An alarm clock sang loudly in a small downtown apartment.
It was unnecessary as Valen had been obsessively watching the time for hours.
"Finally," he muttered. "Launch day."
He swung his legs off the bed and rubbed his face, fingers catching in the patchy scruff he hadn't bothered shaving. It didn't matter. He wasn't going anywhere. He wasn't planning on leaving his apartment for the foreseeable future, and once the servers came online, he definitely wasn't wasting time on anything he didn't have to.
Showering barely made the cut.
Valen checked the time again. Still not the top of the hour.
"Come on," he said, pacing the narrow space between his bed and the only window of the apartment. "Just a few more seconds."
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
He stopped, reached his hand behind his head, and slid the interface data chip behind his ear. The implant activated at the edge of a thought. A faint tickling sensation rippled down the back of his skull. The small studio apartment around him blinked out of existence.
Valen opened his eyes. He stood in the center of an enigmatic void, depthless and dark, its edges lost to nothing. There was no floor beneath his feet, yet he stood firm as if on solid ground. Translucent panels of light floated around him, suspended in space. Menus and icons were outlined with a soft glow.
Just for a moment, he stared in wonder. The smile that spread across his face turned the disillusioned Valen into a young boy again.
"Holy shit." He said quietly, his voice faded into the void.
He turned slowly, taking it all in. This place didn't feel cold or hostile. If anything, it felt patient as if waiting for him to do something.
Before he could interact with the menu directly before him, its light flickered. A massive wall of text erupted from nothing and stretched to the limits of his vision. A clear voice echoed directly in Valen's mind as it began to read.
"Terms & Conditions - Neural Synchronization Consent Agreement"
Valen groaned.
By proceeding, the user acknowledges the voluntary initiation of the Cognitive Immersion Protocol (CIP) and authorizes Liminal Dynamics (LD) and Soul Quest Hunters (SQH) full autonomic bodily overwatch delegation, ..."
"Skip," Valen said. "I went over this before and didn't understand the techno mumbo-jumbo then either,"
The voice stopped.
Another wall of text slid into place, the voice continued.
"Page 2 of 27 -
Extended participation may induce transient dissociation, sensor....."
"27 pages?" Valen muttered, "You've gotta be fucking with me."
"Page 3 ..."
"Skip."
"Page fo..."
"Skip."
"Pa ...
"SKIP!" Valen continued to scroll furiously to the bottom of each page, disrupting the AI's voice each time.
He let out a deep sigh of relief as the wall dissipated, and the room beyond was revealed once again. A large slab of obsidian glass stood in the center. Its presence commanded the room and drew Valen's attention. Its dark onyx marbling felt as deep as the midnight sea. It was the darkest black he'd ever seen, swallowing light whole. Somehow, he had a feeling it was watching him back.
Several moments must have passed before Valen noticed he'd been holding his breath. Lettering traced itself across the obsidian, glowing softly like moonlight against the dark.
Character Creation Contract
Enter Character Name.
Valen stared at the prompt and scratched his chin. "This is where it always goes wrong."
He had spent more time than he cared to admit staring at character creation screens in the Soul Quest franchise.
Enter Character Name.
"Oh, I've got it! How about ...." He stopped, "No, that's lame."
Enter Character Name.
The prompt blinked, mocking Valen.
"Ughhh, this is useless," Valen sighed, burying his face in his hands as he paced in front of the monolith.
Enter Character Name
"... God dammit."
The blinking prompt faded into a milky cloud on the monolith and reformed to a new question.
"Come back at the end??"
The words did not appear with sound. Still, Valen felt them land in his thoughts with a subtle inflection, antagonizing but helpful.
He blinked. "... That's a good idea. Let the name fit the character instead of forcing the character to fit the name."
The room twisted, and the monolith shifted into Valen's peripheral vision. Several mirrors of varying sizes and a vanity set were pulled through the virtual space. A three-panel, full-length mirror stopped directly in front of him.
In his reflection, Valen met his own gaze. Nothing truly stood out about him, and that was fine. There was nothing wrong, just rather unremarkable. He could hear his father's voice in the back of his memory.
'You've wasted all the opportunities in your life playing some stupid game.'
'Maybe he was right?' Valen thought.
