Voices... I could hear them.... all around me...
Why are they screaming? What are they screaming? .... numbers? Why?
Why can't I move? Am I dead? I remember falling off a cliff...
"Sold!"
Sold? Sold to who? Am I still alive? What is happening?
Congratulations!
Would you like to erase [Renshu]'s memory?
[yes] [no]
What is this? Who is making these decisions about me?!
Uploading [Rein Nett] ...100%
[Renshu] data transferring.... .... .... (4 minutes)
(3 minutes)
(30 seconds)
(5 seconds)
Complete!
Welcome to Psycho Love!
***********************************
Renshu's whole being throbbed, the last of his energy drip dropping away. He wanted to curl up into a ball and sleep, brain stuttering and failing to remember anything. Hands reaching out to cuddle into the ground, they met with air. Still, no worries entered Renshu's mind as he tried to drift off to sleep.
Only he couldn't.
Renshu could feel cold eyes staring at him, a commanding presence that seemed to suppress his body and thoughts. Fear struck Renshu's spine, cloudy thoughts only letting a whimper escape his lips.
[Please.... wake up.]
The voice resounded around him, monotone and cold, a complete contrast to its words.
[You must move.... or the god of this world.... will give up on you.]
Struggling for a minute, Renshu finally succeeded in prying open his eyes. Blinking a few times, he stared at the vast stars surrounding him, the moonlight bathing him in its silvery glow. Failing to find his voice, Renshu looked around only to suck in a panicked breath.
He was floating.
High above the world where the houses looked like anthills. A dark river flowed between them, frozen despite it being warm out. Strange static balls of light flanked each side and were spaced equally apart, disappearing into the distance.
Like a splash of cold water, Renshu woke up. He flailed around in a panic, frantically grabbing at the air.
"Where's a bloody bird when you need one? Should I start flapping? Can I fly now? What the heck is going on?!"
Amidst Renshu's desperate attempts to become a bird as he flapped his arms wildly, the stars around him coldly glowed, pulsing with light. A malicious air grew heavy around him, steadily growing stronger as if desiring to rip him to shreds.
[Quickly.... possess.... the selected body. The god.... grows angry.]
Renshu gritted his teeth, chest growing warm in anger. His eyes looked around this strange foreign place, a sense of helplessness furrowing his brows. Glancing at the scary stars around him, Renshu conceded.
"How do I get down?"
As soon as Renshu said the words his form started to drop gently, the strange houses and black river growing closer. The black river might not actually be a river at all. Instead of frozen, it looked more like tar that's been hardened. But where would someone get so much of the stuff? And why waste it on the dirt when it should be on ships and roofs, keeping the water out. Could a carriage have lost a wheel and dropped its goods? And those lights, hanging from a pole so high up yet there is no sense of magic or flickering of flames. So how was it lit?
The questions cut off when a groan escaped from Renshu's lips before he clenched his teeth. The oppressing feeling grew stronger, so much that Renshu swore he heard his bones creak.
"Body. Body. Body." Renshu hissed the chant as the voice guided him to the closest house. "Wait, wait wait. How do I get in?"
[Phase through]
"Phase through? What do you take me for, a ghost?" Renshu sneered before pausing. "Oh, right."
Dead, yet still forced to feel pain. How is that fair? Shouldn't the dead either cease to exist or enjoy the afterlife. Where's all that?
However, that cold ominous feeling of eyes watching from the stars quickly sent a shiver through the cowered fox and taking a deep breath, he poked the house.
Meeting no resistance, he let himself pass through the roof, a strange tingling feeling going through him in waves. He could see the boards of the house, strange electric veins and pink fluff within the walls.
Finally, he made it to a quiet and dark room. Pushed against the wall was a bed with a lump sleeping soundly in it. Visible waves of heat rose off it, welcoming and comforting.
Without thinking, Renshu dove into the source of heat, that prone body hidden under the covers. The malicious air suddenly vanished as soon as Renshu entered the body but before relief could settle in, the original consciousness became alert.
It struggled, trying to fight and push Renshu out. Panic and desperation made Renshu's soul clumsy as he tried to grapple with the invisible threat. Invisible tears streamed down the fox's face as slowly he felt himself seep out of the body.
[...don't worry...I will...assist you....]
Suddenly the other consciousness was pulled out as if sucked into a vacuum. The body was empty and Renshu quickly occupied it.
[Possession complete!]
Renshu sat up violently from the bed, body sticky with cold sweat. His breaths shuddered in and out through his chest as he stared blankly at the blue sheets gathered at his waist.
[General information about world 2059 loading...
.... technology...
.... society...
.... laws...
...complete!
.... transferring to host....]
