"You see, we met when you had just died," the Storyteller said with a smile on its face, as though it had just told a simple joke.
The man didn't find the joke funny.
"What the hell did you mean I died?!" the man asked, his voice rising a bit. But could you blame him? He woke up not that long ago on an old steel raft and was experiencing a pain he had never felt before. Then a being appears, claims to be a God, and then just tells him that he died.
"It is what I mean, you died and were sent to the afterlife," the Storyteller said as it opened its book and began to read it, "I would tell you about how you died, but I sort of made a promise with someone."
"What promise and to who?!" The man asked, his voice rising a bit more.
The Storyteller hummed a bit, flipping through some of the pages, "the promise I made had several clauses, but to sum it up in one quick detail. I made a promise to you, or more specifically, a version of you who remembered the past."
The man didn't say anything, his mind trying to process what he had just heard.
"Take your time, currently a story of a man who fell in love with a crow was discovered and I am very interested in it. But if you aren't convinced enough, try remembering the name of your mother and father," the Storyteller said as it flipped through the pages of its book at a calm and relaxed pace.
The man stood there in silence for a few more moments, his mind jumping around, before just sighing, "can you please explain further?"
The Storyteller stared for a bit before closing the book shut, "of course. Now, where to start this off? You see, you had died and were heading towards the afterlife, but halfway there, I encountered you and had a talk with you. In our little talk, I offered you a deal. In return for bringing you back to life, you would do whatever you want."
The man was confused, "uh, not to sound dumb, but what was the catch? I didn't hear any catch."
"Hm, oh, the catch was you could do whatever you want," the Storyteller said as it pointed its book at the man, "You see, I am extremely bored. Being a God does have its perks, but also its downsides. For instance, some Gods know what's going on around them, and others don't. Sadly, I am a God who knows what is going on, and that means there are no surprises for me. Which might seem all fine and dandy, until you realize that you will live beyond time and experience everything."
The Storyteller's smile slowly formed a frown as it continued talking, "the more you live, the less interesting the world becomes. You have a long enough time to read all the stories about romance and horror. You have enough time to watch what actions your followers take. You have enough time to do everything possible. Which, to some people, seems like a blessing, but for me, it's more of a curse. Some Gods counter this by simply entering a state of hybernation or by forgetting their memories, but I despise that route."
"Forcing oneself to forget the joys of the world just to enjoy them once again seems so cruel. You would forget the friends you made, the treats you enjoy, and, most of all, you would only return to square one. Choosing that same option over and over again, not realizing that others would watch you do the same thing over and over again."
"Then there is the hybernation. In that time, you would miss out on everything and miss everyone. You would miss the rise of worlds and miss the fall of Gods. You would even miss the end of a close friend. But worst of all, the moment you wake up and enter the world once again, you are just at square one. Only now are you filled with regret when you learn what you missed. Making you choose to hibernate once again and again."
The Storyteller stayed silent for a few moments, his frown only deepening, and the surroundings becoming bleaker. Not feeling bleaker, but becoming. The color slowly dulled, and the air felt so cold.
Then the frown turned into a smile as the surroundings returned to normal, "That is why I made a deal with you. You see, you weren't satisfied with your death and actually wanted to enjoy life to its fullest. You wanted to explore the world, to enjoy the different types of food, and finally enjoy the wonders of people."
"But sadly, I could not reverse time nor revive you in the body of your Earth. But what I could do was revive you into the body of a dead person in another version of Earth, one that faced a catastrophe and deviated the course of humanity," the Storyteller said as its smile grew more and more.
"So that is what I did, I revived you in the body of a dead man who was being sent to an interesting place. But before I sent you, you asked me to do something. You asked me to make you forget your past life," the Storyteller said, a flicker of a frown appeared on its smile for just a moment, "I asked you why and you said you wanted to enjoy your new life with a clean slate. Though you wanted me to keep basic knowledge of things in your mind. Like common courtesy and actual understanding. I also allowed you to remember a few key things that might be helpful since they appear in both your world and this world, such as guns. Now you won't remember every gun or how it fires, but you will know what a gun looks like and that it will shoot. You will also remember other basic things like cars, TV, boats, food, and many more."
"Thank you, I think," the man said, a bit confused about why his old self would choose to forget the past.
"No problem, though, with the loss of memory, you were putting yourself at a handicap. So I gave you a little gift to help you in this world," the Storyteller said as its free hand dipped inside its robe.
"Ignore this, I just saw an interesting story being made. Now, my gift to you, before you were sent here, was access to an energy source called Prana. Now I won't go into detail about this energy source since it might spoil your experience. But to let you know that in this world, there is an energy source called Arcana that everyone has that allows a few chosen to awaken abilities. This is sort of like that, but unlike everyone, you are the only living thing that has access to this certain energy source called Prana," the Storyteller said as it pulled its free hand from its robe and revealed a tan book.
"Hmm, a story of an orphan growing up to become a top idol. Seems interesting," the Storyteller said as it hummed for a bit before putting the book back into its robe, "for another time. Anyways, I know it's going to be hard to understand your ability and how to use it properly, especially since you have no clue what the hell is going on in this world. So I left you a little helping hand called 'Helper.'"
As the Storyteller said this, it snapped its free finger and soon a black screen appeared before the man. This sudden appearance startled the man, making him stumble a bit.
"Helper is a system I made specifically for you. It will allow you to see your basic information, tell you what your abilities are, and help store items," the Storyteller said as it leaned on the man's shoulder and booped the black screen.
Suddenly, the black screen filled with white words.
—
Name: [Vallen Flint]
Age: [20]
Gender: [Male]
Mark: [None]
Abilities: [Prana Blood], [Twisted Touch], [Twisted Mind], [Twisted Form]
Items: [?]
