Rapidly blinking a few times, Sarah forced her eyes open and took in her surroundings. She was in a small cell—about six feet by six feet—barely enough room for her to stand at her full height. The floor was cold metal, and three of the walls were also metal, with the fourth made of bars. A gate in the center of the bars had two small slits: one at waist height and another near the floor. Her wrists were cuffed, chained to a loop in the floor at the center of the cell. "What the actual fuck?" she mumbled in confusion, unsure of where she was.
Sarah made her way over to the bars and peered out. She saw a narrow corridor, which seemed to contain more cells, but there was no sign of anyone else. The cell opposite hers was empty. "Hey, where the fuck am I?" she shouted into the corridor, but received no response.
She figured there was nothing she could do but sit and wait, so that's exactly what she did—though she also spent the time thinking about what she'd do to the poor bastard who brought her here. As she sat down, she noticed one important detail: whoever had taken her had also taken her necklace—the one her mother had given her. That fact alone was enough to seal the deal in her mind. Consequences be damned, she vowed that once she got out of this shit hole, she'd find the first opportunity to make whoever took it pay.
She quickly decided the floor was far too cold to sit on, so she took off her hoodie and placed it on the ground as a barrier against the icy metal. Settling in to wait, she couldn’t shake the strange feeling that something was different. Glancing around to see if anyone was watching her, she found nothing and no one. With no answers, she closed her eyes and tried to ignore the unease.
For the first five minutes, it worked—until a voice suddenly broke the silence.
"Level 1 SoulBlade acquired. 0.0% to your next level. Choose your specialization."
The voice was cold and distant, giving the distinct impression it didn’t care one bit for her.
"Who the fuck was that?" Sarah shouted, immediately springing to her feet and charging towards the bars at the front of her cell. Her legs and knees protested the sudden movement, but the pain faded quickly.
Looking around in front of her cell, she saw no one. "I know you’re fucking out there! You just spoke, moron!" she yelled, but once again, there was no response.
She continued to hurl obscenities at the mysterious figures that kept her locked in this cell for a few more minutes before resigning herself to the fact that no one had the guts to face her. She returned to her hoodie—now spread out on the floor as a makeshift blanket—and sat down, her mind racing over what the voice had said.
"What the fuck is a SoulBlade?" she muttered to herself.
Her eyes snapped wide open as a screen materialized in front of her, hovering in the air. It read:
SoulBlade:
A SoulBlade is a warrior who taps into the mystical energy of their own soul, forging it into a weapon. These individuals have a strong connection to their inner spirit, using emotions, memories, and their very essence to fuel their abilities. A SoulBlade is both a master of physical combat and spiritual energy, capable of summoning and wielding a blade of pure soul energy. Their weapon grows stronger with their emotional intensity, and they can tap into their inner turmoil or determination to unleash devastating attacks.
Sarah stared at the screen for a moment, then reached out to push it away. To her confusion, her hand passed through the screen without any resistance. She couldn’t even feel the surface.
"Physical combat? Forging your soul into a weapon? Devastating attacks?" she muttered, scanning the text again. "What the actual fuck is this? Am I in a video game or something?" She glanced around, hoping for a response from the screen, but it stayed silent.
"No, Sarah," she muttered, shaking her head. "You're just going insane." She placed her hand over her face, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger. "And now you're talking to yourself. Excellent."
Sarah sat back down on her hoodie, which she had laid out on the cold metal floor, her head in her hands. "Right, you're going insane," she muttered to herself. "But that's fine. Plenty of people go insane and come back." She tried to console herself, but the words felt hollow. "I'm sure plenty of people see magic screens," she added, her voice trembling with dread.
She ran through a hundred different scenarios in her mind, trying to find a way to explain what was happening. The best she could come up with was that she’d gotten into a car accident on her way to the police station. Maybe she was in some kind of coma? But even that didn’t feel right.
As much as she hated to admit it, Sarah knew this was real. Whether she was going crazy or not, this was happening.
Growling in frustration, she pushed herself to her feet and marched back to the bars. "Is anyone fucking out there?" she screamed into the cold, empty hallway.
Sarah turned to walk back, unable to keep still. Anxiety was running rampant through her body and mind. Then, from somewhere down the corridor, she heard a high-pitched male voice shout, "Just let me go!"
"What the fuck?" she muttered, looking in that direction, but she couldn't see anyone. She waited a few minutes, listening to the frantic screams grow more desperate. Finally, three figures appeared at the far end of the corridor. Two were dressed in uniforms that looked like something you'd expect to see on a sci-fi battleship, though she couldn’t make out any specific details from this distance. Between them was someone she did recognize.
“Liam?” Sarah mumbled under her breath.
"HEY, YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, but the men carrying Liam didn’t seem to hear her. However, she did hear Liam shout back, still sounding panicked and frantic.
"Sarah, is that you?"
Before she could even react, one of the figures punched Liam in the side of the head. He went limp in their arms.
"You’ll pay for that, you fucks!" Sarah screamed, slamming her fists against the cold bars as hard as she could.
