As the sun sets to the east on Unity 23's Sol System, a heart weeps in silence, reliving the past that's caused him to die in the present. A partner lost, a confidant with whom he could be open with.
'Life sucks' is what he thinks, as he braves the current world's reality of ignorance. A brave soul now slumbers in eternal darkness as the wheels of time continue forward.
'Some idiots don't really know how to read the signs', He heavily signs, opens his stainless-steel hip flask and dawns on a big gulp of its contents. A burn down his throat warms up his memories.
'Fuel for the good the bad and the ugly',
He feels nostalgic for their wins and failures.
Remember this one time you told me Dreams against failures? You really did want to kill me on that assignment. Well, I guess it's my turn to take the jump. He takes another sip before departing heavy-heartedly from the headstone reading, 'Justice is a dream. But it is the dream that we are determined to realize, by Aun San Suu'.
'At times, I wished you were a tiny bit ignorant. Literally speaking, you carried a gun for crying out loud.',
In his eyes, you could see the roaring flames and a steeled resolve to break the system, even if it meant breaking his oath
'Justice Must Be Served'... n definete on a cold plutter.
Kyn wills open his link, and down at his status bar, a female mecha voice echoes in his mind: 'Current Citizen, Kyn M. Aldrich, are you sure about entering ''Hunter'' status? To proceed, you will gain the 'FreeDoom' License but end up losing all immunity within "The Unity".
The current total bounty on the said individual is 67 light credits.
To accept the license, acknowledge the request.
Well, at least no one will miss me.
'Accept.'
A childish voice intercepts the request, 'Are you... really reeaally sure about this…. For real man, I may sound like an adolescent, but I'm a hundred percent mature.
This is place you're about to venture into; it's proper old school, leave alone that cooperative world of laws. Over there, it's all about equity and equality, a world of both value and profit, but for us, anything goes.'
... after a short pause, our dedicated idiot still wills it 'yes.'
'You really don't plan on going back, by losing immunity, you will gain autonomy within Unity but lose all accompanying benefits; this includes all havens up to the universal diplomatic relations discussed and passed in the Vienna Convention in 1961, revised in 2917. Seriously, are you sure suuuure (^-^).'
After a short pause, a contract scroll pulls up from his interface that shows details pertaining to terms and conditions, rules, and perks to which he'll be able to apply.
The truth was that, as much as the system tended to be blunt to newcomers, it's main aim was to ensure that the player understood what he or she was getting into. Take the example of parley. Hunters could claim parley on foreign or enemy grounds by offering talents or gifts in exchange for a chance to regroup.
A talent could be either a gift or blessing, or both, placed by an Annunak, or AK for short, that saw promise in the said individual. These blessings would come with mutations to the players DNA, granting them authority to use them to their benefit. While the gift was a weapon or defense buff technically something tangible.
Who are the AK? They are a race of advanced individuals whose key aim is to control the Great Filter from type I to type II. The old Norse gods, Greek deities, and Mesopotamian gods technically exist; they just went quiet once their race got threatened by the next Great Filter.
Anyway, back to our main character, tiny voice out (^_^).
'Hello! And we're Back to our #numberone idiot on the block coming in from the red corner Aldrich Kyn,' ....and the crowd goes wild.
''You do realize I'm reading that, and what do you mean by a gift or blessing and what's the tradeoff''
'(^o^) My bad I got a little bit carried away,
by gift, it literally means that, as you've read and understood the contract, as you have sold your particular set of skills to the house to provide you with backing, as you are no longer part of Unity, you will be entitled to an Annunak's protection.'
And do I get to choose one?
'(^o^), Nope … Beggars can't be choosers, I'm really curious about who's going to choose you.'
Kyn: So, it's all down to luck on who's going to be my benefactor, and why do you keep on calling it the house?
'Well, as of now, your life is no longer being controlled by the 'matrix' you term Unity; it will be out in the real world, your destiny; it is yours to build as you are a free agent. In terms of fate, the odds are stacked against you, and trust me on this one, they don't look quite good so please be keen, Mr.Kyn.'
Apart from the bounty on my head what else do I need to know?
'On this planet, there are currently 4 hunters from the Innana Familia and if you end up under her banner you're safe, anybody else your pretty much f****d. Would you like to push through with your decision?'
Before that, how close are they to my location?
'(^-^) Hehe, you aren't chickening out, are you? Anyway, he's in the next town, Juba, taking tea and that's the tradeoff once you get a blessing from a god or annunak, you technically become game meat. Once your bounty gets activated, even if you're off-world your bounty will remain active till you reach your god's or annunak's territory or neutral ground'.
Okay? And how far is the nearest neutral ground?
'Fweuks, I almost became unemployed. Not that far, it's just down the subway on the third level, you'll find a door to your left .'
Now that's ridiculously close, well as the ancients said; you only live once.