I turned towards the creature as I waded in the center, only to find it suddenly standing before me with a hand placed on my shoulder. It was a terrifying display of speed, but one I could not contemplate for long.

  The movements of the water soon calmed until they reached a dead still. My body was paralyzed, no longer needing to stay afloat, no longer able to leave, and with a sensation of the floor disappearing from under me, I fell.

  The speed was that of a free fall, but the impression of the water on my skin could be felt throughout. For a few seconds, I fell straight down, only to suddenly be jousted diagonally as I broke through the plane of water and landed in a great chasm.

  The cavern was supported on both sides by a line of a half dozen columns that looked to have been ornately carved from the stone itself. Although this elegance had ostensibly greatly eroded, as large cracks in the columns extended from base to ceiling.

  The ground around the columns was no better, with debris strewn throughout. A shame, as the floor itself left marks of a once magnificent design that seemed to be symbolic of something monumental, long lost to time. The damp atmosphere and stalactite structures clustered on the roof left little to the imagination as to what happened to these grand structures.

  Despite these weathered environs, there remained two features that seemed well preserved. The larger of the two stood at the end of the hall: a massive door, carved from the stone with imagery of great and terrifying creatures carved within. Its height was equal to the columns at around 50 meters, and its weight left one to question how it could ever be used.

  Less conspicuously, in the center of the hall, stood a raised stone lectern, which reasonably had the least intriguing details of all. It was so bland that not much could be said of it. It was the sort of thing that I might find commonly back on Earth, but stuck out distinctly in such a foreign environment. Perhaps it is this quality that gave it such an allure that I found myself standing before it without much thought.

  I motioned my hand to the lectern; therein was inscribed a text, one that I had a strange curiosity to inspect. But just before my hand came down on the stone, I thought better of it and turned back to the creature.

  “What is this place?”

  It had been standing by the entrance during the inspection. It seemed to have a habit of observing me.

  Upon hearing my question, it opened its mouth as if to speak, but, perhaps with concern for the distance between us, decided to suddenly stand before me, closing the gap between us in an instant. The speed was once again absurd, and I recoiled backwards out of pure instinct. The creature seemed to take notice of this response.

  “I do apologize for startling you.”

  “So you do understand that you’re scaring the shit out of me when you do that little teleport thing.”

  I could see that the creature was thinking deeply about its response, continuing the trend of its behavior change that had begun before I stepped into the water.

  “‘Teleport’ would be a mischaracterization.”

  It paused for a moment before continuing.

  “In any case, I hope that you do not take offense. It is a trait of mine that you will have to confront at some point anyway.”

  I wondered what that might have meant. I might believe the creature was always telling the truth, but sometimes it felt like something was missing. Only half-truths, riddles that I felt I’d have to uncover the meaning of if I wanted to live comfortably.

  “You asked what this place is, correct?”

  I tried to be careful with my responses to match the creature’s pace.

  “Yes”

  “I see. The nature of this place in its entirety is beyond your station, but you may consider it the beginning, and perhaps even the future end of your journeys on this island.”

  I looked away for a moment. Beginning and end, huh? Sure, whatever. Cliche nonsense.

  “The way I see it, my journey began around two days ago when I ended up here. So, how is this the beginning?”

  The creature walked past me after I spoke and placed its hand gently on the lectern.

  “It is related to why you jumped in the water.”

  “How I'll heal my hand, then?”

  The creature was silent for a moment, which made me nervous. It’s silence before always came from difficult questions. Why would this question be difficult?

  “I have a sense of what you are thinking.”

  With a glance from the creature, a black haze, perhaps darker than the creature itself, covered my hand.

  “Don’t worry about the wound. It will soon no longer bother you.”

  The creature’s other hand moved softly to my back. The sensation was cold and gelatinous.

  “Place your hand on the lectern. We need to move on to the next step.”

  I was nervous, but I had already jumped in the water. A mere hand on a lectern was hardly a leap of faith for me.

  So I placed my hand down, and an electric sensation rushed through my body as a bright blue screen appeared before me.

  [Welcome]

  Keeping my posture faced toward the screen, I looked over to the creature.

  “What is this?”

  No response.

  The text on the screen changed.

  [Would you like to start the tutorial? Y/N]

  Tutorial? I was dumbfounded. After all of the shit that I went through. After all of the mysterious supernatural phenomena.

  This is what it led to? A video game screen?

  “What does it mean by tutorial?”

  “I cannot answer that question.”

  “Why?”

  My tone was sharp, but the commitment to measured responses didn’t last long.

