NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: System?
The glowing golden words just hung there in the humid, alien air. They were like an island of impossible clarity in a world that had dissolved into a nightmare mix of earth I kind of recognized and stuff that was definitely unearthly. Tier 1? Administrator Assistance? Message Intercepted? The phrases echoed in the ringing silence of my head, each one like a fresh hammer blow against my already battered mind. I was still reeling from the violent craziness of the crash, the fact that time had clearly jumped or skipped, and the brutal, life-or-death fight that had left my hands slick with alien goo. My brain struggled to process this new layer of impossible. A deep feeling, totally alien but somehow familiar, made itself known in the deepest parts of my mind. It felt like I was reading some cosmic memo, some holy text that was above my existence, making me feel tiny and, at the same time, significant.
Just as the glowing text solidified, its light casting faint, almost ghostly shadows on the blood-spattered leaves around me, a strange, warm energy pulsed from the cooling body of the Thorn-Viper Wolf. I couldn't see it, not exactly, but I felt it — a faint, shimmering wave, like a heat haze rising from asphalt in the summer. It flowed right into me, sinking into my bones, my very core. It felt good, invigorating, like a cool draft of fresh air in a suffocating furnace. A little surge of energy pushed back a fraction of the crushing exhaustion that had been about to drag me under. It made the thrumming in my limbs feel fresh, as if giving me a second wind. A tiny spark, but in the overwhelming darkness of my situation, even a spark felt like a bonfire. It wasn't much, just a drop in an ocean of tiredness, but it was definitely there, a real shift.
"System…?" I managed. My voice was a dry, cracking rasp. The metallic taste of adrenaline and the creature's blood was still sharp on my tongue, a nasty reminder of what just happened. "What… What was that? That… feeling? And those messages… what in God's name is happening?" I waved a trembling hand at the hovering, cryptic words, half-expecting them to vanish like smoke.
The letters shimmered. Their golden light got brighter for a second before reforming. The scary alerts faded smoothly, replaced by a more direct, almost impersonal message. The color shifted to a cool, clinical pale blue. It was somehow less alarming, yet more unsettling because it felt so detached.
[User: 'Errant Soul' – Provisional Designation]
My breath hitched. Errant Soul? What did that even mean? Lost? Rogue? Defective?
[Current Status: Acute physical stress. Significant Essence signature fluctuations. Mental acuity diminished. Residual energetic imprint of terminated entity (Tier 1) has been noted.]
The words were stark, clipped. I could almost feel the emotionless observation behind them. Not warm, not concerned, just… data. Cold, hard, analytical data.
"'Essence signature fluctuations'?" I repeated, grabbing onto the term. The words felt clumsy and foreign on my tongue. My own signature was fluctuating? "What in the world is 'Essence'? And this… 'residual energetic imprint' from the wolf? Was that the warmth I felt?"
There was a pause, a beat of silence that stretched out. It was long enough for a bead of sweat to trace a slow path down my temple, stinging my eye. The blue light of the interface seemed to dim a bit, as if it was thinking. Then it got brighter again with a soft, internal hum. To my complete surprise, the floating text replied. New words appeared under the old ones.
[Essence is the fundamental energetic substrate of this reality. Your being demonstrates a notable, and currently unquantified, interaction with it. The terminated entity's life force, upon cessation, left a detectable resonance — Primal Essence — which your own vital system has registered and partially absorbed.]
Primal Essence. The term sent another shiver down my spine. This one was less fear and more… something else. Awe? Worry? It was the energy of life itself, raw and untamed, and I had just… absorbed some. Huh… Surprisingly helpful, for an all-knowing floating text. But it wasn't exactly holding my hand and giving me a welcome lecture. Fair enough, I guessed, considering everything. Though the cryptic, short answer only made the swirling mystery threatening to swallow me whole even deeper.
"Okay, so I absorbed some of its life force. Great. What are you, System? And why are you helping me? Or are you just narrating my impending doom?"
[Further clarification regarding Prime System architecture is non-critical for immediate survival. Your primary concern should be biological imperatives: sustenance, hydration, and recuperation.]
It admitted I'd felt the energy, this "Essence," but didn't offer much else. It shut down my bigger questions with chilling, practical advice. "Biological imperatives," right. My stomach clenched with a violent, painful cramp, a sharp reminder that I was starving and thirsty. Hours, maybe a whole day, had passed since my last meal, before the world had shattered. The Thorn-Viper Wolf, gross and horrifying as it was, now had a grim, desperate kind of appeal. The thought of eating its alien flesh was repulsive, but the gnawing hunger was a powerful, convincing argument.
