"I must be in one of those lucid dreams people keep talking about," I say as I take in my surroundings. I am currently standing, waiting, actually floating on what appears to be a ridge that peers over a lake. From the lake, millions of different size waterways lead out that vaunted dry out. In the northern area of the lake, one river at least the width of a football field (100 yards or 91 meters) never ends. As I look up, I spot hundreds of stars varying in size and a mixture of colors.
As I processed my surroundings, a melodic voice reached my ears. "Welcome, mortal," as I search for the voice's source, I am suddenly blinded by a golden green light.
As the light slowly recedes, I make out the shape of a woman with green-colored almond-shaped eyes that say she's on top of the world while also maintaining a motherly aura. With a light amber honey skin tone and black curly hair.
"W-Wh-Where am I?" I barely manage to stammer out.
"You know it's rude not to introduce yourself first?" the woman responds teasingly.
"Am sorry, my name is Luke," I reply
"Luke, you say, what about your family name?"
"I have no family name, at least none to be proud of. Excuse me, but what should I call you?" while I asked, I couldn't help but be drawn to her like a hot bath after a long day of work that washes all my worries away.
"I go by many names, the mother goddess, the queen of the gods, the ferocious goddess of retribution, and daughter of the "ℸ ̣ ⍑ᒷ 𝙹リᒷ ∴╎ℸ ̣ ⍑ リ𝙹 リᔑᒲᒷ." But you may call me Mut, same as my people."
"Sooooo Mut. Where am I, and why am I here?" I say while I feel tempted to call her mother.
"Fu...Fuuuu...Fu," she chuckles, "it's okay if you call me mother. You wouldn't be the first."
Red as an apple and Too embarrassed to even acknowledge the words that come out of mouth next. "M-M-Mother," I barely stammer out.
Her eyes widened in surprise as if I had just committed the biggest sin known to man. As I was just about to worry about if I had made a mistake, she started laughing.
"You're the first mortal to take me up on that offer. Most are too afraid and apologize for having those thoughts." she lets out between breaths.
"Since you called me mother, I have no choice but to call you my son, correct?" she teases once she recovers.
"N-N-No p-problem M-M-Mom," I stammer; I feel my face reddened to an undiscovered shade and feel as if I get teased again, I may die from embarrassment.
"Alright, dear, if you're going to acknowledge me as your mother, I must present you a gift, but first. The answers to the questions before, you have died, and currently, we are in your soul. You see, child, the lake is your beginning. The water represents you, your emotions, your memories, and your decisions. Each waterway that branches off from the lake is one of your previous lives, the ones that dried up are older, and the giant one is the most recent. Do you understand?" she finishes
I reply with a nod hoping to look confident, which goes for the opposite effect I was hoping for when she responds with a knowing smile.
"The stars in the sky represent each of your dreams, with the colors representing the emotion behind it. The brighter the star, the stronger the dream; once your star or dream reaches a certain threshold, it becomes part of you across all lives. As you can see, you have three that are represented." As she finishes, I look up into the sky and see three stars staring back.
The first is a mixture of yellow-pink-purple, which seems to be the biggest of the three—moving on to the second biggest with red-blue-black and finally seeing the smallest one, which barely looks a quarter of the size of the biggest. With the color green, more specifically broccoli green. I finish processing and turn to my new mother with the final question, "what now?".
"Of course, the beginning of your new life, but before then, we must go over some preparation. For example, my gift!" she exclaims the last part loudly.
"Now, sweetheart, either I need you to say or think about the system and let me know if it appears."
Thinking about the endless possibilities of what will happen, I listen and say, "system." Flashing before my eyes, a blue screen appears, startled. I make my new mother aware, and just as I meet her eyes, she says, "status."
Thinking of "status," a new screen flashes in front of me; already adjusting to it, I read.
Name: Luke
Age: unknown
Race: unknown
Level: unknown
Skills: none
Title: first child of the goddess Mut (new)
Just as I finish reading, my new mother
announces, "your other information will be blocked till you arrive in the new world, so don't forget to go check. For now, imagine interacting with your title, so it brings up its information."
I do as she says, and a new description pops up.
The first child of the goddess Mut description: due to being the first and only child of the goddess of life and you will also have a natural affinity with nature but does not grant a host with life mana.
Realizing that my new life would be based on a fantasy-style world, I decided to turn to my mother and find her looking back with the same excitement I hold, if not more.
"Before you get ahead of yourself, you have some decisions. Right now, you have tokens you can use to unlock titles and skills. Before you interrupt, yes, you can get more tokens by either trading away or setting up a difficulty for your next life. What I mean by that is, trading away would be your memories instead of keeping them and changing your starting point. The harsher your life, the more tokens you get". She finished explaining
Before I even ask how many tokens I currently have, my brain immediately starts going into overdrive to figure out the best outcome. Going max tokens may not be the most intelligent decision, but it'll be the most rewarding. With that made up, I declare, "I want to seal my memories partially. Then I request to start in the harshest conditions."
As I finish my decree, my mother stares at me wide-eyed as if she isn't expecting this from me. Eventually, I heard her say, " sealing memories will result in one token, then starting life as an enslaved person will give you three. Taking into consideration the previous life you lived, you're rewarded with two tokens. With a final total of six tokens, are you sure you want to continue?"
"I agree" just as the words leave my mouth, a new screen appears before me. It's a list of everything I can trade for. Before making a selection, I ask my mother one final question, "will I have a general understanding of the world, Like communication?".
"Yes, you will be gifted with basic knowledge," she replies.
That said, I immediately saw two skills I must have, brainiac and golden body.
Brainiac(max)(three tokens): allows you to learn and adapt to new situations quicker. It will enable you to level combat and home skills faster, excluding jobs/classes.
Golden body(max)(one token): allows you always to have a perfect physique and body. (Including enhanced libido) (Authors note: subject to change depending on if I go down that route)
I immediately select the two but feel no difference, I look over to mom, and she laughs at my confusion. "Honey, you won't access them till you are born." Hearing that, my jaw drops to the floor due to my stupidity.
With two tokens remaining, I decided to head into titles and find two that interested me.
One loved mana (unique)(initially three tokens but discounted due to owned individual title): blessed by the mana of this WORLD, you will find it easier to manipulate and have faster regeneration. System note: mana manipulation is limited to the user's ability. The title will not bypass and give max understanding. It must be achieved thru users' knowledge. The title allows an easier path.
One loved by nature(unique)(initially two but discounted due to special title): blessed by the WORLD, allows you to communicate with all living things. Yes, you can even talk to trees if you want.
With my decisions made, I look towards my mother and say, "ready." Unexpectedly she comes up to me and wraps me in a hug, and says, "you must be prepared, child. You'll make decisions that can ruin you or make you." Just as I think, I feel tears falling from her eyes. My world goes black, and I fall into a slumber.