Chapter Text
I gasp and shoot upright, feeling out of breath and on the verge of panic. Already my vision is narrowing, and I’m starting to hyperventilate. I try to think, try to remember what to do, but my mind is a blank, and my only instinct is to curl up in a ball and hope it passes. Squeezing my eyes shut, I hear the distinct sound of rain pattering onto a window, and suddenly, I remember my grounding techniques.
I blink my eyes open, taking in my surroundings, my eyes flitting from object to object before settling on something. A wheelchair standing in the corner. I frown, not recognizing the mobility aid, but I look away when I realize there are more things I don’t recognize in the room I woke up in. The next thing I notice is a bookcase filled with books that seem to be organized by color. There’s a desk at the window, with various notebooks and trinkets on it, and a wardrobe next to it. The last thing I see is a pair of crutches, standing next to one of two doors in the room.
Next, I focus on the things I can hear. My breathing is still quite fast, but it’s slowed down a bit at least, and I no longer feel the tightness in my chest which comes with a lack of oxygen. There’s a light drizzle of rain outside, the faint sound of horse hooves clopping on cobblestones, sounding like it’s coming from far below me, and a soft murmur of voices from outside the room.
I place my hand against the wall and - wait a minute, what? I stare at my hand in disbelief. Or, well, I guess I should say paw? I still have opposable thumbs, thank god or whoever the hell put me here, but calico fur is covering my entire arm - and my entire body as far as I can tell. I chose to be a different species as a disadvantage, but I didn’t expect to be turned into a furry. Sighing at the ridiculousness, I just put my hand - paw - back onto the wall, feeling the texture with my pads, the claws I apparently have now tapping lightly on the surface.
It feels smooth, like stone, but not the bad-texture kind of stone. This is an okay texture. Then there’s the clothes - pajamas? - I’m wearing. They feel light, maybe cotton? Finally, I feel the sheets beneath me. I’m sitting on a soft mattress, in a twin-sized bed, with a nice, plush blanket. I run my hand over the fabric. This has a very nice texture.
By now I’m breathing normally again, and I feel calmer, despite being in an unfamiliar environment and being covered in fur, but I decide to finish counting down my senses, just to complete the ritual. I can smell petrichor, which is strange since the window is definitely closed, but I don’t question it. And there’s a faint scent of cinnamon rolls wafting in from outside the door, making my mouth water. I can’t even remember the last time I’d had anything to eat. I suppose in this lifetime, I’ve never eaten anything. Except for blood, I realize as I focus on my sense of taste and notice the tang of iron in my mouth. I must have bitten my tongue at some point.
With a sigh, I lay back down on the bed, wondering what I’m supposed to do now. I notice that I don’t have claws anymore - do they retract? Maybe I’m some kind of cat humanoid, since I have calico fur and, as far as I know, cats are the only animals with that specific fur coloring. Then again, I’m in some fantasy universe, so who knows?
As I sweep my gaze over the room once more, I realize that there are two doors - one of them leading out of the room, based on the footsteps and voices I hear outside it, but the other one might lead to another room. I stand up and walk towards it, only realizing halfway that maybe that wasn’t such a good idea, considering the crutches and wheelchair I seem to own, but luckily I feel fine, no pain or dizziness.
Once I’ve crossed the room, I press my ear against the wooden door, and wow, it is weird to have ears on the top of my head, not the sides. And I can move them. What is even happening right now?
I hear nothing on the other side though, and trusting my big cat ears to be good at hearing, I decide to open the door, and just slam it shut if there’s anyone on the other side. I cannot deal with human interaction right now - or interaction of any species. Not until I get my bearings.
There’s nobody on the other side, however, and I find myself in quite a large bathroom, with a bath, a shower, a toilet, two sinks, and a full-length mirror. I stare at my reflection, feeling my panic levels start to rise again as I take in my appearance. I’m covered head to toe in white, orange and brown patched fur, yet I somehow also have hair - short and fluffy, blond with black tips. My eyes are wide and round, yellow irises encompassing nearly the entire surface, with black slits for pupils. As I watch, my pupils dilate slightly, becoming more round before going back to the thin lines they were before.
Of course, I have two large ears on the top of my head - they’re currently angled backwards, which makes sense, because I am definitely agitated right now. My vet instincts are telling me to attempt to comfort myself, but I have no idea how the hell I’m supposed to do that.