Piercing pain split Renshu's skull. His scream of pain made Renshu shove his face into the blankets to muffle the sounds. Information flooded inside, strange images flashing by; metal creatures you rode inside its skeleton, information stored and accessed with a simple touch of a finger or word from rectangular devices, buildings reaching the heavens, all of it threatened to melt Renshu's brain and have it leak from his nostrils.
When the pain finally subsided little by little, Renshu peered up with watery eyes, staring at the dark room with a mixture of horror and wary curiosity.
W.... what just happened? Where the heck...?
[Welcome to Psycho Love!] The voice suddenly sounded a lot clearer.
"You can read my thoughts?" Renshu asked out loud.
[Yes, Host. However, if you truly do not wish for me to hear them, then I cannot.]
"I see. What is Psycho Love?"
[Information denied]
Denied?
"Who the hell do you think you are to deny me?" Renshu demanded, glaring at the empty space in front of him. "And why can't I see you?"
[My name is Rein Nett but you can just call me by what I am, a System, Host. ^^ I was created to help gods create the most entertaining world they can. Other gods will watch and rate the world depending on how much they enjoyed it. 10/10 stars! That's the goal! 10/10, would recommend, would watch again!]
"Ten stars?" Renshu stared blankly ahead. "What are you talking about? I saw the stars, there are thousands of them in the sky."
[....that....those aren't the stars I meant...(^_^;)....ahem...Since we were both put into this world at the same time, I decided to latch onto you to help me achieve my goal.]
"So, you're using me," Renshu muttered, understanding dawning in his eyes.
[Host, in helping me, I will also help you in return. It is a mutual benefit.]
"And how are you going to help me?" Renshu asked.
[.... I don't know yet. But at the very least, I can give you inside knowledge of this world and what the god expects of you.]
"And why would I care about this world?" Renshu scoffed then spat at Rein Nett, "Useless."
[ Σ(･口･)]
Feeling a vein throbbing in his forehead, Renshu sat up and stretched, listening to the satisfying sound of his bones popping. Slowly, he worked through every muscle and ligament, testing each one as he settled into this new form.
When Renshu reached his butt, he stopped. Brows furrowed, he glanced behind him, expecting to see his beautiful tail, slightly mussed from sleep but fluffy and elegant as always.
Gone.
Panic tightened Renshu's chest as his hands flew up to his head, patting where his pointed cute twitchy ears should be.
"W-w-w-what is this?!"
Tumbling out of bed, Renshu felt around in the dark, suddenly realizing, "Hey! I can't see! What happened to my night vision? What the hell did you do to me?!"
Renshu stumbled his way into the bathroom, falling twice and stubbing his toe once on the unseen objects.
Flipping on the light, Renshu stared in wide-eyed horror at his familiar reflection.
Minus a couple of things.
"What a poor imitation of me! No claw, no ears, and my tails!" Wailing, Renshu fell to the floor, tears streaming down his cheeks. "My beautiful tails! Why god?! Why are you so cruel to me?! Was it the candy I stole from that toddler? I'll buy him some more, I swear! Just please, my tails, my tails!! Wuwuwuwu...." Screams and wails, fists slammed into the floor so hard cracks and dents formed on the hardwood and still, nothing changed. No tails appeared and when begging didn't work, Renshu switched to cursing and threats, but his prayers? went unanswered. After rolling on the floor a few times and Rein failing to give a reaction, Renshu finally got up. After turning on all the lights in the house, including the lamps, Renshu went to the wardrobe and dug around.
[Host, what are you doing?]
"What does it look like? I'm getting dressed so I can go out and look around. I mean I can do whatever I want right? After all, this isn't my world, what do I care?" Eyes lighting up when he spotted a pure white (bath) robe, he flipped his hair out of the collar as he put it on.
Finally, recognizable clothing. It may be no hanfu but it's close enough.
[ Please note that if you displease the god of this world, he can terminate you.]
"What do I care? I'm already dead. For all I know, this is my afterlife. If I can't enjoy it, then what's the point."
[You are not dead.]
Renshu paused, bitterness dripping from his lips. "I remember falling to my death. I felt my bones crush and organs spill out. I am no longer in my world and came here as a spirit. Yet you are saying, I did not die?"
[....]
Face falling, Renshu punched the air where the voice sounded from. "That reminds me, you never said why I can't see you."
[I have no physical form. I am simply data that has attached to your consciousness. I need a host in order to influence the worlds that seek my assistance. Which reminds me, Host, about your Task in this world-]
Going to the front door, Renshu snarled. "So, you're a parasite. Great, I got worms. Do me a favor. Keep your trap shut."
[.... understood] Wuwuwu, just met Host, but he already hates me!
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I updated! Yay!
System- (Rein Nett) it's goal is to help the god who created the world its in reach 10/10. This rating is reached through other gods judging the world. (more info learned later) The System can only influence the world through a Host it has attached itself too.
Host=Renshu(unwilling)