(May 13, around 00:56 am)
"Are you alive? Hey" a scared voice uttered.
Aether could hear an echo inside his head, he thought a tiny person drilled open his head, then walked in, built a house, and finally started talking from inside his skull? He thought about it again and it sounded too crazy to be real, he knew there was a voice and it wasn't his delusion. So he made an almost superhuman effort to open his eyes that seemed glued together because they were so heavy. His entire body felt dazed and sore at the same time, his back felt numb from the temperature and he had seemingly encrusted pimples that marked his skin on top of his clothes.
"There's no way I've been waiting half an hour for someone who's dead," the same shrill voice replied. "Hey, hey. Hey! Blonde Guy. Ah! It's moving. Hey! Can you hear me?"
His eyes slowly began to make out the light of the moon that served as a lamp on the stage, once he opened them and after getting used to the darkness his eyes began to hurt from the sudden light. So he put his hand out to block the light and swallowed the saliva, hydrating her throat so dry it might break like brittle glass. As soon as he was able to focus and form an image of the place despite the immense darkness, he could identify a rocky and perhaps mountainous area, he was on sand and in front of him he had a thick forest. Once he examined his surroundings, he managed to see a tiny holographic projection coming from the watch on his right wrist, which reflected a young woman with apparently white hair and dwarf.
"Are you okay? I've been trying to talk to you for more than ten minutes" The young woman asked confused.
"Me... who?" Aether asked totally clueless.
"Excuse me? If I ask you a question then you're supposed to answer. Give me your name" she insisted.
Before falling into this hell of the last days, Aether had one of those lasts watches with a voice assistant that connected to different devices in his technological penthouse that he shared with his sister. So hearing a voice coming from a device in this era obviously didn't attract his attention, what actually seemed curious to him was that she had such a strong, lively personality and above all a clear face and demanding attitude. Finally I put the watch at the level of his eyes to better appreciate the young face to face. This watch was quite light and not bad looking, he would definitely keep it since his belongings were apparently confiscated in confinement, next to him he had a backpack too empty to have at least a third of what he lost these days.
"Are you an iPear assistant or something? Sara?" Aether caressed his head that was beating incessantly, it seemed about to explode and scatter his brains all over the place, so he then guided his hand to his temple to caress it. At that moment he was aware of his irregular breathing and the vein that did not stop pumping, his nausea and desire to vomit right away did not take long to appear. If she did vomit verbally, he was going to have real vomit even if he hadn't eaten in days and had no food to expel beyond water. He has lost a lot of weight after the event, and has only limited himself to drinking fluids.
"Are you really calling an iPear's assistant to one of the latest and most advanced artificial intelligences? Oh my gods! Paimon who waited half an hour for you to wake up and almost called 911 because you had a bad fall. The cameras were telling you They recorded how you fell in the worst possible way, now Paimon is worried about you and insults like this?." The young woman sounded too surprised and hurt, but at the same time angry.
"So, I'm sorry?" Aether began to cover her head with both hands until she brought her arm with the watch back to face her. Between the visible space of his fingers and his eyes. He managed to see that the prevailing face of "non-assistant Sara from iPear" ended up being a relatively "genuine" concern in his opinion.
"Hey… Do you need time or something? Maybe a doctor? I can scan your body for a quick diagnosis, I'm your Oblivion partner"
"Oblivion" Aether mentioned, he closed her eyes and suddenly all the memories came back to his mind. Everything was as fresh as if it were yesterday.
Suddenly all the pieces began to assemble the panorama in his head just by hearing that word. He had forgotten what had happened before he woke up, so his pain became an agitation that forced him to put his hands on his face from the stress of his memory, he wanted so badly that he could forget what happened on his descent. , just as he forgot what happened that day and prevented him from defending himself. He felt helplessness, ridicule, and hostility build up in his chest, similar to phlegm but as thick and toxic as tar.
"Murder", "Cut", "Guilty", "my sister", "my friend", "Lumine", "Amber" were random words that came and went in her head in a messy and conflicting way, but the weird thing is that none of the people had a specific face. Everything was like a blur in his memories, faceless people with dubious features. She knew she had a sister, but her face was gone? he couldn't believe what was happening, he felt like her tears wanted to overflow.
"Hey! Your heart is racing too much. This is almost a tachycardia, do you need me to call a doctor? Do you need breathing exercises?" the assistant began to display the heart rate counter on the holographic screen.
"My sister Lumine! Where is she?" Aether exclaimed in annoyance. Leaving the young woman stupefied.
The young woman looked at him strangely and with her hand she pointed upwards, to the large hole that allowed the moonlight to pass through: "Lumine? Your sister? She is in heaven."
Aether felt mortified with that information, making the young woman's expression too uncomfortable.
"Okay, I think it was a bad joke but you know her floor is our sky and… I don't like to explain the rest, I think it's too obvious. Well, she's not dead. She's outside of Oblivion, your sister is free and you are inside the Oblivion. Do you remember your name? Nobody cares about your last name here, only your first name"
"Aether, only Aether"
"Well 'Only Aether', my name is Paimon. I am your traveling companion and I am in charge of giving you the rules of Oblivion. For this, we are going to advance a little. We are at the entrance of Oblivion, the place where your descent was "
"I can't see anything, is it really that dark down here?"
