Chapter 197 - 197)Trial 1

In the process of moving on, the entire strenuous and painful experience of getting over something traumatic, triggers are dangerous, especially if it was a direct one. For example, only recently did Night experience the death of someone he considered close. Seeing something that symbolizes Blade or his relationship with Blade could be considered a trigger of sorts.

However, what Night saw here crossed that line. It was no longer a trigger. It was cruel, it was one of the downsides of AI, emotions and consideration wasn't something that it could take in, or could it? Was it just his luck that caused such an event to occur? What stood in front of him wasn't something that could trigger the painful memory of losing Blade, it was Blade himself.

"Senior....Blade.....?" Night stuttered as he looked at the familiar figure in full Roman armor, other than the clothing, nearly everything about the man in front of Night felt and looked like Blade. "H-h..ow...?"

"Hmm? You know me? But I don't think I know of you? Weird," The new Blade replied as he massaged his chin. Night stared blankly as he proceeded to rapidly blink, what was going on? The man in front of him definitely looked like Blade and weirdly enough he was even named Blade, so what could it mean?

'Is this my Senior? He doesn't sound like him.....his mannerisms are more refined and sharp, but the voice, the looks everything.....wait-'

"Are you... not a Grandmaster?" Night asked with a slight pause in between, he looked at the roman armor and concluded that it was out of place. 

"A Grandmaster....?" Blade asked. His voice held a hint of confusion towards the end, as if not understanding the word itself. 

'Is this an alternate world? Another reality perhaps? I don't understand...'

"How'd you know? I am. This seems uncanny, first, you call me by my name and now you know what I am.....do we actually know each other?" Blade continued making Night's face slightly light up again.

"I do not know what to tell you....." Night smiled as he looked to the ground. Just what was happening? What kind of a cruel joke was this? However, at that moment Night decided to strike the common point between them. "Wait! Where is Master??"

"Master? Master who?" Blade asked confused as to what the blue-haired ascender was talking about.

"Master Noel of course..."

"...Listen here. I do not understand how you know any of these names, but if you dare try and harm my Master, I will make you regret it," Blade said as he walked closer to Night. It was only then that Night realized what the most important difference was.

The Blade that stood in front of him was older and significantly grown. The power in his voice, poise, and dignity in his demeanor. It was like the upgraded and mature version of the Blade he once knew.

"Y-you're...mistaken!" Night quickly decided to explain himself before he was incinerated. It was obvious that this Blade was easily capable of doing so, he wasn't at the level of Noel. "I swear I don't mean harm. Besides, do I look that strong? I'm sure even if I try something funny, you'll simply break me into two, so I mean no harm whatsoever."

"Hmmmm.....I guess you're right," Blade's facial expression relaxed as he realized what the kid in front of him said made sense. "So? Explain yourself,"

'What on earth....the pressure he just emitted was nothing like before....'

"I will but is it alright if I ask a few more questions? I just want to confirm something, I swear," Night said as he raised both his hands.

"Alright, I guess, although I'm not sure what that would do,"

Depending on the questions, Night might have a chance to figure out what exactly was happening. A series of questions began forming in his mind, naturally, he couldn't just shoot and hope for the best, not in such a situation.

"!!!!"

'That's it! An important event is the monster wave and Damianos. Inquiring about that further should help!' Night thought as he realized how smushed and muddled his time in Genesis had been.

"Damianos...what happened to him," Night asked in a careful tone. This was a sensitive topic to Noel and if Blade really felt so protective of him, then Night couldn't take chances.

"Who is that? Am I supposed to know that name?" Blade answered with a straight face, it seemed as if he truly didn't know who that being was. This was weird, especially considering how close Blade and Noel were and in this reality, are.  Wouldn't Noel have mentioned the existence of Damianos, at least once? 

"Oh...then how bout the monster wave in Linto? By the Magic Towers," Night quickly asked, there was no way Blade could not know of such a large-scale incident. Compared to the other NPCs, Noel and Blade were significantly more active, which was odd, but at the moment Night had no real answers.

"Mmmm? I do not know of an- Oh! The one that occurred more than 10 years ago?? Sure yes, I do. Tragic incident. The entirety of Linto was completely destroyed, even the few survivors were either mentally or physically damaged in such a way that they were better off put down....."

'Wait 10 years ago? Huh? and Linto was destroyed?? But how?? Where were we? Were there no ascenders at all? That doesn't add up....'

"Hold on....where were the ascenders? Did no one help Linto?" Night asked, curious as to what had happened.

"How could they? Nobody even knew that it would happen, the monsters, it was like they simply just appeared out of nowhere. I'm not sure who these ascenders are, but nobody helped Linto. The defenses of the city held on for as long as they could, but naturally, it was far too much for them..." Blade spoke in a grim tone as he recalled the facts of the past.

"I see.....that's truly unfo- wait. Did you just tell me you don't know who ascenders are???" Night asked as the confusion in his voice rose exponentially.

"Yes. I do not know of any ascenders. I don't see how any of this is relevant to anything at all?"

"......."

What did that mean? Genesis was designed in such a way where the NPCs were aware of the players. NPCs were "alive" as well, they had emotion, thoughts, impulses. The game's uniqueness came from the way the NPCs and players lived in harmony, in most cases at least. 

"So you don't recognize me? Ten....years ago....it was the first time I stepped foot into the dojo.....do you not remember that?" Nights quivered as he tried to put his words in relation to the current timeline.

Blade took a moment to ponder, after which he let out a heavy sigh and answered, "In the dojo? Surely you're kidding. Only a handful of people have ever entered the dojo, and I remember every single one of them,"

"....." Night was at a loss for words. Even if he wanted to refuse the words that came out of Blade, he couldn't. What could he say, he knew nothing of the current reality he was in. He knew it was a trial but regardless, it made him happy to see Blade again. "I see..."

In a dark room sitting in front of a large screen, with huge dark circles and shiny eyes, Kenny and Reed were keenly watching Night understand what was going on. The only sound other than that of the games was the sound of the air conditioner and the sipping of beer.

"Cruel. ATHENA truly is cruel....." Kenny stated as he looked at Night's current situation. "The Phantom Trials, it's showing Night a reality without any players. Which is why Blade lived. If there aren't any players then there's no Night, and the entire episode with Neo Thallius and the Imperial Kingdom is mixed up...I wonder how he's going to react when he realizes this......"