-Halfway across the world and at a time before any of the Heroes were placed inside of their bespoke vessels.
"Thank you, Victoria. You're the only reason why I was able to control myself during that encounter with Fate…", the chaotic soul floated in endless space alongside another bright soul that was attached at the hip.
"And, in the event that your disappearance is permanent, I am sorry that I wasn't able to give you the ending you deserved," the author of the story that now directed the lives of the champions spoke with more than just a hint of sorrow.
"I wrote our story, my story, after she had passed, and pushed my sorrows on to a character that I, hm. I didn't know it would be an analog for the pain that I was going through. I'm sorry. I didn't know this would happen. Then again, it may not sound like a very convincing apology with my cheesy smile. Even if I did know this would happen, I would write the same thing. Maybe change the ending a bit though," off in the distance, sparks of something crackled and ruptured as things from dimensions beyond human imagination printed and knitted into a new sheet of space time.
"On the bright side, it turns out that the right person also didn't like the ending I wrote…", the author held his mouth after getting hit with the full radiance of a universe being born. This very scene was exactly what he had in mind when he thought about the creation of a world that the heroes would inhabit. The original chaotic soul, the reflection that brightened when he darkened, the other half of his flicker, Victoria, flashed and sported a broken smile as her golden figure broke down into a cloud of dust. The author returned the smile in kind, but to them it was more an exchange of grief as his body took over the original hero's.
"There goes the last bit of her direct influence over me. She's still here though, somewhere," the author lost the last hint of confident aggression the original chaotic soul had given him and spoke softly as he held his chest.
"Open
Elizabeth Price.
Affiliation: Fate.
Blessings:
- Probability Manipulation lvl.1 (Balance: 0).
*ACTIVE- Karma, Fate, Luck, Chance: Can be manipulated through equivalent exchange
*PASSIVE- Increase overall luck by using the stored up [BALANCE]/ [On].
*PASSIVE- Decrease overall luck and gain points towards the [BALANCE]/ [Off].
[Classes]:
[Equipment]:
[Skills]:
- Gemini's Shadows: Split one's senses and life into separate entities.
"I'll ignore that skill for now…
"Hm. There are a lot more settings than I thought of. I should look through what I'm not familiar with in a bit but I need to find what kind of Blessings we are working with first," the chaotic soul viewed the details of his system.
System [V. 7.35- ER: Setting List
Audio [Details; Voice Commands; Notifications; Control panel; Etc.]
Visual [Details; System Display/ Theme; HUD Customization; Etc.]
Character [Details; Blessing Display/ Control Panels; Skill Display/ Control Panels; Inventory Display/ Control Panels...].
Social [Deta ils; Communication; Achievement Board Display/ Control Panel; Etc.]
Game [Details; Quest Journal; Map; Etc.]
Deus Ex Machina (Details; Template; Control Panel; Factory Reset).
"Based on these options...", Elizabeth noted the specific wording of each option and compared them to thoughts she had while writing the story.
"It's a good thing I checked. Now I know I don't have the exact same Manipulation Blessing as Victoria's Negative version. This looks like the Positive (Give and Take) variant. The author's current blessing, for example, worked like an hourglass that collected bad luck/ misfortune/ negative karma/ ETC. That "sand", poured in and created a [Balance] of a sort. Using good luck/ Karma poured that saved sand out of the hourglass as if one of the sides was broken. Victoria's Probability Manipulation, the original Elizabeth, worked the same way but, using the same analogy, having or experiencing good luck filled the glass with sand instead of bad luck. Another difference was that Victoria's version stored the sand or good luck permanently. Meaning, if Victoria found a dollar bill on the floor she would always have the ability to make a dollar appear while she could make anyone that she sees lose a dollar bill by using up the [Balance] that she had. The misfortune was proportional to what she experienced, which was very, very easy to cheat or create a feedback loop if enough people had back luck around her. Another analogy is that the chaotic soul who authored the story that he now lived in, had a debit card that would be filled with bad luck that was experienced while Victoria had an unlimited credit card for good luck that she didn't have to pay back since her karma infinitely piled onto itself the more misfortune that befell those around her.
"The devil is in the details after all," Elizabeth rolled her eyes, thought about these differences and how she could benefit from this knowledge but was interrupted by a series of jingles that felt familiar.
"Ah. Just the sound I imagined...", she caught sight of the achievements after focusing on faint and distorted golden lettering.
