Another Life

Mara's voice resonated through the space, calm yet absolute.

"So it shall be woven into the tapestry of your fate."

The air around him shifted, something unseen settling deep within his very being.

"As one chosen to walk this path, you shall be bestowed a boon—an inheritance beyond blood or steel. A gift to guide you, to aid you in carving your destiny. The world itself shall shape around it, unseen yet ever present."

A new screen appeared before him, different from the others.

"Select Your Blessings."

He scanned the options, realizing they weren't just skills or powers—they were game mechanics, integrated into reality. A system, not unlike what he had experienced before, except this time, it wasn't just a game.

Available Boons (Choose 3):

1. Save & Load – Grants the ability to create manual save points, allowing a return to past moments. (Limited uses per in-world time cycle. Cannot be used to escape death once committed to battle.)

2. HUD – Displays health, stamina, and magicka, along with active status effects such as poisons, diseases, and buffs. Also includes a compass with nearby points of interest, enemy indicators in combat, and a crosshair for accuracy in ranged or targeted actions.

3. Map – A dynamic world map that updates in real time, marking visited locations, notable areas, and discovered landmarks. Features a waypoint system for navigation and a weather forecast function based on observed patterns. Can detect major settlements from a distance but does not reveal undiscovered locations outright.

4. Observe – Allows deep analysis of people, objects, and creatures, revealing stats, weaknesses, resistances, and hidden traits. Also provides information on equipment, enchantments, and potential loot drops. Higher intelligence and perception may reveal more details.

5. Quest Log – Tracks personal objectives, major events, and notable NPC interactions, ensuring no detail is lost. Offers a memory recall function that allows him to mentally replay past conversations and events in first-person detail.

6. Fast Travel – Allows instant movement between previously visited locations. (Only usable under safe conditions—cannot be used to escape combat or travel into unknown areas. May be affected by terrain and encumbrance.)

7. Inventory Management – A weightless storage system for essential items, bypassing physical limitations. Features a quick-access hotkey system for instant weapon and item swaps. (Cannot store living things or absurdly large objects like wagons.)

8. Companion Bond – Strengthens loyalty and effectiveness of allies, unlocking special interactions, tactical commands, and skill-sharing. Can reveal companion morale, hidden thoughts, and trust levels over time.

9. Skill Tracker – Displays growth progression in mastered skills, highlighting areas of improvement, experience thresholds, and potential milestones. Allows for a training efficiency assessment, helping optimize skill development.

10. Perk Selection – Instead of skills growing naturally, specific upgrades and abilities can be chosen upon reaching certain milestones. Also allows respeccing of perks at key progression points, ensuring no wasted development.

Alexander's pulse picked up.

These weren't just gimmicks. These were survival tools.

And he could only pick three.

Alexander hmm'd as he looked at the options. Game mechanics in real life? That was insane—but insanely useful.

He scanned the list again, breaking down his choices like a tactician.

Save & Load? Immediate yes. No question. That was the ultimate safety net. If he could set manual save points, he could replay scenarios, fix mistakes, or even train by trial and error. He'd be a regressor every day—learning, adapting, getting better while everyone else only had one shot. Too damn useful to pass up.

HUD? Yeah, that was a must-have. Not for the health bars or the stamina gauge—he could figure those out on his own—but for the enemy indicators. That red mark showing where threats were? That was gold. As a soldier, the ability to track enemies, detect ambushes, and keep situational awareness in combat? That was useful as fuck.

And the compass? That alone made navigation and tracking targets easier. Being able to mark points of interest? A built-in directional guide? That was just straight-up practical.

That left his final choice.

He frowned, tapping his finger against his arm.

"…Will I have the opportunity to earn more of these?"

Mara's voice remained calm, but there was something weighty in it. "Accomplish great feats, and you shall find the answer yourself."

Alexander read between the lines.

Sounded like a yes.

He exhaled through his nose. Great feats, huh? What counted as a great feat? Slaying a dragon? Stopping a war? Killing a Daedric Prince? Guess he'd find out.

That just left his third pick.

He rubbed his chin. Perks.

Skill progression was good, but perks? That was long-term power. Being able to actively choose specialized upgrades rather than just getting better over time meant he could optimize his growth. A skill tracker was helpful, but perks were power.

In his past life, training had been about specialization, adaptation, and efficiency. You didn't just practice randomly—you trained with a purpose, refining strengths and covering weaknesses. If he could hand-pick his advancements, he could ensure no wasted time, no wasted effort.

And if he could eventually respec his perks at key points? That meant he wasn't locked into anything. Flexibility was everything.

Yeah. That was the move.

Save & Load.

HUD.

Perks.

"Alright," he said, locking in his choices. "Let's do this."

He made his choices.

Immediately, knowledge flooded his mind.

"Whoa—"

It wasn't painful, but it was intense—like the mechanics were being downloaded straight into his brain, seamlessly integrating as if they had always been part of him.

