A gentle angelic voice could be heard.
[Reconstructing body...]
[Reconstruction successful]
[Transferring soul....]
[ERROR]
[Reattempting soul transfer...]
[ERROR]
[Running diagnostics...]
[Interconnection of souls found]
[Severing connection...]
[ERROR]
[CRROR]
[EHROR]
[ERAOR]
[ERROR]
[ERROS]
[ERROR]
[Reconfiguring system: Integrating soul connection]
[WARNING]
[Integration has caused changes to core system functions]
[Reverting chang-]
The voice began to distort and shifted from one resembling holiness to one of wickedness.
[Changes accepted]
[Beginning soul transfer...]
[Soul transfer successful]
Jack awoke to find himself in a dense forest. Large trees reached toward the heavens, their crowns blotting out the sky. The few escaping rays of light sparsely lit the mossy ground. Jack was baffled by his surroundings.
"Is this a forest? Why am I here? Wasn't I in the hospital?"
The wall of trees obstructed Jack's view allowing him only to see his immediate surroundings. Unable to understand how he got here, Jack attempted to recall what happened right before he woke up.
"What's the Divinity System?"
Pain shot through Jack's head as if thousands of needles had pierced his skull. "It feels like my head is going to explode!" Jack pressed both his hands against his head as his vision blurred. Then from what seemed like inside his head, he heard a young woman speak to him.
[Welcome to the Divinity System]
Jack looked around with blurry eyes and called out in confusion. "What? Who are you?" As his vision cleared, he saw a semi-transparent window in front of him.
[Divinity System]
[Strength: Weakling]
[Endurance: Weak human]
[Agility: Weak human]
[Mind: Feeble imitation]
[Divinity: 0]
Jack stared at the information in disbelief. "Is this a hallucination?" Jack reached out towards the window in an attempt to touch it. However, upon touching the window, it disappeared into the air. "I must be delirious from dehydration. I need to find my way out of this forest."
As Jack stood up, he realized his movement was unrestricted and could feel a slight breeze between his legs. Upon looking at his body, he was shocked to find that he was wearing only his birthday suit.
"Great, I lost more than just my sanity..."
Jack quickly searched his surroundings for his missing clothes. Unable to find any after a few minutes, Jack decided he needed to accept that he would have to venture through the forest while naked.
With no idea where he was in the forest and which way would lead him out, Jack decided to pick a direction and follow it.
"I remember they say that moss mostly grows on the north side of trees."
Examining the nearby trees, Jack discovered the moss covered the entire base of the trees as if attempting to strangle them.
"Guess I'll have to pick a direction randomly and hope it leads me out."
As Jack walked through the forest, the only sounds he heard were his footsteps crunching leaves and his breathing. After walking for a couple of hours through the vast sea of trees, Jack heard rushing water.
Jack headed in the direction of the sound of water. Eventually, he reached a small clearing with a river. The loud clashing of water could be heard further upstream.
Jack kneeled next to the river. I don't know if this water is safe to drink, but I'm too thirsty to care. With cupped hands, he brought water to his mouth. The cool sensation tickled his tongue and caressed his throat. As it flowed down to his stomach, Jack felt a sense of rejuvenation.
Refreshed from sating his thirst, Jack started to head upstream. As he made his way closer to the deafening sound, Jack's eyes were met with a view of a waterfall crashing into a large pond.
The bright sun in the sky gently reflected off the pond's calm surface as the waterfall sent small ripples throughout. The ripplets shifted and moved dispersed brightly colored water lilies granting them an illusion of life. A light breeze crept across the surface and brushed against Jack's body, causing a slight shiver.
Jack stood amazed at the stunning sight. "Claire would love to see this." A tear slowly dripped down his face. "That's right, Claire.... I can't wait to see you and hold you in my arms." As Jack wiped away the tear, he noticed a small opening next to the waterfall.
Approaching closer, Jack peeked into the opening. It was a short passage leading further inside. The sunlight slightly illuminated the passage. As Jack stepped forward to enter, he heard voices coming from inside.
Out of instinct, Jack opened his mouth to call out to them but stopped himself. I don't have any clothes right now. If they see me, it could turn into a misunderstanding, he thought.
Hiding behind a nearby tree, Jack stared at the opening. The voices grew louder, and after a few moments, three figures appeared. One was a woman, and the other two were men. The two men were average in size with muscular arms, one clean-shaven and the other with a beard. The female had a slender appearance.
To Jack's surprise, they were oddly fashioned. The two men wore linen tunics and had sheathed swords on their hips. In comparison, the woman had a bow and sported leather armor that covered her abdomen and chest.
Are they role-playing a fantasy adventure? While Jack pondered about their odd clothing and weapons, he overheard the group's conversation.
