1 Welcome to the Trials

"Richardson, this is your last chance! How do I bring the mana back?" Jason raised his blade as he coated it with shining mana.

A single strike would ensure that the emperor would fall; but, he had the opportunity to be spared.

Jason floated above the sprawling city he once called home. Across from him stood his world's unshakeable leader, Thomas Richardson.

A maelstrom of hail the size of small cars circled the two men, preventing reinforcements from gathering quickly. The mage that summoned the storm was nowhere in sight.

A lithe figure could be seen dancing through the blizzard with twin blades in hand.

One moment she would be dancing a beautiful ballet, the next she would perform an athletic display as if she were figure skating through the air, dodging the glaciers and any obstacles in her way.

This deadly assassin would engage any enemy that attempted to breach the perimeter, causing them to fall as casualties in this assault.

"You idiot, mana was making people sick," the distinguished man screamed over the roar of his surroundings, "It was turning them into creatures that would make your skin crawl!"

He recoiled away from Jason, trying to find an opening for his escape, but saw none in sight.

"We had to disguise it as a plague so people wouldn't resist the vaccine. Only the truly talented were exempt!" He attempted to buy time, "They were sent to the trials! They were protected!"

Jason screamed, "The trials are bullshit…"

*****

"Wow, Jason, another check? I know it's payday, but don't you think you should take it easy?" asked a short, dark-haired man with sunken eyes resembling a meerkat.

"Man, calm down, Cody! I work, I eat, I sleep, and I gamble. What am I supposed to save it up for?" Jason asked his companion.

"Ooh, maybe I could get a bigger apartment so that I could have more space to fit my bed?" He quipped, with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Pulling the lever on the slot machine:

The frustrated Cody watched another $10 slip out of his grasp.

"Nah, ever since that pandemic and the decision for 'government approved' activities happened, I feel like my motivation has just left me. Why not just blow my cash and wait to get old?" He rhetorically asked Cody, not expecting a serious reply.

"You do realize you're never going to meet a woman that way, right?" Cody's gaze shifted toward the back of a hostess, ignoring his friend.

"At least get a new jacket! That old leather piece of crap makes you look like a bum!" He added as he called the hostess over and took a drink off her tray.

"Hell, you may even just meet a woman here," he smiled as he slipped his number to the hostess that batted her eyelashes at him.

"You do realize they do that for tips, right?" Jason asked as he pulled the lever again, losing another $10.

"Plus, who wants to meet a woman? I'd have to convince the country that our relationship would be beneficial to society. No thanks." The ever-pessimistic Jason increased his bet to $200. He pulled the lever on the slot machine while lighting another cigarette.

*Ting* *Ting* *Ting*

*JACKPOT!*

Sirens blared and the sound of artificial coins filled the air.

"I hate how you seem to do that every time. Are you at least going to take some home?" Cody was pretty upset.

It had been nearly two hours since he had run out of money to gamble with, yet Jason just kept going. If it wasn't for the free drinks at the bar, he would have left alone.

The screen read $37,000, which wasn't a small sum to Jason.

It wasn't a million dollar winner that he could retire on, but he considered it a decent form of entertainment. It wasn't fun only losing, after all.

"Alright, we can go." Jason sighed, knowing that sum would take forever to gamble on a slot machine.

"Go, as in leave, or go to a different game?" Cody asked, almost expecting they

could actually depart the casino.

"We'll go to the cage, get my cash, and then I'll play just one more game. 5 minutes tops," Jason promised

The cashiers slowly counted out his jackpot for the cameras to verify and Jason left a them a wonderful tip. He wasn't stubborn and understood that they had to go through their processes too.

Cody left the cashier area and headed toward Jason's favorite machines. It wasn't unusual for him to want to play one last game.

"Where are you going?" asked Jason, interrupting his friend.

"You said you wanted to play one more game…" he looked at Jason, confused.

"Yup, just one more," The young gambler replied, as he started walking towards the high roller section.

