I clearly felt the deep sense of regret and loneliness from that scene, however, I'm clearly aware of what's happening.
Yuko is there in the World of System, healthy and even stronger than before. However, because of this scene, I really got the urge to see her again. That smile which she always shows me, the love which she devotedly gives me. I want to experience all of that again after I finish with this.
Yumiko and other girls weren't shown in that alternate reality but this trial has just started. Surely, there's more to come.
And I was right. After that bout of regrets which that version of me in there let me feel with him, the alternate reality continued.
This trial wanted to let me see everything that would've happened if I changed my choice back then. However, this Trial was most possibly showing me the worst-case scenario, even so, it would probably break me if not for me being aware of everything.
Yuko, Yumiko and Nysia probably experienced the same thing. They don't have the same ability as me. For them to pass it just shows how strong their will is.
Yuko didn't detail to me about this 3rd part. She only skimmed through her experience with it. Maybe that's also the reason why after leaving that Field of Transcendence inside the door, she immediately went to me instead of cleaning the enemies.
The scenery that I was seeing changed and I found myself walking in an Otherworld. The land was too desolate already but I recognized this world. It was the World of System that was already about to fall from the Dark World's invasion. As to how that version of me in that alternate reality arrived in that world without the existence of the Hero, it wasn't shown. It was probably opened by the Principal or the one sending the Heroes to the Otherworlds.
At one point in time, he met Zerina. Her golden hair was already cut short, one of her eyes was gauged, one of her arms was cut. She was too different from the Zerina that I saw from my Incarnation's memories. Unlike Yuko, she survived and she probably never met her.
However, Zerina was already at the end of her life. She grew up to become as strong as a Rank 4 Mortal here even without the assistance of my buffs and the Hero System's buffs. Unfortunately, the constant battles exhausted and burned through her life.
When he met her. Zerina was already lying on the ground. Upon seeing that version of me, she smiled and put on a relieved expression as if her wait had finally ended.
Without saying anything, she handed him the Orb of Concealment before she breathed her last with that smile still pasted on her lips.
He only met her at that moment but when she died, I also felt the pain that he felt even though he didn't even know her name, he clearly felt how she was connected to him.
This Trial is too cruel for those who will experience it without being aware.
When the scenery changed to the World of Barbarian, Raiden was still alive, however he was captured by the Dark Beastmasters. Old Man Reol died in one of the wars they fought, Erin became the leader of the Heavenly Lightning Tribe and Avelin became a wanderer.
When that version of me met Erin, she's like Zerina. Already exhausted from the constant betrayals she experienced due to them being enticed by the Dark World.
Erin was still alive but she was already close to collapsing. The scene continued and it showed him pledging himself in her service to help her manage the tribe.
However, he's still too late. Before he gained her trust, she was stabbed in the back by three of her trusted subordinates which resulted for the tribe to completely be destroyed
That version of me failed again and only when she died did he realize her importance.
When he met Avelin after escaping from the tribe, he found out that the girl was already corrupted. According to her, she was forcefully corrupted when she was caught by the Dark World.
The Avelin of this alternate reality has already lost the innocence in her eyes. The White Shade Tribe was destroyed due to the lack of response from their call of help.
He was already too late again.
He then accompanied her on destroying Dark Beastmaster camps and saved Raiden from them. She vowed herself to do that before the corruption completely eat away her life.
After saving Raiden, the corruption has already reached the point that her lifeforce was completely burned out.
She was aware of that so she told him how happy she was to have met him before the corruption took her away. Avelin didn't let him say anything else as she handed him the necklace which contained the Orb of Enhancement at the same time as her body slowly disintegrated to ashes.
In the end, she died with that innocent and refreshing smile surfacing on her face.
And another load of loneliness and now coupled with rage has been added to the accumulation of negative feelings in that version of me.
In the World of Spirits, Yumiko went missing inside the Ancient Ruins and Jayna became a member of the Council of 20 but her influence was too low that when the war with the Spirit Beasts was brought to the table, it passed through.
