6 Space

Emp undertook the task of scanning the edge of the cliff for a way to get back down. Treasure was waiting for him down there. He had to collect it and be on his way.

After around ten minutes of walking, he found an irregularity in the rock. There was a section of stone missing from the top of the cliff, the hole was perfectly rectangular. Once he approached it, he understood what it was. There was a stairway dug into the stone that ended abruptly at the edge of the cliff reinforcing his first impression that the mountain had been cut in half. If it had been dug into the cliff, should it not have followed its side instead of running deeper into the mountain? A stairway ending into an empty space seemed odd to Emp.

Where could those stairs possibly lead?

Unable to resist his curiosity, he dropped down onto the first couple of steps and started his descent into the darkness of the mountain. The stairs where composed of simple steps carved into the stone, going down into a straight line away from the cliff. The steps were all identical if you disregarded the rare cracks in the old stone. They seemed to have been carved with care as all the lines were straight and smooth, same for the walls and the high ceiling.

Before the way could get too dark, a new source of light brightened the way from bellow. What could be shinning down there? This only made him more curious about what awaited him at the bottom of those stairs. Pushing the fertilizer at the back of his mind, he hurried his descent.

Once finally at the bottom, he could hardly believe what he found. It was a big room with a high ceiling that was supported by immense columns from which hung multiple lanterns. In the middle of this grand room was a large empty space in which an enormous and colorfully painted wooden wheel stood. Beside said wheel, someone stood casually awaiting Emp. That someone was easy to recognize since it was one of the very few people Emp knew and still wore the most eccentric clothing he could imagine. It was Luck.

"Luck? What are you doing here?"

"Emperor! Come, I will tell you. Welcome to my trial chamber!"

Luck raised his arms in the air as if to present something extraordinary to Emp but nothing happened. Emp got nearer as a still beaming Luck explained summarily what was going on.

"Each god has a trial chamber, or a dungeon if you prefer the term, I hear death seekers love that one. When someone finds it, the god to which it belongs tests the finder to see if they are worthy. The challenge is usually linked to what the god is ruling over and the reward for completing it as well. If you manage to defeat a challenge, you are awarded that god's blessing as well as a powerful artifact. Do you still follow me?"

"Yes, I think I get it, so your challenge is about the wheel I suppose."

The giant wooden wheel was painted as strangely as Luck's clothing, with many colors changing over and over again in small sections of the wheel. It was maintained in the air from behind to not block the view of the front where dozens of names where written. (1)

"Exactly, I am Luck after all! Here's how it works. You will have to make the wheel turn. Whatever names end up at the top of the wheel when it stops turning, just below the small arrow up there, is what you will get. If my name end up just below the arrow you win my trial! If the name of a god for which you already have the blessing end up up there, you win as well! But, if the name of any other god stops bellow the arrow, I will change places with him and you will have to do that god's trial instead, do you get it?"

"All those names belong to gods? There are so many?"

"There are many more than that, they just didn't fit on the wheel. To be fair, all those names aside from mine will change at random intervals because there are enough names for a good dozen wheels like that one. So, will you make it spin?"

"Very well, I will."

Emp gripped the edge of the wheel and gave it a good spin. Luck seemed really disappointed as if he had already failed. He couldn't see how making a wheel spin made for a challenge but on the other hand, he had to admit that it was definitely all about luck. Was he perhaps supposed to spin the wheel in a very precise manner to get what he wanted? Maybe he should have thought about it more but it was too late now, he could only wait and see the result.

He looked at the colors and names change nonstop until finally the wheel slowed and stopped on the name "Space".

"Hoho, Space uh? Well, good luck Emperor and remember, you have to create your own luck."

"Uh, Thanks?"

Before he had the time to thank him properly or even think about telling him goodbye, Luck had already disappeared with his wheel.

Emp stayed there staring at the empty room for a good minute trying to understand what he was supposed to do now before a door appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

The door-frame was standing up without anything holding it, immobile in front of him and holding an ordinary wooden door. There wasn't anything around it nor behind it.

As he wondered what was that door about, the iron doorknob turned by itself and the door opened towards him to let a man enter the trial room.

The first thing Emp noticed about him where his ample green clothes with golden borders. They were even looser than those that Sage wore, so much so that the arms of his shirt rubbed the ground and his pants hid his feet completely, even while walking. His long blonde hair was as ridiculous as his clothes. They were as long as the hairs of Love, but his were scrapping the ground like a long yellow snake. In fact, not only his hair and clothes, the entirety his being felt long. His fingers, his face, his teeth, his nose, they all seemed abnormally long. It looked like he had been stretched by two giants, each holding an end of him and pulling as hard as they could. Despite his strange air, he didn't seem scary at all, he had a benevolent smile and welcomed Emperor with a wave of his hand when he got in. He closed the door behind him without minding his hairs but even if Emperor could have swore they got stuck in the door as he closed it, it somehow did not happen. He looked back to Emperor and spoke.

