Life is More Than a Game: Restart

Heya guys. Been a while since I've done... well, anything. And the first thing I post is a rewrite. Ah, just like old times.

On a more serious note, I just ended up having absolutely zero motivation to continue the old version. I thought that HP could be an interesting world to explore. Several factors led to it just seeming more of a chore than anything else. So, it's high time I returned to my philosophy of writing things that are fun, which leads us right back to Skyrim.

I would suggest you have read at least the Skyrim portion of the previous version before reading on. The HP stuff is less necessary to understand what I'm gonna be concocting.

Anywho, enjoy!

Chapter I

"Welcome back, Mr. Kidwell!" A far too cheerful voice greeted me. I knew the voice and, as I opened my eyes, I knew the place I was being welcomed to as well. Stark white as far as the eye could see in every direction that somehow seemed both an open world and a claustrophobia-inducing cell all at the same time. I groaned rather loudly, and released a heavy sigh before prying my face from my palms.

What happened? Let me think… the last thing I remember was - oh right, I was in that Dungeon. I'd finished that first room and was sorting through my rewards. There was this… flash of light as I was about to go chase down the monsters that escaped. And now I was here. Again.

"I didn't even die this time! Why am I back now?" Gamer's Mind hadn't quite been fast enough to catch my anger as I, more or less, raged at my eldritch benefactor, or representative, or whatever she was. There was a slight shuffling of paper on the other side, wherever that was.

"Well, you see… Due to negative feedback from potential consumers, the world we sent you to was deemed as… let me see… ah, 'not entertaining enough' and 'far less dangerous and risky' than they wanted. 'Boring' even. And so, our shareholders have decided to… intervene in your adventure a tad."

Wait, what? Things beside the Voice were watching me? Was I some kind of reality show for these creeps?

"They'd like you to be transported back to a previous save! Now, most of those checkpoints were destroyed, along with my predecessor, but we do have one autosave that the System still has, so we'll be placing you there! No need to worry about making a new character, we'll just use the old information, good luck!"

"But, wait a minute! I thought I was doing-" My words fell on deaf ears, apparently. In a flash of the brightest light I'd ever seen, so bright as to make the white space seem dark, I felt that familiar sensation as I was whisked off through space-time.

"-a good job…" My voice trailed off on its own as I found myself at the 'previous save' that the Voice spoke of. That previous save? It was looking up at the very large man, with a very large axe, which he was in position to sever my head from my body.

Just behind him, however, was an even larger beast that I'd have to deal with. Gamer's Mind had to be working overtime to keep me calm because there's no way I wouldn't be soiling myself looking upon Alduin. I never really noticed the first time around but… this wasn't the same creature that I'd faced off against countless times in-game.

The midmorning sun that had illuminated the city just mere moments ago disappeared. Simply existing above Helgen was enough to cover the entire area in shadows as he blotted out all light from above.

Descending upon the city, it was amazing that the tower he clung to didn't immediately crumble to dust from the sheer weight. Imperial engineers must be much more skilled than I originally thought.

Someone was shouting in the distance, but I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, for in that moment, Alduin Shouted. Incomprehensible words escaped his mouth, and then there was fire.

Black as death, Alduin rained fiery vengeance upon the Empire, and upon Skyrim, upon reality itself. Helgen was soon nothing more than a target for countless flaming meteors that rained down from the sky. Vaguely, I heard far more people than I recalled living here screaming in the distance. The headsman in my sight was knocked aside, but not by Alduin.

Adorned in full steel plate that had the faint glow of enchantments, an Imperial woman with dark skin was the next thing I saw. It had been only a few days since I'd seen her in that particular body, but it felt so much longer. "Victoria?" I barely was able to say her name before she, rather roughly, grabbed me by the back of the prisoner rags I wore and threw me over her shoulder.

"Please tell me you didn't die again, Orpheus." She wondered as she set off at a brisk pace in the opposite direction of Ulfric and the Stormcloaks, who ran off to their usual tower. "You didn't even bring me before those gods of yours to ask if I wanted to come along this time." I quickly pieced together that she was heading towards one of the walls, and a fiery hole that a meteor had smashed into it.

"I promise I didn't." I replied with only a slight bit of indignation. "No, the Voice told me that the people watching my life weren't entertained enough by the world we were sent to, and sent me back here to this moment, since it was more exciting, I guess. I didn't have a choice in the matter either. Damn corporate voyeurs…"

"I see." She replied as we made it outside the city, without even having to kill anyone. Looking up, I noted that Alduin was still busy assaulting the central part of Helgen to pay any attention to a couple of ants escaping. I shuddered to think how I was supposed to take down something that enormous.

I was forced to focus on my own, immediate situation as Victoria placed me on the ground. We'd sought shelter in one of the nearby forests, apparently. Surrounded by large trees that cast a shade over the midmorning, I did feel at least a little more at ease, despite the cacophony not far off.

