"The story I'm about to tell you is not a pleasant one. It is the tale of a cruel and unforgiving world. It is a tale of loss; a tale of feral dominance. A tale of how calamity befell this world, and made it what it is today." - Vagrant S.F.

  - - Astra: Zero - -

  Mystic Reverie, one of the most widely popular and beloved MMO-RPG's of its time, launched worldwide on the first of January, in 2104. With an unprecedented array of character options, players could truly be whatever they wanted within the bounds of this fantasy setting, equipped with an equally wide array of weapons, skills and spells. Some chose to be shining heroes, while some chose more dark, even Eldritch routes. Now, in 2134, the game has run its course, and is preparing to shut down after three decades of service, updates and a persistent, player-driven world.

  New Year's Eve, in a player-owned structure known as Arx Divum, at the top of the central tower. The local "zone" is labeled as the "Atelier", the main point of operation for one player in particular named Astra Caelum, who is presently viewing the world outside his flying castle through one of the enormous windows. "Minutes to midnight," he murmured through the impenetrable darkness under his hood, "and then it's the end. I have to be awake in the morning, but... I should at least see this out. The end of this world, that is. It's a shame, really. I put a lot of work into this place, not to mention time."

  As Astra watched the clock on his HUD, or Heads-Up Display, tick the seconds away, he closed his eyes. Then, as it struck midnight, Astra was struck with a sharp static sound followed by a deafening silence. Time marched on, the clock ticking away.

  When Astra awoke next, the sun was cresting over the horizon, painting the sky in beautiful hues of purple and blue around a brilliant amber glow. "What?" Astra asked to nobody in particular, "Did they push back the shut-down time? No, wait... Where's my HUD? A-And my console?" Following the same motions he'd used to summon that familiar console in the game, Astra's attempts were to no avail.

  "Okay," he sighed, "calm down. I've held onto my identity as a player. Or... I guess not, huh? If I remember, there's a vanity in the Atelier." Before Astra had a chance to finish his chain of thoughts, a voice rang out inside his mind. "Affirmative," it said in a somewhat robotic manner, "all items, furniture and structures within Arx Divum have been verified."

  "WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!" Astra, all but squealing in shock, asked the voice, who answered with a calm, almost soothing "Salutations. I am the result of your unique skill-"

  "I'mma stop you right there, friend," Astra interrupted, "I don't wanna deal with copyright, so I'll just call you Athena for the sake of my own sanity." The interruption caused the voice to pause, as if a little stunned, before a faint noise like an electronic hum resounded.

  "Confirmed," she replied, "Unique skill successfully renamed to Athena." This confirmation was met with a nod. "Good. We can't have producers hunting us down."

  "Definition of 'Producers' was not found." Athena said, which was answered with a quick "Good" from Astra. If he didn't have to explain it, he neither wanted to, nor was he going to. "Anyroad, you said that everything was accounted for, right? Including the structural integrity of the castle?"

  "Affirmative," she replied, "a cursory scan indicated that the structure known as Arx Divum is intact and that all items therein are accounted for."

  "I see. That would mean that the scanning range is enough to encompass the whole of the castle at least." Thinking to himself, Astra pondered the possibilities. Athena, his unique skill which was abruptly renamed after the Greek Goddess of Wisdom, reminded him of a manga he'd read. It was about a middle aged man who was reincarnated as a slime monster. It was one of his favorites, so much so that he'd watched the entire anime, the movies and even read the light novel source material.

  "Athena, are you capable of changing my perspective? I'd like to look at myself. For science." While it wasn't a conventional request, Astra lowered his hood as he asked, revealing his face. Athena, who obliged the request, shifted Astra's perspective to a third-person view that he could control. It had already dawned on him that his voice wasn't what he was used to, sounding younger, not to mention feminine.

  "I'll be damned," he hummed. Looking at himself, Astra noticed that his avatar, which was now his body, was more alive than the game's graphics made it seem. He had long hair, like a waterfall of white that fell below his belt, and shimmering eyes like pools of platinum. His alabaster skin was surprisingly smooth, and he, in his own words, was "stunning for a... dude? Dudette? I actually can't tell, nor do I remember what gender I made the character."

  Athena answered almost immediately. "At present, you are sexless. Due to the androgynous nature of your body, a gender could not be assigned." This information hit Astra like a sack of bricks, and he let out a somewhat depressed sounding groan. "Well, damn. Guess I'm getting sued later. Anyways, why do I look like I've been traumatized after swapping perspectives?"

  "Due to your consciousness being dislocated from your body, your body has entered a dormant state. At present, your body is uninhibited. Would you like to return to it?"

