Allen opened his eyes up slowly from a bright light shining down upon them. It was like the first light of dawn peeking through window blinds. He was dazed but oddly calm as he observed his surroundings. He was in a silver metallic chamber that had every surface in it etched with exquisite murals depicting grand battles waged by titanic figures.
That chamber was spacious and the entirety of it was filled with these murals. Allen was breath taken as he gazed at them. He traced his fingers along the carvings and wondered if he would ever be able to draw anything as impressive as they were. His eyes wandered upwards at the walls that curved together at the only source of light in the room high above Allen. It was much too bright for him to make out what it was.
He also noticed the other oddity in the room. It was some sort of stone object ensnared by wood that curiously grew out from the metallic floor. Upon walking closer, he realized that the object was a large stone halberd engraved with numerous runes.
Absentmindedly, he reached for the weapon.
“Are you really sure you want to grab that?”, a voice echoed through the chamber with no discernable source. It sounded like it came from a young woman.
Allen’s hand hovered in the air for a moment. The question seemed less like a warning and more like an inquiry of genuine curiosity.
“It’s my dream so shouldn’t I be able to do anything I want in it?”, Allen asked back at the disembodied voice.
“So you think all of this is just a dream? Your imagination must be very impressive indeed.”, the voice echoed again.
“You’re telling me it’s not?”, Allen's hand dropped to his side.
‘I’m getting tired of not being able to tell dreams from what’s real. I don’t even have dreams normally.’
He figured this had to be a dream. He had no recollection of coming here nor any trace of familiarity with the place. Not only that, his clothes and body were both seemingly perfectly intact. From the last thing he could remember, they were both decidedly not that. This being a dream was the only reasonable conclusion.
“I never said that this was not a dream since it is, at least partially. ”
“So what parts are the dream and which aren’t?”
“Where we are is not a dream but you being here is.”, the voice specified.
“What does that mean exactly?”, Allen inquired disgruntledly. He was getting fed up with the cryptic statements.
“You tell me. It isn’t my dream. What’s the last thing you can remember?”, the voice replied haughtily.
‘She’s really snarky for someone I can’t even see. Just where is she speaking from?”
Allen sighed., “I was in a fairly bad shape. Well, no, that’s actually an understatement. It’d be more accurate to say I almost died.”
Allen went on to further explain the events leading him here, including meeting Nera and fighting Harpe and Hache. He also told her about him being slashed through by Hache’s ax and that he somehow managed to heavily damage the armored warrior. His memory was foggy from that point onward, but he vaguely recalled the Harpe and Hache retreating and Nera helping him walk away. After that, he had no idea.
The disembodied voice seemed to be in contemplation for a few moments, but Allen had no way of knowing that with no physical cues to pick up on. Eventually, after several lengthy seconds, they spoke up.
“I see. You learned that the Underworld is a realm where lost souls on the edge of life and death wander. You should be able to piece together what that means for your current situation.”
Allen’s eyes widened and he felt his heart begin to race. He clenched his fist tightly then unclenched it. He was trying his best to remain calm.
“Great, I managed to get out of here alive and then wind up right back in the Underworld, and this time I don’t have my real body with me. How long until I get back?”
“That depends strongly on how fast you’re able to recover. You could get back to your body in a few minutes or a few days.”
The last word sent a chill down his spine. The fear of being trapped here for days squeezed his chest tightly.
‘Just how long could I spend here in this empty room without losing my marbles? Not to mention I can’t even see if that girl, Nera’s, alright. Having to spend days waiting to find out would turn this dream into a total nightmare.’
He slumped to the ground.
'If she's not okay, then what did I risk my life for?'
Allen exhaled slowly to ease his panic and brushed off the cold sweat that had accumulated on his forehead. Despite this body being illusionary, it was exceptionally lifelike. Allen wondered how his real body was faring. He did not want to just be waiting forever just to find out anything. He was determined to do something.
“Hey!’, Allen looked up at the ceiling defiantly. “Since you’re some kind of Underworld spirit, I figure you’d know some stuff about the ‘Grim Reaper Trial’, right?
“I do know of the Grim Reaper, but I have never heard of a ‘Grim Reaper Trial’.”, the voice responded frankly.
“Then, what do you know?”
“I’ve answered many of your quandaries already. If you want more of my knowledge, you’ll have to give me something in return.”
“So that’s how it is.”, Allen stood back up to his feet.,”Fine, I’m down for a fair trade. How about I give you some info about the outside world as compensation? I figure you don’t get out much.”
“I would accept that.”, the voice answered almost reluctantly.
“Alright, tell me something you want to know from me and then you’ll have to tell me something I want to know.”
“It’s a deal then. Now, inform me of the current status of Atelier City’s relationship with the world outside of it.”
“Hmm…”, Allen scratched his chin in thought before divulging what he knew.
“From what I’m aware of, Atelier City is outside of the country’s normal borders. It’s a somewhat independent area which gives it the privilege of deciding who can get in as well as managing itself almost completely on its own. Until recently, only a small number of people were allowed to enter the city. That was until ‘The Night of Rising Stars’. Allen looked up at the ceiling towards the room’s one light. He was in a daze as he recounted that scene of shooting stars.
“Continue.”, an impatient command echoed through the chamber.
“Right, now where was I? Oh yeah, ‘The Night of Rising Stars’ was a publicity stunt by Atelier City to signal an announcement that they would be changing their policies and allowing non-residents to enter the city in large amounts. But, most of the people they would let in would have to participate in an annoying program where they had to join one of the city’s art groups and help out with whatever artistic crap the city wanted. That’s how I got in and that’s pretty much all I know about the situation.”
