Stranger than Fiction (LitRPG)

Prologue​

To travel the Great Below was to traverse the Path of No Return.

It was a known tale, one that every mother told her child. A tale of caution, shared amongst one’s brethren, a wise old saying that prevented men of spirit from undertaking journeys that would consume their very souls.

Such tales meant nothing to her. Caution was, after all, merely an excuse— one used by vermin when faced with that which transcended them.

Thus it was with a gracious smile that she stepped past the outer gates.

It was a place with many names, each of them with its own power. Some called it Irkalla, the paradise after death, while others called it Ersetu, the desert without end and others still named it Kur— the dead land.

And yet to her, it was worthless. Weak. A dark, decrepit, cave that was pretending to be a World.

This was the Great Below, the realm of the dead.

The home of her sister, Ereshkigal.

As the sovereign of the heavens and the mortal terrain— En and Ki in the forgotten tongue —she was the supreme empress of all that fell within her domain. A moment of her grace could lead to eternal prosperity while an instant of tyranny could end one's bloodline. No mortal or beast, no demon or god— nothing was above her dominion.

Those who surrendered were subsumed in her path. Those that resisted her were taught the error of their ways. Those that rejected her existed no longer.

And at the end of it all, those that remained, capitulated.

As was their place.

They fell to their knees and worshipped her— the Goddess Inanna, the star of destruction and butcher of god and beast alike. The most charming men and women warmed her bed, and the most powerful served at her feet. Even the most sacred of objects would be casually violated at her whim.

Which is why it didn’t matter that this was the Underworld or that her powers would be muted here. Ereshkigal only ruled because Inanna allowed her to. A minion and a puppet, albeit one closer to her heart than any other.

As such, there had been no reason for uncertainty.

No need to prepare for an attack.

And that, in hindsight, had been her greatest mistake.

The chains clinked as they pulled at the collar on her neck, forcing her to raise her head. Inanna was never one to forgive, and such a transgression would never be forgotten. The wretched vermin had taken advantage of her magnanimity, and it would be her fearsome wrath that would teach them their place.

But that was for the future. Here she was, once the mighty Queen of En and Ki, now reduced to a chained animal— dragged around in lead chains born of the darkness and poisoned mud of this realm. Here where no mortal lived, where Inanna’s power was limited by the realm itself—

This was the place where she had been dragged into, covered in chains, to face her judgment.

Inanna let out a chuckle. Her ego wouldn’t allow her a moment of weakness, despite her situation.

“You are laughing,” the judge seated on the throne stared at her imperiously. “Even in such a state, you think yourself as our better?”

“I am your better Ereshkigal,” Inanna bared her teeth. “But then, you’ve always known that, haven’t you.”

“Is that what you think? Look at the people around you. Look at yourself.”

Here in the depths of the underworld, stood a pedestal. A pedestal upon which she had been dragged and chained, and made to suffer the attention of squealers and fools. Her mere presence warranted awe and veneration and yet, all she got was the cackling and screeching of lesser beings. The furious, embittered hissing of lesser gods and beasts— drawn from the depths of the Underworld —denizens of the mortal realms and even the specters of fallen divinity, slain with her own hands—

All of them stood, howling for her blood.

“You see?” The Queen of the Dead rose from her throne. “You thought yourself a predator, but here you are prey.”

Crafted out of bone, it was but a pale imitation of the throne Inanna used for herself in the gardens of En. As Ereshkigal’s hand rose, the cackling ceased, though with the fierce and hungry leers levied at the prisoner, it was only a matter of time before they lost the little rationality that separated them from mindless animals.

Filthy beasts.

“The great Queen of En is finally among us,” Ereshkigal murmured, her lips twisting cruelly, as she stood up from her throne and walking down towards the pedestal. She flicked her fingers and the chains on Inanna’s abdomen sunk into the earth, forcing her to bend and fall upon her knees.

Another flick and her neck was pulled forward, making her stretch her head upwards.

Her royal robes were gone, leaving behind straps of her inner garments. Her necklace was torn away, leaving behind a paltry string that hung from her neck to her breasts.

The purpose of this farce was obvious.

Humiliation.

“You speak as if you forced me here, Ereshkigal,” Inanna spoke calmly “You speak as if you put me down when all you did was take advantage of my magnanimity.”

The chains constricted, drawing blood, but she ignored it, meeting her sister’s gaze.

“You speak of me as if you are Queen, when all that you have are simply pieces I discarded in my path of conquest.”

The chains constricted further causing her to spurt out blood, and yet the twist in Ereshkigal’s lips made it completely worth it.

“I have nothing to hide, Ereshkigal,” Inanna went on, the expression of calm superiority never leaving her face. “And I have nothing to hide from. You and your… filth have proved me wrong. Showed me how a beast, no matter how glorious, no matter how much power you adorn her with, will forever remain a beast. ” Inanna spat out.

“And yet it is you who is covered in chains, dear sister. You may call us beasts, but today I will see justice done.”

“Is that what they call it these days?” Inanna snorted “Very well then. Let’s begin this farce! Make me stand in judgment of my many grievous sins.”

Her derisive expression contorted even further, as she contemplated the indignity of what was about to occur.

“Well go on, have at it!”

A grim sneer floated upon Ereshkigal’s face as she took another step towards the pedestal. “Inanna, sire to millions of angry faces. Destroyer of civilizations, and plunderer of pantheons… how does it feel to be this hated?”

She smiled. “Look around yourself, Inanna. All of these people craving for your end— souls of those damned by your whimsical wrath. Lives that would have gone differently had they not encountered you.”

Inanna smiled roguishly at her sister.

It only seemed to irk Ereshkigal more. The Queen of the Dead snapped her fingers again, twisting Inanna’s head towards the right and forcing her to stare at the legion of nightmarish creatures— their faces twisted in insanity, their very claws tearing through their bodies as they tried to suppress the instincts forced upon them.