He had never lacked potential. People told him that often enough. The problem was following through. Valen knew he treated his body the same way he treated most things in his life. Kept in working order, never fully claimed.
None of that mattered now. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts.
"What's this?" Valen noticed a menu hovering to the right of the mirrors.
Analyze Avatar Parameters?
Yes
No
"... sure?"
The system voice rang out as Valen continued to examine himself in the mirror.
Initializing profilic analysis.
User instance ID:
SQH-UID-03-7F-14765028
Baseline cognitive vectors successfully acquired.
Neural Plasticity Index -High
Risk Acceptance Ratio - High
Embodiment Adaptation Score - High
Anomaly Drift Probability - abnormal. Within acceptable tolerance
Valen barely glanced at the scrolling text. "Yeah, that's fine," he said, waving the display aside.
As he returned his gaze to the mirror, his reflection blurred. The image softened, then slipped away entirely. In its place stood a shadowed silhouette, barely visible behind a thin veil of mist.
A new prompt appeared.
Body Type Confirmation
Male (locked)
Female
"Locked?"
Valen tapped on the male option.
Nothing happened.
Confused, he tapped again. Nothing.
'What the hell? Am I seriously locked out of choosing a male avatar?'
There was no response.
"Whatever," Valen exhaled through his nose and tapped the female option.
Customize Physical Characteristics
The obscured silhouette shifted as the mist peeled away, revealing a slender, feminine form beneath it.
A grotesque giggle escaped his mouth. "Time to upsize a few little details."
Valen's lustful chortle slowly transitioned into sounds that mimic a small mammal choking. He cackled harder and harder as he manipulated his avatar's body proportions to extremes. He leaned away from the mirror, turning his hips to showcase his figure.
"You could set a serving tray on my tits and call it dinner."
Valen stopped when he noticed a warning icon pulse beside the characteristics tab.
Warning!
Alterations to physical structure directly affect baseline strength, endurance, dexterity, balance, and constitution.
Changes to physical characteristics are limited after character creation. Baseline statistics modifications are locked after confirmation.
Valen went still.
"…Wait." He leaned closer. "Physical characteristics determine base stats?"
He exhaled sharply through his nose.
"I almost missed that and bricked my character."
The humor drained out of him as he pulled the sliders back into view.
He skimmed the options again, slowly this time. Changes affected more than size. Composition, density, and in-depth ratios could all be manipulated. Valen's focus sharpened.
"So ... mass affects strength and constitution. Muscle density is efficiency."
He adjusted a few sliders and watched the feedback values shift on the monolith.
The detail was extraordinary, and it made perfect sense.
"Athletes train explosive movement alongside conditioning for a reason," he muttered. "Different goals need different bodies. Even runners don't all train the same way."
Valen's concentration narrowed as he fine-tuned the avatar. The figure in the mirror changed with purpose. Time drifted to an afterthought, and Valen could not have said if he spent a single hour or half a day on it.
"I think that should do it." He stepped back for a full view.
She was tall for a woman, slightly shorter than Valen's natural height. Her legs were long and thick with muscle, tailored for powerful kicks and dynamic motion. Her shoulders were broad, and her arms toned. She physically embodied the image of a fighter.
Yet, she possessed a femininity Valen would never have been able to capture intentionally.
'Muscle mommy build, huh?'
He felt how hollow his quip sounded as soon as the words left his lips.
She was perfect, and joking about her felt cheap. The woman in the mirror carried herself with a presence that made mockery feel out of place. She did not look like something to ogle. She looked like someone who would not tolerate it.
Continue to facial feature customization?
YES
NO
Valen hesitated.
It wasn't the option to continue that gave him pause; it was the way the avatar returned his gaze. To describe her as anything less than a cohesive lifeform would be a lie. It was as if every deliberate adjustment was a tree planted, and now a forest had grown.
A forest is more than a collection of living lumber. In a forest, there is infinite life, birds, mammals of all sizes, and fungi growing in the shade of a tree. The avatar in the mirror was more than a collection of stat adjustments. She felt real.
"Yeah," Valen muttered. "Let's finish it."
The mists shifted in the mirror again, drawing closer to the face. Valen resonated with the face in the mirror, it was almost like looking at a blood relative, a sister or a cousin. Her bone structure matched Valen's perfectly.
