(BLA BLA BLA)
The mysterious woman sighed, pressing a hand to her temple. "You truly are a confounding creature."
.
"Thanks" SI hon said, smirking. "I get that a lot."
.
I blinked twice, brows furrowing. "but for real why are you talking like… that? And why am I not?" I asked, gesturing between the two of us.
.
(Peak song btw try GET YOU BY KALI UCHIS)
.
She paused mid float, as if someone had slapped a dictionary (like fr) across her face.
.
"I beg your pardon?" she retorted, one brow elegantly arching.
.
"You know…" I cleared my throat, lowering my voice in imitation. "Thou shalt not tease mine patience, young mortal, or whatever?"
.
Her cheeks puffed with offense.
.
"I do not sound like that!"
.
"You absolutely do" si hon muttered.
.
She crossed her arms, hair drifting weightlessly around her like black silk.
.
"This manner of speech is simply how I have ever conversed. It is not some… affectation."
.
"Right. Meanwhile I sound like I just walked out of a convenience store in Seoul."
.
She stared at me blankly.
.
"A… con-vee-nyense store?"
.
"Oh no… oh lord you don't even know what that is."
.
She leaned closer, curious despite her pride.
.
"Pray tell… is it some kind of magical marketplace?"
.
I smirked. "…Honestly? Sure. Yes it is Let's go with that."
.
She sighed, the air shimmering with faint light.
.
"Dreams weave oddly. The tongue thou speakest reflects thy era… as mine reflects my own."
.
My eyes widened. "So… you're from the past?"
.
Her gaze softened just barely.
.
"A distant age, young man. One long buried by time."
.
I swallowed. "That's… actually kinda cool."
.
She blinked twice, fluster returning. "C-cool…?"
.
I nodded "yep"
.
Si hon cleared his throat, trying to stand a little straighter. "So uh by the way. Since you already know my name Si Hon, right? mind telling me yours?"
.
The woman blinked, caught off guard for a heartbeat.
.
A faint glow shimmered around her as she placed one delicate hand to her chest.
.
"I am called Vesper" she announced, voice soft yet sounding like twilight bells.
.
"It is a name bestowed upon me long ago… in an age now forgotten."
.
"Vesper…" I repeated. "I see Kinda sounds like a perfume. Fancy~"
.
Her eye twitched just slightly.
.
"It is not a perfume" she muttered under her breath.
.
"Sorry"
.
She raised an eyebrow and scoff. "Sorry? Oh young man this is a miracle. You saying sorry is."
.
She straightened again, regaining her ethereal dignity.
.
She cleared her throat. "And thou art indeed Si Hon. A curious name to mine ears."
.
"Hey, your name isn't exactly normal either" I shot back.
.
Vesper's cheeks colored not anger this time, but embarrassment.
.
"I… suppose neither of us are quite ordinary."
.
Silence hovered. A comfortable, strange silence.
.
"So… now that we're properly introduced," I said, rubbing the back of my neck. "What exactly do you want from me?"
.
Vesper's eyes sharpened twilight purple with worry.
.
"To warn you," she breathed. "For though this realm is but dream stuff… the peril that approaches your waking life is all too real."
.
I laughed softly.
.
"…Okay. That suddenly got serious." My throat felt dry. "A tragedy? What kind of tragedy are we talking about?"
.
Vesper's expression darkened shadows curling at the edges of the dream like smoke.
.
"The fabric of your world… it is thinning."
.
"…woah what?"
.
She lifted her hand, and shimmering images unfolded like pages of a burning book.
.
Cities crumbling.
Sky torn open.
Something massive pushing through.
.
"Soon, gates shall appear across the earth doors to realms not meant for mortal eyes."
.
"Gates?" I ask.
.
"Labyrinths… dungeons… prisons for beasts your kind cannot comprehend. When they open, monsters shall spill forth, and the world you know will warp into peril."
.
i laugh Softly just enough for her not to notice.
