Valeryon the Second

"Hello, I am Valeryon"

"Hi, you may call me Valeryon"

"Hi, I'm Valeryon - no, wait. Ugh, that's not it either," Valeryon muttered to herself. She splashed cold water on her face and rubbed her hands roughly over her cheeks. She sighed deeply, leaned against the sink counter, and frowned at her reflection in the mirror.

Today was a special day as it marked her twentieth birthday. She had been eagerly waiting for this day her entire life. Finally, she could leave this dreary place and become a member of her birth clan, the renown Valeryon clan of the First Realm.

Yes, Valeryon, just like her name. To understand why such a situation existed, it is essential to first understand the way children of the Valeryon clan were named. Or, to be more precise, how they were not.

Valeryon was given the name Zero-Nine at birth, denoting that she was the ninth child of her generation. However, this was not a proper name but merely a way to keep track of the number of children in the clan. 

The Founder's Eight Death Challenges. Valeryon found it difficult to even think about it without breaking out into a cold sweat. Children with Valeryon ancestry must undertake these challenges to earn their True Names. Each challenge corresponds to a letter in the Valeryon name. While it is technically optional to participate in the challenges, officially joining the Valeryon clan requires completing at least three Death Challenges. Therefore, only a few souls dare to attempt all eight challenges.

On the challenger's twentieth birthday, their True Names will be determined by the clan's Monarch and the Elder Council, who assign a name based on the characters earned through the completed challenges. An astrologer also helps by consulting the challenger's birth chart to determine the most auspicious names based on the birth time, date and position of the sun and moon. However, if a challenger successfully completes all eight challenges, they may receive the name Valeryon in its entirety.

"My name is Valeryon the Second, and I will be the future ruler of this clan.""

Valeryon grimaced at her reflection. Future ruler. It was not something she had anticipated when she had decided to take on the challenge of completing all eight of the Founder's Death Challenges years ago, which was an impulsive decision born out of sheer boredom.

She had learned about that particular detail from watching a holographic recording of the clan's Founder, Valeryon the First. The Founder's glowing simulacrum had suddenly appeared in the Death Challenge Atrium the moment she exited the Eighth Challenge Hall, almost scaring her to death. The Founder's recording then revealed the true purpose of the Death Challenges. They were not just a means for the clan children to prove their worth and earn their True Name, but also a tool to determine the next-in-line to the throne. Valeryon had seen enough movies and shows to know that this responsibility was nothing to be happy about. However, rejecting her role meant giving up her name and leaving the clan to avoid posing a threat to other potential heirs.

However, when she recalled all the horrific things she had endured to earn each and every letter of her name, abandoning it all just did not seem like a viable option for her.

Valeryon had learned a lot about her clan while growing up, but the recording of Valeryon the First was her first experience with human beings. In her free time, she often watched holo-productions to understand human interaction. However, the fictional characters in these productions did not always accurately represent real human life. So, when she saw an actual person's mannerisms, it felt strange to her.

Which brought her back to her current predicament.

Human interaction.

Valeryon found the concept completely unfamiliar. While she was born with the designation Zero-Nine, she realized the term Zero-One might be more appropriate for her. After all, none of the other children in her clan born before or after her survived what the Nanny Bot called the Critical Stage. It took several years for Valeryon to understand that the term referred to the fact that all the children had died in infancy.

Nanny Bot was the only other presence in the Trial Grounds, the twenty-one-floor facility where Valeryon had grown up. Nanny Bot played the role of guardian and caretaker for all the children who had survived the clan's Trial Grounds. But these days, the mere thought of the hovering white conical-shaped figure with its human-like expressions on the screen sent shivers down Valeryon's spine.

Valeryon followed the instructions from the Origin Net and took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. The website guaranteed that this technique would help her regulate her strong, involuntary emotional fluctuations. However, despite her efforts, she couldn't suppress the memories that came flooding back when she thought about Nanny Bot, along with all the accompanying emotions.

