A sudden gust of wind blows over them.

The mysterious pond before them boggles their minds, leaving more questions than answers.

Kanji "What... What is this place? An illusion? Or Was it just an error with the boat's AI?"

Gwen "No that can't be right. I've checked my P.T.A. The geological coordinate is 100 percent accurate."

Kanji "Not to delevel your technology, but I'm going to check my device. Just to double-check...... Yep, We are in the right place."

Azan "What must we do now, Kanji?"

Kanji "First, we check if this location is an illusion. Anyone willing to volunteer?"

Mina "I'll go! I'm a good swimmer!"

Azan "Wait, Mina! We don't know what's in there?!"

Mina "Don't worry, Azzy. I'll be fine!"

Azan "Fine... you can go. But you need to prepare."

Kanji "Alright, then it's decided. Adrian, do you still have some rope left over from last time?"

Adrian "Yes, Kanji. This is the last of it. Do you want me to tie it around her waist?"

Kanji "Correct and keep holding it. In case, there's trouble. Now, Mina, are you ready?"

Mina nods to her leader before diving into the waters below.

As she swims toward the land, something odd is happening.

Mina "What?! Why is it getting further away?! Come back here!"

Determined, she swims harder and harder... it feels like her arms are about to fall off. The more she travels away from the boat, the more the body of water seems to stretch.

Almost to the point where she can see nothing, only a vast open ocean touching the horizon in every direction.

Mina "What's happening?! Damn, I can't see the boat!"

Mina rushes back to where she came from, but her friends are nowhere in sight.

She feels tired.

Mina "I...c-can't... d... do...this. Must... t-think... of... som-something."

With no other option, Mina tugs on the rope with all her strength.

It begins to pull her in.

Mina "Th-Thank... god."

She passes out.

...

Azan "Adrian! Hurry! Pull her up!"

Adrian "Alright!"

He yanks the young lady out of the water, his hands drenched with fresh wat... wait, this isn't...

Kanji "This smell... It's seawater. That shouldn't be possible! Unless this entire pond is made of it."

Gwen "Nope, the liquid of the pond is no doubt fresh water. However..."

She gives Izzybot an order. Her branches reach out and extract a sample of the liquid.

Gwen "Give me a sec... Let's see here... Ah huh. What's on her is a mixture of the two. Strange, this area appears to not only distort our perspective but also the metaphysical component of space-time."

Kanji "Reality bending properties. That means the next level-up would most definitely be Amelia.

Amelia "Golly, I'm a bit... nervous to be honest with you. What will it test me with?"

Claire "Cheer up Amy! It will be alright, we got your back. Besides, I don't think it will be something painful."

Amelia "Many thanks, Claire. Perhaps you're right. So... should we proceed or should we wait for Mina?"

Kanji "I say we wait for Mina to wake up... we need answers."

Minutes pass. She finally wakes up.

Mina "Huh! Wha?! Where am I?! What happened?!"

Pressing her hands against the floor, she coughs out a waterfall of water.

Kanji "There. There. Mina. You were out cold trying to return to the ship."

Mina "Oh, I see. Fuck! I never thought I would become afraid of the ocean, but now I... I. Never mind that! Tell me what happened?! Did you guys see me traveling to the sea?!"

Azan "No... when you were approaching the edge of the pond and you vanished into thin air. It was instant."

Mina "What about the rope?"

Azan "Yeah, the rope was floating in the air. The rest of its length also disappeared along with you."

Mina "Oh... welp. How do we get through this?"

Kanji "Mina, have you tried steering a boat before?"

Mina "Of course! Heck! I even once drove an entire cruise!"

Kanji "Excellent, then I want you to drive this vessel forward. No change in direction. Got it! Just keep going forward. Perhaps we may encounter something in that endless sea."

Mina "Aye aye, Captain! I'll do it!"

Everyone watches Mina as she easily manages the boat's operating system.

The boat begins to move.

It strides forward into the unknown and the land begins to pull away until there's nothing left but an ocean.

Amelia "Wow, she was bloody right! This is amazing!"

