Chapter 1

Death is… calm, that's the only way to describe it, at least compared to the hell I just went through, it's not dark, it's not silent, the best way to explain would be to imagine a person who is blind and deaf, they don’t see or hear static, black or darkness because they simply just don't have the ability to see or hear anything. But even with this, I don't feel panic or worry, it's as if none of that exists either, how I'm even thinking about this is… surreal, I'm trapped in a void with nothing but the thoughts I once were so proud of.

I was a college student who had gotten in based on previous achievements seeing as I never really had any money to spend. Many called me a beggar and I didn't have more than 2 friends ash, and quack, as well as my roommate who treated me with indifference. I was studying general biology and had a professor that was well versed in the biological matter and living organisms, specifically how to mix and create the two, something I always dreamed of.

The day it all happened I had a visit from Ash

“Hey Ash, did you get what I needed?”

“Hey, Lith, yeah took a little longer than expected though, hope it works out, you’ve barely hung out with me and Quack recently, but if this thing ...works? Like it's supposed to, he and I have agreed to bring you out for milkshakes at Merry’s. Anything you want” He winked at me at that last part

“YES!... wait even the triple chocolate, pistachio banana sunrise?”

“HEY! I said ‘anything, didn't I?!”

“WOO! Now I'm extra motivated! I think I'll have it done in a few minutes, everything is ready but I just needed what you brought. Wanna stay and watch?”

“HELL YEA- ah wait no I don’t have time, got choir in a few so I actually gotta run, record, and send it to me will ya?”

“Aww, alright, ill stream it even so it’ll be online if you manage to watch sneakily or something”

“Cool, I'll see ya Lith!”

“Yeah see ya!”

“Alright, now to get this show on the road” I started setting up, getting a camera ready and everything in the lab, the goop was already on the bench ready for the mixture Ash brought.

The light I used for it started glowing showing the sign that the stream got up successfully, so I waved to it and saw a few comments already rolling in. I never liked showing my face so all I showed was my lab coat and the materials for the experiment. ‘TODAY WE ARE CREATING LIFE MUAHAHA’ Cheesy I know but I liked sounding like a mad scientist when doing this kind of thing seeing as I always loved them in shows growing up.

PLANET RECOGNIZED… EARTH.

DOMINANT SPECIES…. HUMANS

REPLICATING PLANET… SUCCESSFUL

COLLECTING DATA ON CULTURE AND SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENTS… SUCCESSFUL

TRANSPORTING SPECIES IN …. 10 MINUTES

The voice appeared in my ear, a slight British accent behind it but I just took it as an odd prank from someone who got into the principal's office and used the microphone … probably Quack, I hoped he won’t get in too much trouble… Either way, it was time to get the experiment underway, 10 minutes is about the time it will take so I guessed this prank was aimed at me. Still, it touched me that Quack was listening to my rambling, I thought as I heated the mixture and stared into a microscope to make sure everything went right. It's my 5th attempt at this and my chat has started betting on if I fail miserably or just a little.

After heating it to a decent temperature I poured it all together and started waiting while reading and answering some comments. It seems like other people heard the message from Quack and we’re discussing its meaning. I heard a squelching sound while people started talking conspiracy and looked into the bowl I used for the experiment. After moving back and taking a look I saw something I never thought I’d manage at this point, the experiment started moving, sloshing back and forth like a slime from a video game, its gelatin substance trying to escape its confinement after gaining some kind of sentience. I tried to take it out myself but after a strong reminder that it was acidic and burned my hand, I let it try itself while I brought out my phone to call my professor

The line was dead and after looking up at the stream so was my pc. Weird, I remember thinking I charged it not long ago

STARTING TRANSPORT

BEGINNER TEST INITIALIZED

QUEST RECEIVED

KILL 3 DIRE RABBITS

PROGRESS 0/3

The world around me disappeared while I was holding my creation, a bright light was blinding me and I thought my eardrums would explode from the loudness of a deep humming. I was stunned and the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of what seems to be a stone building long since taken over moss and vines that I didn’t recognize, small different colored lights danced around me, but they were moving in straight lines, almost as if with a purpose, a few stopped in front of me to ...look? That’s what it felt like at least as if they were staring at me.