There was another long pause from the voice after Allen finished his explanation. If she was surprised or not by it, he could not tell.
“So that’s how it is now. That was worthwhile to hear. Very well, go on and ask me your question.”
‘She’s being sure not to give anything away by her response and she’s only going to answer one of my questions for certain. I gotta make sure I make that count.’, Allen pondered what he should ask.
“Why is the Grim Reaper holding this trial for?”, Allen finally questioned.
“That question is invalid.”
“Huh? Didn’t you say you’d tell me what I wanted to know?”
“Yes, but that is not something I can answer, because the Grim Reaper is not the kind of person who would hold such a pointless ritual.”
“Then who is behind it?”
“I can’t answer that either since I don’t know who it is. I already stated I wasn’t aware of the trial.”
Allen groaned loudly as he pressed his hands against his face.
“Alright, maybe you’ll know this. What are the Grim Pieces?”
Allen noticed that Nera appeared to be aware of what the Grim Reaper was but even she seemed clueless to what the Grim Pieces were or why she would have one.
“The Grim Pieces are nine components of the Grim Reaper’s power that give them significant influence over the very framework of the Underworld. There are nine of them and each one is connected to the nine realms of Norse mythology: Niflheim, Helheim, Svartalfheim, Musepeleheim, Midgard, Alfheim, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, and Asgard.”, the voice stated nonchalantly.
“Those nine realms…are you saying they exist somewhere in the Underworld? What exactly kind of power would that give the Grim Pieces?”
He was answered by silence either because the voice did not know or simply did not feel like answering, he was fine with both possibilities since he figured he had plenty of time to find out with his luck.
Instead, he again raised his hand to the stone halberd.
“Might as well try to rip this out of here while I wait.”
“If you manage to do so, you may be able to leave sooner rather than later.”
“What?”, Allen was bewildered by the sudden declaration.
“That is an ancient artifact with mysterious powers. It might be able to free you from your predicament, but I doubt you’d be able to obtain it.”
“Hmph, are you saying that just because you’re some kind of spirit meant to protect it?”
Allen had heard of those types of things in various legends.
A hollow laughter reverberated through the metal walls and floor as if to mock him.
“No, I’m nothing but an observer. I would actually be overjoyed if you were able to take it from there. For I’ve been curious about what would happen if someone were to do so for a long, long time. However, I don’t have much belief that you have the qualities necessary.”
“And those qualities are..?”
“The qualities of a champion.”
“A champion…”, Allen retracted his hand back somewhat before moving forward once more. “...nah, that doesn’t sound like me at all.”
“So you’re willing to test your character despite that?”, she loftily prodded.
“It’s not about that. I’m just curious too.”
Allen firmly grasped the handle of the stone halberd and pulled.
It remained completely still.
Allen pulled with even more force, but it did not budge at all. He grabbed onto it with his other hand and tried ripping the weapon out from its restraints with all the strength he could muster. He tried different angles along with using all the techniques and tricks he could think of. However, nothing made the artifact move a single millimeter.
He must have been trying to retrieve the halberd for a long amount of time before he finally collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Large beads of sweat were dripping from Allen’s face onto the silvery floor, and he was breathing heavily.
“You expended a lot of energy for mere curiosity.”, the voice taunted with a tone heavy with disappointment.
“Shut up. I just had to make sure, that’s all. Things might’ve gone differently if I had my real body.”, Allen rebutted.
“No, they wouldn’t. Your form now may be nothing but an astral projection but it still has a presence. If you truly had the caliber necessary, you would’ve been able to retrieve that halberd as easily as picking up a pebble from the ground. You’re nothing but an ineffectual passerby.”
Allen gritted his teeth at that last remark.
“I don’t think it’s fair to judge me based on that.”
“Not everything is fair in this world.”
“Of course not, fairness isn’t an absolute, it’s the goalline.”, With those last words, the room turned silent as Allen looked up to the ceiling with his eyes wide open not feeling a bit of exhaustion. As he expected, he would not have even sleep as a reprieve from what was already a dream.
What felt like an eternity of agonizing minutes passed by. Out of boredom, Allen lifted his hand to the ceiling where the light shone down. He began to curl his fingers into a fist as if trying to grasp it. His hand exploded into a dark mist.
Allen screamed in shock as the rest of body began breaking down into dark mist as well.
“Hey! What’s going on!?”, Allen called out to what he thought was a spirit once more.
“You’re getting your wish. You’re going to your body. Although, I can’t say what state it’ll be in when you get to it.”, the voice announced sardonically.
“...I guess that’s a good thing then.”, Allen said more to himself than to anyone else while his body began to be enveloped by even more darkness. It now covered his arms and legs as well as most of his torso as it crawled up to his head. It was like spiders crawling all over his skin. He could not help but lean his head back as if trying to avoid the squirming darkness.
‘I can’t leave here looking so pathetic. I gotta think of something.’
“Before I go, I just want to say that I’m not going to let some dusty old rock decide my worth. I’m gonna prove it for myself, soon you’ll be hearing my name all the way here in the middle of nowhere!”, with these last words, his body completely faded into dark mist and then that disappeared soon without a single trace.
The chamber was now seemingly empty and devoid of anyone else, but the voice still resounded.
“What a dull man.”
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