With clarity came the pain.
Dragan grabbed his forehead to keep his skull from bursting. It wasn't helping.
His vision was blurry, making it impossible to make out his surroundings.
There was light, that much was obvious. It was not consistent, brightening and dimming at regular intervals.
He could swear the pulses of his headache were timed to the cycle.
His back was on a smooth, solid surface. The material was metal. Or maybe plastic. Definitely not the old, uneven asphalt of the park road.
Was I taken to a hospital after collapsing in the park?
Whatever it was, lying on it made his body as stiff as a piece of wood.
With large, clumsy movements he made his attempt at getting on his feet. It was a slow and laborious endeavor. A couple of times he almost stumbled back to the ground.
By the time he stood up, as straight as a hunchback, his vision cleared enough to be able to observe his surroundings.
I know the country's hospitals are not in good shape, but this is too gloomy even for them.
He was in a large, round corridor.
The first thing that attracted his attention was the light sources. Along each side of the corridor, there was a pipe emitting white light. Periodically, a pulse of brighter light would move along its length, as if something was being pushed through it. Every time that happened, he could hear a sound reminiscent of electricity coursing through a conduit. One pipe had pulses moving the opposite way compared with the other pipe.
The light revealed a floor that was made of sheets of dark gray metal and walls covered in clusters of dark pipes, cables, and tubes. Spread at regular intervals were rib-like support structures made out of a slightly lighter-colored material.
There was a slight curvature to the corridor, so the visibility was limited to a few dozen meters in each direction.
[WELCOME]
A slightly transparent, off-white screen with black text appeared in front of his eyes.
"What the f–"
It was so sudden that he shouted and instinctively jumped back.
His heart almost jumped out of his chest, too.
[UNIVERSAL INTERFACE ONLINE]
It's just a message?
After calming down a little, he realized that the screen kept the same distance even when he moved.
Is it tied to me? My eyes?
To test this, he moved his eyes around. The screen kept the same position, right in the middle of his field of vision.
Is this some kind of augmented reality?
Dragan scratched his head.
[REGISTERING THE INDIVIDUAL DRAGAN MATIC]
It knows my name?
As someone who was paranoid about online privacy, he didn't like that.
A random screen popping up on his retina and knowing his name made him feel very uncomfortable.
[DRAGAN MATIC REGISTERED]
I'm registered? Will it now ask for a subscription fee?
A lame joke, made in order to relieve the tension that threatened to suffocate him.
[PRESENTING FULL STATISTICAL ANALYSIS...]
[EXP: 0/100]
[EXISTENCE LEVEL: 0]
[ENERGY CAPACITY: 55/100% (45% RESERVED)]
[CHANNEL LIMIT: 1]
[MODULES LOADED: CARAPACE Lv1]
[ACTIVE EFFECTS: CARAPACE Lv1]
[.]
[…]
[...]
[ERROR]
[CALIBRATION INCOMPLETE]
[EXISTENCE LEVEL TOO LOW]
[FURTHER FUNCTIONALITIES WILL BE UNLOCKED UPON COMPLETED CALIBRATION]
Dragan blankly stared at the sudden infodump. It wasn't quite a wall of text but the sheer amount of gibberish was having the same mind-numbing effect.
Is this… a system?
He almost laughed.
It was obviously a system.
He was genre-savvy enough to have some idea what a system suddenly appearing in your head meant. Reincarnation, divine favor, cheat abilities…
It could also mean he went crazy and this is how it manifested because of all the video games he played.
At least that's what I'd think if I wasn't in this creepy place. I refuse to believe I'm so off the rails I can hallucinate all of this!
[WARNING!!!]
A system message popped out again.
Still, tho, why is it in English?
[YOU ARE PRESENTLY LOCATED OUT OF BOUNDS OF NATIVE REALITY EARTH]
[IT IS ADVISED TO QUICKLY RETURN]
The three lines the system rapidly fired at him made his blood chill.
What do you mean I am out of bounds of Earth? Am I in space? And how do I return? It's not like there is a signpost Earth is this way!
An idea came to him.
The system warned him, so it obviously didn't want him to die. He decided to try communicating with it.
"How do I get back to Earth?"
…No response.
The complete lack of acknowledgment made him feel stupid for trying.
"No quest markers in this game, huh," he mumbled.
He looked in both directions. Neither stood out. Or looked inviting.
There was a growing urge in his mind to just lie down and go to sleep.
Best case scenario, he wakes up in his bed and this was all a dream.
Worst case scenario, he wakes up on an alien operating table.
Actually, let's not go to sleep.
After rummaging a bit through his pockets, he pulled out his smartphone. It was completely dead. Unsure himself what he was expecting, the result was disappointing nonetheless.
Sighing, he picked a random direction and began moving.
His steps caused a dull sound, but fortunately there was no echo.
He would be too scared to walk if his every step reverberated through the structure.
If this is even a structure.
The coiling tubes had an eerily organic vibe to them. Like muscle tissue.
Steps paused.
I really, REALLY don't need that image in my head right now.
Trying to focus on the path in front and ignoring the walls and their tubes, he began moving again.
Five minutes passed in a monotonous walk. No niches, no branching pathways, no side rooms, only the same old curve of the corridor.
Sound reached him before he saw it.
A figure? A person?
They were squatting under one of the glowing pipes, doing something to the wall, one of their limbs disappearing between the tubes.
Dragan just observed it for a few moments.
Anxiety was causing him to shake.
Communication was difficult for him in day-to-day life. In this alien place? Downright terrifying.
Still, he couldn't just ignore it and walk past.
Deciding to get a better look, he carefully approached the figure.
A few steps away and their shape became clearer.
It was a humanoid. Their head was completely hidden behind a black, round helmet. The body was completely covered by a black, heavy, work suit.
"H-hello!"
Finally mustering some courage, Dragan called out. He spoke in English. Compared to his mother tongue, it was the language more likely to be understood.
The figure stopped its actions.
They turned their head towards Dragan as they lifted themselves.
The helmet was a completely featureless, smooth surface.
With even steps, they approached him.
"I-I am lost here, sir…"
Dragan began to speak, but the words died in his throat when they turned their whole body towards him.
Their right arm was missing from the shoulder down.
The figure stopped only a step away.
This close, Dragan could see scratches and large cracks on the helmet, as well as pieces of metal plates scattered haphazardly over the suit.
Something was in their hand, but they held it close to the body and the shadows made it difficult to see.
The helmeted head moved a little, drawing his attention to it.
Something told him he was being inspected.
"I'm s-sorry, can you help?"
He mumbled the question, anxiety compounded by several different factors threatening to crush his throat.
Suddenly, a dull pain.
It caught him by surprise.
Shocked, he lowered his eyes downwards. A long blade… a knife? a short sword? was sticking into the folds of his jacket.
It was held by the person in black.
Dragan couldn't see the point of contact, but it was clear what they had done.
They stabbed him.