1 The Beginning

Arrows came flying out of slits in the walls from both sides. A young girl named Topia skillfully dodged all of them while making her way through a narrow corridor. Although not the most efficient as she was moving forwards at a slow pace, she did not get hit once.

Having travelled through this corridor in this manner for nearly a mile, a large amount of sweat covered Topia, who now spotted an opening up ahead. While unsheathing a thin but long blade she began to run while slashing at the air, and miraculously all the arrows flying through her path fell to the ground in pieces. With her previous exhaustion that was already nearing its limit, this final dash was using energy she didn't have as she pushed herself because she wasn't ready to die. Running through the corridor with her life on the line, her entire being trembled with a mix of fear and excitement. Topia felt herself passing out, so she decided to jump into a dive where she evaded all but two arrows as she fell into the unknown space with a thump while already having passed out.

~~~

Topia woke up to a VERY startling noise. It was her stomach rumbling at such a volume that it could compare to an earthquake.

"Ah, now I remember what I forgot when I left home this morning." Topia couldn't help but think of herself as an airhead because there are times when she is very absent minded. Thinking back to the morning just in case she forgot something else, she ended up nodding in a sense of satisfaction. 'Normally I end up forgetting at least two things but I did good this time. She attempts to get up before realizing that she can't.

"Well I am screwed..." Topia said while using the only part of her that was willing to move with much difficulty. Using the last of her strength she lifted her head up to glance forward where she saw the golden orb, the golden orb that gives divinity to those who complete the trials. As her head began to fall downwards and her eyelids grew heavier a man entered her fuzzy vision.

"Since you're so close I will give you a chance, however if you fail to become a god within 5 years your fate will remain the same." A voice came from the man, and the words echoed through Topia's mind as she dreamed of them.

~~~

Topia woke up to a rumbling noise, but this time it was not her stomach. Standing up quickly and looking behind her she saw the nearby walls, ceiling, and floor collapsing into a lightless void. As the surroundings cracked apart, a deep cold suffocating darkness entered through the holes. 'The time limit? How long have I been in here, I thought the time limit for this trial was two weeks?' Topia thought to herself while rushing to the golden orb before the void suffocated her or the ground below her crumbled away. She reached her hand out and touched the orb. Feeling something flowing into her body Topia understood it was working but still her natural reaction made her jolt back away from the orb. She fell into the void and was surrounded in pure cold and suffocating darkness. She felt the darkness invading her body before standing right where she was when she entered the trial. Looking around she spotted her mom who was crying for some reason.

"Mom, I beat the trial!" Topia said hoping it would cheer her up.

"Oh, you're here to haunt me so soon. Well i'm sooo soorrry~ that I couldn't be a better mother and stop you from going into that trial when I knew full well that you could die." She let out a burst of hysterical laughter before continuing. "This world is for the living! You don't belong here!" Her laughing turned into intensified crying as tears began washing away her makeup in a stream of grey liquid.

"Gloria, for our gods' sake take a closer look in front of you!" A voice echoed out from behind Topia's mom. Topia who noticed her dad walking up from behind her mom now showed some happiness.

"Dad, I beat the trial!" Topia said with excitement.

"B...b.but the elder said 7 minutes had already passed since you entered and left... You should be dead!" She said while pointing at Topia. "You must've fallen into the void before you reached the orb. There is no other way you were in there for more than a minute past the time limit! You're a demon who replaced my daughter!" Topia's mother shouted, but before she could continue she fell into her husband's arms.

"Dad don't you think I might be a demon too?" A tear showed in her eye.

"You dummy, I can sense the divinity in you. You are a demi-god now, there is nothing left to doubt." He walked over to Topia and gave her a hug.

"Thanks Dad!" Topia looked out at the city that was full of buildings constructed of stone and wood, she was excited for tomorrow because her neighborhood would celebrate her completion of the trial. With the sun falling past the hills in the distance nightfall arrived, and Topia watched for a few minutes as most of the buildings in the city were soon dimly lit up with the orange light that came from a fire.

