“Ooh! Ooh! Let me see! Let me see!”

“Restrain yourself, child.”

“I’m not a child!”

“They’re right, you shouldn’t- Hey! Stop peeking through the windows!”

“Calm yourself, stubborn creature!

“Ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha h-“

“Silence!” shouts a scratchy, yet rich voice. The others are immediately brought to silence.

“What do you think you’re doing!” The voice exclaims.

“Sorry! Hee hee.”

“My bad…”

“Apologies Elder.”

The squabble was immediately brought to a close. The voice continued “You all should know better than this, creating such a ruckus here!”

The others fall into silence.

“If you understand, then I request you take your leave. If any of you are concerned. I will remain here myself.” The voice says, more softly this time.

“Yes” The other voices replied, in a discordant unison. With that, three figures dispersed. Leaving the “Elder” waiting alone…

----------------------------------------

The wind blows softly.

In response to its whisper, my eyes crack open every so slightly. The effort strange and heavy. A single ray of light pierces through the crevasse of my eye, kickstarting my consciousness…

I erupt off the floor, sitting up with a start, breathing manically, as if I were about to die… die? Wasn’t I just about to die? I attempt to calm myself, slowing my breaths and focusi-

I can feel my breath pass through my lungs.

My heart drops, feeling my panic resurge tenfold. I begin to choke on the crushing weight of my own breathing as my hands frantically pat down on my torso. Every muscle in my body tightens with an unbearable pressure. The struggle sends me crashing down to the floor. The floor? Wasn’t I already on the floor? The shock of the impact causes me to momentarily freeze, until I begin coughing uncontrollably. Dazed, I lie down in perplexity, having no idea where I am.

“Young one, how do you do?”

An oddly comforting voice I don’t recognise approaches from behind me, sounding old yet defined. Despite taking me completely unexpected, I don’t feel surprised. I sluggishly roll over. My eyes don’t adjust to the light. I momentarily lie on my back in silence, until my voice finally finds its way up my throat.

“I-, I-“ almost stuttering. “I’m fine…” replying meekly. The words don’t feel like my own. I begin to gradually rise from the rugged floor. After finally managing to stand on my own two feet, I lift my head, finding myself staring into a man’s face.

His face was lined with deep wrinkles, each one carved by age. White hair framed his head, falling from his scalp and chin like snow. He was shorter than me, slouched slightly in his posture. His robes were long and white, draping over him like ceremonial cloth. But it was his eyes—half-lidded yet glowing with a brilliance that made him seem so much younger. His ears, too, long and strangely pointed, twitched slightly. As I blankly stare into his face, he stares back, wearing an almost indescribable expression. Seemingly sympathetic, but also melancholic and pitiful. Why do you look at me in that way?

“My name is Werloth” the man says, bowing slightly, breaking the almost awkward silence. “Son, what are you called?”

His question takes me by surprise, I failed to realise I hadn’t even introduced myself. “Uh, eh-“ I stammer, “I’m Asrion” I reply, scratching my head while averting eye-contact.

The conversation comes to an abrupt stop, generating an uncomfortable silence. The old man must’ve realised this too, as he turns his back and begins to walk away.

“If you seek to understand this place, accompany me.” he says.

I promptly follow him, exiting through a door. As I depart, I look back to where I left from. A humble stone-brick hut. Adjacent on either side of the open door stand windows. From this angle not much of the interior is visible, but I manage to make out a simple bed, with a thin mattress and thinner pillows in the centre of the one-room dwelling. As I turned, something caught my eye. The stone… It wasn’t gray like I had first thought. No, the bricks were tinted blue.

Blue…

I freeze. My entire body seizes up. Images flash across my mind. Cold, jagged walls. Crushing darkness. My breath hitched. I try to move, but my feet are locked to the earth like invisible chains had shackled me where I stood.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

The memories came faster, impossible to stop, tearing through my mind. The weapons. The beasts. The screams—my screams. Cold sweat drenched my face as panic crushed me like a vice. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, trapped in the past. Nothing could save me from this pain. Nothing ca-

“Asrion.”

A hand grips my shoulder, warm and steady. I blink, and the world snaps back into place. Werloth stands beside me, his presence grounding me, pulling me from the nightmare. My heart is still racing, but the grip of my intangible loosens. I’m back, in this strange and confusing present.

I shake off his arm. “I’m fine now, thank you…” I mumble, embarrassed and defeated. Without a word, Werloth resumes walking. I follow him, my head down, my feet heavy on the cobbled path. As I continue down the path, the weight of being watched clings to me like a wet cloak. Eyes. So many eyes on me. I can feel them, but I can’t bring myself to look up. My eyes stay glued to the ground. The crunch of stones underfoot fills my ears. I walk like I’m not there, my body moving on its own, separately from my consciousness.

