The next thing Stygian knew, the bug was surrounded by doors. And not in the normal sense either. Usually when you think surrounded by doors, you think of either a hallway full of doors or a circular room with doors all around. This however was a black void filled with free floating doors of every color imaginable. As one floated close by the bug a single sentence was scrawled all over the door repeating over and over reading, 'What is your favorite color?'

Stygian had been prepared for anything, or at least that's what it thought, when the bug agreed to challenge a second trial. However this was far out of the norm. The first magical trial was always super easy, it was actually unheard of for anyone qualifying for a magic trial to fail their first trial. The second trial was a bit harder. Of course it was possible to get another thread without a trail, and most Magi went without a second trial for two reasons. One the second trial was impossibly hard to achieve, and most that attempted such trials failed having to pay a steep price.

Worst case scenario if the trial found you unworthy of your magic, then you'd be striped of all threads. Forever.

Stygian of course knew all of this and requested a trial anyways. This wasn't reckless overconfidence, in all the reading that Vaelin had made the bug do so long ago, there was one underlying theme and Stygian believed it had found the answer to why they had failed.

However, Stygian wouldn't be able to finish the trial if the big couldn't answer the first question. The bug hadn't given the question of a favorite color much thought at all. So instead of rushing the bug examined the doors one by one, go slowly, until Stygian saw one. Stygian had been partial to black for a long time, but had never thought of it as a favorite. So when the bug came across a metallic black, it was going to move on, but as Stygian was turning the color seemed to shift. It wasn't black, but a metallic purple so dark that only at a certain angle could you see the true color.

Making its choice Stygian floated through the door. There was something about the color, that well reminded the bug of itself, and if there was one thing our friend liked it was itself. Passing through the door Stygian was greeted by another void of doors, except this void was a metallic dark purple. On the doors in this void there was another sentence scrawled all over. This one read, 'What is your favorite shape?'

This time all the doors were in various random shapes, not even really resembling doors. Again Stygian took its time perusing the doors until it found one that vaguely resembled the first spear it had ever been given, and though that spear had been a trap, it had been very pleasing to the eye. Upon entering the door Stygian found that the shape had accompanied the bug through the door. The shape was a silent comfort to our shelled friend.

The next sentence read, 'What is your favorite time of day?'

This time when Stygian looked at a door for long enough, the bug was greeted with a mental picture of time of day, this time it was a lot easier to find the right door. Dusk when the sun is nearly below the horizon, and the sky is half-light. Unfortunately no half dark sky appeared, but an amulet with the scene printed upon it.

'What is your favorite season?'

Of the four doors Stygian liked summer the best, but admired the cold beauty of winter more. Crossing the door Stygian felt a chill leak out from its body in a satisfactory manner from the frosty chill. Stygian continued.

'Big or small?'

That one was confusing, especially since Stygian desired to be big, but liked to be small. Stygian supposed that if forced to choose the bug would choose big over small. Stygian felt its presence grow large spreading out to fill the void, like a hefty blanket.

'A home you can never return to, or a perfect home you'll never have?'

This one seemed rather pointless to Stygian, at least at first, but there was a difference between the two. One was real and the memories could bring happiness as well as sadness, while the other could only invoke longing. It might not seem major, but Stygian was a creature of ambition and could understand longing well. The idea of being content with never having something again, instead of striving for something more wrinkled.

'Kill or be killed?'

Without hesitation Stygian walked through the kill door. This time Stygian was greeted by a blank mannequin like figure, cowering on the other side of the room. Stygian tried to withdraw Nora or Reya, but no such luck. Instead when Stygian had thought about that soulbound spear, the shape behind the bug shot forward skewering the cowering figure without mercy. A door appeared from the mannequin corpse. The next room was filled with a family of humans. Then the next room was full of pixies that Stygian had known. Then Stygian faced a room full of deväk's, a room full of abominations just like Stygian. A room full of potential siblings. Stygian cleared each and every room of all life, not because the bug was cruel, but because that was the bug's nature. To kill, to consume, and to act without mercy.

Then the next door was filled with one pixie. With Vaelin. Shame and rage boiled up in Stygian. Stygian ready the spear like weapon ready to kill its lady, and hesitated. The secret to the trials wasn't doing what you considered to be morally right. It was about being true to yourself and your nature, and Stygian would never kill Vaelin out of the blue. It was a simple fact, and the trial had almost goaded the bug into doing just that and acting against its nature. Stygian sat down having no desire to fail the trial here, and waited. And the bug waited. And waited just as Stygian was considering an alternative solution to this room, and was distracted, Vaelin attacked. Lunging forward hatred etched in every line of her face, Stygian stabbed her in the chest. Kill or be killed. Stygian would always choose to kill, but the bug would only ever kill Vaelin if it had no other choice.

The oath Stygian swore to Vaelin while being corrupted, suddenly felt like a weight hanging around the bug's neck. And just like that a new room with new question doors appeared, and Stygian noticed that its hands up to its forearms were stained red.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

'Create or destroy?'

This seemed like an easy one, but it wasn't. Though Stygian excelled at destruction was that all the bug was good at. After all its second highest skill was Soul Construct, and it enjoyed the immense satisfaction that came from a new successful mutation. Stygian might not be the best at it, but our little bug did enjoy creation. That being said the feeling of revealing in the destruction of another was beyond comparison. It was more fleeting than the joy of creation, but more intense. Stygian couldn't decide between the two, but perhaps that was the point. Like on the last question, the trial was trying to trip Stygian up. It was trying to find the point at which Stygian wouldn't kill and would rather be killed. Despite the last death being fake it still affected our bug, making it question its own choices. So for the first time in the trial Stygian spoke aloud.