Kanji "Yes, but we can't be careless. Who knows what this place holds compared to last the location."

Gwen "Ummm... Kanji... you might want to look at this."

Kanji "It's... It's blank? Why is the map blank? Could this place be similar to my subspace and Germmany?"

Gwen "No, that isn't possible since I have confirmed that geological data worked within a subspace. Think of them as the basement of our reality. This however feels separate like an entirely distinct dimension or reality from our own."

Kanji "That is possible. For now, everyone prepare your weapons! I have a bad feeling. "

They pull out their armaments, and their eyes scour the surrounding body of water, Looking for the slightest trace of movement.

Kanji looks at Gwen.

Kanji "How about you?"

Gwen "Oh you mean... This!"

Izzybot attaches herself to Gwen's back and begins wrapping branches around her arms, forming two large muscular structures. On each knuckle, grows a row of sharp teeth made of hardened plant-based calcium.

Kanji "Gorilla and conodont combo. That's neat, but not as clever as to why you decided to do this. I can't believe you got around that problem!"

Gwen "Yep, I figured if Izzy is moving them then my shoulders won't appear."

Kanji "Excellent. Now. Everyone stay on guard and Mina keep going forward!"

Time drags on. How long is it now? One hour? Five hours. It's been days and there's nothing but the large blue wavy void.

The lack of sleep is catching up to them, their eyelids close and the wielders fall against the oak deck of the boat.

Unconscious, a disturbing mass rises out of the sea.

A portal opens up on the deck.

Two wounded individuals shot out of the portal, they appear to be in the middle of some kind of squirmish.

Diana "...Woah! Woah! Woah! Stop Icarus! Where are we?!"

Dave "What? Oh... Wait. We out? How? WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!!"

A gaping maw devours the vessel.

___________________________________________________

Kanji "Huh? Wha-What is this place?"

The Aspect of Energy, his head is in a daze and hurting like waking up from the wrong side of a pillow.

Kanji looks around.

The room is painted to the brim with light blue, it's in a shape of a square. The wall in front of him is a line of text that spells out "Face The True Self" and beneath it is a timer.

It's about the reach its end.

Kanji stands up and holds out his chain. Sweat falls from his face. Something is forming.

?? Well. Well. Well. Look at the coward hiding in his shell.

Kanji looks in horror, his eyes must be deceiving him. What's in front of him is impossible!

Kanji "Who are you?! Why do you look like-"

?? -you. Why do I look like you? Ummm... a very good question. I know the answer. It's because I am you! The real you! The one you truly want to be.

Kanji " Ah, I see. Ha... Haha.. Hahahahaha! I understand now!"

Kanji sits down, feeling calm, he looks at his doppelganger. His appearance resembles a worn outfit of a veteran adventurer similar to a protagonist of an isekai anime.

Kanji "What... Do you understand? What do you mean?"

Kanji "I have seen this kind of trial a hundred times in anime where the protagonist faces a copy of his or herself that represent their true nature. The hope is to change the character in some way. However, I won't let that happen."

Kanji "So what if you know that. I am everything you truly wanted. A life of adventure! I have more freedom than you could ever achieve! You are chained! The shackles of friendship restrained you from your goal. You had the choice to go through the entire journey all by yourself without a care in the world. But you rejected it and now you live with regret. I can sense it!"

Kanji "True, I do have regrets. But inviting my friends was not one of them. It's a past action that I will take responsibility for. I'm happy with how things are, I get to go on an adventure and my comrades are along with me. Sure, we may have suffered a lot of injuries, but we are still pushing forward and surviving. It's honestly hilarious to think you're my true self. No, to be real with you, I think that you're just the rawest form of my desire who lacks common sense."

Kanji Haha... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Holy shit! I can't believe you figured it out that fast! I almost forgot I'm dealing with a genius!

Kanji "That settles things then. So in summary, the trial of reality makes you fight against a distorted version of your desires to solidify your perspective of reality."

Kanji "Bingo! But I wouldn't call all of them distorted."

Kanji "And each wielder has a separate room, right? When can we leave?"