“Remember them?” Ereshkigal continued, “these were the worshippers of Marduk. Even after you tore him apart, these people didn’t rebel. They didn’t try to bring back their laws. They didn’t want recognition, power, or favor. All they wanted was to live. To exist.” Her face twisted into a vicious sneer. “You denied them that.”

A barbed spear rose up from the pedestal and pierced through Inanna’s abdomen, allowing rich crimson blood to spurt out.

“All they wanted was to exist the way they did. You took away their anchors to existence. You made them rabisu. The demons of the night. Those that would kill and kill and kill and kill until there was nothing left. Not family, not their children, not even themselves.”

A hint of disgust spread across her lips. “If not for my intervention, they’d have corrupted mother Ki, and attracted ravagers from the In-Between.”

Inanna’s head was now pulled towards the right.

“Look at them now,” Ereshkigal sneered, pointing at the multitudes of lesser divinities, broken shards of elder gods, ancestors, spirits, wraiths, and mortal worshippers. The harvest of faith. The culmination of all legends that grew into the myth that was Sumer.

“Remember them?” The Queen of the Dead continued, “These are people you took alongside you. Made them into weapons for you to slaughter anyone that stood in front of you. And yet, they gained nothing. Not your loyalty, not your love, and certainly not your favor. Remember what you did to Eridu? To these people?”

The sounds of cheering rose higher. Demands for Inanna’s desecration and torture tore through the Underworld.

“Yes, yes, yes, my sins were terrible, indeed.” Inanna spat out blood, still maintaining her regality despite the spear going through her.

“You killed my parents,” Ereshkigal screamed, losing control for the first time, “ You killed my parents, and took me in as a trophy. A demigod puppet, a pet to entertain yourself.”

Inanna grinned, blood dripping from her teeth. “I took you in, and I made you everything that you are today. I could have left you to die, but I didn’t. You’d have died like the vermin you are but I made you the Empress of the Dead.”

“Why?” She breathed. “Why even bother? You took what you wanted, you destroyed everything else. Why not just kill us? Why make us the way we are?” She extended her hands. “Monsters and beasts, spirits and wraiths. Even those of us who stood by you… You treat us like slaves? Why?”

“Because I can.” Inanna shot back coldly.” Don’t get so full of yourselves. There is nothing special about you..”

Ereshkigal flinched as if struck before taking a deep breath. “So you ruined our lives just because? On a whim? You—”

“Spare me the self-righteous drivel. I could do what I did because I was strong. And you, sister… you have always been weak.”

“Weak?” Ereshkigal snorted.”Look at you. The mighty Inanna in chains. Where is your vaunted strength now? You are at the mercy of everyone here. And today you will pay for your sins.”

“Bah!” Inanna spat at her sister, as she looked up at everyone with a vicious sneer. “Yes, I’ve done all of that, but why is that so enraging? I have done nothing that you wouldn’t do. I rose from nothing, I took down Gods, I snatched the power that they hoarded, and I took it for myself.” She paused.

“The strong will always crush the weak.”

And then she stood up.

The chains rattled, tearing through flesh. She paid it no mind though. If her body had grown so weak as to get torn from these vile things, then she deserved to have some blood split.

“Look at you,” Inanna chuckled, meeting Ereshkigal’s eyes. “Outraged. Lost in the agony of losing your husband, the same husband that I gave you. I giveth and I taketh away. Why is that so difficult to comprehend?”

Ereshkigal snarled but said nothing.

“But no matter,” Inanna looked around, gazing at the audience around her. “I suppose he did prove to be of some worth in the end. But as for you lot,” she raised her hands—

Everyone took several steps backward.

Inanna let out a heartless laugh— as if she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. “Look at you, scurrying away like insects. Here I am, chained and eviscerated, and yet still you fear me.”

Several chains shot out of the pedestal, rupturing through her body and painting the surroundings in her blood.

“Teh!” She spat at the one she called a sister. “Yes, I killed your family. I butchered your Gods. I took away your way of life. But so what? Each and every one of you stands here because I willed it. The very power that allows you to judge me was given to you on my whim. I made you who you are today.”

She rose back up. For that moment, she was no longer Inanna, the trapped convict, standing in trial. She was the tyrant Queen of En, the enslaver of gods.

Even Ereshkigal took a step back out of instinct.

Inanna’s lips twisted into a derisive smile.

“I. OWE. YOU. NOTHING!”

The crowds had fallen quiet. The shouts demanding her blood had been silenced.

Time seemed to stop around her.

“So go on! Mutilate me as much as you like. But remember, I cannot be killed. Eternity is a very long time. How long do you think Ereshkigal will be in power? Without me, how long will the vermin you worship be able to stay the arrival of those from beyond?”

Ereshkigal had stepped back even further, her face dawning with frustration and horror.

“Those that would stand with me today would be forgiven of their sins. And those that won't…” Inanna began to laugh. “Oh, I pity the ones that resist me. I assure you, your ends will be… spectacular!”

“No one here is interested in your offer, Inanna!” Ereshkigal spat out.

“Even so,” the mutilated Goddess of War continued, a sneer affixed on her face, “Even if you are not tempted by my offer… Ask yourself this,” She lowered her voice, almost to a whisper.

“Who is?”

The underworld rang with her peals of laughter.

“Who here is the weakest? Who is most afraid? Who will break first? Is there still time for you?”

“Silence,” Ereshkigal snapped her fingers, and several dozen chains ruptured through Inanna’s tattered body. A mortal would have died long ago— her status as a deity being the only thing that kept her alive. The chains of Ugallu fed upon one’s soul after all.

