Chapter 1

New World Day 1

On the day everything changed, I was riding my ATV through the tree lined paths of my family’s land in rural Kentucky. My tall willowy frame hunched over the small red and black vehicle as I sped through the woods the cool wind whipping through my raven colored hair. The shaded trails and diverse wildlife never failed to calm my mind. I had come down to watch over the place while my parents went up to Cincinnati to visit my two sisters. Aside from the frequent and frustrating power outages that liked to strike the area, I loved to take care of my parent’s place. The land stretched for over 200 acres and included multiple lakes, a lush green forest, and even a meadow filled with hundreds if not thousands of flowers the sight of which when in full bloom would just take your breath away. A new animal here or a blooming flower there, I always found something new, something interesting to take in.

It was a wonderful sunny day, and I was half-way back to my parent’s house when a wizened yet melodious voice began whispering into my ear while a wide screen filled with text simultaneously appeared in front of me. The sudden loss of sight caused me to swerve off the densely packed dirt of the trail into the forest’s underbrush just barely missing a large oak tree in the process. I bit off a curse mid word as I began to take in exactly what was being whispered into my ears. The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere around me as if the woods themselves were whispering the truth of the world to me and no matter which direction I turned the screen stubbornly stayed in front of my eyes guaranteeing that I would at least see if not read the text of the speech. As I absorbed the import of the self proclaimed god’s speech, I began to pale in fear whispering to myself over and over again, “Son of a bitch. Son of a BITCH. SON OF A BITCH!”

I didn’t want to believe what was being said. It was insane. Absolutely bonkers. I mean who would believe a crazy story about magic, multiple universes, and evil gods. It was practically straight out of a bad fantasy novel. And yet. And yet where was the voice coming from. It was just me out here. I was all alone in this forest. Plus, there was that thrice damned screen right in front of my eyes that almost caused me to ram straight into a tree. It was practically smacking me over the head with the fact that it had to be true. At least partly true. I mean they do say that seeing is believing, and that damn screen stayed in my vision no matter what I did. It was there when I fluttered my eyes as if trying to blink it away like the floating lights that occasionally popped up in one’s vision. It was even there after I gave myself a few mild smacks on the side of the head like my vision was a tv or computer screen that was on the fritz.

By the time I finally convinced myself that something terrible truly was happening, I just barely had a chance to see that the text version of the speech was signed Pallas Athena before the first screen disappeared from in front of my eyes. It was replaced by a much smaller transparent screen in the corner of my right eye that was blinking over and over again with the same question. It read, “Start System tutorial?” Yet before I could really process the question, I began to feel a deep rumble pouring into my body. One much stronger than the mild vibrations given off by the still puttering engine of the ATV I yet sat astride.

That rumble made me shake and shiver, and as I looked around me I confirmed that it wasn’t just me shaking in fear. The earth itself was quivering and breaking and shaking. The earth seemed to be shaking itself awake and as it did it caused the wind to begin to pick up. It howled through the the tree limbs like a terrible banshee newly born to the world screaming its hate for everything living and merged with the rumbling of the earth to shake me to my very core. But that horror was just the beginning. The sunlight that shown through the thin gaps of the great tree’s emerald leaves began to diminish as deep steely gray thunderheads began to form in the sky blocking out every ray of the sun. Flashes of lightning rippled through the clouds and peals of thunder burst forth from the sky. The new sounds and sights merged with the old to form a vision and noise that threatened to drive me out of what little sanity I already had.

And as everything built to a crescendo there was a massive whoosh and a feeling of falling similar to what one experiences when they drop down from a great hill on a roller coaster. I screamed in unconstrained terror as I seemed to fall through reality itself and everything around me was torn apart. Then right when I felt like I couldn’t it endure anymore, I hit a bottom of some kind and involuntarily let out a grunt of pain. The sudden blow knocked the breath from my trembling chest. As it did, there was an audible and physical snap as the world came back into focus around me. I was back in the forest atop my ATV, the sky clear, wind quiet, and earth no longer quivering, but even then I couldn’t be bothered with the still blinking screen in the corner of my right eye. There was something much much more pressing right in front of my face.

A large, four-legged, and green furred animal with great triangular ears, gleaming fangs poking from its long muzzle, and steaming drool dribbling down its overlapping lips was now laying with its eyes closed just 20 feet in front of me. It’s long front legs ending in dark stained claws were crossed in front of its body and its giant thickly furred tail twitched behind it while its great furry chest heaved rhythmically up and down confirming it still lived. The beast was twice the size of even a timber wolf! My mind began to slowly almost glacially awaken from its immense shock and order my body to move, to run, to back the damn ATV up, to get the hell out of there, and for the love of God, or gods now I guess, make as little noise as possible. I carefully shifted the ATV into reverse with trembling sweat covered hands and pressed on the gas but my still shaking body caused me to push far too hard on the accelerator causing the ATV to shoot backwards back onto the path like a bullet. A matching sound shot out of the exhaust echoing throughout all of the forest. A sound that made me wince in fright. A sound that caused the great beast in front of me to slowly open its eyes and glare at me with huge gold pupils filled with a desire to hunt, to kill, to *devour*.