We ventured deep into the skull of the Giant, and I was able to see the workshop more extensively. I saw countless dwarves hammering away at hot metal, and shaping the material as if it was play-do. The dwarves were making lethal weapons such as swords and axes, but they also made common tools, like chisels and spoons.
The two dwarves guided me to the far back of the shop, and I saw an office with a thick oak door carved into the skull of the Giant. I saw a name plate above the door, but it was in a foreign language. Thankfully, the game's subtitles told me what it was in English.
[Meikal Garnad]
It seemed to be the name of the dwarf who owned this workshop.
"Your boss is behind this door, right?"
[He is,] one of the dwarves said. [Usually, he's taking a break right now, but... he'll make time for you if we show you how much money you have. Our shop is still new, so we can use all of the investment we can get.]
"I'll be happy to do business with you."
[Great to hear.]
The dwarf knocked on the door. I heard a voice speak out, but it wasn't in the dwarven language. It was in a language I understood.
[South Korean?]
"Yes?"
[Hello, sir, we have a customer who wishes to see you. He wants our best weapon. He seeks to fight the Red-Blader.]
"Bah, turn him away then. All of those people are fools who are blinded by glory and vengeance."
[Sir. How do I say this respectfully... ah, screw it. Sir, he's really rich. He has enough wealth to cover the expenses for your project.]
The door immediately opened, and I was even more surprised who I saw. It was a human, instead of a dwarf. He looked as equally gruff as the dwarves. This was Meikal Garnad?
"Is this the customer?"
[Yes, sir.]
"Show me how much he has."
The dwarf showed Meikal the diamonds in his hand.
"This is quite a lot, but not enough for the project I'm working on," he said.
In response, I pulled out more jewels and valuable minerals. Platinum, jade, emerald, iron, gold, so on and so forth. Meikal's eyes shone brightly as he looked at the wealth I possessed. After a few minutes of standing in complete silence, he finally spoke.
"Alright then. I will show you the project. I can't guarantee it will be the best though, so don't get your hopes up. It's only a prototype."
"I would love to see it," I said eagerly.
"C'mon in. You two, go back to work."
The dwarves bowed their heads and said, "Yes, sir."
Meikal walked into his office and I followed.
"Have a seat," he said.
I sat in a comfortable chair, and waited patiently. I didn't want to be rude and rush him, so I decided to manipulate my POV and look at the environment. He had a wooden desk, which appeared to be made from mahogany wood. He had metal artwork hung onto the walls, and weapons as well. Each one was artfully made; they had delicate swirls carved in, and had golden inlays that were set into patterns. This man was an artisan.
(I think I can trust him.)
Meikal pulled something from his desk. It was cylindrical, and was made from a dark metal.
"Here it is," Meikal said.
He placed it on the desk.
(What is this?)
I was a little skeptical, and voiced my concern.
"This is the best weapon you have? What does it do?"
Meikal grabbed the cylinder, and aimed one end towards the wall. He pushed the button and-
-!!Pssshhew!!-
I sat in amazement. The cylinder.... it was a lightsaber. The entire room was bathed in red light. I was afraid Meikal would strike me down, but he quickly deactivated the blade. The red blade retracted into it's hilt.
"It is only a prototype. I don't know how the Red-Blader made his sword, but I've had theories. This is just a poor imitation."
"No! This is great! How does it work?"
"Well, the heat is adjustable. We use a mana crystal at the center, which generates the heat. The mana crystal that encases the heat is a mixture of malleable crystals, which are mixed with tungsten. The crystal-encasing is controlled by electro-magnetics. The max heat for this device is 3000 degrees Celsius."
"That can cut through steel mixed with molybdenum!"
"It can. I speculated on this weapon for months, and I invested so much money into making it. I was thinking of selling it to a king, but...."
Meikal looked at me.
"I'll give this to you right now. Under a few conditions."
"What? Really?"
"Of course. I've been planning to sell this blade for awhile. The thing is, though, I do not want to be responsible of creating another monster like the Red-Blader."
"I understand."
I didn't understand at all. Usually, NPCs would just sell you something unconditionally. It was weird that he was asking me questions. Perhaps it was a morality test.
"I've spent my entire fortune on this weapon, and the fortune of my company as well. I emptied the coffers of Twilight's Fall completely to make this. This weapon is beyond powerful, and beyond valuable. What makes you think you can simply take this blade?"
How could I be honest?
"Sir, I truthfully don't know. What do you wish for me to do?"
"That is something I want to know as well. Show me your strength as a warrior."
I pondered his question and quickly answered, "There is a snake in the grand castle far from here. I can kill it, and bring you it's leather. You can turn it to anything you want, a scabbard, a purse, or a backpack."