"? ?? ?????, ??????? ??? ?? ?? ?????!"

Emp didn't understand what he just said. He made a frown and decided to apologize for not understanding in case the god would take offence.

"I am sorry but I do not understand what you are saying."

The man made a surprised expression before he touched his nose and spoke again.

"The noble language of the south! That's one we don't hear often."

"Are there many? Languages I mean."

"Yes, of course, noble languages, common languages, sacred languages, dead languages, crude languages and all sorts of tiny languages almost no one ever speaks."

"And the one I use is rare?"

"Usually, only the nobles on the very south of the continents use that language but even them can speak the common tongue normally."

"Do I need it? How do I learn a new tongue?"

"I don't know, probably by hearing it a lot. Or you could try your luck with a language god."

"Is there one? Where is he?"

"I do not have the right to tell you and also, before you continue to bury me under your questions, could we instead go on with my trial?"

Emp wasn't against it and nodded to signify it to him.

"So, as I was saying, welcome young man, my name is Space and this," He said while showing him the door. "is my trial."

He once again opened the door and Emp saw with astonishment that there was a well lit corridor on the other side. It seemed very long and all the way at the end, he could barely see another door. How was it possible, there wasn't anything around the door, how could there be a corridor there?

"The challenge is simple and once started, you will have one hour to complete it. All you have to do is to reach the door on the other side, at the end of that passage. In case you are wondering, there is nothing dangerous inside."

"That's all?"

"Yes, that's all but do not trust what you see, it's a good way to fail any trial. Everybody tells me how simple it looks but very few ever managed to reach that door. Your hour starts right now."

Space made a hourglass appear and turned it around in his hand to start the one hour countdown.

It seemed very simple but if it was that hard, there was probably some kind of trick. If he wanted to find the solution quickly, he needed to understand the problem quickly as well.

He didn't lose any time and immediately went to the door. First he sent his hand behind the door-frame to make sure there was nothing there, it was fascinating. He then stepped inside and found himself in the corridor that shouldn't be there. There was nothing unusual about it.

Since nothing appeared abnormal at a glance, he started running toward the other side. He ran and ran but after a quarter of the allowed time, he didn't feel like he had neared the door at all. He threw a quick look behind him and discovered exactly what he had feared, the entrance was just there, he had made no progress at all.

He had ran for fifteen minutes but had not made a single step forward! No wonder only few made it to the other side, that was unfair! How was he supposed to get to the other side if it was impossible to progress? (2)

He only needed a few steps to get back out of the corridor. He went around and saw that from the other side, there was nothing inside the frame, no corridor, only a view of Space and the entrance of the room. He chose to go through the frame from there, hoping he would find himself at the end of the corridor anyway but sadly, it did not work.

"It was well thought young man but that isn't the answer." Said Space while touching his nose.

Saddened, Emp turned around and looked into the passage once again. Was he supposed to run even faster and hope to reach the other side before the time limit? Emp took a quick look at the hourglass and saw he still had more than half the time left. He urged himself to think of something else than running. The answer couldn't possibly be it. That would have been a question of confidence or raw leg strength instead of space.

Luck had told him that the trials were linked to the god giving them, the answer was for sure about space. He ought to have missed something in there. He got inside once again and observed everything in details.

The corridor was made out of sculpted white marble. The ceiling was held by pillars in the shape of inverted boots of which the soles where touching said ceiling at regular intervals. From each boot dangled a lantern that lighted powerfully the passage.

Was the shape of the pillars a clue? What did it mean? As he was thinking about it, he wondered what happened to the entrance when he advanced in the corridor. The first time he went through, he had only seen that at the end, the door was just behind him, he had not seen how it reacted to his movement. He should have walked backwards to examine the entrance's reaction.

He put all his attention to the entrance door and started walking backwards to see by what miracle was the door able to stay just behind him. He made twenty steps but everything seemed to react as it was supposed to. The door was getting further away like it should. He continued to move backwards and the first pair of pillars appeared at the edge of his vision.

Had he found the solution by accident? If he turned around now, would he find himself nearer to the goal or would he lose all his progress? How was he supposed to know if it was really working or not?

Too scared at the idea of doing it all over again, he did not turn around and pursued his backward advance. Ten steps, twenty steps, a hundred steps, two hundred steps, more and more pillars appeared and the entrance got further and further away. As excitement swelled inside him, he moved faster and faster until after what seemed like forever, his back hit something.

