... Noah steps in with his open eyes, but it was pointless. There's nothing but an infinite field of darkness in every direction he looks. He crosses his arm, desperate for comfort, as he traverses the unknowable landscape. Still, there is nothing... after a few miles deep, Noah gives up and stands there, refusing the concept of moving. Then something catches his attention. Far off in a straight line, there is a shining green light similar to a star twinkling in the night sky. But unlike a star, this thing looks reachable, Noah can feel it in his guts and runs towards it. Getting closer, he is surprised to see that it is a floating green panel.

Noah "Huh, what is this? Is this thing dangerous? No! Noah, you have to be brave! Push forward and finish this trial. Everyone is counting on me!"

He puts his hand out and moves one step at a time... his hand, a hair length away... Contact is made but nothing happens. Noah sighs and puts his face closer to it. There is a line of text. It reads: |Hello, Wielder of Emotion. You are the first ever of your kind to ever made it this far. How brave! How courageous of you to willingly plunge yourself into the maw of the Inferno Tower! But not fret. As there is no fire... Well sort of. Anyway, this tower is going to test you against the eight emotive spectra. Do have what it takes to conquer Emotion itself? Yes/No|

Noah "Well, I have gone this far. Might as well proceed. But... This could be a trap... no.... umm... maybe... Fuck! I don't know! Okay, think about the other trials. All of them started off peaceful. Maybe this will as well. Okay, it's worth a shot!"

Noah presses Yes. The letters swirl into the center of the panel before forming a smiling emoji and the entire object vanishes. Startled by this, Noah runs away but ends up in a strange place. It is a long narrow corridor stretching into what Noah assumes to be a blank yellow room. Noah sniffs the air and the scent of bacon and maple syrup enters his nose. But this aroma is eerily familiar... he begins walking forward. He lets his right hand slide along the purple wall. The texture is jelly-like but not easy to pierce or destroy. Noah looks at the ground, it is just purple-

Noah "What the hell?! Why?! how?! This path... why is it here?!"

He stumbled to the ground and retreated. Noah leans against the wall for a few minutes to see if anything changes. Seeing there are none, he continues his pursuit of the room on the other end. Then he hears a feminine voice...

?? "Oh, dear. You are such a sweet bear you know that. I mean look at that fluffy beard. Maybe one-day little Nowee will have one as well."

?? "Yes, honey. Our boy will have a more magnificent beard. Say! His birthday is coming up! Isn't it?!..."

Noah pokes his head into the room and sees the two individuals. Stunned by their appearance, He doesn't notice the room changing into a cabin-like setting. The walls are made of spruce logs and the floors are made of spruce planks. The two figures are sitting on a sofa and there is even a fireplace in front of them. Noah notices a picture frame hung up above the roaring fire. He goes over and picks it over. The picture is foggy... and he rubs it.

Noah " This is... is our old photo... D-Dad... M-Mom. Mom! Dad! Oh my god!"

Noah jump-tackles the giant man sitting on the sofa, his smile radiates a yellow aura, causing the large man to smile as well. The man stands up and holds up his son, his wife claps as the man carries the young man on his back across the room.

Dad "Oh ho, where have you been?! Your mom and I haven't seen you in ages!"

Noah "Well, I was- Wait... Dad. I thought you said that Mom was dead."

Mom "Dead? Don't be ridiculous. Little Nowee. I have always been alive. You must have gone on some strange adventures while you were away. But it's okay now! You are safe here. At home."

Noah "At home... no. This isn't right! Wait, why am I here?! Where is the yellow room?!"

That is when it dawns on him. This person in front of him could never be his mother because he remembers that one fateful day. There was a forest fire and his family was out camping unaware of the danger. Noah was stuck on a pile of fallen branches... he was too weak to get out of it. His mother used her will and all her strength to pull him out at the cost of her life. Noah takes out his ax, jumps off the man's back, and lands near the fireplace.

