Chapter 2

  It was quiet. Usually Matt would prefer a bit of background noise, the pitter of rain against a window, cars passing by and the muffled sound of honking through walls. Usually this is what Matt would be hearing when he was sleeping, and usually he couldn’t get any rest without it, but it was quiet. And yet, he didn’t mind it.

  He couldn’t feel a blanket, or even his bed really now that he thought about it. Just a constant feeling of warmth surrounding him and applying a faint pressure from all directions, like a hug from the universe. It was nice, Matt wished he could sleep like this every day after work, he would probably be better rested. It might even be enough to make him a morning person.

  Actually, second thought, no it wouldn’t. It’s close though.

  Thinking about it for a second more however, Matt realized that he didn’t remember getting to bed, much less how he accomplished this absolutely serene experience. The last thing he remembered was walking home, a strangely harrowing walk and then the… The lightning.

  Snapping awake, Matt opened his eyes and looked around frantically. He would have sat up while he was at it, but as he was not laying down so there was no way for him to sit up. In fact, he found that he was floating in some kind of void, nothing around him to even orient which way was up or down. Trying to turn revealed that he could rotate himself in this weird space, but his perspective never changed to reveal such concepts like up.

  Feeling a bit of panic started to tell well in his chest, he turned around more frantically trying to find anything to reveal what this place was or what happened to him. Did he die? Was this the afterlife? What was going on?!

  And as he was thrashing about in the void, he felt a thrum echo through space that caused him to stop moving and remain stock still. Another thrum passed though Matt and he saw as the pitch black void started to shift around him, ribbons of light starting to part through the darkness. Before losing his parents, they had taken him to Alaska for a camping trip. It was fun, and during that last night before they went to bed he saw a beautiful aurora stretching across the sky. It was so beautiful that it had etched itself deep into his memories, so permanent that he probably couldn't forget it if he tried.

  He was reminded of that day as swirls of color shifted across the once featureless void, enrapturing his attention so deeply that he even stopped breathing. Something that usually would be brought to his attention when he quickly felt the lack of oxygen, but it seemed as though he didn’t need to breathe… Wherever he was, so he was free to lose his focus as the colors danced across the world.

  After an amount of time that Matt couldn’t tell you if you were paying him, he began to focus on calmly investigating his situation. The colors calmed down in intensity as well, just softly swirling in the background, and despite the new stimuli Matt was still unable to find a direction that could even remotely be considered real ‘up.’

  Seeing no immediate solution, Matt tried calling out. “Hello?” He yelled into the void, hands cupped around his mouth to really project the sound. And as his greeting echoed out into the world around him before it was gone, Matt began to say something else when he was interrupted.

  “Ahh!” He yelped in surprise as a large blue rectangle suddenly materialized in front of his face.

  Matt just stared in shock and confusion about what was happening. A system? Isn’t that only supposed to be something in like novels or video games? Also, what is it supposed to mean when it says that a death is ‘unforeseen’ and ‘before someone's time?’ Was Matt not supposed to die painfully in the street? Shuddering a bit at the memory, Matt shook away the thought and looked back at the screen. At least he has read enough to be somewhat familiar with the concept and not be completely blindsided.

  Well that was a bonus. Sure, getting what seems like magic would be awesome, but having to hole up in a library all day to do a basic cantrip does not sound fun. Matt has never been great at schooling, more of a fan of practical and hands-on learning. Getting a cheat method of advancing sounded great. Sure, dying was a bummer but Matt didn’t exactly have anything tying him incredibly closely to his old life.

  Well, that's a bit of a bummer but typical. In pretty much all of those novels there was some kind of threat or demon lord, seeing as how it was the latter then at least it was a simple issue. Sometimes those protagonists needed to solve a civil war or something, or save the world from some kind of eldritch horror. A demon lord was a more simple threat comparatively.

  Oh, that's something. A choice. Usually these kinds of things just thrust you into the thick of things, but a choice. Did Matt want to deal with all of that responsibility? Back home when he was alive, the most he had to take care of was closing a store alone at night, or just paying his bills on time. Sure, he had some people he could call friends and like them enough, but none that could be considered family. He didn’t really have anyone that would have their life changed if he died.

  Well, he already did die, so nobody's life would change after it. They might be a bit sad, but they would move on and ultimately forget about him besides a ‘Oh, remember Matt? That was a cool guy, shame what happened to him.’ And Matt was fine with that. His life up until now wasn’t interesting, just lived. And he didn’t regret any of it, but now? When he had a chance for more?

  Hesitantly, Matt held up a hand over the screen. He just held it there, still, before he grit his teeth and firmly pressed on the ‘Y’ option.

  That was interesting. What did it mean by Energy? Was it some kind of element that he could control, or a type of magic? Matt's interest peaked as he awaited the next screen.

  Aura huh? Not a bad first choice. While Matt didn’t get outside much he still kept in the effort to try and keep fit and healthy, especially since he stopped playing sports. But he didn’t know if being a physical fighter like that truly suited him, so he moved on to the next option.

  Now that sounded interesting! Matt was a bit curious what these words of power were exactly but getting to cast spells was everyone's dream, and any system that let that happen was bound to be great. He almost blindly chose Mana but managed to stop himself from touching the screen. There were three options, and it would be foolish to choose something without having all the information, even if he was pretty sure what he was going to pick. Who knows, there could be something else incredible.

  Matt flexed his fingers and could still feel the phantom sensation of brushing against his magnets. The way he could feel deeper into its truth beyond just touching them and felt his non-existent breath hitch in his throat. A slight tremble shook his hand as he lifted it up to the screen and pressed against it. He felt it earlier when selecting yes, but touching it now he paid attention to the texture of cool glass that the weird text box held.

  Mana is incredibly cool and usually there would be no competition, however this just felt right, like there was some deep resonation within him he never knew about until this moment. He pressed his hand against ‘Y’ and the screen disappeared. Suddenly, he was alone and nothing happened for several seconds, enough to make Matt worry he had messed up somehow. Before he could dwell on the thought for too long, another window appeared.

  Before he could dwell too long on the last message, the swirling void of colors around him erupted into a bright blue light and as he went to protect his eyes from the brightness, Matt once again lost consciousness.