"...you're me?" Arnold mumbled.

The moment Arnold uttered those words a familiar notification popped up in front of his eyes.

___

It takes courage to acknowledge your own mistakes and work to set your life on the right part.

[You've been appraised by the Guide!]

You've cleared the scenario [Confront the unknown] and earned the following reward(s) :

[Since the rules of the scenario were changed, the rewards have been changed as well]

• A special reward has been added to your inventory.

[You can access it upon the successful completion of the trial.]

___

With these words, the darkness of the room slowly dissipated and a neon blue hue covered the room.

The room was made up of mirrors in its entirety, the walls, support pillars and it's structure were similar to the throne room, in which he had defeated the Orc chieftain. The mirrors were reflecting the light that was generated by the luminous blue moss, that covered the entire ceiling of the room. It reminded Arnold of the day he had found the skill books and affinity scrolls, back when he was still a porter, since that dungeon was covered with similar moss as well.

"A lot has changed since then... hasn't it?" Arnold smiled wanly as he saw his reflection in the mirror in front of him.

"I was hopeless back then... maybe I still am. But one thing is for sure, I'm not powerless anymore, and those who was wronged me will pay the price for doing so..." Arnold's right hand got covered with a thick layer of ice, as he punched the mirror in front of him with all his might, "It doesn't matter whether they are family or not."

"Are you sure you can do that?" The voice asked Arnold.

Arnold thought that since the scenario was over, the voice would've disappeared as well, but he was wrong. His reflection in the mirrors was replaced by that of a kid, that looked a lot like Arnold did in his initial years...

"Are you sure, when the time comes you'll be able to do what's necessary?" Arnold's younger self squeaked.

"I'm sorry that I forgot about the worst thing that happened to Nicole... but thanks to you- I mean thanks to me... I now remember it again."

It was really weird and awkward for Arnold to talk with 'himself' but there were a lot of weirder things in this world that he had witnessed so he quickly got over it and had a heart felt conversation with his younger self, that ended with him promising that he'll never forgive the uncle and his family who had wronged them on numerous occasion, only after that did the voice and the boy disappear completely.

After the conversation, Arnold stretched his neck and he stepped through the door that would've led him to the next scenario, not knowing the fact that [The Guide between the worlds] was watching his every move.

"interesting... very interesting..." The Guide spoke for the first time in a century, "He might actually be the one to take your place and become your heir, my lord..."

***

Arnold stepped into next room which was surprisingly huge, right before Arnold could come up with reasons, why it was like that, his questions were quickly answered when the information about the scenario popped up on his interface.

___

You have entered the scenario for your third trial.

[Scenario Name] : Lesser dragon, bigger pain.

[Task] : Slay the Wyvern, the lesser dragon.

[Time limit] : No time limit

[Rewards] : The rewards will vary upon the time taken to slay the Wyvern.

[Failure] : Failure is not an option. You won't be able to proceed to the next scenario until and unless you slay the beast.

[These rewards gained would have permanent effect from now onwards.]

___

"Great. Slay a Wyvern. ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?" Arnold was surprised but wasn't shocked, instead he was... angry? So much for meditation...

But he had no choice in the matter. If he wanted to go back he had to overcome the tasks and scenarios that were given to him, no matter what.

As if his thoughts were being read by someone, a moment later a Wyvern appeared in front of his eyes.

"Tsk... Let's get this over with!" Arnold made some makeshift spears using his elemental abilities and fearlessly charged at the Wyvern.

***

AT AN UNKNOWN PLACE...

"Your vassal is very... interesting this time... my love." A feminine voice said before caressing the muscular shoulder of someone who was sitting on a throne.

"You think so too, huh?" The man spoke with an indifferent tone. "Do you think our mission would be a successful, after all this time?"

"Of course it'll be successful... I'm sure your vassal has everything that would allow him to be called as your heir."

The man nodded and looked around the place he was currently residing in.

The place was weird and nothing could be seen for miles and miles. The place was just covered with 'cold sand', mountains, and a single throne that were under the protection of the stars. The body of the man, who was sitting on the throne, was at the peak of it's physical condition. The buffed up body was covered with scars, caused by godly weapons, during the times he fought with demons, fallen angels and what not.

The man was draped in a cloth made up of monster skin, which only covered his waist and thighs, a three headed spear, the 'Trident', rested next to his throne. This was the same trident that he had used to slay various Gods and demons, who dared to rise against him, disturbed the balance of the universe and challenge his authority as the protector of the universe.

The throne he was sitting on was nothing but a gigantic black stone. The god like being wore his hair in a tight bun, wore a snake around his blue throat as an ornamental piece, his entire body was covered with the 'cold sand' but that wasn't what it actually was... it was ashes... the ashes that remained after he incinerated his enemies, who tried to disturb the balance of the universe and use their powers to cause harm to the others.

For his enemies he was the God of Destruction, For his preachers he was The Destroyer of Evil, for his fellow Gods he was the Supreme Being... he was Shiva, the immortal one.

[Author's note : If you'd really like to know about Shiva (A God preached by the Hindus, and one of my favorite Gods) then I'll include the wikipedia link below and you can read about him there! Link : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva ]