Limbo
Chapter 2: The Pendant
Sam gripped the pendant tightly as a sudden, searing warmth spread through his chest. The air around him grew thick and unsteady, like the moments before a powerful storm. His surroundings warped, the dim glow of his desk lamp dissolving into a swirling void of black and electric blue.
For a brief moment, he was weightless, floating in a vast expanse that seemed to stretch infinitely. Pulsing streams of light flowed through the darkness, shifting and curling like veins of energy. Sam felt a strange duality; he was both utterly alone and yet watched by something vast and incomprehensible.
A sudden jolt snapped him out of his awe. In the center of his vision, a translucent interface materialized, flickering and glitching as though struggling to stabilize. Words and symbols scrolled rapidly, some legible, others fragmenting into nonsense before disappearing.
“Initializing... Scanning subject... Generating character sheet...”
Before Sam could process what was happening, a series of glowing dice appeared on the interface, spinning in midair.
“Roll to determine primary attributes.”
The interface seemed to wait, the glowing dice hovering expectantly. Sam, bewildered, instinctively reached out. Though his hand passed through the display, he felt a faint tingling sensation. The dice rolled on their own, landing one by one with satisfying clicks.
The first stat appeared:
Strength: 12 (4 + 4 + 4)
The process repeated, the interface rolling four six-sided dice for each stat, dropping the lowest number. Sam couldn’t help but marvel at how surreal it felt, as if some cosmic entity was assigning him traits like a character in a game.
Strength: 12 (4 + 4 + 4)
Dexterity: 15 (6 + 5 + 4)
Constitution: 10 (3 + 4 + 3)
Intelligence: 16 (6 + 6 + 4)
Wisdom: 13 (5 + 5 + 3)
Charisma: 8 (4 + 3 + 1)
The numbers flickered briefly before solidifying, accompanied by a chime. Sam shook his head, trying to deny the absurdity. “This has to be a dream,” he muttered, but the vividness of the experience made it impossible to dismiss.
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The interface expanded, displaying additional elements:
Health: [ ]
Armor Class: [ ]
Map: [Unpopulated]
The health bar and map sections were blank, shimmering faintly as though waiting to be filled. The armor class readout displayed static, flickering between symbols Sam didn’t recognize.
He focused on one of the stats, and to his surprise, the display responded, highlighting the number and providing a brief description. When he concentrated on Intelligence, it read: “Intelligence: Represents analytical ability, problem-solving, and memory. Influences magical aptitude.”
His breath hitched. “Magic?” he whispered, the word foreign on his tongue. The interface glitched again, its translucent light dimming briefly before flashing a cryptic message:
“To you in the past... our path begins.”
Before Sam could react, the void around him began to collapse. The glowing streams of energy converged, spiraling toward him. The pendant around his neck pulsed with heat, and his vision blurred.
A final flash of light consumed everything, and Sam felt himself hurtling forward, a faint roar echoing in his ears. Then, silence.
Sam awoke to the damp chill of the forest floor pressing against his cheek. His head throbbed, and his body felt heavy, as though gravity itself had doubled its grip on him. Slowly, he opened his eyes to an emerald canopy of towering trees, their leaves stretching like great green sails against the golden light filtering through the sky.
The air was thick and humid, carrying a symphony of sounds; chirps, rustles, and distant calls that spoke of a vibrant, untamed wilderness. He inhaled deeply, catching the rich scent of earth, moss, and vegetation, a stark contrast to the sterile city air he was used to.
Sam pushed himself up, groaning as his muscles protested. His surroundings were surreal. Giant ferns with fronds taller than him swayed gently in the breeze, and the forest floor was dotted with flowers of vivid colors he couldn’t name. Strange insects, some larger than his hand, flitted between the plants, their iridescent wings catching the light.
“What…where am I?” he muttered, his voice barely above a whisper.
The translucent interface blinked into view again, hovering just at the edge of his vision. It startled him, the glowing text stark against the primal backdrop.
“Initializing map…”
A crude section of the map appeared, a small glowing marker indicating his location in the middle of dense, uncharted terrain. He reached for it instinctively, but his hand passed through, meeting only air.
“Objective: Survive.”
The message sent a chill down his spine.
Sam ’s breath quickened as he tried to take stock of his situation. His clothes were damp from the ground, his shoes coated in mud. He had no weapons, no supplies, nothing that could help him in this wild, unfamiliar world. Panic bubbled in his chest, but he forced himself to focus.
He turned in a slow circle, scanning his surroundings. Every direction was an endless sea of trees and foliage, with no sign of civilization or any landmarks he could recognize. He spotted movement in the distance; shadowy figures darting between the trees. His pulse quickened as he squinted to make out their shapes, but they were gone as quickly as they appeared.
A low, guttural roar echoed from somewhere far off. Sam froze, his blood turning cold. The sound wasn’t like anything he’d heard before; deep and resonant, the kind of roar that made it clear whatever had made it was at the top of the food chain.
The ground beneath him vibrated, faint but steady, in rhythm with a distant thud, thud, thud. The sound of heavy footsteps grew louder, each one shaking him to his core.
Sam turned toward the noise, his body tensed, his breathing shallow. The dense forest ahead seemed to shift and part as something massive approached.
The display flickered again, the words “Danger Detected” appearing in red. He didn’t wait to see what it was. His instincts screamed at him to move, to run.
