Erik slowly opened his eyes and greeted the darkness. There wasn’t a shred of light to be seen. He reached out his hands, trying to grab hold of something – anything. Nothing was within range. He couldn’t even feel himself. It wasn’t a good sign.

“I’m dead?”

[No, you are not]

A deep, ominous voice responded. It was everywhere, echoing throughout the darkness. A strange glow appeared beneath him. It formed a line, spreading outwards and became a square. The square glowed brightly before filling its inside with vibrant green colours. He could see the grassy landscape through the square. It was like a window into another world. He tried to touch the grass to no avail.

“What is this?”

[The manifestation of your power]

“My power?” Erik asked and recalled the recent event. He could still feel the heat rising off his skin and the sounds of flaming bolts slamming against the earth. “The bastard! I will kill him!”

[It will be quite impossible. Your power is difference than the person you called Lance. His power is classified as offensive. Yours is supportive. It is ill advised to confront him directly. You will only get yourself killed]

“Okay… thanks for the advice,” Erik snorted and pondered about the classification. Offensive and Supportive. Did that mean there was also Defensive. He needed to know them, but before all of that, there was the most important question of all. “Who are you again, voice in my head?”

[…]

“Hello? You’re still there?”

[I am thinking. I was only born yesterday, after all. The best answer I can come up with is: I am you, at least I am a part of your psych]

“That is just great. Now, I have a murderous voice in my head,” Erik deadpanned and turned his gaze towards the grassy square with glowing blue outline. He wondered if he was going insane. He might as well humour the voice. “Alright, how does my power work?”

[Your power worked very much like a strategy game. This is a build tile. It is a grass tile. You can build any kind of structure on this tile. There are currently three type of structures you can build without additional research or advancement. The first –]

“Wait, wait, what!? I have gaming power. This is a tile?”

[…]

“You there?”

[I do not like to be interrupted]

“Uh. Sorry…?” Erik muttered. “Please continue… ummm… what do I call you?”

[I do not have a name, nor I require one]

“I see… well, we will do something about that later. I can’t call you it if you are a part of me,” Erik made a note. “What were you saying about my power? Kind of weird that it’s like a game.”

[A person’s power manifests differently based on each individual skillset and abilities. Do not worry. Unlike most people, your class is one of the unique ones. You are a Strategist. Your ability shines the most when commanding others]

“A strategist, huh?” Erik muttered thoughtfully. That kind of make sense. He rather had people doing all the dirty work for him while he seats back and reaped the benefit. But then again, who doesn’t? It wasn’t a one of a kind mindset. “What would Lance be? Is he a mage?”

[A mage cast spells through incantation or invocation. The one called lance manipulated flames with thoughts and gestures. Furthermore, his conjured flames do not harm him and appeared to be a part of himself]

“So, what is he then?”

[My knowledge only pertaining to your ability and powers]

“Basically, you don’t know,” Erik said and pondered how much did this voice knew. He wanted to ask about Luke and his power, but this voice likely wouldn’t know either. “What were you saying about this tile? The grassy tile right here?”

[Tiles are the foundation of your power. You can build structure upon tiles. These structure in turns give you special ability and skills – such as summons. The more powerful you become, the more tiles are available to you. Thus, it is imperative that you defeat others and absorb their essence]

Erik frowned. He remembered it clearly. The voice had previously told him to kill his best friend and absorb his essence. Was that the reason why Lance killed the others? So that he could be stronger – for what?

“Can a tile be reused?” Erik asked. “If I destroy the building on it, can I put another building there?”

[Yes, you can. Resource is not recoverable, however]

“Resource…? Okay, what resource?”

[To erect any structure on a tile, you require woods, stones, irons and gold. Currently you have 400 woods, 400 stones, 400 irons and 400 golds. You have enough to build a Headquarter or a Barrack or an Armoury. A Headquarter allowed you to overview your entire command structure as well as issue special orders. A Barrack allows you to train units and deploy them against other. An Armoury allows you to improve your unit’s weapons and equipment]

Bewildered, Erik tried to scratch his head. He found he was unable to. “Why can’t I scratch myself?”

