Chapter 43: Final Trial

Chapter Forty Three

After what felt like an eternity, an infinity that seemed to stretch beyond the very concept of time itself, Orion finally arrived at the 999th floor.

His cold eyes shone with an eerie, almost lifeless light as he lowered his head and examined his reflection in the polished marble beneath him. It was strange, without a doubt. He had spent millions of years inside this place. No... Billions.

In fact, if he was being completely honest with himself, something deep within him told him that he had spent a couple of trillion years inside this place. And yet, his hair had not changed, his eyes had not changed, and even his face had remained exactly the same.

He still looked like that same Orion Stormblade who had once accepted a death dungeon raid simply because he needed enough money to cure his little sister’s illness. His appearance remained that of the boy who had stepped into that death dungeon, but the person standing here now was vastly different... far too different.

Those countless billions of years spent moving from one trial to another, with every trial containing enough despair and pain to drive an entire galaxy filled with life into madness, had done far more than simply scar him.

They had scarred his very being, digging so deeply into his existence that even his memories had begun to blur.

Orion stared at his reflection for a while, his expression calm and cold as he tried to remember the life he had once lived. He couldn’t remember many things anymore.

His memories were becoming increasingly blurry, like old paintings that had been left beneath the rain for countless years, their colors slowly fading until only vague shapes remained. He could still vaguely remember the life he used to have: his numerous siblings, his mom, the old man, his goblin friends, and a girl who helped him out from time to time.

He remembered them. At least, he thought he remembered them. Their faces, however, seemed to have faded away. No matter how hard he tried to picture them, their features refused to become clear, leaving him with only the faintest impressions of the people they had once been.

He could vaguely recall that he used to be very happy living with them. He knew there had been laughter and warmth, and he knew there had been people who cared about him and people whom he cared about in return. But the details were disappearing, one by one.

Orion’s gray eyes slowly moved toward the locket he had carried with him for who knew how long. It felt as though he had always been born with it, as though it had been a part of him for his entire existence. But no... He knew that wasn’t true. He wasn’t the owner of this locket.

This locket belonged to a friend, someone who had been extremely important to him and someone who had perished along the way. Orion could recall him as well, at least in fragments, but his friend’s face had also faded from his mind, disappearing alongside countless memories they had shared.

Even so, some things still remained. Some memories had refused to completely disappear, such as the oath he had made, his friend’s final smile, and the conversations they had shared. He especially remembered the way that old friend of his had constantly talked about his perfect grandson and praised him every chance he got.

Orion’s eyes softened slightly as he looked at the locket. 𝑓𝑟ℯℴ𝓂

Oh... He remembered now.

He had been told to deliver this to that perfect grandchild of his.

Orion tried to recall more, forcing his mind to dig through the countless layers of memories that had accumulated throughout his seemingly endless existence. But even with Infinite Will, remembering things that had happened billions of years ago was still, for the most part, impossible.

Time had a way of burying things. Even the strongest Will could not simply overturn the weight of countless ages and restore every forgotten detail.

The fact that Orion was still able to remember even a few fragments of those people and those moments was, in itself, proof of how important they must have been to him. It showed just how much he must have cared about them, enough that after several billions of years filled with countless trials, endless suffering, and an eternity of torment, he still hadn’t completely forgotten them.

Orion slowly pocketed the locket. Beneath his calm exterior, another deep emotion began to surface, one he had become almost numb to during all this time.

Hatred.

He remembered the death of his dear friend, and he remembered the oath he had made. He would conquer this trial, and after that, he would ask for an explanation. If the explanation he was given didn’t satisfy him... he would tear this place apart.

When he had said those words back then, they had seemed almost laughably implausible. At that time, how could a sixteen-year-old human possibly tear apart a place that was beyond his comprehension?

But now, would you look at that.

After all this time, after billions upon billions of years, he was finally standing at the 999th floor. Just one more step. One final trial. If he conquered it, he would finally be able to ask that being his question.

Orion took in a deep, steady breath before slowly smiling.

Yet the smile felt stiff, almost eerie. The reason was simple: Orion hadn’t smiled in forever. The action itself felt foreign to him, like trying to perform something his very body had already forgotten how to do.

His lips moved, but the smile lacked the natural warmth it once possessed. It was forced and almost mechanical, as though he were imitating an expression he could remember but no longer truly understood.

Eventually, the forced smile faded from Orion’s face. He would try to learn how to smile properly again after he won. For now, he had one last hellish trial to conquer.

With that thought, Orion stepped forward. As usual, reality warped around him, and the familiar distortion swallowed his surroundings. When it finally settled, Orion found himself standing inside what appeared to be a completely white room.

His gaze remained calm as he looked around before trying to walk forward.

He couldn’t.