"No! You're going to do something stupid, aren't you? Why don't you just give me the money and we can pretend you lost? Just throw it in the trash can; I'll pretend I never found it! it'll be the exact same outcome for you at the end of the day!" Cody begged in exasperation.

"Nope," Jason said shortly.

"Seriously, it's the only thing that makes me feel alive these days. Why do you always want to take that thrill from me?" Jason explained to his friend as he walked up to the roulette table and placed $37,430 on 1 red.

"All of it on a single number? You're insane," cried Cody!

"Hey, you wanted it to go fast." Jason chuckled, "Worst-case scenario, we leave here in a minute, best case scenario, I win big. Either way, it's fast!"

The attractive roulette dealer verified his bet and threw the ball as everyone around the table stood with bated breath. It was the high roller area, but it wasn't often someone rolled that high!

After a few rotations the ball clicked as it nestled itself into position.

"28 Black," the dealer announced professionally, and collected the chips..

"Well, that sucks!" Jason shrugged his shoulders, "okay, let's go!"

He started walking toward the exit as Cody just stood in place staring at his friend, completely bewildered at what just happened.

The familiar tone of of the pandemic app chirped, reminding the duo that they needed to enter their travel destination.

[Safety protocols confirmed.]

[Destination *home* confirmed.]

[Please follow the designated route.]

Jason and Cody started walking along the sidewalk towards their house.

Without the AI, it would only be about a 15-minute walk, but with the new route they had to follow, the journey would take them approximately an hour.

It was eerie. The streets were completely empty in this large city.

Everyone had their destinations determined with their routes planned; the once lively atmosphere of the concrete jungle turned desolate and suffocating. Jason saw a small stone on the sidewalk and questioned when he last saw a piece of litter; as he kicked the pebble down the sidewalk.

"Bro, you don't want them thinking we left that here, right? Let me pick it up quick," Cody immediately jumped to the side to make sure he was following the rules.

"This is so stupid," Jason moaned, "Look, we are supposed to split up and go around the block and then get back on the same route on the other side. That's just insanity."

"Yeah, but you know how it is. There's probably someone along the way that would cause us to go over capacity. It's best if we just go along with it." Cody insisted, not wanting to make any waves with the authorities.

"CODY!" Jason smacked him on the back of the head

"If that were the situation, couldn't we both take the detour? Please! Be smarter." He continued walking down the original path, "Whatever, I'm heading straight. You can take the little AI's shortcut if you want. Be a coward; it's cool."

He was so set in his ways and didn't question things to the point that it was almost frustrating to even try to bring the topic up. Jason just wanted a conversation; he wasn't really looking for an argument.

Jason smirked as he noticed Cody slowing down. Eventually, he gave in and turned to take the detour designated on his phone.

At the end of the day, it was the better choice after all. Jason just wanted to talk about it and give him a hard time. He didn't want to cause him to do something that would have him thrown in jail tonight!

'I still don't understand why we had to split up. There's no one here!' Jason thought as he heard a loud "THWACK" coming from behind him.

His breath seemed to stop as his heart skipped a beat and his knees buckled.

'Is the ground getting closer?' was his final thought as his vision faded before he met his concrete bed.

Opening his eyes slowly, his hand inspected the back of his head; he felt dried blood. A searing white light burned his eyes, making it impossible to sense anything in his surroundings. The silence was so stifling he could hear his own heart beat.

At least, it didn't feel like he was restrained. His head was pounding, but he was alive.

He closed his eyes for a moment in an attempt to gather his thoughts. Upon opening them again, he noticed everything was still white, but it was almost as if he was in a space made of light rather than under a bright light.

'What the hell is going on here? There's obviously no floor, but I'm not falling? What is this-'

[WELCOME TO THE TRIALS OF HUMANITY] A mysterious deep voice echoed through the void.

"You need to calm the Hell down," Jason said, unimpressed.

[WHAT?]

"I have a migraine, lower your volume," Jason demanded.

[WELCOME TO THE TRIALS OF HUMANITY] The voice remained the same, but the volume was much lower.