"I've never heard of this castle."
"Only I know where it is. The snake there is quite large, so you can use it create leather quite easily."
Meikal nodded.
"Why do you want to fight the Red-Blader?"
"Because he is a monster," I said with dread.
"Why do you think that?"
"Because I know myself too well."
This question would confuse Meikal. It wasn't an answer to his question, but it was an answer to mine.
"Look, I'm not some idiot who cares about the villages, or glory. I just want to kill the Red-Blader."
I stared at the diamonds on the table.
"Look at that as the down payment."
***
I ventured to the castle, and faced the snake once again. I killed it, and climbed back to the surface world to meet with Meikal. I showed him my handiwork.
"Here it is."
I was feeling quite surly. It took me thirty minutes to kill the snake, and travel back to the entrance point to get back out.
"The skin is beautiful," Meikal commented.
"Will this be enough proof?"
"It's enough proof of your ability. It's not proof of your intentions."
"Why do you care so much about my intentions?"
"Because someone's intentions say a lot about there character. Why do you wish to fight the Red-Blader."
[Constellation "Egyptian Thought" wishes to know your answer.]
(Frick. The Constellations are still here.)
I couldn't lie to the Mind Game. It was probably pointless to due so.
"Because I hate the Red-Blader."
"I thought you didn't want vengeance. I thought you were different."
"I don't care what he did to the villages," I said with honesty. "I seek to fight him because... because he is simply a monster."
"Y'know, rumors are just that: rumors. You can't know the full story."
"Oh, but I do."
I knew myself quite well. I was the type of person who would enslave villagers in Minecraft. I was the most negative person I knew, and I hated humans. If that was reflected in the Mind Game, then this NPC Ethan would be quite the monster.
"Assuming is the most dangerous thing to do in life."
"You are quite wise, Meikal. I do not seek to kill the Red-Blader outright. I wish to ask questions, and see if I need to kill him."
"Vengeance is one of the most consuming things in this world, Ethan. Hating someone... it will lead to recklessness."
"I know. You see, though... I must do it."
Meikal looked at me, but it seemed he decided something.
"I'm sorry, Ethan. I can't give you the lightsaber."
"Why not?"
"Because I can't trust you."
"What can I do to gain such trust?"
"I don't know, but I don't want to create a greater monster by giving this to you. When people have too much power... they become drunk on it. It corrupts people."
"I know, Meikal," I said with sorrow. "I've seen it."
"Where?"
"I've seen this sorrow throughout the world. The world is a gross and disgusting place, filled with people who don't deserve to have a voice, who don't deserve to exist. They defile the world, and ruin it for everyone else. I believe the Red-Blader is one of them. But I don't know for sure. That is why we must ask questions, and try to always look for answers."
"How does the Red-Blader relate to any answers you may want?"
"I want to ask... why? How did he turn out the way he did? I just... wish to know."
"Are you a scholar? A philosopher?"
I thought about it.
"One could say I'm a deep-thinker. I'm not famous, but that's not important to me. I just wish to seek my path, the way I choose it. The way I see fit."
Meikal pursed his lips. The detail of the game was incredible.
"I'm probably making a mistake," Meikal said, "but I'll trust you. I hope you don't... disappoint me."
Meikal approached me, and gently placed the lightsaber gently in my hand.
"I hope you succeed where others have failed. Please, Ethan."
I felt the intimacy with Meikal's words. I could understand his fear, and his wants: He didn't want me to turn out like the Red-Blader. He didn't want me to use his art for heinous actions. When making something you love, you put a part of yourself into the thing you make. The item you have belongs to a story, and the memory you have with it will always be cherished. You don't want to see it tainted.
So, it meant so much when Meikal gave me the lightsaber. Only an artisan could understand, but Meikal gave me a part of himself. He gave me his time and energy incarnated, which took the form of this weapon.
"Thank you, Meikal. I won't disappoint you."
***
I gave every single jewel I had to Meikal. I was that grateful. I promptly left, and I headed towards the field in the forest. I dived into the well, and I was back at the cliff-face. I jumped onto the cloud, ventured through the castle after killing the snake, grabbed the scroll, traveled on the railway, and was back in the cave. I stood in front of the cave, and absorbed it's ominous visage.
(It's like the cave of fear from Dagobah.)
I wouldn't be fighting Darth Vader though. I ignited the lightsaber. I could only hope I would have a fighting chance against... well, myself. The red blade lit up the cavern, and it didn't help with the foreboding atmosphere. I wouldn't be surprised if my tablet started playing John Williams's "Duel of the Fates." As I crept deeper into the belly of the beast, I heard a sound far off in the distance.
