It was a room. Or at least what seemed to be a room. It was completely blank. The room seemed to go on forever with no end in sight. It didn't seem to have a roof and, if I weren't standing on the floor, I wouldn't believe there was one.
"What the?"
After the initial shock had faded, I decided to explore the room, and possibly find an exit
I tried walking around and after about 10 steps I hit an invisible wall. I felt along the wall and hit another wall. After felling my way around a bit more, I came to an 'incredible' conclusion. I was trapped. In a box.
"Well, it's not like I have any plans anyway."
Since I couldn't do much else, I put my back to a wall and sat down. As I stared into a blank wall for what felt like hours, I closed my eyes.
I started to think about Aiko. I ended up talking to her.
"I remember the days we used to play together."
"You always loved being Athena, and I was Hades."
"You were always more of a nerd than mom."
"I remember your smile. You were always so happy."
"I remember the days you were bullied, yet didn't even tell me about it. "
"How I couldn't stop you from taking that step." "How I couldn't stop you from falling."
"I remember the bastards that bullied you."
"The bastards that made you feel more trapped than I am right now."
"The bastards that made a young girl kill herself and got away with it thanks to their parent's money."
"But ultimately, it was my fault."
"Why didn't I notice anything?!"
"I should have been there for you!"
" I shouldn't have left you to suffer while you hid behind a brave face and bottled it up!"
"I shouldn't be alive when someone as kind and innocent as you died, and I might have been able to stop it!"
I started to tear up.
"Why did you have to leave us, you idiot?"
"Why didn't you tell me anything?"
"Why did you have to leave me all alone?"
"You were the only thing left that made me feel... feel happy."
"But does someone as useless as me deserve happiness anyway?"
I breathe a shaky breath.
"I'm sorry, Aiko. I know you wouldn't want me to cry over you. Looks like I'm still more of an idiot than you, huh."
I breathe in and out deeply, wipe my tears, steady my heart and steel my resolve. I have to keep moving forward, no matter how painful. That's the least I can do for her now. "I have to get out of here."
I open my eyes and realized that the situation had changed.
More people started to appear out of thin air. I tried calling out for someone, but it seemed like no one could hear or see me.
"What the hell is going on?"
Soon, the whole 'room' seemed to be filled to the brim with people. Out of nowhere, a monotonous, machine-like voice spoke.
"ALL SUBJECTS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY TRANSPORTED. "
The voice's tone reminded me of how my teachers spoke to me at school after the funeral. Dull. Uncaring. A chill ran up my spine. Something was about to happen. Something big.
"COMMENCING WORLD REMODIFICATION. BROADCASTING PROCEDURE. "
A screen suddenly appeared in front of me, broadcasting what appeared to be Earth. But it didn't stay like that for long. The only way to describe what happened is that it was like the end of the world. It was unlike any myth I ever heard of. No battle between good and evil, no giant snake surrounding the world, no fire, no flood. Just everything turning to dust. Everything humanity built over the last 200,000 years gone in an instant. It was almost poetic and in a weird sense of the word, beautiful.
"COMMENCING SIMULATION OF LIFE IN THE PLANET EARTH WITHOUT THE INFLUENCE AND INTERFERENCE OF HOMO SAPIENS.
BROADCASTING PROCEDURE. "
As quickly as it was destroyed, something new had emerged. The planet became a green paradise. Animals that had gone extinct for centuries flourished in their new playground. Everything from dodos to woolly mammoths roamed the planet's surface. Creatures killed off by humanity's cruelty thrived there peacefully. No pollution, no overhunting. This is what the garden of Eden would have looked like.
"EXPERIMENT UNSUCCESSFUL.
OUTCOME TOO PEACEFUL.
COMMENCING RECONSTRUCTION
BROADCASTING PROCEDURE."
Again, the world was purged. Those creatures we're its creation and completely innocent. Yet they were destroyed without a second thought. Their helpless cries reverberated in my ears. It painful to look at yet I couldn't take my eyes off it. This wasn't a few buildings. These were living, breathing beings that were slaughtered without a second thought for what seemed like some sick experiment. How surprisingly human.
"COMMENCING SIMULATION IMPLEMENTING INCREASED OXYGEN LEVEL, FIGHT INSTINCTS, DOPAMINE REWARD FOR KILLING AND AN INCREASE IN CARNIVOROUS FAUNA.
BROADCASTING PROCEDURE. "
The world was changed yet again. Instead of the garden of Eden, the world became the playground for demons. Insects grew to gargantuan sizes, every creature was filled with bloodlust and even plants could kill you. Earth had become a lush hellscape.
"SIMULATION ACCEPTABLE.
PREPARING SUBJECTS FOR INTEGRATION.
COMMENCING SORTING. "
Sorting started. People started to turn to dust left and right. As people kept dissolving, I thought I saw a glimpse of my mom, but I lost sight of her. As I looked around, more people around us vanished. Not many of us survived.
"ATTENTION ALL REMAINING SUBJECTS.
YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS EXPERIMENT.
YOU WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT WE HAVE CREATED.
YOU WILL BE GIVEN THE CHOICE OF AN ABILITY TO CARRY WITH YOU INTO THE ENVIRONMENT.
AFTER SELECTING AN ABILITY, YOU SHALL BE TRANSPORTED TO THE NEW ENVIRONMENT.
PLEASE BEGIN THE SELECTION OF ABILITIES.
A new screen popped up in front of me. It was a list of abilities, all written in blue. I scroll through the list, seeing things like enhanced mobility and enhanced eyesight until I arrived at the bottom of the list. The last ability was written in black.
FEAR MANIPULATION - LV 1
Fear Control
??????????????????? - to be unlocked
??????????????????? - to be unlocked
??????????????????? - to be unlocked
??????????????????? - to be unlocked
I tap on Fear Control.
Fear Control - Allows the user to control the fear response in another being. Can affect multiple beings with experience.
Fear control, huh. Seems useful. "
I try tapping one of the question-marked ones.
Unlocked by ???
I tried the others, with the same luck.
"I guess I'll have to figure it out later."
I select fear manipulation as my ability.
"ARE YOU READY TO CONTINUE?"
"Not like I have a choice."
After confirming, I fell unconscious.