The Harmony of the Spheres

Prologue

Drowning hurt more than he expected it to. Not that he'd ever seriously considered it, but the movies made it look serene, peaceful. There was no mention of the panic coursing through his body that made his senses hyper aware and yet unable to tell which way was up; frantically struggling to survive yet never breaking the surface. The movies didn't show the vice tightening around his head and chest as fire burned his lungs from the inside. Black spots danced in front of his eyes, so he closed them only to realise they were already shut. The black faded to red briefly before darkness completely overtook him and for that last heartbeat he found himself simply floating, still and quiet, and as his consciousness faded away it was with the thought that this... serenity... was what the movies depicted.

Waking up was harder than dying. Nicholas could only roll to his side and vomit briny water until the salt felt like acid on his abused throat. His body ached in muscles he didn't know existed and the pain was felt to his very bones. Light behind his eyelids made him whimper and squeeze his eyes shut; the tears that leaked from the corners just more salt water dripping down his face.

Eventually the vomiting eased and Nicholas was able to roll onto his back, breathing as heavily as his tattered lungs would allow. It was only once his breathing slowly quietened that he became aware of a presence.

Someone was watching him.

Someone... not human...

The light behind his eyelids considerately dimmed and he was able to slowly creak his eyes open and look around. Barely had he time to take in the fact he appeared to be nowhere— a white space that stretched indefinitely and yet appeared small— before words appeared in the air before him. It reminded him of a video game dialogue box and the familiarity made it slightly easier to accept the words random appearance.

<Welcome to the System>

"The System?"

<Your final actions have rendered you eligible for The Hero's Journey System. Complete each stage to progress to the next.

Upon completion of the final stage you will be rewarded with the option to return to your original world.

Do you accept:

Yes 

No>

Nicholas frowned. A tug at the furthest corner of his mind suggested that this whole situation was both illogical and unfeasible, yet he still found himself accepting the situation without any question except for one;

"Did the girl live?"

There was no change to the floating dialogue box in the air before him.

"The girl that I tried to save? Did she live?"

In response, whether to his words or the time he had taken without replying to the dialogue box's question, the typing in the air slowly dissolved until only the final question was left.

<Do you accept:

Yes 

No>

He wasn't a fool. He'd read enough transmigration web-novels to know that he really had no choice— it was either accept or finish dying, and while he'd previously given his own life no thought, with time to reflect he wasn't sure drowning in a blaze of glory was the way he wanted to go. He was barely eighteen after all. If he died now, his life would amount to nothing more than another Schoolies statistic used by parents to keep their children home, instead of celebrating the end of their school life. He'd fought tooth and nail with his parents to be allowed to come on this trip, dying would just prove their fears right.