"If only I were born a woman. I'm much prettier looking like that than I am as a man." Valen chuckled. "Seriously, I could have had every guy I know lined up to do whatever I wanted."
He couldn't describe the feeling he had looking at the feminine face in the mirror, his feminine face. Honestly, he didn't want to change much at all. Valen liked how keeping a facial structure that retained his own likeness made the character feel uniquely his. However, one option piqued Valen's interest.
Eyes
Selection expanded due to Prerequisite Anomaly Drift Probability Parameters.
Variant iris selection option available:
Violet (SP)
"What's so special about a variant eye color?" Valen poked the option to select it. Glancing toward the monolith, he saw the warning description appear
Eye color:
Variant. Violet (SP)
Special effect:
Hunted.
Warning: Hunted status. A badge of honor throughout the Lands of Twilight. Those bearing this mark are both blessed and cursed by the God of Luck. Wonderous opportunity follows, and good fortune guides the Hunted. But for every opportunity, a threat lingers in the shadows.
*Note: Players marked as Hunted are twice as likely to succeed in all actions. Actions immediately initiate a reroll after a first failed roll.
Marked players' locations are always known to enemies, and they will attract elite versions of all enemies, excluding unique creatures*
"Hell ... fucking ... yeah."
This was the exact type of detail Valen loved about Souls Quest. They always implemented a risk-reward system. The games were considered extremely difficult on a normal playthrough.
People like Valen, who were exceptionally masochistic, could choose a variety of options that made a playthrough even more difficult with a respectable payoff.
"Immediately rerolling a failed attempt is huge. Not only does it double the chance of success, but it also halves the chance of a critical failure. Plus, as it reads, this should be a persistent passive buff that affects things in combat and out of it. This is perfect."
Finish customization and proceed to equipment selection?
"I'm pretty happy with it, so yeah, let's go."
More mirrors snap into place, and a variety of chests form from the floor; eight of them aligned in a neat line.
A classic start to a Souls Quest campaign.
Souls Quest didn't have a typical class system for players. Instead, players chose a starter kit of basic equipment as a foundation to support core playstyles, which could be adjusted or completely discarded later on.
Valen stepped toward the first chest. The Bulwark.
A typical tank loadout. Heavy plate armor, a mace, and a shield.
"Nope." He said immediately. "Let's keep Borjn Jandel in his own story."[1]
He had no patience to play the responsible one.
The next chest displayed a massive greatsword.
The Cursed Crusader. A frontline great weapon fighter.
Valen exhaled slowly.
"I know exactly what you're trying to sell here."
He shook his head. "Rest easy, Miura Sensei."
The next three kits blurred together as he walked. Medium armor. Blades. Bows.
Blade Warden. A dexterity-based fighter wielding a bastard sword.
"Close, very close."
He barely paused for the next option. The Ranger.
"Yeah, right." He said, miming a bow and making sound effects of arrows flying.
"Oh, look, it's the Knifedancer, an edgelord's wet dream. Assassin builds do stack some nasty poison and bleed dots. But no, not quite me."
The Arcanist option didn't fully resonate with Valen either. He could appreciate being a flashy gloryhog, but mage builds demanded coordination and teamwork to reach their full potential.
Nearing the end of the row, sat the seventh starting kit. Valen stopped this time.
Spellsaber. A high-risk hybrid build with a reputation for getting people killed in the wrong hands.
Valen had built it years ago in a previous Soul Quest release. It had a mechanically demanding playstyle, but could pay dividends when properly executed.
The developers never said it outright, but the Spellsaber had not been a starter kit until after he made it popular.
Yet again, Valen shook his head. He approached the final chest and mirror. Unlike the others, this chest was covered in cobwebs, and the lock was broken.
The mirror paired with it was just as neglected, framed with chipped brass, and the glass was cracked, spreading across the mirror like a spiderweb.
"I've been looking for you," Valen said, like it was an old friend.
The Liability:
Armor: Stitched rag cloth
Weapon: Heavy Twig (Improvised Weapon)
Trinket: Pamphlet of Enlightenment
Picking the Liability kit was a meme, but it existed in every edition of the game. The player would start practically naked, armed with a stick. A single mistake was fatal, but it's always fun to watch a dude in his underwear fight a firegiant.
