Crisis

Naro was frantically accumulating points when his concentration was suddenly broken. He felt the whole cabin around him jolt forward, and he looked around him as he instinctively tried to understand what was happening. 

The carriage had picked up speed.

From the angle that the cradle was sitting, Naro could not get a very good view of the outside, but he knew that a good amount of time had passed.

In all likelihood, he was already far away from his parents. The chances that they would even meet again were dwindling.

Naro felt his stomach lurch. 

There was nothing specific that he could point to, but there was something strange about what was taking place around him. In the next moment, his heart leapt in his chest, and he felt like an enormous weight had just been placed on his back.

It was a sudden premonition of danger.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Adrenaline pumped through his body, and he was overcome by sheer terror.

Nothing had actually happened, but his intuition was screaming at him.

If you do nothing, then you will die.

If you do nothing, then you will die.

If you do nothing, then you will die.

You will die. You will die. You will die.

Naro thought that he was already performing at his maximum capacity, but at that moment he felt an invisible wall collapse in front of him. A reservoir of energy was suddenly available, and his limbs demonstrated capability that had been impossible before.

His arms squirmed faster. His feet kicked harder. He took quicker breaths. He rapidly switched between active listening, tasting, seeing, smelling and feeling.

There were no unnecessary thoughts.

He achieved a state of perfect flow. The pressure of the unknown and his vulnerability both contributed to a sense of helplessness. He knew that he could no longer afford to be vulnerable.

All his hopes were placed on the system.

'Ability arises from simplicity.'

'Simple actions, when performed, develop towards the Fundamental Laws of Nature.'

Naro needed that ability!

He needed that development!

He already felt the smallest of differences from the points he had accumulated. His senses were improved by a fraction. He just needed those differences to be multiplied by hundreds, thousands, millions of times. Intuitively, he felt that it was the only way to insure his survival.

Even then, it might not be enough.

Death could come at any time. It could come from any place. The uncertainty wracked him.

He knew he needed time. He did not know how much, only that the current pace was not enough.

Naro allowed himself a moment to think. It took focus away from the sensory actions that he was cycling through, but it felt necessary. If there was another way to overcome his situation, he needed to know.

What were his strengths?

The system.

What else?

How could he overcome the tribulation?

What could he do to achieve such a monumental task?

Why was he so useless?

Naro tried desperately to remember some resource that was slipping his mind, some way of reframing his situation, but there was nothing. No matter how he thought about it, there were no paths forward. There was no life gate, only gates of death.

How had he gotten the system? Who had given it to him? Could they be contacted?

Open panel!

The panel was just as blank as before. There were new skills that were registered, but that was it. No new functions. No hints or prompts. 

Were there other actions he could learn?

Simple actions. Simple actions. Simple actions.

Eating?

Sleeping?

Invisibility?

Pain tolerance?

Was there a God behind the panel? Or Gods?

His thought process slipped out of his control without him noticing.

Why would the Gods give him such a tremendous blessing, only to kill him before he could make use of it?

Was it some cruel joke?

Or was there a point to it?

Would he be saved?

Perhaps that was it. In order to be saved, he needed to have faith in the system! He needed to push through until a hidden function was unlocked.

Naro knew that he was engaging in wishful thinking. In his heart, there was a simple truth that he forced himself to deny.

By the time he would have accumulated enough points to make a real difference, it would already be too late. Those 'Fundamental Laws of Nature' were out of reach. There were no Gods or miracles that were going to save him.

He was going to die.

The truth was simple, but brutal. He could not accept it. Accepting it meant accepting death.

He could only push harder and attempt the impossible.

His body was getting tired.

His mind was getting tired.

He refused to succumb.

Succumbing was also accepting death.