759 days, 10 hours & 35 minutes. When he began his prison sentence, Carter DeVola had expected to live out the next 20 years of his life behind the walls of the specialized prison he found himself in. A place that was home to some of the worst criminal offenders from all over the United States.
Much of Carter’s last 2 years was spent in his cell, where he slept and consistently worked out.
He had brief recreation time in the form of a 10 minute walk around a fenced off yard. It was his favorite time of the day, despite the multiple armed guards keeping a vigilant watch. At least he got fresh air and sunshine.
As he completed another 10 minute stroll around the yard, one of the guards approached him with cuffs ready.
“Alright, DeVola, time’s up for today,” said the gruff, authoritative voice of Officer Thorton. He was one of the few officers that DeVola actually respected.
He was an older man of principle who took pride in doing his job and doing it well. Most other guards treated the prisoners with disdain and abused the power over the prisoners.
Not Thorton though. Since Day one, Thorton had treated Carter like an old friend, laughing and joking around when there weren't any other guards around.
The kindness had surprised Carter at first, not expecting such behavior from someone who knew what Carter had done. But over time, he had come to appreciate the man's kindheartedness.
Carter gave the man a small smile as he took his time approaching. He wanted to enjoy as much sun as he could before returning to his cell.
Before he reached Thorton, a floating white square appeared a few feet in front of him.
He stopped walking as the box appeared, looking at it with surprise and curiosity.
Text appeared in the empty floating square moments later:
“MANA LEVELS OF EARTH1213 HAVE REACHED ACCEPTABLE THRESHOLD FOR INITIATION. PLEASE WAIT…”
Carter read and re-read the text that appeared, not fully understanding what it meant. He looked around at the guards, but they looked as confused as he felt.
He also noticed that the floating text box followed his eyeline, staying the same distance away from his face as he looked about.
“Interesting…I wonder if everyone received this?” he thought, but chose to keep the question to himself.
The text was suddenly replaced by another sentence, and Carter tensed up after reading it:
“BEGINNING INITIATION. TERRAFORMING PROCEDURES COMMENCING”
Suddenly, the sky turned gray, despite the beautiful weather moments earlier.
Thick clouds covered the sun, and the distant sound of rumbling thunder echoed.
A swirling vortex of colors filled the sky above the clouds, as if a rainbow tornado was about to form.
All eyes were now staring up in awe at the strange light show in the sky. Carter stood and stared up with a smile, admiring the lights.
“Beautiful” he whispered, before his head began to throb with pain as an intense ringing sound overwhelmed his mind.
He closed his eyes and grit his teeth, fighting against his urge to fall to the ground and succumb to the pain.
But he managed to barely stay on his feet until he finally felt the pain begin to fade.
Breathing heavily, he looked around and saw that the guards on watch were now all either on their knees or curled up on the ground in pain.
He briefly considered taking advantage of the temporary incapacitation of the guards, even thinking about how he could take each down individually.
“I could easily disarm Thorton & the other guards, but the ones on the wall could regain themselves and take me out…no, it's not the right time for that…”
The guards regained themselves moments later. They looked around at each other, searching for an explanation of what just happened.
Thorton was the first to speak up.
“I don't know what the hell is happening, but let's get back inside. Now.”
The guards in the yard rushed towards Carter, most likely to get him back in cuffs and rushed to his cell. Carter paid them no mind. He kept his eyes on the sky.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
He watched as the lights in the sky began to combine into a bright white ball in the sky. The guards hadn't noticed as they moved toward him, cuffs in hand.
He watched as the light intensified and the circle of light began to expand. A strange sound boomed, stealing the attention of the guards.
Carter and the guards watched as a pillar of light shot towards the ground with intensity.
“Fuck! What the fuck!” yelled one of the guards, abandoning the group and escaping inside.
“Carter! Inside NOW!” yelled Thorton, grabbing the man’s arm and attempting to pull him indoors. Carter didn't move, only turning his head towards the older officer and giving him a wide smile.
Carter had spent the majority of his time in jail focused on improving his fitness. Much of the time in his cell was spent improving his body through various exercises.
Over the last 2 years of his incarceration, he had kept up his workout routine every day, growing more and more in bulk until he was almost unrecognizable from his past self.
So as Carter watched the light quickly approach the yard, Thorton attempted once again to pull him away. Carter clenched his fist tightly & spun around, striking Thorton hard across the face.
The older officer dropped like a brick to the grass, and all Carter could do is smile.