Full of joy, he almost turned around to look at the exit door but stopped himself just in time. It would have been really dumb to turn around now to discover that he had not moved forward at all. He blindly looked for the doorknob behind him by groping at random until he finally grasped it. He turned the knob quickly and passed the door to find himself staring at the same door-frame he had seen earlier while looking from behind the door. Had he made it or had he failed? Was he supposed to end up here? He threw a panicked look at Space on his left. The god smiled and answered his silent question while storing the hourglass away.

"You did it!"

Emp let out a sigh of relief and Space asked him how he had found out the answer.

"I just wondered how the door behind me was able to stay so close to me so I tried to keep watch on it while I was moving."

"..."

Space was looking at him with a gaze meaning he lacked the words to express himself before he exploded in frustration.

"You didn't even find the solution! You just got lucky! That's absurd!"

"Does this mean I failed?" Asked Emp, a little sad.

"No." Answered the god, dispirited. "You still won. It's just disappointing to work on a riddle just to have it resolved by accident. Anyway, what is your name young man?"

"Emperor, sir."

"Ha yes, I heard about you! Well met Emperor. As I said earlier, I am Space, the more likable brother of Time. I suppose Luck told you that I need to reward you now that you defeated my trial."

Emp nodded. He was eager to find out what that god had in reserve for him.

"Great, so I will give you your rewards and then we'll talk about rules."

He wondered what kind of rule Space was talking about but didn't have the time to ask before Space continued.

"So, first of all, here is the treasure you win for completing the challenge. I was inspired by a pair of queens I met a long time ago."

He got a finger-long metal stake out of nowhere, stabbed it in Emp's shoulder without flinching and left it there.

Emp yelled of surprise and pain. He quickly reacted by back stepping to put some distance between him and Space. He put his hand on the new wound vainly trying to stop the pain. What was happening?

The pain spread throughout his body in an instant as if the stake had pierced him from side to side. The pain was so intense that Emp lost the strength in his legs and collapsed in front of Space. It felt as if a flame consumed him from the inside out. Before he had the time to understand what was happening, the pain was already gone and everything was back to normal. He looked at his shoulder but the stake was nowhere to be found.

Why had Space attacked him? Where was the stake? His clothes had a hole in them where the stake had pierced him but his skin wasn't damaged, he didn't even bleed. He got back up and looked towards Space, unsure if he was supposed to be angry or confused. Getting stabbed was not the best reward there could be.

"I had forgotten the initial pain could be excruciating but I swear it is a formidable treasure, said Space to defend himself. Don't look at me like that, it is well worth the pain I tell you."

Since Emp still seemed unconvinced. he just went straight for the meat of the matter.

"Here, let me explain. The thing I just planted into you is called the Sacred anchor of multiple simultaneous space occupation. I know it's not a very catchy name but trust me, that thing will never let you down. Haha, do you get it? Catchy, never let you down?" Space said with a grin.

Emp ignored the joke.

"Basically." Said an oblivious Space. "The anchor let you make a copy of yourself. If you ever need to be at two places at the same time, no problem, you only need to send another you!"

Emp just looked at him with a raised brow, unable to believe what he had said.

"The anchor makes a second you that shares the same body and the same mind as you. Your two selves can now reunite and split again whenever you want, you only need to will it. Once the two are united again, you will keep the memories and experiences of both!"

Emp was starting to understand the use of such a thing, if it ever really worked of course.

"So, if I use that anchor and the other me trains while I go fishing, I will get the benefits of the training as well as the fish?"

"Yes, although people usually find more interesting examples than training and fishing. But beware, for this to work properly, I needed to make it so that absolutely everything would be shared including tiredness, hunger and of course death. So, if either you or your copy where to die, the other would instantly die as well."

"Understood, to double the profits, I also need to double the risks. Is there something that is not shared?"

"No, nothing, but some things will be shared only once reunited. As a general rule, only the most critical of things will be shared instantly, like death to continue on my example. Otherwise, a scraped knee or even a chopped off arm will stay unknown to the other until you are combined again."

"I think I get it, how do I summon the other me?"

"Nothing more simple! I see that you have Luck's bottomless bag, do you know how to use it?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"Use the anchor like you would the bag, search in your mind for it and wish the other you into being. It's your will that controls it all. Go on, try, take your time."

Space started tapping on the tip of his nose as he waited for Emperor to do it.

Emp closed his eyes and focused his mind to search for the anchor. First, he found the bag, before this point, he had never noticed he didn't have to put his hand in the bag to feel it, that was an interesting feeling. Maybe he didn't need to put his hand inside to get things from it? He put the question aside for now and resumed his search.

