Roland POV
Zachary was now fully awake, seated cross-legged on the large bed, seemingly staring into the empty air slightly above his brow. He had been seated in this same position for the last few hours.
Unbeknownst to the world around him, he was engaged in a thorough conversation with something he could not believe had actually accompanied him on his reincarnation journey.
'So you're actually the revised version of the Apple of Acrux? But how is that even possible.' He thought to himself, but in actuality there was something else responding to anything he thought about.
{The AI was programmed to be integrated into the mind of its Host. Due to phenomena that took place during the creator's death, The AI, also known as Artifact 7892449- the system- has become entwined deeply with the Hosts mind}
Zachary couldn't believe it. After spending so long understanding the complex fusion between the system and the relic, he almost had to hold in tears of excitement.
For so long, he suggested that integrating Artificial intelligence into the human body was more complicated than one could ever imagine. And after engaging with the mechanical voice of this highly intelligent system, Zachary determined that some change had occurred with the overall makeup of the original AI system's framework. Back in his old world, this relic was nowhere near this sophisticated.
'I wonder what's changed?' He pondered. This new strange world must have something to do with it. Which then opened a door of questions as to whether the apple of Acrux was actually something from...'another world?'
Zachary couldn't hide the gladness birthed in his heart. His peers doubted his theories and shut him down. In the end, he was betrayed and killed by them. A coldness wind swept through his mind, recalling the past mistakes which led to his untimely demise; his eyelids lowered whilst the thoughts of revenge ran amok.
'They better hope I never find them again… I'll make them feel the pain they inflicted upon me…ten times over.'
Zachary calmed his mind down soon enough and refocused on the system. First, he needed to understand things about this world, and now he had just the right thing to help him do it.
"H-hey system?"
{Yes, master, how may I be of service.}
"No-no, firstly, let's cut the master nonsense out."
{Affirmative …how shall this intelligence refer to the Host?}
"Hmm, host? I guess that sounds less tyrant fuelled, good! So let's go with host," said Zachary upon reflection.
He felt a little odd about having something in his head calling him Host, but it was certainly a lot better than Master. Zachary thought a little deeply about it. A bright idea soon bloomed from his thoughts. Knowing the type of system this was he decided on what he himself should be calling it.
'From this moment henceforth, you'll be called Omega.'
{Thank you, my Host. Omega understands.}
"Great! Now, Omega, what can you tell me about this world? Where am I exactly?"
{Affirmative, Omega's searching archives…}
{Host, this world is almost identical to planet Earth in terms of structure. This planet is twice the size of Earth. Still, it displays nearly the same properties the planet you are familiar with. Water, Air, Fire, Earth and all the expected elements exist here. Although there are significant differences between this world and old Earth. }
'How much do you remember about...old earth?'
{Omega can recall almost 75% of previously recorded data in regards to Planet Earth. The other 25% unfortunately is lost due to untraceable corruption in Omega's system core}
Zachary nodded his head. "That makes sense, please continue."
{Various unknown elements also coexist. One of these is known as Ki, which acts as the cornerstone for everything unique about the beings living on this planet...}
Zachary gathered the information internally and, after hearing the AI's bizarre explanation, asked perhaps the most obvious question.
"How many races exist on this planet, and what are they?"
{Currently several races share this new world. The current humans, regarded as mortals share up to 89.9% likeness to humans from old Earth. Half-breeds are mortals sharing blood with any of the other races. Elves, Dragon kind and Daemon are the other recorded races found within this world. Across the galaxy, this world is known as a higher plane}
Zachary needed a moment to process everything he had just been told.
{Concerning the major powers within this world. You have the Knights and the Wizards}
'Wizards ey? So magic does exist within this world,'
He guessed that might've been the case, considering he had reincarnated into this world where dragons existed.
'This eclipses anything anyone has ever hypothesized or studied concerning a multiverse. Or worlds beyond the galaxy.'
Back in his own world, there had been people who speculated on the existence of worlds beyond our own, and yet, here he was. Actively testament to that being true.
Zachary finished reviewing half of what looked like an extensively structured AI system. The high-tech interface detailed the properties of his entire body, down to the DNA molecular structure. It both fascinated and absolutely terrified him, as his mind began to wonder what capabilities the Acrux could achieve within a world as broad as this.
Zachary smoothed his hairless chin as he sat cross-legged in deep thought. He understood his first assignment was to properly realign himself into this world. It was clear he had taken over someone else's body, another body with an entirely different thought and behavioural process than his.
'I have read some things before about this. The dangerous thing for me would be if I'm found to be the fake.'
Countless horrors flashed through his already sore head. But how could that be possible? Zachary concluded that it would have to take a bold act of openness from his own end or an encounter with something otherworldly, with the ability to read his thoughts maybe.
He rubbed his head again in disgust. It seemed he had already begun climatizing to this world's weirdness. 'I guess both things have the broad scope to be true now,' he thought.
Zachary stopped overthinking and allowed this foreign body of his to fall back down. He spread his arms out and sunk into the soft velvet duvet spread. All in all, these strange turns of events weren't completely terrible. For in truth, he relished the idea of a second life. One with the capacity to pique that broad imagination of his. Who could say why he was given such a gift. But he damn sure wasn't prepared to squander it with a life lived in vain this time around.
'I was poor once, a soldier, then a captain, a leader, a friend, a hus...a husband.'
His memories of the past were still as vivid as they could be. The entire ordeal leading up to his death played through his thoughts like still images. And a cold wind swept through his mind again. Zachary glanced down, seeing his childlike fists shaking against his thigh. A wry smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he slowly quelled his ire.