“We’ve heard enough!” Ereshkigal spoke again, her entire body shaking with rage and horror. Inanna’s blood-filled smirk only seemed to haunt her further. “I know you cannot be killed, but death is too good for the likes of you anyway. Instead, you’ll suffer unimaginable pain for the rest of your miserable existence. As you said,” her lips twisted cruelly, “eternity is a terribly long time.”

She raised her hands outward, and the terrain began to shift beneath her feet.

And then the Underworld changed.

Gone was the throne room and the gothic chambers around her. Gone was the pedestal and the platform on which she was judged. Instead, what faced Inanna was a large archway, and then another one past that, and then another and another.

Seven archways. Seven gates.

“Now face the wrath of the deprived!” Ereshkigal’s voice reverberated through the gigantic chamber. “You who have always taken, you shall feel what it is like to lose.”

The chains dragged Inanna like a dog and pulled her through the archways.

The first gate shed away her connection to her artifacts. The great ax of Marduk, the symbol of her victory over the ancient God of Sumer, manifested at her feet, inert to her call.

It wasn’t hers to wield any longer.

The second tore away at her authority. The royal crown, marking her as the Queen of En and Ki, dropped like a useless tiara down to the muddy floor, shattering into golden dust.

Perception and Communication were lost on the third’s altar. Once the potent murderer, Inanna was now without perception of the world around herself. Once regarded as the loudest voice on the battlefield, Inanna was granted eternal silence. No longer would she speak, no longer would her word condemn unfortunate souls.

The fourth took away her Ring of Power— an artifact that she had fashioned from her own domain.

The fifth and sixth withdrew her power of manifestation and her connection to her domain— the very source of her godhood. Her ankle bracelets fell, a symbol of her sensuality and sexual power, before the last of her robes dropped to the floor.

The seventh drank from her soul, etching its marks upon it, placing a curse that marked Inanna as a denizen of the Underworld, a follower, and a puppet of Ereshkigal herself. The world above lost its meaning to her, as she dropped down upon the muddy floor.

Naked and unmoving. Without pride or power or even the ability to protect herself, she might as well have been dead. She could still feel everything though. Every bit of pain and humiliation that was inflicted upon her. Strong as she was even she trembled at the prospect of spending an eternity suffering like this.

If I ever… I will escape. And they will all pay. Every single one of them.

A single tear fell from her sister’s eye before Ereshkigal raised her hand and levitated Inanna's lifeless body before banishing it against the wall. And before her body could drop, eight metal rods pierced through her body, crucifying her on the wall.

“Suffer well, sister,” Ereshkigal said softly, staring into her body's eyes. “You were right you know. You were the one that made me what I am today. And today… today I will take your place.”

And without another look back, Ereshkigal vanished, leaving behind a silent body hanging upon the ancient wall.

​

 

Chapter 1 - I Woke Up To The Apocalypse​

---

“The arrival of the twin-tailed ball of dust, shalt signal the end of the crust.

Some will fight, some will reason, some will find hope in religion.

The bane of worlds shall be unbound.

Only in death shall respite be found.

In the—”

“I can't do this shit anymore,” Lukas cursed. This was the third night in a row he was up with this nonsense. With just a month before his semesters, he was supposed to be studying for his finals, not writing... poetry.

I really can’t believe people take this crap seriously.

In essence, his current project was to edit an article on an ancient Akkadian prophecy, for a sensational news article. Edit, being the keyword here. Somewhere along the line, Emma not only had had him writing the entire article but also reworking the translated prophecy so that it rhymed.

Rhymed!

He really didn’t have time for this.

He glanced to his right. There, alongside his randomly stacked assortment of law books was his latest purchase— Dracula. The original, unabridged edition. Something about the primal, unexplained fear in the original novel appealed to him more than the newer vampire tropes the world had embraced. Not exactly standard reading for a lawyer, but fantasy had always been his drug.

Despite that, he hadn’t got a chance to open it yet. Between working out before breakfast, an entire day of course work, and his part-time job, his schedule did not allow for much free time. And now, a few of the writers who worked for Emma had quit, leaving him to pick up the slack.

Lukas looked at the book lying inconspicuously in the corner.

It was so tempting.

With a rueful sigh, he pushed it away and got back to work. Regardless of how much it sucked, he needed money and he really couldn’t afford to lose this job.

His fingers automatically moved to rub the metallic object around his neck, a habit from his childhood. It was some sort of family heirloom if his grandfather was to be believed. It certainly didn’t look very special. In fact, with its dull gray sheen and elongated triangular shape, it essentially looked like the nib of a fountain pen.

The really old-school kind.

Maybe it was sentiment or maybe his grandfather had a point when he said that it would protect him but he had never managed to part with it for any significant length of time. In fact, every time he had even taken it off, something just felt wrong. By now it was simply a constant in his life.

And now he was being nostalgic of all things.

I really need a break.

Sighing, Lukas turned off his monitor before picking up his phone and—

Nine missed calls from Emma.

That girl really needs to get a life.

His phone had been on silent, as it always was when he was working. Constant distractions had a way of making one unproductive, after all.

The sharp ring of his doorbell interrupted his musings.

Seriously?

Lukas looked up at the clock. It was just ten minutes to nine. Almost reluctantly, he pushed his chair back and got up to open the door.

Who in their right mind would show up at this—

“Emma.”

Emma smiled widely. “Still alive, eh?”

Sighing, he let the door swing open and moved back towards his chair. “Come in, and close the door behind you.”

“Why? Afraid your neighbors are gonna talk?”

Lukas sighed. It was way too late to deal with Emma and her… Emma-ness. He had more than enough of that back when they were dating. Between her black, braided locks, pale features, and bohemian outlook to life in general, she had entered his own like a fierce storm.

Fun fact. Her departure had also been like a hurricane. Messy and destructive.

“I thought you needed this shit in three days.”

Emma scowled. “That shit pays your bills, you ass.”