It happened the day after she had completed her first Death Challenge. She had been twelve at the time. She did not have complete control of her power at that stage, so her entire body was still recovering from having her body so thoroughly destroyed for the first time in her life. The pain experienced from the usual yearly trials in the Trial Grounds was nothing in comparison to the suffering they were required to endure by the Founder's Death Challenges. With her body and power so overwhelmed and overused, it was unsurprising that she fell ill the day after. The day she had a scheduled class day with Nanny Bot.

The classes were usually straightforward. The subject matter covered in each lesson was determined by the lesson plan drafted by the Council of Elders and approved by the clan's Monarch. The class would begin with covering the subject matter and would conclude with an assessment based on the content covered in class that day.

To leave, the student must get a perfect score on the 'ticket out the door' assessment. Classes were compulsory, and there was no way to get out of them unless they wished to have Nanny Bot's Punishment Protocol activated. Valeryon had yet to skip a lesson, so she did not know what the Punishment Protocol entailed. Still, considering that clan children were regularly subjected to torture and forced to ingest death-inducing substances to strengthen their power, Valeryon had no desire to test it by missing a class.

She had only been mildly feverish that morning, so she had thought she could just endure the symptoms, quickly get through the class, pass the assessment and lock herself up in her room for some much-needed rest.

From their lessons on artificial intelligence and robots, she had always known on a rational level that Nanny Bot was not a sentient being like Valeryon herself. Still, Nanny Bot had been her sole companion for years. She inevitably saw Nanny Bot as more than just metal and coding. However, the events of that day had wholly torn down any illusion of companionship and emotional connection shared between them.

Valeryon's symptoms worsened, and she struggled to focus on the lesson. Nanny Bot paid absolutely no mind to the worsening state of its charge, going through the lesson as it was programmed to. When the assessment came around, Valeryon could not answer more than five of the two hundred questions correctly. So, as protocol dictated, in the scenario that the student failed to achieve a perfect score, the class restarted from the beginning.

That was not the worst situation; worse was when symptoms of thirst and hunger began to make themselves known after she repeatedly failed to gain a perfect score. The class started again once more from the very beginning.

In all this while, Nanny Bot took no note of Valeryon's deteriorating conditions, proceeding with the lesson with its glowing white eyes and mouth curved in an approximation of a happy expression.

The event was a bit of a blur, but in all the mess of hot, cold and pain she had been feeling, Valeryon remembered begging. Begging for some food, for water, for the lesson to end. Some medical attention. Anything.

However, Nanny Bot kept to its programmed course, continuing the lesson.

Valeryon did not know how long she had been in class, but she had to overcome death multiple times in that classroom. By the time she finally, finally managed to pass the assessment and crawl out of that room, a trembling mess covered in dried sweat, piss and feces, her body unable to handle the strain, died once more at the door.

Valeryon had survived, of course; she always did, but Valeryon remembered how terrified she had been to wake up in the medical pod to see Nanny Bot's smiling face once more, afraid that she had hallucinated everything and that she was still suffering in the class again. Had it not been for the Blessing of the First Realm, the Will to Live, giving her a fighting chance to come back from the dead for as long as she could endure the pain and suffering of life. Had it not been for her strong desire to see the world outside the doors of the Trial Grounds, she would have stayed dead. 

Valeryon closed her eyes, her hands clenching against the marble counter's edge.

Never again. Valeryon would never have to face Nanny Bot ever again after this. She opened her eyes and stared at her reflection again.

She released a hand and reached up to gently graze the area below her eyes, a mismatched pair. One a bright glowing peridot green, which marked her a member of the Valeryon bloodline, the other a bright glowing pink, which marked her a forbidden existence of the First Realm. A mixed-blood. A threat to the precarious balance of power in the Realm. Considering her presence in the Trial Grounds, the threat was intentionally created.

