Godly Grey Sky

A baron world, devoid of life and light, a world where the poor and weak are trampled on, while the wealthy and powerful thrive. One such world where even air isn't abundant, even so, there is still a way to live.

A world with Gods laughing down at all who live. Filled with pollution from an older time. A time which many forgot, and tend not to stray towards. Even so people, like cockroaches, still hang on to life. 

In a small, beaten, putrid smelling shack. A skinny, pale, sixteen year old boy, with messy, rough, brown hair lays in his bed. A small, white, oxygen synthesizer on his face. He gets up from his awful sleep and looks down at the floor, readjusting his small mask that covered only his nose and cheeks. Even calling it a mask was overstatement. He gets up from his bed, and goes over to his dresser. Putting on some rough, hole filled, and blood stained clothes, he picks up a small, beaten, worn knife from his table, and a beaten up card, ready to start his day in the Inner World.

He walks out of the house, greeted by the sight of the grey, lifeless sky, and the huge wall in the distance. He walks down the baron street, passing by the other houses which look no different from his own. The only thing that he's grateful for is that his mask blocks the smell, mostly, as he walks by a slightly bigger house, he overhears a conversation.

"I heard some girl died yesterday in the mines" a young man said.

"Yes, I heard the same thing at the shelter. She was apparently sick from the fumes. Truly tragic, she was only 14 years old, they claim."

He continues walking, paying no mind to what he just heard. It was never good to butt into matters he had no business in. All he needs to worry about is if he'll live till tomorrow.

As he makes his way down the street, people look at him with destain. As they always do of course, he was a weird existence after all, he still hadn't found his Task. 

As he's walking, he checks his pockets for his knife and card. "Wish I could get some tonics in case I get stabbed again" he saids half loathing and half needingly. "I really couldn't afford that though" he saids as he continues walking.

He arrives at his destination, the side of the huge wall, it was black, made of an unknown material, taller than a hundred meters at least, probably taller than needed, then again, you could never be too sure. It was strange though, there wasn't a scratch, tear, or chip missing in the wall. Almost as if it was repaired everyday. At the bottom, there was an official worker, wearing a bright orange uniform, with the letters IW on the uniforms chest. He also had a very expensive looking oxygen synthesizer, he was sitting on a cushioned chair, with a control panel in front of him, and next to him a large, a wooden and stone gate stood, this was his destination.

"Name, License and Position Rank" he said coldly, as he held out his hand expectantly. "Aether Torn, Position Rank, 0" Aether said, haphazardly as he handed him his card. 

"0 huh? at this age?, must be difficult, you sure you want to go out there to the Outer World" The official said, with a little hint of sadness. 

"What would you know" he said, with a hint of anger. "Suit your kid but don't blame me if you die" as the official pulls a lever. As he did the huge gate started creeping up. 

Aether looked at the guard, with a deadness in his eyes "Sure thing" he said, walking towards the gate, with his knife in hand. As he walked out to the Outer World, he cursed to himself, prayed by putting his hand to his right shoulder then the left. Then stepped foot into the Outer World

As he walked out to the Outer World, the gate shut behind him. The Outer World looked like, well it was grey to say the least. It was rocky, mountainous, with barely any grass, the sky was of course still grey.

He made sure to take into his surroundings, considering how dangerous this place was. Well, dangerous to him, the guard at the gate had been right, his life had been difficult, well more difficult than others at least. In the world, there are Tasks, a Task is an unknown requirement that is assigned a birth, and if a person completes there task, they get a System and a Position Name and Rank.

A System allows a person to see how strong they are, what type of abilities they have, and most importantly their Rules. Rules are a part of a person's existence, that one can not violate under no circumstances. Luckily you can only get three, and most people never discover two or even one.

A Position Name is well, just a name really. It helps determine what abilities people get. Say someone's task is to drink water, then that person would get a Name related to water, then he'd get abilities related to water.

A Position Rank is how people measure power, or how the System does. Once you complete your task, you become a Rank X, you get the System, and then you get a new task, lucky the system tells you the task. Once you complete the new task, you advance to the next rank and get new abilities. Then you repeat till Rank I, but most people never make it there, most tasks after Rank VIII are impossible.

Most people complete their task around five to ten years old, when parents start experimenting with their kids to unlock theirs. Sadly for Aether, with no such family, he never found his task. Which in this world is a death sentence.

