WAKE UP

  Pain and darkness consume me, my eyelids are heavy, and it feels like an elephant is sitting on my chest... and why do I feel so heartbroken?

  "Are you just gonna keep being dramatic? or are you going to get up?" Said The 1st

  "Not this dream again... or is this sleep paralysis? ugh this is going to suck"

  "Not a dream... the time for dreams has long since passed thanks to the 9th"

  "Well then how do you explain the fact that you just responded to me despite the fact I can't move my throat or lips to speak right now?"

  "Because I'm stuck in your soul... listen can you just get up? I know you're going to freak the fuck out and I really don't want to miss that"

  "Why would I freak out? this is not my first time having this dream... nor my first time with waking up you know"

  "that's because you're in the body of the 9th right now... and that makes a big difference"

  "Okay who is the 9th and why don't you just say their name?? is Nineth their name??"

  "You would not believe me if I told you, old friend"

  "Okay I know I don't know you so... why are you calling me that bud"

  "Hmm... just because you don't remember me doesn't mean I've forgotten you... Or how much I owe you for the shit I put you through... so... I'm going to help you as best I can... before I hand the reins over to the proper administrator... but I'll be here for whenever you want me... though once you know who I am... I doubt you will be very thrilled to have me along for the ride... outside of my help of course... did I say how sorry I was for what I've done???"

  "Okay I've dealt with enough kids to see through bullshit... and yet you seem to be somewhat honest here... but you're also very very nervous... what did you do..."

  "Not very important right now... and besides you can always check the journals if you're that interested... so are you going to get up or would you like some help... there is even a mirror by the bedside so you can see what I mean"

  As soon as the smooth and silky voice said that I felt my left hand move on its own... far far faster than I ever would have thought possible... my mind must still be groggy... but boy am I glad the sleep paralysis is lifting... but that weight is still there... most only be my arm that woke up...and would you know it a handle I don't remember being on my bedside table is right there... in fact... I'm pretty sure the texture of my sheets are different... well I am still dreaming so it makes sense that I'd have nicer things...

  I raise the handle above me instinctively and position it in front of my face after getting a feel for it... is this thing made of crystal or something?... this is a weird dream... in fact this whole thing seems rather familiar... and yet as my head clears further... a sudden thought seems to be humming from within my subconscious... "It's always the same... they just chase from one thrill to the next... mindlessly going from place to place... taking what they want... doing what they want... their sense of decency degrading as time goes on... their sense of adventure fleeing to the banality of the familiarity of the setting... and their sense of scientific taste dulling for far baser appetites... DISGUSTING"

  - CODA. the feeling of pure and utter contempt and Wrath can be felt... the sheer arrogance required to look down on others to the degree where someone could feel that... and the self-loathing of knowing their own hypocrisy... I've never known these feelings myself... and never so strongly... I'm starting to wonder... is this really a dream

  WAKEY WAKEY

  I began to genuinely start focusing on what I can feel... and... I don't know... if I can believe it... to start with... I normally wear clothes to bed... and it would seem my skin is directly exposed to both my covers and sheets... both of which seem unfamiliar... I normally also sleep on a small cot... this feels a lot larger than that...and then... I don't know if I want to open my eyes to actually look and confirm... is that what I'm pretty sure I'm feeling... is that what I think it is... both hands on the mirror I really don't want to move... and risk getting confirmation of the fear that is continuing to rise... I'm afraid of what will happen if I speak now that I feel like I can...of what that will mean... I decide that... now is the time to face the music...

  OPEN YOUR EYES AND SEE THE TRUTH

  "Oh... Oh my"

  the voice comes out like a Melody all on it's... as if an entire chorus is competing to outdo each other and somehow succeeding without making the others sound bad... it's hard to tell where one note begins and the other ends... I'm pretty sure no human ears should be able to hear this well. Its honestly a lot to take in... the moment my eyes opened it's like the whole rooms was right next to my face... and my... my ... my... i can't believe this... is this my body... WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE

  "So gorgeous, I know you're too composed to let it show but how are you feeling... I helped design that body to try and pay back some of my debt... so I'd love to hear what you think of it"

  Right the voice in my head... somehow hearing voices became the least crazy thing that's happened this morning.

  "Tell me now... What is going on here"

  "Would love to... but uh what do you want me to tell you about... I know that body of yours well enough... but... the situation that led you here... I don't know too much about that"

  "Then tell me what you do know" I ask as I rise from the sheets... realizing that yes, I am indeed buck ass naked, and I somehow can see every inch of not just this room, even though things that should be blocking my view, but of this body I seem to have been shoved in... I decide to try and get dressed and look around my new environment as I listen...