  "Yeah," Astra sighed, "might as well." Returned to his body, Astra shuddered. It was such a a bizarre feeling that he honestly didn't want to do it again. Looking around, he made his way to the window he had been looking out of prior to the incident. The sun had risen, and he could see much of the world outside. "I guess I should get some information... Athena, what happened to my HUD and console?"

  "Definitions of 'HUD' and 'console' were not found. Surmising breakdown of the status of the individual Astra Caelum is requested. All magic and skills are accounted for. Status is nominal." Astra began to wonder, taking Athena's report into account. Of course, he thought that there was a likelihood that he might be subject to many of the tropes that come with the territory in the land of Isekai light novels, manga and anime.

  "Do I have an Appraisal skill, by chance?" He asked, to which Athena replied with "No. However, the unique skill 'Starsight' is present."

  "Starsight? Is that like a clairvoyance skill?"

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  "Starsight," Athena explained, "is a unique skill combining the Clairvoyance, Magic Sense, and Appraisal skills. It allows the user to read detailed information regarding items, people, monsters, places, etcetera."

  "Neat," Astra chimed. "So it's like a supercharged multitool." While he was glad to have it, he couldn't recall any such ability existing in Mystic Reverie. Beyond any shadow of a doubt, Starsight and Athena were two abilities entirely new to Astra.

  "Well, sitting around all day is going to get me nowhere fast, so I should probably roll out. I can't imagine much will get done otherwise." Pulling his hood back up, Astra made his way to the door of the Atelier. In the game, Astra needed only to touch the door and he'd be transported to wherever he wanted to go by opening it. It was effectively a wormhole, if classical physics were to be taken into account. However, when he opened the door, he was met with what looked like another small, circular room. "That's new," Astra mused, blinking a few times as he tried to process what he was looking at. It matched the renaissance-meets-scifi-fantasy aesthetic of Arx Divum as a whole, so it wasn't terribly out of place, but Astra couldn't shake the feeling that this was a new addition. It kind of reminded him of an elevator shaft.

  ... Or a really small closet.

  "It seems Arx Divum got a bit of a remodel while I was out cold. Athena, what can you tell me about this room?"

  "Analysis complete," Athena chimed. "This room appears to be a warp chamber, linked to several other points within Arx Divum, including external towers. There is a spacial transference circle engraved in the floor."

  Nodding, Astra stepped inside, turning as he reached the center of the room. The circle activated, and he was teleported to the entrance of Arx Divum, otherwise referred to as Floor Zero. "I guess it's no different than switching zones. Athena, is there a secondary path to reach the other floors?"

  Athena's answer was a succinct "No" which was followed by the explanation that such paths would require an extensive overhaul of Arx Divum's structure. On one hand, that made Astra feel a little better, knowing that Arx Divum would not be easily breached except Floor Zero, which was the entire point of the way it was constructed. Of course, there was also the sub floors, but to break the lock on them would require him to transfer ownership of Arx Divum.

  Yeah, that's going to be a big ol' nope.

  "I probably ought not to stand out too much until I know what I'm stepping into." This musing was met with a bit of a realization. "Even without the console, I can feel it. How much MP I have, my magic, the range of my spells, their attack power if they have any, cooldown and windup times, and even how much MP they cost. And then there seems to be my skills as well. They don't have the same properties, but I can sense them. In Mystic Reverie, every class had specific spells, skills and other abilities they had access to. Some even overlapped. But I'm noticing that my usual class abilities got reworked. Spells and skills got merged, optimized and reorganized while I wasn't looking."

  "No. Maybe it'd be more accurate to say they evolved."

  As Astra pondered and thought about his present situation, he made his way outside. Floor Zero, which had been the only publicly accessible floor of Arx Divum, was in itself a vast complex that could have been a castle all its own. Stepping out onto the outer ring, Astra felt a gust of wind hit him, causing the heavy black cape that had shrouded much of his visage to billow out like the wings of a raven, revealing the gleaming white armor beneath in its entirety. The wind was strong enough to knock his hood back, revealing his face as well. In a way, Astra seemed majestic, standing with his hand resting upon the short wall that lined the outside of the ring. Though not physically attached, it acted as a safety barrier. In truth, Arx Divum had been given such a sense of scale that Astra was amazed he'd built such a structure.

  "Void Star," Astra called, "come forth." His call was met with a black, star-shaped platform rising up from beneath him like a shadow come to life, which he rode down to the surface. It was originally a crossover item from another game, but had been reworked after his awakening into a summonable mount. Remembering his earlier statement, Astra thought it best to change his outfit before anyone could see him. Thanks to Athena, it was nearly instantaneous. Astra's armor was replaced, and his outfit was far less imposing. He'd changed his outfit into a simple black, sleeveless shirt that hung below his belt, and baggy white pants that stopped just under his calves. His feet were covered by plain-looking black slippers, and his hair had been tied back with a black bow.

