Chapter 2: 1. The Beginning.
"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!" My mother screams at the top of her lungs.
"You're no daughter of mine!"
*Slap*
My head turns and my ears are ringing from the force of my father's hand hitting my cheek, and I start to taste blood in my mouth from the impact that had caused my teeth to cut the inside of my cheek.
I whip my head back around, my blue eyes glare at my egg, and sperm donors. "Gladly! I can't change who I fall in love with, or who I'm attracted to. But I can dump any abusive trash out of my life, and walk away! Quite happily!" I grab my already prepared bag, and walk out of the apartment.
I held in my tears until I was a few blocks away from the apartment building, but after I seen my best friend/girlfriend waiting for me, I broke down into a sobbing mess.
My catholic parents were always super homophobic, and I knew deep down, having a pansexual daughter would set them off... I had just hoped that they would be more tolerant of their only child. I had hoped that by giving them one more chance, they could change their ways, but who was I kidding?
Though I wished it would be different, I would not go back to them, or reconcile after abuse.
This is one of my untouchable bottom lines... Once the subject of abuse is touched, I will never stay in that relationship... No matter what kind of relationship it is.
It wasn't the first time either of my parents had hit me. But it was my 18th birthday, and I was no longer tied to them by the law.
The first time my father had hit me, had been for a phone call my teacher made back in 3rd grade, 'for fighting' they said. I had stopped a boy from pushing my friend by blocking his hand, and he was so mad he tried to push me as well. So I pushed him back... My teacher had only seen me push him, so he got off scott free, while I got a beating when I got home.
...
Three years after having the big blowout with my abusive parents, my girlfriend Elena, and I turning eighteen, and moving in together. Elena was diagnosed with cancer.
I was devastated...
She was my life.
We fought hard. Getting the best treatments... Even trying the experimental ones out of desperation.
None of it was working...
She passed away...
Two years after her diagnosis, Elena, who was my whole world, slipped away while she was sleeping. Finally no longer in pain.
Leaving me behind in pain, with a mix of relief, because at least she was not in pain anymore.
I had seen her go through so much pain, how could I justify being selfish enough to want her with me. Just so she could suffer?
As much pain as I'm in... I've been wanting nothing more than to take her pain onto myself...
So maybe this is how that has to happen?
The next year and a half, other than grieving, was spent trying to figure out what to do with myself.
I had a job, but I was so used to being a caregiver, that I had no idea what to do with myself now that I had spare time.
I suddenly realized that, I didn't have a social life. I had ignored most of my other friends when Elena got sick, and the ones who I still kept in touch with had families of their own.
The isolating, suffocating, feeling of having nothing left of yourself afterwards... It is one of the worst parts of losing your loved ones.
Dragging myself out of bed, getting up, and going to work? It was hard...
But it was a necessary part of life, and I had made a promise to Elena. A promise to start my life again, no matter how hard it was.
I had taken up biking to work, the city was large, and densely populated, so it only made sense. Today I had awoken to my bike having a flat, I was rushing on foot, trying to get to work on time. I decided to cut through some of the alleys to get there, cutting through a residential block.
As I'm popping out of one of the alleyways I see a little boy bouncing a ball. A ball that then bounces into the road, the small child too busy chasing after it to notice the bus heading his direction. His mother let's out a fearful scream, frozen at the shock.
I don't think.
I don't hesitate.
I'm spiriting, my legs couldn't have moved faster.
I picked the child up and tossed him towards his terrified mother... The thankful look in her terrified eyes, was the last thing I remember seeing before the bus hit me.
Then there was nothing for a long time...
Simply white noise, and a void filled with darkness.
I was alone...
...
After a seemingly endless time had past, a light appeared in the darkness. It was small, but it was blindingly beautiful to finally see anything other than the darkness around me, and the pull it had over me was almost irresistible. Everything in me was screaming, I had to go towards it, that something was there.
Swimming through the inky darkness around me, slowly but surely getting closer to that beautiful bright light in the distance, I start to wonder if I will ever make it there. Though I've already been here for who knows how long, I'm not going to give up now.
As I got closer a faint pleasant buzzing noise started to echo in my head, getting slightly louder the closer I got to the light. It was almost like hearing static move through the darkness, like the gentle hum of the electronics my world had grown so fond of. The closer I got, the louder, and louder the noises grew, they almost seemed deafening until something else more startling happened. The light suddenly envelopes me, blinding me to everything around me
"System integration initiated, linking with Host!" A voice echoes through my head, the voice neither male nor female, but a robotic sounding combination of both. "System integration completed. Starting up, please wait!"
"W-what is going on?" I call out, hoping to receive some kind of response.
"Start up completed. Host System is now online!" The robotic voice chimes. "Greetings Host, I am system EX754. I was instructed by my creators to assess souls, and bond with one that meets the standards that they put forth. Having been through many difficulties in your life, yet having been able to stay humble and forgiving, your soul meets the requirements for the bond and rebirth through our system standards."