  "... well about that see that is complicated but in essence to sum it all up very quickly... to give you all the cliff notes... once upon a time there were 9 servants of an incredible powerful god... these servants ascended to follow this god and passed their power down their lineages until it reached a certain generation... then the first bloodline was corrupted by an outsider god...and then that bloodline become known as the 1st Apostles bloodline the other 8 tried to play a game fuck/marry/kill to these bloodline members to try and fix the problem... but they also ended up falling to that corruption one by one...except the nineth who decided they would rather die than allow their power to fall in to the wrong hands... but the corpses remained... so the eight extracted and grinded every last drop of essence from the body of all dead members of the nineth bloodline... and began following their new master from world to world trying to find a perfect vessel to house it... I'm sure you can guess most of what happened from there... but to sum it all up the nineth killed seven out of eight bloodlines... and redeemed one"

  "And that one was you right?"

  "While it is my bloodline that was redeemed... I would hardly consider myself to be... not after how much I've done in the interim"

  "So... where am I... I've clearly been kidnapped... and brought here... you clearly know the person who did this to me... or you did it yourself... so why me... and why did you do it like this... did this nineth tell you to?"

  "Lots of questions... I'll answer these and then I'm going to sleep for a while until you need my help with the powers part... as that is what I'm meant to do... help you with the body... and also in combat and social situations... now in order: You're in your new Home in another universe... you haven't been kidnapped you agreed to this even though you didn't know the details, Already said that I knew the 9th and I know you to a degree too but I don't know the others as that was 9th's part in this... and as for why you? Find the damned journal and read through it... everything 9th thought you'd want to know is in there"

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "I could feel him leave, was that a guy? bit hard to tell with all that's going on...welp... might as well try to orient myself properly... this place is pretty big... clearly it's meant to entertain a lot of guests... but it's currently empty... from up on the balcony of the building I woke up in I can see that this is a rather large" larger complex with walls taller than any of the buildings... no one's on the streets... no noise outside of what I myself am making, not even wind just dead quiet... and even then I can feel just how much noise I want to make, I know that the noise I make passively is beyond what any natural sense could hear... this new body of mine... has many advantages... and to be honest... I don't seem to mind?... was my mind tampered with?... or is this just natural to me? I mean it's not like I hated what I was before... did I?... no I think not... but clearly weird shit and magic is real so... who knows how reliable my memories are... I'm normally pretty good at taking things in stride but... this seems unusual even for me... another change? or just shock... or maybe that voice was telling the truth... maybe I decided to do this?... but why would I choose to forget? and what was that about a journal? well might as well start with figuring out this new body..."

  "I just threw on whatever to cover up earlier... as I didn't really want to focus on... my new assets so to speak... but until I know more about what's going on... I'm probably stuck like this for awhile... so time to face the music... So I look around... to see what there is to see... a rather large number of residential buildings lies over that way must be the communal living section... another over there with the fortifications that must be the barracks...and it seems the barracks are right next to the only gate... that must be how I leave this place... but I need to explore... so I'll stay here for now... this place seems safe... hmm there... that the commerce district I'm sure... this whole place seems a little plain... maybe I can spruce it up later... I was told this place belongs to me after all... So, hmm clothing storage is right there... no price tags... well there isn't anyone here so... that would make sense... hmm not everything is in my size... that actually does surprise me... I thought sense this place was clearly created for me... maybe these are for any guests? that's the only thing that could be... so that makes sense to me... let's find something I'll be comfortable wearing... then I'll hit the bathhouse and figure this all out..."

  "Hmm this is literally my first day... I think I'll stick with something simply... geez who made this place... it's so fucking massive... and everything is like a thousand thread... it's all so high quality... if mostly bland... hmm I think I'll stick with something that covers more than that thank you very much... at least for now... I mean, I did go around shirtless from time to time before this happened so... it's not too different... i mean... it is just exposed skin after all... but not right now... and now that I'm looking... yeah I've been avoiding it but... underwear... yeah... going to need that stuff now... so... and this body is far more developed... let us hope the instincts kick in again to help... alright got the new clothing... time to go..."

  "Okay... this is so awkward... why did I think this was a good idea... and did I really agree to put myself in this position??? well nothing for it... and now I know what I look like... My hair... is typically rests around my shoulder blades... why did this girl have so much hair? was she afraid it wouldn't grow back if cut?... and its color... okay seriously... what in the name of all that is holy is going on with color... is it my eyes?... I mean I seem to see in new ways with these eyes so... it's not out of the question that my sense of color changed... but I think... I don't think my hair is actually rainbow color, right?... no surely that's just my eyes playing tricks on my... everything around me tends to have a rainbow hue afterall... I'm pretty those colors help me understand temperature... and those are taste... do I have synesthesia? I think so? that would explain all the weirdness with these senses... but... maybe it's something more supernatural instead?... after all things are weird here... but yeah... so... I seem to have fairer skin? it's really hard to tell... I really need to figure out how these eyes work... I seem to be sensitive and yet I'm rather rigid in various places... hmm do human even have this much adaptability? nope I'm pretty sure half this shit is impossible... at least without breaking something... okay I know for a fact that should hurt... this thing is surprisingly robust... well then, I've tested clothing... I've seen my appearance... though without knowing the measurements it's hard to say exactly where I lie on most other things... I need a benchmark to go further... now then... I wonder... What can I do?... might as well try and find the largest building in town... well hmm so this place Is pretty big. but honestly, I'm starting to think the walls might be the best place to go as even from here in the highest room of the tallest tower I still can't see over those things... which is good... if I need to defend myself, I know those walls will keep me safe... but... For Science... and I'm sure I can always come back here whenever... right?

