Chapter 2

Trint woke up on the ground. Unsure how much time had passed, he looked up and saw Jack sitting a short distance away as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“How long was I out?” Trint asked the darkness. He found that he was waking up and finding himself in strange, new places more and more often. Frankly, it was a distressing experience, and he did not want that to keep happening.

"Not too long, all things considered,” Trint nearly jumped out of his skin, not expecting an answer, having forgot about Jack. Trint shook his head at first in annoyance but quickly that morphed to anger.

He got up a little too quickly, expecting to have even more injuries after opening his gift. Shockingly, he felt fantastic. The pressure, burning, and pain was gone. Vanished. He could feel an energy he had never experienced before coursing through his body. He felt strong and energized. Completely forgetting Jack, Trint began testing his miraculously healed body. Standing on tiptoe with palms outstretched toward the sky, he could tell his skin and muscles were denser. His chest felt like it radiated energy where the molten stone had settled. Touching his now healed chest he was surprised to see his body was more muscular.

Looking around he saw there was no light or wind, or sign of the acidic burns anymore, but when Trint closed his eyes, he could feel the stone and sense it emitted a constant force like a blazing fire. But simultaneously it seemed to be breathing in and out. He was lost in the feeling as part of him he never knew existed seemed to inhale and then exhale. The breathing corresponded with his lungs, but it wasn’t pushing air through this new “heart” it wasn’t even physically inside him. It was infusing his body with something. He could feel a refreshing energy spread from his chest with each breath.

Shaken from his thoughts he felt something, or more like someone, was watching him. A predator was near. On edge, his eyes snapped open and he scanned his surroundings but couldn’t place the source of his fear until Jack stepped out from the trees.

“Right, that would be distracting at first,” he sympathized. “You will not always fear him, however. It should now be obvious to you that you are much more than you previously were. A moment ago, you looked like any other freshly-minted i11 mortal, although you were more handicapped than most, given your injuries. Now, you are more made more than whole. I can feel a power radiating from you.” He stood and looked Trint up and down, a glint in his eye.

“Part of it pulls from even me. My spirit is able to resist the pull, as I am constantly blocking out the fear. Pneuma will teach you to control that soon, or you will be forced to stay outside town to avoid the recruiters,” he warned.

“What do you mean, i11, new ma...?” Trint cut in unsure of all Jack was alluding to.

“Well, you are no longer on Earth,” Jack stated. “This is i11: a completely different universe. You will learn more later. Just ask Pneuma.”

“What?! Another universe?” Trint challenged.

“Just save your questions for the end,” Jack sounded like a tenured professor quieting the class. “Regarding your earlier question, you were out for about two hours after being paired with Pneuma and successfully joining your new family.”

Trint decided the best chance of getting answers was to be listen and be patient. He walked over and sat on a protruding boulder and raised his eyebrows at the man, less-than-patiently awaiting an explanation.

“The wind and fire you saw were the first part of the gift as Pneuma paired with you and connected both of your spirits, minds, and bodies. The effects will get you past the first few Iterations fast enough to find the help you’ll need. The blood created the bond with your Benefactor and confirmed your familial ties,” Jack began.

“You are now inseparable as your souls have been linked. You also have a Seat and Name in your new family's Kingdom. You must become much more than you imagine standing amongst that level of power. You must endure and fight and forge yourself. But you don’t have to do it alone. I will be taking my leave, but you are in good hands. Not literal hands, mind you.”

He paused for a moment before offering up a bit of advice: “I suggest you don’t try to ignore his advice. He won’t force you to listen, but at this point, he knows far more than you. He will keep you alive till you know how to fend for yourself. You are not the master but are now companions.”

Jack reached into his pockets once more and produced another small item. Turning his fist palm side up, Trint realized it was a ring of some sort. A signet ring, perhaps?

“Another gift,” he explained. “This is your father’s family ring. Before you place it on your finger, notice the color of the metal. You won’t see this material again till you meet your father, as it was Soul forged by him.” The metal was a matte black with flecks of blue that slowly swirled in the metal and a gave a slight internal glow. It reminded Trint of the black flames and blue flecked wind.

“But more importantly, you need to memorize the symbol design of 3 interlocked circles. This is a family symbol that no one can fake or attempt to use without the System allowing it. The status and power your family command allows them System privileges for Symbols of Power such as this. If you ever see this symbol after today it means that your family has influence over whatever is marked.”

