Chapter 4

Zoe - Binding Fate - Character creation menu

She was sitting on the floor, over the lush grass of a tiny meadow. Twenty meters away, it stopped abruptly, giving way to the bright blue sky. Ah. A floating island. Very traditional. Even if she looked serene, the young woman was shocked by the realism of her dive, a first for her. In the middle of the island throned the statue of a man and a woman holding a roman amphora together, an endless stream flowing peacefully from its bottleneck. The water then built up in basin at their feet, forming a tiny rivulet that ran through the grass before falling overboard. The two people were holding hands and smiling. They seemed happy.

“But why this setting in particular…?” She thought all aloud in a whisper.

“Because it’s peaceful.” Eh? Zoe was startled, surprised that someone had answered her. She rose in a hurry all the while dusting her cloths. Someone then popped up in existence, a young man twenty years old, maybe a bit more.

“I startled you, I’m sorry Mademoiselle, it wasn’t my goal.” He bowed and took his hat off, a hat that wasn’t there the second before. “Delighted to meet you, I’m called Hermes, I’m the Artificial Intelligence dedicated to players interpersonal interactions.” He then threw his hat over his shoulder all the while smiling brightly to the young miss.

What an oddball, she thought with the shadow of a smile, but he is extremely realistic. Wouldn’t he have said that he was an AI, I would have thought he was a human operator of some kind.

“I’m here to take charge of you during the tutorial and character creation phase. Please take good care of me.”

Dzive - Wishes’ Shrine

She saw the fist of the monster coming toward her, filling her field of view like some kind of crashing asteroid. She could already see herself turned into a bloody pulp on the ground…

“Tiuiuiuing!” A noise rang suddenly, like two wine glass struck against each other. The girl reopened her yes that fear had made her close. Between her and the creature, a barrier had sprung to life, its colour a translucid blood-like red. The monster’s fist had shattered against this luminous rampart, and was now in a sorry state. Its fingers were crooked in every direction, you could even see numerous bones poking out of the flesh and piercing the skin.

“Contract Request detected. Valid Petitioner. Launching summoning process… Warning! Threat detected. Returning relevant data to the source…Process underway…” Said the golden sphere with a monotonous voice.

Zoe - Character Creation Menu

“I would want to start with a basic explanation of the system. Is that okay with you?”

"Well… could we skip that? I’ve already done some research.”

“Of course. however, I just want to warn you: the pieces of information you’ve found are in no way complete, because Binding Fate is a very complex game. Thus, not everything is documented, for once, and new systems and subtilities appear every day, for the other. Basically, the more you play, the more complex and numerous the systems you’ll unlock and use. Understood?”

“Yes, thanks!”

Dzive - Whishes’ Shrine

The ring-shaped chains had stopped rotating around their centre. They were now aligned on the same plan, creating a strange disk around the golden sphere. A bright light suddenly starts flowing from its upper part as it opened like a blooming flower. In front the slack-jawed girl, a figure was slowly being drawn.

Zoe - CCM

“I’ll now enter the Mirror Mode.” Hermes figure shimmered slightly, quickly becoming a perfect copy of Zoe’s body and cloth. “You can now modify any element of this mirror image as pleased. Your avatar will use the final product of this step. Please state a command.”

“...I just need to ask and this reflection will update itself?”

“Indeed.” The young woman starts thinking, unconsciously caressing her lips.

“Will I be able to modify my avatar after the end of this step?”

“Difficultly. Possibilities exist in-game, but don’t count on them, they’re few and far between. Some class can do it, so items, too.”

“Understood.” She looked one more minute at her reflection.

“And is it possible to use something else than my own body as a base for my avatar?”

“Yes, of course, but it’s not recommended.” “Because of the Disharmony?” Silence stretched for a bit. “

Yes, because of the desynchronisation syndrome, indeed.”His voice was a bit cold.

“Ok. Well, let’s start the work then! Make my hair grow forty more centimetres.” Fascinated, the young woman saw the hair of her doppelganger grow in fast motion. It was now falling in the curve of her back. Happy with the result, she kept editing her avatar this way, taking her time to fine-tune each detail. If you’re gonna keep the same avatar, at least make it sexy…

She had finally finished the last details. The mirror image standing in front of her was now quite far away from her original body while still being generally the same.

