The first Thane felt was Annabelle's beating heart before a fresh breeze washed over him. Opening his eyes, he looked around in shock. They were in the middle of a forest, trees towered above them with green leaves, and their roots branched through a moss-covered floor.
A wave of relief hit Thane when he saw that all the supplies he had packed were with them as well.
"You can open your eyes now. It seems like we're safe for now." Annabelle lifted her head and looked around in wonder. "Where are we?"
Thane opened his mouth to answer when the symbols on both their wrists started to glow and pulse, drawing their attention. Not knowing what to think, he first stepped away from Annabelle before tapping the marking.
Like a beacon, a hologram appeared in front of Thane, it resembled a piece of parchment, and the writing was in old cursive and looked like fresh ink.
'Hello there, Ascender, welcome to the Realms of Ascension. You have either been selected at random or killed a previous ascender to have a chance to reach godhood. While it might take some time to adjust to your new life, there are limitless possibilities in the Realms. Once you feel ready to begin your journey, simply think 'stat page' to take the next step.'
In the world of his own, Thane didn't hear Annabelle screaming for him until he finished reading, "Mr. Macedon, Mr. Macedon!" Grabbing her hand, Thane stopped her, "Why are you shaking me?"
Annabelle sighed in relief, "You were just standing there. When I went to check, your eyes were glazed over." Thane realized that only he could see the screen and looked back at Annabelle's sigil.
"I was reading a message. Go ahead, press your mark, and tell me what you see." Annabelle hesitated for a second before pressing the symbol. Thane watched as her eyes glazed over.
She stayed like that for a few seconds before the effect faded, and she whipped her head towards Thane, "Did you see that!? There was a message just hovering there in the air!"
He nodded, "Did you get the message about being something called an Ascender?" Annabelle nodded in confirmation, "Yeah, but I still don't know what to believe. I can't even begin to wrap my mind around it."
"Well, I don't like being here in the open. Let's get somewhere safe. Judging by the sun, we don't have much sunlight left." Annabelle nodded and looked back towards Thane's stockpile, "How are we supposed to move all of that?"
Thane thought for a moment before he grabbed his sidearm and handed it to Annabelle, "Do you know how to handle one of these?" Tentatively, she took the pistol, and Thane could see her struggle with the weight for a second.
"A past partner of mine was really into guns, and I went to the range with them more than a few times. But it was so long ago." Thane shrugged, "It will have to do, now stay here and guard the supplies. I'm going to scout and see if I can find any place to hold up for the night."
Annabelle nodded nervously, so Thane smiled before disappearing into the forest.
---
Moving through the trees like a phantom, Thane took out one of his knives to mark his way back. After a bit of searching, Thane found a shallow cave that he checked to make sure no one or thing was inhabiting the shelter.
It would be big enough to house all their supplies with room left over to spread out. Tracing his way back to Annabelle, he found her sitting on the floor, her head between her knees. As he moved closer, Thane could see her body shaking as she cried silently.
Walking back a bit, Thane found a relatively large stick and broke it over his knee, creating a loud and clear snap. Instantly Annabelle shot to her feet and brandished the gun in Thane's general direction, "W-who's there!"
Slowly Thane stepped out with his arms raised, "Friendly! Don't shoot. I found a place where we can stay, it's a bit of a trek with the supplies, but we can make it." Annabelle sighed in exhaustion, "Sorry about that. I'm a little bit on edge."
Thane nodded in understanding and held out his hand. Annabelle quickly realized she still had his gun and flipped it around to return it.
"We better getting moving fast. I already saw a few signs of animals, and I don't want to be defending a payload while we fight." Thane quickly grabbed the rope and tied it through the holes near the edge of the tarp.
When he was done, all Thane needed to do was pull, and the tarp slid easily over the ground. "Are you sure I can't help it would help us go faster?" Thane shook his head, "I need someone to keep a lookout."
Annabelle nodded as Thane grunted and began to drag the tarp against the ground. Their progression was slow and, at some points, came to a full stop as Thane had to navigate through roots and fallen trees.
The sun had just disappeared from the sky when Thane pulled one last time, bringing the entire tarp into the cave. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Thane was short of breath, "Just in time."
Looking over his shoulder, Thane saw Annabelle hugging her knees as she sat against the cave wall. Catching the storm in her eyes, Thane fished out two water bottles and handed one to Annabelle, "You should drink something."
Annabelle took the water and mumbled a thank you before slowly sipping from the plastic container. Thane didn't say anything for a long moment as he kept his eyes glued to the cave entrance.
"How did you know I had the mark?" Thane asked, breaking the silence and startling Annabelle slightly, "I-I saw you leave your house every morning. You don't run with a shirt on."
Thane nodded, realizing he hadn't tried to hide the fact, "You watched me run?" Annabelle blushed, "I-I didn't mean to, but it was hard not to after you changed."
