The next trial wasn't what he had expected. Within the next room, he was met with the very much awake, alive and awkwardly naked party members.
Null believed himself to be extremely preceptive and was starting to get an idea of what was going on.
"Congratulations you have completed the second trial. Please prepare to receive your judgement"
The four of them stood around a little awkward at first since they were all naked and they had made some decisions that they hoped the others would never find out about. They were all glad everyone was alive.
"For one to have wisdom, they must know themselves, not just in mind but in soul as well. When you are ready, answer the question on the wall as a group and face your judgement"
They looked at the wall and read the question "Who are you?". Null wondered how they learnt standard Solar. It was another clue to what was happening.
Chris concluded if the group had to answer then they needed to know everyone experiences in the second trial. Everyone started to recap each other experiences in the second room. Lisa was the shortest story and didn't have any surprises. Chris retold his story leaving out how emotional he had become at the death of his mother. The others could tell that it had been a traumatic experience for him.
Null retold his story without much emotion. He was still broken from the experience and angry at himself. He could tell that the others in the group had been affected by his story and had started to look at him differently. He could tell that the other 3 were judging him harshly for his action.
'so he was willing to kill us all, just because fate dictated it' Chris didn't voice his thoughts but he found himself feeling afraid of Null and his lack of attachment to the three of them.
Jania had listened to the others and carefully watched the reaction to Null's story. She was worried about what the others would say if they knew her story. She told most of her story stopping short before the end.
"so what happen at the end?" asked Chris as he was interested in her response he wanted to know if she chose differently from him.
Jania didn't want to answer and was playing with her hands.
"She sacrificed me for her survival. She is a warrior and she values her own life. I should have made the same decision. Except I couldn't even do that, all I could do is not make a decision." Null could tell what her answer was so had answered for her. He didn't blame her and believed she made the correct call.
Lisa had been listening and was starting to understand the purpose of this trial.
"I think we all learnt plenty about ourselves and the other party members from this unwinnable scenario. It showed who we truly are, I would also say it has exposed the core of our souls. I am a coward, I abandon the party to maintain my moral purity I didn't seek any other solutions." The experience had changed Lisa.
"I was also a coward, I decided not to choose. In the end, I delegated all my moral responsibility to fate."Null was in a retrospective mood. The scenario had given him a look at his true self and Null didn't like what he saw.
Jania was not used to thinking deeply about her values and her true self so this scenario had impacted her greatly. She left guilty that she offered Null life in exchange for her own but she didn't think it was wrong to want to live.
"I learnt that I'm a survivor. I will do what I need to survive even if that means sacrificing some of you. I would understand if you don't want me as part of the group anymore."
"I want to live to. There is nothing wrong with wanting to live. So of course, we still want you in the party" Null had taken it upon himself to declare this statement for the whole party. The other followed up in agreement.
"I learn that I'm too reckless and gave up too quickly. I treated this like it was a game and didn't care for the consequence. I now understand my motives are to make myself appear righteous in the eyes of others. " Chris like the others had learnt a lot about himself. He hated the scenario for the emotions it had made him feel but he also appreciated its value in teaching everyone about their true self.
"This can be helpful, now that we each know other true selves we can factor that into any plans or it will help us predict how each of us will react in a given situation. We now have a deeper understanding of who we are as a party." Chris was finding the positive from this experience.
"I believe that was the purpose of the trial. It would either destroy a party or make it stronger. We still need an answer to the question," replied Lisa who couldn't help admiring the trial but still didn't know what the answer to the question was.
"I believe whoever is running this trial stimulation has been monitoring our conversation so we shouldn't have to think too hard about the answer but just have the correct intent" Null was sure they were in a spiritual realm, but an even better one than the Paragons. He communicated this idea to the whole party.
"Are you sure this is a stimulation?" asked Chris.
"It like a simulation but also it isn't. We are here in a sense as our soul and mind are in this realm. I suspected it during the trial but it wasn't until we were all here that I could confirm. The question is in our native language and the voice is mentally connected to us. Also, none of us, are this well proportioned" Null was then pointing at everyone body. He also didn't mention that the biggest clue was he had been separated from his system.
"How would you know?" Jania was a bit embarrassed at being called out like that.
"I can see through walls, do you think you hide anything with cloths?" asked Null
"Focus we need an answer" Lisa wanted to get an answer out before the group got derailed.
Chris had an idea to try "We are flawed but united, we are humans" he floated his idea with the others in the group. Before it could be discussed it the voice of the trial was back.
"Your answer is acceptable, You have been judged satisfactory. Please move to the next room for the 3rd and final trial"