It was cold and dark, Ori tried to find her way through her surroundings but all she could see was blackness, a void drawing her in like a black hole.
She was naked, her body shaking.
*W-Where am I?* she said to herself, the fear of being lost hitting her.
She had sworn that she had died, but now she was alive. How could that be possible? Was this a second chance?
Suddenly, she heard a click that echoed through the dark space. Behind her, a light erupted through the abyss, its glow orange and golden like the sun.
Though Ori felt nothing, not even the slightest burn on her bare skin but she felt warm at that moment, the biting cold disappearing in an instant. The young woman turned to face it as she was met with what looked like the sun, but something was different.
Could it have been her eyes playing tricks on her?
No, she could indeed see something, and she was sure it looked like a silhouette sitting on a spiky throne.
From the glow of the sun, she could make out a little detail of the figure. They looked feminine, possessing golden locks of hair that seemed to have faded with time; they were clad in darkness to shape a jagged armor, a black crown on their heads like that of thorns. of
"So it is true as they say," the strange feminine figure muttered, her voice sounding cheerful, "A vessel that can harness the sun exists."
The sun?
That word struck Ori's mind like a bolt of lightning, leaving her confused, but what bothered her was the identity of this strange woman, "Wh—who are you?" she questioned, her words cutting and continuing.
"I do wish to tell you, but I'm afraid that information is not important as of now," the strange figure said, raising her hand and pointing a finger at Ori.
Ori stared, her eyes widened as a strange light erupted from her abdomen as her body began to fade, her vision going blank as her eyes closed slowly till it was shut.
Opening her eyes, she jolted awake, her breath heavy with sweat trickling down her hair. Glancing around, she noticed that she was in her room.
But how? She wondered. She was supposed to be dead from what she remembered; now she was back in her room, after a strange dream that seemed somewhat real.
Her eyes finally landed on something in the corner of her sight, a strange yellow glow erupting from it—a rectangular glass object with words which Ori could understand displayed on it.
The young woman jerked back, taken aback by this strange object, 'What on earth is this?' she muttered in her thoughts, her eyes wide open as she stared into it.
She pulled the covers from her body, revealing her body stripped of all her clothing.
She didn't remember taking her undergarments off, how had it happened? The thought of how she ended up in a situation such as this left her thinking, but these were the least of her problems.
The glass looming before her was the only thing that bothered her; its eerie presence and ability to stay motionless gave her an uneasy feeling, and it wasn't like any typical one, which involved foxes glaring at small prey.
This was different, and she had no choice but to confront it.... So she tried...
Waving didn't seem to work, though she could make contact with it, which meant this unknown object existed and it wasn't planning to leave unless she had to trigger something in it. Seeing that there was no other way, what was left was reading what was displayed on it.
So she did... at least she could understand what it said....
[Congratulations, You Have Been Selected As A Vessel For The Sun. Therefore, This Makes You A Sun-Wielder. Would You Like To Accept?]
Yes/Nay.
Reading through, Ori felt a wave of confusion hit her at that moment, forcing her brow to jerk up. "A sun-wielder? What on earth is that?" she said, her questions falling on deaf ears or rather, ears that weren't in reach.
It took the quietness of the room and the cold wind that swept through for her to realize that no one was around to answer her questions. Even if she was surrounded by others, who could answer such a question?
She was sure that this sentence was alien to every one of her kin that existed, so for her to understand better, the choice of unaccepting wasn't an option. Slowly reaching out, her finger grazed the part of the screen where the Yes option was displayed.
Then the glass object rippled like a body of water being gently tapped by an object, creating little shockwaves. The texts slowly disappeared, shifting and distorting, then it changed.
>STATS<
Wielder: Ori
Level: 1
Rank: Common Maiden
Strength: 100+
Speed: 100+
Durability: 100+
Agility: 100+
——
XP Quest: Train your arms 0/50
Ori gazed at what was before her, though her understanding of what this was increased the confusion did the same leaving her to choose between both sides. She felt like if she went for either options it would lead to only one outcome.
But just as this magical object gave its options, Ori created hers and she was pushed to choose herself. Reading each word carefully, she understood what this was.
This could be something that could make her stronger with the fact that she had to complete a few assignments that were given by this glass object. If her memory was spot on, this was what they referred to as a System.
A magical mastermind that helped its avatars grow stronger with won battles, but there were usually some conditions that were dire and could lead to reduction of special perks or death of the avatar.
Ori had often read old books about things like this, though she never believed they existed. Now seeing it for herself, she was as excited as ever. Rising from her bed, a new day for her had begun and it was time to put her skills to the test.
As the sun rose, bathing Kharvald with its ethereal glow, Ori had prepared herself, putting on a new set of undergarments, hoping to complete the tasks given to her by this system before she started her work at the bakery.
'Train Your Arms' that was what the system had requested, so she did...
Groaning and moaning, Ori pushed her body up with the help of her arms while bringing herself down as well, sweat dripping from all corners of her body, the stink of sweat lingering in the air.
Once her tasks were completed, she rose to her feet panting heavily, her hair dripping with sweat. Suddenly her body glowed with a golden light which caused all the fatigue she felt to leave her body.
"How fascinating?" she said to herself.
>STATS CHANGED<
>Level 2 Achieved!<
Now satisfied with the little change in her body, she was now ready to continue with her routine as a baker of kharvald, but she had to see this change for herself. Now facing the mirror, she slowly walked up to it, her body becoming lighter with each step she took.
Now she was Infront of the mirror that stood at the edge of her room and to her surprise, she had indeed changed just as she had anticipated, but something didn't look quite well. When she anticipated the fact that she would change, she never knew it would be too evident.
"Oh. Bloody hell," she muttered, her eyes wide open as she stared at two pointy ears at the side of her head, just beside her temples.
Rubbing her eyes, she hoped what she witnessed was merely an illusion, a figment of her imagination, maybe she had read and heard too many tales that it took its tole on her mental health.
But she was a healthy, young woman which meant that this wasn't some dream or illusion, it was the real deal.