Her hand reached down to touch the unmarred skin of her stomach, where the skin had healed perfectly from last night's procedure. To ensure that their bloodline and power are properly secured, all with the Valeryon clan's bloodline have their reproductive organs extracted to be stored in the Reproductive Archives the day before they leave the Trial Grounds. All reproductive matches made with their genetic material and organs were determined by the Monarch and Council of Elders, who would decide the best possible combinations beneficial for the clan.

However, such matches were not meant to include genetic material from any of the other ten ruling clans of the First Realm to maintain the balance of power between the ten clans. She did not know her clan's intentions when creating her, but considering how her existence could be grounds for war, she did not look forward to finding out.

Valeryon could only be glad that Nanny Bot's protocol had required her to be sedated for the entire surgical procedure yesterday. She had found the thought of Nanny Bot being anywhere near her, especially with surgical equipment, very... disconcerting.

Her hand dropped from her stomach and reached up to stroke the pale surface of the polished spherical marble-like stone embedded in her left wrist. The Celestial Receiver is something that all Origin-dwellers were born with. An item with the power to allow Origin-dwellers to travel the Outer-Worlds as well as communicate with omniscient, omnipotent beings of another dimension called Celestials, who were said to grant people with incredible unimaginable powers in exchange for their eternal fealty and faith. 

That reminded her of another matter with the Celestial Receiver. How it allowed people to travel through the Outer Worlds and why Celestials used it to communicate with them, who to such beings were so insignificant in the grand scheme of existence for such incredible beings.

The Origin Inter-Realm Training is an event that begins the moment the youngest member of a generation turns twenty. The beginning of a training round is indicated by the activation of the Celestial Receiver and the opening of a portal leading to the OWL, an inter-dimensional transitionary space also known as the Original World Library. There, they will be allowed to travel through the Outer Worlds spread across the multi-verse. Of course, the Origin Inter-Realm Training Program and the OWL were not just created by Origin-dwellers. It would have been impossible to do so with the limited technology available during their ancestor's time many millennia ago.

At the time, the Origin had just lost an entire realm to the Void Beasts who had completely overrun it. So the researchers in the 12th Realm were desperate to find a way to get everyone safely out of the Origin and into a universe utterly devoid of the threat of Void Beasts. And it had only became possible because of the Celestial known as the Greatest Creator had found interest in their project.

The Realm overrun by the Void beasts that is now known as the Negative Realm was the previous First Realm of the Origin. This prompted the awakening of ancient power in the Realms, which gifted its inhabitants with abilities. The power to increase their chances of survival against such an insurmountable existential threat in a desperate bid to preserve the life in the Origin. Like the Will to Live in the First Realm. The other realms also gifted their residents power, but the powers, while helpful, were less extreme with increasing distance to the Negative Realm.

The people of the Origin feared their Realm would be the next to be taken over by Void Beasts. So while the researcher's initial desire was to find a way to leave their universe behind entirely, the Greatest Creator offered an alternative solution in exchange for their assistance.

To the Greatest Creator, it was an absolute shame for a universe like the Origin to be abandoned. He suggested that they should use the opportunity to travel to other worlds to learn from them and bring back knowledge that they can use to improve and strengthen their society. The researchers, awed by the possibility of having such power available to them instantly, were quick to agree to the terms. However, as they discussed the contract terms, other Celestials also became increasingly interested in their project. They offered to exchange their assistance for one thing or another. Whether it was their fealty and faith, a temple established for them, or for them to travel and achieve extraordinary feats in their name.

The Celestial Receiver became a device that every child in the Origin was born with as part of a final agreement between the Origin-Dwellers and the Celestials. However, the true motive behind this assistance was to establish a direct line of observation and contact with the humans of the Origin. This was done to satisfy the Celestials' need for power, achieved through the faith generated by individuals who signed contracts with them, prayed to them, or believed in them.

Valeryon and the other Origin-dwellers were not born contracted to any particular Celestial as that needed to be established through the mutual interest and agreement between Celestial and the individual. It was a desperately desired contract by many individuals in the Origin as it guaranteed power, fame and wealth for any who gained recognition from a Celestial. However, achieving such an opportunity was incredibly rare as Celestials were very particular about who they signed contracts with. There was also the matter of being one among quintillions of people in the Origin.

