“Dad…” Ash coughed slightly, managing only to get the lone word out. Floof raised his head from nearby at the sound of her voice.

  “It’s alright, don’t talk, just try to relax. Your body is adjusting to a lot right now,” I replied, worried she was going to try to get up. The nightmare we were now in was something I wanted her to put off fully processing, for as long as she possibly could.

  No reply came, but as her breathing relaxed, some color finally returned to her cheeks. The shivering had even come to an end. She looked to finally be sleeping peacefully.

  I wished I could promise her more of that anytime soon. But I knew my daughter, and once she woke up and understood just how real this all was, her questions would be endless. And then she would try to push herself to work just as hard as me.

  As the night wore on, fewer of the scurrying sounds reached me. The spiders were vanishing deeper into the woods. The System notes on the two types I had fought meant there was at least one more type I hadn’t yet.

  The Web Weavers either hadn’t been here when I fought the Broodfather, or had been smart enough to get out of my way. I suspected it was more likely the latter. Their names suggested they were builders, not fighters. But that still meant somewhere in these woods they were establishing a colony, and that would mean problems for anyone else who was stuck nearby like we were.

  There was also the pair of eyes that I noticed flickering about the edge of the fire’s light, moving between the trees.

  Whether it was actively stalking me or just trying to figure out what I was, I didn’t know yet. But if it made the mistake of trying to attack, I would be ready.

  No, on second thought, I didn’t want to deal with that while Ash slept. Instead, I stood up and walked to the edge of the clearing where I had last seen the eyes. While I was going to have to go monster hunting soon, I’d try to put it off for a bit longer if I could.

  “Hey, whatever you are out there, I’ve already seen you. And judging from the lack of eyes, you aren’t one of the spiders,” I said, my voice firm. I had no idea if it could understand me or not. “Trust me, you don’t want to fight me, so get the hell away from us.”

  “Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” an almost melodic voice replied.

  I could feel it trying to dig its way into my mind. There was nothing I hated more than mind scourers. At least the spiders had been willing to fight directly. But the things that tried to get into another person’s mind as they attacked were pure scum. I had never met a mind mage I respected.

  Letting the creature probe, I laid my trap. The trick to something like that was to overwhelm it with either emotions or nightmares. And I had plenty of nightmares to spare.

  “See, isn’t this much easier than a fight? Letting me in like this is soothing. It will be like taking a nice, long sleep,” the voice continued, entirely oblivious in its own confidence.

  The psychic tendrils grazed over my trap. It wasn’t a strong touch, but it was enough. I flooded the contact with horrible images of the years I had spent in the deep wastes. Each and every noise I had heard over and over every night as I tried to sleep forcefully played out in a painful backlash. Instantly, the invasive attempt vanished.

  “I will remember that, human!” it cried, as the eyes darted deeper into the darkness.

  I debated chasing it down for a moment. But the idea of letting something angry and wanting vengeance get away was the better option, when weighed against leaving Ash unguarded. Floof wouldn’t be up to the task again tonight.

  Whatever the creature was, it would likely live to strike again. Though if it were smart, it might decide I wasn’t worth the fight. Sadly, I had yet to meet something that hunted with telepathic abilities I considered smart.

  I built up the fire again, before resting next to Ash and Floof. Nothing else made an attempt on us that night, and by the time the light of dawn started to break through the trees, I hadn’t even heard a spider sound in hours. Yawning deeply, I stood up and took another walk around the perimeter.

  Sleep was something I was going to need to find a way to fit in, eventually. I could sustain myself with the sword’s energy for another two or three days, but after that I’d need at least four hours of deep sleep if I wanted to stay at full strength. A couple of the neighbors had some bigger basements, that I might be able to secure for a temporary shelter, but that would mean cleaning out what was left of the neighborhood of anything that had moved in overnight.

  It wasn’t much of a decision, honestly. I’d have already been working to save who I could, if the spiders hadn’t dragged Ash so deep into the woods. As soon as she was able to, we’d make our way back and start looking for survivors.

  If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  With the daylight, Floof had finally woken up. He stood up and walked around the clearing, avoiding any of the spider parts until he reached me, and rubbed his head against my leg. I reached down and pat him, glad to see he was doing okay now, considering how bad the wound had been.

  A light cough followed by a weak question settled more of my worries. “This is all real, isn’t it? Not just some horrible dream…”

  “It is. And it’s only going to get worse from here. We’ve got a lot of work to do, and I’m guessing you have a ton of questions, but first, how are you feeling?” I asked as I walked back over to her. There was no chance she’d get her next round of chemo now, which meant we had to push ahead with my new plan.