"System? Rebirth?" Didn't this only happen in novels and anime? But more importantly. "Do I get to go back to my life before? Can I go back to when Elena was alive?"
"Unfortunately no, it has been over 200 years in your world so going back would be impossible. The system provides the host with a whole new nearly Immortal life, and in exchange you are given tasks to complete." EX754's voice replies, "Your tasks will consist of saving worlds on the brink of collapse, by either fighting to save that world, or guiding the people to save themselves."
The light grows too strong to see, and all of a sudden I'm in a control room.
A ton of monitors line the top half of one smaller wall, a control console underneath them, and a chair in front of that. On the opposite side there's a long wall made of glass, or whatever the glass equivalent is. The outside looks like a blank slate, no grass, no water, no trees, just blank nothingness. An illuminated version of the darkness I spent so long lost in....
'Wow...' My mind was blown, and my thoughts simple as I take in new information.
I couldn't tell if there was ground to walk on, if gravity existed outside of the facility I was in, or if this place was suspended in a void much like the one I was trapped in before.
In a corner in front of the windows was a small round modern cafe table, with two matching chairs. A large line of book shelves half filled with books, lined the free wall between the window and the monitor wall, and a soft sofa just large enough to nap comfortably on, sat facing the shelves, a potted plant on one side and a reading lamp on the other.
There were two open doorways on the opposite wall with small decorative table, a large holographic picture of a panda eating bamboo, sat on it.
'Cute.'
My bare feet make slapping noises against the tiled floors as walk towards the doorway closer to the windows, I peer inside to see a bedroom with the wall of windows continued into the room, an open bathroom against the opposite wall, a is bed set up against the wall facing me, and a mirror in the corner shows my form dressed in a simple white dress reflected in it.
Walking to the other doorway with my footsteps echoing off the tile around me, there is a long dark hallway that lights up as I walk through the doorway, my long curly black hair flowing after me. The white and gray walls give off a sterile feeling, and there are large tubes lining the walls of the hall that seems to go on forever.
'What the hell?!' My thoughts are muddled trying to absorb my surroundings. 'Elena!?'
As I approach the first tube my stomach drops, and tears start to fall.
"EX! What the HELL is this?!" My voice comes out a shaking boom.
I... don't know what to think, but this shouldn't be possible. She's been gone so long now, but Elena, my Elena, was in there... I slowly place my shaking hand on the tube that holds her, my body was now pumping adrenaline into my veins due to the shock.
"Host, this hallway is used to store soulpods. Soulpods are a controlled container used to house a past soul whom the Host has bonded with in worlds, that can then be reborn into the Host's new world later." EX754's robotic voice replies void of all emotion.
"You said something about rebirth, does that mean that I can be with her again?" I can't help the hope that seems to seep into my heart. "And what do you mean, past soul? Do you mean that once they have died, the souls of the people I love will be stored here?"
"No, and yes. The soul in this soulpod was damaged and part of it was shattered in the transfer, making it impossible for rebirth until the soul recovers and the fragments are gathered." EX754 chimes back. "The souls of people whom the Host has bonded with, shall be stored once they reach their natural death. And when reborn into Host's new world, souls will lose all memory of their past lives."
"So there's no hope? I can't ever have her back?" I ask, my trembling hand still resting on the glass, and as I lean forward to place my forehead against it as well, tears start to fall.
"Not in the sense that the Host wants, all souls are to be reborn the same way, without exception."
"Okay..." I take a step back, taking my hand away to wipe my tears, and clear my throat. " You said that her soul was incomplete. What did you mean by that? How do I fix it?"
"The shards are scattered across multiple worlds, it will take time to locate the correct ones." EX754 buzzed. "Host will have to select missions based on the locations to search for them."
"Then let's get started!" I look towards the tube holding Elena one last time, then turn around and make my way to the control console. "EX, start locating the shards! I want to go on my first mission as soon as possible."
"Host, I've managed to locate the first shard. It seems to be a wor-..."
"I don't care what the world is like, send me in!" I interrupt EX754's mission briefing, talking over the system while it finishes it's monologue. "How do I start?"
"The Host must set a start code, and then say it out loud."
"Like a password?" I ask.
"Yes."
"Respawn..."
"What?" The systems robotic voice replies confused.
"My code to be reborn is 'Respawn' like the video game term." I explain.
"The word 'Respawn' has been selected, is the Host sure?"
"Yes."
"The word 'Respawn' has been confirmed. Code word selected, shall I prime the system for the mission?" EX754 asks.
I sit in front of the control console. "Yes, I want to leave and get started as soon as possible."
"Very well Host." EX754's electronic hum is the only sound for a while. "Host, the system is primed, all you have to do is tell me when to initiate the rebirth."
I give one last glance at the hall that holds my heart, and yell out. "EX! Initiate Respawn!"
My world turns dark once again, but this time, I know that there will be something more to look forward to, when I open my eyes again the future possibilities will be endless.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone