[@NightmareInd] [hider=Samuel Davis] After you die, you feel a moment of peace blanketing your body and then darkness, you feel as if your body is pulled across worlds-- your surroundings instantly disappearing as all you can is darkness. As if hours have passed you finally come into a black abyss, with only a singular pillar of light illuminating the middle of this abyss. There you can see a woman on her knees, sporting a ripped kimono, her hair messy as if it was tugged at and then finally a Qugin in her lap. She looks up, her eyes of a black color and quietly says. “Welcome. “ Samuel looked around him, seeing the emptiness surrounding him, only to be distracted by the woman. The woman looked out of place in the abyss. “Where… Where am I?” He says. He tries to remember what the last thing was that he did, but after going out to do groceries, his mind went blank. “What happened? And who are you?” The goddess raises her hands and sets them onto the strings of her instrument, looking down as she speaks, “In the abyss, child of earth. “ She plucks a singular string of her instrument and then another until finally, she molds a song together. A song of hope, and faith, “You have died, child of earth. You’ve been guided to this abyss and now I, Alaela. Goddess of the South Winds will give you a choice. “ “Wait, what?” He said, trying to comprehend. Was she speaking the truth? Was he really dead? No, it can’t be! But still… It sounded real. What if it was really game-over? “So this is it, isn’t it? All right then… What do you want me to choose between?” “To choose between re-... rebirth and passing on. “ The goddess sighs in despair, she could feel his presence against her back, she knew that his eyes were on her though quickly disregarded it. “If you choose to pass on, your soul will be guided to the sea of souls, where you will rest for all eternity under a great light. Though if you choose to gain another life, you will fight against a darkness that threatens my home. A darkness that has threatened my home, Akohana for over fifty years. A darkness that has planted seeds of corruption that grow monsters of great horror that pillage and destroy villages and cities while at the same time taking innocent lives. Child of earth-- do you accept this quest to defeat unknown darkness or will you pass on? “ Samuel noticed the slight stutter of the woman. Along with the messy hair, he figured something was off. However, fighting a dark presence like in a video game sounded pretty cool, but he had to approach this smartly. “Say I accept, what will it benefit me? Aside from adventuring, perhaps succeeding and saving your home and at least getting a second chance at life, how will I know I’ll not end up as a slave or something like that?” “After defeating the darkness… I do not know. For almost fifty years our greatest defenses have been torn to the ground and know this is our last chance. We have never really known victory, hopefully, you and the other souls you’ll be fighting along will make victory known. But in regards to slavery, once you are reborn and begin exploring Akohana, almost anything can happen. “ Samuel nodded. Akohana. That name sounded straight out of a fantasy RPG. It was the deciding factor for him. “All right, I’m in, although could you tell me more about this Akohana? If you want me to protect you from this darkness, I could use all the help I can get.” He said, vaguely mentioning the other souls she was mentioning. This could mean allies, but perhaps even other people like him. “Child of earth, I will grant you a gift, this gift is a fraction of my power and it’ll allow you to tap into the most basics of information within, Akohana. Though I would give you more, I am… not allowed to. The light will be guiding you, the light will protect you at your darkest moments, but do not put too much faith into the light. “ The goddess looks to her left, she could see, almost a mile away dark clouds surrounding the whole area. “Now before we begin, would you request anything of me, child of earth? “ Samuel didn’t have to think long. “I have one thing. Can you please tell me, besides taking down the darkness, how can I help you out? Don’t take this the wrong way, I will still do this, but I can’t help but notice that, especially for a Goddess, you are very tense, like something is troubling you. And I don’t like it when people are troubled.” Back when he was still alive, which still feels weird to him to think about, he was their game squad’s leader and strategist. This meant he didn’t only work as the maker of plans, but also as their moral support. Even though he prefered to work alone, he knew the advantages of having a team, and this meant he did anything needed to keep the team on their top level, even if it was talking about IRL troubles. The goddess only smiles, the damage had been done there was nothing a human could do. “I’m fine child of earth. “ She was clearly lying, “My damage was at my own mistake--... “ The goddess sighs as she looks down towards her hands, “I hope that-- when you arrive in Akohana that you won’t be trapped like me child of earth… “ She spoke with a quiet tone, hoping that no one else but Samuel could hear her. Now then. Will that be all? “ Samuel took the hint. He nodded. “It will.” The goddess nods, her eyes opening, revealing a flame of blue to her left eye and a flame of pink to her right eye. The goddess transitions into a different song, a song of hope and peace. “Child of earth I will now grant you a fraction of my power. A gift that will aid you in your fight against darkness. This gift will allow you to be reborn and create a weapon that reflects who you are or who you will be. All you have to do is close your eyes and… [b][i]THINK.