Sure, why not?

I'm in. Sent.

As your text screamed through the phone networks to confirm your interest, you wondered why you were suddenly so impulsive about such a bizarre opportunity. If this was indeed some kind of scam, then you really were becoming like your dad...

Minutes later, a text arrived with a time for tonight. Not a lot of time to plan for anything like this, but you would at least take the chance to go see the mansion of the famed Emilia King. That seemed like it would be worth it, even if you showed up and said no. Wait, would they let you say no after they tell you stuff? Who knew. You were operating on so little information.

You finished your work for the day and headed out. Despite walking down the stairs next to Olivia, you couldn't seem to think of something to say. It hardly mattered, given that she didn't even register your presence next to her. You may as well have been a ghost.

Determined to at least cheer yourself up with the special invitation to visit the King Estate, you took the bus to the nearest stop next to the large mansion. The gates were closed, but you tapped the button to announce your arrival, tapping your foot as you waited for some sort of response.

The gates never opened. Instead, a van pulled up behind you, and two men in black suits exited. Before you could say anything, they put a bag over your head and hauled you into the van! You struggled and fought, but you were no mighty Thor no matter how much your grandmother would claim otherwise every time you visited her. Easily and embarrassingly subdued, you sat quietly shaking in your seat, assuming you were being taken somewhere for some ransom money. Maybe these were people professional hostage takers, thinking you were dating Emilia and she would fork out tons of money for her beloved? You tried to explain you had nothing to do with Emilia, but your muffled complaints were met with silence.

And you really wanted to see that mansion, too!

When you arrived at the secondary location--a place you certainly did not want to be based on what you learned in grade school--you were led inside, shuffling your feet. The bag was hot, and you weren't feeling well, particularly since you didn't know how much longer you would stay alive. Unceremoniously, once you were led wherever the muscle-bound guys were told to deliver you, the bag was removed. You blinked, your eyes adjusting to the terrible fluorescent lights in what looked like an old warehouse.

Before you were two women, one in a wheelchair and the other holding a clipboard. Clearly, the redhead was the famed Emilia King, it was hard to not recognize her; even just the multitude of injuries gave it away. The brunette next to her adjusted her glasses, stepping forward with a water bottle. "Sorry about that, but we have to be very careful about this situation. Until you sign the NDA, we can't say much about anything." You recognized the voice as the one from the phone, Alice. She handed you the water bottle, which you quickly downed, before she traded the empty bottle with a clipboard in your hands.

"You could've at least had them ask before stuffing me in a van."

"We could have," Emilia said, her piercing eyes staring right through you, "but I like knowing where I stand with people, and I appreciate that you didn't sob the whole way over or anything. You're no super-spy, but I don't need you to be."

You stared at the NDA on the clipboard. "What DO you want me to be?"

"Sign, and then we talk."

You sighed, looking up briefly before back down at the non-disclosure document. "Well, you're at least the real deal..." you pressed pen to paper, and in a few swipes you were locked into a binding agreement with a billionaire for who-knows-what.

Emilia smiled. "Great. So, I brought you in because we traced your DNA through one of those genealogy companies to find that you're an 88 percent match for compatibility."

The genealogy database returned to your mind, and you sighed as you realized how easily someone else was able to search through your DNA. It wasn't surprising, though you'd cast the heritage DNA test from your mind because of the absurdity of the results. Your grandparents on one side had been Swedish and Danish. On the other side, German and English. What did the genealogy website say? You were part Swedish, Danish, German, and English. What a shock.

"Compatibility for what?" You asked.

Alice glanced down at Emilia, who leaned forward to add to her dramatic flair for presentation. "For reviving an ancient guardian and warrior by becoming the conduit for their astral energies."

You blinked.

Emilia stared deeply at you.

"...You're serious?"

As if on cue, the two muscly guys wheeled in a suit of armor on a handtruck, setting it up in front of you. It certainly looked interesting, like some sort of fantasy battle-armor set, but even you could tell that this didn't look like typical historical armor. The cracked gem was clearly visible, you could almost feel the pain of the broken gem fill your body for a moment.

"Here is how this will work," Alice said, stepping to the armor, and pointing at the gem. "We will be using a Phase Binder device to take this gem, and combine it with you, somewhere in your core at the centermost point of where your astral energy will resonate. With any luck, the Geistknight spirit is still within the gem, they will transform your body into a powerful warrior capable of wearing this armor, you'll swing a sword around for a bit, and we'll call that the end of phase one. Though, if the spirit has since left the gem, then I'm not sure what will happen, maybe the armor will respond solely to you. You'll need some time at the gym to wear it, but still."

The muscle-heads laughed, looking at your average, un-heroic form. But you were too busy mulling over what you just were told to notice. Phase Binder, wasn't that the thing Yabusa made and then vanished? What spirit? Why would you be wearing armor in the first place!

You weren't afforded much more time to think before you were again ferried down a hallway, with the armor right behind you on the cart. You were placed inside the area of effect for the Phase Binder device, as the armor was set alongside you. Crossing your arms, you glanced over at the console where Emilia and Alice both tapped away at various settings and controls. Before long, tendrils of strange ooze poured out of the machine, enveloping you and the armor both! And then, nothing.

When you next awoke, you felt pretty much the same. Two arms, two legs... you glanced around, wondering if something had gone wrong, but nobody seemed to be panicking or yelling. The only thing you noticed out of place happened to be on the armor next to you, where the gemstone had vanished, replaced with just a small circular engraving instead.

"Hey, where did--"

You couldn't even finish the sentence before you felt Emilia's wheelchair bump into you. Without warning, she reached up to your chest, putting a hand on it. "Geistknight, I summon thee."

Those words meant nothing to you, but when your chest started to radiate a blue light that spread to the rest of your form, you began to panic! "What did you do!"

"Did you not listen to my explanation earlier? The magic of the Geistknight is anchored to you! If there's a spirit in that gem still, we will be meeting them very soon!"