The Undead system

[successfully integrated the undead system with host]

[Congratulations host on becoming an undead]

[Host body is weak, deteriorating process has increased by one every 3 minutes.]

[Consume human flesh to sustain body]

[Note: the fresher and healthier the human flesh consumed, the more resistant body will become to deteriorating.]

A barrage of translucent words floating in the air assaulted Jack's vision, causing him to trip and fall.

'W-what the hell?' He thought reaching out to grab the small panels, but his hand simply phased through it.

"A hologram? But what's projecting it, and what the hell is this undead system?" He muttered, confused beyond imagination. Just some moments ago he'd died, and was floating in a black space for what seemed like eternity. Then he heard a loud voice, and the next thing he was transported here?

'Yep. Things just got weirder.' Jack shook his head, getting up to his feet.

"Shit!" He cursed as it felt like a building came crashing down to his leg, the moment he tried getting up. The pain was so real coursing through him, that he felt this was almost real.

"Nah, it can't be.. am dead." He shrugged it off as just his delusions, but still. There was this lingering thought in his mind, of the possibility of him being brought back to life. Though it sounded absurd and impossible, but after all he's been through lately a lot of impossible things were happening.

'This must be the path that leads to hell.' Jack inwardly said looking around. He could see he was in some swampy area, and he knew he wasn't in Agathe.

Usually Agathe did have some swamps, but it was really few and far from harum city. But something just wasn't right about this swamp, as it was giving a chilling and ominous presence.

"Maybe Charon's gonna come pick me." Jack joked, not knowing what to do anymore. According to some folklore, when a person died their souls would be transported to river Styx, where a ferryman called charon who transports dead souls would then appear to them. To carry them across the river to the underworld, for the price of a good coin.

"Wait I don't have a gold coin." Jack cursed, remembering he didn't have a gold coin for passage. He was dead ass broke before he died, so he didn't have the luxury to afford a silver coin. Not to mention gold, which was the highest currency in ender.

"I hope I don't have to wander aimlessly for a hundred years." According to Greek mythology, those dead souls that couldn't pay the fee were left to wander aimlessly for a hundred years. He'd just gotten free from his empty void space, but now he was threatened to endure yet another silent years of loneliness.

'Jeez.. am already dead, but why am I still scared.' Jack chuckled, not knowing whether to laugh or cry at his predicament. He was at crossroads in an unfamiliar territory, that seemed like a scene in a horror movie he watched. And yet, it felt like he'd been reincarnated in another world.

'Could it be..' he wasn't sure, but he'd heared of stories of people being reincarnated, and given a second chance. Usually because they either died before their time, by some mysterious accidents or were brutally killed.

'I was brutally killed.' The second idea sounded plausible, as it did match his story before he died.

"I can feel my skin and breath." He uttered touching his hand, face, and even feeling his hot breath. Though he could see some parts of the flesh on his arm rotten, which further clarified his thoughts he'd truly died.

Placing his hand to his chest, he focused, trying to feel a heartbeat but unfortunately there was none.

"Am not sure Casper, there's some slight effects but not madness." Jack's attention was pulled to a voice behind, he clearly recognized.

'That voice.. it's the same voice from the void.' Jack vividly recalled the strange ominous voice from the void, as it was the only one he ever heard while he was in.

Adding strength to his frail legs, he slowly made his way back to the top. Looking, he could see an old man who looked to be in his late 70's, with black jet hair. As if that wasn't weird enough, he was talking to a black furry cat with green eyes.

"Meow." The cat meowed, furrowing it's brows a bit.

"Oh! come on Casper, at least give he a chance to prove himself. You never know, he might surprise us." The man chuckled a bit, clutching a wooden staff with a dull red gem on it.

"Meow~" the cat meowed rolling it's eyes.

'Wait.. did that cat just roll it's eyes?' Jack was shocked, as he could've sworn he saw that cat roll it's eyes.

"Meow! meow." The cat said again, shifting it's eyes towards jack. Taken aback jack was stunned, not expecting to be spotted by the cat. Yes animals had keen senses, but this was more than just senses, like the creature had predicted him.

