Chapter 4: Trial of self
Tom asked Yang Yang what he needed to get ready.
Yang Yang replied with a straightforward, "Ready your heart, ready your mind to face the challenges you will meet, and be warned not to fall to your desires and temptations. So now you can step through the gate, which will take you to the first trial of the tower."
Tom had confidence in himself. After all, what kind of demon didn't he face already? Even if he were about to enter hell, he wouldn't let himself be taken by the devil; instead, he would become the nightmare of every demon in hell. Thus Tom entered the gate knowing that if he survived, he would become stronger.
Once Tom entered the gate, he heard an ancient voice that seemed to be older than the oldest world, older than the stars or any universe. The voice spoke a language he understood, but the words seemed out of place.
"Know thyself, and thou shall know all the mysteries of the divinities and the universe. If thou know the enemy and know thyself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles."
"The first trial shall start if thy belief to know thyself than step into the Fog of Self."
Tom stepped into the Fog of Self, hoping that what he saw as himself would indeed be him and that this Fog would not show him that he had already broken the promise to stay true to himself.
Taking the first step, Tom's view changed to a long time ago when his heart didn't get hardened by the suffering of this world. He saw someone who he once called a friend Noah Alaxy.
…
"Tom, are you ok?" Noah said.
"I am fine. You don't have to worry about it. I simply don't feel all that good."
Noah responded by saying, "If you need anything, just tell me."
"Ok, fine, I will tell you. I discovered something that would change the whole world while I was working on the school project. I found out that if you mix any two types of Anthine Crystals while heating them over 93 Celsius for exactly 23 seconds, it will cause those two Crystals to produce a reaction that produces energy, although it is not a high amount of energy that can power cities still you can use it to power up your phone without any kind of pollution being produced." Following that, Tom's face looked excited, forgetting the worries he had. "I call this new type of power the Mp, short for Micropower."
Noah had what can be said to be a genuine smile on his face. Saying, "That is awesome, but you still seem exhausted. Why don't you go home and take a rest for a couple of days while I sort things out for you?"
Tom felt happy that he had such a good friend. He replied, "yeah, what you said is true. I can use a little rest. Can you tell the instructor I am sick?"
"No worries, I will take care of it. You just go and rest," Noah responded.
After a couple of days in bed, Tom's exhaustion faded. He thought it was about time to go out and register the Mp under his name.
Tom went to his school because it had a youth genius certification. In addition, it had to have at least one office for innovation registration. After Tom entered, he kept hearing about how Noah was so great and that he was the genius of their school. Tom felt lost, not understanding what they meant until he saw a poster with the following.
"Noah Alaxy, the genius of Carga School and the inventor of Mp, the world-changing new power source."
There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in a storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentleman.
Tom was a true gentleman in his youth; thus, once you make him angry, understand that your end won't be good.
Tom searched for his so-called Friend for a while, hoping to find him and make him pay for what he did. However, Tom didn't go with anger clouding his view. He knew that a wise man would need to control his anger. So he waited to see that Noah was all alone, and just as he found out that he would be going home after giving a speech in school, he decided that was the right time to strike.
Noah walked to his house as if he owned the world after he Stole. I mean, he invented the next big thing. The peak of his life just started, right? Just when Noah was walking down the stairs near his house, going through a shortcut, a secret path if you may, he felt a light push from his back. Noah didn't have enough time to look because he fell one stair after another. His body's bones were breaking just when he reached the bottom. The fall ended. And with it, ended his life.
Tom stood at the peak of the stairs looking down on life, looking down at Noah, knowing that his life had just changed that he changed. From that moment on, the great Noah, the inventor of MP, died, but he didn't leave without fertilizing the ground for the seed of a demon inside Tom.
"Humans are such weak and pathetic creatures. They pretend as if they possess all the virtue of the world, yet at a moment's notice. They would stab you in the back for the slightest benefit."
"DO YOU HAVE NO REGRET?" Noah screamed. "You took my life over me simply pocketing your fancy invention? I was your best friend. We promised each other to live life together."
Tom looked with a smile on his face laughing, saying, "Really, is that really what the trial of self meant? From all the people you could have made me see, you made me see him, a bastard who stole my work, a traitor."
After the laugh that was mixed with madness, Tom looked at Noah, telling him, "I need to thank you. After all, without your betrayal, my mentality and ideals would have been still shackled. So, as a thank you for all of that, I can promise you that When I get to the top, I will let you see actual hell made by yours truly."
After Saying that, Tom took the second step breaking away from the fog and breaking away from the first trial.