(Zack)

The first thing I'm aware of is a comforting light washing over me. I open my eyes as I rub my back. I'm on some sort of stone platform, but there's nothing outside of it. There are two stone gates on each edge of the platform, one light grey, one dark grey. Each side of the platform seems attached to an element – fire, water, stone, and air.

Resting in the center of the platform is a raised area with nine steps leading up to it, a giant, violet crystal hovering over the center, rotating slightly as it gives off the violet light that fills the air. The corners at the bottom of the steps have a small pedestal with a miniature version of the crystal floating over it, though two of them are dim, with only a faint light at the core of one of them, the other one's light even fainter than the first.

"This is not what I expected heaven to be like," I look around. "Nor the entrance to hell."

Actually, which way am I going? I never really believed in heaven.

"Could be some other religion."

This chamber has nothing to do with religion, a tired voice enters my head without bothering with my ears first.

"Whoa!" I exclaim. "How does your voice sound violet? You sound like a little kid. Are you the giant crystal?"

Yes, he chuckles. I'm the giant crystal.

"Cool," I say. "So I guess I'm here because that asshole stabbed me? Am I dead, then?"

Yes, you are dead, Crystal responds.

No, that sounds totally wrong. I'll just call him the Crystal.

"But I'm not even thirteen yet!" I protest. "Why did I have to die?"

Everyone dies, he responds. A couple of weeks ago, you pushed someone you hurt a lot to protect him. You put yourself at risk to save him, even though you bullied and belittled him.

"I can't stand-"

I'm fully aware of your true nature, Zack, he interrupts me. To the core, you're a protector. However, your gifts affect you. Because you can't fully control them, you push others away to avoid hurting yourself and hurting them.

"Yeah," I say. "So what am I doing here? Good afterlife? Bad afterlife?"

You are privy to the secrets of those around you, he says. How many of those people would you really protect, when it came down to it? Would you protect James?

"That asshole killed me!" I snap. "I hope he suffers in hell for the rest of eternity!"

The world is cruel, indeed, the Crystal says. But you didn't answer my question. Let me ask another: do you think your home is worth protecting? After everything you've been through, do you want to protect it?

"What, like an angel?"

No, he responds. Like a guardian, of sorts. Someone who fights elsewhere to protect Earth from evil. This choice can only be done by the willing. If you are unwilling to protect your world from evil, then you will simply move on to the afterlife.

"What awaits me there?" I ask. "Is it, like, actual afterlife, or-"

You'll have a good afterlife, he responds. Though your actions have been evil, the scales of karma weigh heavy with the positive. Your sacrifice for Noah is one of the many things that factors into it. You didn't think, you simply acted, and it wasn't for truly selfish reasons, as much as you tell yourself they are. You cared about him as a friend.

"You claim to know me?" I ask.

I know you very well, Zack, he says. You need not worry about the afterlife, for you are guaranteed a good one. You could even be reincarnated, if you want, and that's not an opportunity given to many. However, dying for a friend without a thought to your own safety-

"But I didn't die," I say. "I didn't even break a bone!"

You died, he says. It was through my own power that you survived. I gave you a second chance, Zack, because of your selfless action. I mended your bones and undid the lethal damage done to your body, restoring your soul to your body.

"Who are you?" I ask.

A being older than reality itself, he responds. Do you wish to protect reality, to protect Earth, from evil, Zack? A world where you truly only care about a few? A world where you're killed by a classmate just because you're a jerk? Or would you like to pass on to the afterlife, as you should?

What kind of question is that? Why would I ever want to protect people like them? My own parents didn't like me because I was a freaky baby. Most of my classmates hated me before I became an ass because I was richer than the rest of them. They're always plotting in some way, scheming or something. And we're still kids.

"I want to-" I stop.

But then there's Luca. If I'm fighting against evil to protect the world, then I'd be fighting to protect him, right? I swore I'd protect him, that I'd never let anyone hurt him again. And Noah, who I apparently literally died to protect. And Jess, who was willing to hang out with me even though I'd been mean to her.

I want to protect them.

"What kind of evil?"

All kinds, he responds. For evil comes in many forms, Zack. Sometimes, it's a monster, and sometimes, it's another person.

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"Why me?" I ask. "I'm just a kid."

Maybe, he responds. But sometimes, kids can be just as incredible as adults. You don't necessarily have to fight right away – many children given the opportunity to fight evil train for years before beginning the battle.

Oh, okay. I mean, I could maybe fight now, since I already have some training.

"Why'd you save me?" I ask. "Instead of letting me die? Why am I being given this chance?"

All will become clear after you accept, he answers. And as for the choice to protect reality and your former home from evil… you are descended of a god, whether a direct child or not. The offer to protect reality is made to anyone who is descended of a god.

So gods are real! And I'm descended of one! No wonder I've got powers!

Have you made your choice, Zack? He asks.

"Yes," I respond. "I'll do it. I'll fight."

He lets out a sigh of relief, then glows even more intensely than he currently is. Immediately, I regain all of my memories as a series of messages appear in my vision.

"Dammit, Big S!" I exclaim, and he laughs. "Did you make him kill me?"

No, he responds. Though you are correct in assuming that I can influence reality. It's one of the powers I have that the others do not. Your death wouldn't have been so painful… or so harsh. I was planning on creating a sinkhole under you.

