Kieran stared at the words floating in his vision, his mind reeling from the implications of what had happened. "System Integration Successful?" What did that even mean? Was this some kind of hallucination? A side effect of whatever had changed him?
Before he could dismiss it, the words shifted, and a voice echoed in his head. It wasn't his own inner voice, but something... else. It was high-pitched, almost childlike, yet undeniably feminine.
"Hello? Can you hear me?" the voice chirped.
Kieran jumped, his eyes darting around the room, but there was no one there. "Who's there?" he whispered, his voice trembling slightly.
"It's me! The System!" the voice replied, sounding almost impatient. "In your head! Duh!"
Kieran's eyebrows furrowed. "The System? What kind of system?
""The Earth Guardian System, of course!" the voice declared, with a hint of pride. "And you, Kieran, are my chosen host.
"He blinked. "Chosen host? For what?"
"To become the Guardian of Earth, silly!" the voice exclaimed. "To help me guide the planet to a successful evolution!"
Kieran's head swam. This was all happening too fast. First, he was miraculously healed, then he discovered he could manipulate some strange energy, and now, a childlike voice in his head was telling him he was chosen to be Earth's guardian. It was all too much to process.
"Guardian of Earth?" he repeated, his voice incredulous. "What does that even mean? And why me? Earth has been... evolving, you say? For years, right? Hunters and all that?"
The voice sighed, a sound that seemed to resonate within his very skull. "Well, it's a bit of a long story, and you're not going to like it."
"Try me," Kieran said, his skepticism growing.
"Okay, fine," the voice huffed. "You weren't exactly my first choice, you know. My prime directive was to select the strongest human as the Guardian, someone who already possessed immense power. There was a Hunter, the strongest one, in fact, who was perfectly suited. But... well, let's just say some... complications arose. Enemies interfered, and I couldn't complete the binding process with them."
Kieran stared, dumbfounded. "So, you're telling me I'm Plan B? Or Plan Z, more like?"
"Hey! Don't be like that!" the voice retorted, sounding offended. "It's not my fault you were the only viable option left at the time. I had to act quickly, or the evolutionary process would have been severely disrupted!"
"Disrupted?" Kieran scoffed. "By choosing me? Someone who was practically on his deathbed a few hours ago?" He couldn't believe the absurdity of the situation. This whole thing sounded incredibly unreliable.
The voice suddenly shifted, losing its playful tone and adopting a more petulant one. "It's not my fault you're so weak! Do you have any idea how much of my... essence I had to expend just to successfully bind with you? I'm practically running on fumes here!" There was a distinct whine in its tone now, like a child throwing a tantrum.
Kieran's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. So, you mean to tell me that you forced yourself into me? And that's why I experienced all that pain? The agony, the... the feeling like my body was being torn apart?"
"Well... technically, the binding process isn't exactly a walk in the park," the voice admitted, sounding sheepish. "And it's not like you were exactly cooperating! If you were stronger, it wouldn't have been so difficult!"
"So, to summarize," Kieran said slowly, his voice dangerously low, "you forced yourself into my body, nearly killing me in the process, because your first choice was unavailable, and now you're blaming me for being too weak?"
"What do you mean, 'forced myself into you'?" the voice squeaked, sounding flustered. "And it's your fault for being so weak!" The childlike tone had completely vanished, replaced by an almost defensive whine.
Kieran took a deep breath, trying to contain his anger. He was still trying to wrap his head around everything that had happened, and this... this System, this Earth Guardian System, was making it even more difficult. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to organize his thoughts.
"Okay, let's try to stay calm," he said, though his voice still carried a hint of irritation. "Forget about how I was chosen for a moment. Just... just tell me, what can you do? What are your capabilities? If I'm supposed to be the 'Guardian of Earth,' I need to know what tools I'm working with."
Kieran's question hung in the air, the silence stretching taut between his thoughts and the System's presence in his mind. Finally, the childlike voice responded, though it had lost much of its earlier petulance, replaced by a somewhat subdued tone.
"Well," the System began, "due to the... less-than-optimal circumstances of our bonding, and the fact that I had to expend a significant portion of my core essence to stabilize you... my current capabilities are somewhat limited."
Kieran raised an eyebrow, even though the System couldn't see him. "Limited? What does that mean?"
"It means," the System clarified, "that I can't exactly shower you with god-like powers right away. Think of me as... a partially charged battery. I can still do some things."
"Like what?" Kieran asked, his skepticism still lingering.
"For starters," the System said, perking up slightly, "I can show you your stat panel! It's very helpful, you know. It displays all your... attributes."
"My what?"
"Your strength, agility, vitality, mana capacity... all the good stuff! It'll help you keep track of your progress," the System explained, sounding a bit more enthusiastic. "And... and I can give you one mana skill! Just one for now."
Kieran stared, his disbelief solidifying. "A stat panel and one skill? That's it? After all that pain, all that suffering, all I get is a glorified menu and a single party trick from a half-dead system?"
The System's voice flared with anger, the sound echoing sharply in Kieran's mind. "A half-dead system?! How dare you! And it's not my fault you were weaker than a newborn kitten! I'm operating under severe constraints here!"
"Constraints?" Kieran retorted, his own anger rising to match the System's. "You're the one who forced this 'binding' on me! And now you're acting like I should be grateful for scraps?"
The System huffed, a sound akin to a deflating balloon in Kieran's head. "Look, even though most of my functions are... unavailable right now, it's not a permanent situation! You just need to, you know, do stuff. Complete System Quests, get stronger, help me regenerate my essence. The more you grow, the more functions I unlock! It's a symbiotic relationship, okay?"
It paused, then added, in a slightly more conciliatory tone, "Besides, it's not all bad. I can also act as your... mana storage space! Think of it as an extra-dimensional backpack, but for your energy. And because of that, your mana regeneration is significantly faster than it would normally be!" The System sounded quite proud of this feature.