Aetheria’s Awakening – Soulforge Legacy Book 1

My mind went from muddled to fully awake with a snap. It was as if someone flipped a switch on my brain. Eyes popping open, I found myself looking up at a white expanse — not a cloud in sight. Sitting up, I tried to get my bearings. The problem was, the ground was just as white as the sky. Both stretched out as far as I could see. The only thing distinguishing the sky from the ground was an off-white orb high above.

But the sky and ground weren’t the only things I noticed. Everything was silent except for my breathing. No sounds of machines humming, electric lines buzzing, or people talking. It was it the place was holy and it was a sin to make any noise louder than was required to breathe.

The place smelled different, or more accurately, it lacked any smell whatsoever. Nowhere in the city was without the scent of mildew or rotting garbage. At some point, I had gotten used to it and forgotten it was there. Now, this place reminded me of a time before people stopped caring. Back from before everything started to fall apart.

Back when people were free to drive in and out of the city. When every type of food imaginable was plentiful. Now, most people barely scraped enough money together every month to buy protein bars that tasted like ash. The stuff was barely enough to keep one from starving. There were stories, rumors, about a secret war being waged across the world, but with the deterioration of infrastructure, media and news was unreliable at best.

Who knew a lack of smell or noise could cause someone to cry? Quickly wiping away the tears that threatened to escape, I forced my mind out of the past and away from the horrors of what modern society. Instead, I focused on my surroundings, trying to figure out where I was and how I’d gotten here. The last thing I remembered was passing out in the pod as I tried to log into a full-immersion game. So, either I was in some kind of loading lobby, or I was in the waiting room for the afterlife.

Not that it would matter. If I was dead, I was dead. Nothing I could do about it. On the other hand, if I was in the game, then damn? If the game itself was anything like this place, I could see why people were willing to spend so much money to play. I was pretty sure anyone on Earth would do anything to escape the hell hole that Earth was becoming.

First things first; what were the limits of this interface? Starting simple, I picked at the white fabric covering my chest and pants. They felt like a rough mix of wool and cotton.

Reaching up, I ran my hand through my hair. It felt a bit greasy, like I hadn’t washed it in two days, Which was true, but that was in the real world. The short strands flowed through my fingers without issues. It all felt real. None of it felt off or strange.

A soft, cool breeze blew past me. The sudden change in temperature on my neck sent a shiver down my spine. As if traveling on the wind itself, a soft, melodic feminine voice spoke. “Welcome traveler. I am one of the goddesses of this world. The locals know me as Luminara. Now, since this is your first time visiting this world…”

Rolling my eyes, I muttered, “Yay, a disembodied voice. You would think that the developers would at least create an NPC to do these introductions.” The soft tapping of a shoe on stone came from my right. Spinning around, I found that I was no longer alone. Standing there was the most breathtakingly beautiful woman I had ever seen. She had the look of a Greek goddess, taller than me with muscles and curves in all the right places.

“I will have you know that I hear everything said and thought in this place,” she said, a chair rising from the ground as she flowed into it. “While this can be annoying at times, the reactions people have when I pop in are typically worth it.”

My eyebrows rose, though I didn’t say anything.

“Tsk. You are not as much fun as I had hoped. Anyway, let us get an account set up for use on the forum and login to the transfer device. What username would you like to use?”

The first things that came to my mind were not appropriate. As I shook my head, I found that she was smiling, as if she knew what I had been thinking. Then again, maybe she did. She did say that she could. “For the forums, is ShadowFox available?”

“It is.” The floor lifted up between us, forming into a table or desk. A pen and paper appeared from nowhere as she jotted the name down. “Now, what would you like to be called? This needs to be a full name, first and last, as it will appear on all official documentation in this world.”

That was a bit harder. While I could’ve gone with my name, it didn’t feel right to me. Well, that and I wanted to include something about foxes into it. Something about them had always called to me. My mind kept coming back to a certain fictional fox’s name, but it just didn’t feel like it would fit me. Well, that and I didn’t want to get sued by the company that owned it. You would think such things would disappear as civilization fell apart. “Any suggestions? I’m good with anything, as long as it includes foxes.”

The question seemed to catch her off guard. After a moment, she nodded. “How about Kyren Vulpier? Since no one else has that last name, it would be unique and easier for people to recognize.”

