CHAPTER 88: SOMEBODY YOU LOVED

"Huh? What’re you talking about? I never sent anything like this." Nolan said simply, his face in loss at what Johan was talking about.

He didn’t even observe the trial, actively trying to break him? Yeah, that was news to him.

"I mean James. You sent him right? You also made me lose my will to resist him..." Johan said hesitantly, his eyes darting, as if thinking of a possibility.

"Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Wait, let me just check." Nolan said calmly, not one bit angry at Johan refusing his offer, as he knew Johan couldn’t leave without his permission.

Instantly, the pillars planted in the clody ground started vibrating harshly.

A small screen with the display quality like it was happening in the real world, appeared in the center of the two pillars near where Johan, and Nolan were standing.

Nolan quickly fast forwarded most of the parts he found boring.

In a blink a year passed, and they saw a weird sight, which made them both widen their eyes.

Johan was sitting on a chair made with black sand. Infront of him was a table, and an another... empty chair.

He was conversing with the empty chair enthusiastically, like a person was sitting there.

Nolan turned towards Johan, staring at him worridely, wondering if he went too far with the trial.

Nolan increased the speed of the screen to the limit, and the next two hundred years passed like seconds, but seconds they could watch years in, for the next two hundred years, Johan kept shouting, bickering, arguing, chatting with someone that... didn’t even exist.

"I think we saw enough Nolan, there’s no need to look further than this." Johan said hurriedly, shaking both his hands with a red face, trying to save his face a little, sensing what was coming.

But, Nolan wasn’t the one to listen to anyone, and started staring at the screen with even more focus after Johan’s words, like a horny grandpa finding a tv playing a modern R-18 movie with girls that wore barely any clothes.

On the screen, Johan punched the empty air, then walked in the other direction, and elbowed the area which he had punched a second ago.

Then he wildly threw punches, skillfully from right side, slopily from left, and after some time of fighting himself, he sat on the ground, on his knees, breathing harshly, as if having a very powerful seizure.

Then, he pulled out the knife that was given at the begining of the trial... and stabbed his windpipe repeatedly, which regenerated as quickly as it was hurt, and he kept doing it for more than an hour, pushing the limits of his regenaration.

Nolan paused the screen, turning towards Johan with a frown.

"...Are you alright?" Nolan asked hesitantly to Johan who was staring dazidly at the screen.

’So none of it was real? No, that’s bull-shit!’

’I fought him! I killed him!

Even the System agreed that it was real. It helped me get clarity, right? Then I was able to finally resist and win...’ Johan bit his lips, mentally trying to manifest the blue screen, and after a moment, it appeared, replying in a bold white font.

[Strong attempt at slander, and pure delusion sensed!!]

[System never agreed, or said that what was happening was reality, or even something made by trial. Maybe some help was provided to gain clarity to save your life, but that was all. System saw nothing, did nothing, said nothing]

And with that the blue screen vanished.

Johan’s pupils dilated, his entire body shaking, thinking of the next possibility that made sense, ’Was it the corruption of the God tree then? Yeah, it had to be that. A hallucination can never be this strong...’

Johan was right, but only half. Corruption did play some role in making the hallucination feel vivid, but... it was minor.

What was mainly responsible was... the loneliness.

That moment when he was finally alone, all his bottled up emotions, all his fears, all his insecurities, quite literally became alive.

It was so strong that it overwhelmed, and took over his mind, and senses. With the corruption already weakening his mind, they became... James.

But...

Johan’s eyes gained some light, taking a deep breath, he schooled his face, appearing emotionless again.

He had won.

Whatever James was... he was dead.

Johan turned towards worried Johan, nodding seriously, "I wish you luck with whatever you’re trying to do, and maybe one day, I will work with you! But for now, unfortunately I can’t help you." Johan successfully changed the topic in a sharp tone.

But, suddenly, his eyes widened at a sharp, familiar sound.

Ding

[Quest 6: Someone you loved]

[Quest had been triggered by meeting Nolan, and gaining his respect. Each choice can lead to a vastly different ’ending’.]

[NOTE: Host should think carefully about accepting this quest, as the choice host makes has to be completed, otherwise, there will be a penalty.]

’What the hell? After so much time, this is how I will get a new quest? And I didn’t even complete the last one yet... And what’s with this penalty?’ Johan’s mind instantly brimmed with a million questions, his attention fully caught by the blue screen.

[Option 1: Help Nolan kill the Goddess of Death, Vivi, and Leor Milford.]

(Rewards: Goddess of Death’s Aether core. Leor Milford’s Aether core. Sixty million points!)

Johan’s face went pale after looking at the rewards for the first option, and even paler after looking at what he had to do to get this. Yes, he looked at the rewards first.

[Option 2: Try to contact the Goddess of Death, and warn her about Nolan. Win her trust (which will be fairly easy with the aura of death)]

(Note: If accepted, System will also inform how to contact her: the method to break the seal on your forehead)

(Rewards: Special ability: Nolan’s world; allows the user to become one with fate, allowing to control fate in any desired way.)

(Note: Host will receive an upgraded version of this (the one Nolan gets later on). The ability to control fate in all time periods.)