“If this is the end, I prefer to face it head on.” He spread his arms wide as he embraced his fate. The bright light swept over him, and he felt a buzz throughout his body as he lost consciousness.
When Carter finally awoke, he stared up at a blue sky with faint streaks of purple.
“Hmm. Guess I'm not dead after all,” he said with a smile. He sat up on his hands and looked around. He found himself in the middle of a cracked and deserted street, surrounded by large, desecrated buildings.
Before Carter could react to the unexpected change in his surroundings, a new floating text box appeared in front of him.
“EARTH1213 INITIATION COMPLETE. PLANETARY MANA LEVELS HAVE REACHED THE MINIMUM THRESHOLD.
WARNING: THE INFLUX OF MANA INTO A ONCE BARREN WORLD MAY CAUSE THE RAPID EVOLUTION OF INDIGENOUS BEINGS.
WELCOME TO THE SYSTEM”
Carter had to pinch himself to check if this was all some sort of dream, but the pain he felt confirmed that he was indeed conscious.
He looked around once more at the ruined city around him. He was curious as to how long he was unconscious for, because last time he checked, there were no cities this desolate anywhere in the United States. And on top of that, how did he even end up here?
The popup disappeared, only to be replaced by another popup moments later.
“SURVIVAL IS THE DRIVING FORCE OF THE UNIVERSE. POWER IS THE MAIN PILLAR OF SURVIVAL.
YOUR PLANET AND ITS INHABITANTS HAVE JOINED THE GREATER UNIVERSE.
DANGER AND WONDERS ARE SCATTERED ABOUT YOUR NEW PLANET.
FIGHT. GROW STRONG.
FIND YOUR PATH TO POWER.
SURVIVE.
Carter read the text a few times, and his heart began to beat more and more rapidly. A smile broke out on his face as he slowly realized that the world he once knew may be no more.
He stood to his feet, and brushed dirt off of his tan prison jumpsuit. He took a deep breath, and in his newfound excitement, he began to laugh.
As far as he could tell, he was free. The world had changed into one of survival and power, two things that Carter found most important, and he couldn't be more delighted.
He heard movement from behind him. He turned and saw one of the guards from the jail laying on the concrete a few feet behind him, beginning to awaken.
A wicked smile, and a malevolent urge overcame Carter, and he walked over to the guard until he stood over the man.
The guard looked up at Carter groggily. His brain was still foggy but it began to clear and his eyes finally focused. They widened as the guard realized who he was facing, but before he could make any move, he felt an unnaturally strong grip around his throat.
Carter wrapped both hands around the neck of the guard, and squeezed hard. He had no personal grudge against the man. He didn't even know the guard's name.
What he did want was to fight. To prove his superiority. To trample over those who stood against him. To make the most of this new world, and stand at the top of the food chain.
All these thoughts shot through his mind as he watched life slowly drain from the guard’s eyes. The man had attempted to fight back, punching upwards at Carter's face, clawing and scratching in an attempt to break free.
But it was a trivial act. Carter continued to squeeze until the man’s arms fell lifelessly to the ground.
Carter kept squeezing for a few moments longer, just to make sure his quarry was truly taken down.
Before he could revel in his first kill in years, another floating popup appeared in front of him.
YOU HAVE KILLED 1 HUMAN, RANK 0.
150 ESSENCE GAINED
RANK UP!
YOU HAVE REACHED RANK 1: BRONZE STAR
PLEASE SELECT A WEAPON:
SWORD
STAFF
SPEAR
BOW
Carter flexed his hands to release the built-up tension as he read the latest message.
“This…is a lot like a video game. You gain experience through kills and gain ranks it seems.”
Normally, Carter’s first choice for fighting was to simply use his fists. But using a sword to cut down his foes enticed him greatly.
He thought about it a bit longer before making a choice. He tried using his hand to press his selection, but it simply went through the popup. Instead, he tried to focus his thoughts on the selection he wanted.
In response, the window disappeared, and with a flash of light, a silver metal sword landed on the ground.
Carter smiled and laughed heartily.
“Ha! Amazing!”
He picked the blade off the ground and examined it. It seemed to be a pretty basic sword. The blade was sharp and seemed to be made of iron, as well as the pommel and guard. The grip seemed to be made of some sort of black leather.
Carter swung it around a bit and found it felt like a perfect fit. The weight was perfect and sat comfortably in his hand.
Once again, a smile spread across Carter’s face.
“I think I'm going to like this new world.”