"It's because it's night, at 8:00 p.m. the power cuts off and we enter a state of total darkness. Only auxiliary software like me and a ton of suspicious participants are available at this time, therefore one of the key rules is that You have to leave all your pre-charged devices before 7:59 p.m., and stay in a safe area. Can you get up? Don't forget to pick up the backpack that is next to you"
Aether struggled to his feet until his head assimilated that her body was in one complete piece and all his limbs were still functional, so he quickly grabbed the backpack that wasn't that heavy, but definitely had a few things in it inside, and with the light provided by the Paimon, he kept an eye on the floor so as not to trip over the rubble and metal on the ground. he went through his backpack until he felt that there was a flashlight in his bag, so he quickly took it and turned it on, confirming his first impression of the place: he was in a horrible, dark forest.
"I don't recommend using a flashlight at night. You never know who may be near you, and having a light source is even more striking. Do you see the cabin that is 15 meters in that direction? That is the safe zone of the district of initiates. Hold your breath until we get there."
He tried to detect if there was any presence other than him, but his limited field of vision and the fact that he can only hear his footsteps and breathing distract him to the point of being terrified, he didn't know if it was good or bad to have no one around. . When he went up the stairs of the cabin, creaking those wooden steps that were surely older than his own grandfather and moved the latch on the door, he noticed that it was actually open and with the light of the hologram he illuminated the surroundings to have an illumination dimmer. His heart sensed that he was not alone, even if the assistant told him that it was not normal for there to be a presence in this place. Just by opening the door, he breathed in the smell of stale air inside and the humidity of the wood that made him cover his mouth to avoid coughing. Since that lighting was sufficient and it seemed that there was no one inside, he put the flashlight back inside his bag to save battery.
"We are safe now. Sit down, we have 7 hours left for the return of the electrical network" comments the assistant.
As soon as Aether sat down on the damp ground, with her free hand she began to examine the backpack.
"A card, a necklace?, a flashlight and a knife." He mentioned listing the things inside and looked to Paimon for answers.
"Put the Tag necklace around your neck and then I'll explain."
His hand rummaged through the backpack again until he recovered the metal military-style necklace with a plate of the same material, he knew it was metal because of the coldness it made him feel against his skin. It didn't seem to be anything special at first glance, but when he touched the plate with his fingertips, he was able to identify that his name was engraved on the plate. In addition, when he put it on, he saw that in the hologram Paimon received a sheet that he read for a few seconds until he put it in his pocket: "Does it have some kind of chip?" Was what Aether thought.
"First of all: that necklace that is on your neck is your life insurance, since you put on that necklace you agreed to acquire the role of "Underdog", the equivalent of criminals who reside in oblivion. Commonly this necklace is called "Tag" and there are four types divided by colors: green, blue, red and black. Each Tag color represents a type of criminal, or rather "Underdog". For example: green tags are carried by people who commit crimes cheap, the blue tags are worn by petty criminals and the red and black tags are worn by high-risk criminals. Do you follow me?"
"Yes, I get the idea" Aether confirmed.
Paimon showed a document-style projection showing the types of necklaces. As soon as he noticed that this document was interactive, he pressed with his index finger to go to the next part that showed more information about targets. There he could distinguish several categories: Non-playable characters (NPCs), Enforcers, Inspectors and Underdogs.
"Perfect. Tags can't leave the wearer's neck. If one of the Inspectors finds you without your Tag, you die. However, if you're able to steal the Tag from an underdog and they don't get it back before 00:00, the untagged underdog dies and you earn rewards.Along the way, you will find materials, food, ingredients, areas and above all better weapons to defeat your enemies using many techniques related to aggression, submission, cheating, threats, etc. Each underdog has its way of playing."
"What kind of rewards are there?"
"Mora, money in short. You have a red Tag. If you steal a Tag from a red or black underdog, that equals at least 4 green tags or 2 blue tags. They are very valuable, in Oblivion, because you need certain amount of points to stay alive, this is calculated according to your current price every 15 days, from your fall to oblivion you will be reduced 200 Mora points, and after 30 days you need to have 10% of your current price in your account. If you don't have them you die, currently you need 2500 points to survive but since you are new you will need 2700 points actually."
"That means that just as I need to steal tags to survive, others can also steal my tag, and if I don't get it back I will die."
"And they will also prefer you as a target because you are a DOPE target, all the red and black underdogs have that denomination and their faces are in the deadpool. The deadpool is a page that you can access through your watch, there you can see your price, and you can also search the price of others, without forgetting that for others you are easily detectable as a DOPE target."
Aether returned to the menu and sure enough, at the bottom of the holographic screen was a "Deadpool" icon. He pressed and loaded a page with a skull with the skull broken by the impact of a bullet. In it there were too many faces, but at the bottom, in an area with the title "Fresh Blood" was his photo and with the name "Aether, the innocent murderer". His photo but with a gray filter and a 31-hour counter, there was also his price: 25 thousand blackberry points. He had heard of shady topics such as organ trafficking and an estimate of the monetary value of his body, but nothing made him as uneasy as the fact that his head was priced at 25,000 points.