When that version of me met her, like Avelin, the glimmering light in her eyes that would always be triggered by her curiosity was now nowhere to be seen.
Her parents died. Harlan also died due to the Dark Elves. After Yumiko went missing, she never got another ally she could truly trust.
That version of me helped her revert back the decision of the war. By then he was already as strong as a Rank 4 Mortal but he's a lot more different than me who experienced none of what he experienced.
The regret and continuous loss haven't numbed him. However, those negative feelings allowed for the Dark Persona to keep surfacing, add to that, his rage that was building up towards the Dark World.
In fact, they succeeded reverting back that decision by letting his dark persona manifest. He did a lot of unimaginable things behind Jayna's back.
When Jayna found out the method he used, she became scared of him but in the end, she still kept him by her side. She even took him as her husband.
However, the Dark Elves hatched a dark plot. They assassinated Yse, the Spirit Queen while posing as assassins from the Spiritas Federation and they succeeded which enraged Ezyn completely engulfing the World of Spirits into an all-out war.
When the Capital of the Spiritas Federation was about to be destroyed, he tried taking Jayna with him to escape. However, she chose not to. After throwing him the Orb of Ailment, she went out to meet the Spirit King in battle, in her Nature Nymph form.
Before he could aid her. Ezyn had already effortlessly stabbed Jayna with his claws and was thrown back in his arms
The rage of the Spirit King from the death of his destined one was received completely by the Spiritas.
Before Jayna died, she told him about where Yumiko went missing. This time, he's now blaming himself for Jayna's fate of dying. If he's stronger, he thought that he could save her from the fate of dying. Unlike the other girls, he managed to spend some peaceful time with her which lessened his rage.
My consciousness that was silently watching everything has already accepted that everything that would be shown to me was all the worst possible scenario.
After Jayna's death, there's only Yumiko and Nysia left.
Will it end after that? I don't know. I kept reinforcing my mind that everything shown here was not real. However, with his feelings also being transferred to me, I was also somewhat affected. I now have this urge to see them all after this.
When that version of me infiltrated the Spirit Beast Territory and entered the Ancient Ruins alone, he found Yumiko below, in the Underground Mansion.
She was taken in by the Owner of the Mansion. According to him, Yumiko fell down that place battered and already on her last breath. As to what she experienced aboveground, he didn't have the time to ask her that. She has fallen into a coma. If not for his treatment, she would've died already.
As for why he helped her, he said that it was because she's the first visitor in a while.
Right. In my reality, we are the first visitors but in this alternate reality, only Yumiko managed to reach the Underground Mansion.
By this, the Prophecy about me being needed for the Heroes to survive was coming true. Raiden was saved in the World of Barbarian and now Yumiko though in a comatose state was also saved. He was late for Yuko and the other girls. All of them could've lived if he didn't refuse Yuko
Surprisingly, that alternate reality ended in that scene where he was nursing Yumiko inside the Underground Mansion while learning with that Old Man. However, by that point, I couldn't hear anything they were talking about.
Moments later the scenery shattered like glass.
The Trial has already ended with Yumiko being the only one left alive among them and Nysia's fate in the 4th world unknown.
Is that supposed to end there? I don't know. But with my consciousness being thrust back into the darkness, that only meant one thing.
And as if waiting for me to realize that, the notification appeared.
[Transcendent Mind Trial has been completed]
[Body Reconstruction has been completed]
[Transcendent Endurance Trial has been completed]
[Transcendent Body: 100%]
[All three trials have been completed]
[Transcendent Body and Transcendent Mind will now merge to give birth to a new Transcendent]
Ah. Because of my Adaptability, I breezed through the 3rd Trial without any mishaps. I felt what he felt, however, it didn't affect me in the slightest. It only gave me the urge to see my Companions again.
This is a bit anticlimactic, right?
All's well that ends well, I guess?
[You will temporarily lose consciousness to complete the merging process]
[Merging… 0%]
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