The avatar was 1,78m tall, eight centimetres taller than she really was, the added height put in her now longer legs. Her previously blond hair was now a compound of light blue and dark purple strands, creating a high contrast with her now white as jade skin. Only a small amount of changes had been made to her face, except for her eyes. She always loved stylish eyes. Their iris were now a bit larger, and they had the colour and the gleam of gold, with silver threads spreading from the borders of the pupils to the borders of the iris, like the spokes of a wheel. And now, maybe boys will stop looking thirty centimetres under my eyes as if my head was located there…

“I must warn you: the length increase of the fingers, arms and legs and the decrease in chest circumference maybe be source of physical dissonance during a short time you will need to get used to them.

“No problemo!”

“Good. Do you want to proceed to the next step?” Affirmative nod of her head.

“You’ve now three Main Stat Point (MSP) to distribute between your three main stats.” A menu came into existence in front of her. In its centre was displayed a triangle with a circle centred around each of its tips, and another one in its centre. The first three circles had a number four displayed in them, and each had a specific colour. The one at the bottom was emerald-green to represent the Body. The top left one was gold-yellow to represent the Soul, and the top right was sapphire-blue for the Mind. The central circle was grey, and had the number zero displayed in it. That would be my level, level zero… of course. She looked at the menu for some time before she sat down on the grass once more. I did not really think about what type of avatar I would want to play… A mighty wizard? An indomitable knight? An unparalleled cleric? That’s three totally different builds and, from what I’ve seen so far, there a motherfucking lot of different build and classes. Soul for faith if I want to heal or resolve if I want resistance to curse and the like… Body, for obvious reasons, because strength, agility and more importantly constitution are never too much… Mind, for magical affinity and logical thinking… Uncertain, she dispatched her points.

“Oh? One in each stats? Interesting. Be careful what you’re doing, playing balanced is difficult, if rewarding with the right catalysts.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She answered with a nod.

“Now there is one last thing you need to do. Please name your avatar.”

“A name? Well, let’s name it the same as all my previous avatars eh. It will be Élet.” The AI raised his eyebrows.

“Why this name, though?” He asked with curiosity. She looked at him and shrugged.

“Zeo in ancient greek mean life so, long ago, I used Gtranslation to search for a word meaning life in another language. Élet is this word, in Hungarian. That’s all.” She smiled at him.

“...Interesting. Now, the last step: Please choose between the three started class.” Another window popped up before her.

Choose one out of the three:

- Militia

- magic novice

- Initiate

“Each of those class gives you basic insight toward the different gameplay of Binding Fate. I’ll not be rude and I’ll assume you can understand by yourself what each of them can do.”

“Thank you, I guess?” ...Hmmmmm… HMMMMM… Well, it’s the first VRMMO I play, maybe I should start with something that as some survivability? “Let’s go for Militia.”

“Understood. Then I wish you an adventurous journey through this, miss. Goodbye.” And then, suddenly, he pushed her in the expense of sky where she started falling. What?!

“Whaaaaaa!”

Hermes

Phew, and another one done. She seems to have potential, I hope she’ll be hooked by the game. We need talented players, players full of potential.

His gaze was lost in the distance, contemplating the horizon. Thinking of potential, what is Argosphael doing right now? Making a mess out of things, surely, as always. And with his niece coming, he can’t help but try and make a show to impress the world even more… Could be interesting to know what his niece looks like, if she has even a tenth of his brilliance she’ll be a blast. He smirked. Would it be too much asking her to be a bit more clam than him? He looked one last time at this place before disappearing, letting the island at its seclusion, unaware of the identity of the young player he just launched into this word.

Dzive - Whishes’ Shrine

The figure unravelled more and more until it became visible, concrete, present. In front of the young girl, a beauty like she had never seen before had appeared. Arms crossed, her golden eyes were casting withering glares as her locks of hair fiercely fluttered in her back. Anger could be seen on her face as she was clenching her fists. She soon floated down, putting her feet on the ground, the sides of her white redingote falling at her side just like the strand of hair settling peacefully in her back. Dzive couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She prostrated on the ground, sobs of joy overwhelming her.