He could feel his arms and legs and even feel what was in the bag easily but could not pinpoint the anchor. It was as if someone told him he had a third arm but he was unable to find it, it was frustrating. He searched and searched before finally, after a long time, he felt something he couldn't recognize. There it was! The anchor was in a place he couldn't describe, he had no idea where that was or what that was. The anchor wasn't on him nor in him, it was somewhere else.

Anyway, he had found it. He did what Space had told him and wished for the second him to appear. Almost immediately, he heard himself say "Oh!" in an impressed tone. He opened his eyes to discover that it wasn't him that had said it but a second Emp that had just appeared at his side like Space had said. Impressed, he couldn't help but exclaim "Oh!"

"It worked."

Emp took a good look at himself, after all, it was the first time he could see himself. He seemed a little over five feet tall, he had a pair of hazel eyes and short but messy brown hair. He wasn't as large as Chinui but definitely more than Sage or luck. It felt really strange to look at himself while seeing him do the same.

"Of course it worked, now look, I will show you something interesting."

Space pointed towards the far wall and asked Emperor.

"One of you go there and hit the wall strongly enough to hurt yourself.

The two Emp looked at each other with a pained grimace. Neither wanted to hurt himself.

"Go on young man, isn't it better to confirm all I told you now? You already endured the torments of the anchor, a little pain in the hand is nothing in comparison."

"Mhnn..." x2

Space made an impatient gesture and the two Emp decided to follow the instructions. Emp-two went to the far end of the room and punched the wall before leaking a pained groan. While he gripped his pained hand with the other and bent himself forward to comfort it, Space spoke to the first Emp.

"Perfect, now make him disappear."

Emp did as he was told and immediately, he remembered how he had made his way to the far wall and punched it. At the same time, his hand started to pain him greatly and he repeated the scene he had just witnessed. He gripped it and buried it in his stomach while the pain bent him forward.

"See? At first you felt nothing but the moment you remembered what you had done, the pain came back."

"I just hurt myself, I do not see what was so interesting about that. What was I supposed to see?"

"That wasn't what I wanted to show you, just part of it, now bring him back, you will see."

Annoyed, Emp did as he told anyway and the second Emp reappeared. He instantly saw it.

"He reappeared over there!"

"Yes, exactly! If you do not make him disappear at your contact, he will stay where he was! That gives you many advantages but I will let you think about them by yourself, what I wanted to tell you is many times more important. You cannot save yourself by making the other you disappear."

Emp was smart enough to understand what he meant but Space explained it anyway.

"If the other you ever happened to fall off a mountain for example, even if you called him back before he hit the ground, the instant you summoned it again, you would both die from the fall. The Sacred anchor of multiple simultaneous space occupation isn't an item made to defy death."

"I understand."

It wasn't that scary to think that if the other him died, he would die as well. Both of them were the same after all. Since he was sure he would be cautious in dangerous situation, there was no reason for either of them to die.

"The last thing you need to know about the anchor is that it duplicates everything that is on you but not the things in the bag."

"What do you mean?"

"I will show you.

He called back the other Emp and asked him to get anything out of the bag, as long as it was easy to recognize. Emp-two searched his bag and got the book of answers out of it.

Space then turned towards Emp and asked him to look for the same book inside his bag. He focused on his bag like he usually did but in the end, was unable to find the book. Space read the result on in his expression and finished his explanation.

"This is what I meant, the book is over there, how could it be in your bag at the same time? When he put it back in the bag, you will once again be able to pick it up from your side. Since it's the same bag, they share the same space."

"How come there is two bags but only one book?"

"There isn't two bags young man, there is only one that is sharing two spaces at the same time like you are currently doing. The bag was on you so it was copied with you, the book was in the bag so it wasn't."

"If I put something in the bag that wasn't there at first, will the other me be able to take it?

"Yes, exactly. Your bag now has two openings to access it. Like a second door on a house. There are a lot of advantages but also the obvious disadvantage that while one is using something, the other won't be able to take it."

"Alright, I got it but, what would happen if the other me took off something that got copied with him, his clothes for example? They are the same after all."

"If the other you gets rid of something that was copied with him, it will still disappear when you recall him. You cannot lose something that way but you can't make infinite copies of a thing either."

"That is interesting."

"I know right? I'm quite proud of myself. Now, let's go over my blessing!"

Space raised one of his long fingers and touched Emperor's forehead. A blinding light invaded his mind and vision before quickly receding and getting back to normal. Emp had no idea what had just happened but he knew Space would tell him before he had the time to ask.