[/i][/b]“ Her voice echoes, the two flames that rise from her eyes turns shifts into a white hue. “Child of earth, I ask you to close your eyes and [b][i]feel. Think of your homeland and feel the earth beneath your feet.[/i][/b]“ A glowing ball of light forms between the two of them, cascading to the floor. Samuel did as she asked, and closed his eyes. He thought of his home, where he spend most of his days behind the computer playing games and watching series. Thinking back about it, perhaps his real home was the digital world. No, not just the digital world. The world of FPS. The feeling of shooting a gun, taking the knockback. The feeling of running through the mud, chasing down your enemy. The feeling of adrenaline as you take down your opponent. Even though most of these feelings were through a keyboard and mouse, he could feel them for real now. It was true, he was still human, but he was stronger, and could use a gun for real. He knew he still had to grow, but where is the fun in a game when you are already max level from the start? That was when the light hit him. It was bright, he could see it through his closed eyelids. He stretched one hand out towards the light, blindly grasping for it yet immediately feeling something. It felt like what he imagine, yet at the same time it didn’t. He slowly opened his eyes, revealing to him a gun. However, instead of a big rifle or at least a desert eagle, it was an old flintlock, except with a purple stone in the middle of it. He knew that sometimes the worst looking guns were the most OP ones though, so he just took it for granted. “Child of earth, now with my gift you are connected to the great energies of mana and stamina. Now, all that is left is to depart, are you ready to leave the abyss? “ Samuel nodded once more. “I am.” “Child of earth, you are the last of the twelve souls that have been summoned. You are the final key that will save, Akohana. “ The goddess rests her hands onto the strings of her instrument as she begins to play a song of foreboding. This song transitions into a more light and bouncy tone and as she plays tears begin running down her cheeks as black smoke begins to surround them, “Remember me child of earth, seek my temples and leave a flower for an offering. “ Her playing then suddenly stops, and then Samuel begins to fall through the abyss, the goddess coming out of view as he falls through what seems like minutes of darkness. A light envelopes his body as he falls and then suddenly awakes in a forest. Samuel slowly stood up, checking his surroundings. He noticed that his perception was different though. He looked around to see what could be the cause, and noticed his body was different. He couldn’t see his face without a mirror, but it was definitely not his original one. His weapon was gone too, but something told him it wasn’t far away. He took his first few steps into the forest, trying to find a path or another sign of civilization. [/hider] [hr] [center][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/4d8dd5743f454682d3d03303dba81eb8/tumblr_p5lt9dnoOO1uhx88zo1_400.gif[/img][/center] [center][i] Yuul Forest[/i][/center] [center] Time : 6:52am | Weather : Clear [/center] [center] An elven man sits on a forest log, his legs crossed as he patiently awaits for the children of earth. The elven man was a devout follower of, Alaela. Days before his arrival in the Yuul forest and the goddess had called onto him for a great task that would aid in the battle against darkness and obviously he had to accept. With a great task granted to him he eagerly awaited the arrival of the souls and as he waited, twelve pillars of light danced across the skyline and landed in multiple area's along the forest. The man smirks, pulling out a wooden staff from within the confines of his robes as he stands with a confident pose, "Finally. " With an energetic strike he stabs his staff into the groun and begins to chant, "[i]Grant me a great light that shoots across the horzion, a beam in which is enchanted by the radiant light of Azula.[/i]" And from his chant his staff glows, strands of light wrapping around its shaft as suddenly a bright beam of white light shoots into the sky from his staff, hopefully grabbing the attention of the souls. [/center]