His body refused to move, as though a force greater than anything he had ever experienced had locked his entire body in place. He couldn’t move even an inch.

Orion’s brows furrowed slightly as he tried again, but nothing happened. He attempted to lift his arm, only to find that it remained completely still. He tried moving his leg as well, but it was the same. Every part of his body seemed to have been sealed.

Orion immediately tried to use that strange force within him... the Infinite Will he still didn’t fully understand. He attempted to push against the restriction and force it away, but there was no improvement whatsoever. The force didn’t even budge.

How am I supposed to continue walking if I can’t even move my limbs?

Orion’s gray eyes narrowed as the thought crossed his mind. Had the trial now resorted to cheating simply because it had realized that he couldn’t be stopped normally?

Was this some kind of dirty trick designed to end him? Was the trial itself going against its own rules?

A cold light appeared in Orion’s gray eyes as his mind rapidly considered the situation. There were still many things he could feel within this strange force inside him, things he had yet to truly understand. Perhaps if he pushed himself harder, he could break free.

Before Orion could attempt it, however, he suddenly felt the restriction around his body loosen.

Completely.

The force disappeared, and Orion was once again free to move. At the same time, information about the trial flooded directly into his mind, causing him to raise an eyebrow.

This final trial was completely different from everything he had faced before.

What he needed to do was choose between two things. Or, more correctly... he only needed to choose between two lives.

Two balls of light materialized directly before Orion.

One was golden. The other was gray.

Orion’s hand slowly moved toward the golden ball, and the moment his fingers touched it, a small, warm smile appeared on his face.

Within the golden ball was a life that was simply perfect. It contained joy, happiness, bliss, love, wealth, eternal life, and good health. There would be no danger, no suffering, and no fear.

It was the perfect life anyone could ever ask for. If Orion decided to choose this life, his previous life would be completely forgone. Everything he had experienced before would be left behind, and he would enter this perfect world.

The other ball, on the other hand, was completely different.

Orion’s hand touched the gray ball, and his previously happy smile immediately disappeared. A heavy expression settled over his face as tears of pain and despair began running down his cheeks.

The gray ball contained suffering, pain, joy that never lasted, constant struggle, little happiness, more pain, more suffering, more battles, and more despair. It contained all of it.

If he chose this one, he would be allowed to continue through his life, but that life would be filled with constant pain, struggle, and suffering.

There would be moments of peace, only for those moments to be robbed from him. There would be happiness, only for betrayal, war, anger, and despair to follow. It was truly the complete opposite of the golden life.

To win this final trial, Orion needed to choose between a perfect life where he abandoned everything behind and an uncertain life where he continued living his own life while accepting all the pain, endless struggle, and despair that came with it.

The ideal choice was obviously the happy life.

In this world, who would say they didn’t want to be happy? Even gods were still trying to become stronger so they could secure their positions and live happy lives without constantly fearing death.

And that was exactly what Orion was being offered.

A completely perfect life... in exchange for leaving everything behind and starting anew.

Orion paused as he looked between the two balls of light.

What should he choose?

Sincerely, he didn’t know.

Even gods would be tempted by this choice. A perfect life where anything they ever wanted or needed was available to them was something that would tempt almost anyone.

And if they ever developed another desire, it would simply be made available to them. There was no way anyone would willingly turn that down.

Orion’s hand moved toward the golden ball again, but then he stopped. His eyes shifted toward the gray ball.

He didn’t want to leave everything behind. He didn’t want to forget everyone he cared about either.

But if he embraced this life, the pain he would be welcoming in the future was simply too much. Orion’s heart seemed to bleed from the mere feeling of it, let alone the thought of actually living through it.

His mind snapped back toward the golden ball.

But this was a life without pain, without regret, betrayal, or despair. It was a life where everything and anything he might ever want was already prepared for him.

A world of peace, freedom, happiness, and more.

A perfect world.

Who wouldn’t want something like that?

Who, in their right mind, would choose that over a world filled with pain and despair, where short bursts of peace and joy were only followed by betrayal, anger, war, and countless other hardships? It was a world of constant struggle, a world where survival itself was a battle.

Who would want all that?

Only a fool, perhaps.

Orion made his decision.

The extreme feeling of happiness that surged through him the moment he touched the golden ball made him smile as he pushed the gray ball to the side. He had already suffered enough.

He had crossed through countless trials of torment and despair. He had endured things that no normal being could ever hope to endure. With everything he had been through, he also needed a break.

He needed a life filled with happiness. He couldn’t possibly embrace another existence filled with endless struggle and pain.

Orion’s hand moved toward the golden ball, ready to accept it.

A happy smile slowly bloomed across his face as he prepared to make his final decision. He was only one step away. One final touch... one final choice...

And then something slipped from his pocket.

A loud clang rang through the silent white room.

Orion’s smile suddenly froze.