The blue sky faded into focus along with the chirps of distant birds then the gentle rustling of leaves and the far off howls of... wolves.
Why were there wolves? Grendel shot up in to a seated position as he heart thunder in his chest.
Why was he hearing wolves? They shouldn't be anywhere near Dulelupin—the empiers solider, with their guns, had chased them away from the village years ago.
Glancing around, there was trees in every direction, jostling for space with thick brush. Beneath Grendal was dirt with the odd smattering of moss and few blades of grass. It looked nothing like his bedroom.
How the hell did I get here, I just had a few drinks with the guys?
The distant howling peirced his thoughts—the wolves weren't close. But they weren't far enough either.
Grendal scrambled to his feet, before crouching low. Why, was he here?
I bet this was Simon's doing, always trying do something crazy. Damn turd.
A blue orb, popped up infront of him, causing Grendal to jump. He scuttled back, his eyes wide as the orb continued to follow him.
"Leave me alone, leave me alone."
He slammed into something, knocking the air out of his lungs. Grabbing, his stomach Grendal coughed and the orb continued to float an arms length away.
It was a strange thing, nothing like Grendal had ever seen before. It floated without wires and was a shimmering blue. It had two halo on either end, four in total one large the other small.
"What do you want?" Grendal asked.
"User: ID 2244. You, along with your plant have been summoned to the infinite realms. Here you will be tasked with survival and completion of system goals, please standby as Realm chat is initiated."
Grendel frowned, and slid down what he now understood was a tree. The orb followed behind as if it was stuck to that particular space infront of him.
"What are you?" Grendal asked, coughing as he messaged his chest. If this was a drone, he'd never seen one like this before, and what was it talking about. System, whole planet, what was going on.
"User: ID 2244. I am your, companion interface, or CI for short. I am what connects you to the wider realms, and allow you to communicate with other survivors. I also act as your inventory and quest log."
"My what and what? What do you mean, other survivor's. What's going on?" Grendal grunted as he pushed off the ground and stood up. The howls, of the wolves could still be heard but they seem distant now.
Unfazed by its surrounding, the orb continued to bob at his side. "User: ID 2244. The other survivors from your world have been brought to the infinite realms. An estimated 5 billion humans."
Grendal's face went white, and the orb continued.
"You have all been tasked with survival in the infinite realms. Here you will face challenges and die, thus contributing to the infinite. Or you will grow stronger defeating your enemies and help grow the infinite realms."
Grendal eyes went wide, as a light wind danced across his cheek. The chips of birds, becoming part of the dim droning in his ears.
He'd been brought here by something to die, which would then go on to help it. What the heck was going on?
Grendal pushed off the ground coming to his feet with a wobble. The orb still floated at his side. This CI as it called itself was his keeper, here to watch him die.
A bush rustled a few feet away, dragging Grendal from his thoughts. When nothing came out he let out a breath, focusing on the CI. "Is it possible to leave?"
"User: ID 2244. It is not possible to return to your home. It has already been initiated, into the infinite realms. You may however find fragments of it throughout the infinite realms."
Grendal rested a hand on his hip, as he sighed. He was trapped here—and so were a bunch of other people.
He froze, and looked to the CI. "What did you say about Realm chat earlier." He asked, turning and walking further into the forest. The howls were getting closer again.
The orb, bobbing just above his shoulder, flashed to life again and shot infront of him, opening into a screen.
"Well I'll be damnd," he said, hopping over a fallen tree. "Are these all the other people."
Grendal placed a finger on the screen, scrolling through it as he walked. On the screen, various ID's would pop up, messaging each other.
One messesge caught his attention.
User: ID 8464 ["I was almost killed by, a goblin. An actual goblin. It was terrifying. But I lived and now I have a sword to show for it."]
Goblins were fantasy—but according to 8464, that was no longer the case. Grendal, paused and rested a hand on a tree. "System, do you have any other features aside from the Realm chat" he said scanning over a few more messages.
From what he could gather a few of the other survivors had managed to meet up and were even requesting for others to join, if they were near by.
"User: ID 2244. You have no other [Error], [Error] bringing up [Error]."
The screen collapsed and reformed into the orb. Then, as it continued bobbing, the orb flashed green and another screen was opened.
On the screen there was a pulsing circle, causing Grendal to frown. Did it just have a breakdown, its not like there was a manual for a kidnapped orb given to him upon waking up.
Grendal looked back to the direction he had awoken. He had moved quite a distance from it, and the howls were more distant now.
But he wasn't out of danger—he probably never would be. But, before he could get too lost in his thoughts, a chime caught his attention.
"USER: ID 2244. Please place your hand onto the screen to complete initiation."
Initiation? I thought that was why I end up here in the first place. Then what's this?
The screen continued to bob infront of him—not a care in the world. Grendal reached forward and placed his hand on it. He didn't have any other plans, and from what he'd seen in movies—in a survival situation you needed all the help you could get.
"I don't feel like being eaten," he said as he pressed his plam against the screen. A sharp sensation shot up his arm. It then travelled through his chest and around his body, before surging back into the screen.
A force then exploded from the screen, pushing him back. Grendal then stumbled over himself, and fell back, bouncing of an exposed tree root and onto the dirt.
He yelped and clutched his back, groaning as the dull throbbing, proved that it wasn't all a dream. Though, It could still be an elaborate hallucination.
Rubbing his back, Grendal climb to his feet. The screen continued to follow him, barely disturb by, his fall. Could it even, be disturb? Perhaps if he lay face down.
A chime pulled him from his thoughts again and the screen lit up. Before, closing then reforming into the blue orb.
"USER: ID 2244. Clan Force system has finished initiation. What would you first like to do, shall I suggest a few options."
Clan Force system, wait. Is this my golden finger, oh baby.
Grendal jumped into the air then skipped around the tree—taking care to avoid the tree root he had hurt his back on. The screen following at his side with his every step.
When he'd gotten all of his excitement out, he smiled with satisfaction, thinking back to the novels he had read. Simon had always said they were trash, but here he was with a golden finger of his own.
Maybe this, infinite realms thing won't be too bad.
He settled his back against a tree and sighed—things could only be good if he was the only one.
What other survivors didn't matter, neither did the action they took. But if they were all on equal footing there could be a problem. People with power tended to want more, and it was likely that 8464 was one such person.
Grendal scratched his cheek. What did he know? The CI didn't give him updates on everyone's movements. So, there was no point makings assumption, all he could do was work with what he had.
He focused back on the screen, "CI tell me what I can do?"