Mom "Aww, dear. I think little Nowee is a bit grumpy. Come here, let mommy give you a big old hug."

Her hands approach and he cuts them off without a single shred of guilt. But she keeps moving forward and hugs him. Under his mask, he can feel his mouth twitching and stretching to make a smile. He shakes her off and runs far away from her and his father. His father looks at him with a wide grin.

Da "Honey. I think you are right. Let's give him a hug. Naughty little children love hugs. Come here, sport."

Noah tries to chop his board arms but his ax only made shallow cuts. He sees his mother coming from the right and he dodges causing her to fall over. He chops both of her legs off but his father catches him in a hold.

Noah "Fucking shit! Let me go! You damn imposter!"

Dad "But Noah. Remember before you left for your adventure. I said that I got an important meeting! This is what I meant!"

Noah "You mean to tell me that Mom was alive this whole time! Why didn't you just tell me outright instead of keeping it all a secret?!"

Dad "Well that's be-be-becau- Remember before you left for your adventure. I said that I got an important meeting! This is what I meant."

His father switches the grab into a hug. Noah can feel his flesh ripping trying to extend his smile even wider. He looks at the imposter who thinks that it is his father. Those eyes and that beard are just too alike.

Noah "How dare you... HOW DARE YOU TRY TO IMITATE THE TWO GREATEST PEOPLE IN MY LIFE! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

His body burns a whole basket of hatred, scorching the imposter. He drives his ax into the creature's face and begins hacking it over and over until there's nothing left but a burnt and broken corpse. Something brushes his feet. Noah looks down to see his mother's face smiling yet also crying. For a moment, he almost gave in... but then he feels his smile getting bigger. He lifts his ax high up...

Noah "I'm so sorry. But you are not my mother. She died... a long time ago. But she was proud of what she did to save a life. Not just any life but the life of her only son. It was my life and I won't forgive anyone who tries to mimic her!!!"

SPLASH. A burst of blood covers the room and puts out the fire. Noah notices that there's a tunnel behind the fireplace and so he crawls in. The space looks cramp but manageable. Noah enters it and finds that the interior is made of metal but then halfway through, it turns into dirt. He reaches the exit and enters a grassy field. On the far side of the room, there is another field but the grass looks dead and there is a one-sided door made of bronze that resides on the wall. However, there is also a massive lake separating him from the goal. He runs to the water...

Noah "Okay all I have to do is swim across and open the door. That sounds easy! Let me just-

On his left, he sees... A wedding? There is a girl there wearing a white dress. Noah shakes his head and focuses on his feet, taking off his boots. But there's this nagging feeling, a strong pull of curiosity. He gives in and puts back on his boots. Noah walks closer and sees a priest there as well. And-

Noah "What the?! Why do I have a suit?! Okay, this is weird! I'm leaving!"

?? "Are you sure you want to do that, Noah? I thought you weren't a wuss. Well, I guess I was wrong."

This voice. It can't be. He turns around and sprints toward the bride. He then walks around her before lifting the veil of her gown.

Noah "No.... there's no fucking way! Sarah! Why are you here?! Wait, a minute! This is part of the trial! You are not real!"

Sarah "Sure. You can say it that way. But think for a moment, this is an opportunity of a lifetime. Who knows maybe you would never have something like this in the real world. Noah, I am your dream. Your everything."

Noah clenches his fists. She right. Her words lingered the truth that there's a chance that something like this could never happen in the real world. He thinks that perhaps he isn't her type and she might fall in love with someone else in the future. But in this trial, this Sarah is what he always wanted. No work is needed and just skip right to the end. Sarah comes close and hugs him.

Sarah "Let me seal it for you. Here have this... you know what to do next."

Noah sees a small black box and opens it. A blood diamond ring is resting inside and he smiles a bit. He takes it out and puts it onto her finger.

Sarah "Now, Let's kiss."

