Hyperion Evergrowing

Chapter 136: Alternatives

Commencing advancement trial!

Experience the paths in life you did not walk!

Passing this trial will break the level 50 bottleneck and allow for further advancement!

Good luck!

The world shifted back into focus, the unreality of the system space giving way to the well kept yard of a hilltop homestead. A man in plain clothes knelt next to a partially deconstructed cart, his concentration on the task before him creasing his tanned features. The wheel was slotted into place, then spun, then tightened. The man ran a hand through his dark hair, wiping away sweat and reaching for a tool at his side.

Leif watched the stranger work, the scene slowly playing out before him under the midday sun. There was something about this person, something familiar. He looked around, taking in his surroundings with a keen eye-

Wait, I can move? I thought this was a vision? He realised, glancing down to see his body. Leif raised a hand to his face and made contact with the painted mask.

“Are you going to say hello? Or will I be burdened with the start of this conversation?” The man asked, not looking up as he continued to work.

Leif paused, glancing over his shoulder. There was no one there. He looked back at the man and their eyes met, flickering amber and human brown. In that moment Leif recalled how his sister and father had looked in his first advancement trial, their similar tanned skin, dark hair and brown eyes. His heart skipped a beat, the scion taking an involuntary step back.

The man stood, dusting himself off and placing his hands on his hips. “Well? Did turning into a tree monster rob you of the ability to speak? I’m really not sure how this is supposed to go if we can’t communicate.”

“N-no, I can talk.” Leif said hesitantly. “Are… are you who I think you are?”

“Yes. No? Sort of? I’m you, obviously different in several ways, but I think it would be accurate to suggest we’re more or less the same. It’s just you’re real, and I’m a construct of the system.” The human Leif said.

“This is not what I thought the trial would be. I mean, I had heard of something similar happening to others, but I thought it would be similar to the first one.”

Human Leif shrugged. “Can’t say. I only have the memories and personality I should have. Now, come inside, come inside. We’ll have more guests soon, but as I’m the first and this is my house I’ll show you around.”

“Your home?” Leif asked, following the other as he waved him inside. The interior of the home wasn’t what he expected. Wheels, axles and sketches of carts and wagons littered the interior, the dining table was covered in notes and tools. “Is this… is this all yours?”

“Mine? No, no most of this is somebody else’s.” He said, pulling out a chair, spinning it around and taking a seat. For a long moment neither spoke, both taking in the appearance of the other. “Nice mask. It looks cool.”

Silence stretched out again, Leif glanced around the room, noticing that further details seemed to fade into the background, as if unimportant aspects of the scene. He wasn’t sure how to respond, how to act. It was one thing confronting another aspect of yourself, but the man before him was so different, so alien that he was paralyzed with indecision. Finally he spoke, letting the first thing that came to mind slip from his mouth.

“I don’t understand… Where are we? How is this… how are you an alternative to my life?”

“Expected the Vin estate? That’s understandable. I think somebody else will be better suited to answering that but I’ll say what I can. We’re in southern Varan, near the stretch of wilderness between the kingdom’s territory and the imperial province of Cerres. As I said before, this is my home, though it looks more like a workshop at the moment.” He laughed. It sounded forced.

Before Leif could respond the door swung open, a man in fine clothing with a sheathed sword at his hip strode inside. He took in the house's interior with a sharp gaze, then looked imperiously down his nose at Leif and his other. “What the hells is this? Why did the trial start in this dump and not the estate?”

Leif stared at the man. It was him, just like how the house’s owner was him. Their appearances were identical, but the manner in which they acted couldn’t be more different.

“Hey, welcome, take a seat if you-”

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“No, I don’t think I will.” The well dressed Leif said, sharp gaze stabbing into his masked counterpart with clear disgust. “This is what we became? Truly? You don’t even have the will to show your face? Pathetic.”

“Woah, hey! Settle down, no need to kick-start hostilities so soon. We have hours, maybe days before the trial starts breaking down.” Worker Leif said, raising his hands placatingly. “See? I told you there would be someone who could talk about the family estate better than I could.”

Leif stared silently at the fuming version of himself. He considered his words, then spoke. “Who are you? Did the system make a mistake? I don’t think any version of me would be this…”

“Pompous?” Worker Leif asked with a snicker. “Regal? Noble maybe?”

“The traitor and creature dare criticise me? You should know better than to speak down to your betters. I refuse to stay in this place even a moment longer.” Noble Leif said, placing a hand on the pommel of his blade and-

The scene shifted, the world rippling, brightening before Leif found himself standing within the lavish and well maintained gardens of the Vin estate. Worker Leif had materialised, still sitting onto an ornate bench backed by a flowering bush. The man wrinkled his nose as he took in their surroundings.

“This is the proper place for us, for me. Not some dusty workshop or monster infested wasteland.” Noble Leif said with a sneer.

“Yeah, sure thing bud. Whatever you say.” Worker Leif replied.