Feeling the frustration finally explode from her, Sarah continued to shout and hit the bars, her fists pounding against the cold metal. Her body trembled with the intensity of her emotions, and before long, she sank to the floor, her knees giving way. Tears streamed down her face as she curled into herself, the helplessness consuming her.
"Please... tell me what the fuck's going on..." she muttered between sobs, her voice barely more than a broken whisper.
Curled up and crying into her sleeves, Sarah didn’t notice the figure approach her cell until they were directly in front of it.
"Shut it, or I'll beat you," the figure said coldly, kicking the bottom of the bars where her head was resting.
"You bastard!" Sarah shouted, looking up and beginning to stand. "Where the fuck am I, and what are you doing with me?" she demanded, her voice dripping with fury.
"None of your fucking business. Now shut it," the man replied, his voice devoid of remorse or care.
Sarah gave him a baleful glare, then examined him more closely. He was tall—at least a head taller than Sarah—and wore a form-fitting outfit that was almost entirely black. His face was covered by a black mask, and the only features she could make out were his short-cropped brown hair, which looked unkempt and greasy, and his strange red eyes. Sarah couldn’t help but stare at them.
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"Pure red eyes... some kind of contacts?" Her mind raced, thankful for something else to focus on.
What felt like minutes passed, but in reality, it was only seconds before the man turned and began to walk away.
"Wait!" Sarah called out, her voice sharp. "What are you doing to Liam?" She slammed her hand against the bars again, her demand echoing in the silence.
The man stopped and turned on a dime, barely wasting any movement. His cold, steely gaze locked onto hers. "It’s none of your business. Now, I’ll warn you one last time—shut it, or pay the consequences."
With that, he turned and walked back toward the cell where Liam had been placed, leaving Sarah seething in silence.
"I'm going to fucking kill you all," Sarah muttered to herself as she returned to the hoodie on the ground, sitting down and wiping the tears from her face.
"That stupid voice said I had to choose some kind of specialization?" she questioned aloud, frustration seeping into her voice. "How the fuck am I supposed to do that?"
She jumped in surprise as, almost on command, another screen appeared in front of her face.
"This is fucking insane," she mumbled, staring at the screen as it hovered there, waiting for her to respond.
As Sarah began to read the strange text on the magic screen, the cold, distant voice from earlier spoke once more, cutting through her thoughts like a blade.
“Sarah Larente, level one SoulKnife specialization not chosen. You must select your path to continue. Three options are available to you.”
The screen shimmered, and the following choices appeared:
Soulbladeslinger
The Soulbladeslinger specializes in shaping their soul energy into ethereal blades that they can throw at enemies from a distance. These blades can pierce through multiple foes, deal damage over time, or even track their targets. As a Soulbladeslinger levels up, they can imbue their blades with different elemental effects or send them out to scout and sabotage, adding strategic versatility to their abilities.
Soulwarrior
The Soulwarrior specializes in forging their soul energy into a solid, physical blade. This specialization emphasizes close-range combat, using raw physical power combined with the mystical energy of their soul to strike devastating blows. Soulwarriors can use their blade for both offense and defense, and their combat style grows stronger the more intense their emotions become.
Soulwarrior
The Soulwarrior specializes in forging their soul energy into a solid, physical blade. This specialization emphasizes close-range combat, using raw physical power combined with the mystical energy of their soul to strike devastating blows. Soulwarriors can use their blade for both offense and defense, and their combat style grows stronger the more intense their emotions become.
Sarah decided that it was time she started treating this as real. She needed to put in some actual thought because, hey, if it wasn’t real, she didn’t lose anything but her mind. But if it was real, she could lose her life here—and maybe this was her chance of saving it. She read through the descriptions a couple of times to make sure she understood what she could, mumbling to herself in the process as she tried to make a choice.
She immediately decided Soulweaver was out of the question. If this thing was warning her, she should probably listen to it. Also, if she was going to be fighting, she’d rather do it herself, not make others do it for her—that just felt wrong.
Thinking through the other two, they both had their merits. The Soulbladeslinger had its advantages, especially with the ability to have multiple blades at once. Though she didn’t see why she couldn’t do that with the Soulwarrior. The biggest selling point for the Soulbladeslinger was the ability to have her blades scout and track information for her.
The Soulwarrior, on the other hand, had a certain appeal. Her father had always told her she got her aggression from her mother, though spending five minutes with the man would make it clear that was a lie. But she couldn’t deny she had a temper, and she had always wanted to learn how to fight—not with her soul or a blade, mind you, but hey, it couldn’t be too different, right?
Secondly, when she thought of escape and of the strange man with the red eyes, she knew it wouldn’t feel right to kill him by throwing a damn dagger. She vowed to look him in the eyes when she killed him.
With that, her decision had been made. Without allowing herself the chance to second-guess, she chose Soulwarrior.
As soon as she made her decision, the screen vanished, causing Sarah to jump once more. Then, she heard the voice—cold in her mind again.
