Face Your Fears - The Trial of Eternity - [3 ABT]

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“Oh soulbound mine, you will guard this place with heart, body, and mind for Eternity.”

– The Nexus, to “Kelsie,” the first Rift Walker

The Trial of Eternity await any potential Rift Walker, promising immense power. The trial of Eternity prepares the Rift Walker for the rest of their life, eternally bound to the Nexus, to forgo traditional bonds to the real world, to understand that they will outlive everyone they love and care about. Tens of thousands have come through to attempt these trials, and few lived to tell the tale, each one different from the last.

But, this is not a Serniani’s tale, this is the story of a Krim.

Exiting OOC Context now

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Eternity’s Edge
Rose Prefecture
Weather Conditions: Class II, increasing to Class III Data Storm
[ – – Day Zero, 33:09 – – ]
RW “Kelsie,” “The Voice in the Storm”

The storm swirled and honed around the ancient and alien complex. A Voice calls out through the storm, booming heavily, but indifferently.

“Wayfarer, turn around.”

“…Have you heard it yet? The Worldsong? The voice that abounds through the storm near Eternity? You’ll hear it.”

“Wayfarer, do you value your life? Turn around.”

“Legend says it’s the soul of a Serniani who’s died in the experiment at Echo Vector Point…”

“Wayfarer, are you sure of yourself?”

“Of course, that’s not true, nobody knows for sure.”

“Wayfarer, do you trust yourself?”

“I can’t progress with you further. I’ll be here on the other side, waiting for you.”

“Wayfarer, do you not doubt yourself?”

The Voice in the Storm sighs audibly

“Wayfarer, the Trial awaits you.”

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 Aro stopped to watch as Kelsie disappeared into the storm, uncertain of what that meant for him. Was this what he’d be like, should he survive the trials? From the stories he’d heard about the Scytheros incident, he’d expected the Rift Walkers to be somewhat aloof, but this was different, somehow.
 He was growing increasingly uncertain of his decision to come here and gamble his life on the chance of a new one. The government had promised to take care if his family, but if something should happen to them… he’d either be dead or left to curse his decision for eternity. But that’s what this was about, right? Eternity. Writing a song in the clouds so that no matter what happened, real space would not be forgotten.
 That burden was something that had begun to weigh more heavily on him in recent years.

 The lights on his suit brightened briefly and he turned to continue forward.

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Eternity
[ – – Location Module Timed Out – – ]
[ – – Last Weather Collected: Class IV Data Storm – – ]
[ – – Day Zero, 35:49 – – ]
“The Voice in the Storm” “Voice of Authority” “Voice of Anger” “Voice of Reason” “Voice of Solitude”

It took a few hours of walking, but he finally found the area the storm was pinpointed on. As he entered the chamber, a few voices echoed through the chamber, ranging from curious to angered

“The Wayfarer persists. How unusual.”

“He dare step foot onto this sacred ground?”

“Perhaps he wishes to attend to the trials?”

“Or he wishes to loot this place for treasure.”

“Do robbers not work in pairs? The man walks alone, without weapon or tool.”

“Why do we squabble among our selves when the man is present before us?”

“She’s right. O Wayfarer mine, what is your purpose? Why do you walk into a storm? What is it you seek? Speak for yourself, less assumptions be made about you.”

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 The lights on his suit began to flash again. He’d been told that he should have no trouble communicating in the nexus, should he need to. Still, he was uncertain if these voices would be able to understand him.
 Greetings, voices of the Nexus. I am Aro, an archivist, or at least I was before coming here. I now humbly stand before you so that I may take the trials, and if the future wills it, emerge from them.

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Eternity
[ – – Location Module Timed Out – – ]
[ – – Last Weather Collected: Class IV Data Storm – – ]
[ – – Day Zero, 35:55 – – ]
“The Voice in the Storm” “Voice of Authority” “Voice of Anger” “Voice of Reason” “Voice of Solitude”

“The Wayfarer has a name! How cute.”

“So we just let anybody partake in the trials now?”

“So we only take Serniani as guardians?”

“I… Concede, though I prefer them… They created this place after all.”

“Does he fit the requirements?”

“As far as we are concerned… Yes., he does.”

“Well he’s here, he wants to partake, and seems to be aware of the consequences of failing. Should we begin?”

The voices murmur in agreement

Eternity
[ – – Location Module Timed Out – – ]
[ – – Last Weather Collected: Class IV Data Storm – – ]
[ – – Day One, 00:02 – – ]
“Voice of Solitude”

The chamber swirls, leaving a dense forest in its wake. The entrance where Aro once stood is now lush with plant life, but there is no sign of the storm or any other structures Aro saw on his way there, the only voice who spoke was cold, but familiar

“You are a species descended from light. What will you do when the light leaves you?”

