Defiance of the Fall PrologueWelcome to the Multi-Verse

Information was power. It could serve as the blade to strike down a foe, or the very edge one might fall upon. This thought occupied Zac's mind as he trekked through the dense forest, a small hatchet gripped in his hand while his face glistened with sweat and annoyance.

He remained puzzled as to how a brief anecdote about his childhood summers at a family cabin had resulted in him being assigned the chore of collecting firewood. As he pushed deeper into the foliage, he shoved stubborn bushes out of his path. His friends were likely back at the campsite, relaxing in comfortable chairs with beers in hand, laughing while he acted out a classic man-versus-wild struggle.

He took a swing at a small branch with his hatchet, but the fresh wood revealed it would be useless for a fire. He questioned what he even knew about foraging for fuel. Back at the cabin, his father had always handled the wood, and Zac suspected it had been purchased from a store rather than harvested from the trees.

It was a stifling May afternoon. Despite the cloudless sky, the humidity was thick, likely a lingering effect of the previous day's rain. Between the spring season and the damp air, Zac doubted any tree he cut down would actually burn. The moisture trapped inside would probably just turn their camp into a smoky nightmare of stinging eyes, assuming he could even get a spark to take hold.

Furthermore, he was unsure of the legalities of felling trees in a nature reserve. Nevertheless, he pressed on, wiping sticky hair away from his forehead as he scanned the environment.

Zac wasn't entirely sure what he was searching for. A part of him hoped to stumble upon a pre-cut stack of logs hidden under a tarp, perhaps left behind by a more competent woodsman. He had been wandering aimlessly for fifteen minutes now; he wasn't built for this work and desperately needed a stroke of luck.

There was a certain irony to his predicament, given that his physical appearance suggested he was a master of the outdoors. At five-eleven with broad shoulders and a flannel shirt rolled up to his elbows, he looked the part of a rugged lumberjack. However, his perfectly groomed beard, the slight softness at his waist, and the absence of the lean muscle gained from physical labor betrayed his sedentary reality.

In truth, he was a marketing consultant who had simply adopted the "grizzly" aesthetic because it was trendy. The look had actually served him well, considering this camping trip was with his new girlfriend, Hannah, and three of her long-time friends.

If not for the oppressive heat, Zac might have actually enjoyed this solitary walk. It was always a bit awkward being the newcomer in a tight-knit group with years of shared history. Navigating the social dynamics and personalities was exhausting, especially when half the conversation consisted of inside jokes and stories that predated his arrival.

For the most part, they were decent people. David was cheerful and outgoing; without his energy, the trip would have likely felt dull. Unfortunately, their interests didn't align, as David was obsessed with hockey and soccer while Zac preferred art and video games. Finding common ground during the long drive had been difficult, though David was still the kind of guy you'd happily share a beer with.

Izzie, David's girlfriend, was more difficult to deal with. She had a habit of grandstanding on every possible topic, whether it was social justice, environmentalism, or veganism. Zac usually agreed with her core values, but the constant lecturing was draining.

It was ironic, he mused, that children of the elite often turned out this way. Hannah had mentioned that Izzie's father was a hedge fund manager and her mother was a high-powered law partner. It seemed that a lack of parental supervision combined with endless money resulted in a surplus of energy that had to be channeled somewhere. For Izzie, that meant a crusade against the corporate world. Despite this, her bubbly nature made it hard to stay frustrated with her for long.

Finally, there was Tyler—or "The Snake," as Zac had dubbed him. Tyler was charismatic and possessed those irritatingly perfect, clean-cut looks. In a movie, he would be the arrogant boyfriend the protagonist eventually leaves for her true soulmate. Zac felt like he was living that script. While Tyler and Hannah hadn't been an official couple, everyone expected them to end up together eventually, given how much they hung out with David and Izzie. Since their first meeting two months ago, Zac had sensed a veiled hostility from the man. Tyler likely felt that Zac had disrupted the natural order of things by entering Hannah's life, Zac thought with a quiet smirk.

"Maybe I should just head back," he muttered. A lingering sense of unease was starting to settle in, compounding his frustration at wandering the woods like a fool with an axe.

Zac wasn't typically the jealous type, but he didn't like the idea of leaving his girlfriend alone with a vulture like Tyler. Besides, no amount of walking was going to make firewood magically appear. He tightened his grip on the hatchet, pushed back his sweat-soaked bangs, and began the trek back toward the camp.

He had traveled in a rough semicircle, so he figured that by veering right, he would eventually hit the campsite or the access road. After five more minutes of fighting through mosquitoes and thick brush, Zac stepped into a small clearing.

The suffocating shrubbery gave way to swaying grass and clusters of wildflowers like cardinals and bloodroot. It felt like a hidden sanctuary; the biting insects were gone, and the sounds of the forest seemed to soften. This would be a great spot to move the camp, he thought as he reached the center of the glade. He took one last look around before preparing to head back.

Just as he turned to leave, every sound vanished. An unnatural, deafening silence fell over the woods—a stillness unlike anything he had ever known. A heartbeat later, the world plunged into total darkness.

[Initiating System]

[Welcome to the Multiverse.]