She leans close to his lips and he blocks it with his hand. Sarah can see the doubt in his eyes and grins. She begins pulling him away to a strange pink house further to the left of the room. He tries to break out but her grip is abnormally strong. He begins to sweat...

Noah "Where are you taking me? What are you going to do?"

Sarah "Since you won't give me your lips then that means I just need to entice you. I promise... you are gonna love it."

Noah gulps and looks at the bronze door. His eyes widen to see that it is shrinking. He throws a punch to the back of her head but she doesn't even flinch. They both go inside the house which is just a big pink room with a heart-shaped bed. He hears the sound of clothes shaking off and looks at her. He blushes and tries to cover his eyes under his mask but he can't reach in. Sarah is standing there wearing fishnets, black lingerie, and red heels. However, his embarrassment didn't last long, instead, it turns into anger.

Noah "No. Sarah would never in her god damn mind wear something like that! For an imitator, you are pretty bad. For a slanderer, I say that you are grade A! And besides... I'm not a stranger when it comes to sexual stuff!"

His ax glows red and hacks open the wall. He begins running and jumps into the river. He can hear loud splashes of water following as he soars through the lake. It is fake Sarah but she looks devilish and the bottom half of her body is made of a fishtail. He thought that these types of creatures only existed in fairytales. They are known as Sirens!

Noah "Shit! She is coming closer! Fuck! Think! Wait... maybe that can work!"

Noah takes out his chainsaw and puts it just above the water. He turns it on and tries to repel himself using it like a rotor but it doesn't seem to work. He then notices a button on the weapon and presses it. The head of the chainsaw turns and spins like a wheel, shooting him onto the other side. Noah grabs the grass under him in the victory and stands up. The siren gives up and dives into the depths of the lake. Noah runs to the bronze door. His hand touches the knob and the shrinking process pauses.

Noah "Oh! Thank fucking god! Just made it! Please. Please! Let the next one be normal! I'm sick of this imposter shit!"

He twists it and crouches into... his bedroom? It has a single difference. On one of the walls, letters are spelled out, "Please, relax for now. The next challenge will begin in ten minutes.". He finds the set of words to be lacking in trust and so he sits on the floor. He watches as the digits on the timer collapse to zero... Click. Noah stands up and looks around. It's odd, nothing has changed. He looks at the door he came from and sees that the knob is now made of glass.

Noah "Here we go. Shit. Each room seems to fucking have an emotional theme to it. The first one, I think was happiness. And the second is probably, Love. The next would be... Fuck! I don't know! I just... hope it doesn't involve mimicking someone I know."

Noah opens the door and enters. The floor feels off... he concentrates his sight and peers through the darkness of the room. Only to see that the floor is made of glass tiles and right under it is a vast black abyss. Suddenly, rows of rectangular lights up. He looks at the walls and ceiling. There are tv screens everywhere, just playing nothing but static. On the wall across from him, the screens' static is pouring onto the floor. The mass forms a small ball and it looks at Noah. Its body protrudes and forms an identical copy of himself. There's one difference, a small blue triangle rests on the middle of his clone's white mask.

Noah "Oh shit. Seriously! I have to fight myself now! Fine... if Amelia could do it, then so I can I!"

Noah holds his ax to the right side of his body and charges forward. The clone pulls an ax out of its triangle. It holds the glass weapon high and runs toward Noah. The blade of their axes collide. The two push against each other with no side having the upper hand. The panels in the background all display a word that is crossed out before disappearing. The clone's ax grows thrice the size and breaks through Noah's guard. The clone swings the ax at Noah's chest but it is deflected and cuts the underside of Noah's lower right arm. Feeling that he lost control of his arm, Noah retreats and the clone copies him.

Noah "Shit. What the hell happen?! We were in a tie a couple of minutes ago. Maybe I was too distracted. No! Something happened! I'm sure of it! Okay, time for a different attack. First, I need to heal this wound. Man, not feeling pain is good and is also kinda shit. I need to be careful. I could die if I don't pay attention to my wounds."