Turning around, Thane raised his eyebrow at Annabelle, "Changed. What do you mean by that?" She bit her lip before responding, "Before, you always had this dead look in your eyes, and you always smelled like alcohol. I thought you were a deadbeat."
Thane thought it was a little harsh, but Annabelle was telling the truth, "The day after you bumped into me, I got the mark. I woke up one day, and bam, there it was. I tried to talk to my parents, but they wouldn't listen. They kept spouting nonsense about how I was one of the chosen who wouldn't be here to see Jesus and the Anti-Christ battle. It made me so mad. But now I don't want anything else but to see them again."
Thane shook his head in dismay. He used to believe in a higher power. But after the things he had committed, Thane didn't want to think an all-powerful being would let them happen.
Walking over to Annabelle, Thane offered her his hand, "This may be giving you false hope, but the message said we could become gods. While I don't know what that entails, I think the way to start is by finding more about our current situation."
Annabelle wiped the tears from her eyes, "O-okay, the message said to take the next step, we have to think of our stat page." A chuckle escaped from her lips, "Funny, that sounds like something from my brother's video games."
Thane smiled before he thought, 'stat page.'
Immediately his mark began to glow, and a new pop-up appeared in front of him.
---
'Welcome Ascender to your stat page, a place you will see many times in your journey. Remember that nothing is given in the realms, and everything has a cost. As you gain experience either through combat or other means, you will eventually level up. As you level up new option will unlock as the realms themselves open. All attributes will only increase through training or other means. While skills and techniques must be discovered or learned. Both health and stamina can be increase along with your stats and are used to activate certain abilities.'
[Stat Page]
Name: Thane Macedon
Race: Human
Level:0 (0/100 XP)
Titles: Reaper II-(You have earned your mark by killing another Ascender, the path you walk will be soaked in blood. +10% XP gained from kills. Increase the perks from this title by killing. Other Ascenders.)
[Atributes]
Health:100/100
Stamina:130/130
Mana:0/0
Strength:12(Base 12 + 0)
Agility:13(Base 11 + 0)
Dexterity:11(Base 11 + 0)
Constitution:10(Base 10 + 0)
[Skills & Techniques]
---
As Thane snapped back to reality, Annabelle closed out her own sheet and shook her head in disbelief, "Is this real? Are there going to be monsters? I don't want to die to a dragon. How are we supposed to win against something like that!"
Thane started to grow tired of all the new factors he had to look out for. He never liked being in the dark on a subject, especially when his life was on the line. But now wasn't the time or place to show his fear or concern.
"We should sleep. Tomorrow is going to be important. You take first watch if you feel like you're about to fall asleep. Wake me up, don't try and muscle through." Annabella nodded, so Thane got out the two sleeping bags and laid them out on the floor.
Thane smiled at Annabelle one last time, "see you in the morning," before pulling the cover over his head.
Sometime later, Thane opened his eyes, his body covered in sweat. Groaning, Thane realized there was light coming from outside the cave. Looking around in a panic, Thane found Annabelle sleeping curled up on the floor.
Sighing, Thane stepped outside, the ground was wet, and Thane assumed it rained last night. Looking at their supplies, Thane noted that they couldn't survive out here forever, and he hoped that they could find some trace of human civilization.
Walking over to Annabelle, Thane shook her slightly, "Hey, wake up." Annabelle stirred slightly before opening her eyes and sitting up suddenly, "Oh no, I overslept. Did something happen?"
"Everything's fine. I shouldn't have asked you to do something you weren't ready for." Annabelle didn't say anything, and Thane realized that staying still wouldn't help her any.
Standing up, Thane gestured towards the cave mouth, "I'm going to do a bit of scouting, see if I can find anything useful. Do you want to come along?"
Annabelle's eyes flickered unsurely, but eventually, she nodded, "Sure, it beats staying in this cave all day."
After covering the cave entrance with a carpet of moss and sticks, Thane and Annabelle doubled back on their previous path to find the clearing where they first arrived.
Picking a random direction, Annabelle walked right behind Thane as they explored, twitching at every sound. When she finally could take the silence, Annabelle worked up the courage to talk to Thane, "What did you do for a living, Mr. Macedon?"
Thane paused as he wasn't expecting the question, "I was in the army, and you can call me Thane."
Annabelle expected something along those lines. Back on Earth, she could see the signs of PTSD on Thane, "Okay, then what part of the military, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Special Forces, I was cherry-picked early and was in the service for a decade." Annabelle looked at Thane's face in shock, "How old were you when you enrolled?"
"Eighteen." Thane responded with a slight inflection in his voice, "But enough about me, what about you." Annabelle was more than happy to change the conversation, "I am- I was going to Smith West Point."
Thane looked over his shoulder and smiled at Annabelle, "That's a good school. Your parent must have been proud. What were you studying?"
Annabelle was about to respond when Thane suddenly pulled out his gun, "Something's watching us stay close."
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