"I wish to create. And I wish to destroy. To make and unmake. Unravel, unwind, and unspool the secrets of the world and build new truths upon them. To destroy so I can create and create so I can destroy. I wish to do as I please, and I wish to follow my own desires because I believe that is what's right."

Stygian half expected a third door to appear from nowhere that would lead to the end of the trial. Instead Stygian watched as the two doors merged into one leading to the next question. The amulet Stygian had changed, it was now a balanced intertwining circle of black and white.

'Lead or follow?'

Lead.

'Flee or fight?'

Fight.

'Will you abandon your friends, or die at their side?'

Die.

'Will you run into a storm or away?'

Into.

'If you could would you force the world into absolute chaos or perfect order?'

Chaos.

While none of the questions were easy, they were beginning to go by faster. Stygian now had an army at its back, armed to the teeth ready to die for the bug, an oppressive storm raged around Stygian, not touching the bug, and a black eight pointed star, rather like a compass rose, graced a ring Stygian wore on its hand. As Stygian looked around the current room, the bug didn't see any doors. Our friend only saw an empty basen and etched around the rim was a single sentence reading, 'Leave that which you do not desire.'

The only Stygian didn't want was the weight of guilt that hung around its neck, but as the bug tried to put it in the basen nothing changed. Confirming that the weight was from the trial, but from Stygian own failed sense of duty.

"There is nothing I wish to relinquish... I am who I am." Stygian stated in a quiet, but confident voice. The basen opened up and gazed upon the reward from the trial. A brand new shiny thread. It was gray, and blue, with flashes of white, as Stygian reached out a hand the energy connected with Stygian. The energy was a tangled mess, but Stygian could feel energies distinctly. There was an energy, light but powerful, it was the wind. Another rapid and swift, the rain. Yet another was light, float, but dense at the same time, the clouds. Finally one that was bright, powerful, and destructive, lightning. All together they made up the thread of the Raging Storm.

Stygian woke up right where it had started the trial as though not a single moment had passed. Stygian was desperate to use the tutor scroll, but first Stygian had some other stuff to do. Firstly Stygian recalled both the horde of monsters, and the remainder of the treasure horde. Then filled with glee Stygian had a few urgent matters to deal firstly the distribution of sixty three slots.

Job Skills/Spells/Abilities Level Slots Geneticist Tame 3 5 Geneticist Breeder's Garden 4 5 Geneticist Match 1 1 Geneticist Mutation 12 5 Splicer Meld 9 3 Soul Eater Repulse 2 6 Soul Eater Telekinesis 10 10 Soul Eater Physical Conversion 15 3 Soul Eater Whirlpool 3 2 Soul Eater Soul Slots 1 20 Soul Eater Versatile 1 10 Soul Eater Soul Manipulation 25 10 Soul Eater Soul Construct 20 10 Soul Eater Plentiful Harvest Ability 5 Soul Slot Multi-limb Coordination 1 1 Shaper Merge 2 1 Shaper Shaping 1 1

Four into Repulse, eight into Telekinesis, nineteen into Soul Slots, nine into Versatile, nine into Soul Manipulation, nine into Soul Construct, and five into Plentiful harvest. At five slots every upgraded choice gained an additional effect. Repulse causes a passive effect that makes it more difficult to get close to Stygian. So anything trying to grab Stygian will find the bug harder to grad and harder to hold onto. Mentality acts like the strength attribute when trying to pick stuff up with Telekinesis. Before Telekinesis was a chore to use all around, and required constant focus to even lift small rocks. Now Stygian could lift anything its own size and far heavier with ease. Though moving it around afterwards was still a chore. At level ten Telekinesis gained the evolution Psychic Aura, psychic energy surrounds the object slightly empowering it.

Soul Slots by far the most useful change. At level five it allowed the user of Soul Slot to create an additional slot per level. At ten it evolved to allow slots to be interchangeable. So if a skill has ten slots you can relocate them to a different skill. However it takes a week per slot reallocated. At fifteen it allows the user to create yet another Soul Slot per level. At level twenty the skill gained a very, very rare chance to turn a skill into something more. Which seemed infuriatingly vague, but such is life.

Versatile changed to allow race specific skills, spells and abilities to be added under Soul Eater. Slot ten allowed twices as many skills, spells, and abilities to be added per level. Which made Versatile a fantastic skill. Well that is if Stygian had more unaligned skills.

Soul Manipulation allowed the user to condense Souls and the related soul stuff. Condense it far enough and the Soul would explosively decompress. The tenth slot allowed for greater ease of manipulation. Soul Channeling shared the same effects. Soul Construct seemed linked with manipulation because it allowed the user to create condensed Soul Construct's, and such Souls would experience a shortened lifespan. Finally Plentiful Harvest wouy experience a greater harvest.

It would appear that all skills, including one just under the Soul Eater job would experience greater change than other skills. As Stygian closed out the job skill window, our bug grabbed the shards of crystalized emotion. Touching them caused the shards to melt into Stygian. It was over in mere seconds, but Stygian felt a noticeable change. At that was just the beginning once they fully integrated the shards would make a world of difference. Stygian thought about Crown. The bug could probably bind the thing to its very soul, but it probably wouldn't turn out the best. The sloth of the crown would clash with diligence too harshly. So Stygian left it be.

Then the moment of truth. Stygian spliced and ate the aväk corpses fulfilling all of its genetic requirements for the first time. Quickly activating the two scrolls Threll had given the bug, our shelled friend activated metamorphosis, and entered into its third metamorphosis.