I suddenly emerged into a bright white room, standing amidst a large crowd.
Instantly, I enhanced my senses and did a rough headcount of the bodies I could see.
There were roughly 50 others around me, and the room was large enough so that we all had ample space to move around.
The room was impossibly bland and well-lit despite there being no source of light.
Of course, I knew the others were gods. If it wasn't evident by the words of Osidon, then I would have known by their elegant looks and clothing.
I recognized some of the men and women from the first day we were brought into the heavenly realm where Osidon greeted us.
I cannot allow myself to be distracted by anything. Remember the rules of the Tragedy.
As if on cue, I and a bit more than half of the other gods silently sat down, instantly entering a state of meditation.
This simple act separated the gods into tiers of competency.
Those who had sat down as I had were the gods who had known the importance of meditation and had spent their respective time engaged in the practice inside their own worlds.
The others who stood looked around in confusion. Some copied, though they had no clue what they were doing.
If not for my extreme concentration, I would have let out a laugh at their attempts to copy us.
Then, a voice shouted.
"I don't know why this room is so silent, but now that I'm face to face with so many of my enemies, I can make something be known. First of all, I am the strongest god amongst you all! Secondly, screw you, Osidon, for the cruel game that you play with us!"
At this point, my eyes were already closed in meditation. But based on the bass and tone that the voice spoke in, I could tell it was a large man. One of the gods.
Probably a fool.
Suddenly, I felt a weight press down upon my being.
It was a harsh feeling, though easily bearable. For me, it would have been best described as an annoyance.
However, with my eyes closed, I could hear the increased heart rates from those around me.
Some even let out soft grunts under the pressure.
I wanted to open my eyes. It was the hardest meditation session I had ever been in, and we had barely even started.
The pressure increased again.
This time there were more grunts from around the room, and I even noticed the presence of some disappearing.
I assumed they had some how signaled to Osidon that the pressure was too much and that they wished to return to their worlds.
For myself, the pressure was intense, but I was still far from my limit. If the intensity continued to increase in the same increments, then I estimated that I would be able to survive at least five more pressure shifts.
The weight grew stronger again.
Instantly, I heard a woman's voice cry from beside me. Before closing my eyes, I had seen a woman wearing red robes with long black hair standing next to me. The cries must have come from her.
Again.
"AGHHHHH!"
The sound came from the far side of the room and was instantly cut off, as I could only guess that the man had asked to be taken back to his world.
I gritted my teeth against the pain, though I realized that the more time I spent underneath the pressure, the more accustomed to it I began to feel.
I wondered what it would be like to move under this weight, and badly felt the urge to move my hands from where they rested on my knees to test what it felt like.
I fought against the urge and managed to maintain my focus on the darkness behind my closed eyelids.
The next time the pressure increased was the last time, as multiple cries echoed throughout the room.
Osidon's voice echoed through my surroundings.
"Congratulations, if you can hear my voice, that means you have passed the first half of the Tragedy. Please, stand and test your movement against the pressure. You will be transported to the next room momentarily."
Before standing, I first opened my eyes and looked around me at the gods that had survived with me.
They all had different looks.
The strangest thing about being amongst the gods was that none in particular stood out to me.
All were marvelous beings, seemingly crafted by the hands of an ultimate creator. It was impossible to stand out, as all seemed equal in brilliance.
Do I really stand with them, as their rivals? Do I have the right?
I watched as others rose to their feet, struggling against the weight that they felt on their bodies.
Some even collapsed back onto their backsides, clearly having pushed themselves past a point they were able to manage, though refusing to forfeit to Osidon.
I placed my hands on the floor beneath me, and pushed myself to my feet.
Even such a simple task proved difficult.
It was harder than any training I had done in Unus, and I instantly realized how this Tragedy would progress us closer towards physical mastery.
How will I fight a beast while faced with this pressure? And what sort of beast will it be?
I doubted that it would be a creature that I was familiar with, Osidon would make sure of that.
I did not allow myself to linger on the thought, lest it distract me.
Instead, I moved my arms and legs around with the space I had, slowly adapting to the extra weight that my body seemed to carry.
I could still move, though every the smallest of movement required me to strain my body.
Even breathing was a task harder than I had remembered it to be.
Then, after a few moments, Osidon's voice returned to the room.
"I will now take you to the second half of the Tragedy."