Survivor's Curse

 Survivor's Curse

Chapter 1: A World of Nothing

Taken to a world with no aid. The first thing he had learned was the world wanted nothing to do with him. 

 Left alone in the grass plains, he began to hope. Hope that there will be a tomorrow for him.

Upon arriving in this strange new world, the first thought that crossed his mind was to check for any magical abilities. 

However, reality proved to be less accommodating.

 I could feel the magic. It was a swirling mass I could just picture lying deep in my consciousness. That power belonged to me. Me alone. 

"Alright…focus. Feel it and pull it out." Alric's fingers curled instinctively, expecting the unknown power to fill his body.

But of course, something had to be wrong. Just as I could feel magic being manifested, it simply rushed back to the core of where it originally was. The Solar Plexus.

'Huh?! No, no, no! Come on! Come to me!' Despite his earnest pleas for the power to return it had slipped away from him like sand through his fingers.

"Guh!"

A wave of nausea hit him causing him to bend over. It felt as if his soul had been wrung out. If I were the protagonist of a story, I would probably be able to obtain magic instantly. But I wasn't. I was just an insignificant speck named Alric. Maybe a glowing screen would grant me powers beyond my wildest dreams or a mysterious girl would be there to guide me. I had expected power. But instead, I was embraced by agony, a cruel lover whispering promises of suffering into my ear.

Back home I always imagined being in another world would be exhilarating, an escape from the monotonous lifestyle of school and chores with no dreams. Being left on this plain with no idea of why I am here, I couldn't feel any smaller.

Alric groaned, directing his rage toward the endless plains before him. He slammed his fist onto the dirt, the ground unyielding under his powerless strike.

"Oh great. So I'm not only stuck in another world, but I also get to be useless well I'm at it. Great.

"Fantastic. Another world and I get nothing? No cool powers, no hidden skills- hell I'd even take a basic tutorial screen over this! But no, just me and this goddamn grass-" he kicked at the dirt, barely making a dent "and this uselessly big world. Perfect."

Alric had been stranded on these plains for five hours already. Five damn hours. With no village or noticeable landmarks nearby except that eerie-looking labyrinth. He could only curse the bastard who brought him here. If there ever was one. 

Initially, a new world seemed so exciting compared to the monotonous lifestyle he experienced every day. Yet, as time passed, he deeply regretted ever complaining. As seconds, minutes, and hours passed, the excitement faded.

Time seemed to pass at the same rate as Earth. Although everything looked the same, in the same direction of the forsaken labyrinth which he didn't dare venture into; the sky held a muted indigo color periodically turning black as the sun which should have been a yellow pulsating orb became a distorted pale star-covered with an unknown energy.

It was a matter of life or death. Either he would rot in these plains or he would move to the only thing present. The labyrinth. As if answering his call, he saw something flicker. It wasn't the weird sun that he had seen, but the energy had rippled. It was under the ground, moving towards the labyrinth. It was calling him. 

The magic underneath the ground this time didn't leave as if it had been beckoning him to follow along. Now a choice had to be made.

Alric instinctively knew. 

In this world nothing was easy. It was either you perished in silence or you had paved your way through the unknown. 

Slapping his face repeatedly until it had burned red, he had steeled himself. The sting was a reminder of the unknown he was about to explore. Every step he took was a choice that he had made. No one else.

And there it was. The first step. The first step into the unknown. 

'I am not going to die. I will survive and rip out the throat of the bastard who left me here if it's the last thing I do!'

***

An hour passed, the landscape stretching in eerie silence and he followed the faint trail of magic residue. Alric's legs ached, his throat dry from muttering complaints to himself.

He scowled at the horizon, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Who even makes someone who comes into another world walk for an hour?! What type of sadistic god does that?!"

The foot snagged a rock nearly forcing him to fall face-flat into the dirt. 

 Towering over him, he had come across the entrance. The labyrinth stretched across the plains and looked as if it had existed there for eons waiting for someone to stumble across and embrace it.

Pausing right before the dark maw of the labyrinth, doubt had resurfaced in his mind.

'Wait…are there even other humans..or am is this some messed up idea of amusement to somebody..?' He muttered under his breath before a bitter laugh escaped his lips. Although the question had rooted itself in the back of his mind he quickly pushed it away. 

'No use dwelling on it.'

Forcing himself to take a deep breath, Alric steadied his thoughts. The labyrinth awaited.

"Alright…time to go," he whispered to himself, almost sounding like a prayer. He forced his legs to move as he dragged his feet past the ancient stone door.

Step. Step.

As he crossed the threshold, the atmosphere grew darker, the shadows grew deeper and the air grew more oppressive. The faint magical trail he had followed; his only hope had disappeared never to return. It was gone, lost to the void, leaving him adrift once more.