"That counter…" Aether felt uncomfortable seeing himself on the page, so he averted his gaze.
"Not a bad thing, that means you have immunity for 31 hours, so you're not a value target yet as a newcomer underdog. Nobody gets their hands dirty for something that doesn't bring a reward" Mentions Paimon.
"Well, actually, there are people who get their hands dirty for revenge. But it is usually linked to gangs"
The two fell silent as soon as he began to hear footsteps outside. He started to regulate his breathing and covered his mouth. Paimon reduced the amount of light she emitted and kept silent. The two remained staring at each other for more than 5 minutes, that person from the outside seemed to be looking for something, but then he left as surprisingly as his arrival. It wasn't until they heard those footsteps leaving that the two started a conversation again.
"What was that? Didn't you say that it's unusual for someone to come here?"
"It has to be an Enforcer, the inspectors don't go around these hours in this place. There are places with a higher concentration at this time, they are the ones you should be careful of. The enforcers are Underdog hunters, they are people who look for the underdogs at night DOPE target, they are a danger and at the same time your competition. Because they can snatch one of your targets, they don't react against blue or green underdogs. Only against red and black ones." Paimon muttered.
"So they can look for me at any time of the night? Even if I sleep?" Aether asked.
"Yes and no, there are safe zones where enforcers can't go, but that doesn't mean that other underdogs can't assault you. Those safe zones have a green circle sign inside, once you stay near the green circle, they move away In fact, you can't see it because it's dark, but above your head is that sign."
Aether thought about what he had just heard, he couldn't help but feel a deadly chill in the place where he was. He dropped to his knees and peered through the dusty window, searching for at least one human figure. However, all he can see is a large red dot on a post, apparently it was a camera that was recording a large area.
"Paimon, why is there a camera here?"
"Inside the oblivion you are under surveillance 24/7. The recorded content is filtered and then it is shown on national television, this place has no cameras, but as soon as we leave in the morning you will "You're going to start getting famous for sure. Lots of people donate when they have a favorite Underdog, and that's one of the ways to earn points without getting your hands dirty killing other people."
"I get that I need to steal other underdogs' tags to extend my stay, but what if I kill an enforcer? Are they untouchable?"
Paimon remained in a prolonged silence before responding.
"Killing an enforcer is not illegal, let alone impossible, you would earn a lot of respect by doing it. But by doing it your price skyrockets, and you can understand that having a high price means you are in very high danger of being robbed. It is true that you are going to find a lot of shit and thugs. But finding someone who has murdered an inspector deserves recognition and respect. It's a very fast way to survive and at the same time very mean"
"Why? Don't they kill people too? It's normal to want to defend yourself in that case"
"Because it's your job, instead you are underdogs. The enforcers are people who want to clear their name and therefore, they clear your land in order to earn arrears points and reduce your sentence, and you are people who would do anything to survive. This is a place without law, where there is no trust and even less camaraderie"
If the reward for killing an enforcer was that high, then he could only kill an enforcer and then he wouldn't have to worry about gaining or losing points for a while. Aether can't imagine submitting to multiple murders in order to survive if he wants to prove his innocence.
"As an assistant to this experience, I am not authorized to give an opinion or make a value judgment towards you. But I must admit that I have not heard many regular criminals who consider murdering an inspector who is the representation of authority. You are peculiar in that sense," admitted the young woman.
Aether woke up and looked at his hands, remembering how a few days ago his hands were covered in blood. Would he really be ready to face something similar again? There was nothing and no one to guarantee that he would not freeze in the middle of a confrontation.
"A few minutes ago you told me about your sister, do you know what you can do with the Mora points? Establish communication with the outside.
"As?"
"It's one of the rewards, earning enough points to survive and then make a call to a family member, friend, etc. Many use it to redeem themselves, others to provide more information to prove their innocence. But everything you do here is televised, if you want to see your sister again, the logical thing would be to show good behavior, right?"
"Then it is not necessary to kill anyone"
"Being a thief is not the same as being a murderer, Aether"
Aether wondered. It is true that there are other ways to earn those points. Why did he immediately think of killing people? Seeing how his perception of himself changed as soon as he fell into this place left him disturbed.
"Do what you want with that information. My only duty is to introduce you to the rules and give you the tools to do so. What you do with what I tell you is up to you."
"Are there any more rules?"
"You can read them in the mail that will arrive at your watch tomorrow. But the main rule is not to lose that tag necklace you have around your neck, and if you lose it, you have until midnight to get it back."
Aether stopped listening to Paimon as soon as she saw that in the so-called Deadpool Hall of Fame, there was an underdog with no photo that was one of the highest valued.
"Why doesn't this underdog have a picture?"
"The underdog named Scaramouche? He is making use of one of the jokers exchangeable for mora points, this joker is called "incognito" and it allows him to hide his face and name, be careful, maybe that's not even his name.
Aether kept looking at the list of the most famous underdogs, and in that list there were many that interested him, if they were also DOPE targets, did that mean that they were real murderers?