  “I’ve felt worse, but not by much,” she answered, before sitting up and looking me in the eyes. “Dad, what the hell is happening? What was that voice? Are we in a video game somehow?”

  “No, at least, I don’t think we are. That voice was the System, informing us that our planet had been added to the collective of planets it has dominion over within the greater multiverse. Well, kind of. Earth was actually merged with some other number of planets,” I started to explain. This wasn’t the first time I’d had to explain this to someone, but it was the first in a very long time.

  “How do you even know this? Dad, I saw you fight that giant spider with your sword! You told me it was just some stupid oversized decoration!” Ash yelled, desperation entering her voice as her tone climbed. All of what she had witnessed the previous night was hitting home hard now.

  “That is a very long answer, which we don’t have time to entirely cover. But you’re right. I lied about the sword. I didn’t think an integration would ever happen to me again. When I found this world, I thought I had entirely escaped from the System, and I just wanted to live a nice, quiet life. I promise that in time I’ll tell you everything, but right now we have to focus on the important things,” I replied, not sure how to really phrase any of it.

  She had a right to be upset. Her father had lied to her for her entire life. What did that say about me?

  “Dammit, Dad, I’m not mad at you, not really. Does this all mean what I hope it does, at least? Will these levels help me cure my cancer?”

  “The levels won’t directly, but yes, there’s a way we can do it. We just need to find you the right class. You will get your first set of choices at level five,” I answered. I wasn’t hopeful we’d get what class we needed that quickly.

  We’d have another shot at classes every five levels past that until level twenty-five, though, and generally each new set would be stronger than the last. That didn’t mean we’d find something with regeneration, or even if we did, that the class would have access to it soon enough to make a difference. But between the two of us, that would be fifty shots at a class that could do it, and I did like those odds.

  “What about Mom and Rich? Are they out there alone?” She sat up further, her voice now full of worry. It was a worry I shared.

  “Years ago, I wrote a special journal for your mom. Even though I didn’t think this could ever happen, I wanted her to be prepared anyway. And as soon as we can, we’ll find them both. It won’t be easy, though. The world is going to be nothing like it was before,” I answered, trying to calm some of her fear.

  It did nothing at all for my own. I had been worried about Heather and Rich since this all started, but Ash had to be my focus for now. Even if she hadn't been here, there was little I would have been able to do for the rest of our family. I wasn’t anywhere near strong enough to fight my way across the planet in search of them yet. And with the changes, I had no way of even knowing where they were.

  That wouldn't last forever.

  “I don’t think I can fight. I might be able to walk back to the house. Is the house even safe?” Ash asked, jumping to new questions that worried her.

  I’d seen this enough to know she wasn’t anywhere near okay, but she was working to process it as best she could. I would make sure she lived long enough to finish that.

  “You won’t need to. I’m plenty scary enough for the two of us. Right now, I’ll handle anything we find. You just stay close to Floof.” I leaned and gave her a gentle hug.

  I had been far more terrified she wouldn’t make it through the night than I had been willing to admit to myself. But she was awake, and given the circumstances, adjusting as well as could be expected.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, steadying herself on her feet.

  “To see what’s left of home.”

  “Eighdum, you need to stab them! I can’t defend us both!” Alecks yelled as he swung his small sword, killing several of the strange frogs the brothers had seen earlier.

  After leaving the blacksmith’s shop, they had started a search for food and traveling gear, but as they neared one of the central buildings, the frogs had started to mass. What had been a few, scattered around the village, quickly turned into hundreds encircling them.

  And then the first of the frogs had leaped onto Alecks, biting down hard. Alecks had quickly ripped the frog free, but more came after it. Soon, they were in a life-and-death struggle with an army of frogs.

  Alecks’ order broke through the fear that had caused Adam to freeze at their newest monster encounter. Frogs were something he could fight. They weren’t some giant many-legged monstrosity. They were small amphibians, and no matter how many of them there happened to be, he knew he was bigger.

  Adam joined his brother, his own small sword now slashing through the attackers. Frogs died by the dozens. And even though their own wounds were starting to pile up, neither brother gave in to the pain. They both fought until there were no frogs remaining.

  “Alecks, did you see something that said ‘level up’ too?” Adam asked after the last frog fell. The brothers had reached level one. It was the next of many milestones they would conquer together.

  —Memories of Adam Miller before he found Earth