He’d felt so angry. So alone. But he’d give everything to have the chance to feel that way again, because now he felt nothing. He’d heard stories of the instant regret people who survived attempts always shared, but never really believed someone's view on life could 180 so fast. Now he believed it. The life he’d been so quick to throw away now seemed like the most precious gift he’d ever had, and it was gone.
He didn’t know what the voice in his head meant at the end. He’d read books and watched movies about Earth being integrated into the multiverse, so he figured it must be his dying mind’s way of rationalizing the pain he put himself through. The pain he caused some innocent bystander who’d done nothing to deserve the fate he’d given them.
He hadn’t hit a wall, he’d hit a car. A car driven by another person, whose only mistake was being on the road when he lost control. He wanted to sob. To beg for forgiveness that his rage could have taken more than his own life. It felt so strange, being overcome with emotion without any way to make it real. To feel it in his bones. Maybe this was hell, and his fate was to suffer the sorrow caused by his final moments for eternity with no way to move past it.
The truth sank in as his consciousness drifted through the vast nothingness. He’d never see his family again. Never hear Max’s excited shrieks every time he got French fries. Never get to hug his mom again. Never spend another night in the garage helping his dad work on a car or building some new furniture for the house.
His problems felt insurmountable just moments ago, but now they felt like nothing at all compared to everything he’d lost to escape them. He wished he could go back and tell himself to hold on. That everything was going to be ok if he made it another day. All he needed was a little perspective.
Sure, his job was stressful. Aurelia could fail, his boss could fire him, and he could end up unemployed. That still left him with a capable mind and the opportunity to go find a better job.
Cleo could cheat. Leave him sad and alone. But that didn’t mean he’d never find love again.
Every obstacle could be overcome as long as he was still alive to keep trying. But it was too late, he’d given up the chance to strive for something better.
As he despaired, a light bloomed behind him.
There shouldn’t even be a behind him, direction was meaningless in the void until it wasn’t. Eternal black lit to faded gray as two eyes appeared in front of him. One, the dark brown he’d stared into his entire life, the other a teal iris set in a gray eyeball. His sight restored, he saw himself staring into a large crystal mirror, taller than a door and framed in golden scripts in a constant state of flux.
The light above his eyes pulsed, and the body he remembered slowly appeared in the reflection. Inch by inch, it was reconstructed from the top down, his senses returning one by one. His ears heard his mouth breathing, even without any lungs to fill. He felt his heart begin to beat, and his muscles stitch together as arms, legs, feet, and hands appeared. He was naked as the day he was born, revealing a shocking change. All over his body, patches of dull gray skin splattered over the healthy body he knew, leaving him a splotchy mix of tan and gray. His brown hair was mixed with patches of jet black.
It was him, but it wasn’t. He ran his hands over his face, the gray patches coarse and chalky like concrete.
“What is happening?” He asked, pleased to hear his own voice.
Your body has been reconstructed to allow participation in the Integration trials. Congratulations. Prepare for legacy imprinting. The same disembodied voice from before spoke directly to his mind. It was deep and resonant, like a god commanding the universe to bend to its will.
“What?” Harvey asked before a guttural scream escaped his throat. Light erupted from his body, and he felt a red-hot knife carving into his soul. His reflection lit up like an angel, and as the light faded, he saw a network of inky black veins covering his entire body. A thick black line stretched down his chest from his throat like a river, with smaller tributaries moving down his arms and legs until everything from his fingertips to his toes was covered in thin tattooed lines.
It felt like he’d been burned alive, the pain radiating through him until the light faded. He panted, sweat dripping from his forehead as he struggled to compose himself. Just as the wave receded, a new light burned out of his chest right above his heart. Compared to the full-body agony, it was manageable. Like a cattle brand being held against his skin instead of the sun burning his body as fuel.
When it faded, a tattoo of a black and brown noose had been connected to the inky veins.
Imprint complete
Text appeared on the mirror beside his reflection.
“Level zero! I have stats?” Harvey gasped through heavy breaths. “This can’t be real.”
Yes, your legacy has been determined and imprinted on your body, connecting you to the tapestry and manifesting your true nature.
The stain lowering his Willpower down to 1 was concerning, but he wasn’t quite sure what that really meant. Everything else was pretty self explanatory, and the values for each made sense if he was honest with himself.
“The tapestry? Is that what you are?” Harvey asked.
The tapestry is the grand record of all cosmic experience, the ledger of all that has ever been. It is the record, I am the recorder. The voice replied.