The best chance to gain the attention of the Celestials was the Origin Inter-Realm Training, an event highly anticipated not only by Origin-dwellers but the Celestials as well, who would tune in to watch them for their amusement as they were placed in foreign environments and made to flounder. They also used this event as an opportunity to scout out individuals who proved themselves to be truly extraordinary to sign Contracts with.

Valeryon shook her head with a sigh and ran a hand through her slowly drying curtain of wavy black calf-length hair. A bright green glow the same shade as her left eye enveloped her hand, and tiny droplets of moisture were drawn out of the strands; she directed the water to drip into the sink. She then grabbed the large fluffy white towel on the rack behind her to wrap around her body as she finally exited the bathroom to get dressed in her room.

Valeryon still did not understand how to interact with people she would meet for the first time. However, she doubted that more practice would make her less likely to make a fool of herself in front of the most important members of her clan, whom she would be meeting in a few hours. It was not like she had ever needed social skills to interact with Nanny Bot, who was not programmed to form any subjective judgement of her or any children in her care.

Not that she was much of a child anymore at twenty.

However, she could not say she felt any different from how she had felt any other day. She had thought that adulthood would come with some change of perspective and greater maturity that would make the world make sense, but she felt just as silly and ignorant as she always did.

After dressing in her undergarments, she pulled on the glowing, iridescent black silk dress with gentle hands. This was her finest work. Every piece of it was woven and crafted carefully with her hands. Every stitch, knot, and subtly embroidered runic character was mastered to perfection from years of practice, just as expected by children of the Valeryon clan who were taught the craft of fabric-making and dress-crafting from the moment they could walk. The string used for the hand-woven cloth was solidified pure magic.

The dress fit like a glove.

Then, the final piece, the opaque black iridescent veil and the gold circlet was used to secure it in place. The veil fell over Valeryon's face and reached just past her shoulders, obscuring it entirely to the outside despite remaining completely transparent to view through from the inside. This was the result of pure magical intent; her desire determined the magical properties of her string. It was fundamental magic, meant to assist children of their clan with precision and control of their power from a young age.

Valeryon inspected herself in the floor-to-ceiling mirror in her bedroom and breathed a sigh of relief. She felt much better, fully clothed, with her bare face covered.

While she did not always wear the standard clan uniform dress, preferring to dress in tank tops, t-shirts and sweatpants, wearing the veil in public places was mandated. If she ever forgot to wear it, she would immediately be punished with a high-voltage shock. An automated voice would remind her of the Veil-wearing mandate and recommend that she immediately return to her room to wear her veil. She had never forgotten to wear it again after the first painful time she had been shocked as a young child, naturally forgetful and unused to wearing such a thing.

She took a look at the large glowing numbers projected on the nearby wall, 8:30. Seeing that it was time for breakfast, she donned her boots in preparation to leave her room, but just as she did so, her attention was drawn by the sudden warmth, vibration and bright blue glow coming off her Celestial Receiver.

Her breathing came to a halt as she stared at the object with wide eyes.

She took a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. She reached over to touch the spherical stone and gasped when a massive swirling glowing blue portal twice her size sprang forth and came to hover right before her.

She could not believe it.

For the portal to have opened on the day of her twentieth birthday, that would have to mean she was one of the youngest members of this generation of Origin-dwellers. She did not know what her precise birth time was or if it was actually her who was the youngest of all, but it was a little strange to think that anyone born after her was classified as belonging to the generation following hers.

Regardless, she was fully dressed and ready to go. According to information she had found on the Net, symptoms of nausea and dizziness were frequently experienced by inexperienced portal travellers. As recommended, she braced herself for the disorienting feeling and stepped into the portal with her eyes closed tightly.

There was a strange buzzing feeling in the air surrounding her, which faded as she walked across for about a second and a crisp clack of the heel of her boot resounded as she made contact with solid flooring on the other side. 