Save & Load.

The rules settled into his mind instantly. One active save slot at a time. He could manually reload once per day, resetting to his last save point. But if he died, he'd get one automatic reload every three days. If he used that death reload, the function would lock him out of saving for three days.

A safety net, but not an infinite reset button. He'd have to be smart about when to save.

HUD.

His vision shifted instantly.

At the top of his field of view, a compass appeared, just like in Skyrim, subtly marking cardinal directions and nearby points of interest.

Below it, his health, stamina, and magicka bars were there, sitting unobtrusively in the corners of his vision. Even though he wasn't in combat, he could already tell that as he exerted himself, they'd drain dynamically—fatigue, injuries, exhaustion, all of it would register in real-time.

Then his eyes flicked to the center of his vision—

The crosshair.

It was faint, subtle, just a small white reticle that sat dead center in his sightline. Unlike some game HUDs, it didn't feel distracting. It wasn't some glowing, obtrusive dot—it was just… there. Neutral. Always ready.

It wasn't some sci-fi targeting system—it wouldn't auto-lock onto anything—but he could already tell it was going to be useful. It gave him a clear reference point, a way to line up shots, aim precisely, and track his focus.

In combat, it would be a lifesaver.

Right now? It was conjecture—but Alexander had a feeling he wouldn't need to test it long to prove how damn useful it really was.

Then, instinctively, he moved his crosshair over the statue of Mara.

Text appeared.

Statue of Mara

Divine of Love and Compassion

Just like the game. Basic information only. No hidden details, no deeper analysis—just a label confirming what he was looking at.

Interesting.

But then he noticed—no perk menu.

Where are my perks? he asked, glancing around for something, anything that would show them.

The statue of Mara remained still, but her voice was unwavering.

"Perks are not seen before they are earned. They do not exist as words on a list but as talents shaped by your actions. Walk the path, and they shall reveal themselves."

Alexander read between the lines.

So no freebie skill points, no instant selections. Just like in Skyrim, he had to earn them.

He exhaled, rolling his shoulders.

That was fine. That was better, actually.

"So, when shall I be making my arrival in Tamriel?" Alexander asked, crossing his arms.

The statue of Mara remained still, but her voice carried through the space like a gentle current, vast and unwavering.

"You shall be born in the year 4E 158, among the noble houses of Hammerfell. A life of honor, tradition, and expectation shall shape your early years."

Alexander let that sink in.

Wait.

4E 158?

His mind immediately went into lore-mode. He thought back to the Elder Scrolls wiki, all the late nights spent diving deep into the history of Tamriel. It wasn't just the games—it was the stories, the conflicts, the legends that had always fascinated him.

Then it hit him.

"Wait… am I going to fight in the war between the Redguards and the High Elves?"

That was the Second Great War, at least for Hammerfell. The Redguards had gone toe-to-toe with the Aldmeri Dominion, held the line after the Empire abandoned them, and somehow, against all odds, they won.

Mara's voice remained composed, offering no confirmation nor denial.

"The future is not yet written. Though the scrolls may whisper of what was and what may be, fate is shaped by those who walk the path."

Classic vague divine answer.

Alexander exhaled through his nose, rubbing his temples.

"Right. So… what if I actually die and never make it to Skyrim? There are no guarantees in war, and I doubt I'll have plot armor if I take a sword through the chest at eighteen."

Mara's response was as calm as ever.

"Fate is a river, ever flowing. Some currents pull stronger than others, guiding mortals toward their place in history. Yet even the river bends, reshaped by the stones it meets. Whether you shall reach Skyrim is unknown, but your role in this world is not one so easily cast aside."

Alexander deadpanned.

That was a fancy way of saying 'We'll see.'

"Well," he muttered, rolling his shoulders, "this is gonna be interesting."

"For now, rest."

As Mara spoke, he noticed something he hadn't before.

A bed had materialized behind him—plain, simple, yet undeniably inviting.

Alexander snorted. "This is like that Alternate Start mod," he muttered under his breath, amused at the absurdity of it all.

Still, there wasn't much else to do. He walked over, ran a hand along the sheets. It felt real.

He sat down, exhaling slowly.

For a moment, he thought sleep would take hours, that his mind would race with everything that had happened.

But as the adrenaline faded, so did his resistance.

His body, this new body, still felt foreign—yet strangely whole. No phantom pain. No exhaustion weighing down his limbs from years of war, disease, and suffering.

And then, without meaning to, a few tears slipped free.

They weren't loud. They weren't from sorrow. Just… release.

For so long, he had been fighting against everything life threw at him. War had broken his body, cancer had tried to finish the job, and even when he survived, it had never felt like living.

He hadn't realized how heavy his soul had been.

As he settled into the bed, a small, tired smile pulled at his lips.

For the first time in a long time, he felt light.

And as sleep finally took him, he embraced it without fear.