The Eternal: Awakening - A LitRPG Saga (World of Ga'em Book 1)

by Dhayaa Anbajagane

  The Eternal: Awakening

  A World of Ga’em Novel

  By Dhayaa Anbajagane

  GATEWAY TO DANGER

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  IF YOU ENJOYED THIS BOOK…

  ASTERION’S AMBITION

  SNEAK PEAK - THE ETERNAL: DRAGONBORN

  CHARACTER SHEET

  OTHER BOOKS BY DHAYAA

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  COPYRIGHT

  ASTERION’S AMBITION

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  CHAPTER ONE

  An infinite expanse of darkness.

  That was all I could see. An empty void of nothing. Voices echoed through the black, reciting the sounds of words I could hear and yet didn’t know. Dots of faded colors formed before me, shades of deep sea blues and purple morning skies spiking my vision. They meant something. I could feel it, and yet I didn’t have the faintest clue what.

  A wave of emotion passed through me, as though a blazing wind had shaken my very soul. The faint voices turned louder, power radiating with each sound that was spoken. The flow of unfamiliar words spun my mind, the archaic tones wrapping me like ropes of powerful poetry.

  An unease spread through the darkness and the sounds suddenly stopped, without cause and without warning. One sole voice broke through the silence, its tone ancient and powerful, its mysterious presence uttering but a single word. A word that I knew.

  “Chaos.”

  I gasped awake, my eyes wide, my breath choking on the blood in my throat. Confusion riled my mind, leaving it in utter disarray. I coughed hard, the metallic taste of the scarlet liquid filling my mouth. Pain thundered through my body as I lay on the floor, my mind and lungs competing to see which would collapse first.

  I grit my teeth, trying hard to bear the intense waves of pain radiating through my body. My hands clawed at the ground below me in frustration, the moist mud laying a chilling sensation on my skin. I turned my head to the side and coughed, spitting out the blood inside my mouth and opening up my wind pipe. I relaxed all my muscles, focusing on just my breathing and nothing else.

  Breathe in, breathe out, my thoughts chimed as I calmed myself down. Puffs of air flowed through my body, rejuvenating it from within.

  My pain slowly subdued with each passing moment of calm. My breathing turned to normal, giving my heart a fresh supply of air. I flexed my limbs, but felt no pain, just discomfort.

  I took in another deep breath and steadied my legs, hesitating for a moment before I stood my body up. There were a few purple bruises on my torso and shallow cuts on my limbs, but other than that I seemed fine. I felt much worse than I looked though.

  I squinted into the darkness, at the shadows all around me. Large trees surrounded me on all sides, their thick barks not more than ten feet from one another. Moonlight filtered through the canopy, the gentle rays touching the ground only where the dense leaves let them through.

  A forest, I noticed.

  A chilling wind passed through me, cutting into my skin. The still trees around me did not look friendly, and the moonlit night only made them seem worse. Their leaf-studded branches stayed frozen and did not rustle, leaving an eerie silence in the air. My eyes shifted around the shadows, looking at the dark gaps between the trees. I wanted to find an exit, a way to leave this surreal place, but I could see nothing but black.

  Just like before, my mind chimed, reminding me of the vision I’d had. A dream, I told myself, even though I didn’t believe it. My body shivered as the cold breeze blew over me one again, its blunt blades seeping into my cuts and wounds.

  What am I even doing in this forest? I wondered, but I had no answer. I thought hard for a few seconds, and my eyes immediately widened. Panic set into me as I realized there was a greater question that I was yet to answer.

  Who was I?

  I racked my mind, trying hard to find an answer, but none existed. I couldn’t remember a single thing about myself. Not who I was, what I was doing here, or why I’d woken up half-dead in the first place.

  But it didn’t take me more than a second to figure out why that was.

  I’d lost my memories.

  A howl struck into the sky, the tone resonating in the wind the way it broke into my distracted mind.

  What was that? I immediately shifted focus, my eyes darting through the darkness.

  The scurrying of footsteps broke the air and a pair of faint red eyes emerged before me, glowing like blood moons and racing to me like the wind. My thoughts sunk into agitation as I turned around, my injured legs ready to flee.

  But it was too late.

  One second I was on my feet and the next I found myself face down on the ground, a heavy weight pinning me to the mud. Sharp teeth sunk in my shoulder, digging into my flesh and bone. I felt my mouth open, but if I were screaming, I did not know, for all I could hear was silence. A rush of blood surged into my ears, deafening me. The pain in my body peaked to unbearable levels and quickly numbed as I started to feel faint.

  Don’t lose hope, my subconscious echoed.

  I raised my head and looked ahead weakly. My eyes caught the ragged shape of a rock in the corner of my vision.

  That, my mind said as my hand reached out to the object, my weakened arm shaking as I lifted it up. My bloodied fingers wrapped around the rock, wincing as its jagged edges dug into my cut skin. I felt my attacker’s teeth twist and tear inside my shoulder, but the pain seemed to have disappeared, as if I couldn’t feel anything anymore.

