Aiden blinks.
The world around him is quiet. Warm. Peaceful.
Too peaceful.
He stands in a grand throne room—marble floors polished to perfection, golden banners hanging from the ceiling. Sunlight streams through the towering windows, casting an almost holy glow over everything.
At the center of it all—himself.
Seated on a throne.
Dressed in regal armor, a crown resting lazily on his head, one leg draped over the other like he owns the world. Because apparently—he does.
"Huh." Aiden rubs his chin. "I like this."
"Do you?"
Aiden stiffens.
A man walks in—tall, powerful, carrying an air of authority that makes the room his despite the throne saying otherwise.
It''s Ivar Pendrol.
His older brother. His dead older brother.
Aiden swallows. "Oh. Yeah. This is a dream. That makes sense."
Ivar stops in front of him, his piercing gaze locking onto Aiden''s face. "This isn''t a dream, Aiden. This is your future."
Aiden scoffs. "My future where I get a cool throne? Sounds good so far."
Ivar doesn''t laugh.
Instead, he throws something at Aiden''s feet.
A sword.
Bloodied. Familiar.
Aiden''s smile falters.
"You don''t remember?" Ivar asks, voice calm. Too calm.
Aiden doesn''t answer.
Because now—he does.
Memories flood his mind.
A dark night. A desperate decision.
Ivar, standing before him, blood dripping down his chest—Aiden''s sword lodged deep in his brother''s gut.
Aiden, standing over him, breath shaking, hands trembling.
And behind him—
A shadow.
A voice.
"You made the right choice, Aiden."
Aiden''s heart pounds. "No. That—That never happened!"
"But it will." Ivar steps forward. "You will betray me."
"No. I wouldn''t—"
"You will."
Aiden grits his teeth. "Why the hell would I kill my own brother?!"
And then—he steps forward.
A man. Cloaked. Smirking. His presence oozing arrogance.
Aiden doesn''t recognize his face.
But he knows one thing for certain—
He hates this guy.
The man chuckles. "Because, my dear Aiden… I convinced you to."
Aiden stares at him. Then at Ivar.
Then back at him.
Then back at Ivar.
Then—he groans, rubbing his temples. "Okay. No offense, but this whole thing is really dumb."
Ivar blinks. "Excuse me?"
"This whole trial!" Aiden gestures wildly. "You expect me to believe that I betray you—for this guy?!" He jabs a finger at the smirking man. "Look at him! He''s the most obviously evil person I''ve ever seen! He literally looks like he kicks puppies for fun!"
The man looks offended. "I do not kick puppies."
Aiden glares. "You definitely do."
Ivar crosses his arms. "Aiden. Focus."
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"I am focused! Focused on the fact that this is the stupidest future I''ve ever seen! What, did I just wake up one day and decide, ''Oh yeah, I should totally stab my brother, the only person who''s ever had my back—just because Discount Villain Supreme over here told me to?!''"
Ivar sighs. "The point isn''t the how. The point is that you will."
Aiden scowls. "Yeah? Well, watch this."
He turns—marches straight up to Evil McPunchable—
And punches him in the face.
The man yelps, crashing into a pillar.
Aiden dusts off his hands. "Boom. Problem solved. Trial over. I win."
Silence.
Ivar stares.
The cloaked man groans from the floor. "That… That wasn''t supposed to happen."
Aiden shrugs. "Yeah, well. Neither was this betrayal bullshit."
Ivar watches him carefully.
"You refuse this fate?"
"Obviously." Aiden crosses his arms. "I don''t care what this trial says—I will never betray you. Ever."
Ivar tilts his head. "Even if the world turns against you?"
"Then the world can fight me."
A beat of silence.
Then—slowly, for the first time—Ivar smiles.
The world begins to crack.
The throne room shatters like glass, light flooding in.
And just before Aiden is swallowed by the light, he hears Ivar''s voice one last time—
"Good. Then keep that promise, brother."
Aiden gasps—
And wakes up, heart pounding.
A long pause.
Then—he groans, rubbing his face.
"What kind of stupid trial was that?!"
---
Aiden stands before a massive, ominous door.
It''s ugly.
Not in the cursed, terrifying, eldritch horror kind of way—no, it''s just... ugly. The paint is peeling, the wood looks like termites had a feast, and worst of all—someone carved "AIDEN IS A LOSER" into it.
He glares. "Okay, that''s just uncalled for."
The door does not respond.