"The blessings will show up on your hunting card but not their effects. Because yes, there are effectively effects bound with them. Haha, what a wordplay!"

Emp ignored the wordplay.

"What you will be able to accomplish with this will only depend on yourself but I will give you the basics. Space and distances don't work like you think they do. They are often nearer than what you think. For example, the far wall from earlier. You could say it's on the other side of the room but in fact, it's just a step away."

Space gestured for Emp to watch closely and raised a foot he slowly placed back down beside the wall. The two Emp were tongue tied. He had just made a ten meters wide step! Emp had no idea what had just happened. His eyes had to be tricking him, Space had not jumped, he had not stretched himself either and did not disappear, he had just taken a normal step. It was impossible! How could it be?

"How?"

"I told you, distances are never how they seem. All you have to do is look over here and convince yourself that you are only a step away since this is the truth anyway. All you have to do is to stop believing this is impossible. You have to feel your proximity to the wall."

Emp focused on what Space was telling him and tried to understand that new knowledge. Maybe he was right and the wall wasn't that far away. He made a step forward and found himself were he expected to be, just a step away from where he had been. The other Emp tried as well with the same result. They practiced like that for a whole day under the amused gaze of Space.

As they tried again and again, Space told them how to do it over and over. It was more a question of sensation and instinct than a question of knowledge which didn't help Emp in the least. He knew he would get it eventually but he had other things to do, there was a boulder full of liquid gold waiting for him outside and he had a long road to travel. Space, to cheer him on, told him that those who completed his trial usually assimilated the blessing in less than a complete day.

Finally, in the evening, Emp did it. He had made so many tries already that at this point, he was more daydreaming than anything else. His eyes lost their focus on their own and he felt like everything rushed towards him. He immediately found himself on the other side of the room. Space cheered and Emp himself was really surprised. From then on, it became easier. After he understood he had made it, he recalled the second Emp back to him to share the memory of it and acquire the memory of seeing himself do it . Then, he split again and trained once more. Quickly, they managed to make it happen again and redo it more and more often. He felt really happy and since he was doing well, Space decided it was enough.

"You are getting better, that's good. If you could take a break now and recall your double I could tell you about what comes next."

Emp nodded, touched his double and made him disappear. He sat down against the wall and listened to Space. It was seemingly a god that had a lot to say.

"It's a great ability isn't it?"

"Yes but wasn't the challenge too easy for such rewards?"

"What do you mean?"

"I wondered all afternoon, it wasn't dangerous and I made it by luck. I won the ability to make a second myself and even a way to move weirdly."

"But it wasn't only the trial, you also need to find the place and manage to get in. Every God has a trial room hidden in the most remote places of the world, most people don't see a single one in their whole life and those who do often fail the trial and almost never find a second one."

"But why are they so hard to find, once someone gets to it, he should tell everyone else where it is no?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to talk about now, the rules. Once you get out of here, you are forbidden to tell anyone about this place, that is the rule. People will be able to read the blessing on your hunting card but will never be able to get the location of the trial ground out of you."

"Is it that I cannot tell anyone or that I will be made to not tell anyone."

"Both, the blessing itself will stop you from talking about it and if the gods ever learned that you still managed to tell someone, you would be punished harshly."

"I get it, I will not tell anyone about the trial ground."

"Good, aside from that, there isn't much else to tell. The most important is for you to remember that my blessing isn't just some weird way to walk, it's a way to influence the space that surrounds you."

"What does that mean?"

Emp did not get it, he had been very sure it was only a way to move quicker.

"Well, until now, you only managed to reduce the perceived distance between two points to get there faster than a normal person but there are so many more way to use it than you think. I am not supposed to tell you how to use it for the simple reason that it would be boring but, you should use your head much more than your legs. If you really think about it, I'm sure that you, as the creation of Sage, will find all kinds of uses to it."

Emp already couldn't wait to see what he could do with it. He had been happy with the faster way to travel already but now that he knew there was more to it than that, his curiosity was dancing of happiness in his head.

He wanted to know what he could do with it very badly but for now, he was exhausted. Since the night was upon the land already, it was probably wiser to stay here until morning and go back out only on the morrow. He asked Space if he could sleep here for the night.

"Yes, of course, I don't mind, I'm glad you can use your mind sometimes. See what I did? Mind and mind!"

Emp ignored the enormous smug on Space's face and ate a little before he fell asleep like a rock against the wall. He didn't fear Space and knew it was definitely the safest place in the region to sleep in.

(1) It's just a big TV show wheel with a bunch of names on it instead of money.

(2) Everybody love that stairway in super Mario 64.