"This one is totally unfair. Just knowing about the blessing counts as using it? No. That makes no sense with the rules set. It's likely, I used the built-up karma from my previous life to experience this early start," Elizabeth bit her bottom lip, or the soul's version of one, and frowned at the possibility of having access to any sort of "blessing" in her first life. That alone carried implications far beyond anything she was willing to accept at the moment.
"According to what I wrote, I should not be the first to have activated my blessing. Logically, it should be Aaradhya or the guy that is taking his place," the chaotic soul rubbed its chin with a deep frown as she floated down with the rest of the three heroes. A few more soul lights showed up in the distant mist and darkness but whether or not they were important or involved with their game, she didn't know. That aside, she watched where the other champions headed off to on the big blue planet they descended onto. This information wasn't important now since there was no way to contact each other, but it would be indispensable later.
The burly soul broke off to the southeast of where the chaotic soul was about to descend. The large soul split down the middle and created a rather eye-catching sight as two already burly people melted together to create an even bigger person. The faded soul also broke off toward the east as well but fell more north. The more visible of the two faded souls that fell entwined unintentionally gripped the other by the neck, in a display of absolute dominance. As for the last hero, the stable soul of an old man hugged the broken body of a small child like a protective barrier as they fell to the far west. Elizabeth could faintly see that the old man purposefully let his body break apart as the golden light fixed the parts of the child that were missing in the descent. Yet another possibility just struck a cord in the chaotic soul's heart; he thought that it was possible for the original hero of Reality to become the person that the champions would interact with. A thick grey mist with multicolored sparks of energy covered them all and kept them either asleep or immobile until the right moment, that moment being after they were supposed to be placed or born, well, aside from Elizabeth.
The notification was unsigned and gave zero points but she knew it was from the God of Reality.
"So, achievements that double as Notifications and messages is a thing even if I don't have Victoria's cheats? That probably means my God knows that I am awake by now as well. Rhea wouldn't pass up the opportunity to gloat...", she said prophetically. As the author, she knew the personalities of the Gods even better than they knew each other.
"I won't be able to counteract most of what Fate's planned for me considering I'm doing this for the first time. That said, I should be able to at least activate the misfortune aspect of my blessing if I can use Victoria's experience correctly. The very last of your influence will disappear with this," Elizabeth imagined, or rather, remembered the feeling and concept of the blessing when she initially wrote about it. Just imagine the worst thing that could happen, hold that feeling, then let your mind go blank in that panic. The bad thoughts will be realized. When that didn't work, she turned on the assistant that would help auto activate the skills and blessings the heroes wanted.
At this point in time, instead of falling through newly rendered space, she fell through the atmosphere then the sky of a planet. A vast city that stretched from the ocean to some nearby mountains and forests came into view. The buildings grew closer until a hospital on the outskirts of a wild city came into view. Right now, the density of the fog surrounding the world was as thin as could be since she wasn't spiritually gifted like Aaradhya. In fact, once the universe fully rendered in, the fog completely vanished. Even closer now, she could see her soon to be parents in the presidential room of what had to be a world class hospital. The room covered an entire floor on one of the many wings in the hospital.
Her birth mother read a book and calmly breathed as she held her wife's hand. The mother who wasn't in child labor dabbed her spouse's head with a cool towelette and offered a sweet yet silent kiss of unconditional support as she also read her own copy of the same book. This was a perfect family designed for Fate's hero Elizabeth, a world setting that Victoria was granted. A background with potential so grand that it put her so far ahead of the other heroes in points that it was laughable to compare the two groups.
"Not bad. Misfortune is just an opportunity lost or passed by. I Just have to visualize everything I will lose because of this missed moment, and everything after. But most importantly, I have to trust the system to auto activate," Elizabeth ignored the numb feeling that spread throughout her body. Her descent slowed as her soul automatically snapped into a fetal position. The family of two shot into gear as the pregnant mother's waters finally broke. Doctors and nurses on standby prepared to roll her out of the room.
"Hold onto it," Elizabeth breathed in and exhaled softly.
"Then let go. Let go of it all," the author heaved another sigh of relief when her soul snapped away from the fetus that she was destined to inhabit as the blessing activated. Like a stretched-out rubber band that had been suddenly cut, a pop rang out as she spun in the air. Soon, her soul was caught in another funnel that was moving away from the hospital. With a wave of her spiritual body, the chaotic soul found itself staring at the body of an indeterminate figure as it rose away from a room below the perfect couple. The explosive shock dispersed the fog keeping that second errant soul asleep. Its eyes opened and for a single moment, the chaotic soul and the bystander shared a momentary glance before the figure descended into the womb of the pregnant woman. A few moments later, a newborn's cries echoed out and nearly deafened the doctors with how healthy she was. Elizabeth had been born in just moments in one of the quickest and easiest births probably known to humanity.
