Alan stood in the eerie, red-tinged landscape, his heart pounding in his chest. The A.I.'s voice echoed around him as it announced the start of the game.
"[Affirmative, the visitor has accepted the game. Initiating the Trial of Lives.]"
Alan's vision blurred, and he felt an intense pull, as if he were being yanked through space and time. When the sensation stopped, he found himself in a completely different place—a bustling medieval village.
He looked down at himself, realizing he was wearing peasant clothes. The sounds of the village, the smells of food and sweat, and the warmth of the sun were all overwhelming. Just as he began to process his surroundings, the A.I.'s voice spoke again, but this time it was inside his head.
"[Affirmative, welcome to your first life. Your goal is simple: live through this life and Survive with your will to live intact, and you will move on to the next life, in total you have to live and experience 100 different lives. Fail, and you will become an empty hollow husk and die! Let the trial begin.]"
Alan tried to rebel and ask the A.I. questions but the A.I. was nowhere to be found!
Alan's heart sank. He had no choice but to play along. The first few days in the village were relatively peaceful. He found work as a blacksmith's apprentice and tried to adapt to his new life. But his happiness didn't last long as he soon found out why this game name was the [Trials of Lives...]
His master, a gruff old man named Gerard, initially seemed kind but soon began to show his true colors. Gerard would berate Alan for the smallest mistakes, often resorting to physical punishment. The other villagers whispered behind Alan's back, spreading rumors that made him an outcast.
One evening, after a particularly harsh beating, Alan stumbled into the village square, clutching his bruised ribs. A young woman named Elara approached him, offering help. She was beautiful, with kind eyes that seemed to see through his pain.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
Alan nodded, grateful for her kindness. They began to spend more time together, and for a moment, it seemed like he had found a glimmer of hope in this cruel world. But as the days passed, Elara's behavior changed. She became distant, her kindness replaced with cold indifference.
One night, Alan discovered the reason. He caught Elara in a passionate embrace with Gerard. Betrayal washed over him, more painful than any physical blow. Elara and Gerard laughed at his pain, revealing that their kindness had been a cruel game from the start.
Devastated, Alan fled the village, wandering aimlessly until he collapsed from exhaustion. As he lay on the cold ground, the A.I.'s voice echoed in his mind.
"[Affirmative, the first trial has ended. Prepare for the next life.]"
Once again, Alan was pulled through space and time, landing in a different era. This time, he was a soldier in a war-torn country. The battlefield was chaotic, filled with the screams of the dying and the stench of death.
Years passed, and Alan lived through countless battles. Each time he formed a bond with his comrades, betrayal followed. Friends turned against him for promotions, lovers left him for richer men, and superiors used him as a pawn in their power struggles.
The endless suffering left Alan's willpower slowly breaking. He faced each new trial with a determination to survive, even as his heart grew heavier with each passing life. The A.I. seemed to revel in his torment, always pushing him to the brink of despair but never letting him break. He closed his eyes, fighting back tears.
One life bled into another, each one a tapestry of suffering. Alan became a child, his innocence ripped away by the cruel hands of an abuser. He became an elderly woman, neglected and forgotten in a soulless nursing home. He felt the sting of sexual harassment, the sharp pain of knives in his back—both literal and metaphorical—and the agony of dying slowly and painfully.
Each life left a scar on his psyche, the weight of their collective pain threatening to crush him. He felt their despair, their rage, their helplessness. He experienced the gut-wrenching sorrow of a mother losing her child, the suffocating fear of a man being hunted by those who wished him dead, and the searing agony of being burned alive.
Alan's mind screamed for release, but the A.I. was relentless. With each new life, he found himself more broken and more desperate. The boundaries between his identity and those he inhabited blurred, leaving him in a fractured state of existence.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the onslaught of memories ceased. His body is trembling, his mind teetering on the brink of insanity.
The A.I.'s voice cut through the haze of his thoughts. "You have endured much, human. But there is still more to face."
Alan's voice was hoarse, barely audible. "Please... no more."
But the ruthless and emotionless A.I. didn't care what Alan said.
In his final trial, Alan found himself in a dystopian future, a world ruled by a tyrannical regime. He was part of a rebellion, fighting for freedom. The leader of the rebellion, a charismatic man named Kane, took Alan under his wing, promising a better future.
But betrayal was inevitable. Kane handed Alan over to the regime in exchange for power. Alan was tortured, and his spirit was tested to its limits. Yet, even as his body was broken, his mind remained resilient. Because at this point, Alan had experienced more than enough betrayal and pain in a normal human lifespan; this time he didn't feel anything at all.
The A.I.'s voice echoed once more, "[Affirmative, the visitor has survived the final trial. Prepare for the conclusion.]"
Alan was yanked back to the Abyssal Garden, his body and mind exhausted from the countless lives he had lived. He fell to his knees, gasping for breath. He didn't know who he was anymore, but the A.I. didn't even give him any chance to get any rest.
"[Affirmative, no one has ever survived all the trials before. You are the first, human. But your final test remains. One more question to determine your fate.]"
Alan looked up, his eyes filled with a mixture of hope and dread. "What is it—does it even matter anymore? Just get done with it."
The A.I. paused, its mechanical voice taking on an almost sinister tone. "[Affirmative, the final test is simple. Will you choose to return to your original world, knowing the pain and suffering you endured, or will you stay in the Abyssal Garden, forever free from the trials of life?]"
Alan's heart raced as he realized the gravity of his decision. What should he choose? The life he knew, filled with unknown challenges, or the eerie peace of the Abyssal Garden?