TRIALS: CHOICES & CONSEQUENCES

Ryan found himself falling into darkness, an endless abyss of emptiness that devoured all light and sound. There were no stars, no sun, no moon or planet, only darkness, an ominous darkness that pervades everywhere. He doesn't even feel like he is falling anymore as it is nothing more than an infinite void of silence.

A flash of green light engulfed him, bringing him from an ocean of black nothingness into an entirely different world. Everything was spinning around him, he closed his eyes and he felt a gentle warmth envelop him. When he opened his eyes again he found himself sitting in a field, lush green and surrounded by towering pines and oaks. It was like nothing he had ever experienced before, the breeze was warm against his skin, carrying a fresh scent of pinewood and soil. It smells like freshness and serenity with a hint of rain, somehow making him relax, and at peace.

It's so beautiful.

"C'mon out. I know this isn't real," Ryan shouted.

No response.

He walked through the field and entered a clearing with a lake. The crystal-clear water reflects the sky above, an azure color with the occasional wispy cloud drifting lazily through. The reflection on the lake, it's peaceful here, quiet.

"Well, it seems our assumption was false," A feminine voice resonated throughout the scenery, and suddenly, in a flash of bright light, three beautiful figures manifested before him. They have green hair with emerald-colored eyes, and the figures look almost identical, like they share the same face, only differing by age.

They seemed to glow, giving an ethereal feeling to their appearance, "Looks like our perception isn't flawless," One among the trio with bright, lively emerald eyes sat beside him, watching him carefully.

"Humans sure are complex," Another one of the trio watched him from the lake, their reflection showed a pair of clear, emerald-like orbs watching his every move.

"Oh well, there's nothing we can do," the final one watched him from within the woods. She had a cold demeanor, and she didn't speak much.

"Is this another fake world? The last time I was here, I was stuck in a time loop and had to learn curses to get out... What about this time? It seems a little different from last time and there weren't any ladies back then," Ryan asked the girls surrounding him as he knew that these human-looking creatures were not actually alive because he couldn't feel their life force.

"To call it another fake world might not be the correct word. It depends on what you are doing. Are you looking at your soul inside? Or are you looking for some sort of training? The past you messed things up pretty well despite our guidance. He chased after knowledge and power blindly only to become too strong, but alas the frail body of a zombie can only do that much," The lively-eyed emerald-haired beauty explained. She was wearing an extremely tight dress with cleavage up to her waist and the skirt length wasn't much longer, revealing her slim and sexy figure as she came towards Ryan.

She twirled him around, forcing him to look at her beauty.

"Zombie?!" Ryan raised his brows.

"Yes, a zombie. He failed to master the basic spell of soul transfer due to lack of time and tried to rush it, so a botched spell turned him into an undead or what we call a zombie with a brain, destined to rot and wither away after living twice the life of a human. Later when he was discarded, he faked death and crawled out of the pit, and hid himself in isolation. He wasted half his life, trying to undo the curse. He failed and spent the rest half mastering the time magic... But you see, Ryan, just like how Necromancy gives you near-invincible power, a slight slip-up is all it takes to break you completely."

She walked toward the lake and gazed into the still water.

"By the time he mastered time magic, his zombified body had already reached its limit. He was nothing but bones at that point, withered bones that might just break from a slight gust of wind. He used Reverse Chrono Freeze charm on himself, but as I said, a slight slip-up is all it takes. He lacked the necessary power to use it. The charm backfired and threw him across time. He drifted into an infinite void till he reached the same place where it all started. By that time, his soul was already on the brink of destruction. He only managed to leave a wisp of his memory in the crystal and sent it back to his past self," She explained.

Ryan just stared at them dumbfounded, unable to say anything.

"Let me ask you this. What the hell is this crystal? Who are you three ladies?" He asked.

"Ah! You humans are very stupid, Ryan. The thing that you call a crystal is actually much more than just a crystal that gives you knowledge or creates a time loop for training... It's an artifact forged in the depths of hell, by a certain someone who was scammed by the Gatekeeper just like you," She giggled while explaining as if it was just a joke, but the information she gave was huge.

Ryan's eyes widened, as the realization struck him, "Hold up. Hell? Forged in hell? That bastard Gatekeeper! So, I wasn't the first one he scammed?"

"Yes. But you are the first one to survive. Must be due to that bad luck of yours that prevented death from reaching you or should I say good luck? Either way, the crystal was forged by someone else, a dark wizard from this world, whose name is lost in time. He was powerful enough to sneak out the artifact from hell right under the nose of that Gatekeeper. Ever since then, it has been waiting for a survivor. It has been waiting to impart the lost magic of necromancers, or at least as much knowledge as it could to bring back a new wizard to take revenge. As for what you do with this power is up to you. As for who we are, we are constructs, made to guide you during your trials..."

"Trials?" Ryan couldn't help but interrupt her.

"Don't interrupt me and listen, stupid. Yes, trials. There are twenty trials. Complete them all to unlock the full potential of this artifact. You have already passed your first trial back at Azkaban, which gave you the adaptability to use any magic as long as you know the incantation or what that magic does at the cost of your stamina and focus. The second trial... It has already begun," She giggled with the eyes that seemed to glow with an inner light.

"Which is?" Ryan asked impatiently, glaring at her.

She laughed and moved closer to him, "The choices we make have dire consequences. Isn't that right, Ryan?"

"..." He didn't reply since he knew what she was pointing at. He has already interfered with the events and things changed more than he wished for.

She continued...

"Right now, three beautiful ladies, whose destiny you changed, are chasing after you. Thanks to that history has changed in this already-changed world. The birth of Harry Potter is at stake since Lily Evans fell for you instead of James. The prophecy has changed. Voldemort lost half his army and Bellatrix. Those who were supposed to die by her hands won't die. Puddifoot, who was never supposed to fall in love but helped other couples fall in love, fell in love herself. Now, are you ready to face the consequences of your choices? Your second trial... the consequence," she hugged him tightly and jumped into the lake with him.

Ryan couldn't even resist or move his body.

The other two joined them.

"Wha-?!" Ryan was drowning as those three were pushing him down underwater. He couldn't breathe.

.

Darkness.

"Am I dead again?"

This time though, he is slowly sinking towards the light, a sea of faint lights shimmering below, tiny floating spheres that dance across a pitch blackness like fireflies in a summer's night.

Ryan continued to walk. As he stepped into the light, he found himself standing before an altar with an old book. Around the altar were snakes. Way too many poisonous snakes, living, as well as undead snakes. But what caught Ryan's eyes were the snakes with elemental and some extra properties, fire, water, lightning, pure poison, water, even a few made of visible air with faint green bodies, then, a few metal snakes and a few mutated mixes.

He could hear the hissing noises the snakes were making, but he couldn't understand the language of snakes, as of yet.

Suddenly, they slithered towards Ryan and attacked him. He instinctively waved his hand in the air, summoning a barrier using wandless magic.

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Next, Ch: 32: Villains aren't born, but made

Ch: 33: Moth flying toward fire

Ch: 34: A nice morning to die