Kanji "Yes, you each have separate rooms. If all the devoured wielders finish their trails, everyone can leave."

Kanji "Okay... then I should wait. What about you?"

Kanji "Time for me to disappear. I've done my job. Oh... one more thing. Hold on to your convictions. Who knows... your reality may change..."

... in the future that is.

Kanji watches as his clone melts into a puddle of mucus. Those words left an unnerving feeling in the back of his mind.

Kanji "What he did mean? No, it's probably nothing of importance. Damn. I just hope the others have an easy time going through theirs."

___________________________________________________

Somewhere in a strange dull gray room, Sarah wakes up.

Sarah "Fuck! Huh?!"

She panics. That was close. Sarah nearly fell into one of many holes on the floor.

Sarah "Jesus! What the hell?!"

She looks at the walls, some of their spots are protruded like the mass of the floor has leaped out to create the holes. She walks toward the center, there's an even larger one here.

Curious, The Aspect of Fiction goes closer and-

Sarah "WOAH!"

A stream of slimy black substance jets out of the hole.

It molds and molds.

Sarah sees a deformed bob with hundreds of tentacles.

Sarah "OH. MY. GOD! OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD! NO WAY!"

She launches herself, hugging against the side of the entity causing it to shake.

?? Would thou mind getting off?

Sarah "Err... what?"

This voice is hers? Sarah gets off. It turns and forms into Sarah's face wearing a... monocle?

Sarah "Wait, what the heck is that stupid shit?"

?? Oh my dear, Sarah. This item isn't one of idiocy, it's a symbol to signify one esteemed individual.

Turned off by this, she slowly walks away.

Sarah "Wh-What the fuck are you-"

She trips into one of the holes. Luckily one of the creature's tendrils catches and pulls her back up.

Sarah "Oh... err... thanks for saving my life."

?? No problem, darling. Oh, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Sarah Charlotte Lioness. I'm thy truest desire.

Sarah "Really, my truest desire is to be half modern half Shakespearian Eldritch. Well, fuck it! What am I doing here exactly?!"

Sarah "As thou know my dear Sarah, thou are in the trial of reality. To leave this cage, thou must proceed with my queries. Ten thou must succeed, all of which canter to history."

Sarah "Well, fuck. How many tries do I have?!"

Sarah "Thou hast as many attempts as thou wanteth and there's no string with time."

Sarah "Okay then I just need to answer questions correctly! Lay it on me!"

Sarah "Very well. Before we proceed, thou must know that each question answered will grow in difficulty."

Sarah "Alright, I get it! Just get on with it!

Sarah "What was the cause of World War 2?"

Sarah "What the hell?! There were a lot of major causes! Is this seriously the first question!"

Sarah "Do thou want to switch to a new one?"

Sarah "No, let me think! Was it the impact of The Treaty of Versailles after World War 1?"

Sarah "Wrong answer. New question. Who created the book called "Republic"?"

Sarah "Wow, this one is easy! It's Plato!"

Sarah "Wrong answer. New-"

Sarah "Hold on! How?! Wait... are you fucking telling me that I have to give super specific answers like his real name and shit!"

Sarah "Yes. New question. What's the queen of England's full name?"

Sarah "Ummm... Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windser?"

Sarah "Wrong answer."

Sarah "Fuck! Are you serious?! What when wrong there?!"

Sarah "It's Windsor, not Winser, my dear Sarah. Anyway, new question. Who created the "Kaaba"?"

Sarah "Isn't it that the shrine Islamic people worship?"

Sarah "Yes."

Sarah "Ah-ha! Now I know the answer! It's Ibrahim! He created the shrine!"

Sarah "Wrong. It's Ibrahim and his son, Ismail."

Sarah "Fucking shit! Ok, next question!"

Sarah "What are The Ten Commandments?"

Sarah "Ummm... I am the lord your god: you shall not have strange gods before me. You shall not take the name of the lord your god in vain. Remember to keep holy the lord's day. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods... Right?"

Sarah "Wrong answer."

Sarah "FUCK!"

Sarah "Thou has forgotten to emphasize some words. Next question..."

......