  Frankly, he looked like an androgynous, albeit girly adolescent, maybe fifteen or sixteen years old, probably from some nomadic tribe if that was a thing. Moreover, his cape and hood were stowed, and the Void Star was put away, leaving Astra in freefall. With a stylish flip, Astra readjusted his position, and black wings materialized at his shoulder blades. He referred to them as "Void Wings", which enabled the ability to glide; an ability he took full advantage of as he took in the sights of the world below.

  "This is gorgeous," he hummed. "Don't get me wrong, the developers of Mystic Reverie had the graphics on point, but this is something else." As Astra glided through the open skies, he took in as much of the sights as he could, all too happy to be alive. Before much longer, Astra found what appeared to be a village, and dove into the forest to avoid detection. He stuck the landing with an iconic superhero pose, and stood slowly with a smug grin.

  "Nailed it."

  Even at just the edge, the forest was lush and vibrant, full of life and wonder. Walking softly, Astra made his way toward the village, having Athena map the area that he'd flown over, starting from Arx Divum.

  "Athena," Astra thought to his skill, "what are the odds I was spotted when I touched down? I'd like to avoid spooking the villagers if I can help it." The question was met with a low percentage, and Astra nodded. He was relieved, but at the same time, not entirely sure what kind of people he'd be dealing with.

  As he approached the village, he noticed that it was almost entirely undefended. There wasn't even a fence or guard towers. "What's with this place? Is it abandoned?"

  Athena chimed with a cautious "No" before continuing on to explain "Multiple signs of life have been detected ahead. It can be surmised that this village is extremely poor, resulting in it being prone to monster attacks, bandits and other dangers."

  "Speaking of," Astra growled, his expression darkening as he heard the first scream nearby. It didn't come from the village itself, rather somewhere to his right, along the edge of the forest. This prompted him to turn and run in the direction of the sound. "Lightweave," Astra called out with a swipe of his hand, a sword of light materializing in his grasp, "Summon Sword!"

  Arriving on scene, Astra found the source of the scream, a young girl under threat by the very bandits that Athena mentioned. Her clothes were shredded, and she was barely able to cover herself. While still in motion, Astra bounced so he was only a few feet off the ground and turned, delivering a swift slash to the criminal's back before landing and sliding backwards, arm outstretched to one side. It wasn't enough to kill the man, but enough to get his attention.

  "The hell are you?!" The bandit roared, his leather harness falling from his body as he turned. Deciding on a form, Astra's sword of light solidified into what appeared to be a type of rapier with a long, thin blade. "I think you've done enough here," Astra growled, clearly agitated by the scene in front of him. "I'll give you three options. You can submit, you can run, or you can die."

  "Like I'd submit to a scrawny little girl like you!" The bandit laughed, licking his lips. The absolute misgender made Astra's eye twitch, and he switched to a proper combat stance with the sword in front of him. "Death it is," he growled, walking toward the girl while keeping his weapon trained on the bandit. "Are you okay, miss?"

  The girl, who had been watching, nodded with tear-filled eyes and a blush on her cheeks. "Good. Hang onto this for me." Astra's free hand pulled his iconic cape from the bag on his hip, and tossed it to the girl, giving her something to cover up with. She draped the heavy black cape over her shoulders, and held it closed in front of her as she stood, the white fur mantle seemingly providing a level of comfort for her.

  There was a moment of silence before the battle began in earnest, the bandit drawing a dagger and lunging at Astra. Deflecting the attacks was easy enough, and the bandit's form was sloppy at best. He certainly wasn't a seasoned fighter, but he wasn't a rookie either. Astra, still figuring out how to attack properly, stayed on the defensive, getting used to the pacing of combat in this new world. With Athena's help, Astra was able to spot openings and exploit them, wearing the bandit down until he could no longer fight.

  "You some kind of adventurer or what?" the bandit asked, out of breath and no longer able to even stand. He was covered from head to toe in cuts and bruises, while Astra was unscathed. Astra understood that none of the bandit's wounds were fatal, and he didn't care to kill him at the moment. Instead, he opted to simply silver a swift kick up to the man's jaw, knocking him out.

  As he turned to the girl, Astra's expression softened and he seemed to smile a bit. "You must be pretty frightened. Does your family live in this village?" His tone was soft, even comforting as his weapon dissipated and he approached the girl, who responded with a nod. "Y-Yes," she stuttered, still shaken from the encounter. "Good," Astra sighed, "let's get you home."