Jack gasped for air, screaming, as he toppled onto the earthen floor, clutching his right hand with an expression of abject terror on his face.

  “Jack? Are you okay?” Sarah’s voice rang out from somewhere on his left, but Jack was in no position to think about anyone else as hit the ground with a thud, facing the crystalline stalactites that jutted out from the ceiling.

  A few seconds later Sarah came into his field of view, looking down upon him with concern.

  “You didn’t see… the… dragon?” Jack began to regain his composure as he realized that the pain in his arm was gone…. The phantom pain alone had reduced him to such a state.

  “The what?” Sarah asked, her expression that of utter confusion.

  “The void dragon,” he repeated again, another wave of phantom pain coursing through his left arm upon mention of that name.

  “I can’t understand what you’re saying Jack,” Sarah repeated, causing a wave of realization to flow through him.

  Grimacing, he opened his system notifications.

  A stillness gripped the world around him. Jack gazed upward at Sarah, only to realize that her mouth was still open, her expression still the same as she tried to speak, but her body gripped by a stillness that could not be faked. She was frozen, but her expression remained unchanged.

  Jack felt his heart tremble as he got back upon his feet, almost feeling like a convict awaiting judgment as a supreme presence washed over his consciousness. If he was a small candlelight flickering under the wind, then the presence that washed over him was the entire universe, one that made him realize his own insignificance.

  “What… the fuck…..,” Jack muttered with stupefaction in his voice, as he fell to his knees with despair flooding his mind. What the hell was all this? A fucking divinity? How was he supposed to contend with…. A level 750 existence when he was level 5!? If he stopped trying to awaken his talent the mark would kill him, but it almost seemed preferable to the outcome.

  For some reason, the words seemed to be exactly the ones he needed to hear. This was much like the apocalypse, which had come without reason or warning, and run over those who had not prepared without mercy. Jack had lost years of preparation and wealth, but he had managed to survive up until now. That was because he had let pragmatism direct his actions, focusing on what he had and what he could do instead of lamenting over what he had lost.

  If a deity wanted to smite him to death, there was little he could do about it. There were two options presented to him: evolve or die. The enemy he was up against was so powerful that it was almost comically distant…. so just like the uncertain fate of the earth, the mysterious dragon that had left a curse upon him, and the conflict of whatever the system was versus the union, he put it out of his mind.

  It was none of his business. All he could do was awaken his talent, and then maybe then the veil of fog surrounding this blasted curse would unravel.

  The world started moving once again, Sarah’s lips and throat once again moving in cohesion to form words.

  “Jack…. you need to get up,” she spoke, and he could detect the urgency in her voice. Forgetting his worries for now, he got up and turned around to face the direction she was looking in, feeling that almost nothing could surprise him after he had been through.

  “Fuck,” he whispered under his breath, cursing himself for beckoning fate.

  Warmage: A Progression Fantasy by a great author that I've gotten to know recently.

  rating if you've enjoyed the story so far.