I notice a movement and, looking down, I see that I have a tail. Of course I have a tail, what did I even expect? How did I not see it before? As the thoughts rush through my head, my tail starts to sway from side to side. Honestly, it could be quite useful, having a physical representation of my emotions. I used to joke with my friends that if humans had tails and ears, interpreting emotions would be so much easier.
Oh.
I-
I shouldn’t have thought about my friends.
Sitting down and leaning back against the wall, I feel my eyes growing moist. I used to hate my life, but in this moment, I’d give anything just for a few more minutes there. Just to say goodbye to my friends.
Do they know yet? Has my body been found? How long has it been? How long was I in that void? Does time here even correspond to time in my old life?
I lower my head between my knees and just let the tears drop. It’s honestly a bit of a relief.
I don’t know how much time passes before I lift my head, but I guess it doesn’t really matter. I have to do something though. I can’t just sit here all day feeling sorry for myself, I need to figure out my next move.
Suddenly, I remember the world selection menu, and the gamer attributes I got from that. Is there a way to…?
- Main Menu -
>Quest Log
>Stats
>Relationships
>Load Save
As soon as the menu opens, the rain outside slows down - instead of a constant background noise, there’s only a small tap from a single drop falling against the window every few seconds.
I try to lift my hand to select an option, but I can’t move. I wonder how I’m supposed to navigate this menu if I’m unable to click anything, but as soon as I focus on a button, a new menu opens.
- Stats -
Name: Damian
Age: 24
Species: Vastaya
Hometown: Piltover
Family: Unknown
Title: None
HP: 45
SP: 80
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 7
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 11
Status: None
Okay, that’s very useful to know. I’m going to have to get used to using a new name, but it wouldn’t be the first time, so I’ll be fine. Apparently I aged up, which is cool, but also puts me at a bit of a disadvantage, since now I’ll be expected to have the intellectual capacity of a twenty-four-year-old.
I have no idea what a Vastaya is, but I’m guessing that’s the fancy name for a furry in this world. Piltover is good… I think. If I remember correctly, Piltover is the rich people’s town while Zaun is the place where all the criminals hang out. It might be the other way around, though. I hope it’s not.
- Main Menu -
>Quest Log
>Stats
>Relationships
>Load Save
I select the first option.
Quest Log
There are no quests currently available
I’m not entirely sure how to feel about that. On one hand, I’m relieved that I don’t have any immediate missions to get through, but on the other hand, I was kind of hoping that I’d have a goal clearly laid out, instead of having to figure it out myself. I’ve never really liked open world games, and now apparently my whole life is one.
Oh well, no point moping around and waiting for something to happen. For a moment I hesitate, wondering how to close the menu, but as soon as the thought enters my mind, the text flickers away, and the rain outside resumes its normal pace.
Getting up from the bathroom floor, I admire the opulence for another moment - am I rich? - before walking back into what I suppose is my bedroom. I take a look at the desk first, maybe there’s some kind of calender or diary that can give me a better idea of who I am and what I’m supposed to be doing.
The first thing I notice is the ticking of a watch - soft enough not to be a bother, but loud enough that I can hear it over the rain. The device is attached to a fingerless leather glove, which I put on, fastening the straps around my palm and my wrist. It’s surprisingly flexible and comfortable to wear for such a thick fabric.
There’s another, smaller contraption besides the watch face - it has a range of numbers engraved around the edge of the metal circle, ranging from zero to two-hundred in intervals of five, and a single arrow which is currently pointing at ninety-five. It looks like a speedometer, but noticing a small heart engraved at the bottom of the circle, I realize it’s tracking my heart rate. My disability probably has something to do with that, then. I decide not to try any strenuous activity until I know for sure it won’t cause a heart attack or something.
There are some other trinkets on the desk - a few small pieces of paper with hastily scribbled words and diagrams, various pens scattered around haphazardly, a red, translucent rock - but nothing that seems important or helpful at the moment.
The last thing on the desk is a plain black notebook, which I open to the first page. There’s no writing, but two pieces of paper fall out. I pick up one of them, which seems to be a schedule of some sort. The days Monday through Friday are at the top of the table, and on the side is a list of time intervals - 9am to 10am, 10am to 11am, and so forth. Some blocks are empty, but most blocks in the table have a class written down. I scan a few of the names - calculus, physics, chemistry…
Oh, fuck, I do not have the knowledge required for this. Why the hell did I get plopped into some academy, as an engineering student nonetheless? This game severely overestimates my intelligence. I thank the heavens I have the ability learning skill and the mechanic perk, or I would be so screwed right now.