"Let's get going Topia" Topia's dad said, and she replied with a nod. She followed behind him as he carried his wife back home, where they went to sleep with grand expectations for the next day. However these expectations did not live on past the morning.

*Bang

"Topia we need to get going!" While the door slamming open woke her up, the sound of her father's voice made her stay awake.

"What's wrong?"

"Your mother woke up before me and started telling everyone that you're a demon. The news keeps spreading so there was nothing I could do. We need to get out of here now!" Her dad responded in haste while exiting her room and entering his room where he started packing his bag. Topia now understanding the situation jumped out of bed and glanced into the mirror at her messy appearance. She was a 15 year old girl with strong yet not visible muscles, a nearly flat chest, short brown hair, and bright orange eyes. She had been trained from birth in the City of Beginning which recieved its name for the fact that it is stationed around the 1st Trial which is the starting place for all demi-gods. It is a trial that tests determination, stamina, and strategy. It is a random trial that will challenge the person, and will kill them if they are not good enough in one of the three catagories. The time limit is 15 days inside and 6 minutes outside. Topia now moving towards her dresser grabbed a sack but before she could start stuffing it full of clothes heard her father say.

"No time, don't take too much." She looked back at what she was doing and realized if she truly took an armful or two of her shirts then it wouldn't fit in the sack. Especially if she planned on grabbing that much of her undergarments and pants/shorts too. Begrudgingly she only grabbed two of each as well as her metal plated outfit, and her sword.

"They're already at the door, grab your bag and go out the window." He said quietly while pointing towards her window. There were swarms of people quietly converging on the house. They stayed quiet until Topia's mom spoke up.

"Kill the demon!" She shouted as loud as she could.

"KILL THE DEMON!" The mob shouted loud enough for the whole city to hear.

"KILL THE DEMON!" They repeated repeatedly each time louder than before with the whole city practically shaking, more people came out from their homes to join in. Many of them wearing items that muffled the sound on their ears.

"If they don't kill me with anything else first, I am sure their voices will kill me." Topia said while hiding in a dark alley with her father.

"Luckily they can't do a city wide search yet since a large number of people don't know what you look like." He said while pointing towards a group of two who were talking about who the demon might be. "At this point gossip like that might lead to a few of the more corrupt people in the city being attacked.

"Dad, I was wondering about what you said. I know you can't sense divinity so why did you say that, when there are clear reasons why I could be a demon." Topia was sad because her dad could end up hurt because of her.

"Even if I am not one of those elites who pursue the path to becoming a god, I am still your father so I can sense any change in you." He replied with a smile. Topia thought back to what she had learned in school. Demi-god refers to anyone who has completed at least one of the thousand trials, super is a largely accepted term for those who have completed over 10, and elite is for the few who have completed over 100. Lastly once one completes 1000 they become a true god. It is common knowledge to complete the trials in order because they are numbered by difficulty, however it is not necessary to do any of them in the proper order except that trial 1000 must come last, trial 500 must be your 500th and trial 1 must come first. If not for the massive city full of worshippers of the last trial then the City of Beginning would be the largest city in the world.

"All right I'll accept your dumb answer for now, but tell me how we are gonna get out of here?" She asked while watching the outside of the alleyway while people constantly filled the street outside. With people occasionally glancing down towards her, she relied on being hidden and no one noticed her.

"Oh, you two want to be smuggled out of the city?" A voice came out from behind them. It was a young man wearing a gold colored badge.

"W-who are you?" Topia asked almost stumbling out from behind the large box she was using to hide.

"Me? I am just a wandering merchant who wants to get out of this city, and away from this awful noise. However I smelled an opportunity coming from here, and what do you know I found a demon." He had a massive smile on his face.

"You're willing to get us out of the city?" Topia's dad asked.

"Of course, besides she isn't really a demon." The merchant responded with a big smile.

"Well maybe I am. What proof do you have?" Topia asked.

