Defiance of the Fall

Which leaves Tyler . Or The Snake as Zac renamed him in his head . He seems like a charismatic enough guy and has those annoyingly clean-cut good looks . Had he been in a movie he’d be cast as the good looking jerk the heroine was dating before she found her true love . Which was somewhat his situation here . Not that Tyler and Hannah had been a couple , but most people had probably expected them to sooner or later get together as they hung out a lot with David and Izzie in some sort of faux-double date . Zac was not overly surprised with the hidden hostility he’d gotten from Tyler since the day they first met two months back . - Tyler probably felt that I sabotaged the grand plan of the universe when I came along and inserted myself into Hannah’s , and by extension his , life . ’ Zac thought with a snicker .

Maybe I should get back after all… - he mumbled , a slight unease at the situation lingering , adding to his general irritation of being stuck in the woods waving around a hatchet like an idiot . He wasn’t really a jealous guy , but also not a huge fan of leaving his girlfriend with a vulture circling around . And it’s not like he would magically produce some firewood by walking around in this forest any longer . He adjusted his grip of the axe , and once again readjusted the bangs which by now were a walnut mess of wax and sweat and started veering back towards camp .

He had trekked in somewhat of a semi-circle and should return back to the vicinity of the camp , or at least the road they took to get here if he just kept veering right . After walking along for another 5 minutes , battling the constant threat of shrubbery and mosquitoes , Zac came up to a small clearing .

Insidious shrubbery and intrusive twigs gave way to rustling grass and patches of bloodroot and cardinals . Somehow it felt like an oasis , with a noticeable lack of things to scratch him , and the sounds of wildlife felt somewhat subdued . - Not a bad place for a camp , should we decide to move it a bit further into the woods’ he mused as he walked into the center of the glade , taking a last look around before turning toward the direction of his camp .

But as he prepared to leave , all sounds suddenly stopped without notice , turning to an almost deafening form of silence he hadn’t really ever felt before . Just a breath later , the world was darkness .

Initiating System

Welcome to the Multi-Verse

. . .

Chapter 1 - Roll For Survival , v . 2

Initiating System

Welcome to the Multi-Verse

A cold , detached voice echoed in Zac’s ears . - Or in my head?’ he thought while looking around confused . Nothing in his life had prepared him for his current circumstances , and he for a second thought there was an extreme solar eclipse happening . All that greeted his eyes was complete and utter darkness . The only thing visible was himself , as if there was an invisible source of light shining just on him , leaving the rest of the world in black .

Heatstroke - ? he muttered hesitantly even though this didn’t feel like some heat-induced delirium . But before he could further analyze these baffling events the monotone voice interrupted his train of thought .

Planet - Earth’ scanning complete . Class F mass , class F energy

Adjusting

Due to insufficient energy and size planet - Earth’ will be merged with additional planets drafted for initiation . New values : Class D mass , Class D energy . Topography readjusted . Spawn points randomized based by cohorts . Wildlife upgraded due to insufficient challenge . Link to the Multi-verse system activated]

What ? Hello? - he shouted , or at least he thought he did , as the utter blackness seemed like a natural dampener , quenching all sound . But the voice seemed unaware or uncaring of his calls .

This was starting to feel less like some extremely elaborate practical joke , or a heatstroke , as everything felt just too real . Zac pinched himself and the sting told him he hadn’t passed out either .

Trying to glean any meaning from the ramblings from the odd voice only made him more confused as well . It spoke about Earth , but also used some terms that felt like it came out of a sci-fi movie or a video game . However , the voice gave Zac no opportunity to figure the situation out , as it heedlessly droned on .

Initiating Incursions . Spawning Heral-]

ERROR! Herald occupying same space as you! Adjusting

A more blaring version of the same mechanical voice interrupted itself .

The ominous voice and the message quickly accelerated Zac’s heartbeat , and he got a sinking feeling . This was all too real in its craziness , and if this was real he was in deep shit . He was told he occupied the same space as some herald , and no matter how he looked at it , it couldn’t be anything good .

Erring on the side of caution , he jumped to the side to avoid whatever would happen , but it was as though he was in space . He made the motions of movement but still was stationary at his spot .

Merge unfeasible . Protocol SL-34572 initiated