"That's not painful?"

It is? He sounds genuinely confused. Oh… I'll file that away for the future. For if someone else from reality manages to undergo the Ascension Trial.

"So I'm going to have to do that each time?" I ask.

No, he responds. This is a first-time only thing. Otherwise, the Ascended-wannabes would get suspicious. I… don't actually have plans for what to do for a Second Ascension Trial. As it is now, there's a lock there, so it's impossible to go above until I figure out what to do. Thankfully, I have plenty of time, as Experience becomes a lot harder to acquire after Ascension.

That's in one of the messages, I have. Not quite that Experience itself is harder, but I could infer that already based on what it says.

Congratulations on Ascension! You can now take on Rank 3 Classes. You now have 1 extra Subclass Slot (+1 addition due to Adventurer Class). Spending Bonus Experience requires 2x Bonus Experience now. +10 to each Stat. +First Ascension Title.

The fact that it's going to take me 200% Bonus Experience just for each Level if I want to advance them without doing stuff related to the Class is going to be annoying. The bonus to my stats feels kind of underwhelming when compared to what my stats are at.

"Big S?" I dismiss that notice, fixing my gaze on the dim crystals rather than the other messages. "One of those was dim when I came in here, and now another one's dim. What's going on?"

He's silent for several moments, then I feel him sigh, the air itself shifting with it.

The Ascension Trial, he tells me. Requires me expending an extraordinary amount of energy in a mix of Sacred Magic and Crystal Magic. You remember Intellect telling you that we draw in Crystal Magic, yes?

"Yeah," I respond. "The mini-yous are containers for them?"

In a sense, yes, he responds. They'll restore naturally over time the Sacred Magic and Crystal Magic they lost, though they'll also draw in any around them. The only reason Sacred Magic can be used despite us drawing it in is because of the existence of the gods, as well as our father. Each time I do an Ascension Trial, I have to use up all of the power within one of the containers, and all of that energy stored within it from the draw.

Did he say our father? If that's a genuine slip reveal, and not just an 'accident', then he must really be tired from letting me do this Ascension. I guess it makes sense he'd have to use so much power, if it means moving something from the Boundary into reality as well as through time.

"What happens if all of them go empty?" I ask. "Big Breeze said you can't die, but-"

We won't die, he tells me. We'll just have to draw on the energy within our cores, the main bodies. For any other than me, it's perfectly safe. I sustain the entire System, however, so if I were to start using that energy, it's possible that people would stop acquiring Levels and Experience and such, and that people fresh into the Boundary or freshly thirteen wouldn't acquire Access to the System. That's part of why I draw on the life force of the monsters that are slain – something even your own master cannot do.

"Draw on… what?" I ask.

Every time a monster is slain in the Boundary, Big S informs me. I draw in their remaining life force. It acts as an additional fuel for me, and is largely why I'm able to run the System. If everyone stopped killing monsters in all of the Boundaries, I suppose that people would stop acquiring Access, both upon arrival and upon turning thirteen.

"Oh," I say, looking at the crystal that has a small amount of light in it. "So… how long do they take to fill? That one's light isn't very bright. When was the last Ascension Trial? You said there's been eighty-seven?"

Eighty-eight, now, he tells me. Thought at last, someone has accepted in the end, passing on to the next stage and Ascending.

"I almost didn't," I admit.

I know, he tells me. In here, I am privy to all of your thoughts. If it weren't for those dear to you, you wouldn't have changed your mind and accepted the offer.

"Why make it?" I ask. "Why not let us have our memories back? Why make us go through-"

Part of it is to strengthen your connection to your Crystal, he tells me. Part of it… is to make the offer in another way. Eighty-seven before you have been given it, and eighty-seven before you have chosen to move on into the next life.

"Speaking of that," I say. "Were you-"

Honest? He asks. Yes, Zack, I was honest.

So I really am worthy of a good afterlife? Even reincarnation, which he said was an extremely rare thing?

And they don't take me too long to recharge, he says before I can continue thinking. Only a few years passively, if I'm not trying hard. No, this other one isn't from an Ascension Trial. It's from connecting Gold into the System. I'm not sure if his children will have it or not, it might take two parents with Access to produce one with, or it might only need one.

"That's why you didn't give Aurum Access!" I realize. "Because you don't want to go down to no backups! You probably know about the Wolf Beastborn I've been seeing in my visions, so-"

That is correct, Zack, he responds. I want to keep at least one active at all times, and I know that you'll have another Beastborn you want to connect, soon enough. Maybe in a few years, once I've recovered from all of this, I'll connect Aurum.

"Alright," I say, then stretch. "So… where's my stuff?"

A moment later, all of the stuff I took out of my Inventory before beginning the Ascension Trial appears in the temple, exactly as I left them.

"Thanks, Big S."

You're welcome, he yawns. As soon as you're done with this and I send you back, I'm going to nap for a long time. It helps me recover my energy.

"Alright," I tell him. "I'll make sure to kill a lot of monsters for you, Big S."

That should help him recover a bit. I bet the big battle for Naelmar Valley will help him, too.

Thanks, he responds.

"So was the 'our' earlier an indication that we're half-brothers?"