  "Well, I've found some really cool spots... but a lot of this stuff is just repetitive... I think I'm gonna love it here though... as a resting ground this place is awesome... though it needs some work... I guess I should check the perimeter now, see what's going on in the barracks, then up the walls, then around... and see what the watchtowers have for me..."

  "These barracks are rather nice... though there's that number again, 9... it repeats a lot here 8 member squads with their leader... and that leader reports to their leader who has 8 other's to deal with... that's a lot of math... and these barracks seem to lead into the walls... and continue there... oh there's some barracks on the outside... is that another wall? are you telling me... I'm just at the center... of a massive... something? city? complex? whatever it's going to be called... and all that time I spent exploring the inner portions... I could have been out here in the first place? so much wasted opportunity now I need to figure out which of these outer sections is the best for what... oooooh this is gonna be sooooo much fun"

  And after a truly ludicrous amount of exploration the kind of which only would be interesting if the past of the thing held significance... they finally make to the final wall... Jesus Fuck-mothering Christ...

  "That was soooo much fun... how many outfits have I gone through... how many walls? recounting all those steps is gonna take an eternity..."

  "Well, here I am... at the end... man I need to rest but I want to see what the last thing is... just one peak couldn't hurt..."

  looking past the final wall... nothing but ashes remain a desolate hellscape... large wounds and gashes... marks of endless toil... all for naught...

  "This... is kind of sad... and very uncomfortable to look at... I'm very disappointed... surely there is something out there... right... it can't just be this city... right?... I mean... this city has all I need... indefinitely... but... I can't just stay here alone... even the voice... isn't here right now... and what about the other 7... I don't know anything about them... and yet... I think I'm gonna stay here for now... I'm not done with this city just yet... but maybe... I really hope it's not just me and that voice... I don't think me and them are gonna be friends if they're the only option to spend time with..."

  "Hmm... I kind of want some friends here... this place it's just not the same on my own... I think I'll last for a while longer... I can handle this... yeah... I still have all my new stuff to look at... and I can... maybe I don't know... open a shop there? yeah... I like that... I really need help here... this is far too much ground to cover... maybe I should find something to help make travel easier? maybe make something... or maybe find someone who specializes in transport?... this isolation is getting pretty intense... hey voice where are you?... right... you said you're meant to help me in combat... and social situations... but I'm alone... there's no one to fight... and no one to care about... this kind of sucks... all this room... all these things... and I'm alone... I'm sure that everything back homes either okay or beyond my reach... after all if I ran out into those endless looking wastes... I don't even know what direction would be to home...come to think of it... it's been a really long time and I'm still not hungry... how long have I been here? this places is starting to get a little old... exploring new stuff is fun and all... but unless I'm gonna start naming dolls and doing voices for them I really need someone else here... that voice from earlier said something about journals right? maybe I should look for one of those?"

  Hmm why was this journal stored under this tarp? hmm... it's bound

  "Whelp let's get this baby open... nice and easy"

  "It's started up again... this time it was Spencer... after what those bastards did to him... will Martha ever forgive me? she trusted me to look after him... it was only for a week... and not even 2 days after she left..."

  "Where's the rest of it?..."

  "Have you not figured it out?"

  "Oh, you're back..."

  "..."

  "Nice to hear you again... so how do I leave here."

  "Are you sure you're ready too?"

  "no... I'm not sure."

  "Then let me help you... ask your questions and I'll answer"

  "What can I do?"

  "Bwhahahaha... what Can't you do darling... sorry sorry... you can interact with the environment If you can get your baring's... but... it's a lot more complicated than that... I'm not very good at explaining things to you... never been my forte"

  "Why are you making this so hard?"

  "That is not my intentions... it's just that... my methods wouldn't suit you... so... how about I show you a few things I can do... and you can find out how you'd like to do something similar?"

  "That sounds alright... by the way... what's your name?"

  "Ah I suppose I should introduce myself properly... it's only right, it's just that... well I forgot who I was talking to... Former First Apostle of the order of the beast... Dedric, Velleman, Sanguinus, at your Eternal Service."