Aether sighed as he walked further into the Outer World, "That girl that died probably had an easy task, like punch a rock, or throw a rock". Then again the harder the task the better the ability, so Aether had always hoped that he would get a cool ability. But that was all it was, hope.

In fact, that was the reason he was out here, he had hoped that killing a Grey Creature out in the Outer World was his task. He only waited til now cause he tried everything else. Even so, killing a Grey is nearly impossible for a Taskless person like himself. Luckily the free school in the Inner World taught self defense.

Grey Creatures are wild animals out in the Outer World. Well, animals are a stretch, they're more like devils. Most people never see them, which is probably for the best. They are horrible monsters that kill anything and anybody they see. The weird part is that no one knows where they came from. They just appeared one day, from the cracks in the world.

The area that he was around mostly houses Ordinary and Abnormal Greys, which are the two lowest ranks. There are apparently 10 ranks, as well as Positions Ranks. I only know of the first four, they go from Ordinary, Abnormal, Servant, then Keeper. "If I were to find a Servant I'd probably die immediately" he thought in a self-deprecating manner. Just then Aether saw it.

A huge, white, Cottontail Rabbit with half its head gone. It was at least one meter tall. How the rabbit wasn't bleeding out or dead was a mystery to Aether. Despite this, the rabbit moved very fast, at least as quick as fifthteen miles an hour. Just then the rabbit looked right into his eyes.

Aether immediately shot down to the ground, as to not be seen. "Shit" he thought as the rabbit looked in his direction. "It definitely saw me, I have to move" he thought as he started crawling towards the right of the rabbit. As he did the rabbit started trotting forward towards his previous location. 

The rabbit was closing in, but Aether had a plan. He was gonna sneak up behind the huge cottontail and stab its neck. "Even though this is a shitty plan it's the best I got" he thought. There was no guarantee that would even kill it, considering it only has half a head. Or if my knife will even penetrate. But Aether was desperate, desperate to obtain his task and complete it.

The rabbit got closer, almost on top of him. Then, just as the rabbit stopped, almost five feet away.

He jumped at the rabbit with his knife and aimed for the neck. stabbing it right into its neck, sadly though this only angered the rabbit.

It threw Aether off and into the rocks, Aether however, maintained his balance after stumbling a little, raised his knife in the air and got ready to fight.

The rabbit jumped, as Aether tried to dodge, unfortunately he got hit in the left shoulder, causing him to bleed profusely. 

He winced in pain, but he had to focus. One wrong move and he'd be a corpse.

The rabbit jumped at him again, but this time he dodged it fully, then as it landed he stepped behind it and stabbed in the leg, immobilizing it for a second. The rabbit squealed in pain.

Aether then backed away, ready to counter or dodge again. The rabbit turned to look at him, then after what felt like a minute, it moved. So fast even, like it had been toying with him.

Sadly, the rabbit was too fast this time, just as Aether was about to dodge. The rabbit turned to the left, and used both of its legs and kicked him, with a loud crack, it sent him flying.

Aether fell back around ten feet, landing on his arm on the hard rock. He heard a deafening, hard, crunch as he yelped in pain.

His ribs and left arm were broken, tears streamed down his face from the pain. Luckily he was right handed, so he could still use his knife. Sadly though, the Ordinary Rabbit was already on him. He stared at the rabbit, knowing it was the end.

"Damn the gods, why'd they have to make my task impossible, what did I do to deserve this" he mumbled through his pain and tears. 

The rabbit lunged, Aether tried to get up, but it was too late. The rabbit bites into his side. "SHIT" he screamed as the rabbit toured through his ribs and flesh. Leaving him bleeding out on the side. Lucky the rabbit only had half a face, so Aether wouldn't die. Unfortunately the rabbit was on top of him, with no way for Aether to dodge.

The rabbit got right up to Aether, looking directly at this face with his one eye. Then it tilted its head, or at less what it had left, it looked at Aether, as if inspecting him.

Taking no time as to wondering what the rabbit was doing, Aether took all the remaining strength he had, and stabbed the rabbit in his heart.

The knife moved like butter, sliding right into its heart. As he did, the head of the rabbit spewed blood. The rabbit screamed, making an ear deafening sound. As it did it fell on its side and complused, before going still.

The rabbit was dead.

And Aether was not far off it either. He lay there smiling though. Smiling not because of killing an Ordinary as a Taskless, but for completing what he thought was his Task.

The Gods had different plans though, as Aether lay there he wondered, "why hadn't the System talked to him". "Why hadn't it congratulated me". Just as he thought this he realized.

It had not been his task.