Noah puts his ax into his inventory. He takes out a bandage and patches up the minor wound. He puts up his hands and starts punching the air. His eyes glance to his twin who is doing the same. Noah walks to him and delivers an uppercut. Two uppercuts... one broken jaw. Noah jumps back and puts his hand right under his chin.

Noah "Again?! Why was his punch stronger so much stronger?! That's it! I'm bringing out the chainsaw!"

He ribs a part of his shirt and ties it around his jaw. Noah plunges his hand into his inventory and pulls out a chainsaw. His clone kneels and reaches its hand into the glass floor. From its transparent depths, a glass chainsaw rises. Noah can't help but clap, who knew that such a thing could exist. They eye each other and pull on the triggers. The room shakes from the weapons' loud engines. They collide and both of the weapons break into pieces. The clone picks up the glass chain and whips out a chunk of flesh from both of Noah's feet.

Noah "You can do that! Fuck you!"

Noah picks up the sharp chain of his broken weapon, pricking himself as he stores it in his inventory. Noah takes out two syringes, he injects one into the side of his jaw and the other one restores his feet. Noah sits down and contemplates his options. Then he looks down. There's a giant eyeball that is rising from the void. Noah stands up and panics, shaking one of the tv screens.

Noah "Come on. You have to do something. There must be a reason for you to be here. Come on! Just tell me... the goddamn answer."

Despite his attempts, the screen shows no response. While holding onto the screen, his head turns to his clone and sees that he isn't copying him. Noah smiles, a idea has ridden itself into his mind. He takes out his ax and swings at the screen. However, There was barely a scratch from his attack.

Noah "Well, fuck. Now, what do I do?! Ummm... maybe if I."

Noah tosses his ax at his clone. The clone didn't move and the ax cuts deep into its chest. Noah now notices that the screens are displaying the word "Hesitation" being crossed out and then fading away.

Noah "Ha...Haha... AHHAAHHAHAHAHHA! Holy shit! I get it now! So that's what this is about! This room is testing my confidence! Isn't it?! Fuck, you must have had it really easy being an emotionless fucking clone. Well, you aren't going to like what's going to happen next."

Noah puts his hands into the pocket of his hoodie and casually walks up to his clone. He pulls his ax out and attacks it. The clone blocks it, but instead of pushing forward, Noah falls to the ground. From the clone's perspective, Noah appears to be shaking. He isn't even holding his ax correctly. The clone chops down, but its attack is blocked. Noah pushes against his opponent as he stands up. The clone's body slides backward until it is leaning against one of the tv screens. Noah under his mask smiles and with his unused hand, he breaks the glass ax into pieces.

Noah "Game over. You fucking freak!"

He decapitates the mimic's head. It along with the rest of its body sticks onto one of the screens. Noah watches the frame of the tv expand into a door-like shape. The static turns into smooth black and white swirls. Noah looks down and sees the giant eyeball has appeared. This makes him a bit nervous but after defeating such a powerful foe, his mind eases, and he steps into the doorway. Noah slips down a long slide and into the bottom of a large ball pit. He swims to the surface and crawls out. The place looks like a giant play space having both aspects of indoor and outdoor playgrounds like a sand pit being near the ball pit.

Noah "Okay. This looks nice. Man, I wished mom and dad took me to this sort of playground. They only took me to carnivals which didn't feel the same."

Noah feels a jolt of excitement and his body glows a yellow aura. He bolts to the monkey bars and does it with ease. He then goes on the swings and tosses himself onto a climbing wall. Reaching the top, Noah finds a strange round potion bottle. Inside the container has a clear yellow liquid with red specks that look like glitter.

Noah "If Kanji was here, he would say no to drinking this. But I don't see anything in this room that can help me escape. I might as well try it."

He pops open the cork and drinks the liquid. His stomach growls and he falls asleep. Soon his body is awakened by a sound of a jack box playing throughout the room. Something feels weird, he looks from right to left. Then he looks down... are these his legs... his arms are so small...

