You know that feeling you get right before something bad happens? Like when you confess to your crush and they're just silent for a second? Or when you're waiting for the doctor to tell you if you have cancer? Well, that's pretty much where I'm at.
I confessed to my crush a day ago, only to be bitterly rejected. Today, I went to the hospital, only to find out that I have stage 3 cancer in my kidney. And now I'm here, crossing the road on my way home from that bitter experience and that feeling is back.
All of a sudden, I notice two big beams of light growing ever brighter to my left. Then darkness.
…
Mantrea, Year 301- Summer
"Congratulations, it's a boy! He looks healthy and strong. Do you have a name in mind?"
"We'll call him Michael, after his grandfather. He was the strongest, smartest man I've ever met" rang a deep voice.
[First requirement met: Precognition detected. Host can sense events before they happen.]
"Michael it is. Congratulations on your new son."
…
Mantrea, Year 308 – Summer
Whack! Whack! Whack!
A young boy stood hitting a tree over and over with an axe. He was small of stature, had ears a bit too big for his face, curly brown hair, and sharp blue eyes with a determined look in them. He faced a tree as wide as he was tall. It had a metallic sheen to it and each blow of the boy's dulling axe left only the smallest scratch in its base.
"Michael, time for lunch! Hurray up or you're upset your mother," called the deep voice of his father. Eager to comply, Michael put his axe over his shoulder and ran after his father.
Back at their small cottage, Michael sat down to a meal of fresh bread, corn, and rabbit. He gobbled it down as quickly as he could and grabbed a wooden training sword that was left by the door. He loved his parents dearly, but he loved training even more.
"Thanks mom! I'm off to train with Master Robin. See you for dinner!"
And off he went. Michael ran into the forest, up the hill towards his master's training grounds. It was a small place, consisting of a small, sturdy hut and a flat dirt area for practicing sword skills. He arrived quickly and went to greet his master.
"Sir, I have arrived and am ready for my lesson. Please teach me well," he said as he stood outside the hut, not daring to knock on the door. Indeed, his master had already instilled that good sense in him. Every time he had gone to knock, his teach hit him with a wooden sword of his own. In time, he'd realized that he needed to stand further back for his own safety.
"Yeah, yeah. What's with you young ones always being full of energy? It's barely noon! Fine, fine. Let's begin." A groggy old man walked out of the hut, training sword in hand. His hair was gray, but his body was spry and flexible, as Michael had learned in their first spar. His skin was tan and calloused, as though he had spent a great deal of time in the sun. This was the renowned Master Robin who had once been the strongest swordsman in the world.
Without warning, Michael's master leapt to attack. An overhead strike came flying at the boy. He managed to raise his sword just in time to block the attack. Strike after strike, slash after slash, Michael did his best to keep up with his master. He lost all sense of time, focused only on his fight. That is, until he finally hit his master.
Master Robin had stopped mid-swing, starring off into the distance. Michael, seeing an opportunity, struck out at his master and landed his first ever hit. Rather than getting angry or praising him on his achievement, Master Robin continued to stare.
A sense Michael hadn't felt in over 7 years returned, and the boy turned around to see what his master was looking at. At the edge of the forest, there was smoke. In his 7 years, Michael had seen several wildfires, but this one looked different. The smoke was a different color and the flames were visible, even from their distant perch. And then it hit him— that was where he lived.
Seconds later, Michael was crashing his way down the hill with his master shortly behind him. He felt his master grab his arm and pull him to a stop.
"Think, boy! Those flames aren't natural. Only a magical creature could conjure flames like that and the few that could make some that powerful are few and far between. It's suicide to go in there! I'll go and quell the flames. Promise me you'll stay back until I do." With that, Michael's master disappeared from in front of him, as if by magic. Since his master wasn't there to stop him, Michael continued his trek to his burning home to help his parents.
[Requirements met: Vendetta acquired. Find out what did this to your home and kill it.
Activating Superior Intelligence System. Naming Superior Intelligence System. Generating AI. Say hello to Al, your personal system assistant.]
Michael was dumbfounded. A voice he had only heard twice in his life was suddenly talking to him. Vendetta? A system? Who names an AI Al? So lazy.
"Umm, hi Al?"
Say it like you mean it, kid! The system may call me a personal assistant, but you can think of me as your divine savior and translator of all things system-related. You can beg and grovel after we know your parents are safe. Now get moving!
The strange voice in his head reminded Michael of Master Robin and that jolted him out of his stupor. He raced down the hill with renewed energy, desperate to know his parents were safe. As he neared the blaze, he could see that his home was nothing but ashes. His mentor was busy dissolving the last of the flames with water he'd conjured out of thin air. But there was no sign of his parents.
"Mom! Dad! Where are you," Michael screamed. Master Robin briefly turned to look at him, but he quickly devoted his attention back to fighting the blaze. Michael knew he'd get chastised later, but finding his parents came first.
If you just want to find them, that's easy. Just use the system. One of the built-in features is sensory amplification. You'll know where your parents are as long as they're within a mile of us, dead or alive. Oh, I should not have said that. I should not have said that…
"Deploy it now! Where are they?"
[System indicates that the desired individuals are roughly ten meters ahead of the host. No vital signs detected. Host is advised against travelling to said position due to the detection of high heat and blue dragonfire.]
Noo! It couldn't be. Michael fell to his knees, curled up in a ball and began to cry. After 7 years of peace and love, disaster had struck again. Except, this time he wasn't powerless.