  And I wasn’t sure that was a good thing.

  I grabbed the rock and jerked my hand back as hard as I could. A crunch sounded as I hit my target and a loud howl sounded from behind me. The weight on my back eased up and I immediately scrambled forward to safety. My hands brushed against the ground as I turned around, picking my head up and looking at my attacker.

  A hunk of dark fur stood in front of me, a massive five-foot-tall canine frame. Its blood-red eyes glowed in the black night, its fangs foaming as it looked at me, warier of my presence than before.

  A wolf, I realized. But something felt odd about this one, as if it were a wolf, but not a normal one.

  The creature looked at me, its eyes the most haunting part of its presence. I resisted the urge to take a step back. That would only entice it into becoming aggressive again.

  I looked right at the wolf, my eyes unwavering, my mind ignoring my hurting body. I did not feel confident, but I fooled myself into thinking I was. I puffed my bloodied chest out, wincing as pain constricted
me, and held my head straight, my eyes staring right into the wolf’s, my gaze bearing down on it.

  The creature took a small step back, and its body language changed, its assertiveness quickly changing to hesitation. I made an instinctive gamble and took a step forward. The wolf scurried back, completely going on the defensive now. It looked at me for a second, its feet shuffling around, and then ran away, disappearing into the darkness faster than it had appeared.

  That was way too easy, I thought, but I wasn’t going to complain about it. Even if it wasn’t the best way to deal with a wolf, I was still alive and that was all that mattered.

  My legs suddenly went numb and I collapsed to the ground, the fall opening up wounds all over my body. I gasped in pain, immediately trying to calm myself down.

  Breathe, I thought, taking in a whiff of air, but that wasn’t helping as much.

  The forest floor felt damp beneath me, the wet mud leaving a faint trace on my skin. I lay there in my twilight of pain, feeling burning coals under my skin one second and nothing the next. I let out a groan as my fingers ran over my arm, wet from the blood streaking them. I felt a sharp end poking out from behind my shoulder and I realized one of the wolf’s teeth had been embedded in my flesh.

  My hands nervously felt the tooth, my fingers gripping it as hard as they could. This wasn’t going to feel good. I jerked on the surface of the tooth, sliding the sharp object out in one fluid motion. The numbness I felt before disappeared and pain burst through my upper body. I kept my mouth closed, holding in my screams.

  DING!

  A noise sounded and a rectangular screen of translucent white faded-in in front of me. I breathed heavy for a few seconds, letting the pain in my shoulder subdue before looking at the text before me.

  Warning! You have reached critical health. Take evasive action immediately.

  The Ga’em prompts, I thought involuntarily. I blinked, confused for a second. What is that? And why do I know about it?

  A series of beeps resonated in my head. My eyes looked around for the source, and widened as I noticed the hollow rectangular bar in the corner of my vision. A small sliver of red filled the left end of the shape, the color pulsating every second in sync with the beeps.

  My health bar, I thought, but had no clue what that meant either. Why do I know all this? I wondered.

  A sharp burst of pain wrenched through my shoulder once again and I clenched my teeth, waiting for it to end. I need to treat my wounds, I thought.

  I pulled myself up from the ground and leaned on the closest tree. My feet wobbled under me, but I could at least hold myself up for a bit now, albeit with some support. Luckily for me, the trees around me were not that far from each other, which meant my next peg of support was only a little bit further than an arm's reach away. I pushed myself off the trunk I was on, and leaned to the one in front of me, holding myself there for a few seconds as my legs stabilized.

  I kept doing this over and over, slumping from tree and tree as I moved through the forest. I’d gone about ten minutes and a hundred yards when a faint blue glow showed to my right. I knew I should have been wary of what it was, but at that point I was desperate to find something, regardless of whether it would help me or not. I moved towards the glow, still using the trees for support as I pushed myself towards the glow.

  A minute later, my hands gripped the tree trunks hard as I stopped myself before the source of the light. I peered ahead and my eyes immediately widened.

  “A spring,” my voice whispered, but that description did no justice to what I was seeing. A pool of glowing blue water stood before me, wisps of warm vapor emanating from its depths. Even from where I was standing I could still feel the warmth touch my wounds, soothing my pain.

  DING!

  The translucent white screen popped up.

  You have found a Spring of Healing. The water from a Spring of Healing is said to hold mystical powers that can enhance an individual’s physical and/or mental prowess.

  The Spring of Healing, the phrase rolled in my mind. I was curious about what that was. I was curious about why I knew these screens were called the Ga’em prompts. But right now, my pain was directing my actions, not my curiosity. I felt the urge to jump into the warm spring and I did not resist. I released my grip of the tree, letting my body stumble forward and fall into the water.

