POV Kiryura:
Death is a remarkable phenomenon that combines simplicity and incredible cunning, like the transitive influence of something distant. Understanding the beauty of death was made possible for me by its duality. I used to think that death was merely an end, final and irreversible. But now, thanks to the thoughts my brain generates under the influence of adrenaline, I realize: death is not just an end, but also a beginning.
As the stream of thoughts began to gradually subside, I decided to conduct a light neurobics exercise, sifting through all my memories from the ages of two to nineteen. I broke down all my characteristics into components and continued manipulating my consciousness. Rescripting is what I need. Death cannot pass without a trace; it always leaves a mark on the psyche. Therefore, I decided to analyze the last moments of my past life. Memories rushed through my mind: I was sitting in a car, an open laptop on my lap, playing PvZ. The driver distracted me, warning about a change in route. Suddenly, the car veered off into a ditch, and... the memory cuts off, darkness descends. I used some small manipulations with my subconscious and managed to smooth out the edges, avoiding a panic attack.
Next, I decided to check the state of my body. There was no pain or numbness. My eyes opened almost on their own. Above me, a bright sky was visible; the light made me squint. Almost automatically, my right hand lifted.
— Damn.
A curse word slipped out involuntarily. The characteristics of my current hand differed from the previous ones — it was gray, or rather, a shade of slate. The back of my hand lacked nails, and there was no hair on my palm. I noticed other changes as well.
I carefully examined both hands, starting from the wrist and ending at the shoulder girdle. I was gray — completely and naturally. There was no hair on my body at all, but the shapes and proportions remained the same. I mentally thanked whoever was responsible for my reincarnation into this new world.
— Well then, I should take a little walk.
The silly habit of speaking thoughts aloud manifested itself in this new body as well. I looked around: the sight was disheartening. As far as the eye could see, there was only emptiness — no flora, no fauna. There were currently no health hazards in sight, so there was no need to rush into actions. It was unclear how many resources I would need to exist and whether I needed them at all.
Suddenly, a click in my head interrupted my stream of thoughts.
× HELLO, HOST ×
The realization that the voice was coming directly from my head came almost immediately. This information slightly unsettled me. I began analyzing the characteristics of the voice and to my surprise concluded: it was neutral. The voice had neither male nor female intonation, it wasn't loud or quiet. From this three-word message, I couldn't extract anything specific.
Now I shifted to analyzing the situation. Problems with my psyche immediately fell away; I couldn't possibly have any in principle. So it must have been some external factor affecting my mind. Let's try to rock the boat a bit.
— What are you? —
I tried to make my tone as neutral as possible, although I was far from matching the level of the voice in my head. But reading my intentions would be very difficult for a conversational partner of such caliber.
*I AM A SYSTEM CREATED FOR THE HOST BASED ON PvZ.*
My brain instantly began analyzing the information, and in one-tenth of a second, I broke down the sentence into components, extracting as much data as possible from it. First of all, I was some kind of "Host" for the interlocutor — that was already known. Furthermore, the interlocutor called itself "the system." Several options were already swirling in my consciousness, and I noted this for further analysis. The main point of its message was that the system was created for my benefit and based on my favorite hobby — the game PvZ. This was important, and I drew appropriate conclusions.
— Context. I need all the information that you, system, can provide me — I said.
The system provided the necessary context to deduce several facts. First, one of my assumptions turned out to be correct: this was indeed one of those systems I had read about in science fiction books during my definitely past life. Second, I had been transported to another world. Third, I managed to understand how the system worked. Although I didn't have a large volume of literature on systems, I still had some knowledge. This system was drastically different from the ones I knew: it lacked characteristics, shops, or levels — only certain functions.
— System, activate the first function! — I commanded.
× LOADING FIRST FUNCTION ×
× GAME ×
× RESOURCES ×
The first function included two skills: "Game," which allowed me to play PvZ, and "Resources." Why would I need to play PvZ? The answer is simple: all the plants I planted and all the zombies I killed could be used by me. For this, I needed the second skill. How exactly this works, I still had to figure out. I noted this information.
— System, activate the second function! — I continued.
× LOADING SECOND FUNCTION ×
× PLANTING ×
× POWER ×
The second function also included two skills: "Planting," which allowed me to transfer everything that was in the "Resources" skill to this world, and "Power." The latter was a bit more complicated: by using it, I could change the characteristics of the functions. How exactly this happens, the system did not explain to me. But that's okay — I'll note this too.
Now that a complete analysis of the information had been conducted, I could briefly retreat into my thoughts. So, I had been transported by someone or something to another world — let's call it a god. But what is the god's purpose? Although no, more importantly: what is my purpose now? The system did not provide an answer to this question.
Though... did I ever have a purpose? I always just wanted to have fun. Lol. For now, I would enjoy my favorite activity — playing PvZ.
— System, activate the skill "GAME"! — I said.
× LOADING SKILL GAME ×
Immediately after the system completed its statement, I felt a slight dizziness and a small tremor. The world around me began to deform; I physically felt myself being pulled in. Then darkness descended.