"This place…" I started again, my gaze sweeping across the impossible mix of familiar, broken Earth — shattered asphalt, the twisted wreck of cars — and the totally alien jungle closing in from all sides. Its vibrant, predatory beauty was a constant threat. "Where is this? Is this even Earth anymore? Am I dead? Is this hell, or some bizarre afterlife?"
[Your location is within a Confluence Zone – an area where fragments of multiple planetary realities, including your origin point designated 'Terra,' have been recently and catastrophically integrated. This accounts for observed topographical, atmospheric, and ecological anomalies.]
[To facilitate continued observation of your unique energetic signature and to enhance survival probability, a localized environmental survey is available. Query?]
"Confluence Zone," I muttered. The words felt heavy, full of unspoken hints of cosmic disaster. So, Earth hadn't just been hit by a freak storm; it had been broken apart, shattered, and then randomly mixed with other places, other worlds. Like a kid smashing several jigsaw puzzles together and trying to force the pieces to fit. That would at least explain the alien landscape mixed with areas that felt disturbingly, vaguely familiar. And "continued observation of my unique energetic signature," huh? It was all about me, wasn't it? Or at least, something about me.
"Yes, survey. Please. Show me what you've got." Anything was better than standing here, stewing in my own fear and confusion.
The text shifted immediately, smoothly. The previous lines scrolled upwards and faded a bit.
[Environmental Survey – Sector 7-Gamma-Prime: Initiating Local Scan…]
[Dominant Terrain: Integrated Terrestrial/Xenoform Foliage Zones. Moderate atmospheric humidity. Ambient temperature: 28.7°C.]
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
[Immediate Vicinity Threats (0-500m radius): Low. Predominantly Tier 0 scavengers (insectoid, rodent-analogues) and non-hostile Tier 1 herbivores (avian, small quadrupedal grazers) detected. Caution advised beyond established scan radius due to uncatalogued megafauna signatures.]
[Viable Resources: Freshwater source (stream, potable post-filtration/boiling advisory) approx. 187m NNW. Potential sustenance (tubers – starchy, require cooking; fruits – high sugar content, xenobiotic origin, untested for Terrestrial physiology – caution advised) noted in proximity to water source. Subterranean geological formation (cave system) suitable for temporary defensible shelter approx. 1055m SE from current coordinates.]
No pretty, hand-holding map with a flashing "You Are Here" icon. Just raw, unfiltered data. A kilometer to the cave. That felt like a marathon in my current state.
"A cave you said is suitable for shelter. Is it… empty?" I asked, my voice still raspy. I was already picturing another, bigger, nastier version of the Thorn-Viper Wolf lurking in its shadowy depths.
[Current sensor readings indicate no complex biological life forms exhibiting hostile intent within the primary designated cave structure. Minor Tier 0 fungal and insectoid colonies present. Further detailed data requires direct approach and physical entry for localized scan refinement.]
So, I had to check it myself. The System would point the way, offer probabilities, but it wouldn't clear the path for me. It was a guide, not a guardian angel. A very detached, analytical guide.
"And those other messages from before," I pressed. I couldn't shake the ominous chill of Administrator Assistance and Message Intercepted. They still echoed in my mind, hinting at dangers far beyond monstrous animals. "Who was trying to get assistance? And why was it intercepted? What 'Administrator' are we talking about here?"
Another definite pause, longer this time. The blue text seemed to pulse faintly, as if it was looking up a restricted file. The System felt… picky, almost reluctant, about what it chose to answer about this.
[Your awakening and subsequent interaction with Primal Essence registered as an uncatalogued anomaly within parameters monitored by the Kyorian Imperial Protectorate — the dominant governing socio-political entity in this galactic Sector. Their standard operational protocols for such deviations involve immediate investigation and potential neutralization of perceived threats or uncontrollable variables. The 'Administrator' is an Imperial System designation for a high-level oversight program.]
[My own operational directives prioritize the observation, analysis, and archiving of unique Essence manifestations and evolutionary pathways. Your signature qualifies as a subject of exceptional research interest. The intercept was a procedural override to ensure observational continuity and data integrity, preventing premature external influence.]
"Kyorian Imperial Protectorate… so, an Empire?" My blood ran a little colder. They sounded like some kind of vast, intergalactic police force, and I was an unregistered… something that had just popped up on their cosmic radar. "And they have their own System? Like you?"
[The Kyorian Empire utilizes sanctioned and standardized 'System Integration Modules' for sentient entities within their established sphere of influence, typically involving a structured 'Tutorial' phase to acclimate individuals to universal energetic principles and Imperial protocols. You are currently operating outside these standardized parameters, interfacing directly with the Prime System architecture.]
