The first thing Arin felt after opening his eyes was a weird feeling. Everything felt wrong. He blinked twice, rubbed his face, but that was no use. That feeling won't go away. Was this a dream? No, that was way too real to be a dream.
"Where am I?" Arin asked himself, his voice was soft and shaky. He felt his heart beating, a little too much, like it was getting ready for a storm. No voices, no sound—only complete silence.
He slowly got up. His legs were shaking, but he managed himself with some effort. "I was playing a game at home" he remembered, the game was glitching, "where am i, is it some kinda joke" he asked again to himself, but everything was real he felt around him.
He searched for his phone and wallet in his pocket, but there was nothing. He panicked a little but it was clear that it was a completely different world than the world he used to live in.
"Okay Arin, think something" he told himself and took a deep breath, " I can't be dead , this can't be a dream, then what it is" he asked himself in panic.
He looked around. Everything was old, buildings were empty and windows were shattered. Everything was in complete solitude, it felt like life had left the world.
Suddenly he noticed "isn't it the game that was about to be released, am I inside the game" his heart beats fast. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As soon as he opened his eyes, a glowing blue interface appeared. It was like a game menu, but different. Several options were floating.
"Inventory?" he said, not thinking at the moment. As soon as he clicked this option, some items reflected on the blue screen. There was—a flashlight, a pocket knife and… a glowing orb. He picked the orb, slightly surprised by it.
"Seriously?, A health portion" he whispered.
For a moment, he chuckled. But his mind snapped back into reality. If it is real he wanted to know what it is. But how?
"First thing first, i want some answers" he started walking in hope of finding someone. But the more he walked, the more he realised that he was alone.
He stopped in front of a large building. It looked futuristic, but inside was old and rusty. There was an old sign in front of it saying "The Council". Arin thought for a moment, but he slowly opened the door of the building.
Inside was boring, but as soon as he entered, some lights flickered. There was a hall with some desks and chairs. He was alone but he felt someone was watching him.
At the end of the hall, a large screen lit up, some words appeared. "System Online"
He was shocked, his heart began to race.
[Welcome to the System. Your adventure begins now.]
Arin's breath caught in his throat. The voice was robotic, it was strange also. He thought, "This isn't a game now, this is reality now."
"Whatever. Let's see what this System is and how it works."
And so, Arin's journey took a strange start in this world.