“Except it's more than what you’re paying for. Editing, sure. Writing entire documents? Nope.”

“Oh quit whining,” Emma made her distinctive puppy-face, “sides, you’re way better than me at it. Why’d you take up law anyway?”

“You do realize you write articles for a conspiracy website,” Lukas said incredulously, only to find himself at the receiving end of one of her pouts.

“It’s all about destiny! A non-believer would never understand!” She began theatrically.

This girl.

Emma, short for Emmeline Brooks. Her parents were apparently assholes when it came to naming. Her words, not his. It wasn’t like he had it any better though. Lukas Aguilar… he had tried to shorten it to Luke in school, but his dad had kinda made it his business to make sure that everyone knew his full name.

He had already stopped caring by the time he started college.

“If you’re done staring, perhaps you could start working? Maybe that's how I’ll get this done, and you’ll have less to bitch about.”

“Hmmm?” Lukas looked up. Well, he hadn’t exactly been staring at her now, but it would be impossible to convince her of that. She always was sure that anyone looking remotely in her direction was definitely staring at her. In her defense, Emma did have a good pair.

“C’mon, get back to work,” Emma gently shoved him from behind, before impatiently pushing him onto his chair, while she herself perched atop the armrest.

He ignored the sudden closeness as she leaned in.

She always had been good at exciting him, though she was usually only this blatant when she wanted something from him.

“Now show me, how much did you finish?”

“Ugh, fine! Hang on a minute.” Lukas groaned, before opening the page he had just closed earlier. Obviously he wouldn’t be getting anything else done tonight.

“Mmmm,” She nodded, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, as she leaned forward.

Lukas sighed. To be honest he thought he was done with the phase of his life that had Emma in it. But fate was funny like that.

His father’s sudden demise three months ago had impacted him both emotionally and financially. Which had, in an interesting turn of events, led him to his current part-time job as a website content editor.

Which was when he found out that he’d be working with his ex. He wasn’t sure how he’d describe his relationship with Emma at the moment, but they were… close.

And he’d prefer to keep it that way, to be honest.

“So why are you here this late?”

“Are you asking me to leave?”

A trick question, if he ever saw one. “Cut the crap, Emma.”

The girl sighed. “Fine, you win. My boss wants this article posted and updated by midnight. We don’t want to miss the big event.”

“What big event?”

She flicked his forehead with her finger. “It’s like you don’t even watch TV. The Atlas comet, ring any bells?”

Right. That one.

He had seen the news or at least spotted a part of it in the headlines. It was supposed to be the brightest comet seen in decades, and would apparently show a little after midnight.

Turns out that his employers were really psyched about it. They had dug up some information from an old Akkadian scroll. The company's resident armchair theorists were pretty confident that it was talking about this particular comet. While there wasn’t anything concrete about the prophecy he was stuck turning into a nursery rhyme, it still attracted conspiracy buffs in droves. Predicting the end of the world was literally the easiest way to get them hyped.

As usual.

“Right, and what do I get for getting it all done by tonight? I was supposed to get three days for this.”

“A goodnight kiss?”

Lukas rolled his eyes.

“Now you’re just being mean,” Emma complained. “Can’t you just help me out here? For old times sake?”

“...”

“C’mon, please? “ She leaned on him gently. “For me?”

Lukas breathed, taking in her perfume.

Jasmine, like old times.

He knew what was happening. That she still liked him was no secret— the number of signs that she had left over the last few weeks indicated her interest in getting back together. But he knew what that would lead to.

During the time they were together, it had mostly been about what Emma wanted to do. Between the endless parties and the sex, it had taken him a while to realize that all he really did was add texture to her life.

Make it feel real.

“Emma,” he said carefully, making sure that the frustration never entered his voice. “What are you doing?”

“Huh?”

“Never mind,” He sighed, turning back to the half-baked nursery rhyme on his screen. How did a law student like him manage to get stuck doing something as absurd as this?

“Fine,” he sighed. “I’ll do it, but this is the last time. You can’t keep pushing your work on me.”

“Lukas I—”

“I’m serious Emma. I’ll help you out here, but remember I work as an editor. I ‘m not here to do your job for you.”.

“You’re a lifesaver, Lukas,” Emma pushed herself until she was barely inches away from his face. “And, I’m really grateful for everything you do for me. Maybe if I showed it more…”

She sighed before closing the distance between them and kissed him.

Hard.

“...just this once,” he grumbled as he pushed her back, a part of him already missing the softness of her lips. “You really have to learn to be responsi—”

“Thanks,” She interrupted him, as she got up and moved to the door. “I gotta go now. I’ll see you tomorrow”.

“But you left your—”

She was gone.

“—phone.” Lukas said to the empty room.

---

They were shaking him.

He tried to move, but his left hand felt like a rock. His right hand was bound behind his back, as they began to push him into the ground. He couldn’t really understand why little Tommy was in his university but they held him down and then kicked—

He woke up with a start.

His entire body was shaking, the effects of that odd dream almost overwhelming him. Turning to the other side of the bed, he—

Wait.

It wasn’t him that was shaking.

It was the bed.

As if on cue, the tremors increased in intensity.

The hell is going on?

He pushed himself off the bed, before grabbing some clothes from the side of the bed.. The entire building was vibrating.

And it was getting worse by the minute.

“A fucking earthquake— the hell is wrong with—”

He couldn’t finish the statement, since the ceiling had begun to shake violently, dropping dust and debris to the floor. Managing to pull his laptop into his arms, he dived underneath the closest table, narrowly missing the chunk of plaster that fell off the roof.

“THE HELL!”

A terrible rumble emanated out from beneath his feet. It seemed to emanate out of the very core and sent a shiver through his spine.

And then it began.

