Chapter 12: Shimmers of the past

Tyr steps onto the cold dark coloured rock surface. Before him is a massive gate four people wide at least. As he steps closer he can hear a faint sound. Tyr can’t make out the words. When he opens the gate thou he gets a huge surprise. The stairway is part of a heaven gate. In his old life, he heard that these can only be stumbled across by luck and test a person’s will. Tyr prepares himself as best he can. He has been to several small stairways to heaven before but this one is the biggest.

He moves up the stairs with ease. The spiral staircase upwards is not as challenging as he expected. From his memories, he knows it means one thing danger! A staircase to heaven has requirements of all three major factors. The mind, the body and the spirit. On his first twelve-step heavens gate. As a level two hundred and thirty-five Legate. He only managed to get to the third step. The heavens staircase have always been unbelievably tough.

The stairs are divided by every twelve steps. The first twelve of these step is a simple test of strength. As a level zero, the staircase can only exert a little force. Tyr realized on the fourth step. He went over his steps checking everything he can. He noticed how his stamina was draining thrice as fast. Lucky for him the combo of his low level and Pristine body makes the steps bearable. From the fifth step, Tyr can feel his whole body strain. His foot wobbles onto the sixth floor as a heavy force envelops him. He shutters ‘this is how the test is supposed to be.’ He was worried that his memories might be wrong. Besides them being incomplete. There is a small part of him that still doesn’t believe. What kind of madman risks everything and everyone he knows.

Tyr steps on the eighth step his mind is focused on moving forward. His memories tell him that stopping is death. Staircases cause ‘real death’. Real death is a term when somebodies account is deleted from the game. If someone dies while connected to the game that is called ‘True Death.’

Tyr can hardly lift his leg onto the ninth step. It feels like his spine is being crushed. He looks like an old shaking with every step. He is covered in salty sweat. His heart is pounding in his throat. He tries to use his arms to help lick up his leg onto the tenth step. He tries to stand to take a breath. He can only muster a few short breathes. He takes many little steps making sure not to stop. His grandpa shuffles his way through. He tries to lift his heavy leg onto the last step. The moment he touches it he coughs up a large amount of blood. The force on him makes it feel like he is a pimple about to be popped.

He can feel his lifeforce fading. The drain making him power shuffle the three steps he needs to take to clear might as well be a mile. He continues willing his body as his lifeforce reaches zero. He is a half step away. He tries anyway he made it this far. At least he can try to make it. This is the furthest he has ever gotten he can be proud of. His pixelating body fizzles on the eighth floor.

[Trial Cleared: Strength of Will Detected 1/3]

Tyrs’ body reappears on the eighth floor. There is a small forested area with a wooden cottage looking over a large lake. Tyr moves towards the wooden cottage. It doesn’t look lived in for many years. He pushes the door it’s stuck. Slamming his body into it the door falls off its hinges.

A man young and vibrant looks up at him. The dust and gunk all over the cottage doesn’t cover him at all. He looks up at Tyr putting down his book. The book in his hand phases into the tome on the small desk next to him. He says, “you could have knocked brother.”

Tyr doesn’t know what to say he is shocked at the man. His persona doesn’t match the cottage. To Tyr it’s like finding a diamond on top of a pile of shit. Tyr remembers something about how high-level characters can sometimes leave behind shimmers of themselves. These shimmers appear around places of power or where that character died. Tyr hopes this man didn’t die here because that’s a whole different kind of shimmer. He shudders as he is flooded by a memory that he wants to forget.

“The door just fell on its own. I’m really sorry about that.” Tyr tries to laugh it off. He doesn’t know what might set this young man off.

The young man says, “Well now that you are here brother. We can talk about uncle Adro.”

Tyr says, ” What about Uncle dear brother?” Tyr looks at the man’s face. His youthful vibrancy flushing. A strong aura enveloping the man. Tyr shudders how does this young know one of the true names of The Moon God.

He stands suddenly pointing at the door. “He’s here already. Take my book it has all my designs use it to build support for the people. It is my gift to you.”

Tyr baffled slightly says, “That book?” Pointing at the tome. Tyr can’t tell if it’s a real treasure or not. Shimmers can hand a player a tome claiming it to be something only for that player to die.

The man says, “Take it make sure uncle doesn’t find it. I will hold him off go now, brother!” The man walks out the door in a brilliant flash. Tyr grabs the tome. The cottage, the forest and the lake all crumble around him revealing another set of twelve steps. These steps are all different colours and spiral upward to a black ceiling that moves about like water.

Only the Tome and Tyr are remaining. Tyr picks up the black covered book. The pages look purple and clearly, there are a lot of pages missing. A chime from the system sounds off.

[Tome of Discovery – Mind Fragment]

Info: The tome of Discovery belonged to Nogu before he ascended to godhood. Nogu was famous for his many passions. Over the years it many sorts his designs. His brother broke his tome into three pieces.

Unusable

Drops on death

Requirements: Inheritor of Nogu

Tyr doesn’t know which god Nogu became but become his inheritor should be the purpose of this tower. Most inheritances are in three pieces. While he has never seen a tome in his past life. Several players did find inheritances like Thousand Styles Miles and Da-Meter the machine god.

Tyr looks at the dark liquid floating ahead. The spiral staircase in front of him is scary. He shakes his body trying to convince himself to climb these steps. The words of Ramata coming to mind as he climbs. the steps. Like before as he steps on his body starts to tingle. But it’s more internal like someone is directly pulling at his nerves. He takes the first three steps quickly. With each step, he feels warmer. Rushing now the pressure is not as heavy as before but a different kind of pain is assaulting him.

Tyrs’ body is burning from the inside out. His insides feel on fire his wounds rubbed with raw chilli. He won’t stop the increase in fires intensity pushes him forward. By the tenth step, he is literally on fire. His entire body surrounded by blue fire. The sizzling of his skin cracks as he steps. His blood evaporates from the heat of the blue flames. He has to hold his to stop trying to stop the flames. Even in this state, he makes sure to step on every step on the way up. Many players in his old life made that mistake jumping over steps is always punished.

The dark waters soothe Tyr as soon as he enters. Another system message getting his attention. He slowly floats up as he reads the message.

[Trial Cleared: Spirit of Fire Detected 2/3]

Tyr is in the middle of the dark lake. Looking around he can’t see anything no stairs. Not even a place to rest. His body starting to get cold. The waters while soothing are also freezing. His teeth start to chatter. He swims not knowing what to do. He swims until he can’t anymore. His body is tired his muscles are burning. This gives him a thought he tries to remember what it felt like when he was on fire. He remembers the feeling towards the end is similar to activated passive. It’s like holding your thumb with all four fingers but in your mind.

The sudden explosion of fire from his body hurts more than the cold everything feels exposed again. At full blast, he can not even last two more minutes…

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