.
"Okay, that sound horrifying."
.
She sigh. Vesper's voice lowered, urgent.
.
"Mortals will be forced into trials, games of survival, governed by rules you do not yet know. Power shall be given, but so too shall countless souls perish."
.
"Wait power?" I blinked.
.
"Aether. Abilities. Skills. Your world will adapt… a system."
.
"…Like a video game?" I muttered.
.
She hesitated, unfamiliar with the term… but nodded slowly.
.
"Yes. Stats, strength, swiftness, the endurance of your spirit… all quantified. Measured."
.
"And you're telling me" My pulse quickened excitingly? "I'm supposed to survive that?"
.
Vesper's gaze softened just barely.
.
"You will not survive… unless you prepare."
.
Silence.
Breathing became heavy.
.
"Which is why I shall grant you a System Call a safeguard only you may wield."
.
My eyes widened.
.
"Wait, but Why me?"
.
Vesper floated closer, her voice soft as it trembled:
.
"Because you were chosen."
.
I stared at Vesper, throat tight.
.
"And a system… just for me?"
.
She blinked. "Wait no. My bad."
.
"What?!" I flinched, stunned.
.
Expression flat, she exhaled slowly and ran a hand down her face.
"You're corrupting me."
.
Her dark hair floated around her like ink in water as she shook her head.
.
"Nay. When the veil tears in a night's time, all mortals shall receive one. The world will shift into what you'd liken to a… game."
.
Si hon looked at His hand. "…Everyone gets powers?"
.
"I-indeed. Stats, abilities, skills… advantages and consequences."
"Your species will be graded."
.
"Graded?"
"What are we, homework?!"
.
Vesper ignored my sarcasm, worry pinching her brow. "Many shall rise. More shall fall."
.
"Then why give it to me now?"
.
Her eyes met mine solemn, twilight-deep. "To prepare you. Even three days' practice may mean the difference between life… and death."
.
A pause. (Hehe yes for... 6-7!!!!!!!!! Rahhhhhh oh lord what's wrong with me)
.
"Others will awaken confused. You… will awaken ready."
.
Si hon managed a shaky laugh.
.
"…So I'm like a beta tester?"
.
She blinked. "A… what?"
.
"Never mind."
.
Sighting Vesper extended her hand, luminous symbols spiraling in her palm. "Place thy hand upon mine. I shall bestow the System Call into your soul."
.
My breath caught. "This… won't hurt, right?"
.
"Mm. Probably not."
.
"Probably?!"
.
Before I could retreat, her fingers brushed mine
.
FLASH!
.
My vision exploded with glowing text.
.
[SYSTEM INITIALIZING…]
.
Heart pounding, I whispered,
.
"…Woah."
.
Vesper's voice echoed, distant now
.
"Remember, Si Hon… you have three days. Train. Grow. Survive."
.
The dream began to fade.
.
"When the gates appear… the world shall never be the same."
"I pray you do not fall."
.
My heartbeat kicked up as the dream around us began to flicker, pieces of the black box unraveling into light.
.
"Wait!" I blurted, taking a half step toward her. "If all of that's going to happen… are we going to meet again? Since you're pretty fun to talk to" I admit shyly.
.
Vesper's eyes widened just for a moment. The glow around her dimmed, her expression shifting into something I couldn't read.
Sad?
Hopeful?
Afraid?
.
"When the time comes…" she murmured, reaching her hand toward me, "you will-"
.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
I awoke with a startled breath.
Something poked my cheek.
"Mister?"
Ivy's face hovered inches from mine, finger extended.
"...That's weird."
Before I could process the dream, my gaze drifted upward
A blue, translucent window floated in the air.
[READY FOR A QUEST?]
ACCEPT / DECLINE
.
(Rahhhh Today I'm gonna post 2 chapter even tho I'm lazy like as HELL!!!! :( man... I wish thy novel of mine go popular)
.
.
.
.