The apartment roared to life like an enraged animal, shaking a smaller one within its teeth. Lukas could hear screams from the rest of the building as the room began to lurch furiously. The walls began shaking violently, causing bricks and debris to fall. His wardrobe, his speaker systems, his books— everything was now on the floor buried beneath a pile of brick and broken cement.

And still, the madness did not end.

Lukas didn’t know what was going on, but what he did know was that he couldn’t stay here in this— this nightmare. Not if he wanted to survive.

He quickly ducked out from underneath the table— his laptop tucked firmly against his chest— and rushed out of the door. Well, what was left of the door anyhow.

Ignoring the broken plaster on the stairwell he rushed down as fast as he could. He was feeling light-headed now— too much was happening and all at once.

Another giant rumble followed, and this time, the walls caved in.

It didn’t end well.

Trying to dodge fallen debris while running down a shaking building was a lot harder than they made it look in movies.

His head had rammed into the wall causing minor disorientation. He could literally see red mist encroaching his vision.

Or is that blood?

Cursing himself for having chosen the second floor, Lukas stumbled down the rest of the stairs.

Only to find that the exit itself had caved in. He could hear shouts and cries from people outside. Scared out of his mind, he dropped the laptop and tried to look for alternatives when a sharp pang in his chest brought him a moment's clarity. Surprising himself, he looked down to see his grandfather’s pendant stabbing into him, nib first.

It had drawn blood. No, wait—

It was sucking in his blood. Lukas felt himself getting weaker by the second as the pendent greedily drank more and more of it. Thankfully it stopped right when he started getting dizzy from the blood loss. Still, for an heirloom that had supposedly protected his family, it wasn’t exactly giving him a lot of luck.

Still, there was no way out and no way up either. It was just him and his pendent that also decided that today was a good day to turn into a vampire.

Well, at least it can’t get any worse than this.

A large fracture began to spread across the floor before forming a chasm in front of him.

“…”

He took a second to compose himself. Maybe the prophecy was right and the world was ending. Earthquake, check. Creepy bloodsucking pendent, check. Giant chasms opening in his apartment lobby, check.

Well, it probably can’t get any weirder than this.

A vicious crack ripped through the ceiling above him, causing an avalanche of dust to sweep across the room.

You’ve gotta be—

And then it fell.

And in the middle of that falling avalanche of rock and debris, Lukas felt something stab into him. Sharp and unimaginably painful. Before he could even try to look at what it was, the chasm widened and swallowed him whole.

​

 

Chapter 2 - I'm Dead. Probably. Maybe?​

Lukas had never really been a believer.

That isn’t to say that he denied the possibility of a god. Rather, it was more along the lines of something he simply didn’t give much thought to.

That being said, in an age where the media preached religion with more vigor than the Holy Church, it was hard to not know about certain things. And while death was an unfortunate and dreary affair, there was no shortage of interpretations about what happened after it.

More precisely, the afterlife.

Lukas hadn’t ever really thought about dying. Granted, life wasn’t always the proverbial bed of roses people made it out to be, but it was still a lot better than death. He had way too much to live for to just die like that.

And in such a random manner.

Even if he had thought about dying, it would likely have been of old age, after achieving some success or perhaps in an act of heroism.

But this?

He had literally been swallowed by that hungry mass of earth and dumped into… whatever this place was.

He almost felt cheated.

He had expected hellfire and brimstone with horned demons ready to torture him for all eternity, or angelic women clad in white and singing hymns would invite him into some ornately decorated kingdom. Probably some wine too, if the bible was to be believed.

Therefore, it was quite natural for him to stare ahead in confusion when all he found around him was a large stone cavern, with paths spreading out in all directions.

And yet, he could ignore all of that. He could ignore the fact that he didn’t really know if he was still alive. He could ignore the fact that he might be in some form of hell or heaven, or perhaps a vast emptiness where he would spend eternity alone.

What he couldn’t ignore though, was—

YOU HAVE ENTERED THE CRYPT OF FIENDISH WORMS

It was a strange semi-transparent message that floated in front of his eyes.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Lukas snapped after a series of attempts at trying to hold the weird window in front of him. His hands would phase through it though, and no matter what he did, it just floated there. Taunting him.

He tried looking away but the window kept sneaking back into his line of sight. Kind of like a lost puppy.

“What the hell is this thing?”

The window flickered for a second before—

STATUS REPORT

“Gee, thanks,” Lukas muttered incredulously. As if on cue, the new window vanished, leaving the original one to reappear in its stead.

“Go away!”

Nothing happened.

“Shoo! Close! Abra Kadabra!”

Still nothing.

“Disappear! Shazam!”

It ignored him, and this time, it flickered a bit as if amused by his antics.

Right. So this thing is here to stay.

Deciding to ignore his newest stubborn companion— even if it was just a mysterious window— Lukas looked around. The stone cavern seemed mostly devoid of life, except the luminescent moss outgrowths all over the walls, illuminating the entire area.

He glanced at his own body. His shirt and trousers were mostly intact. He had left his phone on his desk, and as for the laptop—

Shit. I’ll be in a world of trouble for this. Emma will—

The thought paused midway as something else popped up.

Where was he?

Was he really dead? And if so where was everyone else? Buildings were collapsing last he saw so there should be others who perished as well. Unless everyone had their own personal hell?

Or was this a hallucination, or some kind of dream?

Oh my God!

Lukas rested his face in his palms as he fell onto his knees. The more he thought about it the worse he felt. At this point, the not-knowing itself felt like a form of torture. Why was this even happening to him?

He shook himself briefly. This was not the time to break down. There would be time for that later. Right now, he needed to get out of whatever this place—

YOU HAVE ENTERED THE CRYPT OF FIENDISH WORMS

Right.

“Yeah thanks, you’ve been a great help.” He yelled out in frustration. As expected, the silly little window didn’t vanish or respond.