Directly with the Prime System. Not some Imperial knock-off. That sounded… special. Important, even. But also terrifyingly exposed. "And you, the Prime System, you stopped them from finding me, or at least from getting to me, because my 'Essence manifestation' is interesting to you?" It sounded like I was a particularly weird bug the system wanted to pin to a board and study. But a living bug was better than a squashed one.
[Your survival and unrestricted, uninfluenced development provide valuable, uncorrupted data streams pertinent to core Prime System functions of cosmic analysis and the archiving of diverse evolutionary trajectories. Active intervention, such as the performed intercept, is rare, reserved for phenomena of exceptional significance or potential paradigm alteration.]
"Exceptional significance." Right. That didn't make me feel much better. I was a rare bug, then, a lab rat in a cosmic experiment. But a lab rat with a very interested, very powerful observer. I guess I could still use that. Observation is way better than neutralization, after all. Besides, having a uniquely powerful advantage — if that's what this "Essence signature" hinted at — couldn't be a bad thing in this crazy, brutal new reality. Assuming, of course, that this is all real. A tiny, stubborn part of my brain still clung to the hope that I was in a coma, lying in a hospital bed somewhere, my mind weaving this elaborate, terrifying story. But I doubted a dream, even a coma-induced one, could be this vivid, this viscerally detailed, this… painful. Better to play it safe and assume it's real, every horrifying, baffling part of it.
"This cave," I said, trying to pull my thoughts back to what mattered right now. Survival first, existential dread later. "How do I find it? South-east is… vague, in this mess."
[Directional guidance can be provided through your visual cortex. Would you like a visual waypoint overlay activated?]
Its tone was utterly flat, like it was asking if I wanted another sugar cube in my tea, not if I wanted a magical arrow to guide me through a death jungle.
"Yes. Waypoint. Please." My voice was barely a whisper.
A faint, shimmering blue arrow materialized in my vision. It hovered ethereally in the air about ten feet in front of me, pointing off to my right, slightly uphill. It didn't block my view of the dense plants beyond, it just added to it, painting a layer of digital information over this terrifyingly organic world. This truly wasn't an experience I ever thought I'd have, not even in my wildest daydreams.
I took a deep, shaky breath. The humid air was thick and sticky in my lungs. The wolf lay where it had fallen, a crumpled heap of unnatural green and black, its single unmarred compound eye staring blankly. "And the… this creature," I gestured towards it, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. "Is it safe to eat?" The idea was disgusting, made me feel sick, but the extreme, cramping hunger I was feeling was slowly, sneakily eroding my disgust. Maybe I could hold on, find those "untested" fruits the System mentioned. But for how much longer? Exhaustion was settling deep into my bones, a leaden weight.
[The terminated entity's biomass contains complex proteins, lipids, and trace mineral elements conducive to physical regeneration and the stabilization of your energetic systems after significant Primal Essence absorption and expenditure. Specific internal organs, notably the primary venom gland and the neuro-sympathetic ganglia, possess high concentrations of biotoxins. Prudence in identification and preparation is advised.]
[Rudimentary field processing is possible with improvised tools. Further detailed, step-by-step guidance on safe butchery, organ identification, and detoxification methods can be accessed upon your confirmed intent to process the carcass for consumption.]
So, it was willing to guide me in preparing it safely to eat. At least food poisoning wouldn't be what killed me if I chose that route. Yet its offer felt more like that detached observation, a scientist offering a lab animal the correct food pellet. It would help me survive, but only if I took the active, often gruesome, steps myself.
I looked at the shimmering blue arrow, then at the dead wolf. One was a path to momentary safety, a refuge from the unknown. The other, a path to gruesome food, a violation of every instinct I had. Both, it seemed, were now essential parts of my new reality.
"Okay, Prime System," I said, pushing myself wearily to my feet. The effort was a huge drain on my dwindling energy. Each muscle groaned in protest. My head swam, and for a moment, the bright jungle colors blurred. "First, the cave. Shelter. Then… then we'll talk about the wolf." Maybe a bit of distance, a chance to clear my head, would make the idea less sickening. Perhaps I could also find some of those fruits on the way to the cave, scavenge something, anything, that didn't involve cutting up a monster.
The blue light of the interface pulsed once, a silent, unreadable acknowledgment. It offered no further comment, no encouragement, no warning, as I took my first, hesitant step towards the shimmering arrow, the metal bar still clutched in my hand like a lucky charm. Every muscle screamed in protest, every nerve jangled with unease, and a deep, chilling understanding began to dawn in the depths of my mind. I was a variable, an anomaly, a piece that didn't fit, and a powerful, unseen force in this new universe had decided I was worth watching, worth keeping alive, at least for now. For now, that was both my shield and my cage, my unlikely salvation and my terrifying new reality.