The buzzing feeling was followed by a buzzing sound, which had Valeryon curiously cracking an eye open to inspect with curiosity. She sucked in a sharp breath and barely avoided choking on the saliva she had sucked in with it.

The buzzing sound was conversing people. Many, many, many people. Living, breathing, non-robotic, non-holographic, organic substance formed sentient organisms.

There were so many of them. All gathered around and increasing by the second as blue portals materialised around them and flickered out of existence as people stepped unsteadily out of them. Seeing the one who appeared right beside her doubling over, Valeryon instinctively reached out to steady the other. During the process she subtly transferred some power to their body to help ease some of the discomfort. She did not wish to draw any attention to herself by performing showy magic, so she narrowed the scope of her magic to a subtle green glow on her fingertips. Valeryon would have ended up the same if she had not read about portal travel beforehand.

"Are you alright?"

"Ugh, yeah, I think so. Thank you."

"No problem." She stopped the flow of her magic and slowly stepped away once she was sure that the other was steady on their feet. She sucked in a sharp breath when the other straightened out and revealed themselves to be a man significantly taller and broader figured than Valeryon herself was.

She had never had a concept of how any aspects of herself compared to others before. However, standing beside this man, Valeryon's 180 cm, which the Net stated was an above-average height, felt like nothing when she found herself face to face with a set of defined pectoral muscles.

She tilted her head up and found herself surprised again as she saw a pair of striking amethyst eyes curved along with what Valeryon recognised from many hours spent on detailed facial analysis of human expressions as a sheepish smile. A smile that led to dimples forming on the other's flushed cheeks. The man had a strong, prominent nose with a slightly crooked bridge, suggesting a previous incorrectly healed breakage. The arch of his nose and the tops of his cheeks were lightly dusted with freckles. The golden hue of his lighter-coloured skin suggested that he spent much time under the sun and denoted him a member of one of the other realms. His hair was wavy and honey-coloured, long enough to reach his shoulders, even tied back as it was.

Valeryon stepped back and tried to breathe through the anxious racing of her heart as she finally realised that not only had she carried a brief, very normal conversation with another human being, but she had also made physical contact with them. Very casual, very normal physical contact.

How had she even managed that? What did he think of her from their brief interaction? Did he believe she was a completely normal person like himself? Or did he think she was an awkward weirdo? Could she ask him for feedback about his feelings after their interaction? Or was that categorised as strange behaviour? That was weird behaviour, right? But if she did not ask, how would she know what to improve for her next interaction with human beings.

Valeryon felt slightly dizzy and tried to focus on her breathing to regain control over her overwhelmed emotions.

Inhale, exhale.

Inhale, exhale.

The increasing number of people forced herself and the tall man to jostle into each other.

"I'm so sorry. Are you alright?"

"Um. Yes."

The man chuckled, "I suppose we should move further to avoid getting trapped here with all the incoming people. Most of the portal openings seem to be concentrated in this area."

"That would probably be the best course of action."

"Well, I'll clear the way then. Feel free to follow behind if you wish."

With no better option, Valeryon did as the other man suggested.

The location they were brought to, which Valeryon suspected to be the Outer World Library, was a vast marble-tiled hall. With the massive crowd of people, it was difficult to see, but Valeryon could make out what seemed to be the many large swirling blue masses on the wall ahead of them, which Valeryon imagined were the portals they would be directed to take shortly.

Standing away from the entrance portals' range allowed Valeryon to regain some much-needed personal space and breathing room. The overwhelmed dizziness from being surrounded by so many foreign stimuli came in waves, but with the breathing exercises to assist her and the tall man's now familiar and strangely reassuring presence not too far from her, she regained control of her senses and maintained her calm.

It was a while before the entry portals finally stopped intermittently appearing with new people. However, Valeryon was unsure until a large holographic projection of a manically smiling woman in strange-coloured revealing clothing suddenly blinked into existence overhead.

"Welcome Trainees to the 200th Round of Origin Inter-Realm Training!"