*gasp, gasp
"ugh!"
[Host's heart beat is reaching dangerous levels]
a mechanical voice announced.
"F*ck! This is so frustrating... Is there really nothing I can do in this pathetic situation?"
Beep!
[Warning!]
[You're being forcibly removed from the vessel for safety reasons.]
.
.
.
In a void space,
[Total karma earned: 20]
A mechanical voice chimed in.
"Answer me, why did you eject me from that world at such a serious moment?"
[It's an emergency precaut-
"Hell with that!" Von snapped. "I'm already annoyed by the sudden forced exit, and on top of that, because of your lousy management, I, the victim, have to clean up your mess."
[...]
*scoff*
"Being quiet now, are we? So tell me... who the heck is &%!#^? What's their deal?"
[You cannot access this information.]
"Stubborn until the very end, huh? Just like that day you barged into my ordinary life and dumped me into this miserable situation."
Von could recall his first encounter with the system vividly, as if it just happened yesterday.
.
.
.
He was at his college graduation day, when he, heading home, suddenly noticed a bus speeding towards him. It was far away, but for some reason, he kept walking toward it instead of stepping aside.It felt like he had totally lost control of his body, and he was freaking out about why his body was moving on its own.
Suddenly-
"Ahhhhhh!!!"
He let out a scream.
*thud
He found himself lying on the ground, the road dripping with red, and the air thick with the metallic scent of blood.
'Is this really how it ends? Am I actually going to die like this?' Von thought, just before he considered closing his eyes. But then everything around him turned grey and froze in place.
A robotic voice broke the silence:
[We, the system, apologize, Mr. Von Lindell. There was an error in surveillance, and a worm slipped into your world, leading to this unfortunate outcome.]
Von was completely taken aback.
"What do you mean... error? worm?... Who are you and what's going on?"
[The worm has latched onto you, Mr. Lindell.]
In that moment, realization hit him hard, and he asked,
"Wait, is our world... just a bunch of data?"
The idea freaked him out and made him question everything, even reality itself. He really hoped the voice would tell him it wasn't true, but his hopes betrayed him. How ironical that his name, Von meant 'hope'.
[Yes, you're correct, Mr. Lindell.]
The truth was shocking, but that robotic voice didn't really give him a moment to take all the information in.
[Mr. Lindell, since it was mismanagement on our part, we will make amends by giving you two choices]
"..." the whole absurdity baffled him.
As if ignoring his silence, the robotic voice continued.
[Here are your choices:
1. Get rid of the worm and free it from your body.
2. Delete yourself and the worm from this world's records.]
Even though it seemed like an easy choice—option one was the clear answer—he still needed a moment to think it over since he wasn't sure how to actually get rid of the worm or what that would involve.
"How do I get rid of it?"
[You'll need to gather enough karma by possessing bodies of specific people across different worlds. Once you've collected enough, you can get rid of the worm and live your life again without disrupting causality]
'What a hassle,' Von thought to himself.
He really desires to survive, therefore he's set on getting rid of the worm.
He asks the system,
"How do I obtain karma?"
[You will be provided unique adversities you need to overcome in each person you would possess across various worlds. By overcoming them, you obtain karma]
"But what if I can't overcome it?"
The system answers,
[If you fail, you'll just end up in an intermediate space where the amount of karma you obtained till then will be tallied , and then you'll move on to the next world]
He thinks,' Oh? So there's no harm in failing. It doesn't sound too bad of a deal!'
"Alright, I'll do it!"
[Answer confirmed. Commencing the transfer of entity "Von Lindell" from world with code:375 to code:62]
At that time, von didn't know the gravity of the adversities he ought to overcome and how it will affect him, and how much toll his body will take, both mentally and physically.