Zade had no idea what was going on or why he was feeling such unrelenting pain. Despite the years he had spent gaming, one thing he knew for certain was that it was not supposed to happen or feel like that.
At that time, something felt off and panic surged through him as he tried to yank the headset off, but it would not budge in the slightest.
The room began shaking a lot more than it was before, it was as though it had come to life, it felt as though his surroundings were closing in around him, which made panic surge through him like a tidal wave, he had no idea what was going on.
At that moment, he realized the gravity of the situation. He was absolutely defenseless. He tried to call out to his nephew or someone for help, but his voice echoed back to him hollow and strange. It was as though it was an enclosed area that had no open space, a void with no exit.
He fumbled to feel the area around him and he realized he was still on his bed, then why could no one hear him? Was the only thought that came to his mind, as his mind began racing to many different scenarios, each more different from the other.
But none of them had good outcomes, a knot of dread formed in his stomach, he felt an uneasy churn, one which screamed danger to his ears, though he had no idea what to do.
He took a deep breath as he tried to stay calm and focus on what he needed to do, focus on trying to figure out what was going on around him.
At that moment, the room was filled with a dazzling burst of purple and gold light. The shaking escalated, and he pushed a button on the headset, trying desperately to take it off again. The lights flared brighter this time, and he felt a weightlessness that he could not explain. His vision became blurry, his limbs went numb, and his brows furrowed in confusion.
Zade felt a sharp and searing pain rupture yet once again through his entire system, but this time something was different. The air around him felt...odd in many different ways, stifling. Strange. Wrong.
His mind was foggy, his body was limp, and everything vanished into a never-ending blur. It was like he was floating in thin air, a space with no limitations and one feeling and thought overpowered them all, there was no escape.
Before darkness engulfed him entirely, the last thing he saw was the agonizing remnants of his past—the heartbreak, the accident, and the times when he wished he could disappear.
As his consciousness faded, these memories clung to him like ghosts, unwilling to leave him behind, it was as though he was drowning in a sea of endless darkness with no bottom in sight.
[Welcome to Etarion, long-awaited one.]
Those were the only things he saw before his eyes closed, the painful memories of what was once his life, everything he had endured up until that point, the pain in his body, the accident, and everything that made him want to vanish. This was the last thing he remembered before everything went black around him.
[Present Time.]
As he stood in front of the crystal ball, in a body that was not his, his heart was pounding. He could not comprehend the energy that pulsed in the glowing orb. He had remembered everything up until that point—the headset, the chaos, the darkness, the constant agony. And now here he was, in a world that was not his, a place that he thought should not exist, a place he did not know if he even belonged.
Nonetheless, it did exist.
In the distance, the crystalline surfaces of Etarion's towering spires glinted in the peculiar sky. This was no game. It was a world born of fantasy and something that should have been impossible, despite the things he had seen throughout his life, yet it had become his reality.
He took a deep breath as he stood among others, meant to awaken their abilities within the world, some for the first time, while others for their last, not everyone was gifted with a talent, it was something that was similar to the world he had come from, the gap within society was undeniable, that was something that had not changed.
The power difference between society seemed even common there, it was as though it was natural, yet none of it sat well with him.
He looked around the many different types of people that were there, from the age of sixteen and above, all wanting one thing, to gain and ability and prosper in a world that by now was clear to him, a power-hungry one.
He did not know if he was going to gain an ability, but now he had a chance, something he did not have in the life he used to live, despite everything that happened and not understand, why it happened or what he needed to do.
One thing was clear to him that everything around him was real and if he wanted to survive, to find out why all of it happened, he would have to step up, he would have to find a way to survive in this game like world.
"Nova Axilion," One of the officals called out and he looked up, for that was his name now, the name of the body he had entered.
"Please step forward and begin the awakening process, if you cannot awaken right now, there will be one more chance and if you squander it, then may god help you," One of the initatior said to him.
They were from one of the ruling powers in the land, called The Order of the White Flame.
An organization that supposedly represents purity, enlightenment, and a cleansing force, but potentially with a dangerous zeal.
He looked up at the man after he finished explaining and stepped forward.
It didn't matter how or why any of this happened to him anymore. The question that was consuming his thoughts at the moment was: What happens next?