John remembered the day he died. The antiseptic smell of the hospital surrounded him, punctuated by the rhythmic beeping of life support machines. Nurses and doctors bustled around him while his family stood over his failing body. He was dying from common complications of old age—nothing dramatic, just the inevitable conclusion to a long life. His children were grown with children of their own. His first two wives had passed away, and his third, sweet Abigail, had cared for him in his final days.

  His life had been fairly mundane. A career in IT that extended back to the era of punch cards had dominated most of it. John had always enjoyed solving problems and fixing issues. He prided himself on being persistent, stubborn, and even-tempered—traits that had served him well both professionally and personally.

  Earlier that day, his grandson Matthew had visited, spending an hour reading to him from one of the fantasy novels they both loved. It was a simple story about a man reborn into a new world of magic and adventure. As John's life faded from his body, he wondered how wonderful it would be to live again in such a world. Little did he know his dying wish had been heard.

  Death came quietly and peacefully. No pain, no sense of loss, no discomfort—just acceptance. It wasn't in John's nature to fear things he couldn't control, and death was the ultimate uncontrollable event.

  His heart stopped. His body became inert and cold. He watched as his family shed tears over his corpse before his awareness was suddenly pulled upward toward a bright light. He would miss them, but had no regrets. He had done all he could to prepare for the end.

  Then, in a blink, he was elsewhere.

  ---

  John's consciousness floated in the void of space, surrounded by stars brighter and clearer than anything he had ever imagined possible. At first, that was all he could see or experience, the sheer majesty overwhelming his disembodied awareness.

  Time held no meaning as he studied the heavens. Without a body, his emotions seemed muted, distant. Then, between one moment and the next, his contemplation ended. He found himself seated in a chair on a floating platform, facing a distinguished-looking gentleman in another chair. With the return of a physical form came the rush of emotions—fear, panic, confusion. Despite this turmoil, John quickly pulled himself together, drawing on a lifetime of staying cool under pressure.

  Looking around, he noticed the chairs appeared formal yet comfortable, arranged for easy conversation. Between them sat a fancy tea set with cookies. The platform floated in the same starry void he'd been observing.

  The gentleman across from him was neatly groomed with grey streaks in his dark brown hair, styled in a way reminiscent of the 1920s, complete with a full upturned mustache. Despite the grey, his face and hands appeared youthful. His suit-like clothes were dark green with raised golden brocade. The designs looked nature-themed—vines, leaves, and animals hidden within the patterns. Nothing about the outfit quite matched anything familiar from Earth.

  "Hello John, before we begin our discussion, I would like to offer my condolences on your recent death and apologize for interrupting the natural progression of your soul. I am Asonia, Servant of the Goddess Sierra of the planet Sierrallas, and I come bearing an offer from my Goddess." Asonia said.

  Aspnia’s voice was clear, rich, and precise. It somehow evoked sensations of an ancient forest in summer—complete with warmth, the scent of loam, and the sound of a roaring river. The voice was both comforting and overwhelming, like the crystal-clear starscape around them.

  "What's happening?" John asked hesitantly, trying to remain polite despite his confusion. "I know I'm dead, but I have no idea what happens after death. I honestly always expected to just cease to exist, not...whatever this is. I'm completely lost here."

  "Death is an overwhelming experience," Asonia replied. "It is both an end and a new beginning. I would have been astounded if you weren't at least a little discombobulated."

  "Why am I here? Where is here? What are you? What's going on?" John leaned forward earnestly. "I have so many questions."

  "I can answer many of your questions, but not all, or we would be here from now unto eternity," Asonia said. "You are here because your soul fits the criteria needed by Sierra to fix an issue with the local instance of the System that governs Sierrallas. As for where we are, it's complicated, and you lack the context to really understand the answer. However, in simple terms, you are in a liminal space anchored above Sierrallas." He pointed to the right, where a massive planet was visible against the sea of stars.

  John sat transfixed as the planet rotated beneath him. Massive cloud banks, raging storms, and clear air swirled around an unfamiliar set of blue oceans and gloriously green landmasses.

  "That is Sierrallas," Asonia intoned, drawing John's gaze away from the beautiful vista.

  "An alien world?" John's curiosity overtook his fear. "What's it like down there? Are there people? It's beautiful."

  "It is a world like many others," Asonia replied gently, deflecting John's curiosity. "It is filled with people, as most living worlds are, but we are here to discuss my Goddess's offer."

  "What can someone like me do that a Goddess and her Servant can't?" John's voice grew quieter as he contemplated his own self-worth. "I led a normal life and had a normal death. I can't imagine how I could help. I'm definitely not the heroic type like in the stories."