We come to a halt, arriving at our probable destination. My eyes remain downwards, but it seems we’ve arrived at another building, this one being predominantly made out of wood. We enter through the door without knocking, one after the other.

The taps of our footsteps echo throughout the building. It seems a lot bigger than the house I initially found myself in. We pass various pieces of furniture, tables and chairs, until Werloth once again comes to a stop.

“We have arrived, take a seat, I will return promptly” he orders. I take a seat on a nearby chair, facing a small square table. All the furniture here also seems to be made of wood. I sit blankly. After finally getting some time to myself, I feel emptier than ever before. The hollowness spreads throughout my body like a plague.

Werloth seems to be talking to someone behind me. A short and quiet conversation. Footsteps approach, Werloth’s presence brushing against me. A book drops onto the table in front of me. Its cover is dark red, worn and blank. “This book here should answer most of your questions. If you seek any more answers, I will be remaining here at your convenience.” The old voice said. After I reply with a meek nod into space, Werloth takes his leave, leaving me with myself, or what’s left of it, and this red book. I honestly don’t care what’s written in here, but if it will help alleviate this fog and confusion in my head, I might as well read it.

I open the book, billowing dust into the air. I turn to the first page and begin to read.

Introduction: The Trials and The Haven

The Trials and The Haven exist in a dimension far removed from other territories of Gods. Individuals from various worlds are transported here after meeting certain criteria, mainly if certain character traits are expressed and/or present.

Reading this causes my muscles to tense, there’s something extremely unsettling about these words, they feel very familiar, like it was written by myself... I continue reading.

The text in all books in The Library, including this one you’re reading right now, are automatically generated when opening the book. The contents generated are dependent on what book is opened and also a scan of the reader’s soul.

Soul? I thought reading this would give me some answers, helping me to untie the jumbled mess of my mind. Instead, it's only getting worse. Well, I might as well try to piece together what I can make out. The Haven must be where I am now, and The Trials…

My body shudders at the thought, the reaction is not as severe as before.

The Library… where is that?

Mustering all my remaining energy, courage, and strength, I raise my head, finally taking in my surroundings for the first time. A large cathedral-like building, composed mainly of wood. Intricate carvings run down the pillars and walls. Turning my head around, many other objects come into view. Orderly lines of bookshelves, filled to the brim run down the middle of the building. A clerk desk comes into view along with a person seated behind it, presumably the clerk, who is engrossed in a book that is covering my view of their face. All I can make out is their long, dark hair.

Looking around even more, I spot Werloth sitting down patiently at a far-off seat. Candle holders are fitted in the walls, lit candles illuminate the room with a luminous yellow glow. Looking up reveals a magnificent dome, fitted with glass and holding a grand, intricate chandelier, further lighting up the room. Although the sky is probably visible, from my current angle, the chandelier blocks my view. The room's warmth rekindles something within me, even if temporarily, I feel part of myself resurge. The fog in my mind partially clears up, and some of my cognitive ability returns.

I stare blankly at the dome. Wait, would a “pocket dimension” even have a sky? I realise I’ve forgotten entirely about the book and continue to read from where I left off.

Normally, the average mortal soul doesn’t hold much information. However, upon being summoned here, the soul is forcibly expanded to include the following:

- A link to the biological brain.

- Space to store a clone of the biological brain(‘s information).

- Basic proficiency in all weapons and martial arts, via this neural link.

Well, that makes a bit more sense. I was thinking how a scan of the soul could reveal something in my brain, those things would probably exist on completely different planes wouldn’t they? It also explains the weird sense of familiarity I experienced when wielding that sword. My mind - no, my soul, was tampered with. I read on further.

Additionally, due to the rules of this pocket dimension and also the influence of being close to the Omniverse, multiple phenomena occur. One being inconsistencies in the development of the body, however, you should age normally. Due to this, the only way to leave this pocket dimension is either by dying of old age or completing The Trials.

After reading the last sentence, my heart drops like a stone. Not even the calm and relaxing atmosphere of The Library can stop me from falling into a state of panic. I can only leave by dying? No no no, there has to be another way. There must be another way. Completing the trials is impossible, no matter how you look at it. Even assuming I can beat those…. Beasts… who knows what it’ll throw at me next. It’s only logical that it would just get more difficult.

All the other details no longer matter to me, I frantically flip through the pages, my heart up to my throat. All in hope of another route, another way. However, nothing is found, and any remaining hopes are shattered before me.

To re-enter The Trials after a failed run, go to th-

I slam the book shut, pushing it away. My head drops into my arms as tears begin to stream out of my eyes endlessly.