  “I am a resource but not a guide. If you start down the path of discovery, then I can usher you forward, but I can not bring you there myself

  “So I have to take a leap of faith myself, and you’ll do the rest.”

  “That is not a wrong interpretation.”

  “And you wouldn’t go out of your way to tell me something, even if it was important.”

  “That is correct.”

  I thought for a moment.

  “Fine. Is this tutorial the ‘thing I will gain’ that you mentioned earlier?”

  “That is partly correct.”

  I’m not sure why it bothers me so much, but I felt a strong aversion the moment I saw the blue screen appear before me. It felt like a mockery of all of my struggles. Like I’d be surrendering something by clicking yes.

  But I told myself earlier that I would accept the strangeness of this world. I cannot back down here. I clicked yes, and the blue screen transformed, presenting a slew of information.

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  ===Status===

  Name: Izak Remigio

  Age: 20

  Height: 1.79 meters

  Level: 1

  >>> 0%

  Abilities

  >>> Strength: 2.3/2.8

  >>> Agility: 1.7/2.6

  >>> Quickness: 2.2/3.4

  >>> Reflexes: 3.2/3.9

  >>> Stamina: 2.9/4.6

  >>> Stamina Recovery Rate: 3.5/4.0

  >>> Natural Regeneration: 1.0/2.3

  >>> Mental Strength: 3.5/4.8

  >>> Mental Stamina Recovery Rate: 3.7/4.2

  >>> Perception: 3.4/4.6

  >>> Mana Capacity: 0.2/4.2

  >>> Mana Recovery Rate: 0/5.0

  >>> Mana Output: 0/3.9

  Control

  >>> Mind-Body Coordination: 18/100

  >>> Muscle Balance: 27/100

  >>> Mental Fortitude: 58/100

  >>> Mana Control: 0/100

  Skills:

  [N/A]

  Status Effects:

  [Ankle sprain] [Infected hand] // [Minor dehydration] [Minor hunger] [Minor insanity]

  ========

  There was so much information that I didn’t even know where to start. What does it mean by level? What are all of these abilities? What does control mean? What do the numbers mean? Not to mention the status effects, which did not ease my mind.

  “Congratulations on starting the tutorial.”

  I had been so focused on the screen that I momentarily forgot about the creature. But then I thought that they should be able to alleviate a lot of my misunderstandings if I played my cards right, not that I knew where to even start.

  “I just saw a status screen appear in front of me.”

  I paused for a moment while considering what could be answered.

  “What does it mean by level?”

  “You will learn in due time.”

  They can’t even answer that much, huh.

  “What about abilities and control, and the numbers next to them?”

  “You will learn in due time.”

  I sighed as I stared up at the ceiling.

  “I thought you would answer questions I had about things I partially understood, so what’s up with your answers?”

  “You will need to try more before I can say more. I do apologize.”

  I was a bit shocked by the apology, but it let me take a step back and consider things. In doing so, I noticed that there was now a strange, dark blue light focused on the lectern. Looking around, it seemed to be emanating from the gaps between the columns. I didn’t even consider how there was light in this place earlier, but now that I think about it, it’s a bit strange.

  Inspecting things more closely, I could see that each gap in the columns produced the same light, and they were angled symmetrically towards the lectern. I wondered if this was related to me touching the lectern earlier, or maybe related to my clicking yes on the tutorial message.

  I walked closer to one of the gaps to get a better view and saw a statue of a humanoid figure draped in a cloth that clung tightly to its body as it covered its form in its entirety. It was a large statue, but instead of being placed on a pedestal, it was hanging upside down from the ceiling with a stone chain wrapped around its neck and feet. The light came from fractures throughout the structure, which might have seemed random if I didn’t realize the symmetry between it and the light from the other columns.

  It was a truly titanic figure. I wondered if it was always there, sitting in the dark, until my actions caused it to crack, or if it had suddenly appeared.

  Going back to the creature, I decided to ask, although I was sure that I wouldn’t get a meaningful response.

  “What are those things?”

  “They are your tickets.”

  I couldn’t tell if I was more puzzled by the response or the fact that it responded at all. Not to mention the word they used felt so artificial, akin to the tutorial screen I was presented earlier.

  “What are these ‘tickets'?”

  The creature paused for a moment.

  “I will tell you more when it is time to leave.”

  “I see, and when would that be?”

  “Soon.”

  Given the responses so far, it didn’t really feel like there was much more to learn here, but it also seemed a waste to just leave.

  “Are there questions that I have not asked that you can answer?”

