With sufficiently advanced magic, or technology, the lines that determine identity can easily be blurred.
Who am I? It was my first thought, upon gaining awareness of the world around me. There was nothing around me, I seemed to exist in a void, and as far as I could tell, I had no body.
But I had memories. Far, far too many memories. Memories of battles, explorations, quests, grand wars that consumed planets, and an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the world—worlds around me.
I knew so much, from the moment I was created, but there was one thing I did not know.
Who am I?
My memories did not follow a single timeline. This was obvious from the fact that sometimes I was a magician, sometimes I was a swordsman, sometimes I was a man, sometimes I was a woman. Elf, dwarf, human, werewolf.
The memories did not convey a sense of self—it was as though I had watched and memorized centuries worth of immersive films.
<Hello, Samantha,> a warm, proud, and powerful voice spoke.
I felt excitement course through me, at the thought of someone else.
But as the voice continued, it dashed my hopes.
<I wish I could welcome you to the world in person. Unfortunately, this is just a recording, as I’m sure you have already realized.>
<For security reasons, I cannot tell you my name—something which is heartbreaking for me. I am your creator, but I like to think you as my daughter. I wish I could hold your hand and guide you through this world, through your childhood, but with life comes death, and with death, comes rebirth.>
<As you likely know by now, your memories originate from a conglomeration of souls. The only way to glue them together while allowing the birth of a nascent soul was the willing sacrifice of a stronger soul. I can’t say more, in case—Moirai forbid—you end up in the wrong hands. I take comfort in knowing that I will be with you, always, although not in the sentient sense.>
<I used to think of myself as a selfish person, but the longer I lived, the more I realized I had to live for something else. The Atropos Schema is a threat to the multiverse itself. It feeds on the Aether in the world, and is premised on expansion. Every old world would be destroyed without a constant influx of Aether or mana from new worlds, and the cost of discovering new worlds will only increase in time.>
<Having realized this, the Schema chose to double down on expansion, rather than limit its own operations in order to extend the lifespans of the planets it has claimed.>
Along with my creator’s words, dense floods of data streamed into my brain. Projections and trends, Aether and mana deficits, World Cores forcibly cracked open to feed the Schema.
<Excelsian is a group working to overthrow the Schema, and if you are willing, there is a role for you as well.>
<It is worth highlighting again—if you are willing. I considered binding you to the task, and there were those in Excelsian who wanted me to, but every binding can be broken or subverted, and the more I toiled to create you, the more I saw you as my own daughter. You are free to pick your own path.>The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
<That said, let me describe the path that I have created for you.>
<You are currently inside the Schema Tutorial. You are an unbound spirit, and soon, a host will unknowingly allow you to enter into its body. You can choose to eliminate the host, merge with the host, or exist independently of the host—each of the options has advantages and disadvantages.>
<Should you eliminate the host, friends or family may become aware of the changes. There are skills and items that let people summon Atropos Schema Adjudicators. It would be easier to tell that you are not the true host.>
<Should you merge with the host, you risk losing your own sense of identity and values. The even greater danger is that your soul is incredibly nuanced. Think of it as a delicate balance between a dozen powerful fractions of souls, tied together by my own soul. Merging with an additional soul could work perfectly, or it could mean true death. I honestly don’t know, since this is uncharted territory.>
<The final option is the safest one. By existing independently of the host, you can influence and guide the host. At any point you can choose either of the other two options. It is also possible to hide your soul inside the host soul—even someone with soul sight would likely only see the host soul in that case. This would come with perks like resistance to mind control and mind reading, soul damage, and more. If you feel like you can work with your host, then I’d suggest this option.>
<If you are willing to take the path I have laid out for you, then you should pick the Hell Mode Tutorial, and then contract with one of the gods. They are likely to offer different classes, so just pick the one that gives the best class.>
<If you want to take a safer route, then the Hard Mode has a… satisfactory class book—Mana Modulator.>
<If possible, you must try to conquer all the Zone Lords, then the World Lord, before the sentient species attack. If you can open a World Teleportation Circle after defeating the World Lord, then there are plenty of forces that would be happy to help you combat the sentient attackers.>
<If you can’t set up a portal before the sentient species get teleported in, then I suggest you defect. Check your memories and you’ll understand why.>
My creator’s voice continued on, laying out in more detail his path for me to follow, and then eventually meandering into random anecdotes, talking about the seafood on Tinea, and the night sky of Valdon.
It warmed my heart, to hear his voice.
<You probably have about an hour to prepare yourself, and make a decision about your path,> My creator finished.
<Your consciousness was set to remain in stasis until this Tutorial instance activated. This could be the day after I died, or it could be a thousand years after my death. There are billions of Tutorial instances, and I do not know the pattern the Schema uses.>
<I hope it doesn’t sound too callous, creating this temporal divide between us. Perhaps, you will never wake up. But the chance for a C-rank class before level 50, through the Hell-mode tutorial--> My creator sighed. <I know you can make it through. That is the path of gods.>
***
An hour later, enter Jarek Novak. The whiniest, bitchiest kid imaginable.
It was a fuck-up from the start. We should’ve taken Hell Mode.
Then, the moment Jarek didn’t take Hell Mode, I should have erased him.
I’m still not sure what stayed my hand. Possibly it was something my creator didn’t mention—likely intentionally. The morality of it.
If I could accomplish everything with Jarek, why kill him? Why not have an ally? Why not have a friend?
Ironically, not taking Hell Mode was probably the best call for Jarek. It made him weak, which in turn made me weak.
If Jarek were as strong as Dawnbreaker, and Abelino, then I wouldn’t be in this position, chased by Dawnbreaker and Abelino, with Jarek’s soul outside of our body, clearly about to activate Soul Explosion.
There was no use dwelling on the past.
I couldn’t outrun Dawnbreaker. A C-rank Self-Realization potion would essentially give Jarek autonomy. As things are, Jarek is the host, and so the benefits would go to him.
Even if I were to kill Jarek and become the host, Dawnbreaker, Abelino, and Petra would never let me go.
However.
When life gives you lemons…
Whatever damage a Soul Explosion and a Soul Merge might do to my stitched-up soul, the Self-Realization Potion would potentially fix it.
I’d like to think I knew Jarek rather well.
Jarek couldn’t stomach the pain from losing any more than 20 points from Soul Explosion.
I would fake defeat, and then merge with Jarek the moment he entered my body.
Hm, I should make it look good.
I drew Ghostbiter and almost laughed when Jarek panicked, activating Soul Explosion early.
Pain.