  "We don't need a hero or a champion like the novels you and your grandson are so fond of," Asonia said in an even, gentle tone.

  "I regret to inform you that there's nothing particularly remarkable about you, your life, or even your soul. Though your experience as a troubleshooter and problem-solver are helpful, if not strictly necessary."

  "So then, why me?" John asked, confused but curious.

  "As I said, you meet the criteria. You are from an Unawakened world, your soul has never been touched by the System or similar entities, and you were available." Asonia replied.

  "Wow, way to make me feel special," John said with slight exasperation. "Okay, so you need someone from an Unawakened world. What does that mean? What is the System you keep mentioning? I assume that being dead is what makes me available?"

  "You assume correctly." Asonia nodded. "Awakening is another complex topic. In simplest terms, it means to gain access to and awareness of what you would call magic, but is commonly referred to as Essence here. Essence makes the supernatural possible. You will learn more if you accept the Goddess's offer."

  John nodded, somehow not surprised that magic was real while talking with a Servant of a Goddess.

  "As for the System, that is harder to explain due to your lack of context. The full name is The Five Fold Path Of Ascension Guidance System, and it is essentially a very powerful instanced artificial intelligence that regulates magic and the Ascension process on a wide variety of Awakened worlds throughout the universe. Again, it is something you will learn more about if you accept the offer to help us fix the local System instance on the planet Sierrallas."

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  "What's wrong with the System?" John asked, still not fully understanding despite having some questions answered.

  "Its Quarantine Protocols were activated without any obvious reason. This has locked certain important functions and hobbled its continued use by the locals. We essentially need to send a patch. The method just happens to be complicated due to legacy code left by the original creators of the System."

  "So how do I fit into all this?"

  "You have two options," Asonia said, leaning back and taking a deep if unnecessary breath. "Be returned to the sea of souls and the Cycle of life, death, and rebirth on Earth as you have throughout your many past lives, or be reborn on the planet Sierrallas and become part of the local Cycle. Before you answer, let me elaborate."

  Asonia continued, "Among the creators of the System was a peculiar race responsible for establishing and implementing the security protocols for resets, updates, and other modifications. They, of course, long ago used the System to Ascend and abandoned the Mortal Realm and the System they helped create. While they made sure the System was self-sufficient, self-correcting, and granted various Gods limited Administrative privileges, they apparently left a few issues that required someone of their race or someone with the appropriate Traits to resolve. During your rebirth, if you choose to help, the Goddess can grant you the necessary Traits. Your mere presence on the planet and interaction with the local instance should be sufficient to resolve the issue over time."

  "That just leads to more questions," John paused, "but something tells me I won't get all of them answered during this meeting. Okay, so what Traits will I be given, and what's in it for me?" John felt he could trust Asonia and didn't sense any deception, even if the situation was weird and confusing. And what kind of IT guy would he be if he wasn't fascinated by helping troubleshoot a giant AI?

  "I will answer the last question first," Asonia replied. "Sierrallas is an Awakened world under the System—magic and immortality are on the table for all residents, which would include you. You will be allowed to preserve your current consciousness without the loss of memory that typically occurs on rebirth. As for the Traits, they will give you several advantages over the locals. All the details will be in the Contract with the Goddess and available via your personal Guide, but the time has come to decide." Asonia intoned with a sense of finality and a flick of his hand.

  A scroll glowing with a holy light appeared before John. He hesitantly reached for it and began to read with a sense of urgency.

  The chairs, platform, gentleman, and starscape faded away, leaving his consciousness with nothing to focus on besides the Contract.

  The Contract somehow recognized the moment John decided to agree and when he did everything—consciousness included—vanished.

  ---

  When John's consciousness reappeared, his mind was filled with new information. A series of error messages intruded on his thoughts. If he'd been capable of complex emotions in his current state, he might have panicked. Instead, he let the messages scroll through his consciousness.

  A sense of welcome flooded his mind from what he just knew was his Guide on the Five Fold Path of Ascension. The Guide let him know that the System had detected that his soul was new to the System and he needed to be integrated properly. However, there was a problem with the integration due to the Local System Instance on Sierrallas being in a type of Safe Mode due to the Quarantine Protocols being active.

  John didn't know what any of that meant for something like the System, but he wasn't reassured that there were problems immediately upon being integrated. He continued processing the new information he was sent.

  After several more messages about errors and the Local System Instance his Guide decided to send a message to an administrator. Unsurprisingly the administrator was the Goddess Sierrallas. However, when Her voice suddenly filled his mind he was startled.

  "Hi John, please be patient while I connect you to a higher Instance of the System. Part of the problem with the Local Instance is interfering with the integration of your soul, which is required for the rebirth process. Normally you wouldn't be privy to the inner workings of the System like this, but this System Instance is not functioning at its best currently and your role as a patch carrier comes with certain privileges.” The Goddess told him. He was left feeling stunned by Her Divine Presence no matter how brief.