Trint carefully took the proffered ring. The circles on the band seemed to be overlapping a triangle. Looking closer, the interlocked circles were threaded with the triangle. The triangle corners were at the center of each circle with each circle overlapping the next ring like three links in a chain.

“Now put it on,” Jack instructed. “The other way. The single circle should always face toward you.”

Trint felt the invisible runes previously burnt into his skin flare with power as he slid the ring on his finger. The ring changed from an ornately designed ring with a broad circle top for the family design to a plain, dull black band—the basic description after it changed popped into his view as another holographic message:

[ [Masked] Family Storage Ring: Soulbound – Error: Full description not available for storage device.]

“Pneuma can use the ring while you wear it. It will look ordinary to anyone else and cannot be taken off by you by anyone. Even if your ring is cut off your finger or you lose a hand, the ring will return to you. You’re stuck with it now. In any form you take, it will be with you.” Alarmed, Trint gave the ring a small tug and, sure enough, it didn't budge.

“Additionally, Pneuma also cannot be lost, taken, or given away,” Jack continued. “No one else can hear or communicate with him for now. He is with you to help guide you, give you the power and resources to survive. Now!" He clapped loudly, startling Trint from his futile efforts and baffled thoughts.

“I really must be going. It was a pleasure to meet you, and we all will be expecting great things. I wish I could help you more, but I must return home. Goodbye, Trinten, and good luck.” Jack waved and then was gone. No sound or mist, just there one moment and gone the next.

As Jack disappeared Trint was inundated with countless more of those holographic messages that popped into his view, stacked on each other, like so many popup windows. No matter how much he moved his head they just followed his view.

“How do I get rid of these?” he grumbled, swatting at the intangible boxes.

Just say, hide notifications, a voice spoke in Trint’s mind.

“What... in the world.” Trint dropped to the ground like a bomb. “Oh. Oh wow, you gave me a heart attack. Are you... Pnu-may?” Trint spoke tried to respond to the voice that just boomed in his mind.

No, I am Pneuma, the voice corrected. Hello, young Trinten. You were close, but your pronunciation is wrong; it should sound like ‘New-Muh’. It is spelled P-N-E-U-M-A.”

The sound of the predatory voice lingered in Trint’s mind. It spoke with a slow and measured cadence, as if speaking to a child. After spelling his name, Trint’s mind was filled with a shadow of an image of a throne and a faceless being sitting on it. The mental vantage point was from below and off to the side, looking up at the throned figure. He could feel the power radiating out from the figure and instinctively understood he was seeing a memory of Pneuma’s.

Your situation is unique, and I have a lot to teach you about where you are and what is required of you. But as Jack said, “sink or swim,” right? I want you to begin by touching your ring and thinking, ‘sword’.

“What?”

Please. Just try it. The voice sounded equal parts annoyed and amused at his response.

Shrugging, Trint did as he was instructed, and a sword fell to the ground at his feet. It was similar in appearance to a short katana.

Now pick it up, swing it a few times and don’t die.

“Right, don’t die,” Trint repeated with a bit of sarcasm. “I think I can manage not cutting myself, but killing myself? That’s ridiculous.”

Oh, I don’t mean from the sword; that is to help you not die. This should be easy. I really hope you won’t need my help. Alright, find your way out of the woods. Bye.

“Find my way out of the woods?" Trint asked, incredulous. "I was blindly carried through the woods, and you said this is not Earth. But yeah, find my way out. Okay, sure thing.” His sarcasm and lack of excitement was met with a stony silence. No, Pneuma wasn't joking.

Looking around, there wasn’t much in the immediate view. It was the middle of the night. At least, it was not so dark out as to make this impossible. Celestial light shined through gaps in the trees but there was nothing else to light his way.

Trint was standing in a low spot between hills with trees. It seemed peaceful. If not for the creepy silence, it reminded him of camping as a kid. Taking a moment, he took inventory of himself. He felt great and he was now wearing some shorts but no shirt. His body showed no signs of damage or scars.

With equal parts trepidation and eagerness to test his new body he swung the sword for a while. Then nothing left to do he walked deeper into the wood. For about 15 minutes he didn’t encounter anything, only the sound of some wind blowing through the trees. Suddenly the forest went completely still.