A star, from where the light in the area descends below the horizon, slowly dimming the light of all objects in the area, including the suit Aro wears

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 Aro looked up at the sky but saw no stars in the horizon. It was a strange feeling that began to creep up his spine. As far as he could tell, even his own glow had ceased. Somehow the candle had been put out. To the best of Aro’s knowledge, no Krim had been left in complete darkness since the birth of the species. Even the free-divers who had discovered the Yipsid at the bottom of an ocean still had their flashlights and glow to keep them company. And to think there were those who called the Krim shadows. At least there was no one he needed to talk to.
 Aro’s primordial instinct was to try and follow the star, but he knew that would only get him so far before he’d be left to greet the everdark on his own.

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Eternity
[ – – Location Module Timed Out – – ]
[ – – Last Weather Collected: Class IV Data Storm – – ]
[ – – Day One, 00:45 – – ]
“Voice of Solitude”

The world seemed distant and quiet, but as he shuffled nearby, he found a glaive stuck into the data-stricken ground

“O Wayfarer mine, when under the duress of death, can you defend yourself?”

He felt it. Something, or rather someone was nearby, and they were not happy with him

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 Aro shook his head. He certainly hadn’t been expecting this when he had decided to come here. He was an archivist, he didn’t have any training on some ancient human aeapon, only a vague idea of how it was supposed to be used. Then he thought of his daughter.
 I will not die here, lightless, and leave my daughter fatherless. I will not leave my wives to mourn the death of a coward husband who was too afraid to fight to save his own life. I will live.
 He picked up the weapon and attempted to get a sense of his surroundings before his assailant arrived.

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Eternity
[ – – Day One, 00:53 – – ]

The leaves ruffle behind him, and a cling of a sword out of its sheath. A Humanoid person rushed at Aro, sword in hand.

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 Aro turned to face the assailant, tightly gripping the glaive in his hands. He was uncertain how much protection his suit would offer him in this realm of data, but he decided not to find out.

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Eternity
[ – – Day One, 00:54 – – ]

Instinct took hold as Aro pushed the glaive into the assailant, who screamed then disappeared into motes of light, the Glaive also disappeared from his hands as the motes also appeared before disappearing, brightly at first, but faded rapidly into nothing, being engulfed into darkness again

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 The sudden and fleeting reappearance of the light hurt Aro in a way he hadn’t expected, and he still had a long way to go. Would it all be like this?

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Eternity
[ – – Day One, 01:03 – – ]

Silence overtook the area, again. Quiet. Quiet. Quiet.

Eternity
[ – – Day One, 01:53 – – ]

Engulfed in darkness, the world only seemed to be five to ten feet away. No breeze of air, the ground was hard. Stimulus was minimal, the world seemed to be still, with him just… There.

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 Aro stood in the silent prison, wondering if this was what death felt like. It was a feeling he had felt before, long ago, and not one he had ever wished to know again. It was the feeling his daughter would inch closer to if he died in this trial. That was all the reason he needed to keep going.
 If they had started out with darkness on the first day, maybe they had overplayed their hand? He knew better than to pin his hopes on that though. Who knew what a realm of data could do to a hybrid son of two dimensions come together?

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Eternity
[ – – Day One, 02:24 – – ]
“The Voice in the Storm”

“O Wayfarer mine, does your persistence really rest well in your mind? Have you really made your peace with Realspace so quickly?”

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 Aro answered, unsure of whether this voice would still “hear” him without the lights.
 Voice of the Nexus, I fare well. While I suspect these conditions will grow worse with time, I can at least feel confident that my family has not lost me yet, and is unlikely to lose me in the near commings.

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Eternity
[ – – Day One, 22:54 – – ]

There was no response, and time moved on, but with nothing to tell the time with, the time could’ve been a few days, it could’ve been a few hours, or maybe a few years.

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 Aro had known those who would call archival boring, but for the longest time he’d had a great fondness for it. Perhaps he liked boring things. If that was true, then why did he wish he had a wall to bang his head against? It was sheer malicious nothingness that stayed with him now. He was increasingly concerned by how much the trials reminded him of hell.

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Eternity
[ – – Day One, 35:59 – – ]

Finally, the light flickers on. Painfully, without warning. The glaive from earlier lay at Aro’s feet, again. but there was nothing there he could see. Plain as white, but he could see light again.

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