“Thanks, thank you so, sob, so much, sob, you’ve heard me!” She could no longer stop herself from crying, her self-control swept away by a wave of relief. Suddenly, all the chains left the Shrine and, as they grew, started dancing around Dzive and the young goddess that had appeared. A warm feeling was born in the heart of the young girl as she felt an ethereal tether being woven between her and the impressive and gorgeous goddess. An unknown voice echoed in her head.

“Do you agree to sign this pact with summoned Élet?” If that meant receiving help from the goddess, the heart of the young girl was totally committed to it.

“Yes!” And her voice resonated with a power not unlike the one carried by her mother’s when she had sacrificed herself.

Élet

WTF?! He could at least have warned me before sending me flying like that no? She thought, arm crossed. After she had been falling for an indefinite amount of time, the space around her had begun darkening until it was entirely blocking her view. She then had had the feeling of slowing down and coming to a halt, starting floating right away. And where am I now? She tried to pierce through the shadowy veil surrounding her but… Nothing to do, I can’t see a thing…? Ah? Slowly, ever so slowly, the world was regaining some colours. Around her, she could start seeing trees and, between the leaves, the pink-orange hue of the evening sky. The world around her became totally concrete and she finally put her feet on the floor. Quickly, chains started spinning around her as a child no, a bit older? was prostrating herself at her feet. What’s going on? Surprise and curiosity replaced anger in her eyes. A System Message then echoed in her head.

“Do you agree to sign this pact with summoner Dzive?” The was just being said that the girl raised her gaze and looked at Élet, screaming

“Yes!” with a powerful voice. Blood, tears and snot were mixed on her face, but Élet could see a flame of resolve burning in the pleading eyes of the girl, along with sadness and fury. This gaze dispelled any hesitation Élet could have had in her heart. She forgot all her questions, all her reluctance and doubt as she whispered.

“Yes.” Reacting to her voice, the chains lashed at the two of them, making the girls crash against each other

“Contract established. Unit Élet and Unit Dzive linked… Warning! Critical threat detected! Priority orders received from the source… Emotional state:check; Goal:check; Link integrity:satisfactory; Asking authorization… rejected. Warning! Overriding Third Protocole. Asking authorization… received. Building Contract Ability…”

The chains disappeared, letting the fainted girl in Élet’s arms. What? And suddenly she saw it. A barrier stood between it and her, but it was still too close for her peace of mind. A demon, nearly five meters tall, was standing there, its right arm totally messed up. A sick desire was flickering in its eyes, like cancerous hunger, and she knew it was only waiting for the barrier to go down to swoop on her. Seeing this, she strengthened her grasp around the girl in a subconscious act of protection. Over its head floated title splatter with blood. Could be read -Raid Boss, Asiroth of the Four Sins(weakened)-. Wrath overwhelmed her once more. And what am I supposed to do now, eh?! No but, you know, encountering a Raid Boss thirty seconds after the first spawn it’s a bit rough don’t you think, in particular if I want to protect the kid! As if it had heard her, the soft system voice made another announcement.

“Diiig… congratulation, you’ve acquired the Special Capacity All-consuming Gaol… Warning, major threat detected. Forced activation of All-consuming Gaol, target: Asiroth.” The barrier fell suddenly. The monster needed no more incentive and threw itself mouth first on its preys.

That’s it, I’ll die. What will Uncle think of that? I’ll never hear the end of it, he will mock me until he dies of old age! But right at the time everything seemed lost, when she had curled herself up around the girl to protect her with her own body, something happened. She heard the monster scream, a scream of pain and anger. She felt something grabbing it, tearing it apart into two pieces, sucking one of them into her, the other into the girl she was holding. Her head started spinning, a black veil covered her eyes and she had the feeling of an unending fall. And then… nothing.

“Warning, overload All-consuming Gaol detected…” Said the soft voice, without anyone hearing her…