Valen wasn't afraid of a good challenge, but he didn't pick this option as a joke.
The key item here was the trinket. The Pamphlet of Enlightenment was a soggy handout from an in-game religious group that simply said "The mind that stands naked, stands firm when iron fails".
The Pamphlet of Enlightenment could be found just about anywhere in the game and is generally a trash item with no value or uses. However, there was a hidden mechanic surrounding it. Souls Quest forums hotly debate how the mechanic actually works, and trying to meet conditions to activate it was widely considered not worth the effort.
Valen stared in the mirror for a long moment. The avatar's stitched rags covered little more than her intimate areas. Perhaps what was most revealing was how this look didn't trivialize her; in fact, she looked somewhat intimidating. Her athletic features and solid stance stood out in contrast to the poverty-stricken get-up.
"Yeah," he murmured. "This tracks." He reached out and placed his hand against the broken glass.
The chest creaked open with a tired groan. Inside was… nothing impressive. A bundle of stitched rag cloth lay folded at the bottom, threadbare and uneven. Beside it rested a length of knotted wood, hard and dense but barely straight. A stick. Not even a proper staff. Just something sturdy enough to hurt if swung with intent.
Abruptly, the system voice once again echoed throughout the space. Even though he was alone, Valen flushed with embarrassment when he jumped at the surprise.
Confirm name ...
"Shit shit shit shit shit."
"Valen?" The system asked directly.
Valen froze. The system had nudged him along before, but never addressed him directly.
'Is this thing really talking to me right now?'
"Yes?" He asked aloud.
Avatar name Valen, confirmed.
"Wait! No, I didn't mean to pick my actual name." It was too late. The system continued as the room changed rapidly, the mirrors and chests vanished, pulling away into the void of the creation instance.
Preparing particle assembly for Player 'Valen.'
SQH-UID-03-7F-14765028
"What the fuck, dude, come on. I don't want to use my real name." The system continued as if deliberately ignoring Valen's protests.
Synchronizing cognitive imprint.
Finalizing avatar baseline.
Preparing consciousness transfer.
"Hold on," Valen said, suddenly alert. "I didn't even..."
Avatar designation confirmed.
Name: Valen.
Valen sighed in resignation. "Whatever."
Physical Profile Summary:
Optimized body composition; Musculoskeletal density exceeds regional human averages.
- Strength (STR): 13
- Dexterity (DEX): 16
- Constitution (CON): 15
- Agility (AGI): 17
- Perception (PER): 15
- Reflex (REF): 16
- Balance (BAL): 17
"That seems about right." Valen acknowledged. "I'm surprised my stats got so close to what I was aiming for during customization."
Injury tolerance increased through adaptive pain response modeling.
"Well, that sounds terrifying." Valen chuckled and swallowed nervously.
Visual Markers:
Violet Iris Variant Registered -- Status designation: Hunted
Wild Long Layered Hair: Silver
Height: 5' 8" (172 cm)
Weight: 168 lbs (76 kg)
Equipment: Liability Kit
Neural Parameters:
Elevated Neural Plasticity
Elevated Embodiment Adaptation
Elevated Risk Acceptance
Anomaly Drift ... Present
"That again? What does that even - "
*PHOOOM*
The void collapsed.
The air thickened, pressing against his skin, against his thoughts. Pressure bloomed behind his eyes.
"Gahhkkk." The inevitable retort escaping Valen's lips was unheard and choked out in the vacuum he felt surrounding him.
He was falling endlessly, and the world was ripped apart as his body was dismantled piece by piece.
Pain tore through him. Real pain, total and inescapable. He felt every nerve ending in his body scream as if he were being peeled apart.
"Uploading consciousness to distributed substrate.
Motor mapping in progress.
Sensory thresholds aligning."
The obsidian monolith fractured into lines of light, each one threading outward into the void like veins.
"Good luck, Valen. We will be watching you, Hunted One.
Welcome to the Lands of Twilight."
[1] Homage to one of my favorite light novels, Surviving the Game as a Barbarian. It's a super fun read for those who haven't checked it out yet.