Lukas sighed. “Well, might as well start looking around. This place has to lead somewhere.”

Great. Now he was talking to himself. Perhaps Emma had a point when she called him a shut-in?

He glanced at the window again. Well, even though it was irritating and it did seem to respond to him.

Somewhat.

“How do you get out of this place?”

The window stayed as it was. Unchanging.

Maybe he had to be particular with words? The whole set up eerily reminded him of the murderous AI-ends-the-world movies that Hollywood seemed obsessed with.

“How do I get out of here?”

Still completely unresponsive. God, this thing was useless. Lukas looked around in frustration before trying again. Third times’ charm and all that.

“Where am I? Show me a map of this place.”

This time the contents of the window seemed to waver as if something was altering it in the background. The words faded before something pictorial began to form in their place. Bit by bit, the image began to form. First rocks, then walls and then mosses appeared on them and finally—

“I ASKED FOR A MAP, NOT A GODDAMN SELFIE!”

The image— with Lukas’s face on it —flickered once before becoming clear again.

Was it just him or was this thing being genuinely unhelpful?

“I need a map— I need to know how this place looks. From above. Or any direction whatsoever!”

The picture on the screen flickered a second time, granting him a moment of hope.

He really should have known better.

INSUFFICIENT LOCAL DATA

“What does that even mean?” He paused, before clearing his throat.

Nothing happened.

I swear if this is some kind of prank I’m gonna—

He composed himself, taking a long, deep breath. “All right, how can I get local data?”

CONSUMPTION OF PREY IN A LESSER DUNGEON ABSORBS LOCAL DATA

Right. So all he had to do was put on a barbarian outfit, take a large club and then move forth to capture his first prey. That would probably do the trick.

Trying his best not to sneer in exasperation, Lukas looked around a third time.

Walls of stupidly luminescent mosses greeted him back with equal silence.

That did it.

“To hell with this place and with this stupid window!” He snarled, before walking ahead into the path ahead. He’d find his way out of his wretched place, and once he did, he was going to have words with whatever was responsible for putting him in such a place.

And if this really was the afterlife, he needed to find his late grandfather who must be around… somewhere. Perhaps the old pagan might be able to shed light on why his dull and inert lucky charm had decided to turn into a vampire right before his unlikely death?

His fingers quickly searched through his shirt and found the object.

There was no trace of blood on it but the contraption now looked different.

Larger.

And there was something etched on its surface. Two different symbols, carved on opposite sides— It reminded him of some of the fantasy weapons you saw in some of the more outlandish video games.

This just gets stranger and stranger. Perhaps I really am just dreaming and I’ll wake up.

His stomach growled. Loudly. In hindsight, not having supper might not have been the best idea. In his defense, he hadn’t exactly received advance premonition about a world-ending apocalypse or his possibly premature death.

He considered his situation again.

He didn’t have his phone or his laptop. And even if he did there was no assurance that Hell (or Heaven) had WiFi for that matter. And to be honest, the idea of food delivery services in the afterlife was more disturbing than comforting.

He glanced at the floating window again, the words almost taunting him.

Well, beggars couldn’t be choosers.

“How do I get prey?”

No reaction.

He gritted his teeth. This thing was infuriating, and he didn’t have the time or the inclination to play twenty questions with it.

“What are prey?”

This time something changed.

MONSTERS SPAWNED FROM A LESSER DUNGEON ARE PREY

And wasn’t that helpful?

“What the hell is a lesser dungeon?”

BASIC TERRAFORMED CONSTRUCTS OF AN OMPHALOS

Lukas couldn’t help but wonder if this screen existed only to make life hell for him. For every answer, the window seemed to raise even more questions. He wondered if the maker of this entire… whatever this place was, was some sort of politician. It did seem to be the kind to give non-answers in stride.

But it was time for a different question.

“Is this place a lesser dungeon?”

YES

Well, that was as good a start as any. Going by the newest information, he hoped that his next question would solve his problem.

“Where do I find monsters inside this... lesser dungeon?

Now that got a reaction.

SCAN - LEVEL 1

“Level… 1? What does that even mean?”

LOCATES PREY

He was beginning to feel strangely light-headed now. He could sense something strange within him. It was strangely uncomfortable and at the same time pleasant. There wasn’t really a way to describe it other than... alien.

“Okay then, scan.” he tried.

SCAN (LEVEL 1) PREY FOUND WITHIN SCANNED RANGE : 0

“Well thank you for your help,” Lukas muttered sarcastically.

He faintly remembered that the name of this place—or dungeon or whatever— had something to do with worms. The name had sounded a bit too ostentatious to his own ears, but who was he to judge? As long as he got out safe and sound, he’d be fine.

“What can you tell me about this… lesser dungeon. The monsters or the prey or whatever you call it.”

The screen flickered before morphing slightly.

INSUFFICIENT LOCAL DATA

Or he could just start right back at square one.

Right. First rocky caverns with stubborn magic windows. Not to forget the sudden vampiric behavior of his perfectly normal pendant, and now, he was in a place filled with fiendish worms.

Or so he thought. Afterall a place named Crypt of the Fiendish Worms would likely be filled with worms. He hadn’t really seen a worm though. Or anything other than rock and luminescent moss. Nothing in this place really made sense and it was driving him crazy.

Either way, he really needed to eat something. Given how the sensation was beginning to spread all over his body, it looked like he’d keel over if he really didn’t have something soon.

And why was he feeling so damn thirsty? It was almost like—

A tugging sensation ripped through him and he felt something exit his body. A moment later, another window popped up.

PREY LOCATED IN 3 METRE RADIUS

“Huh? Three meters? That’s just—”

His words died down his throat as he realized something else. Almost on instinct, he twisted his neck to the right, and there it was—- dark blue, almost black, fur. Black compound eyes with thin triangular ears on either side. A pair of large wings extended out from its head and whatever remained of its body. Most importantly, it had a pair of sharp canines that had dug right beneath his neck— happily sucking precious blood out of his body.