The author, in almost slow motion, slipped through the floor and descended as a wildly thrashing whirlwind sucked him into a new life.
It was another unsigned notification but the soul knew that it was God of Fate.
It was also unsigned, but most likely given by the same person angry at him.
"I hope that you can forgive me by the time we see each other, Fate," the author wasn't caught off guard and instead felt somewhat disappointed by the quantity and quality of the achievements considering that he just overturned the will of Fate by forcing himself to be born to different parents. That dissatisfaction lasted until a final echoing jingle rang out.
It was signed with a mental image of a foolish looking Big G with a thumbs up.
"Do you have to redact it? I know what the reward is and what I did to get it.
"Hah, It is good to have the bet I made with Fate notarized though," he sighed once more as the funnel that ejected the other soul turned into an intangible and mysterious force of attraction that pulled him. The author knew that the life he just left behind was synonymous with a constant and steady stream of points. A goldmine that put Victoria so far ahead of the other heroes that she was in the same position as a gold medalist Olympic athlete competing with middle schoolers in the athlete's sport of choice. That didn't apply to Solomon, he was more of a promising high school athlete in the Olympic training program trying to prove himself to the gold medalist in terms of point gains.
"I can only work on quality-of-life settings now that I have made my decision. I hope that the others figure out how to use the
Elizabeth Price---> Oliver Lewis
Blessings:
- Probability Manipulation lvl.1 (Balance: 0---> 1 Life/ 4 Fortuitous Encounters/ 13 Plot Armor Saves / 57 Sudden Reversals/ 80 Lucky Assists)
*PASSIVE- Decrease overall luck and gain points towards the [BALANCE]/ [On]
*PASSIVE- Increase overall luck by using the stored up [BALANCE]/ [off].
"Giving up the life that I was destined for nets this much good Luck. I was expecting more but this is good enough.
"Living through this world that I created the blueprint for", Oliver reminded himself that the game he was about to involve himself in, came with real pain and absolute truths that everyone had to abide by, even with the reality warping store and powers they could all potentially attain. That said, instead of describing the beautiful, but frightening and horrifying thing that would have been a stillborn childbirth....
A Vitae or Vital network was a simple yet complicated name for an alternate and highly efficient resource transportation system. For a normal human, in a world where there were no magical or supernatural powers, its purpose was to basically carve out a physical and efficient highway within the body. A vital network fuses nerves, veins, and arteries, and even some muscles and tendons to allow blood and impulses to flow in any which direction. It also allowed nerves to cluster and penetrate bone to fire completely independently of the brain, allowing miniature brains or relays hidden within the marrow to send remote signals. A Vital Network was a complete physical overhaul of the body and in more ways than anyone could imagine. It went without saying that Oliver knew that forging such a network meant a subtly or even completely different base biology from another human. Like, if a biologist were to cut him open, they would assume Oliver was a different species or some highly mutated version of a human.
Obviously, such an installation was not normal for a regular human body so, he prepared against the highly likely mind-boggling pain and capitalized with his influx of luck. A main character's story breaking luck and plot armor felt like a good way to protect himself, especially since he felt his mind slipping away into an impossibly comfortable warmth the moment his soul touched the body w\that he would inhabit. The next time Oliver woke up, he would be born. In fact, he was so lucky that he woke up just in time to listen in on the "horrible" news that his parents received.
"You can be discharged Mrs and Mr Lewis but I highly advise against it until we can run a few more tests. The doctor has noticed an abnormality within your son and wants to be sure that there is nothing wrong," A nurse furrowed her brow as a thin man dressed in a patchwork blazer and stained button down collected the family's things.
"It's fine, we are good to go, so we will go, I don't want to be somewhere where we are being accused of doing something wrong. We don't have to pay right," the man stopped what he was doing only to ask a question with a gruff tone.
"Your insurance cleared after we cleared a few issues with your provider but…", the nurse started but Mr Lewis guffawed and slung a pack over his back as he got Mrs Lewis standing with Oliver in her arms. He clicked his tongue and looked at the blobs that represented his parents with disgust. He hadn't been awake for long but it was clear to him that his parents weren't good people.