Seeing my agreement, she wrote it down and filled out a few other sections. As soon as she finished, she pushed the page toward me. “Fill this out.” She must have seen the confusion on my face because she added, “Even us gods have to fill out paperwork. Trust me, if there was a better way to do this, we would.”

I rolled my eyes at the thought of filling out paperwork in a digital world as I took the proffered pen. Not that I signed it immediately. That would have been stupid. No, I read the document from top to bottom. Looking for anything odd. I wasn’t disappointed.

It included typical things, like rules against cheating or modifying the game. The weird part was related to the name I chose. Once I signed, it would be permanent. No one would be able to change it, not even the developers. Something about it being linked to my character's soul or whatever. Likely a bullshit reason given by the developers so that players would be unable to create multiple characters.

Then there was the section on character creation. It wouldn’t be done by the player. According to the forms, I was agreeing to a full body scan from which the character would be created. After that, anything I did to my character in-game would be permanent. No do-overs. No take-backsies.

Which meant that I would have to think through everything before committing myself to anything. Not seeing a problem with this, I signed my real name on the dotted line. As I watched, the ink glowed gold as the lines moved, changing it from Alex Morgan to Kyren Vulpier.

Luminara smiled as the paper rolled itself up and vanished. “Welcome to Ascent to Aetheria. We hope you enjoy your time here and pray for your success as you journey through the worlds. Now, let us go over the basic interface. You can bring it up by calling, screaming, whispering, or even simply thinking the word ‘Interface’ while intending for it to appear. Go ahead and give it a go.”

While she said that I could call it up mentally, I opted to try doing so verbally first. “Interface.” A purple box appeared in the air, hovering two feet away from my face.

“Oh, nice color,” she said. Before I could ask about her comment, she continued, “This first screen contains your basic information. Off to the side, you will notice that there are tabs.” Looking over to the left of the screen, I saw the tabs — like those from a school binder. “These tabs include everything from shops to maps. Most of which are locked right now, but you will find them unlocking themselves when the system deems you ready.”

“We gods know this can feel overwhelming and that things might not be where you expect. That is why the interface is designed to be customizable. If you want something to be added or removed from a screen, will it to happen. You can also drag and drop sections to rearrange lines or tabs. You can modify it later. For now, let us continue. You will notice that there are a few asterisks on the screen. Focus on one of them to bring up additional information.”

Ignoring her instructions, I focused on the line containing my HP. While I knew what other players had said about the lack of information,  that didn’t stop me from at least trying. Nothing happened. “Why can I not bring up the information on my health?”

“Because there is nothing modifying the value,” she said, as if it was obvious. Maybe it was to her, but the restriction seemed stupid to me. Grumbling, I focused on the next line.

“As you can see, your health is currently being boosted by an active buff called Newbie Protection. Buffs might affect multiple stats and even other aspects. This is one such example. Go ahead and focus on it to see the buff’s effects.”

Even with that time limit, that boost was overpowered. With it, you could take on tougher enemies with little fear of death and its consequences. “That buff is nice to have, and each player has a version of it. Of course, not all buffs are the same — it depends on whether or not they were annoying. Now, to close the windows, simply imagine them closing or tap the x on the top right corner.”

I imagined sliding the windows shut like I would the bathroom window in my apartment. The top window collapsed but didn’t disappear. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Luminara’s hand flying up to her mouth as she tried, and nearly failed, to stifle a laugh. Grimacing, I mentally pleaded with the window to close.

The window vanished, leaving  only the character screen hovering in front of me. Curious about my starting stats, I asked, “Is there a place where I can see my stats?” She didn’t bother to answer. As if reacting to my question, the window switched to another tab.

Yeah, figured my vitality was under ten, but how was it eight and my health seventy? That would mean each point was worth about fifteen health. “Since ten is the average for visitors to our world, you have a decent start.” I doubted that. I was weaker than other guys my age. Though, according to the game I was faster than the average person. “Now, it is time for you to enter the world. But before you go, I want to give you a piece of advice. Think before you commit to something. The best path may not always be obvious nor the easiest.”

With that, she, the table, and her chair all vanished. In their place hung a stone doorway. The scene beyond was of a city as viewed from a tower high above. Snow covered many of the roofs and the street far below. A soft, brisk breeze blew through the door, carrying the smell of wood smoke. Without hesitation, I stepped through it and onto a tower.