"This cave is a lucky find. It's full of divine energy."
Divine energy? Jack chuckled. They are taking this role-playing very seriously.
The clean-shaven man stood in front of the other two.
"I told you we could find something good here."
"Yeah, but this forest is infested with forest kizen. We could fight a few of them, but a whole group would lead to our deaths."
The clean-shaven man spoke up with great confidence.
"I can easily take on some forest kizen, and besides..." He turned to face the opening behind them. "finding this was worth the risk."
The woman and bearded man briefly looked at each other before the bearded man spoke.
"Yeah, you're right."
"Of course I am! Now, let's find a place to set up camp before dark. We'll harness the divine energy after getting the needed supplies from town."
The other two nodded in agreement, and the group started to make their way through the forest.
Jack kept his distance while following behind them. His only hope of quickly escaping this forest rested on this group's shoulder.
The sun slowly descended in the sky as the group made their way through the forest. The lack of sunlight reduced the visibility of their surroundings.
The group began to cross a glade when they suddenly stopped. Jack was hiding in the tree line waiting for them to cross before catching up with them.
From behind a tree opposite the group, a short-statured humanoid creature appeared. As it approached them, Jack's eyes widened with fear.
The creature had green skin and short arms compared to the size of its body. A horn protruded outward from the side of its head. It displayed its carnivorous teeth with a broad smile as if it was a hunter who finally caught its prey.
Jack panicked as fear overwhelmed him. What is that thing?! This can't be real, monsters aren't real!
The clean-shaven man from the group stepped forward while drawing his sword.
"It's just a single kizen. I can handle this myself."
The other two stood back and observed.
The creature moved closer to the man while holding a short blade in its right hand. Raising the blade, it began to rush at him. With barely intelligible speech, it yelled.
"KEHL!"
The man deflected its blade and slashed at its side. As the blade made contact, the kizen's skin was cleanly cut open. Unlike its green skin, the blood draining from the laceration was a deep dark red. The kizen then shrieked from pain.
The pain threw it into a rage, and blindly swung its blade. After dodging a couple of swings, the man swung his sword with great force at the base of the kizens blade.
The blade flew through the air and landed several feet away. Now disarmed, the man kicked it in the chest. Losing its balance, it fell onto the ground. The man walked over and placed his foot on the kizen preventing it from moving. It squirmed, attempting to free itself while yelling.
"KEHL! KEHL!"
The man stared directly into its eyes with contempt.
"See, I told you taking them on was easy."
The sun was quickly setting, and their visibility decreased with every passing minute. The bearded man spoke with urgency.
"We don't have much more daylight left. We need to hurry."
The man with his foot on the kizen turned his head and expressed his annoyance.
"Yes, yes. I'm hurrying. I'll finish it off now."
While he was distracted the kizen grabbed a small dagger it hid in the waistline of its loin cloth. Taking the dagger the kizen plunged it into the man's calf.
"AHHHH, MOTHERFUCKER!"
Caught off guard, the man dropped his sword and fell to the ground. His comrades drew their weapons and were about to rush to aid him when dozens of kizen appeared from the tree line. They screamed in unison as they ran towards the party.
"KEHL!"
The two uninjured members looked at each other and decided to flee.
"YOU BASTARDS!" The abandoned man yelled at them in anger.
The wounded kizen stood up and grabbed the man's sword. It made eye contact with him and grinned with a sinister smile.
"KEHL."
The kizen held the sword in both hands as it walked over to the man.
"NO! STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
The man desperately attempted to crawl away. Making it only a couple of feet, he felt a piercing pain in his chest. The kizen had stabbed him in his side, breaking one of his ribs and penetrating the sword into his lung.
Blood filled his lungs, and the man coughed uncontrollably, painting the green grass in front of him a scarlet red.
The kizen, failing to remove the sword from the man's body, retrieved its blade several feet away.
As the man drowned in his blood, the last thing he saw was the kizens grin as it swung its blade down onto the base of his neck. The kizen chopped away, tearing flesh and bone as if it was violently dissecting him.
"KEHL. KEHL."
The other kizen gather around like they were watching a form of entertainment. On the final chop, the head separated from the body, and the kizen with blood-covered arms and hands raised the head like a trophy. They all let out a war cry like screech.
Jack, still hiding behind a tree, looked onward in horror. Paralyzed by fear, he was unable to move
I can't let myself get caught by these things. I need to get out of here!
With trembling legs, Jack took a step backward. The uneven forest floor below him caused him to trip, creating a lot of noise.
As he looked up, he could see the horde of kizen turn and move toward him.
Jack quickly rose to his feet and, with adrenaline pumping through his veins, sprinted through the forest.