Ethan woke up in a small, white room.

He looked down at his hands, noticing they were still soaked with blood. He slowly sat up, blinking to take in his surroundings. All four walls that surrounded him were a bright white, including the ceiling and the floor. His hand gravitated to his side. His wound was still oozing blood, but it didn't hurt the slightest. The one feeling that swallowed everything - was confusion. He remembered the accident, closing his eyes... but when he opened them once again he was here. In this room. Was this heaven? Some kind of purgatory? Where the hell was he?

"Ah, finally awake I see. Took you long enough."

Ethan's eyes widened and his head snapped forward to see a woman sitting in a tall, glass throne. Her golden eyes stared into his, her smooth features laced in warmth. Her long, blonde silky locks cascaded down to the floor, sparkling in the blinding white light. She was dressed in a long white gown that clung loosely to her slim figure. Her legs were long and crossed in front of her, peaking under the slit of her dress. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but he could've sworn she wasn't there a moment ago. Ethan could feel the blood rushing to his cheeks at her piercing gaze, before he stumbled over his words, "W-Who are you? Where am I?"

She admired her long, naked nails, "To explain who I am would take centuries," She smiled charmingly, directing her attention back onto the flustered boy, "But you may call me Cara."

"I-I'm Ethan," He shyly introduces himself, standing to his feet.

Her voice is laced with amusement, "I know who you are, Ethan Kline. I know everything about you. As for where you are, welcome to the System."

Ethan's brows furrow in confusion, "System?"

"Yes, the System. Another chance at life. Every soul who dies feeling unfulfilled goes through the system."

"What exactly does that mean?" Ethan asks, still confused.

"Each System is specifically designed to fulfill whatever you failed to accomplish in your previous life," She closes her eyes, her long dark lashes casting a shadow over her pale, shining skin. Her eyes flicker from underneath her lids, "You wanted to be popular, yes? The center of everyone's attention?" She opened her eyes once more, raising her brows to confirm her questions.

Ethan solemnly glances down at the floor, nodding. It was true, most of his life he was bullied because of his looks, or utterly ignored, and never once was anyone kind to him. If he was popular, he would have friends. His life wouldn't be so painful, he would be able to smile and truly mean it. Being popular... it gave you everything.

Ethan's breath hitches as the woman stands up, her bare feet gliding across the room as she makes her way over to Ethan. She stops when she's face to face with him, staring down at him with warmth. Her soft hands cup his face, brushing his cheeks with her slender fingers, "You can be popular, Ethan, the System can grant your wish. All you have to do is work your way to the top, become popular and loved by all in five worlds, then you will be reborn as the most popular person in a new world catered to your every desire."

Ethan's eyes shined with hope. That was all he ever wanted, to feel loved and accepted. It sounded too good to be true, like a dream. But even if it were a dream, he didn't care, "How does it work?" He asked eagerly.

She smiled, and dropped her hands from his face, "Your soul will be transferred into a body of another world. You will start unpopular, and you must work hard to become popular. You will be aided by the Sai, the System's artificial intelligence."

She raised her hand and Ethan stares in awe as a small, white tablet appears in her palm out of thin air, "He is the System's interface, a part of the System itself. You may call upon him whenever you wish, and he will provide you with information about the world and everything you might need to know. Here, eat it."

"Eat it?" He questions.

She nods, "You must become one."

He hesitantly takes it and places in on his tongue. It instantly dissolves, coating his tastebuds. It tastes like nothing. He then hears a voice in his head, high pitched and monotone,

[Hello, Host. I am Sai.]

The voice echoes in his head, and Ethan is astonished. "H-Hello," He greets.

"Sai, begin transfer of information about the first world," Cara orders.

[Beginning information transfer...]

"Sai will answer any other questions you might have after the memory and information transfer. After the transfer is complete, your soul will be then transferred to your new body and to your new world. I am afraid this is all the time we have together, Ethan. I do hope you succeed, and to see you again."

Ethan holds his head at all the information flowing through his brain, he barely registers Cara's parting words. There are faces he doesn't recognize but somehow knows everything about. Memories of a childhood he's never lived. New thoughts, new feelings, new... everything.

[Now beginning soul transfer...]

He looks down at his hands and it seems each and every individual particle separates. The floor beneath his feet disappears and he drops, his heart lurching in his throat. He desperately reaches out towards Cara who becomes more and more distant as he falls further into the dark abyss. He can't breathe. Can't focus. Can't feel.

But suddenly he takes a deep inhale of air and sits up, his eyes darting around his new room. His alarm was blaring in his ears, the blocky red letters reading 6 A.M.

Time for school.

-

-

-