1 A new path
“I did it.”
Seth’s chest heaved up and down as he knelt on the ground and let the dark red greatsword in his hand dissolve into nothingness. Raising his head, he fixed his eyes on the writing that had just appeared in the center of the great hall.
<Congratulations on clearing the top floor of the tower.>
<Proceed past the red door to collect your reward.>
A smile hung on the corner of his lips as he stood up with difficulty, a sense of excitement he had long forgotten blooming in his chest.
Stepping through the red door behind the text hanging in mid-air, he arrived in a new room.
Only a crystal sphere, the size of his hand, was floating in the center of the pure white room. His feet stepped on nothing but air as he approached the hanging sphere.
The sphere brightened slightly, and a mechanical voice resounded through the room.
“Congratulations on reaching the World Records Terminal. As promised, three wishes and one question are available to claim in light of your achievement.”
“Which reward would you like to redeem first?”
Seth lay on the invisible floor, not minding his manners as he smiled at the sphere and said, “What is the purpose of this world?”
Once his question rang clear through the dark room, the sphere shook briefly, and the same mechanical voice rang again, “Which reward would you like to redeem first?”
Seth seemed undaunted at the voice’s blatant disregard for his question and repeated his question.
“Question: What is the purpose of this world?”
The sphere shook even harder, and its voice rang again, “Which reward would you like to redeem first?”
Seth repeated the same question several times until a crack appeared on the sphere’s surface, and its words finally changed.
“Prime directives in conflict. Removing confidential clauses to prevent further damage to the World Records.”
“Permodium, world simulation #401242. Created by the World Sovereign ~6 eons ago. Purpose: Breaking through the void barrier. Spirit essence availability: unlimited, energy concentration: abundant, Divine crowns claimed: 7.”
“Question answered. Please state your first wish.”
Seth ignored the mechanical voice as he lay flat on the cold floor, trying to process what the Tower had just told him. He knew divinity couldn’t be the end. That’s why he, one of the seven divine beings, has risked his life in God’s Tower—the only place in all the known universe where one’s divinity would be powerless.
“Send me out of the simulation.”, said Seth next, stating his first wish.
“Wish exceeding World Records capabilities. Calculating Alternatives… alternative found: the destruction of fleshly body and evacuation through spirit veins into the outside universe’s spirit pool. Do you agree?”
“Will I keep my memories?” asked Seth, understanding what entering the spirit pool meant for any being. His soul will be cleansed thoroughly before ending up in a completely new body.
“Negative. The spirit pool in the outside universe is not under the World Records’ jurisdiction.”
“Figures.”, muttered Seth before falling silent again.
‘I’ve come so far, and it was all for nothing. Why did I even bother…’
Ever since Seth left home, his only goal was to arrive at the top. He trained, worked, fought, cheated, stole, murdered, and traveled for so long only to reach a dead end.
‘Well, no matter. I guess this is the end. Maybe I should have my soul sent to the spirit pool…’ as this thought passed through his mind, a cacophony of voices followed.
“Son, why did you have to leave us?”
“Seth, honey, are you alright?”
“Seth, wait one more year. We’ll both travel together after I graduate.”
“I love you, Seth. Please don’t leave. My people need you. I need you.”
“Why are you shunning everyone? Why are you pushing all of us away? For what?”
…………
Now that he had hit the highest obstacle in his path, the tallest wall, he realized how many things he had left behind in his quest.
He had long forgotten what it was like to feel, but after such a long time without a divinity, as he kept clearing the Tower’s trials, the feelings he had once killed started coming back to him.
‘I’ve left behind everyone that liked me, loved me, and cared for me, only to sit down on a cold throne and receive an answer I didn’t want to hear. I even left my family behind...’
A single thought pushed him forward the entire way. Godhood.
Seth longed for everything he had thrown away as the cold, hard shell he built around his heart broke apart.
‘Maybe I can still walk on another path. Maybe I can even break through this wall as well. As long as I’m not alone...’
A long time passed with the sphere asking for Seth’s following wish on repeat, only to be ignored.
Eventually, Seth sat back up with renewed vigor and said, “First wish, I want all the information inside the World Records.”
The sphere stayed silent momentarily before saying, “Our Sovereign created the World Records as a computerized bank of information because a soul, even one with a divinity like yours, would get destroyed trying to process it.”
“The bestowal of all information would lead to the soul’s destruction. Calculating alternatives… bestowing a stabilizing system with access to the World Records. Do you agree?”
“I agree,” replied Seth immediately, and a small light floated from the sphere, entering his soul.
Next, lines of text appeared in his vision.
<Stabilizer online.>
<Link to World Records created successfully>
“Please state your second wish.”
‘How do I use this thing?’ Seth asked himself, ignoring the sphere again, and a new line of text appeared in his vision.
<Do you wish for a tutorial? >
‘Can you hear my thoughts?’
<Affirmative. Some functions are still being installed, but access to the World Records is available. >
‘Great. Show me a list of all the energies available.’
His vision became blurry, with lines of text superimposing one another, almost making him throw up.
‘Cancel. Quick,’ said Seth, not expecting such a result.
Once the lines of text disappeared, Seth asked, ‘Can I create more than one energy source?’
<Affirmative. One can hold multiple energy sources but must be compatible with the host’s body. Also, the sources must be created and evolved simultaneously, or once a source takes form or grows too strong, it will repel the other energies from inside the body. >
‘Pretty much what I already knew. Well, that’s also fine. There’s no other way but to give up my destruction source...’
Turning back towards the sphere in the center of the room, Seth said, “Second wish: full control over the form and structure of my physical body.”
A smirk appeared at the corner of his lips as he voiced his second wish.
“Ability to change records of your physical body granted. Functionality added to the system. Warning, drastic changes to the fundaments structure of the human body for prolonged periods can lead to soul damage. Do you wish to add soul control as well to remove this problem? Doing that will use your remaining wish.”
“No. I have other plans for my last wish.”
“Acknowledged. Please state your final wish.”
‘System, the wishes granted by the records are absolute and won’t get canceled by space-time alterations, would they?’
<Affirmative. A time anchor will be created inside the soul of the challenger.>
‘What about my memories? What would happen to them if I revert my time?’
<They will get deleted. You can store your memories inside my internal database and restore them all once time reverts.>
‘Great, do that. Also, save a backup of historical information partnering to my world from the World Records.’
It took a few minutes, but his vision eventually showed the message he was waiting for.
<Memories and historical information saved. Pending restoration after the time jump. >
“Good. Third wish: Revert time to when I just turned fifteen.”
The sphere again fell silent for a while. Eventually, its voice sounded once more.
“Last wish accepted. Time reversal would affect the entire Permodium and create a time anchor. Warning: Your memories and source of power will be lost. Divinity will be kept in a dormant and sealed state to facilitate the use of the system. The process begins in 3… 2… 1….”