"Specialization chosen: Soulwarrior. Congratulations, Sarah, you have taken your first steps."
She almost immediately felt an energy flow through her body, causing her to jerk upright from the cross-legged position she had been sitting in. It was a warm feeling, though it felt intimate, and she wasn’t exactly sure whether or not she enjoyed it. Thankfully, it only lasted mere seconds before the energy left her body, and she took in a deep breath.
She felt different. She wasn’t exactly sure why, but she did. Then, she immediately noticed a stronger connection to her emotions. She could feel the anxiety bubbling inside her, ready to burst, but she managed to calm herself.
"That’s fucking new," she mumbled, stretching out her arms. "Did I get stronger too?" she asked the emptiness as she flexed her arms, poking and prodding at where her muscles were. "Definitely stronger," she muttered before sitting back down.
She wasn’t sure if whoever was keeping her captive here was watching her, but she felt it was smart to attempt to hide what had just happened for as long as possible.
Once again, the voice blasted, "Abilities gained," and another screen appeared in front of her.
Sarah had a thought as she heard the voice again. She stood up and moved to the front of her cell, looking through the bars to see if anyone was coming. Can they hear the fucking voice? she questioned mentally, but received nothing in response.
Sighing, she figured it didn’t really matter. There was nothing she could do about it anyway. She turned away from the bars and began walking back to the hoodie on the floor.
Just as she did, the screen appeared again, floating right behind her at perfect reading height. Sarah flinched, jerking back and smacking the back of her head into the bars. Instantly, she raised a hand to the spot where it had hurt and pulled it away to check for bleeding. There was none.
"Ow! Can you fucking not?" she muttered to the screen. Then, catching herself, she added mockingly, "Now you're talking to a floating screen that's giving you magic abilities. The people at the mental institution are going to love you, Sarah."
She rubbed the back of her head as she walked back over to where she had been sitting, trying to ignore the headache as she sat down again and began reading through her supposed abilities.
Soulstrike:
The Soulwarrior channels their soul energy into their physical strikes, imbuing their hands, feet, or weapons with mystical power. Each strike carries an additional burst of energy that disrupts the target's physical or spiritual defenses, dealing extra damage.
Effect: Adds a small amount of energy-based damage to physical attacks. It also weakens enemy defenses slightly for a short time, making their next attacks easier to land.
Resonance Shield:
By channeling their soul energy, the Soulwarrior can create a temporary energy shield that absorbs incoming damage. The shield is weak but can deflect light attacks or projectiles. It also slightly amplifies the Soulwarrior’s emotions, making them more attuned to their own feelings in battle.
Effect: Provides a small shield that absorbs a fraction of incoming damage. The shield strengthens when the Soulwarrior experiences intense emotions, like anger or fear.
Soul Echo:
The Soulwarrior can briefly tap into the residual soul energy of others, reading their intentions or emotions. This allows them to anticipate the next move of an opponent, giving them a slight edge in combat.
Effect: Temporarily enhances reflexes, providing a short window of increased awareness where the Soulwarrior can dodge or block attacks more easily. It also allows them to sense the emotional state of those nearby, providing insight into their opponents' next actions.
Feeling as though she was losing her mind, Sarah made a decision—no, she had already lost her mind. She smiled at the abilities screen in front of her. "This is kind of cool," she muttered.
"Does this mean I have an overview screen?" she asked out loud, looking to the screen for a response. None came, but she refused to believe she didn’t have one. This was just like some of the games she had played with Liam, and those always had character overviews.
Her thoughts wandered to how the screens worked in the games she used to play, and she focused on the word overview. She felt a sort of intuitive pull—like it was the right thing to do. Almost immediately, another screen popped up, displaying her character’s overview.
She smiled to herself, a slight giggle escaping her lips. "I knew it was a fucking game," she muttered. Then, her eyes narrowed in on the overview screen, examining it with intense interest.
Sarah Larente – Overview
Race: Human
Level: 1
Profession: N/A
Class: Soulwarrior – Level 1
Specialization: Soulwarrior
Abilities:
-
Soulstrike – Unpracticed
-
Resonance Shield – Unpracticed
-
Soul Echo – Unpracticed
The smile that had sat on her face as she read through her overview screen began to fade as she neared the end. Her mind raced with everything she had just read and experienced.
"This is real, isn’t it?" she muttered, looking out of the cell in the direction of Liam.
"I’ll get you out," she promised herself, determination setting in. She wouldn’t stop, not now, not after everything she’d been through. "Even if it’s the last thing I ever do."
"After all, I have magic powers now..." she added, her voice barely a whisper as she stared at the ground, her words hanging in the silence of the cell.
Instinctively, she reached for the necklace that was always around her neck, but her fingers brushed only air. Her chest tightened, and the floodgates opened. She curled up into a ball on her hoodie, sobbing uncontrollably. She cried until the tears became a blur, her thoughts swirling. It wasn’t until exhaustion overtook her that she finally fell into a restless, fitful sleep.