Sarah "Fucking hell! It's been two hours! I haven't even answered one correctly!"

In a fit of rage, Sarah throws her weapon at the wall and it hits one of the bump spots. It falls off and moves to fill a hole on the floor.

Sarah "What? No... it can't be! You can't be serious!"

She picks up her weapon and begins hitting them all. Soon the entire floor is rid of holes.

Sarah "Congratulations! Thou has passed."

Sarah "ARE... YOU... FUCKING KIDDING ME?! WHAT'S THE POINT OF ALL THE QUESTIONS?"

Sarah "Oh, it seems thou has yet to realize the purpose of thy trial."

Sarah "What do you mean?!"

Sarah "It is to fix thy current reality through facing a distorted adversary of thy desire."

Sarah "Errr... I don't get it."

Sarah "Thou asked too many questions. It can lead to thy downfall."

Sarah "Oh...Oh, I get it now. So this is how it feels to be on the opposite end, huh. Gonna be honest, this sucks! I'll keep my questions to myself from now on."

Sarah "Marvelous. Now. Please wait for thy comrades to finish."

Sarah sits down and watches as her double disappears, filling up the large hole.

___________________________________________________

Dave "What is this shit, dude?"

The Aspect of Form walks around from the four corners of a red room. Waiting for something to happen.

A humanoid figure manifests in the center of the room.

Dave holds up his bat, but as soon as he sees the figure, he puts it away.

Dave "Ayo, you're me!"

Dave "Yep, dude. I'm you, bro."

Dave "Aw man, this is fucking sick! Wait... I'm not gonna have to fight you, am I?"

Dave "Nah, this whole trial or whatever it is about facing your desire or some shit to fix your mentality. But Dude, I'm just here to tell you that you're fine as you are."

Dave "So, I don't have to do shit, bro."

Dave "Yep, that's right, bro. I'm about to head out. Anything you want to do?"

Dave "Oh, you KNOW what I want to do."

They move closer to each other and then...

Dave/Dave "On three. One... Two... Three!"

They give each other a firm handshake, followed by a passionate high five, and end with a climactic fist bump.

Other Dave smiles and disappears. Dave holds back his tears.

___________________________________________________

Meanwhile, Diana is...

Diana "Fuck! What do mean by sin?! What did I do?! "

She looks heavily injured and looks like she's running from someone. It's herself... but in a jury outfit.

Diana Repent, hypocrite. You are unfit for being the enforcer of the law.

Diana "Dammit, how is she sliding across the floor."

Diana REPENT!

Her clone delivers a massive punch to her liver.

Diana presses her lower torso as hard as she could to ease the pain. Her eyes begin to fill with anger before delivering a similar punch to punch.

But her counterattack fails, and the clone punches her face into the wall.

Diana "Ok. OK! I'll repent! Just tell me what I did wrong!"

Diana "Good! Don't be a dick all the time. Learn to have fun. Balance the two and that way you'll have true order."

Diana "Oh... I... never thought it that way."

Diana "I'll be going away now. I can tell that you've learned your lesson"

Diana "Wait, before you go. Tell me. How did you slide on the floor?"

Diana "Well, I have an amplified version of your ability. But let me tell you this... you can do it too with a bit of effort. Try decreasing the friction between your feet and the ground."

Diana "Okay, got it."

Diana gives a thumb up and her clone returns the same gesture before disappearing into thin air.

___________________________________________________

Azan "What are you?!"

Azan "I'm you but better. I'm what you always wanted to be. In charge of everything."

Azan "No, it would never be this arrogant and prideful. It's against my father's teachings. YOU ARE A FAKE DESIRE."

Azan "Aw, you wound me. What are you gonna do about it? Fight me! I'm sure dad would be proud."

Azan "DON'T TALK ABOUT MY DAD!"

Azan charges forward at full speed and punches his doubleganger's face.

Azan "What?!- NOOO!!!"

In his horror, he sees disfigured face of a friend.

Azan "Mina... what... this can't be! FUCK!"

Azan Do you understand now?

Azan jumps back and sees that the clone's face revert to normal.

