised eyebrow to the expression, to which I only responded with a non-committal shrug: it was up to the buxom elf lady to believe me or not.

"Ok, thanks for the information" she finally said, after a couple of seconds of embarrassing silence, with our gazes still intertwined, "And, also, I'm a Nymph, not an Elf, my good… sir" she obviously tried a little jab at me but ended up blanking at 'what' I was, guess they didn't have humans here.

"I guess that they don't have [Humans] here?" I genially asked, almost biting my tongue when earing the brackets coming from me.

"No, we don't, but thank you for adding about them to my [Information]" she replied with a wink that made me forget to ask what she meant and only intensified our stare-off.

I was the first to break our stare-off and started glancing around, ignoring the amused smirk blossoming on her face, and the heat on my cheeks:

Well… I decide to focus on my surrounding: I was in what I could only describe as a modern version of a Greek temple; white marbled columns, sustaining a black arched ceiling, which had a pattern that reminded me of a starry sky; said columns had some sort of luminescent golden fluid, the same shade as the light from the fake starry sky, running through its grooves and on the floor, collecting itself in shallow pools, which, apparently, were the springy substance in which me, and the other [Humans] around me, were currently lying on; also, it looked like every [Human] had its own 'elfin' attendant (nymphic?), all dressed in an undescriptive robe, with only the color changing amongst them; on that note, my 'milky' Nymph (ugh, that was cringy) had navy-blue robes on.

How could I know it was a fake sky? Dear viewer, did you not notice that didn’t say anything about walls? That’s because past the columns, that spanned the perimeter of the 'temple' on three sides, was a lightly cloudy, yet serene, blue sky (the last side had a full wall, with a set of double doors on it).

"At least the sky is the same color, not sure if I could have adapted to something like a pink one" I expressed out loud, to which I got a snort from the turquoise Nymph, apparently amused by my comment.

I tried to at least sit down, but I was sorer than I thought, and after a couple of weak grunts I gave up on that prospect and brought my eyes back on the Nymphs.

"Don’t try to move yet, the [Transfer] is incredibly taxing on the [Soul]; actually, it’s incredible that you’re already awake, but you should still let your body acclimate to its new state of being" said the busty beauty, of whom I should really learn the name, while placing a delicate but oversized hand on my chest, stilling anymore of my pathetic attempts at moving.

"Any way to get someone to give me an infodump, that includes your name, in order to understand what’s going on here?" I said, after the discomfort caused by my repeated attempts at locomotion passed; "smooth" I thought, "real smooth”.

" 'Infodump'?" she asked quizzically (apparently not smooth enough), "I’m pretty sure I understood what you meant, but that’s not an expression we use here; but no matter, my name is Undine Turquoise, after the [Water Nymph] tradition, my peculiar skin tone, and my proficiency in [water magic]-"

"What’s with the brackets? Why can I hear them? And [Holy] shoot, did you say magic!?" I had to infer, while still getting surprised by the brackets.

Her response though was to simply smile, as a teacher would at an inquisitive child, finally asking the right questions.

"That is the [System], which is unique to the [Nexus], the realm we are in now, by the way." she briefly paused, seeing if I had any other impending interruptions in me, and I did have them, but I decided to let her go on, with what was becoming apparent was a rehearsed speech; she then continued, "I’m sure you have an unimaginable number of questions for me, especially considering your reaction at the mention of 'magic', giving me the idea that your precious world had none, but I assure you that you have been given the tool to know the answer to the majority of them: the [System] itself. But if you will be looking for further explanations, I will be available for you at any time, at least until you will be deemed capable of integrating into society; such is the job of a [Priest]."

Her speech only answered some of my questions, while birthing new ones including:

"How do I access the [System]?" I said, trying to ignore the damned things.

"Since it is a new part of every new [Transferred], an [Introduction] is now within your grasp, you just have to say it out loud, at least for now; through dedication and practice you'll be able to access the [System] merely by thinking about it" she said with a blue tint growing on her face ("she’s probably blushing at having forgotten to tell me something so basic").

"So… I just go, like, '[Introduction]'?" I responded, confused, but not for long: the ringing bells that had faded in the background came back with a vengeance, accompanied by trumpets, and what I think are violins; with all the fanfare the world started dimming its colors, like a cheap slow-mow effect (it was probably exactly what was going on); and at the apex of the tune a single rectangle, somehow even more devoid of colors, and yet distinguishable from the background, appeared in front of my face, with iridescent text somehow 'carved' on it ("wait, it’s that goldish-purple again!").

[Welcome, new Transferred, to the Nexus Realm, the last bastion to the intelligent species whose original world no longer exists]

"Oh, so that’s what it meant…"

[may you find solace in your new life and know that the Gods acted only in order to save as many of your kind as possible, and doing so indiscriminately]

"That sounds like a load of bull-"

[remember that everything that will be said during the Introduction will be easily accessible afterward, by simply accessing the Information Tab, so there is no need to excessively focus on the following Material]

"You wish! My greatest strength is to over-fixate on the most minuscule thing!... or is that my greatest weakness? No, that's probably my laughable physique."

[and now, the Introduction, will finally…]

"Why the emphasis? I know you’re going to say be-"

[Begin!]

Everything started dimming even further and-"Ooooh boy, hello darkness my old friend."