Noah "What the fuck?! I'm a kid again! Shit! Wait... what's that thing down there?"

A slim and tall jester-looking creature spins and skips along the sections of the room in a playful rhythm. It seems to be looking for someone. Noah opens his inventory and tries to take out his ax but it is too heavy. He pushes it back in and looks back down. The jester is missing.

?? "Hello. Hello. Hello! Little boy, you want to play. I got games. Games! Games!!! Oh, what games shall we play today?"

Noah "Ummm... are you evil? Where are my parents? I'm scared! I want to get down!" "Please, buy this act! Please, just buy it."

?? "Evil. HAHAHA! No, silly boy! I just want to play some games. Some excitement! Yippee!... Oh, I see. You missed your parents. Not to worry! They will be here soon! I'm sure of it as my name is Jester o' Jester. So lets us play some games while we wait! Games. Games! Games!!"

Noah "Okay, I can play some games. But can I get down please?"

Jester o' Jester spins around and gives little Noah a thumbs up. He wraps his long arms around Noah and gently brings him down to the floor.

Noah "Okay, what game should we play?" "Maybe this guy isn't so bad. Maybe the point of this room is to have fun."

Jester "Yes. YESS!!! That's the spirit! Oh, what fun! Let's play. Play! The sand castle game it shall be. Little boy! Are you ready?!"

Noah puts his hands in the air, his body glows yellow and The Jester smiles. It grabs Noah and its long legs spin in a circle like a cartoon character. It rushes to the sand pit. Noah puts his little hands into the sand- He hears the sound of a bucket. He looks at the Jester who puts down a yellow plastic bucket and Noah takes a look inside. He nearly pukes seeing that it is filled with organs and all sorts of body parts.

Jester "Aha! Got you good! Oh, I love twists! Twist! Twist!! Twist!!! Well now, let's make a bloody sand castle! Shall we?!"

Noah nods and with no other choice, he grabs out all the eyeballs. He puts them aside and builds his castle. Jesters see that Noah isn't showing any yellow and so Jester pokes his mask with its bloody finger.

Jester "Why no yellow? My fellow. Are telling me that this is no fun?! NO FUN AT ALL!"

His words stunned Noah... he sits there frightened not knowing what the Jester would do to him. He swallows the remainder of his resolves and imagines the body parts belong to someone he hates. His mind wanders to what happened earlier before entering this tower. He imagines that he is holding that cultist's eyeballs and smiles. His body shines as he puts his eyes on the towers of his sand castle.

Jester "Bravo. Bravo! You win! Awesome! Okay. Next game! Next game! Let's play! Rock Paper Scissors!"

Noah sees the Jester putting down six severed hands forming two rocks, two papers, and two scissors. Noah takes a deep breath and imagines the arms belonging to the other cultists. The one that represents scissors belongs to the one that defeated Sarah. Noah smiles even more under his mask. His yellow aura turns orange and forms tendrils making The Jester nervous.

Noah "What's wrong? Let's play!"

Jester "Ummm... you may want to slow down there, bud. Too much excitement-

Noah "I thought you want to play games. Come on! Throw your hand! LET US PLAY! PLAY!! PLAY!!!"

Jester "I-I-I-I d-d-d-d-d-don't w-w-want to play-

His body explodes into a pile of glitter. Noah walks over and searches through the pile. He finds a green slimy key. He tries to wipe the slime off but the key keeps producing it. Noah searches around the room and finds nothing.

Noah "Okay. Just where is the entrance to the next room?! Wait a minute! That Jester of all the play space in this room. Why did he choose the sand pit first? Why? Maybe..."

Noah runs to the sand pit and begins digging out the sand by hand. He uncovers a hatch made of green wooden planks and has a lock on it. He puts the key in and enters down the hatch into his bedroom again. The same words are written on the wall. This time he feels confident and rests his body on the bed.

(To be continued)