Zero's Law: Lord Of The Karma System

I Am The Karma System.

CHAPTER 4: I Am The Karma System

Zero’s eyes shot open to a ceiling painted in dull white. For a moment, nothing made sense... until the sterile stink of drugs filled his lungs."

'Am I in a hospital.'

He raised his head up to look around, only to confirm that his guess was spot on.

He tried to sit up. But pain answered immediately, coursing through his ribs, his back, even his skull. He groaned and sank back into the pillow.

The steady beep of a heart monitor kept rhythm with his pulse. His arm was strapped with an IV drip. His lips were dry, cracked, his throat raw as if he had swallowed smoke.

"What the hell..." Zero racked his brain to remember how he ended up in that state.

And it didn't take long for the memories to slowly start coming back. First came the image of the bus, the tanker, the boy in his arms, and then... the explosion.

Zero let out a deep sigh. 'I could have died there. What the hell was I thinking?' He chastised himself.

As he was reminiscing about his heroic act, the memory of the man grabbing his ankle before dying resurfaced in his mind. And then the purple screen that appeared in line of his vision afterwards.

Zero clenched his eyes shut. "I must have imagined the part about the screen. I Had to, because how is something like that even possible..."

[HOST IS AWAKE. SYSTEM BRIEFING CAN BEGIN.]

A voice suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts.

Zero snapped his eyes open at the intrusion, and quickly scanned the room in search of the culprit, but found no one.

'It must have been in another room...' He concluded.

[WILL YOU COMMENCE BRIEFING?]

The voice came again, so close and clear that he couldn't displace it as coming from another room.

"Who is it?" He asked.

[I AM THE KARMA SYSTEM]

"The karma what?!!... Where are you?" He asked looking round again for any spot that he might have missed.

[I AM INSIDE YOU]

A cold feeling crawled down his spine. "If this is some kind of prank, I’m not in the mood."

[I AM NOT PLAYING GAMES.]

"So you’re… what? Talking in my head?"

[EXACTLY]

Zero pressed his hand on his forehead and gently rubbed it. "It's either someone is playing a prank on me, or I am beginning to lose my sanity. I really hope that it's the first option."

Just then, the door opened, and Zero raised his head to see a nurse stepping in. Her smile was soft but strange, and her eyes were too steady.

"Hi, Mr Lindsey. You are finally awake..."

"I guess." He replied.

"I am nurse Ellie. So, how are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like I was ran over by a train. And… I think I’m starting to lose my mind."

Her smile deepened. "Not a train, but a tanker explosion. You remember?"

"Yeah I do".

“You sustained heavy injuries to your ribs, spine, head. Honestly, you’re lucky to be alive.”

[HOST, SHALL WE BEGIN?] The voice pressed into his thoughts again.

Zero’s stomach turned. He looked at the nurse. "A head injury… can it make you, you know, hear things? Go crazy?"

"It can." Her answer came with that same mechanic bright smile that Zero was starting to dislike.

"Do you guys by any means play pranks on your patients?" Zero asked her.

"No. We don’t."

Zero’s chest sank. 'Way to crush my hope nurse, it seems like I am actually becoming crazy after all. I really didn't want it to be second option.'

The nurse adjusted his IV, scribbled notes on a chart, and gave him a look almost too long before she left.

The room fell into silence again, broken only by the soft hum of machines.

That was when it returned.

[HOST. COMMENCE BRIEFING SO WE CAN MOVE TO OTHER MATTERS.]

Other matters? Zero thought back.

[THEY WILL BE REVEALED IN TIME.]

'I will need to see you before deciding on accepting the briefing.'

[I CAN'T SHOW MYSELF PHYSICALLY, AS I HAVE ALREADY BONDED WITH YOU. WHAT I CAN SHOW YOU IS MY INTERFACE.]

'Alright then, show me.' Zero said, not really knowing what to expect.

A faint shimmer pulsed in the corner of his vision, and then a strange purple screen appeared, hovering like a ghost above his bed.