Azan "Huh?! Y-You tricked me!"

Azan "You still don't get it. DON'T YOU!"

Azan "The hell are you trying to say?!"

Azan "You know what screw this. It's been five hours, you are too stubborn. I don't wanna help someone whose entire reality is completely warped around his father!"

Azan "Hold on! What?! Wait, were you trying to teach me something?"

Azan "Yes, but I had enough! Goodbye!"

Azan "Wait! Dammit! He's gone." "Was he... trying to tell me... t-that I'm too obsessive about my father? What is the lesson exactly?! I did choose to go on this journey for my dad. But now... I don't know what to think. FUCK!....."

___________________________________________________

It's been several hours, the constant silence is getting to her, and being in this white room isn't helping at all

Amelia "Oh bloody hell! Will something happen already!"

Her request is once again answered with silence.

Amelia "Ok, I'm stuck here. What a bother. Well, since I got nothing to go do, might as well talk. Right, Amber?"

?? Sure. But I prefer my way of talking.

The room grows dark.

Amelia sees a distortion forming from behind her.

She dodges.

Amelia "What the bloody hell?! Woah, are yo- Am... Amber?!"

The giant messy-dressed badass with orange hair stands before Amelia. The figure gives her a devilish smile.

Amber "Did you scare you, Amelia?! Wait a second... Oh shit! I fucking messed up! Sneak attacking was a bit cowardly of me."

Amelia "How are you here? You're not in my head anymore? Is it because of this place?!"

Amber "Jeeeeesuuuussss, what with all the fucking questions! Fine! I'll keep it short, no vague bullshit. I want you to stop being a passive coward and learn to fight like a real warrior!"

She comes closer and a parade of punches moves toward Amelia. She runs and activates |2. Blurring mira-

Amelia "ARGH!" "How?! Did it not work?!"

Amber landed a heavy thrust, shooting Amelia's body toward the wall, pulverizing her lower ribcage and back.

She begins to cough out blood, and her body falls to the floor, devoid of motion.

Amber steps on her head.

Amber "YOU FUCKING IDIOT! WHY DID YOU RUN?! WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT YOURSELF! Jeez, this won't fucking do! I'm resetting the battle!"

Amelia opens her eye again. This is... this is the beginning.

Amelia "Why am I... No! Wait!"

Amelia dodges Amber's initial assault. She then immediately pulls up her pan and knife, attempting the block the waves of punches.

Amber "Good! At least, you didn't run this time. However, you're blocking skills FUCKING SUCKS!"

Amber overwhelms the poor girl, leaving bruising all over her body and breaking all her bones. She couldn't even scream.

Amber ~sigh~

Amber "You fucking serious! Damn, you're useless without your powers! This is gonna take a fucking while. Round 3, it is!"

Amelia wakes up again.

Amelia "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?! IT BLOODY HURTS!"

Amber "Seriously stop whining already..."

Amelia manages to block Amber's initial hit.

Amber "Listen... in the fucking future, you'll fight and fight. You'll meet opponents that will do even worse things to you! And are you expecting everyone to endure that torment instead of you?! Damn, that sure is selfish of you!"

Amelia "I...AM... NOT...SELFISH!"

Amelia headbutts Amber.

For a moment, the room flashes a blinding white.

Amber "That... was... fucking... AMAZING! That is how you do it!"

Excited with the result, Amber throws out a barrage of punches, increasing in speed.

Amber "Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome Awesome! AWESOME!"

Amelia blocked some of the hits, but ultimately it was too much and she collapsed. This time, she only has bruises.

Amber "Great, we're making progress! Let's do this again!"

They proceed to repeat the process for a very long time. Eventually, she...

Amelia "I... finally... block... a-all of t-them."

Amber "Good job. You even block my thrust. But the real lesson has fucking begun!"

Amelia "Ok, I'm fucking ready! Give your bloody best shot!"

Amber "Woah, even your vocab improved. Gonna warn you though, so far it is just to improve your reflexes. Let's see if you could use them!"

Amelia "What?!"

Amber aims for her head.

She blocks it.