"Here, let me get that off of you." I heard Victoria offer as she produced a steel dagger from her waist and quickly sawed through the ropes keeping my wrists bound. "So, these gods of yours can just put us back in time then?"

I rubbed my wrists a bit with a sigh. "It appears so. They can also just pick us up and drop us off in other worlds if we aren't entertaining whoever it is that's keeping an eye on my life. It's a bit infuriating, if I'm honest. Still, it does give us a second chance to not die against those Draugr."

"If you wish to take on Bleak Falls Barrow again, I will follow after you. It may be a good idea to prepare more aptly this time though." I nodded, but then paused a moment. Clearly this was the same Victoria that followed me through the Barrow and into the Wizarding World. At least, it was her mind.

"Wait, you're going to continue following me? Even though the things that I saved you from never actually happened this time?" She simply gave me a flat look.

"What does it matter if this body has not yet been violated by those bandits or not? You saved me from that life, and gave me the revenge I wanted, so I will follow after you. Though, without Hadvar explaining things to General Tullius, I will admit that my leave will be a bit more complicated."

"We can cross that bridge when we come to it." I assure her. "For now, we need an immediate plan. I, for one, would like clothes that don't feel like they're going to fall off at the slightest tug." Looking back towards Helgen, I shook my head. I could hear the noise from here. There was no going back right now.

"We should wait until the dragon is done rampaging, and then see what we can find in the town. There are some enchanted robes in the interrogation room that would really help me, and it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up some supplies while we're there. With any luck, General Tullius will assume both of us dead. Though, we will need to do something about both your appearance, and the Imperial insignia on your armor, if we want to keep your identity a secret. It would help avoid you being branded a traitor and a deserter."

My companion seemed to ponder that, so I used the silence to check through some of my menus. Most of the things were about what I expected. My inventory was full of those 'beta rewards' that I got after character creation the first time: some potions, those stat-increasing droughts, some premium currency and an epic gacha token.

My Skills were mostly what I expected. I did notice a lack of any ability to make Instant Dungeons, which would mean I couldn't do the easy grinding. Skyrim was full of all kinds of dungeons and bandits though, so it wasn't actually that bad. Though, I did seem to also be missing my Observe Skill. That… could be bad.

It seemed that there weren't any changes to my starting Elementalist spells, and I still had the Merchant occupation, so that was alright. Nothing in my Challenges section, and zero quests started.

In terms of perks, I had the ones from maxing out Victoria's Reputation, which wasn't that surprising since she remembered everything. The lack of anything else from my first 'playthrough', more than anything, really sealed the deal in my head that they'd thrown me into a 'previous save file'. I didn't even know that they were making those.

Honestly, they should've just sent me back here when I died the first time. It would've saved us all some time and energy, instead of forcing me to go to a world that they weren't even going to let me last more than a few days in.

Well, no use in getting all worked up over something out of my control. It was better to focus on what was in front of me, what I could change with my own hands, than try and reverse the very course of space-time.

"Orpheus, I'd like to make a request, if I might." I looked back to my companion, who had this hard look in her eyes. "I know it is not my place to decide where we go. I will certainly guide you through Helgen to find anything you might need for our coming journey." She paused a moment, seemingly collecting her thoughts before nodding.

"However, it occurs to me that we can't venture into the city for some time. I don't quite recall how long that monster laid siege to our forces. I suffered a blow to the head from some rubble at some point, and most of the attack is a blur to me. I'd wager it will continue for some time though.

"That said, we might find our time better spent doing something productive. The mine just north of here is still infested with those bandits who killed the survivors and captured me the first time these events took place. So, if you wouldn't mind, I would much appreciate it if we could slaughter them a second time."

That was true. I had forgotten about them for the moment, considering my attention was more on Alduin and everything else. Those bandits probably could hear the commotion all the way from their mine. Or, if nothing else, their lookouts probably saw the smoke and the enormous, dragon-shaped, shadow that loomed menacingly over Helgen.

"Preventing the atrocities that they'll no doubt inflict upon the citizens of Helgen would be a noble cause, though I must admit I'm far more interested in exacting my revenge on them again."

I noted that she was gripping the handle at her waist hard enough that her knuckles had turned white, and that was likely the only thing allowing her to keep her calm. "Well, I've never been one to sit idly. Perhaps I can find something besides these rags to wear while we're there. Getting my staff back would be a good idea too. Sure, let's take a crack at Embershard."

Quest Added: The Slavers' Judgement

Primary Objective: Eliminate the Bandits at Embershard Mine

Secondary Objective: Allow Victoria to kill the Bandit Leader

Secondary Objective: Re-acquire the Staff of Summon Fire Atronach

Rewards: 1000 XP, 5 Common Gacha Tokens, 1000 Gold, ?, ?

And that's it!

Not much else to say, but I do hope you enjoyed the (re)start of this little journey. I've got some plans moving forward, and I think I'm just gonna have fun with this instead of falling into a spiral of worry and anxiety over a fic.

Be sure to let me know what you think in the reviews or send a PM.

Orpheus out! See ya!