Chapter 2: Proving One's Worth (Part 7/7)

With sorrow and fear in my heart, I gazed onward at the crowd of police, military, and other officials as they looked back in wonder and horror at my actions. All these individuals had their own lives, dreams, desires, and most likely several had families that depended upon them. I had been considering cutting and running as I instinctively sensed that the creature was still weak enough that with enough effort, I could divest myself of the situation, with this newly discovered use of my ability. But seeing those individuals that would likely have to pay the ultimate price, made me stay. "I'm sorry sister. . . ." The whisper barely made it past my lips. ". . .I won't be able to keep my promise." That whisper under my breath gave me a mixed sense of shame and yet relief. I hoped that she could forgive me, as I sought to give my life to save the lives of many others. Someone else would have to pick up the torch that I was letting go of to find a cure for her disease. With that last thought of regret, I felt an odd sense of freedom. . .. Invisible shackles appeared to fall from my very soul. . .. Energy and Power beyond what I had ever felt before with my seemingly ineffectual ability, raged through my body. In the here and now, I felt like I could finally see my power that had always lain beneath the surface. The corrosive darkness that had been pressing against me, was pushed back as wave after wave of energy sprung forth from within me, as if giving one last effort filled with my very life force, to end this travesty. This was not an energy filled with the hope of living, but that filled with the knowledge and resignation of impending death. A gift of Finality of sorts. I was not going to survive this, I knew it, and I gave it my all knowing that. As my now fully unleashed ability displayed its hidden powers, its energy pulsed outward in continuous waves like the encroaching high tide. It was unstoppable in its rise, breaking into and forcing back the invasive dark tendrils. With my mind and body freed from this burden, I could now adjust my focus. Gripping the heart more fully, I faced the onslaught of corruption with full force. *schluck . . . Snap . . Snap. . Snap!* With great resistance I pulled the dark pulsing heart from its cavity within the creature, snapping what I assumed to be veins or arteries holding it in place. Rolling away from the body I tugged loose from the creature's weakened grip. The heart beat a darker black and shook as if infuriated by this defeat. Shards of hardened flesh jutted out like needles from the heart as it impaled itself on my grasping hand. Horror filled me as I could feel my inner strength once again dwindling. . . . Despite the pain, I gripped harder and focused all my energies upon my hand as I sought to crush it. *crack. . . crack. . . Crack. . . . Cuuuushhhh!* My own heart caught in my throat in relief as I saw the demise of this heart made of death and corruption incarnate. My vision swam before my eyes as I gazed at the crowd of open-mouthed and wide-eyed officials. Some of whom had even passed out on the floor. With sorrow filled relief, I let myself go as blackness filled my vision and sounds faded away, for even the high tide must eventually return to its bed. Death still filled the air and loose vestiges of dark energies continued to assault the fallen body of a young would-be hero. A disembodied voice spoke into a lost mind as the last vestiges of energy faded. "Necromancy . . ., stealing and twisting the power of life to fuel death; Not a pleasant way to die I would have to say. But that was remarkably noble and brave of you. . .. *sigh* stupid as well . . . but brave . . . You have passed." Time and space appeared to be lost to me as I encountered a world of pain, then there was a bright light, and then nothing. * * * * * The static that I felt after he accessed the controls behind the console then left my mind as I felt disoriented and surprisingly fearful yet also contradictorily at peace. What was that sensation?! Taking a moment to calm my oddly racing heart I finally enquired. "If I may ask sir, what was that test for with the static feeling?" "That!" He stated, "Was a test of your mental fortitude and character." A perplexed look crossed my face in confusion at his reply. "How. . .?" I paused as I wasn't sure how to ask what was bothering me about the test. It just seemed so simple, quick, and yet I still felt like something important had happened that I had no recollection of. With a shake of my head, I simply asked the question that I really wanted the answer to. "Did I pass?" A broad smile crossed his shaded face as he nodded. "You most certainly passed, and here is your avatar, age regressed to 14 years old if you choose to accept it." Turning to the mirror that had previously contained a myriad of different versions of my avatar, I saw now a singular personage that stood before me. Despite the age difference, he was equal to me in height and somewhat thinner in girth. Similarly different colored eyes of green and blue peered back at me with unnerving clarity, as there was something different in his eyes. Peering closer, I noticed black and silver specks seemingly like dark stars, but the size of tiny pinpoints lay scattered across the irises. It looked . . . . dangerous, and yet mystical in a way. From a moderate distance away, I felt that they wouldn't even be noticeable. My view unwillingly drew away from the mesmerizing eyes and landed on the ears. There was a slight point to them as if there were some, but not full blood fey or elf in him. The blonde hair looked pretty much the same with its short waves, and the young face was slightly more chiseled than my own. There also wasn't a trace of facial hair which left me wondering if he needed to shave, or if his facial hair just hadn't grown in yet. Shaking my head, I took another step back, feeling as if I was getting lost in unimportant details. Taking the image in as a whole felt entirely different from before. There was a sense of confidence and yet