[You are only here spiritually. Your physical body is damaged and required extensive healing. Since the one called Lance is still nearby, it is unwise for you to return to your body at this moment. There are also others that woken up before you lurking about. Confrontation with either one them is highly ill-advised]

Erik blinked. “How many?”

[Including Lance, there are 7 total that survived]

“7 people with godlike power,” Erik muttered. Out of almost 48 people on the bus, only 7 survived and gained supernatural power. Were they all going to be like Luke? Or Lance? Murderous lunatic?

“What about Luke?” Erik asked. Luke was the one who started this all. And what about that woman with unnatural white hair? Where was she in all of this?

[I do not see him amongst the survivors. He must have left before anyone wakes up]

“Okay,” Erik said. If he was going to confront Lance or Luke, he needed to know the full extents of his ability. “Tell me all you know about my power.”

Erik learned from the voice that his power worked like a real-time strategy game. He basically built structures, gather resources, recruit units and sent them off to fight. It sounded simple at first, but it quickly becomes complicated when he learned about unit populations and food limits. Like most RTS games, he had to build housing for his “units” and “foods” to keep them. Both required a tile to build on, and there was only one tile available.

Erik knew he had to build a Headquarter first. Having a HQ allowed him to see all the resources he had as well as issuing special commands to his units not to mention unlocking new buildings. It also gives him some foods and housing for his units. But without a Barrack, he couldn’t train any unit. In any case, he still needed to build a HQ first before doing anything.

With a thought, a menu appeared on the tile. He selected the Headquarter and watched it slowly rose from the ground. From the visible architecture, it looked like a medieval building coming right out of fantasy. Its erection stopped when the first spire emerged from the ground. A clock appeared upon the tile. “Count down?”

[You must wait in the outside world for the construction to complete. It is ill-advised to return to the outside world]

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Erik said and went over a few things in his mind. He couldn’t leave now on the account of Lance or whatever craze lunatic his schoolmate had become. Unlike him, they might gain offensive-type ability. Just seeing Lance in action first hand showed him how dangerous they could become. Luke might not seem much at first glance, but his ability to stop time made him almost invincible. Would surprise attack works? If so, a sniper rifle from afar should do the trick.

As for Lance, there were several ways to deal with the human-torch. It was strange that his clothes didn’t burn right off. His flames only burn whatever he wanted to burn. What about the other six people. What kind of power did they gained, and could anyone gain this kind of power?

“Say, did everyone gain a power?”

[No. Only those pure of spirit and heart may gain a power]

“Pure of spirt and heart – right,” Erik snorted. “I don’t think I’m qualified.”

[You are a virgin. That is all that mattered]

“Is that the requirement?” Erik uttered. “What if you lose it after you gain your power?”

[Pure of spirit and heart is only required of gaining a power. After which, it’s no longer matter]

“What if you’re not a virgin when you try to gain a power?”

[You will die a violent death – or worst]

“There’s something worse than death?”

[Your awakened power consumes your mind, body and spirit. You will become the embodiment of your living hell… something like that]

Erik sweat-dropped. “Is that what happened to Lance…?”

[No. The one called Lance is in control. You will know when he is no longer in control]

Erik narrowed his eyes. “You are hiding something?”

[I am you, and I am not you. Let’s just say I am what will remain at the end. That is all you need to know for now, Erik Summers. You should rest your mind. The longer you stayed in this realm, the more draining it is on your psych. I too must rest]

Then there was total silence. The only light in the darkness was from the glowing blue tile with the HQ being built upon it.

“Why do I feel I made a pact with the devil,” Erik muttered and closed his eyes to get some rest. The pain brought him back to reality. He gasped as he opened his eyes at the burning sky. The forest was burning. He could hear the distance helicopter as it ferried water back and forth.

“L-lance,” Erik mustered all the moisture in his mouth to say before rolling onto his belly. He pushed himself off the ground and saw the ghastly sight of his own hands. He was badly burned. His whole body was aching. He soon collapsed and faded into unconscious from the pain.

[Construction completed. Headquarter built]

Unit: 0/10

Gold: 100/1000 (+0)

Wood: 0/1000 (+0)

Stone: 200/1000 (+0)

Iron: 200/1000 (+0)

Food: 0/1000 (+10)