"So what do you say, Nathan, will you take this new life, this better life, free from everything that wants to kill you?" she asked, looking at him and wondering if he would take this deal.

"No." Aren's voice cut through the silence between them.

She paused, looking at him with pure confusion, but Aren couldn't tell that because of her veil.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"I said no," he repeated.

Her shock increased. There was no hesitation behind his voice. He didn't even pause to ponder for a moment and simply shot it down.

"I suggest you take some time to look into the benefits of taking this deal," she said.

"I have, and I don't want it," he said, standing on business.

"And why is that?" she asked.

"Because for once in my life I look forward to waking up. I look forward to living. Every part of what I have experienced here helped me leave the cold cocoon I was dwelled in.

I might not be fully out, nor do I want to be, but to an extent, I can stick my head out and feel the happiness in life.

If you erase that, I'll no longer be Aren. I'll no longer be me, no matter the money, no matter the life that you give me as Nathan.

Nathan is dead. I'm Aren, and I have a beautiful sister, people I can call companions, and an actual goal to chase," he said, explaining why he wasn't willing to leave.

She looked at him for a moment, her lips curled into a light smile. "Fine then, Aren. If this life is what you choose, regardless of the dangers, then it will be so.

But before you leave, remember, find the memories that you have locked away, because they will help you. And secondly, the Domain is near infinite. No one, not even the angels, have seen it from end to end.

If you explore far enough, you'll gain tools and abilities that can help you survive everything that is to come, so put that in mind," she said.

"I will," Aren replied. "I still have a ton of questions," he said.

"What I have done is already a big no. I can't say anything else," she shook her head slowly. "Goodbye, Aren," she said. She picked up her spoon and started stirring her tea, and as it swirled, so did Aren's mind until he blacked out.

When his eyes opened again, he was standing right behind the others after leaving the trial. It looked as if they had been paused and were now coming back into motion again.

'Who was that lady, and how did she know all that? Could she be a god?' he wondered.

"Hey Aren, let's move ahead," Aiden said, looking back at Aren.

"Oh yeah, let's go," Aren responded, snapping out of his thoughts. The group forged ahead together, searching for their next task or whatever came their way.

And after a few minutes of walking, they finally came in contact with the first, as a party of ten awakened found them and blocked their path.

"Hand over the map now," the leader, who was a blonde haired dude, spoke. He looked like he poured all his resources into looking good, as a golden and black coat covered him, his fingers covered in golden rings as well.

'I have seen a lot of characters in this trial,' Aren thought as he walked ahead to finish this quick. They were all tired of fighting at this point.

"I'll make this quick and very painful," he said as he cracked his knuckles.

[.....]

Elton watched as Aren and his group left the trials, and her expression darkened.

"They managed to survive," one of the angels said.

"Tsk, how hard is it to kill one awakened, arghhhh," Elton roared in anger. She vanished, leaving the two angels there.

She appeared right inside her castle on her throne. Her expression said it all. She was displeased.

"How can one human prove to be such a nuisance? If I'm incapable of even this, how will the tide look upon me? I can't allow this to go on for more," she said in anger, slamming her fist into the armrest of her throne. The entire throne room shook from it.

"I'll make sure I am the one that kills him, no matter what," she growled, and then mentally summoned the butler.

He appeared right before her, his knee bent to show respect, his head bowed.

"My lady," he spoke.

"Did you visit her?" she asked.

"As you commanded, I did. Handed the letter and left," the butler said.

"Hmm, I'll hear her response later, but for now, I need you to release the avatar to kill Aren," she spoke.

The butler's head shot up when he heard that, looking at her with utter confusion.

"My lady, it can't be this bad yet, can it?" he asked.

"It is, and if you had taken down that human back then, I would not be in the situation that I am already," she scolded in anger.

He bowed his head again. "I'm sorry for my failure, my lady," he spoke.

"You are lucky that I didn't send you out yourself to carry out the task," she said. "Prepare the avatar. I'm ready to bear the consequences that follow. It's not as great as directly interacting after all," she casually said.

"My lady, the best course of action would be to make the trials believe the avatar is an awakened. That way it won't immediately blacklist the avatar and we might stand a chance to get it done better," the butler said.

"Hmm, I see what you are going for, but after this trial ends, the gods will officially begin to watch, which changes how things will be," she said, placing her hand under her chin in exhaustion.

"We have no choice, my lady. You can still try to take him out with the things available in the maze, the sons of Jotnar, and maybe even Fenrir," he said.

Her eyes widened a bit, and then a smile formed. "That is a good plan. Thank you, you may go now," she said.

He bowed and vanished from the throne room, appearing in another room.

"I hope all the time I buy for you will be worth it," he muttered.

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