"Oh! you're here haha." The old man laughed heartily, turning round to jack. Without any obstruction, jack could see the man's face wasn't pale at all without blemish or wrinkles. Which was strange, because he was meant to be ageing instead of retaining his youthfulness.

"W-where am I?" Jack stuttered awkwardly staring at the duo. Even though they seemed harmless, he could feel some strange feeling about them.

"Oh! you're in an alternate timeline between time and space." The man calmly spoke confusing jack the more.

"What do you mean alternate timeline, like another dimension?"

"Exactly." the man said to which jack nodded to.

"A-am I dead?" Jack slowly asked, wanting to clarify his suspicions and doubts. Not answering immediately, the old man stared into Jack's eyes startling him a bit.

"Yes and no."

"Yes and no? What the heck do you mean by yes and no." Jack frowned not playing games. He wasn't sure if he was dead or alive, or where the hell he even was. And this old man's jokes weren't helpful at all, in his predicament at all.

"You're dead and not. Technically put it like this.. you're an undead." The old man indifferently spoke. Hearing his words jack stood there frozen, contemplating on something.

'So am an undead. Well that explains the message from earlier.' He was a bit downcast he really died, but he had no regrets. his past life was already shitty enough, as he was barely living. The only escape he had though was Kelly, and now he'd also lost her too.

"Why did you disturb my peace and bring me back?" Jack frowned clenching his fist a bit, taking the old man off guard.

"Meow." Casper glanced a 'I told you' look at the old man.

"I was better off floating in the empty space." Jack scoffed walking away. Just when he was finally getting used to his new life, trouble seemed to have found him even in death.

"Stop." The old man said, and like a command jack involuntarily stopped in his tracks. He tried moving his body, but his body wasn't responding to his commands.

"You ungrateful being. I gave you life, a second chance to show your worth, and this is how you thank me?" A deep omnious voice, like nothing jack had ever heard resounded.

'What's going on, why can't I move my body?' Jack wondered, losing control over his own body. Staring at the old man, it was like he was staring at a monster from hell. The soft playful aura coming from him was replaced, by a more sinister and bone chilling one.

'H-his eyes are so hollow.' When staring into the old man's eye, jack couldn't see anything. No emotion no feelings whatsoever. Only darkness and emptiness, like he was staring directly into the eyes of death itself.

"You were right Casper, I made a wrong choice. There's no point keeping him alive." Stretching his hand a black circle formed, and out shot a black beam heading straight for jack.

Before it reached though, it was blocked by none other than the black cat who'd been silent all this while.

"Meow meow."

"What are you talking about Casper?"

"Meow."

"What! B-but you were the one who wanted to kill him." The old man grumbled releasing his aura. His attention then shifted back to jack, panting for air on the ground.

"What you have in you is my most prized possession, so make good use of it." Turning round, he drew something on the floor muttering the same words.

"Azure kabal." Lighting up the drawing then dissolved, with a portal forming beneath.

"Make me proud and prove to me I didn't make a mistake, and I might as well consider not killing you." With that he descended into the portal disappearing. Glaring at jack with glistening eyes, Casper then calmly made it's way into the portal, which disappeared the next second.

Struggling to his feet, jack still couldn't process what just happened as everything happened so fast. Never in his life had he felt so scared than today.

'What is he?' Jack didn't know what to make of the mysterious old man and his cat, as they both weren't normal. He guessed they were aliens with strange powers, or higher beings fantasy tales.

'I could've died if that attack hit me.' Jack didn't outright admit it, but he could tell from the sheer force of whatever that was, he would surely be dead if Casper hadn't intervened.

[Welcome host to the undead system]

[Note host body has deteriorated by 10 for the past 30minutes]

[Consume flesh to regenerate]

[To see your profile simply say 'status']

The same holographic red and black screen, popped up in his view. But this time, it gave him instructions on how to see his profile?

'A system? More like a game.' Jack thought, as this still felt like a bad dream.