"I don't see any horns, wings, or a tail so how could she be a demon?" He responded as his smile grew wider.

"Maybe I am a special kind of demon." She said, getting mildly irritated for some reason.

"Calm down. I don't have anything to completely prove that you aren't a demon here, but if you come with me it is a different story." The merchant's voice was clear and loud despite the mob's chanting in the background. Before Topia could further retort herself being a demon, her father nodded his head and spoke.

"We have nothing to lose, you had me when you asked us if we wanted to be smuggled out of the city. I believe introductions are needed, this is my daughter Topia and my name is George." George said.

"Alright George, my name is Maxwell." The merchant replied. "Follow me and I will get you out of this city safely." He said as he began walking. Topia's father followed and Topia waited a second before following to collect herself because she almost shouted at Maxwell with no reason. Maxwell guided them through areas with large amounts of people and areas with no one to avoid a situation where someone could identify Topia. Finally arriving at a large building with wagons on one side and horses on the other, both with guards watching for thieves. Maxwell announced that this was an inn for travelling merchants to keep their merchandise while they can sleep in comfort.

"Stay here, I will be right back with my wagon." He said before running off into the building.

"Dad he left us right in the open." Topia said while looking around.

"Don't worry I'll keep you safe." Her dad responded by giving her a hug that covered her from the sight of others. She did not resist despite finding it a little hard to breath. Maxwell came out of the building with another person, who helped him grab two horses and attach them to a wagon. Which Maxwell drove to where he left the two. Topia's dad released her and she understood why when she saw the wagon next to them. Maxwell came down from the driver's seat and led them to the back of the wagon.

"Find something empty to get in."

"But?" Topia tried to ask a question before being interrupted.

"So long as it is my wagon around half the crates and barrels are garanteed to be empty." Maxwell smiled before saying "My main source of income is not from my products." He laughed a little to himself before hearing a question.

"How are we supposed to breath?" Topia asked.

"Not my problem, just don't get caught when the gate guard's check the back." Maxwell said while walking away. Topia looked back inside the wagon where she saw her dad pick up a large barrel with ease before setting it down. He then opened the lid and climbed inside after making sure it was empty. Topia followed his example after climbing over a wall of crates that seemed to be full of heavy objects, she looked around at the other side which was a pile of barrels with few of them actually standing up straight. She didn't bother testing the weight like her dad and instead just opened the lid on one that was standing up straight. The barrel was empty so she was going to get in. However just before she could get in it she felt everything move, the floor started shaking around as she was forced to stand on the empty barrels to avoid falling but with them constantly changing position she had to do the same. The barrel that she was going to get into kept moving around, and she couldn't stop to take a breath as it would lead to her falling. This situation continued for a few moments before everything seemed to calm down. The before constant shifting now only occured every few seconds when the wagon hit a bump on the road. Before more turbulence could happen Topia jumped into the barrel she previously decided on without realizing the consequences. With the lid held in her hands that stuck out of the barrel she held it there, but then turbulence returned and she ended up closing herself into the barrel. While normally a person could probably last a few minutes from the air stored in the barrel Topia who had just accidentally trapped herself in here was panicking, not to mention basically jumping around on top of barrels. Her breaths were fast and irregular, and she began feeling the lack of air after 30 seconds causing her to breathe faster and push hard on the lid to the barrel. It opened and she saw both her dad and Maxwell standing on the outside of the barrel. Topia now noticed that the wagon was no longer moving.

"We are nearing the city gate. I need you to hold the lid in a way that your fingers won`t show to anyone outside and so that you can close it if they take a closer look. As you have figured out these barrels cannot be opened from the inside so 4 minutes after we leave the gate I will come check on you two." Maxwell said before immediately turning around to leave.

"I don't like him." Topia said while returning to her barrel. Her dad didn't know how to respond so he just returned to his barrel. Maxwell sat in the front and held a rope connected to the horses as he watched the gate come closer and closer.