Worlds In Limbo

The lights in the bus were somehow still operational, flickering as the three held onto their seats. And the seats, though some missing or destroyed, they found others that satisfied their comfort beside the ball of flesh.

The Abberant weaved through the fields, trampling the plants and destroying the roads as the three looked out the broken windows, gazing at the dimly light scenery left behind them.

Gideon was sleeping, hoping to shake off the phantom pain in both his arms; Kouki was lying on the seats with his glaive on the floor as he stared at the roof, occasionally sitting up to look around; Rhian was looking through the system.

[Amalgamations are the big brothers of Abberants. Being more intelligent, stronger, and better than them. They can be born with, to a greater extent, unique magic as they were hand-crafted by the Strider, while Abberants are byproducts of the Striders exacting their abilities.]

'Striders again... Probably some big bad in this world... or- Earth?' Rhian's expression wrinkles as she ruffles her hair, sighing frustratedly. She waves her hand, causing the informational panel to break down and revert to 'option' with an exclamation mark plastered on.

Her gaze lands on it. 'Open.' The same six panels of words, but now, 'You,' 'Skills,' and 'Incrementals.' Her hand hovers over 'Incrementals.'

The panels break apart before converging to construct a larger panel with nothing on it except a small dot.

She hovers her hand over the dot as a lighter-colored panel appears. ' 'Start Your Increments!' ' Her gaze moves lower down the panel, seeing 'yes' and 'no.' The 'yes' darkens as the panel disappears to show numerous multi-colored dots surrounding the original, which is now a dark gray.

'Stamina... Strength... Vitality... Dexterity... Rune... and Nulls.' The final one was of an ominous black and crimson panel, causing Rhian to quickly ignore it before glancing at the newly appeared 'Rune Experience' and 'Reset' at the bottom right of the panel.

'fifteen points... I'm guessing these are skill points?' She looks back to the six dots, specifically eyeing the bright yellow one. 'Hopefully, Stamina can allow me to use my Runes longer... The fight with the Amalgamation cost me a lot of painful tosses and turns on the ground...'

Her hand hovered over the dot until it became a darkened yellow, prompting more yellow-colored and connected dots to appear around 'Stamina.' 'I still have fifteen...' She looks at the options:

[Increase Physical Stamina]

[Increase Rune Activation Time]

Her eyebrow raised. 'Maybe I can put in four equally?' She ponders for a moment before nodding to herself, hovering her hand over the two dots as her 'Rune Experience' decreases to seven.

'And now... Vitality maybe...' The green dot darkens before more appear, allowing Rhian to read:

[Increase Durability]

[Decrease Fatigue]

'Oooh~! Fatigue sounds nice!' She hastily hovers her hand over the option to decrease fatigue, dumping all seven remaining points into it as she closes the 'Incrementals,' returning to face two panels with exclamation marks.

'Hm... Inventory- !!'

Rhian's thinking was halted as the Abberant lowered itself, blaring the deafening horn into the air. The three quickly looked outside, noticing they were in a town.

It wasn't run down but just destroyed. The paint of the buildings was pristinely maintained.

With no curling or cracks, the only problems with the buildings were they were also 'incomplete,' much like the trees and fields.

No doors, a chunk of walls gone, and supports nowhere to be seen, the houses laid on the ground, having toppled over. 

"I think these buildings just fell," Gideon noted as the Abberant waltzed away, creating faint tremors as it left further into town.

Cars were... parked beside the buildings, but like the homes, they were incomplete. 

"This 'system' said something about 'The Sundering,' correct?" Kouki asked as they walked past a leveled building with its door laid on the ground.

"Yea- Ah!" Rhian suddenly screamed, jumping over something squeaking as the attention of the other two were pulled towards it.

"What was that?" Gideon asked, watching a rat sprinting down the road as a plastic bag slowly fell onto the road.

"An unknown creature native to this land, most probably. That said, the rules we followed in Gaia won't apply well here. Beware," Kouki warned them, turning his gaze around as he pointed at an upright building, shattering the puzzlement clouding Rhian.

The power lines were severed, leaving wiring dangling in the air, but no electrical charges passed. Rhian noticed this after stupidly touching bare wires with her hands, which she acknowledged was a STUPID DECISION.

I- I swear... Y-You?

The 'most' intelligent title doesn't seem to be deserving sometimes...

Continuing...

The trio stumbled to the front porch of the building in its unsullied form. Having an actual front door coupled with the fact it was standing up, they were able to explore the inside.

A soft creak echoed as they opened the door, greeted by a welcoming vibe.

"There is no way this place would be abandoned... I'd pay hundreds of Aurum for this place!" Gideon exclaimed with blatant jealousy, spreading his... somewhat spreading his arm while the other two walked further into the room.

'This... this is just a home...' She was in the kitchen. The fridge was still filled with food and some were even on the counter, seemingly being prepared to be made into a meal. 

'A knife...' A kitchen knife with visible wear and tear on the blade and handle was laid next to the counter.

Rhian looks elsewhere.

'A family...' She stumbled into the bedroom of the one-story home, looking at the numerous group photos of people smiling. She walks toward it.

The photos consisted of numerous people on different occasions. But there were three prevalent people - A woman, a man, and a boy who seemed to smile the brightest in the photos.

Rhian remained in silence, diverting her attention toward the beds set beside each other, with one visibly larger than the other.

'Hm.' The larger bed was neatly made, while the other was still messy and filled with plushies.

Having been filled with regrets, she sighed heavily before leaving the ro- 'What's that...?' Something caught her eye as she passed the doorway.

It was something glowing and shining beneath the messy bed, and Rhian was curious. 

[Congratulations! You have found a Relic!]

[You have obtained: Kota's Watch!]

[An analog watch gifted to Kota during his 7th birthday. His parents bought it for him as per his wishes and in hopes of allowing him to keep track of the time he was spending at school helping out. This was also to have him come home earlier without having his teachers bring him home. This has not worked, however.]

[Effect: Upon wearing the analog watch, anytime in battle, your opponent's movements will be delayed by 0.5 seconds.]

'T-These are relics? This is so... dark...' She held the black watch in her palm, slightly bending the straps as she inspected it.

'I didn't have to learn all this...' Nevertheless, she fastened on her left arm, noticing that it still worked, indicating that it was one in whatever meridian time.

The three regrouped at the dining table, where plates and silverware were readied. 

"It was just a home," Kouki concluded after exploring the bathroom and laundry room. Gideon pitched in with the same results after going to the backyard.

"Well... I found this Relic." Rhian raised her left arm, showing the watch she found in the bedroom.

A discussion started about what this newfound land could be, but Rhian kept silent, only joining when they mentioned the system, teaching the old men about the Incrementals and the Relic systems before they decided to head outside the house, wanting to search for others.

"There." Kouki pointed at a building very far away, which dwarfed the other buildings. 

[You are heading to Kyan Elementary School. There is an Abberant nearby.]

Note: I have no idea what this school's interior looks like.