Aiden sighs, cracking his knuckles. "Alright. Trial number two. Trial of Origin. Probably gonna see something horrible, learn something deep, maybe cry a little—let''s get this over with."
He shoves the door open.
The world shifts.
Aiden blinks—and suddenly, he''s in a house.
A familiar one.
His childhood home.
Warm lantern light flickers over the wooden walls, the scent of freshly cooked stew drifting through the air. A cozy fireplace crackles. The sound of laughter echoes from another room.
Aiden''s eyes widen. "Oh."
Then he grins. "Nice. Finally, a wholesome trial—"
"—YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBAAASS!"
The sound of something shattering makes Aiden flinch.
His eyes dart to the doorway leading to the kitchen—where a young boy (him) is hiding behind a table.
And across from him—
His mother.
Aiden freezes.
His mother is holding a frying pan. And she looks furious.
Aiden blinks. "Wait. Hold on. What''s happening—?"
And then—
"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW DANGEROUS THAT WAS?!" she screams, waving the frying pan like it''s a weapon.
Young Aiden yelps, clutching his head. "I DIDN''T MEAN TO—!"
"OH, YOU DIDN''T MEAN TO SET THE SHED ON FIRE?! REALLY?! I''M SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THAT?!"
Aiden—Future Aiden—chokes. "I did WHAT?!"
His younger self flails. "IT WAS AN EXPERIMENT!"
His mother''s nostrils flare. "YOU''RE SIX!"
Aiden squints. "Wait. What was I even experimenting with—?"
"I WANTED TO SEE IF FIRE WOULD SPREAD FASTER WITH WIND !"
Future Aiden smacks his forehead. "Oh my god, I was an idiot."
"You were a menace!" his mother continues. "And where was your accomplice in crime, huh? Where''s IVAR?"
As if summoned by sheer bad timing, a young Ivar peeks into the room—his face completely blank, a half-eaten loaf of bread in his hands.
He chews.
Slowly.
Aiden''s mother turns to him. "Did you know about this?"
Ivar, still chewing, takes another bite. Then—without hesitation—
"I was asleep."
Aiden gasps. "LIAR!"
His younger self also gasps. "LIAR!"
Aiden''s mother stares. "Ivar."
Ivar swallows, his face deadpan. "I have no idea what he''s talking about."
Future Aiden clutches his chest, wheezing. "I CAN''T BELIEVE THIS! HE SOLD ME OUT!"
His mother pinches the bridge of her nose. "You two. Just—just sit down. I need to calm down before I start swinging this frying pan."
Future Aiden sighs in relief. "Thank god, I don''t have to watch myself get hit—"
Then his mother throws the pan at Young Aiden''s head.
CLANG.
Aiden screeches.
Future Aiden screeches louder.
Young Aiden collapses. "I''M GONNA DIEEEE—!"
Ivar takes another bite of bread. "Deserved."
As Future Aiden recovers from secondhand pain, the world suddenly shifts.
Everything blurs, reshaping into a different moment in time.
The kitchen fades.
Now—he''s outside.
Aiden blinks. "Huh?"
It''s the backyard. It''s... nighttime. The shed—long before it was burned to the ground—is still standing.
And standing behind it—
Himself and Ivar.
Aiden watches as his younger self—maybe eight years old now—looks up at Ivar with wide, determined eyes.
"One day, I''m gonna be strong enough to protect you!"
Future Aiden sucks in a breath.
Ivar, still taller at this point, raises an eyebrow. "Oh yeah?"
Young Aiden puffs up his chest. "YEAH! No one''s ever gonna mess with you, ''cause I''ll beat ''em up! And then—"
He points at the sky. "—I''m gonna be the strongest warrior in the whole world!"
Future Aiden stares.
Ivar tilts his head, watching his younger brother''s excitement. Then—slowly, he smiles.
"Alright." Ivar crouches down, ruffling Young Aiden''s hair. "Then I''ll be waiting for that day, little brother."
Aiden''s heart pounds.
The memory fades.
And just like that—he''s back at the door.
Aiden stands in silence.
Processing.
The trial is over. The second door of madness has shown him what he needed to see.
His mother''s rage. His brother''s betrayal in the face of danger. The sheer idiocy of his childhood self.
And yet—
The only thing that lingers in his chest—
Is the promise.
The one he never remembered. The one he made.
Aiden clenches his fists. His jaw tightens.
