Defiance of the Fall

[Initiating System…]

[Welcome to the Multiverse.]

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.
Low F-grade mass, ungraded energy.]

[Adjusting…]

[Due to insufficient energy and size, planet Earth will be merged with additional planets drafted for initiation.
New values: Low D-grade mass, low D-grade energy.
Topography readjusted.
Spawn points randomized based by cohorts.
Wildlife upgraded due to insufficient challenge.
Link to the Multiverse 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 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 they 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.

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[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 were in space.
He made the motions of movement but still was stationary at his spot.

[Merge unfeasible.
Protocol SL-34572 initiated.]

“Phew.” At least he wouldn’t be turned into a half human, half herald, whatever that was.
But the fact that the voice seemed to be ready to mash him together with another being was extremely unsettling, and unease was quickly turning into panic.

Zac mentally tried to force himself to awaken, and when that didn’t work, he even slapped himself hard in the face.
But nothing worked, and he was still stuck in the darkness.

[Roll for survival.
Due to the massive power gap between Herald Ur’Khaz and you, odds heavily in his favor.]

“SHIT!” Zac screamed, or rather squeaked.
The panic was now full-blown, and adrenaline was coursing through his veins.
“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”

But again, the only thing greeting his inquiries was utter silence until there was a break in the darkness.
Seemingly from nowhere, a screen popped up in front of him, hovering silently.

The window looked like something taken out of an old video game, blue with white edges and text.
The surreal situation made him blank out for a few seconds before registering what the screen actually said.

Ur’Khaz

1-100 000

ROLL

’

Zachary Atwood

1-100

ROLL

It looked just like a prompt from a video game, and the familiarity actually calmed him down for a second until he read what it said and realized the implications.
At that point the panic came back in full swing, threatening to evolve into hysteria.

It looked like the window was a prompt for rolls between him and this herald, but instead of loot, they were rolling for their survival.
And the roll ranges were clearly skewed in his opponent’s favor, giving Zac abysmal odds for actually surviving.

“Hello? This isn’t funny anymore.
Let me out!” he screamed, grasping at some last straws that this was all some insane experiment.
But the reality of the situation was starting to set in.
Zac just stared numbly at the screen in front of him for a few seconds as if to comprehend what he was seeing.

“This is crazy.
Wanting me to ga