  I expected to feel heat on my skin, especially through my open wounds, but that was nothing close to what happened. A gentle warmth soaked me, like that I’d gotten from the vapor, but this felt more comforting, as though I could float in it forever. I pushed my legs down on the shallow spring floor and brought myself up, lifting my head above the surface.

  DING!

  You have been blessed by the Spring of Healing. All wounds have been healed. Mana Regeneration increased by 100%. Health Regeneration increased by 100%. Effects will wear off in 12 hours.

  What? I stared at the screen. Mana Regeneration? Health Regeneration?

  I looked down at my body and a silent gasp left my lips. My wounds had all disappeared, as if they had never been there in the first place. I traced my fingers along my skin, unable to believe I had been healed just like that.

  Spring of Healing, I thought, cupping the water in my hands.

  A branch snapped ahead of me, sending a nervous shiver down my spine. I froze in place and kept my hands still, unwilling to cause even a ripple in the water. A low growl ruptured the silent air and by then I knew exactly what was coming after me.

  The wolf.

  Dammit, I cursed, moving to the far end of the spring. Can wolves swim? I asked myself, but I already knew the answer to that. It was not looking good for me.

  I heard footsteps come from ahead, and hastened my movements immediately. I jumped out the water, my body feeling much lighter now. My feet flew over the soil as I rushed away from the spring, not looking back even once to see if I was being followed.

  Moonlight caught the drops of spring water shaking off me, the rays dispersing into my eyes as beautiful midnight rainbows. I allowed myself a small smile, amused at the irony of something so mystical forming in what was arguably the tensest moment I could remember.

  Then again, I couldn’t really remember much.

  A flurry of blue surged from behind me and stopped a few yards ahead. When the sparkling lights died down, I realized I’d made a very bad approximation about my attacker.

  It wasn’t a wolf.

  It was a whole pack of them.

  I froze in my steps, not knowing what to do next. A line of red eyes stared at me, the gray hunks that were wolves growling as they stood, their bodies encompassed by a light blue hue.

  A speed buff, I recognized, but didn’t know why I knew that. I didn’t have any time to get annoyed by these sudden recollections though, because I knew if I didn’t focus now, I wouldn’t have chance to get have any recollections after this.

  The beasts stood their ground, as though they were waiting for something. My eyes scanned through them, wondering if the wolf I had attacked was in this pack. I was certain it was. To be attacked by a wolf and then a pack of wolves in the span of ten minutes couldn’t just be a mere coincidence.

  This is probably the pack the wolf I hurt belongs to, I realized. Shouldn’t have hit it with a rock, I sighed, even though I knew doing that was the only reason I was standing here alive.

  For the moment, at least.

  A final streak of light surged into the forest, this one a radiant red and appearing behind the wolves instead. It stopped in front of the grey beasts, a large wolf appearing from within it. The beast stood in front of the line, its body shaded much darker and sized about twice as big as the others. It raised its head to the air and howled, the tone reverberating in the forest floor.

  RUN, I thought and charged away from them. I heard a chain of howls flow through the air as my feet speed over the ground.

  I need to hide somewhere, I panicked. It’s the only-

  A surge of red and blue lig
hts flushed around me, and from within them emerged the wolves, stopping me fast and surrounding me completely. Their speed buff was far too superior for me to match. I was so outpaced it was almost funny.

  Almost.

  The large wolf stepped to me, a glint in its eye. The beast let out a low growl and charged, its long strides quickly eating up the mere footsteps between us. The wolf’s image flickered for a second, and then it disappeared.

  Too fast, I cursed, trying to trace its movement.

  I heard a low growl right behind me, the bass tone shaking the air around my head. I jerked around, and found myself staring right into the red eyes of the giant wolf.

  My body froze, my thoughts coming to a sudden stop. I was staring into death and yet my subconscious was still urging me on, as though I could come up with a plan for this, like I could escape somehow. There was hope left in my heart, and it was hope greatly misplaced.

  The wolf lunged with a murderous look in its eyes. Its sharp claws slashed at me, sinking deep into my body, and tearing it apart.

  One second I was breathing.

  And the next I was dead.

  ***

  CHAPTER TWO

  I sat up, my eyes bloodshot, my breath rapid and irregular.

  What’s going on? I ran my fingers along my body, expecting to find gashes and cuts. But none existed. A tingling sensation rang through me, but that was it. I squinted, utterly confused. I remembered the wolves from before. I remembered the pain of sharp fangs tearing into my body. And yet here I was, alive and breathing, as if none of that had even happened.

  What is this? I stood myself up. The skies above me were cloudy, hiding the Sun from view.

  I looked around me, scanning my surroundings. I was on some kind of barren field, the scent of mud and dust fresh in the air. The coarse sand crunched under my feet as I shifted around. I could see a long line of trees to my right, but I could tell that they weren’t part of the forest that I’d been in before. This outgrowth was much smaller and much less dense.