Between the shock and the bloodloss, an acute sense of paralysis set in.

Lukas felt his knees grow weak, as he fell upon the rocky floor. The last thing he remembered was a new window popping right where the previous one had vanished. The words on it were strangely ironic.

PREY, FOUND YOU

 

Chapter 3 - Man vs Bat ​

It was on his neck.

It was on his neck.

A fucking bat was drinking out of his neck.

This was officially the most messed up day he had ever had. Scratch that, it was probably the most messed up day that anyone had ever had.

It had started with a massive earthquake which resulted in the loss of his apartment, his clothing, and more importantly, his laptop. Minutes later, the family heirloom his grandfather gave him decided that it wanted his blood badly enough that it turned to vampirism. If that wasn’t bad enough, this was followed by a fucking chasm opening under him and swallowing whole.

And now he was stuck in this place. Alone.

A man, a screen, and a goddamn bat that refused to let go no matter how much he whacked it.

Seriously was that a pleasurable moan it let out?

Lukas groaned again. It fucking hurt and the bat’s teeth were embedded in his neck. Pulling at it would likely take a good chunk out of his throat.

The screen, on the other hand, wasn’t helping at all. It still hadn’t disappeared and was floating in front of him with the singularly unhelpful message—

PREY, FOUND YOU

God, he was feeling dizzy.

The weight on his neck was increasing and the bat was visibly swelling. Probably with his blood.

“Get off! Off!” he yelled, trying to pull the nasty little thing off his shoulder. It hurt and he was feeling worse by the second. He had to get rid of it as soon as possible.

“How do I get rid of it?” Lukas yelled at the screen, hoping for a miracle.

KILL PREY

“Whose fucking side are you on?” He yelled at the infernal screen as the bat in question continued to squirm and claw into his body, drawing blood.

“— sonofabitch that hurts!”

He would faint if this went on. He couldn’t get into a position to apply much force to it and pulling it off while its fangs were in his neck would not be very productive to his continued survival in this… Life? Unlife?

“I,” he croaked at the screen as he clawed at the bat desperately. “I can’t kill it.”

TRY HARDER

Lukas howled in frustration. He was beginning to think that the screen was actually on the bat’s side. He would need to rely on himself for now. Taking a deep breath, Lukas slammed himself—and the bat hanging onto his neck —against the moss-covered walls. The bat squeaked angrily as he squashed it against the wall and let go of his neck.

Flapping its wings, it let out an angry little chitter and headbutted him.

Hard.

And even though this all, the goddamn window would not disappear.

TRY HARDER

At this point, he hated the window even more than the bat. Trying to ignore the increasing headache, Lukas waved his hands madly trying to fend off the bat. He didn’t know if you could die again in the afterlife but he had no desire to find out.

And if perchance, all of this was real… well, all the more reason to not want to die.

It wasn’t going well though.

The bat, in essence, was behaving like an angry, furry, homing, dodgeball.

With teeth.

Compounding this with the nausea and the vertigo from the blood loss, it was weird that he hadn’t already fainted.

Well, questions about his own mortality would have to wait. If he wanted to kill this thing, he would have to improvise.

Bracing himself for the inevitable impact, Lukas extended his arms and hugged the bat that was bombarding him.

Lukas winced. It felt like he had been hit by a truck. Still, this was his chance. Doing his best to maintain his hold on the furry deathball, Lukas allowed himself to fall onto the floor.

Right on top of the bat he was gripping.

Lukas winced again as the bat did its level best to make the experience as unpleasant as possible, before gritting his teeth and pressing down.

“Fuck,” Lukas cursed again, holding the furious creature down with a single hand on its neck, before grabbing its claws with the other. Finally gaining a strong hold on his prey— he almost rolled his eyes at his own choice of words— he pushed himself up and brought his knee down upon its back.

Hard.

He did his best to ignore the ‘splat’ and the squishy popping noises from under him. That and the warm, sticky liquid that wet his trousers.

Lukas took a deep breath before pushing himself up, pointedly ignoring the mess on the ground.

“Fine!” He said, looking straight at the window that was flickering unstably in front of him. “It’s dead. Now what?”

CONSUMING PREY

“Consuming— what does—?”

The rest of the words died down his throat as he felt something enter his body. Not something physical but something more… ethereal.

And even then as he stood, soaked in the still worm bat-blood, he had the eerie feeling that something had inside him had changed.

Almost in answer to the swirling mess of emotions that was his mind, the window seemed to go into a frenzy. Several windows seemingly opened and closed in quick succession, and soon after, a large window folded open in front of his eyes.

ABSORPTION OF LOCAL DATA - CONFIRMED CONNECTION TO PRIMARY REALM - CONFIRMED AUTONOMY OF SELF - CONFIRMED RECALIBRATION OF FACILITIES - CONFIRMED ALLOCATING RESOURCES

More windows opened after that. Between losing the high from the adrenaline rush and the vertigo, he couldn’t really make much of it. That being said, something in particular caught his attention.

SOULSCAPE - INITIALISED HOST ANALYSIS - COMPLETE SOUL CAPACITY - GENERATED.

Had he been a little more invigorated, he’d have wondered what soul capacity actually was, and why this damned screen was talking about his soul like it was some quantifiable object. But the sequence of events had left him drained. As such, Lukas Aguilar took it all in stride.

Which was probably a good thing considering how overwhelming it all was.

Windows continued to pop in and out before settling on one final prompt.

ENABLING SKILL CREATION ENABLING EXPERIENCE ABSORPTION SOULSCAPE - ACKNOWLEDGED

And then the windows vanished.

All of them.