"Then we are going, I don't see anything good about staying in a place that accuses you of stealing," Mr. Lewis pulled his wife along.
"The doctor didn't accuse you of stealing, she merely suggested that there are only a few types of people that would…" the nurse said but she was cut off by someone that she was not expecting to hear comment.
"People with a history of drug abuse? People with a history of stealing? Poor people? You think you know us but what have we done? Nothing. We have done nothing to suggest that we have stolen anything and last I checked, asking for painkillers is normal for women like me so if you have something that you want to say, go right ahead," Mrs Lewis, in her hole ridden sundress and sandal, spoke for her family and pressed forward. The nurse had the words that she wanted to speak ripped straight out of her mouth and stomped on.
"Now, where do we sign to discharge ourselves," Mrs. Lewis said. Oliver could only draw simple conclusions about his parents and allow himself to be carried out of the hospital after his family's stay was over.
Blessings:
-Probability Manipulation lvl.1 (Balance: 13 ---> 12 Plot Amor Saves/ 80 ---> 21 lucky Assists).
[Classes]:
[Equipment]:
"This blessing is really volatile at level one. I have no control over anything my luck and misfortune can do. And this new background family will probably get me into a lot of trouble if I'm not careful," the person who fulfilled the job of siring Oliver yelled at the doctor that showed up to ask if he and his wife would stay at the hospital so that they could run preliminary tests on Oliver but he had the same spiel about being unwelcome and being done with being accused of something that Oliver had no frame of reference for. All he knew was that there was a wild callout from a security guard that showed up due to the commotion. Apparently, there were talks of getting the police involved in an investigation but nothing bad came of it since the adults handled the situation like adults and came to a reasonable solution (His family stormed out after agreeing to come back in one week for a followup visit). As it turned out, thanks to that security guard running his mouth, some dangerous drug addict tried to steal some medication by sneaking into other people's rooms on the other side of the hospital. The bad luck that Oliver had was that his father was suspected, or at the very least, there were prejudiced individuals that claimed to have seen a man matching Mr. Lewis's description.
Oliver had no idea if the claims were correct but he did agree that it was upsetting to be called a thief just because one looked like a beggar. He couldn't help but feel bad for his father and mother as they bundled him up in a hospital blanket. He only felt somewhat apprehensive when he saw his father wheel a rickety and taped together car around the corner. Oliver could hear a doctor groan in regret for letting his family just leave without suffering any repercussions for their theft and behavior, both of which he wasn't around to see other than at the end when they seemed reasonably angry. Oliver's mother smiled happily, like nothing was wrong, as if she could not hear the whispers but how could she not if a newborn could. Sadly, none of the doctors and nurses saw the woman's claws dig into her newborn's skin, thankfully there was a barrier of blankets covering his body so she did not draw blood with her gnawed on fingernails.
"Ow, is my mother hurting me on purpose or is she just an absentminded person," Oliver questioned but did not cry as his mother bruised him.
"That man obviously stole them, why are we just letting them leave," one of the nurses that helped Oliver's mother through labor didn't disguise her annoyance as she waited by the exit.
"We have no choice. No one found anything on him and the cameras didn't see him going into anyone's rooms even if you are saying that you might have," another nurse who was on her break put out a stub of a cigarette.
"First of all, I did see him going into other patients' rooms. Second, we should call CPS on those two or at least inform the police of a possible domestic problem. Did you see that woman's body? I mean, the bruises alone," the first nurse pressed.
"We can't do anything. She said she got those from falling and the man didn't lay his hands on her the entire time that they were in. The baby is perfectly healthy too even though I didn't hear a heartbeat in the ultrasound. Hell they weren't even supposed to have this kid today, it's like two months early," the second nurse snorted and spit out a glob of phlegm with a frown plastered across his face.
"It's unfortunate but we can't just take children away from their parents without just cause. Not to mention the only chance we had to keep the child safe flew out the window once they left the front door," Another nurse walked back inside. The first nurse, that claimed to have seen Mr. Lewis exit the maternity ward and enter the rooms of other patients, gritted her teeth.
"I know you're mad. So am I. Even if it's unfair we have to let things slide," the male nurse didn't let the nerve on his brow burst as he contained his anger better than his coworker. She was someone who couldn't have children but wanted one of her own. She tried to adopt but every time there was a clerical issue or somehow someone lost her paperwork, or the child on file was already adopted, or the file was wrong or old, or, you get the picture. After years of trying, she gave up and grew bitter. Especially when people who she thought didn't deserve a child, had them.
