After taking a few seconds to learn the basic command prompts from, Troy surprisingly, Wren emotionally prepared himself to begin spending his ill gotten gains.

“O-open user interface,” Wren began strongly but finished in a whisper. The combination of being startled by the interface opening before he finished the command and the dizzying color and shape show knocked his growing excitement into a cold lump at the bottom of his stomach.

My interface is thought responsive?I wonder if purchasing All Language would help me understand this damn mess of a UI.

The shapes blur in a Rolodex formation briefly before a smaller sub-window opens in front of Wren while cascading patterns fall rhythmically in his peripheral vision like an H.P. Lovecraft version of The Matrix. Deciding to ignore the crazy and not rant about the 'Wren's Powers and Perks Wish List' plus emojis title, he checked out his achievement point tally and costs before getting to business.

450 of 300 temporarily capped points?How does that-Doesn't matter. Just focus on what you need to do. Let's start out by getting getting All Language and sending thirty points to Troy so he can un-gimp himself. I have a sinking feeling I'm stuck with him for awhile and I'm tired of dragging his ass around. Yup, pure selfishness.

Ignoring Troy's goose bump inducing gratitude Wren asks, “You good on points Lilly?”

“ N-never you mind me Wren. Best focus on yourself. A right magnate for misfortune you are. I-if I didn't know any better I'd think you were Irish too!” shot Lilly with a nervous giggle.

“ My patience wears thin and your time wears short,” Quets rumbled darkly.

“Sorry,” said Wren and Lilly simultaneously, sharing a brief chastised glance.

“ A warrior does not waste time on empty courtesy. They do what must needs be done. Ten seconds...nine-”

What!?

In a panic, Wren starts poking at the bright gold options accept squares,skipping the rest. Not even pausing at the two secondary pop-up windows, since they're gold he pokes and repeats till the points are gone.

Giving a relieved sigh Quets bellows' “Swift and decisive, I like it. Now I can go finish The Hunger Ga, cough, attend to important matters with my wife. Glory and a meaningful death little ones.”

What was on those two extra windows?... I don't even know what I agreed to!

Small seeds of molten agony bloom within Wren as he's wrapped in a weightless darkness.

***

“Soak it in. There is no better place to undergo mind and soul expansion than the space between places. There's practically no psychic or spiritual pollution to filter out, you see. Your other two companions are similarly benefiting, albeit more comfortably, as they are unconscious but that is a luxury that we cannot afford,” stated a familiar rusty voice.

Through pain gritted teeth, Wren said, “Hiidan, I've sooo many questions for you.”

“And hopefully, some of them will be answered while I share with you what you need to know. As for the rest, I'll attempt to address them for so long as your air lasts,”

Glad you're aware that my oxygen is limited here, buddy. It'd be sad to survive that cluster fuck of an introduction just to die from asphyxiation... Damn, it hurts what the hell is the SYSTEM doing inside me!?

Hiidan takes a deep, ragged breath before continuing, “My reason for all that I do is simple. I don't want to die. To not die, I need someone to come get me and a way to survive until they get here. The SYSTEM, and by extension, you are my way to survive. I may have one, maybe two, more chances to reconnect to another participant if you die or get booted so believe me when I say that I have every reason to have your best interest in mind. But you are probably far more interested in what this means for you and what you get out of dealing with the extra problems I represent so let me get to it.

“The biggest bonus I represent is a ridiculous level of insider information followed closely by the interface you have access to. Just looking at it for a few minutes a day will eventually give you access to a perk even most moderators would be jealous of but you probably shouldn't look at it more than a few minutes a day till you get that perk. With the training wheels SHELL and ALL Language in place you're gold. Finally, the danger I represent to you in association is next to none as long as you don't draw attention to me or your interface, which will automatically mislead prying eyes and hide itself from scrutiny. Oh, and if you want to converse with me directly you can only do it here in the in-between but I can still help you find what you're looking for in the SYSTEM interface as long as you, for lack of a better explanation, think at it hard, clear and concisely.

So, my version of the SYSTEM UI is thought responsive and if anyone tries to spy on me they'll see a normal screen? Nifty.

“Alright, your turn. Keep it short and sweet, your air's getting stale,” Hiidan's voice rasps out, his vocal cords already sounding strained beyond endurance.

Trying to think beyond the throbbing fog in his mind, Wren attempted to throw out the most important questions he can think of, “Why is it so hard to get yourself saved? Are you some kind of fugitive?”

“My boss thinks I and my team are dead. If they knew I was alive then I wouldn't be for long and neither would you. More than that is best not discussed.”

Reeling with that discovery, Wren trudges on, “ Why I wouldn't want to rat you out at this point I got, if Quetz is anything to go off of, but how can I trust you and that you're telling me the truth?”

“You can start by going over everything I've told you to check for deception and end with reviewing the achievements I've recommended and see how that suits you, fucking child! Wheezed Hiidan in impotent rage before spitting out, “I had no need to speak so but if you had any idea of who I was and how far and low I had to reach for even this small chance of survival perhaps you could understand. I can't even tell you why I can't tell you without jeopardizing us both further. Let trust build with time, as ultimately, all relationships must.”

A loud and long, dry coughing fit ending weak and wet gave Wren an idea of what this conversation might be costing Hiidan. Couple that with his own dwindling air supply and mental fogginess, satisfied curiosity didn't sound nearly as enticing as ending this conversation and getting the hell out of there.

“Alright then, Hiidan, guess that's good enough. As long as you can give some prompts explaining what the hell just happened to me there at the end of my point selection, so I know what I'm working with, that'll do for now I guess. Listening to you is making MY throat hurt. I hope we get a chance to talk again soon.”

“ When circumstances permit, Wren. Until then, try not to die. I've practically got my life riding on you.!”

Back at ya, Rusty.