gentleness that I felt I had lacking a bit in my own bearing. There was a feeling that seemed to portray a willingness and eagerness to walk through fire or some such extreme adversity, to challenge the world and all it had to throw against him. It was something that I yearned for myself to be more like. I felt that if only given the chance to prove myself in the right circumstances, then this is what I might have a chance to become. "Yes. . .." It was a gentle whisper that I repeated again, louder. "Yes! This is what I want." I turned my brightened eyes towards the man behind the desk. A feeling of euphoria passed through me as I thought of stepping into this new image of myself. The warmth and chills that I was able to feel seemed to be reflected in his very eyes and bearing. Warm, comforting, and a protector while the opposite is also true. Cold, calculative, and willing and able to bear with whatever adversities might come his way, no matter what, to achieve his goals. "And so it is now." With those words from the shadowed man, I felt a full body tingling sensation settle over me and my vision blacked out briefly before changing. The mirror shimmered and the avatar was there again, except he now moved as I did. In reflex, I corrected my somewhat slouched posture, to better portray the bearing that I had seen before. Along with traces of the gaze I had seen previously, I saw a hint of my wicked and dry sense of humor cultured from working in and coping with the medical field, as well as many more dark and hidden emotions. "You should treat this Avatar well . . . We normally only type the DNA sequence into a matching fantasy character template, but yours required some . . ." He paused for a moment as if struggling to speak. A notable pause lasting several seconds passed, making me question with a random thought, if he had some kind of programming or compulsion restricting him. 'Haha! There's no way something like that even existed' I thought with the weird idea running through my head. 'Wait, was he artificial intelligence or human? I guess he just got lost trying to find the right words. I know I struggle with that at times.' As if in resignation and consternation that didn't appear aimed at me, he finished saying with clipped words "Just know that extra steps had to be taken in order to get it right." I looked over at him curiously. What could possibly be going on with my DNA or self that would require different work than that normally done for other individual's personalized avatars? Before I could voice my question, he waved it off saying, "No matter. It is done. And I look forward to seeing the results." "Now that we've gotten that taken care of, let's get your travels started. . .. So, where do you want to go?" He enquired casually, yet in a way that appeared to brook no further discussion on the prior topic. I felt a bit stifled about the unasked questions I had regarding my avatar, due to his side comment. However, I decided that since he appeared resistant to discussing it further, I should just take it in stride, and possibly figure things out later. It was likely inconsequential in the case of advancing my studies, qualifying for the extended financing of my education, and hopeful internship with Millennial Enterprises. Mentally driving myself back to his latest question, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit surprised by his inquiry. Having recalled what I read from the booklet regarding this VR, I had assumed that I would have no say in my destination or in other words starting point. Turning to the ever-changing screen of various sceneries on the opposite side of the mirror, I watched paradise like scenes and hell like landscapes, as well as everything in between as it crossed my view. Various waterfalls would sporadically show up and that triggered a recollection of a dream of mine on my bucket list. I always wanted to check out Niagara Falls and other beautiful waterfalls, seeing as I recalled the pictures I've seen of it before. For a long time, I have felt an affinity to cold water. Maybe, it was because quite frequently, the sensation of my ability that passed through me, could be most aptly described as cold waves of water washing over me, in addition to the warmth and energy that interspersed it. As I spoke my request, the entire screen changed to an overhead view of an expansive city, which was just north of a large series of waterfalls that dwarfed the pictures I'd seen of Niagara Falls before. My shadowed guide spoke up. "A nice choice, Niagara Falls does still exist in this new world, though it is much larger than the one you may be familiar with. It is a bit close to the front lines going on in this war." He paused to scroll northward where I could see tiny figures in what appeared to be in the middle of various confrontations. "A few hundred miles north of there is the Northern expanse, where monsters live in abundance in the icy tundra that made up most of what used to be Canada. Those monsters, along with their various tribes, make frequent raids on the military bases stationed at the border." Then spanning south west a bit from the magnified war, I spotted what looked like a much smaller city, with a singular glistening white and majestic tower in the middle of it. "You've also got a few other controversial groups in the area as well, but overall a good place to start out. . .. For with danger comes opportunity." He paused as if for dramatic effect. "Is this the place you would like to choose?" I let my eyes wander across the zoomed-out view encompassing the falls, the two cities, and the war front. "I believe that I would like this, so yes, I choose Niagara Falls." Suddenly the view of the screen changed as it rushed towards a zoomed in view of the falls, growing ever larger and more detailed. "Good luck on your adventures. In parting I'll tell you, my name is Naathan Gnosis.It was a real pleasure to meet you, Andrew Matherson." My eyes widened as I heard his name and at the same time, I felt something push me from behind into the screen showing the falls.