Amber smiles and tosses a kick to her hip.

She grinds her teeth and gives Amber a spiteful stare.

Amber "Oh come on now. You could have dodged that. This is Lesson One in one-to-one combat, look for open space."

Amelia remains silent, Her mind focuses on her weapons, gripping them tightly into a defensive stance.

Amber "Ooooh, good timing! Time for lesson 2!"

Amelia sees that she is going for a kick and prepares to dodge. But then-

Amber " Wrong move!"

Amber slides underneath and gets behind her delivering a power jab right through Amelia's back.

Amber "Oh shit! Too much power! Aw man, I killed her! Now I have to reset again. FUCK!"

Amelia wakes up.

Amelia "No! Are we starting over again?!"

Amber "Huh? This is a surprise. You're not traumatized from death?"

Amelia "I already fucking felt like I was dying when I fought you earlier."

Amber "Good. This is good! Let's keep going!"

They repeat and repeat. Amelia made unbelievable progress. And soon...

Amber "Hah... I gonna say I'm a bit fucking nervous right now. You flawlessly blocked all that. Your fucking hands and feet moved like a machine."

Amelia "What's bloody next? Beep-boop."

Amber "Haha, very funny! But seriously though, let's move on with attacking. Come on... Hit me!"

Amelia swings her knife against Amber's abs.

Amber "Is this... SERIOUSLY ALL YOU GOT?!"

Amber tries to uppercut but Amelia blocks it.

Amelia "Sorry, I'm not fucking used to attacking."

Amber "I see. All you need is a fucking fighting style. Seeing your weapons... your pan is wide enough to sometime block and it can get used as a blunt weapon. Your knife is too fucking short, you should use it like a dagger. Here like this."

Amber repositions the knife, Amelia now holds it upsidedown with the sharp part of the blade facing outward.

Amber "Ok, only used the knife for attacks of opportunity like sneak attacks or when you see an opening. Don't fuckin fight them head-on like with a sword. Also, you can use it to wear down your enemies by leaving cuts and it can also be used to deliver a finishing blow."

Amelia "What about this bloody pan?"

Amber "You can combo it. When fighting a greater opponent, try to only block with the pan and attack with your knife only if you see an opening. It can also be used to be a deception tool to switch into your knife. On the Offensive, you can use the pan to knock out weaker opponents instead of killing them."

Amelia "I... I don't think I could do any of that."

Amber "That's why I'm here. You're fighting one tough motherfucker. So enough fucking chit-chat! Let's go!"

The two opposites battle for hours. In the end, there's only a bright white room. One of the corners is splattered with blood.

Here lies Amber. Her body was chopped into pieces and her innards spilled out everywhere.

Amber "You... fucking... psychopath. YOU FUCKING MADE ME PROUD! HAHAHAHAHA!"

Amelia "Ah... ha... hahahahaha! I finally bloody did it!"

Amber "Congratulations, Amelia. You are kinda like me, well physically that is. You no longer have to become like me anymore. Heck if anyone sees you right now, they would say that you are pretty cool."

Amelia "Thanks... Amber... What happens after this? What will happen to you"

Amber "Who knows. Who cares. I'll be dust in the wind, goin- Eh... wait. Are you crying?!"

Amelia "Yeah... I'm sorry. I'm not being a pussy. It's just that it's like losing a friend and mentor at the same time."

Amber chuckles.

Amber "This is it. That is how life is. Goodbye, I guess... wait. Before I go, can insult me with the most vicious words possible. Don't ask why. Just do it."

Amelia "Ok... YOU STUPID FUCKING DEMENTED GIANT GORILLA. I WISHED YOU NEVER FUCKING EXISTED AND IF I SEE YOU AGAIN, I'LL SLIT YOUR BLOODY THROAT AND PULL OUT YOUR INTESTINES AND SHOVE IT BACK INTO YOUR ASSHOLE!.... There, happy."

Amber "....Errrr... wow that's... Umm, I think I taught you too much. Jesus Christ, I feel bad for Dave."

And with that, she's gone and replaced with a flash of light.

(To be continued)