-!!Pssshhew!!-
(Wait a minute, don't I have to shatter the mirror?)
I then remembered Meikal, and the dwarf village. It seemed that time still proceeded in the Mind Game. Perhaps it was the game updating itself. My progress wasn't saved, but the events I created were still permanent.
As I crept forward, I saw it. The shards of the mirror. I also saw dead bodies, which were nothing but rotting corpses now.
The detail in the game... it was incredible. I could see flies erupt from the mouths of the fallen, and the blood that was spilled and dried. There were even teeth marks engraved into their bodies, which must've come from savage animals. Their limbs were cleanly chopped off, or they were completely beheaded. They were just.... left here.
(He's trying to send a message.)
I was confident that this wasn't the real me. I would've cleaned up after I killed these people.
"Hello, me."
I heard my voice through the speaker. My actual voice, from my original body. How did this simulation get it? How much access did the Mind Game have? As I stepped forward, the luminescence of my lightsaber lit up the area, and I was able to see him. Ethan Nakamura, in the computerized flesh. It was striking. My height, my clothing. This was what I was wearing before the simulation. It must've scanned me before my mind entered the book.
This NPC version of me began to speak, and said, "I've been waiting a long time for you to come. The events would've gone faster if you played the Mind Game sooner."
I froze. Did he just...?
"Yes, Ethan, I just broke the 4th Wall."
Chills crept up my body. This... thing was aware?
"Are you not going to speak into the microphone, Ethan?"
"What the fuck are you?" I whispered.
"You. I'm you, Ethan, but stronger. I am what you are not. You can achieve this power if you walk this same path."
"What path did you walk?"
"Easy. I simply... read a few books. Then I found some interesting things that allowed me to gain power beyond the mortal mind."
"How can I win this game?" I asked angrily.
"By remembering the events of Ender's Game. By unlocking the plot points."
"I don't remember that!! I can't remember every book I read!"
My angry voice echoed throughout the game room. Some people gave me glares, or side-eye.
"Hmm. Well, you will discover it soon enough."
This NPC Ethan was about to charge me, but I raised my voice and asked him a question.
"Wait! Why did you attack those villages!?"
"Would you like to hear a story?"
"Sure. I don't have a lot to do with my life," I said angrily.
"Let me tell you the story of Ethan Nakamura, the Lord of Anger," he said in a calm voice. "I waited here, and people came. First, it was a group of children. They screamed when they saw me, and was convinced I was a monster. Out of fear, they ran back to their little homes, and told their little parents, who told their little chieftains, who decided to create a little alliance to face me!!"
NPC Ethan's voice rose, and I could hear the raw emotion in it. The anger and frustration.
"As they came, they crept closer into the cave in which I reside in," NPC Ethan said. "They came armed with weapons, pitchforks, and torches. When they saw me standing where I was, they began to ask me questions. I simply ignored the insects."
I felt a pit of dread in my stomach.
"Soon, I became a commodity. People would come and gawk. One fool threw a rock at me, hitting me in the stomach. A young man, a teenager perhaps. Did you know what I did?"
"You killed him, didn't you?"
"No, Ethan. I didn't."
"What?"
"I gave mercy. I decided to let him go if he left. I simply stood in place, unflinching. Convinced I was a statue, he tried to take my sword."
"The lightsaber?"
"Yes. They tried to take it from me. Using my given strength, I stopped them from doing so. I threw them against the wall, and probably broke a few bones in the process. They ran, convinced I wasn't a statue. That wasn't the end, though. They came back."
I sat dumbfoundedly. Where the hell was this story going?
"They came back, with an entire mob of men and women. I saw his eyes, Ethan. I saw the eyes of the boy I threw away from me. The anger. The hate. He wanted vengeance. I told them to leave. I told them I wasn't a nuisance. No one listened. One tried to kill me with a sword, but I had enough."
This Ethan was slowly walking towards me. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of cowering, so I stayed in place.
"I killed the man in self-defense. Enraged, the others charged at me. Fools. All of them were fools. I killed every single one of them, but still suffered injuries."
"Then why attack the villages?!"
"Because I knew more would come. Peace is a lie, Ethan. I decided to show these NPCs their place. I killed entire families, and made their children watch. I decimated villages, and burned them to the ground. I did it again and again, until no one tried to face me!!!"
This Ethan leapt towards me, and and began striking my lightsaber with his. I tried to defend myself, but my character didn't have prebuilt combat techniques. This wasn't a fair fight. My avatar's character had his limbs cut, and chest pierced. This Ethan stood over my dying body, and looked down on me with a look of contempt.
"Peace is a lie, Ethan. There is only passion. Through passion I gain strength, through strength I gain power, through power I gain victory. The Force shall free me."