'Those days are behind me now. I should...look towards the future.'
Zachary already had a hunch that this place held its unique terrors. Still, surprisingly, he wasn't as concerned as one might be, now that he had the help of the Apple of Acrux.
First things first.
"Hey Omega. I need a detailed description of myself and this body's capabilities. I also need to analyse the best method for increasing my strength. I imagine there's a power system in place."
A few minutes passed before Zachary heard a loud chime sounding in his thoughts. He panicked at first but swiftly calmed down once he noticed the string of blue particles converging in front of his view.
Name: Roland Smoke (Cloud)
Age: 16
Weight/Height: 52kg 168cm
Race: Halfling; Human & Unidentified Bloodline.
Zachary sang that name a few times back to himself. This would confirm his earlier suspicions. He had died and taken over the body of someone else. He stared blankly at the name for a short while. But soon enough, a cool breath escaped through his slightly opened mouth and a childish smile creased across his face.
'Roland, huh? Hmm, I wonder if you died and I replaced you...or.'
That sudden dark thought sent a chill racing through his body, and a snide smile crept against the side of his mouth. He shook his head to dispel those thoughts before returning to the hovering screen.
'Wait a minute, Race = unidentified Bloodline? Wh-what in the world does that mean.'
Zachary's mind fell into a gradual panic, triggered by the perceived unpredictability of this new world. It was hard not to imagine all the worst-case scenarios.
Having had enough of the inner mental discourse. Zachary turned to the one certain thing he could rely on.
"Omega, I need more answers regarding this...unidentified Bloodline. Can you run a full scan of my bloodwork and help me identify what's going on?"
Zachary was more hopeful than anything else right now. Before he initiated the self-destruct sequence, he understood that despite its impressive capabilities, the Apple of Crux was still considered a half-finished product.
The stiff silence afterwards made his fingers clam up. For the first time since Zachary had awoken into this new world, he sat in longing, waiting for that mechanical voice to appear in his thoughts.
But what if Omega's capabilities were not as advanced as he would need? Was there an opportunity to enhance or upgrade the system? Could the technology he needs exist within this world? Amidst his swirling thoughts, a delightful-sounding chime pinged within his thoughts.
And then.
{Host bloodwork has changed drastically in the last 3 years. To accurately understand the genome structure of the Host, Omega will need 36:14:50:02 to complete a full analysis.}
Zachary almost rubbed his eyes twice to ensure he was seeing things clearly.
{Not only has the Host's physiological makeup changed completely from your previous body, but Omega detected no less than 4 unrecognizable agents existing through this body. 1 of which contains a dense and highly volatile radioactive core...}
"Wait! R-r-radio active c-c-ore? In-in-inside of me"
One hundred and one terrible things swarmed Zachary's ever-thinking mind at that point. He placed a shaking palm against his bony chest, muttering inaudible words to himself in silence. Most of which were strange one line prayers he could barely remember being said by the churches from his old world. That melodic bell rang again, jolting him free from his dark daydreams.
'O-omega, before you continue. Tell me exactly where the source of that radioactivity is coming from and how do I stop it!'
A soft whirring sound echoed through his thoughts like a metronome.
{The source of high levels of radioactivity...in this world, they call it the mana core."}
Mana core, he repeated back to himself with a curious look, narrowing his brows Zachary felt his fears slightly lessen, weirdly enough Zachary was sure he had heard of that name somewhere before. However, he wasn't quite sure where he had picked it up.
{The mana core is a highly sophisticated and extremely powerful energy source at the heart of both magical and technological systems. It harnesses and stabilizes raw Mana.
Mana is an ethereal, mystical energy prevalent worldwide. The largest source of said energy is found in what's known as the Mana Vein. A deeply embedded root in the deep Earth feeding Mana into the atmosphere through blue-leafed trees, Mana flies and in rare cases, rivers of Mana}
Zachary sat with both legs crossed whilst he smoothed his chin in deep thought. Without waiting for his approval, Omega continued.
{Mana cores are integral to a wide array of applications, including:
Energy Production.
Combat and Weaponry.
Personal Use and Augmentation.
Transport and Navigation.
Zachary read the descriptions, which further uncovered doors in his thinking.
"Omega, break down the different types of energies in this world please."
Mana: The natural essence of this world. In its concentrated form Mana becomes a source of high levels of radioactive energy.
Ki - The natural aura of one's will and vigour, purified into kinetic energy flowing through the tendons, blood, bones and muscles.
Mental energy: Also known as the mind's energy. This determines spell efficiency, timing, and the understanding of incantations. There are various written records which explore how high levels of mental energy give birth to psionic traits.
Mystical energy- Power bestowed by blessings from a deity or otherworldly ones. The energy which defies the logic. Users of this energy tend to be labelled as calamities. After checking archived records, Omega can confirm there have been seven such cases}
Zachary could barely speak. The amount of information loaded into his brain was troubling, and not so much because of the amount of information poured directly into his mind, although that was causing a slight headache. But the sheer craziness of what he was hearing was mind-boggling. Right now, all he could think about was just what would become of his own world if just one of these energies were available.
With his excitement fast growing, he was forced into exhaling a pent up breath of cool air to calm himself down.
"O-o-omega..." He finally uttered after a stint of reflective silence.
{Yes, my Host, is everything alright. I sense increased levels of excitement within the Host? Omega suggests breathing exercises to help soothe and calm the mind}
Zachary pulled a wry smile, wondering just what kind of breathing exercises this sophisticated system could offer him.