Crack!

The sound of a stick snapping underfoot rang out like a gunshot in the creepy silence. He froze.

Standing still for ten seconds, Trint thought he was in the clear for now. Until there was a rustle in the trees above, looking up and around him, he felt he could see silhouettes of small creatures in the trees.

“Are... are you kidding me? Are those Koala bears? Is this like Australia?” Trint was about to laugh out loud until one of the ‘furry bears’ fell onto his head, teeth first and claws out.

Damage: Minus 2 Health Points / 48 Health points remaining.

That hurts and I can’t see, let me see! he thought, and the window showing damage disappeared.

No longer blinded by the combat play-by-play, Trint used his left hand to rip the bear from his head and held it out in front of him. It was soft, but not like a koala. In fact, it more closely resembled his childhood teddy bear.

He tossed it to the ground and did not hesitate to use the short sword to skewer it and make a shish kabob pinned to the ground. His blade was now coated in a wet liquid that glistened even in the dark forest. He shuddered to think what color liquid that might be. More bears were jumping out of the trees, and a small, slow-moving herd started to circle Trint.

At least the pain is bearable, Trint joked to himself, knowing he wasn’t really funny but always enjoyed laughing at his own expense.

The pain was minimal despite taking a teddy bear bite to the head and some claw marks on the sides of his face. Trint was ready to unleash some frustration. Not knowing even, a sliver of what was going on in his life now, he was ready to vent. It was time to destroy the two-foot-tall teddy bears.

He considered if this had any bearing on his childhood trauma of nightmares and the comfort his teddy bear brought him when he was four. How would 4-year-old Trint react if he saw his adult self killing teddy bears?

Laughing aloud, Trint withdrew his sword from the first bear and began stomping toward the nearest bear, running the sword through the chest or any part of the bear he could. After three bears were skewered, the short sword was heavy and unwieldy, so he went with his baseball experience and swung for the fences.

Teddy bears flew off the sword and freed his blade from the extra weight. They must have weighed ten pounds each and were not just filled with stuffing as Trint’s arms and chest was now marked by splatter from their blood. Four down and ready for more, he began his teddy bear massacre.

About a short time later and what felt like a hundred or so teddy bears down, Trint found himself much further from his starting point. He felt a pull in the direction he was headed and decided to follow whatever instinct was pulling him. He also hadn’t heard Pneuma say anything during this not-so-epic destruction of bears. This had turned into a fight for survival, albeit a comical one. He did think to question why he was being pulled in a particular direction.

“Pneuma, are you still there? You’ve been silent this whole time.” Trint was guessing he was waiting for the fighting to stop and didn’t want to distract Trint from this ‘sink or swim’ exercise. He suppressed a sigh. “Honestly, does this count as a fight? I wouldn’t call this a challenge, even if I only had a hunting knife. It would have taken longer with a knife. I already had to bend down to swing at them."

Trint this is your first of many challenges. You have been remade. Your previous injuries would have allowed these bears to swarm and kill you. Still, this is the easiest it will ever get. You are in what is typically called an Instance. It is a System-generated encounter that is unique to each party that enters it. A new Instance of these encounters is generated after a few minutes of the first party that enters. That is where the name 'Instance’ comes from. We will be in them almost daily, so get used to it. Your world had books and fantasy games that would call Instances like these randomly spawned dungeons.

“Okay, tell me more about the System?” Trint thought it was a good request.

Last question I will answer for now, Pneuma said. The popup windows that have been blocking your view? Those are the System displaying information directly for you. The System is now taking an active role in shaping your existence. It will measure, change, and influence everything you do from now on. For now, you need to focus on the present and learn to survive more than just a parade of bears. I'll teach you beyond the basics later.

“That’s it? That’s barely an answer!” Trint argued.

Pneuma didn’t respond, but through their connection, he heard a low growl and a rustling like the wind. It seemed more like an exhale from a dragon or some other giant beast. No words, just the impression of an impatient giant. Trint knew it was Pneuma, but not what he was trying to communicate.

I’m just going to get through this. Then you’d better explain everything, Trint mentally insisted of his silent partner. Cute and nearly-cuddly monsters. This is not what I imagined waking up to today. Trint cut his thought process short, realizing he hadn’t been paying close attention to his surroundings.