Zero jerked back in a bit of fear at the sudden appearance. "What the hell..." But then, "Wait, I think I have seen this before."

He realized, as the memories of a purple screen appearing after the man grabbing his leg on the bus died, and also before he passed out after the blast... resurfaced in his mind.

'Did you get transferred to me from the man on the bus after he died?'. He asked.

[YES]

The screen sharpened, icons flickering into place.

[WELCOME NEW HOST.]

>HOST STATUS<

>KARMA POINTS<

>QUEST<

>JUDGEMENT<

>SHOP<

>REWARDS<

>LEDGER<

>NOTIFICATION<

[DO BETTER THAN THE PREVIOUS HOST...]

"What is all this?... Alright... the briefing. Let's hear it". Zero said, his interest suddenly piqued.

[COMMENCING]

The system interface switched to a blank screen. And as it spoke, it's words also reflected on the screen. So Zero was both seeing and hearing it at the same time.

[YOU HAVE HEARD OF THE LAW OF KARMA. I AM THAT LAW MADE SENTIENT. I REQUIRE A HOST TO FUNCTION.

AS MY HOST, YOU WILL DELIVER KARMA... GOOD OR BAD... TO THOSE WHO DESERVE IT.

YOUR CHOICES, YOUR FREE WILL. I WILL NOT CONTROL WHO YOU JUDGE, OR HOW YOU JUDGE THEM.

AND YOU WILL EARN REWARDS FOR EACH ACT CARRIED OUT]

[ANY QUESTIONS?]

"Yeah. How did you… become sentient?" Zero asked.

[INSUFFICIENT KARMA POINTS TO UNLOCK THAT INFORMATION.]

Figures. "Fine. What kind of rewards are we talking about?"

[REWARDS VARY WITH DUTIES PERFORMED AND THE THINGS YOU NEED. YOU HAVE SOME REWARDS NOW.]

"Now?" His pulse quickened. "Show me."

The screen shifted. Notifications flared.

[FOR SAVING THE LIFE OF AN UNKNOWN WOMAN IN THE BUS ACCIDENT: YOUR REWARD IS 1000KP (KARMA POINTS) AND ONE SELECTION.]

[FOR SAVING THE LIFE OF AN UNKNOWN CHILD IN THE BUS ACCIDENT: YOUR REWARD IS 1000KP AND ONE SELECTION.]

[FOR INDIRECTLY SAVING TWO OTHERS WHO ESCAPED THROUGH THE WINDOW YOU BROKE: YOUR REWARD IS 1000KP AND ONE SELECTION.]

Zero stared. "Selections? What the hell is a selection?"

[WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE ONE SELECTION NOW?]

"…Yeah."

The screen pulsed, and new words appeared.

[CHOOSE ONE.]

{A MILLION DOLLARS}

{A HEALTH RECOVERY POTION}

{A SKILL BOOK – BASIC RESCUING}

Zero blinked. "...You’ve got to be kidding me." Then like every 21st century man, he picked the million dollars.

Nothing to confirm if the system was real than a million dollars suddenly appearing in his bank account.

[GRANTED.]

Despite the agony in his ribs and head, he tore the IV needle free, and stumbled to the locker in the room.

He opened it, and just like he thought... his belongings that he had on him on the day of the accident were inside.

He pulled out his phone... the screen was cracked. He powered it on, and thankfully the crack did not block the phone visuals that much.

He turned on his data and notifications started pouring into the phone. His breath froze as he soon received the one notification that he was wishing for, but not really expecting.

Credit alert: One million dollars deposited into your account.

His knees nearly buckled. "It’s real. I’m not crazy. I’m not..."

[INCORRECT.]

The words sliced across the purple screen.

Zero blinked. "What?"

[YOU ARE LOSING YOUR SANITY.]

His heartbeat increased . "Why the hell would you say that?"

[BECAUSE THE NURSE YOU SPOKE TO EARLIER… WAS NOT REAL.]