  The Guide let him know that a higher Instance of the System had been contacted and he was now connected properly. It also informed him that his Divine Contract would allow the Goddess to modify his soul, which was one of the scariest things he had ever experienced.

  Another message from the Goddess Sierra reassured him somewhat, but left him with new questions.

  "Time to give you those Traits you agreed to. I know Soul Modification sounds scary, but don't worry—you will appreciate the changes. Eventually.” The Goddess Sierra told him. The feeling of her Voice was overwhelming in its grandeur.

  John received five new Traits from the Goddess and he felt a fire kindle in the core of his being as his Essence Core was awakened for the first time. Then he was suddenly in a new place with another message from the Goddess filling his consciousness.

  "Welcome to Sierrallas! The hard part is over. Soul Modification is a tricky business, but it went great! You may feel a little weird as your newly Awakened Essence Core stabilizes and you adapt to your new Traits. Check your Guide before looking around, or you will likely be very confused. Your current state of existence may be disorienting, but you will have plenty of time to adjust. Oh, one last thing—you will find a Quest to interact with local System infrastructure, which includes Shrines, Temples, and other physical structures. The more of these you visit, the faster I can fix the Local System Instance, but a single interaction will start the process and fulfill your Contract. Good luck, and may you reach Ascension John!”

  John was already confused without looking around. To start with, he felt incredibly weird. He couldn't feel his body and he appeared to be a disembodied consciousness once again.

  He checked with his newly integrated Guide, which first let him know he no longer had a name. He both knew his name and that it was not his name any longer. This created a strong sense of cognitive dissonance the likes of which he had never felt before.

  Though concerning his name issue wasn't nearly as strange as the fact that his name, age, and race all had two entries. The names were blank, but his age showed as -9 months and 0. His race was Half Elven Precursor and Precursor Spirit. Those abnormalities, in what was essentially a status sheet, made him decide to look around the first time.

  He appeared to be in very lush and verdant forest clearing. There was an abundance of life in the clearing and surrounding area. The center was covered in moss. The edges were full of colorful bushes, flowers, mushrooms, and even a few things he couldn't identify. The whole thing was surrounded by massive trees larger than redwoods. A large blue grey moon and a star filled sky hung overhead.

  However, what caught his attention and would help explain his situation were the naked couple on the ground below him. One was a human woman and the other what could only be an elf. They appeared to be enjoying a post-coital embrace. A silver thread connected John’s disembodied self to the woman's abdomen.

  He did a quick review of his Traits in an attempt to understand what was happening. It didn't take John long to recognize the implications of this information. His Traits meant that he could split his mind between his physical and spiritual bodies and have them act independently.

  Based on his age and race he was a very new half-elven fetus and a newly born spirit. Since his physical body was just a zygote his consciousness was fully in his Spirit body. He wondered what would happen once his brain grew and developed. What would having two minds be like? Would they share memories? The questions just seemed to pile up.

  John's attention shifted away from his existential crisis as the couple below him began to get dressed. He felt a bit like a voyeur, but understanding the two people that were likely his new parents seemed more important than any embarrassment.

  The human looking woman was young, surprisingly fit, and overall quite attractive. She had rich wavy brown hair hanging down her back, large dark brown eyes, and brown skin. The only oddity was the fact that she had dark spots framing her face. The spot ran down her neck and back in a way that reminded John of animal markings. The spots didn't cover her front.

  The elven-like man was a strange sight. If the woman had been fit this man was doubly so. His skin was a coppery tan, his hair was coppery red, and even his amber eyes had a copper hue. His ears of course were long and pointed.

  The woman carried herself with a level of confidence and maturity for one that looked so young. The man had a wilder almost feral air about him. Their clothes were in very different styles. With the woman wearing simple un-embellished clothes and the man wore a more fantastical outfit that matched his wilder demeanor.

  John wondered how their mixed genes would influence his future body's appearance. He didn't think he would have to worry about being ugly, but his potential coloration might be strange.

  He was surprised when the couple split up. The man headed west and the woman east. John was pulled along with the woman as she traveled through the forest. Despite the lack of light she had no trouble navigating the undergrowth. She had definitely spent a lot of time in the forest.

  John's thoughts wandered as they traveled. He only noticed the large cottage as the woman entered. He caught glimpses of a series of garden beds around the house and briefly saw a common room before he was stuck in a bedroom where the woman had quickly changed before falling asleep.

  With little to do John decided to do a more in depth exploration of the Guide and figure out what he was supposed to do as a Spirit.