WELCOME TO PROGRAM 2 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS PARAGON, YOU HAVE MET THE QUALIFICATIONS

-BE SENTIENT

-BE A PART OF A DOMINANT SPECIES

-BE HUMANOID IN SHAPE AND NATURE

-BE WEAK

CLASS GRANTED BASED ON ...LILITH HADES'

PROGRAM SHARED INTERFACE GRANTED

PROCESSING… GENERATING CLASS

ERROR… CLASS CREATION FAILED

ERROR… COULDN'T GATHER BIOLOGICAL DATA

RECALCULATING… SENDING REQUEST FOR PERSONNEL

CLASS CREATION DELAYED UNTIL PERSONNEL SUPPORT

WELCOME TO PROGRAM 6 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS SYMBIOTE, YOU HAVE MET THE QUALIFICATIONS

-BE A PART OF SYSTEM 2,3,4 OR 5

SATS GRANTED BASED ON ...LILITH HADES'

ERROR… STAT GENERATION FAILED

ERROR COULDN’T GATHER BIOLOGICAL DATA

RECALCULATING… SENDING REQUEST FOR PERSONNEL

STAT CREATION DELAYED UNTIL PERSONNEL SUPPORT

WELCOME TO PROGRAM 3 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS CONDENSER, YOU HAVE MET THE QUALIFICATIONS

-BE OVER 95% LIQUID IN BIOLOGICAL BUILDUP

TREES AND PERKS GRANTED BASED ON… LILITH HADES'

PROCESSING… GENERATING TREES AND PERKS

ERROR… PERK AND TREE GENERATION FAILED

RECALCULATING… SENDING REQUEST FOR PERSONNEL

PERK AND TREE CREATION DELAYED UNTIL PERSONNEL SUPPORT

Class? Stats? Perk? Tree? Wait, humans aren’t made of that much liquid last time I checked. What does it all mean, it was the same voice as the one from earlier except this time it came with a colored interface, green for … I guess Paragon, a light blue for Symbiote, and a light red for Condenser. I don’t get it

One of the purple-colored lights landed on my glasses bringing me back to reality, it created what seems to be a tether of light that formed to my forehead, the voice erratic and female

“HEY! ARE YOU OK? WHY ARE YOU JUST STANDING THERE HUMANOID?! YOU’RE LITERALLY MELTING”

I looked down at myself and saw that the bowl I was holding was empty, and felt a horrible pain in my stomach, once I realized I fell down onto the floor holding my stomach wrenching in pain. It felt like something was burning me on the inside, it felt like I was being liquified slowly. My eyes started tearing up and I couldn't breathe. Looking down once again after it felt like it started spreading to the outside I could see burnt flesh and a hole in my stomach. My experiment poked its head out and spread to search and satisfy its newborn curious mind. I tried prying it away from me but it just started spreading to my hands. I didn’t bleed because my creation was melting and eating it all, creating a mist where matter once was.

“GET YOURSELF TOGETHER, LISTEN I CAN SAVE YOU BUT YOU HAVE TO PROMISE TO HELP ME AFTERWARDS! JUST PRESS ‘YES’”

LIGHT BEING ‘ETHRA’ HAS REQUESTED TO BOND WITH YOU. BONDING GIVES YOU ACCESS TO CREATION POWERS LIKE MAGIC AND ACCESS TO PROGRAM 5 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS NEXUS.

WILL YOU BOND WITH ‘ETHRA’. KEEP IN MIND, BONDING CANNOT BE UNDONE, IF THE LIFEFORM YOU ARE BONDING WITH WIELDS MIND MAGIC, YOU CAN LOSE YOURSELF.

WILL YOU STILL BOND?

I didn't have time to read nor did I care, she said I could escape this pain so I chose yes. The light in front of me entered my mind and through the tether, I could feel a warmth that wasn’t acidic in nature so I welcomed it. A new yellow interface appeared

WELCOME TO PROGRAM 5 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS NEXUS, YOU HAVE MET EITHER QUALIFICATION

-BE OVER 95% LIGHT OR ENERGY IN BIOLOGICAL BUILDUP

-BE BONDED WITH A BEING ALREADY A PART OF PROGRAM 5

TRUE MANA GRANTED BASED ON… LILITH HADES'

PROCESSING… GENERATING NEXUS MANA

ERROR… NEXUS MANA GENERATION FAILED

RECALCULATING… SENDING REQUEST FOR PERSONNEL

NEXUS MANA CREATION DELAYED UNTIL PERSONNEL SUPPORT

The voice I heard earlier came back “DAMMIT! YOU DIDN'T TELL ME YOU HAD ERRORS GETTING INTO THE PROGRAMS. NOW WE’LL BOTH DIE….

at least I'll have company in death…”

After hearing the voice and feeling it give up far too easily. I gave up too. The pain was too much and I couldn't feel half of it anymore. I was just laying there, waiting to die. A notification appears right before it consumed my head, somehow still conscious

WELCOME TO PROGRAM 4 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS HARDENING, YOU HAVE MET THE QUALIFICATIONS

-BE OVER 95% GASEOUS OR PLASMA IN BIOLOGICAL BUILDUP

SUMMONING PILOT CREATURE GRANTED BASED ON… LILITH HADES'

PROCESSING… GENERATING PILOT CREATURE

ERROR… PILOT CREATURE GENERATION FAILED

RECALCULATING… SENDING REQUEST FOR PERSONNEL

PILOT CREATURE CREATION DELAYED UNTIL PERSONNEL SUPPORT

I gotta admit all of these notifications kinda sum up my life at this point. Failure after failure.

And so I died. And death is… calm