Chapter 2 - Rebirth

Tal opened his eyes and blinked furiously, trying to adjust to the change in lighting. He was now standing in a 4 by 4 meter room of white walls, lit from a ceiling of steady white light.

“Greetings Contender!” rasped a voice from behind him.

Tal whirled, searching. His eyes met those of a bald, old man, shrouded in a grey cloak and leaning against a wall. Now that the hood from the cloak had fallen back, he could make out some of the figure's features. The grandfatherly figure bore an expression of exasperation, interrupted only by a mischievous smile playing across the corners of his face. Most notably, lying at his feet were a semi-translucent swirl of grey motes, flickering every so often with ember flashes.

“Uhh….” Tal choked out, “Hello?” What am I supposed to say? He thought.

The old man took one long look at Tal before sighing. “I know you have questions. But we don’t have the time.” The old man cast a nervous glance around the room “I can’t let it notice me or everything will be doomed. Damn thing doesn’t know friend from foe”.

“Right...” Tal muttered, trying to keep the quake from his voice. Like that's totally not ominous at all. “Then what can you tell me? Who... or rather, what, are you?” Where are we? And h” - Tal stopped short when he noticed the old man's smirk dip down into a frown. Right…no time. Besides, I don’t want to get this crazy old man angry. Tal decided to cut his losses and shut up.

“As I was saying,” Grandpa continued as if there was no interruption. “Little time. Lots to get through.” Grandpa’s eyes flashed for a moment, and the gravity in the room suddenly doubled in strength. Tal felt his knees lock in surprise and his hands limply drop to his sides. Then, just as quick as it came, it was gone. If he hadn’t seen the faint glimmer of sweat on the old man's face as the pressure in the room returned, he would have discounted it as a figment of his imagination. The old man suddenly interrupted Tal’s musings. “Ok scratch that, lots to get through. No time. Just know that you have been chosen alongside others from your world.”

He has straight-up abducted me. Tal thought. Though, it was me that purposefully made the choice to step into the unknown, so I can't fully blame him.

Grandpa nodded slowly. And as his eyebrows furrowed, he looked almost as if he was taking pity on Tal. But then his face lit up again with a smile. “You and the others have a lot riding on your shoulders. And certainly many enemies waiting for you as a result of my...position. Yet, you’ll soon find your…situation comes with many benefits. The first of which you will soon discover. For now, do me proud. Survive and you will be rewarded”

Grandpa stood then. Giving Tal one final once over before bringing his hands behind his back. Grandpa strode towards Tal and with a wink placed his hands over Tal’s wrists. “Oh and one last thing. When you get to the Tower, make sure you choose very, very, wisely”.

Immediately, a fiery heat built inside Tal’s arm. Then it spread to the rest of his body. Tal broke eye contact with the old man and glanced down at himself. Shining through his skin were a tangle of threads, writhing sporadically. Tal watched as the threads rearranged themselves into yet another configuration. The threads, now settled down, began to shine increasingly brighter until Tal had to look away from the light. Then, burning pain shot throughout his body. Needles dug into his skull and a hissing built under his skin. What felt like a sea of lava invaded his lungs. Tal collapsed onto his knees, barely managing to keep his head from hitting the floor. Wave upon wave of piercing pain swept throughout his body. Slowly, his brain processed the feeling of shredded vocal cords and he realised he had been screaming.

Your spiritual pathways have been rewired. New opportunities await you.

Fortune favours the bold

Tal’s body twitched on the floor in silent agony for another moment before his vision was consumed by a swirling nexus of colours.

It didn't take long for the hallucinations to start. Shadowy faces and bright lights flew all around him. Tal tried to move, lurching up from where he was, only to find he was stuck. Seemingly bound to what looked like a hospital bed as it whirled through space in a dizzying fashion. A silhouette in the far distance get closer as he zoomed through space towards it. Finally fully visible Tal found a mirror presented before him. His vision blurred as the mirror separated into dozens of shards, slowly orbiting around him. In their reflection Tal found himself staring back. Only…different. Hundreds of identical eyes met his own, each displaying some measure of wildness or indifference. Some hidden mirth that only he wasn't privy to. He closed his eyes before he could vomit from the onslaught of mind-bending sensations. Whisperings from far off and yet still right next to him crept their way into his ears, making it known that closing his eyes was no escape.

Just when Tal thought he couldn't take it anymore. A blue screen, complete with glowing amber letters illuminated his vision from behind his closed eyelids.

You Have Died.

***

The Deity frowned. The recruitment program must be failing. This one certainly doesn't look promising. I can't speak for the rest, but I've done my part. At least he'll have The System on his side, what with being a Contender and all. How much that will help him in winning back his world from the spread of The Shroud...one can only hope.