  “There are”

  “And would the answers to these questions be useful to me?”

  “They would be.”

  That response halted me, and I tried as hard as I could to think of what the creature could mean, but nothing came to mind.

  In my stupor, I noticed that the creature was gesturing towards itself.

  “What are you?”

  “I am Naharzee.”

  “And the lagoon.”

  “Ayonmzee.”

  “So you are both living beings?”

  “Yes, although not in the way that you would know.”

  “Are you two the reason for my [Minor insanity] status effect?”

  “No, we are not.”

  “Who is?”

  “Something greater than ourselves.”

  “What? Like god?”

  “Perhaps. But not in a way that would be meaningful to you.”

  “But there is a meaningful answer.”

  “If you find the right question.”

  I considered things for a moment, thinking on every bit of information I had acquired since coming to the island.

  “The jungle?”

  “That is partly correct.”

  It makes sense. There’s been a lot of strange shit, and if it doesn’t all tie back to water, then the only other option is the jungle.

  “You mind explaining what was up with the jungle? There were lots of absurd and exotic plants and animals, and the distances seemed all wrong.”

  “The plants and animals are just familiar creatures who have changed in the same way that you will change.”

  I took that to mean that they had their own status screen or levels, or something similar.

  “As for the jungle’s size. I can say that it is, in some ways, endless.”

  “Wait, if it's endless, then how can I get out? How did I make it here?”

  “The distance is normal if you are heading to one of the waters. Every other destination will be endless.”

  “One of the two waters? So the lagoon and here really are the only free-standing water on the island?”

  “That is not the case.”

  I thought that made sense; otherwise, creatures there would actually be wildlife around those things.

  “Was I just unlucky when I was looking earlier, or is it exceptionally rare?”

  There was a pause.

  “You did not find water, so you would seek out this place.”

  “What does that mean? Does that mean some-”

  “I’m sorry, but we are running out of time. I will explain the tickets now.”

  Naharzee didn’t just cut me off; they stopped my voice from coming out at all. They paralyzed me, just like earlier in the water.

  “You have 10 tickets. They are represented by the 10 statues of Eyunme that you inspected earlier.”

  Naharzee moved as they talked, deliberately positioning themselves behind me.

  “You will always and only expend a ticket upon entering the water of Naharzee.”

  Gesturing to the large door at the end of the hall, they continued.

  “The ticket may open the door, and return you to the world you knew.”

  Giving one last pause as they looked at me.

  “I’m sure you’ve noticed that my actions are far more limited than my words. I’m afraid that I will have to make use of that trait here.”

  Naharzee took their arm and placed it horizontally on my back so that only the tips of their fingers touched my back. Then, in a slow, crushing motion, moved their arm forward, carving my skin and flesh inwards as they tore a hole through my back, reaching my lungs in short order. Continuing this motion through the chest cavity, as blood poured down my back and into my lungs, they reached the end of my chest cavity. There they stretched the skin, flesh, and bones to their limit before they ripped outwards, creating an open hole through which they rested their arm. Through the entire motion, I tried desperately to move my body forward, away from the arm, but my body was held in place, paralyzed by Naharzee.

  The cold arm lodged in my torso contrasted with the uncomfortable warmth of my blood pouring through my body, and down my torso. I had stopped breathing; I could feel my body choking on the pooled blood, but I was unable to cough. But there was no pain. My chest felt warm, numb. The rest of my body became stiff, and numb as well.

  It wasn’t pleasant, but it might’ve been if I hadn’t known that there was an arm had struck my torso. My mind could not keep up with the sensations I was feeling. Thoughts I should have had about trying to get away or fighting back or holding on to hope evaded me. My life didn’t flash before my eyes; I didn’t think of my loved ones. The only thing that crossed my mind was a desire to hold my hand over my chest to stop the bleeding

  Unbothered by what had just happened, Naharzee began walking to the water stream at the entrance, using the gash in my body as a grip to pull my body like a ragdoll across the floor. I watched as I moved further and further from the door. As my blood fell into the little crevices on the floor.

  “If the appropriate price is paid, then the door will open.”

  “If the price is not paid, the debt for a ticket will be owed.”

  We had reached the edge of the cavern as Naharzee dislodged her arm and threw my body to the floor.

  Standing over me as she stared toward the door.

  “The price of a ticket is your life.”

  “The price of the door is the life of Naharzee.”

  Lying flat on the ground, with the last bits of my consciousness draining, I saw one of the statues fall forward and crash upon the ground.

  “I look forward to your next attempt.”

  End of the Prologue