My ears perked at the words.
"Do you know where that comes from, Ethan? It is the Sith Code."
The screen of my game began to grow dim. I knew what I would see. I would see that damn "play Again?" title. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to slam my desk against the desk, and throw the tablet against the wall, and smash it into pieces. I didn't though. I was too afraid.
(H-he's not an NPC. He isn't normal.)
I wasn't going to be defeated though. I was sick and tired of this. Even the Mind Game version of myself was smacking me around. I would beat him eventually. Hate and anger pulsed through my veins, and I laughed out.
"Indeed, Ethan, peace is a lie," I said to no one.
(I must look crazy,) I thought.
"You may be the Lord of Anger, but know this: I am the lord of vengeance, the King of Chaos and Revenge."
***
I tried everything I could. I restarted, with the lightsaber still in my possession. I grabbed more jewels, and bought the toughest armor I could find at Twilight's Fall. I went back to fight the other Ethan, but no matter what I did, I still lost. I fought him once. I fought him twice. I fought him three times, four times, five times, six times, seven times, eight times, nine times, ten times, eleven times, twelve times, thirteen times, so and so forth I couldn't even count!!
"Damnit!! GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!!"
I slammed my hand against the desk of the Game room. I couldn't see my face, but I could feel it. I could feel it contorting in rage, just like it did in my real life.
(I'm such a failure, just like always,) I thought in rage and contempt.
I laughed deeply, and everyone looked at me as if I was crazy. They walked away when they saw me, or casted disapproving glares in my direction. I paid them no heed.
(I'll kill him for sure. That bastard. I need to find a new angle. Perhaps I could have an NPC help me?)
That would be pathetic though. What the hell could an NPC help me with? Plus, they were treacherous. If what he said was true, then these humans in the game were just as similar to the real ones.
(Why do I need to kill him, though?)
This was just frustrating. I probably couldn't kill him. I needed to ask the proper questions, instead of resorting to fighting him.
(He always kills me after a certain amount of time, though.)
I booted up the Mind Game. I ventured back to the cave.
"Hey," I said.
"What is it?"
"What do I need to do to win this game?"
"You don't have to necessarily win THIS game."
"That's what you said last time."
"Ethan, just focus on the buggers, 'kay?"
This version of me said this in a nonchalant way, as if we were friends, or just two people hanging out.
"Why do you hate me?" I asked.
"I never said I hate you."
"Why did you call me a monster then?"
"..."
"Tell me why," I demanded.
"Look, Ethan. When I called you a monster, you got angry, right?"
"Duh, bitch."
"Then you focused that anger on your school-work, right?"
"Yeah."
"That's what I wanted."
"That's the most douchebag way to motivate someone."
"It worked, didn't it?"
I pondered on it. When I lost to this Ethan, I focused my attention on other things to distract myself from the failure.
"It did."
"You see? Anger is powerful. Use it. Harvest it. Remind yourself of your hatred, and use it to empower yourself."
"Okay, Palpatine."
"Palpatine was evil, but his scheming and machinations allowed him to create the Empire. I am evil, but I don't plan on building a Death Star."
"You talk like a Sith."
"Were the Sith completely evil? Not all of them. There was one dark sider who was quite powerful, but he never fell into the Sith self-destruction: his name was-"
"Darth Vectivus. I know of his story. His story was told through Lumiya, Dark Lady of the Sith, who manipulated Jacen Solo to the dark side. She was a known liar though. I wouldn't take such a story too seriously."
"Fine then.... I will warn you though. You can't use the power of Chaos."
"Why not?"
"It is like the dark side of the Force in TWSA. It is the anti-attribute, an immense power that can kill demon kings. Taking on such power though... it can leave you disfigured."
"I already have a plan for that. The story of Star Wars and the story of TWSA are different stories, written by different authors."
I knew of one person who was able to use the power of chaos effectively against the Demon Kings and Constellations. They were the precedent I set for myself, the goal of power I wished to emulate.
"You say that so easily. How will you tap into Chaos? To it's energy?"
"I don't have to say anything to the likes of you."
[Constellation "Secretive Plotter" is interested in what you say.]
[Constellation "General-Slayer" is interested in what you say.]
I shivered. Constellations were watching me right now. I hoped they didn't catch what I was saying. Sometimes, when future information was leaked too early, the channel would censor such information until much later in the scenario. I could only hope that was the case.
I ignited my lightsaber.
"What are you doing?" The other version of me asked.
"I'm going to kill you."
"Why?"
"Because I feel pissed."
With that declaration, I charged forwards, and tried to kill him. This came up a few seconds later:
[You have died.]
[Play again?]
I turned off my computer. I've been going on this cycle of self-destruction for days.