“What should I call you?” Harvey asked, hesitantly
I go by many names. The heavens. The judge. Searching your mind, I believe the name best suited to your understanding is The System. The voice decreed.
It’s just like the books Harvey thought.
Yes, many stories are the result of a chosen few peeking behind the curtain. They see glimpses of the true nature of the cosmos and use stories to rationalize experiences they cannot explain. The voice replied.
“Can you read my mind?” Harvey asked.
Every thought you have and every action you take, no matter how small, becomes a part of your weave. The ledger on your skin that holds your history for all to see. The System replied.
Harvey’s mind raced as he inspected the inky veins covering his body. Either he was in a coma-induced hallucination and dying in a hospital somewhere, or he was meeting god. Talking to the master of the universe. Asking questions that it actually deigned to answer for him.
Do you regret your decision to take your own life? The system asked, already knowing his answer.
“More than anything. It’s the worst decision I’ve ever made.” Harvey replied.
Good. The only sin against the tapestry is wasting the potential it has given you. Your legacy has been stained before you’ve even begun on the path of progress, but through hardship and endurance, your story can be one of redemption.
“Does this mean I can go home? See my family again?”
Perhaps, if you survive. Choose the tools you’ll use to seize your destiny. The system answered.
It wasn’t the most comforting way to hear it, but just knowing it was possible felt like a heavenly pardon. No matter what he had to do, he would make it back home. He would make the most of his second chance at life.
The mirror shone brighter, and his naked reflection was suddenly covered in a leather chestpiece, cloth pants, black boots, and a shortsword at his side. Three shining vials were slotted into loops on his belt, two red and one green. The equipment didn’t appear on his real body, but it moved with his reflection as he stared into the mirror. Text appeared describing his choice, along with arrows pointing to similar sets on either side.
Class | Warrior | G Grade | Common
Starting Skills: None
Starting Equipment:
- Infantry Sword
- Leather Cuirass
- Simple Shirt
- Simple Pants
- Leather Boots
- Two Minor Healing Potions
- One Minor Endurance Potion
The leather armor looked bulky on his lanky frame, and he couldn’t imagine himself getting up close and personal with anything he’d need a sword to fight. Even with countless nights playing tennis with Cleo before life got too busy, he didn’t trust himself swinging a sword.
He tried swiping on the mirror, but it registered his intent before his finger even touched the crystal.
His reflection now held a short recurve bow with a full quiver slung over his shoulder and an earthy brown cloak covering his head.
Class | Hunter | G Grade | Common
Starting Skills: None
Starting Equipment:
- Infantry Bow
- Infantry Quiver
- Canvas Cloak
- Simple Shirt
- Simple Pants
- Leather Boots
- Two Minor Healing Potions
- One Minor Endurance Potion
A bow was interesting, but still didn’t feel right. The system. The magic tattoos. He felt like he was stepping into a world of magic, so why choose a weapon humans had already been using for thousands of years?
Moving to the last option, he smiled. If there really was a wizard class, of course, he was going to take it.
Class | Arcanist | G Grade | Common
Starting Skills: None
Starting Equipment:
- Infantry Wand (Minor Arcane Bolt)
- Infantry Robe
- Simple Shirt
- Simple Pants
- Leather Boots
- One Minor Healing Potion
- Two Minor Essence Potions
It was a little concerning that the class didn’t offer any starting skills. If he needed to know magic already to use the wand, he wasn’t going to get very far. Still, it felt like the best choice, and the description of the wand suggested it had spells of its own. Giving his mental assent, the equipment worn by his reflection appeared on his real body.
Once again, light erupted from his weave, much gentler than before. A steely blue glow coalesced into thin threads that burrowed inside him, interweaving themselves with his inky black weave to leave hints of color within.
When it was done, the light, the mirror, and the endless void surrounding him vanished. In their place, Harvey stood alone in a forest of coal black trees with canopies of purple leaves giving way to a midnight sky. The chill of night bit at his neck as the breeze flew by. The gentle sounds of the forest filled his ears as pale moonlight lit the small clearing around him.
A single tear rolled down his face, and grateful laughter swelled in his chest. It wasn’t over. His story wasn’t done yet. He’d been given a chance for redemption, and he promised himself he wouldn’t waste it.
Kneeling to the ground, he ran his hands through the fallen leaves and wet earth beneath him, smiling from ear to ear.
And then he heard the growl rumble behind him.