“Uhm….” Lukas murmured in an unsure voice, surprised at the window finally disappearing, A part of him felt elated at finally managing to close the damned thing, but now that he had done it, he began to feel slightly… autophobic in its absence.

Not to mention the sudden feeling of claustrophobia that seemed to creep in.

“Well, thanks I guess.” He addressed the empty space in front of him, almost wishing the window would reappear.

It did

But unlike the others, this one was empty.

Still, the important thing was that it responded.

Responded to... his thoughts?

He had tried willing it away earlier to no avail. Why the window was being convenient all of a sudden, he couldn’t tell. Still, it was best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He rolled his eyes as the window disappeared again, leaving him free to look around without the semi-transparent layer obscuring his vision.

At the very least, he could make it disappear when it got too irritating.

Lukas managed to take a step forward before his eyes were drawn to the floor behind him. The mutilated remains of the bat— if it was even a bat in the first place— were all over all the place. Not even an hour and he had already killed something.

With his own hands.

Kill prey.

That’s what the screen had said. Kill it to absorb local data. He had no clue what this local data was, but in the end, he had killed it.

It wasn’t the death of the creature itself that sent him reeling. He wasn’t exactly vegetarian, after all. But there was definitely a difference between eating a hotdog and popping a creature open with your own hands,

What was even more frightening was that the window did not look satisfied. Level 1 it said. As if this was just a game.

He had already been forced to kill once. Would he need to kill again? And then what?

I wanted to study law to help people. Not kill them.

He gazed at the blood covering his hands. It was still warm.

Almost instinctively, he began rubbing his hands against the moss-covered wall, trying to rub it away.

To make his hands spotlessly clean all over again.

It didn’t, and somehow that made him feel even worse.

“What is— what is all this?” He muttered, fear lingering in his tone. “What the hell is all of this?”

Nothing answered.

“Screen? Open up. Activate. Show yourself.”

Whether it was a sum total of those commands or just one, he couldn’t tell, but a window did appear.

And once again it was blank. Completely devoid of information.

It took him a moment before he realized it was waiting for a question.

“What was that soulscape thing?”

The answer, predictably, told him nothing.

REPRESENTATION OF SOUL

“What does that mean?”Lukas asked desperately. These non-answers were endless with each more frustrating than the last.

No response.

“What does my soul have to do with anything?” he almost begged, “You just said it's acknowledged or something.”

Still, no response.

He should have known better by now. Lukas moved his attention back to the window. If it was to be trusted, it was talking about a representation of his… soul?

“Can you show me… the, um… the soulscape,” Lukas asked carefully.

This time the screen flickered before reforming.

SOULSCAPE​

NAME	LUKAS AGUILAR
RACE	HUMAN (EARTH)
LEVEL	1
EXPERIENCE POINTS	0
EXPERIENCE THRESHOLD	20
EXPERIENCE CONVERSION EFFICIENCY	23%
UTILIZED SOUL CAPACITY	0/100

STATS

PHYSIQUE

18

SKILLS

OMPHALOS FRAGMENT ​

PARTIAL FUSION | FRAGMENTED | LEVEL 1

SCAN	LEVEL 1
ANALYZE	LEVEL 1

“Level 1? Soul Capacity 100? What is this, some stupid kid game?” Lukas sneered in disbelief.

Had his companion been a living, breathing human, it would probably have retorted back in vexation. Unfortunately enough, it was a screen, one that he had no clue of how functioned. As such, the screen made no effort to respond.

“God, this is ridiculous,” Lukas groaned before trying again. “Alright, I’ll bite. Show me my powers or whatever.”

This time, the question did provoke a response.

Unfortunately, it was far from his liking.

YOU HAVE NO SKILLS TO LIST

Of course the damned thing would end up putting it like that. Really, why had he even expected anything from it in the first place?

He had more important things to concentrate on. Like acquiring some food for one. If the grumbles from his stomach were of any indication, he’d need to get something soon. The moss-covered walls showed no signs of plant life, and while Lukas was no spelunker, eating unknown plants was a sure-fire way of poisoning oneself.

That left only one option.

He glanced at the bat again. Those were supposed to be edible in several parts of the world, so surely something from that mess was edible. Right?

Wait a second. That was a bat. Correct?

He faintly remembered something about Scan and Analyze from that heap of data the screen had thrown at him. Perhaps it was time to put those into some use?

Without delay, he spoke up. “Scan the bat and tell me your analysis.”

As expected, the window folded open out of nowhere. On it were new words. Details. Knowledge that made Lukas wonder where it was that he had fallen into, and if he’d ever find a way out of this hellhole.

INERT. UNABLE TO ANALYZE.

“Inert?” Lukas gawked, “you mean dead?”

There was no reply.

Well, that backfired completely. Perhaps the Analyze function only worked on living things? Or well— things that weren’t squashed into a puddle of blood and gore?

His stomach rumbled again.

This is going to get worse.

He needed food, and he needed it fast. The fallen bat was beginning to look incredibly inciting at this point, but consuming something like that raw could kill him. The last thing he needed was to contract some viral infection in this god-forsaken place.

Which left a single resource he could turn to.

He needed to learn how to use the screen. No matter his initial dislike for it, it was his sole aid in this hell-hole.

Besides, a cynical part of him considered, it worked before. It might work again.

“Use Scan.”

The screen popped up like a faithful puppy, an animated scanner looping at the center. A moment later, the screen blinked— the new text signaling the completion of his request.

SCAN (LEVEL 1) PREY FOUND WITHIN SCANNED RANGE: 1124

“What the—” Lukas began, flabbergasted. Over a thousand? He had nearly been exsanguinated by a single bat. The staggering figure made his knees feel weak. Wanting some support, he grasped the wall next to him.

And then, almost as if the screen was waiting for this very moment, the next message popped up.

PREY, FOUND YOU