The real Leif spun around, taking in the estate, matching details with the vision he had seen from the first trial. It was identical, but just like the workshop, the scene seemed to fade into obscurity the further away it became, the unimportant details a blur to his perception. He snapped back to the present as the two human versions of himself continued their argument, but it wasn’t them he was focusing on.

A dark shape rose from the ground, their bark-like skin a slate grey, their eyes a mix of red and gold with clawed hands dripping blood into the perfectly trimmed grass at their feet. The life-force within the newcomer dwarfed the two human versions of Leif ten-fold, its aura one of overbearing, malicious authority. It growled, its deformed body hunching as if preparing to strike.

“What is this?” It hissed, the words rough as if they were being scraped over gravel. “Why are we here?”

“Oh look, another failure. How many of our lives ended up with us losing our humanity?” The Noble said.

“Better to shed that weakness than live in ignorance.” The Monster hissed, lunging past Leif, claws extended, eyes blazing.

The world rippled as a gloomy forest overtook the estate, vines and moss clung to ebony trees, crimson moonlight filtering down through the canopy far above. The Worker’s eyes went wide in panic as they scrambled back, the Noble swore and drew his blade, bare steel glinting in the ethereal ambiance of the forest.

Leif stepped forward, a pair of golden arms reaching out to grab the Monster. It thrashed against his restraints, its neck twisting unnaturally to glare bloody murder back at him. “You…” It hissed, voice low and threatening. “Why do you hold me back? These have no concept of what we have lost, the pain we have lived through.”

“Maybe.” Leif said, looking at where the noble was standing, blade drawn, and where the worker had slunk back into the shadows of the tree cover. “But where is your control? Why would you lash out so quickly?”

The Monster’s face twisted into a snarl. “Maybe you are more foolish than I had assumed. Where is your sense of survival? Why would you defend those who would cast us aside and hunt us as sport?”

“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Leif said, stepping back as the monster slashed at him with a growl.

“Guys, guys, please stop this.” The Worker said. “I’d rather this trial not turn into a bloodbath. I haven't levelled up much since the war, hells I don’t even have a weapon.”

“Did you leave your pride back in the workshop along with your spine?” The Noble asked.

“No man, I left that shit behind. Do you know how many people didn’t come home after the war?”

Rain began to fall, slowly at first but rapidly picking up speed. Lightning flashed in the distance, followed seconds later by the low rumble of thunder. The world twisted once again, this time reforming into a rain slick alleyway, dancing shadows cast by flickering lamps. The Noble sniffed, stepping under a nearby roof overhang. The Worker shuffled in after him, the two squeezing together to stay out of the rain.

The Monster growled, claws flexing as it eyed the urban surroundings with mistrust and hostility. Leif raised an amber arm to shield his face from the rain, turning to face the cause of the latest shift. An emotional void sat hunched against a nearby wall, long unkempt hair falling down over their grimy features, tattered clothing soaked through and clinging to emaciated features.

They didn’t say anything, hells, it didn’t even seem like they had noticed the arrivals of the alternatives. Their life-force flickered, fitful and weak, not unlike the distant streetlights that struggled to stay lit under the increasingly heavy downpour. Leif quickly strode over to the newcomer, crouching down and extending a hand.

The man flinched, letting out a cry as they twisted away from his touch. It was only then that Leif realised the man was missing a leg.

Gods. Leif thought, hesitant to try again. What happened to us?

“Well, aren't you all a merry band of failures.” The Noble said, pitching his voice to be heard over the rain. “Do you mind if I change our location? You realise you could have picked clear weather and sunny instead of whatever this is?”

“I will never go back to that place.” The Monster hissed, clawed feet cracking the cobbled stone as they tensed.

“What about my workshop? It can be a neutral ground for this meeting.”

The Noble made a snide comment and the Monster hissed. Leif, still crouched by the side of the street let out a sigh. Then he focused, flexing his will, pressing his aura onto the faux space of the trial, twisting the world in accordance to his desire. Everything dissolved, the rain stopped falling, the buildings melted away. A moment later the five versions of himself appeared in the blank, featureless void that the system usually presented.

“Will this do?” Leif asked, standing as the Wretch let out a panicked gasp and retreated even further. “I don’t understand how any of you could possibly exist. What choices did you make that lead you in such different directions?”

“Yeah, this is good.” The Worker said, shaking his sleeves, sending water droplets flying. “I am also curious how… this happened. I only know vague details about all of you.” The man sent a sorrowful look at the Wretch. “And I’d really rather avoid conflict.”

The Monster let out a low growl, then its claws partially retracted into its hands. “Talk is cheap, I will not hesitate to carve the distance between us into your flesh.”

Leif let out an exasperated sigh as he took in the four arrayed before him. Whatever this was, it certainly wasn’t what he had expected from the level fifty trial.

Something's attention shifted, a certain part of the system taking note of the events that would transpire.

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