He takes a deep breath—
And then—
"...I still can''t believe Ivar sold me out."
The door slams shut behind him.
---
Aiden stands before the last door of madness.
It''s… just a door.
No ominous carvings. No eerie glow. No mocking graffiti calling him an idiot. Just a plain wooden door with a simple brass handle.
Aiden squints. "Well, that''s suspicious."
The last two trials were brutal. The first showed him a future he refused to accept. The second revealed a past he never knew existed.
This one? This is just weirdly polite.
Aiden folds his arms. "Alright, what''s the catch?"
The door does not respond.
"…Cool. Guess I''ll find out the hard way." He grabs the handle and pushes.
The world shifts.
Aiden blinks.
He''s—
In a village.
Not a battlefield. Not a vision of a ruined world. Just a peaceful, quiet little village. The sun is shining, birds are singing, and—most importantly—nothing is on fire.
Aiden furrows his brow. "Okay, now I know this is a trap."
He steps forward, scanning his surroundings. The houses are small but cozy. Children laugh as they run through the streets. Merchants wave at customers, shouting out prices for bread and fresh produce.
Then—
"Aiden! You on break again?!"
A voice calls his name.
Aiden turns—just in time to see a boy waving at him.
No—not just any boy.
His brother.
Ivar Pendrol.
Aiden''s stomach drops.
Ivar runs up to him, grinning. "You really ditched work again, huh? Dad''s gonna kill you."
Aiden stares.
Ivar is alive.
Not a memory. Not a ghost. Not a twisted illusion from his past.
Aiden reaches out slowly, his fingers barely brushing Ivar''s shoulder—
Solid.
Real.
"…Ivar?" Aiden whispers.
Ivar frowns. "Yeah? You okay, idiot?"
Aiden doesn''t answer. He''s too busy watching the rest of his family walk toward him.
His father. His mother. His sister.
All alive.
All smiling.
And in that moment—Aiden realizes what this trial truly is.
Aiden walks through the village, trying to ignore the increasingly disturbing sense of belonging.
People greet him like they''ve known him for years.
He finds a workshop—his supposed job—and sees his own name etched into a wooden sign.
He walks into a small home—somehow his home—and sees his family sitting around a table, laughing and eating together.
It''s too perfect. Too normal.
And that''s when he hears the voice.
"Do you like it?"
Aiden turns sharply.
A man stands in the doorway.
Tall. Calm. Familiar.
Aiden''s stomach churns. "…You."
Because standing there—perfectly at ease—is him.
An older version of himself.
But not a warrior. Not a fighter. This Aiden has no scars. No battle-hardened eyes. No fire in his core.
Just a man who has lived a simple, peaceful life.
Future Aiden smiles. "It''s not a trick. It''s real. This is what your life could be."
Aiden glares. "You mean if I give up my Core."
Future Aiden nods. "If you choose to forget. If you let it all go. You can live this life. A quiet life. A happy life."
Aiden stares at him. "…And Ivar?"
"He lives. He is your brother. Not your enemy. Not someone you betrayed. You never had to choose between him and power."
Aiden clenches his fists.
Future Aiden steps closer. "Just let go."
Aiden exhales sharply.
A quiet life.
No burdens.
No war.
No pain.
No betrayal.
His brother—alive. His family—safe.
Aiden''s eyes snap open.
Aiden grins.
It''s not a soft grin. Not a hesitant grin.
No—this is a wild, reckless, unhinged grin.
The kind of grin that makes Future Aiden take a step back.
Aiden stretches, rolling his shoulders. "Man, I gotta say—this place is really nice. The house, the food, the whole ''nobody trying to kill me'' thing—real tempting."
Future Aiden watches him carefully. "Then stay."
Aiden smirks. "Yeah, I''d love to—"
Then he punches Future Aiden in the face.
CRACK.
Future Aiden flies across the room, crashing into a table.
Aiden cracks his knuckles. "—But I''m not an idiot."
Future Aiden groans. "You just punched yourself—"
Aiden dusts off his hands. "Yup."
"Why?!"
"Because I''ve met me. And I know for a fact I''d never be happy as some weak-ass villager!"
Future Aiden stares.
Aiden grins. "And you forgot the most important thing."
"What?"
Aiden slams his fist into his palm. "I love punching people."
The world shatters.
The village disappears.
Aiden wakes up—back in reality.
He exhales, his Core still burning within him.
The trial is over.
He made his choice.
---
To be continued