Darkness. Pitch black was all I could see.

My eyelids felt heavy. My head felt wobbly.

There was a severe headache between my temples. It felt as if someone was banging their fist directly on my brain.

"What...?"

I slowly tried to open my eyes.

"Where am I...?"

I could see the sky but...it was dark. No stars. No moon. Just endless darkness. The faint lights at the corners of my eyes seemed to be distant.

I turned my head to get a better view and I found that I was lying on some kind of roof, a spacious area with nothing significant to catch my attention.

Therefore, slowly, I tried to get up.

"ACK!"

My whole body immediately felt sore. The feeling was as if someone had crushed me with a roller.

Trying to recollect my senses, I distracted myself from the pain that had warmly greeted me on this chilly rooftop.

Also, I noticed that I was wearing unfamiliar clothes while doing so.

As I looked at my hands, I found them to appear strange.

My skin was pale and completely anaemic.

With these strangers that were attached to my wrists, I searched the pockets of my dress.

"Nothing."

I couldn't find my wallet which I always carried with me.

"Then..."

I looked around again.

A few metres away, I saw a small bag.

"..."

Having decided on what my next target was, carefully, I lifted my foot after raising my heavy figure.

One at a time, my feet moved and the pain in my body intensified with each small movement as I walked over with baby steps.

"Black leather..."

The bag seemed expensive and it had a brand which I had never seen or heard of before.

Next, I searched inside it like a detective, trying to figure out my situation.

A driver's license with the picture of a girl was what I found, from my inexperienced salvaging, first.

The picture had a gorgeous but an unfamiliar face and the name beside it was struck off with ink.

"Is there something else?"

I looked inside the bag again.

There was a curious device inside, much like a phone but extra thin and the screen seemed futuristic.

It displayed the time 7:34 pm, 2075, Reji City.

"!"

My brain froze, the sensation of gooseflesh rapidly swallowing me.

"Where am I?" Needles pricked my skin.

The feeling of eeriness was gnawing at me. It was crawling under my skin. Licking my insides.

Trying my best to calm my erratic breathing, I hesitantly slid my finger to the camera app.

My calmness became more uneven while the sense of unfamiliarity grew. I was already expecting something I did not want to expect.

The front camera opened up and I saw the face displayed on the screen.

Blonde hair covering my forehead. Sharp jawline. Eyes hollow but blue like sapphire. A sharp nose and perfect eyebrows.

A ridiculous look that made my stomach churn.

"Who is this?"

I immediately panicked and dropped the phone like device.

Just then, a feminine robotic voice echoed in the background.

"Your first task has arrived!"

Quickly, I turned my head around at her call.

There was a woman standing on the edge of the roof, looking down at the bright city.

'Did she just say that?'

Her hair was red and long. Crimson hair that swayed with the night wind.

She was wearing a white shirt and a bluish skirt.

Due to the darkness, I couldn't see her face.

So, I exercised caution. I scanned around for anything potentially dangerous.

Nothing. No one except me and her on this empty rooftop.

The robotic voice echoed again "I repeat. Your first task has arrived. Accept the task? Yes or No."

The girl didn't move from her spot. I quickly realized that she wasn't the one talking to me.

'Where is this voice coming from?'

"The voice belongs to Sys D 3.0. I am your private module designed to cater to your individual needs. Currently, you as the user of the system are my authorized master.

I am obliged to take your orders in both verbal format and through your thoughts. "

'Is this a voice in my head...? Hah...have I finally gone insane? No, is this God speaking to me? Am I dead?'

"User's current status: Alive. Currently unhealthy due to the condition of the physical body being tired from stress."

'...'

I was speechless... but now was not the time to get lost.

'I'm sorry. What was your name again?'

"I currently have no assigned name. My default alias is Sys D 3.0. Would you like to assign a new name to me? "

Name...

A name came to my mind.

It was simple and the only word that was at the tip of my tongue.

Somehow, I just knew, I should be asking questions and doing anything else would be wasting valuable time but... I wanted to say it. I wanted to say that name. I had already decided what to say.

"Lianne."

"Name registered. Dear user, your first task has arrived. Would you like to accept and view its contents?"

I was stranded and I had no idea where I was.

I had no idea whose body I was in and some random voice was talking inside my head.

I felt weak and my body was crumbling from pain.

Time seemed to flow faster every second and I was getting no time to process anything.

"Recollect my last memories, that's what I should be doing. Let's see..."

I was walking to school...and then ...

"!"

Thunder struck my head, imploded me from within and my eyes turned red. I was an inch away from blacking out.

"Dear user, your current mental sanity has dropped by 10 points."

My head was hurting, my breath was haphazard and my tongue choked me with my saliva... the list of body problems felt endless with one thing in common.

I was slowly becoming numb.

"Failure to accept the task within time leads to failure of the stage. Advice: Accept task as soon as possible"

Task? Stage? What the hell is all of this? What is happening to me?

I grabbed my chest tightly.

"Accept"...I muttered in the most faint yet the loudest voice I could speak.

"Prevent the imminent death of the girl in front of you. Failure: Penalty will be applied."

I raised my head to look at her direction.

As if recognizing my presence for the first time, she turned her head towards me.

And for the first time in the long minutes that passed after I woke up, I saw the moon lit up behind her. The white light savored her skin and made it appear like cream.

Her eyes were green like jewels. Her expression, soft.

She looked beautiful.