I grab the other piece of paper, thankful when it turns out to be a map of a building, presumably the one I’m in. There’s a red dot on one room, maybe that’s the room I’m in right now? Some rooms are unmarked, but most have a small scribble denoting what it is - dining hall, chem classroom, Heim’s office… I wonder who Heim is. Maybe the principal?
Looking back at the schedule, I realize I have no idea what day it is. It was a Thursday when I died, but that was in the afternoon, and the watch says it’s 10am right now, so maybe it’s Friday? Or maybe time here doesn’t correlate to my old life at all. Friday is my best guess though, and looking down at the paper, I see my first lesson - algebra - is in two hours, so I have some time to kill. Hm. Maybe I should get out of these pajamas.
I open up the wardrobe, met with a various array of outfits held up by clothes hangers. Most of the clothes are punk-adjacent, which suits my preferred style perfectly, but there’s three identical outfits hanging next to each other which stand out from the rest because of their simplicity - I guess this is my uniform?
Not wanting to stand out too much, I pull out the uniform and lay it out, trying to figure out how to wear it properly. The pants and the shirt seem pretty obvious, so I change into those first, tucking the deep red shirt into the gray pants, wincing as my fur tugs in the wrong direction, trying to smooth it out as best I can. I panic about my tail for a moment before realizing the pants have a conveniently placed hole in them. Trying not to think about whether my ass will be on display, I turn back to the other parts of the suit.
There’s a blue button up vest, a white sleeveless jacket, and a white tie. The vest should go first - it would be weird to button up a vest on top of an open jacket. I pull it on, and layer the jacket over it, before reaching for the tie. I honestly have no idea how to tie a Windsor knot in the best of circumstances, and this tie is all puffy and weird.
Heading to the bathroom to figure it out, I stop short when I see myself in the mirror. Despite it all, I look… pretty good, actually. The colors complement my fur in a way I hadn’t expected. I could grow used to this.
Shaking my head, I dispel the thought. I can’t get distracted, not until I figure out how to fit in here, and what I’m supposed to be doing in this world. It can’t just be school, there’s no way it’s that easy. I don’t know much about the plot of Arcane, but I know things get really bad at some point. Like, end of the world kind of bad. And I don’t exactly want to be dealing with that. Not if I can avoid it.
- Quest: New World Order -
- Either prevent the events that lead to a drastic change in the way this world works, or turn them around to work in your favor. -
- Reward: Hero Title or Permanent Authority Title become available depending on Quest outcome. -
- Failure: The world as you know it will change beyond recognition. -
- Time Limit: 7 years -
>Accept
>Decline
Oh. Wow. Okay. My first quest. And the timeline is seven years? That’s… a lot of time. Then again, if that’s the time I have left before the world ends, then it’s very little. I won’t even be able to unlock the planeswalker abilities by then.
I wonder what the titles mean. I’m definitely not going to turn the end of the world to my favor, I don’t want to become some dictator, but stopping the end of the world certainly sounds like a great thing. I accept the quest.
The white text flickers away, and I’m back to staring at myself in the mirror. Right. The tie in my hand still needs to be knotted around my neck, however I’m gonna manage that. I examine myself in the mirror before holding up the tie and resisting the strange impulse to sniff it.
It takes a few tries and a lot of frustration, but eventually I manage to get the tie to look semi-presentable. I highly doubt I tied it in any way approved by society, but it’s good enough, and I don’t think anybody will be looking close enough to notice anything wrong. I tuck it underneath the vest, and ta-da! Perfect.
I check my watch. Still an hour and a half left to go before my first class. I consider stepping out of my room to explore the building, but I can already feel anxiety crawling up my throat at the thought of encountering anybody, so I decide against it. I poke my head out of the bathroom, glancing around, my eyes catching on the bookshelf. If there’s anywhere I can find useful information about the world I’m in now, it’s probably in a book. I scan the tomes, grabbing anything with a title that seems promising - A History Of Piltover, Vastayan Legends and Folklore, Mages and Mystery - and stack them up on the desk until I’ve collected a considerable pile.
I won’t be able to read all of these today, but I can at least make a start, so I grab the top one - A Zoologist’s Guide to Runeterra - and settle down on the bed, opening the book to the first page.