Chapter 1: System
The first rays of the morning sun shone through the window upon the bed, where a young girl lay. She had a slender and graceful figure. Her long black hair was as soft and shiny as silk, and her fair arms were resting on the blanket. She looked like a princess from a fairy tale.
"Compatible host found… binding… binding… binding…"
"Binding successful."
"Huh?" Ava's eyes cracked open. Her sleepy voice was still half-dreamy. "What was that about? Did I forget to leave my music app on again?"
She rolled over, reaching for her phone, but froze when a glowing screen appeared in front of her eyes. Floating. In midair.
[Welcome, Ava Raven Blackwood.]
[System Detected: Environmental Control and Habitat Optimization — ECHO.]
Ava sat up, blinking. "Okay… either I'm still dreaming, or my midnight chocolate binge finally broke my brain."
The screen flickered, and suddenly—poof!—a round little cream puff appeared in the top-left corner. A smiling one. With tiny eyes.
"…Wait." Ava rubbed her eyes. "That's supposed to be my profile picture?!"
[Correct. Host personality traits analyzed: Foodie detected.]
"Excuse you? I am more than a foodie!" Ava clutched her blanket in outrage. "…But also, yes, chocolate is life. Coffee is poison. I've never touched that nasty stuff, and I never will. But chocolate? Sweet, glorious chocolate? I'd survive an apocalypse with a stash of that alone."
[New Trait Registered: Choco-Lover.]
[Perk Activated: Eating chocolate restores minor stamina.]
Ava's eyes widened. "…Hold up. You're telling me my snack obsession just turned into a skill?" She grinned, suddenly awake. "This system might actually understand me."
The glowing cream puff wiggled cheerfully, as if agreeing.
[Host is awake. Initiating tutorial.]
"Wait, tutorial? Host? Don't tell me this is some kind of video game. I just woke up!"
[Correction: Apocalypse survival imminent. Host has been selected as Operator of Hope's Refuge.]
"…Excuse me, what now?" Ava tilted her head. "Apocalypse? Like zombies? Aliens? Giant killer bunnies?"
[Environmental collapse, societal breakdown, and high probability of mutated organisms.]
Ava buried her face in her pillow and groaned. "Perfect. Just perfect. It's literally the end of the world, and my guide is a talking cream puff."
[New Quest: Prepare for Apocalypse. Reward: Access to Hope's Refuge. Penalty: Death.]
"…Penalty WHAT?!" Ava shot upright, hair a tangled mess around her face. "You can't just drop 'death' like it's a footnote!"
But the glowing text didn't change. It just blinked at her smugly.
Ava narrowed her eyes. "Fine. If this is real, show me this so-called 'Hope's Refuge.'"
The cream puff icon bounced once, and suddenly the air in her room shimmered. A green portal unfolded, revealing a grassy plain beneath a bright artificial sky. A cozy cabin, a crystal-clear spring, and rows of empty soil beds waited beyond the threshold.
Ava's jaw dropped. "Okay… okay, that's actually… kinda amazing."
She slipped her phone into her pocket (because duh, no sane girl went into a magical apocalypse bunker without her phone) and stood at the edge of the portal.
"Alright, ECHO. I don't know why you chose me, but if this apocalypse is coming, I'm not crying about it. I'm surviving it my way. With snacks. And sarcasm." She pointed dramatically at the cream puff profile picture. "And if you expect me to fight zombies on an empty stomach, think again!"
The portal hummed, inviting her in.
Ava took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and stepped through.
[Quest Updated: Welcome to Hope's Refuge.]