—
The man stared for a bit before questioning, "Vallen Flint?"
"I had no control over your name," the Storyteller said sheepishly, "remember when I said I could revive you in a dead body? Well, I did just that, and you are currently inhabiting the body of a dead man named Vallen Flint. I won't go into detail about his backstory, you'll need to figure that out."
"Uh huh," the man, now Vallen, said as he read over the screen, "so I am 20 years old? At least I start out in a young body. And I am guessing that the Abilities section is my current abilities?"
"You are correct! As of now, you would be considered one of the many beings who have abilities, so congratulations on that! Now, if you want to learn further about your abilities, just tap on the icon to the corresponding ability you want to learn about," the Storyteller said, its finger hovering above [Prana Blood].
Seeing this, Vallen pressed on [Prana Blood].
—
[Prana Blood]- An ability that allows the user to have all the Arcana in their body replaced with Prana. Any Arcana that makes contact with the Prana will be changed into Prana, and any Wielder of Arcana who absorbs this Prana will have their own Arcana transform into Prana.
—
"You see how easy and useful this is," the Storyteller said as it smiled proudly at its own creation.
Vallen nodded his head as he read its description, "hey, so what happens to those who have the Arcana in their body replaced with Prana?"
"How would I know? This isn't my world, so I don't exactly know its rules. But seeing as you are normal, it probably doesn't do anything that dangerous," the Storyteller said, his smile still strong and proud.
"Uh-huh," Vallen said, not believing the words. Still, this was something he would most definitely test out later.
—
[Twisted Touch]- An ability that allows the user to be able to see and interact with the Twisted. The nearby Twisted will not view the user as a threat, but rather as one of their own. Some will even go out of their way to follow your commands, though not everyone will.
—
"What are Twisted?" Vallen asked, a bit confused.
"Hm? Oh, Twisted are invisible beings that usually hunt at night and kill anyone who are outside their home. Though some do still attack people in their homes," the Storyteller said casually.
Vallen paused for a bit before shouting, "how the hell do you know what a Twisted is, but don't know what Prana does?!!"
"I know because Twisted are very interesting creatures, since almost nothing is known about them in this world. Unlike Wielders or Bestials," the Storyteller said casually once again.
Pausing once again, Vallen could stare at the Storyteller. He was prepared to ask about Wielders and Bestials, yet something in him told him that this thing would not answer him. So he could only sigh and tap on the next icon.
—
[Twisted Mind]- An ability that allows the user to weave the forms of Prana into a gaseous form before being absorbed into the user's body. Where their form and ability are stored, hidden from any darting eyes. The host's main body will not be able to use stored abilities and stored abilities will not be lost. Current abilities stored: 0
—
"I think I get this? But why would I need this?" Vallen said, tapping the next icon.
—
[Twisted Form]- An ability that allows the user to use any stored ability to create a Twisted of their own desire, in which they can pilot or command. But if there are abilities that clash with one another or a form that cannot hold said abilities, then the form will fail. Current forms made: 0
—
"Oh, I see why I would need this," Vallen said as he nodded his head. So he had two abilities that relied on one another, "I guess not being able to use stored abilities is sort of countered by being able to create an avatar that can use it? I think?"
"Sooo, how is it?" The Storyteller asked, his eyes blinking with a glimmer.
"It's helpful. Do other ability users have something like this?" Vallen asked, genuinely curious.
"Nope, every single one of them has to figure out what their abilities are and how to use them. What you have is something many would call BS," the Storyteller said as it rummaged through its robe. After a couple of rummages, it pulled out another book, "Oooh, a book about two guys dating and being pilots of a giant mech, facing off giant aliens that threaten their world. Interesting."
Ignoring what the Storyteller pulled out, Vallen pondered on his abilities. Right now, he probably had a huge lead over other ability users, though he didn't know by how much.
"By the way, what does the category Mark mean?" Vallen asked.
"Oh, a mark is the tattoo that Wielders get once they awaken their abilities. It appears randomly on humans, and the only purpose is to give out hints," the Storyteller said as it put the book it brought out back into its robes.
"..." Vallen didn't say a thing as he realised what the Storyteller just said.
"Alright, since I gave you just about everything. Any final questions before I leave you to your own devices?" The Storyteller asked, not realising what it had just said earlier.
"Yeah, so earlier I was suffering from a tremendous amount of pain and felt like dying. Can you tell me why that was?" Vallen asked as he was a bit afraid of feeling that pain once again.
"Sure, as I said, you were reborn in the body of a dead man. Now that man died due to starvation, dehydration, sunburns, and several other things. Now that would have disappeared the moment you were reborn, which you probably felt for the first couple of moments you were alive. But due to one of your abilities, it reversed it to a point where your body was not completely dead, but was still suffering from all the ailments. Now, the reason it disappeared was because of the glasses. You see, I made them so they can sort of make you stop feeling the pain once they are one, but once they are off, then the pain will just return. But don't worry, the ability won't kill you. Just leave you on the line between life and death," the Storyteller said as he smiled.
Vallen felt his heart drop as he quickly checked if the glasses were on his face. Once he made sure they were done, he finally relaxed, but then a terrifying thought crept into his mind, "wait, what happens if they are destroyed or broken?"
The Storyteller thought for a bit before giving its answer, "Well, if they were broken, then you would simply need to find someone to fix them. But if they are destroyed, then oh boy are you in for a lifetime of pain."
"Huh!" Vallen shouted.
"Now with that question answered, this is where I say goodbye," the Storyteller said as it snapped its finger and disappeared.
Leaving Vallen floating on top of the ocean, with no sight of anything for miles, with a great fear now building up deep in his heart.