Oliver didn't hear the nurses and doctor speak to one another since he was concerned with the rancid cigarette and urine smell that wafted out of his carseat. It was most certainly used and unwashed. That would have been enough to get him to realize that maybe his parents weren't all there, Then there was the statement that sent chills down his spine not even a minute into the drive. His mother held onto his father's arm almost desperately and asked, "You have the stuff, right?"
His father didn't respond and simply... Took his eyes off the fucking road! How did Oliver know that? Well, his car seat wasn't buckled in and neither was he for that matter. The entire stained chair twisted cleanly the moment his dad pulled out of the parking lot, turned, and over a speed bump.
"Secret panel in the dashboard, and what do we have there? The stolen hospital drugs. These people are Impossible! Of course this is the outcome when my misfortune is on. Turn it off really quickly, I want to see if they have any hesitation," Oliver adjusted his blessing through the system and waited to see what his parents would do. His dad pulled over, not even a block away from the hospital and asked his mother a question.
"Do you want to...", His father didn't even finish his sentence when his mother paused in a wide-eyed stare, as if she were caught off guard by the drugs.
"Do I want what?"
"Do you want to throw these out? I know you've been clean since we found out," The man used his thumb to point toward Oliver.
"She doesn't want to. There's no hesitation in her old man. All I can say is I respect her for staying clean for me. I can clearly see that I'm the only reason why she had the strength to do so. And from the way you look at her, I can tell you only stole them because you know her very well," Oliver teared up. The story he made from the simple glances his family shared, were all he needed to know them. He's dealt with many people in his previous lifetime, a lot of them possessed stories that would seem unlikely, but that didn't mean them any less true. And so, his mother stuffed her mouth with whatever drugs she could and melted whatever could be melted. Like a straw that broke a camel's back, his father also took some drugs, but only enough to get a buzz.
"This is, I wish both of you a clean and happy life next time around. Turn my misfortune back on. I've seen enough…", Oliver finalized his will and followed through with his decision.
"
"...", Oliver couldn't even find the right words to say when he opened his eyes to see the inside of the car. A broken metal pole, jagged glass, and electrical current powerful enough to kill a grown man stared him down.
"*Cough*," the sound of a bloody gurgle and another "*Cough*," came from his right.
"Is she still alive? My luck must have extended to her when it switched over to save myself, like an overfill effect. There's a problem with that, I'm sure she's suffering right now...", Oliver could see a large piece of metal pierce the airbag and strike his mother clean through the windshield.
"I'll spend the time learning it later so can you use
Oliver waited for a few minutes in silence as his balance went up and down,
<...26 ---> 27 ---> 26 ... 27... 26 ... 25 ---> 24 ---> 23 ---> 22 ... 18 Lucky Assists>
The medics were the first to show since they were only a few blocks away from the hospital, but even still, they were beyond too slow to save Mr and Mrs. Lewis. The police and then the fire department showed up, in that order, soon after.
"Good. It only took a few minutes for them to get here. I really didn't want to waste any of my higher forms of my luck but it would seem that I need to...", the information the clone thought about returned to his mind, almost like the whisper of a thought in the background. Exactly half a second. The clone lived and died within half a second, but Oliver felt an insane amount of information and feelings that nearly overwhelmed him. The creation of an entity identical yet separate from himself, the instantaneous formation of flesh, blood, and bone, the beating of a heart separate but in sync with his own, the racing of thoughts in tandem yet chaotically strewn apart with his own, and the sensations... oh fuck the sensations. Everything he felt and thought doubled yet, the second half of this grander existence was not his own and made it clear that it was a separate existence in the way that it processed the same information. These things would absolutely drive anyone mad but Oliver was used to it as Gemini's shadows worked by doubling the time that he had lived for that one or two seconds. That was the tradeoff.
"I guess when I know I'm about to die, my brain works better. Thank you Cloniver. System, follow the clone me's plan. Oh right, this assistant is still in the rudimentary phase. Ahem, turn off my luck as soon as I'm safe and can easily regain my consciousness, then raise my misfortune in small increments," It was around that time that the fire department managed to open the car he was in safely.
"MEDIC. WE NEED A MEDIC. THE KID IS ALIVE," was the last thing Oliver heard as he faded away due to his lack of Vitae. The assists were the only reason he remained awake.