I should have died, but I am waking up with my body feeling heavy, as if I had a nightmare. Even stranger is the fact that even with my eyes open, I can't see anything around me except that I feel wet.

Am I bleeding?

If I survived by some miracle, my situation certainly isn't any better; my senses are... strange. Even the sensations in my body are distorted.

"Hey! Is anyone there?"

Strangely, my voice doesn't echo but sounds as if I'm inside a box or small object. Maybe that's why my arms and legs feel so uncomfortable.

Don't tell me I've been buried alive?

That doesn't make sense. First of all, I can't remember why I would think I should be dead. The strange thing is, I'm submerged in some kind of liquid, yet it has no smell. Actually, I don't smell anything!

Though smooth, the walls surrounding me are strangely soft. I can't feel my arms well, but just by forcing my head, the wall seems to yield.

Great!

In complete darkness, it's uncomfortable how the walls seem to tear like fibrous fabric. After much effort pushing my head against the wall, I finally manage to break through it.

What place is this?

My relief turns into anxiety as I don't recognize the environment around me. Though dark, my eyes soon adapt to the lack of light. My certainty that I am in an unknown place only solidifies.

Everywhere I look, the entire scene is just some kind of immense cavern, with colossal pillars dozens of meters tall, disappearing into the darkness of the ceiling. The ground is uneven, with various clusters of rocks and stalagmites.

"But what..."

Analyzing the environment around me, I am surprised by some kind of egg right behind me. But then, an even more shocking revelation shakes my core.

"AAAH! My body! What happened to my body?"

Finally, I understand the reason why I don't feel my arms and legs well. I don't have any limbs anymore! Worse than that, no matter where I crawl on the ground trying to understand my situation, it only becomes clearer that I am really in control of this body.

Similar to a serpent, with a cylindrical and long body where my arms should be, I have what appear to be a pair of bat wings without the membrane connecting the long fingers. At the end of my body, the tip has a tuft of hair that I believe is white. When I move my head, I can feel that I have two long protrusions, like antennae pointing backward, which I can control.

What happened to me?

With my emotions stirred up, moving the antennae on my head seems to sharpen my senses, especially my hearing. This makes me even more uncomfortable, as I hear clearly the sounds of dripping and strange grunts and crackles mixed with the sound of running water.

"Please, is anyone... is there anyone here?"

Unable to control my exponentially growing anxiety with the bombardment of sounds, combined with the confusion of facing the total lack of information about my situation, I can only instinctively curl up in a fetal position near the strange egg. It seems to be the only thing that can protect me. But, ironically worsening my situation, my body twists in various circles, intensifying a nauseating feeling of despair. I close my eyes tightly, trying to control my emotions with little success.

"W-What happened to me? Why am I here? I need help!"

As if responding to my pleas, suddenly, a huge rectangular screen appears with strange ideograms, similar to runes.

Is this Runic Language? Wait... I can read!

"Warning: Unregistered Intention detected in the System."

Other screens appear.

"Synchronizing Intention..."

"Error!"

"Requesting the presence of a Moderator."

After displaying the last message, all screens disappear, and then a faint electrical snap accompanied by a dull glow stands out in all the darkness. Gathering myself even more in precaution for another unexpected event, the glow intensifies, becoming blinding to the point of illuminating the entire region of the cavern around me.

From the center of the glow, something begins to form, and from a blur, a humanoid silhouette appears. The intense glow turns into a dim, pulsating light, and I am enchanted by the appearance of the being in front of me.

The first realization I have, even without much sense of the size of my body, considering the gigantic environment around me, is that the feminine-looking being is a giant from my perspective. Even more, she is floating in the air, but the most striking feature is her legs, which appear mechanical, wide at her waist and tapering down to where her feet should be, ending in long spikes.

She wears a garment with a design unknown to me, covering her front and back like a long fabric with a hole in the center where her head fits. At shoulder height, a type of mantle without a hood floats around her. She has short silver hair. A mask covers the upper part of her face, and above her head there is a kind of halo with a tribal design.

The being descends slightly, approaching the ground, which soon begins to carve a depression as if something were digging the soil.

"Confirming the detection of an unknown entity. Initiating analysis of the entity."

The being moves her lips, and I hear a language that is unknown to me.

"Analysis of the entity reveals it to be a rank 8 entity on the existential scale. Unknown origin. Arrival in Areantarde: unknown."

Damn! How can I communicate with her? I need to think of something.

"Hello! I'm sorry, but I can't understand what you're saying."

"Detected signs of sapience in the entity. Comparing vocal patterns with databases."

"Hi! I can't understand what you're saying."

Trying to wave to the being, I am surprised at how malleable my supposed wings are. They seem to have no bones at all.

"Pattern detected. Race 0226. Humans. Changing vocal configuration."

"Welcome to the dimension of Areantarde. I am the Moderator Class Inquisitor. Rank 0012. Laz Auria."

"Oh! I can understand you!"

"For your stay in Areantarde, synchronization of your Intention with the Odyssey System is compulsory."

"Eh? Ah! Ok. I mean, I don't even know how I got here. Areantarde?"

"Confirmation received. The synchronization process will be initiated."

Taken by surprise, I feel something entering my body.

"AAARRGGHH!!! My Intention is being torn apart! What are you doing to me?"

I can only writhe on the ground in agony, barely managing, while the energy violates my body. Seeing my situation, Laz Auria, the being, only responds:

"Pain? Pain signifies a high degree of synchronization with the system, though it shouldn't be so intense."

Laz Auria observes as I roll on the rocky ground, trying to relieve the pain. She says:

"I will cancel the process for further analysis. Hm?"

PLIM!

My vision is somewhat blurry, but I can see that there is some kind of transparent screen that suddenly appeared in front of Laz Auria.

After staring at the screen, she speaks again in a language I do not understand.

"Understood. Order received."

"Accelerating the synchronization process."

"GAAARRRHHH!!! Please... STOP! Th- The pain is excruciating!"

"You need to endure it. It will be beneficial for you and your odyssey."

I would like to protest, but the energy invading my Intention attacks with an intensity that doesn't allow me to express anything.

How long do I have to endure this? Actually, how much time has passed? A few seconds? Minutes?

I can't even feel my body anymore. Just that something is being embedded in my Intention. After losing the sensations in my body, I finally manage to focus a bit on the process and figure out what was happening.

Runes! Or rather, a Runic Weaving is being embedded in my Intention. I don't know how I recognize the language, but I know for sure that it is an extremely complex Weaving.

"Synchronization is complete. Congratulations. In the history of Areantarde, you are the ninth Ma'Ji to have synchronization above 90%."

Finally, after so much pain, hearing Laz Auria's voice seems to alleviate my suffering.

"As a reward, you will be blessed with the Art of the Divine Language."

However, I can't quite understand what she's saying. My consciousness is too heavy.

"May the Hein'Ra flow pure through you."

Unable to fight against the darkness that fills my mind, I feel my consciousness fading away.