Elias hit the ground with all the grace of a dropped potato.
Again.
He didn't even bother screaming this time. He just lay there, face-down, letting the dirt absorb his despair like a sponge.
A familiar rumble vibrated the ground beside him.
The Trial Beast.
It nudged him gently with its massive head.
Elias groaned into the soil. "I'm alive. Unfortunately."
The beast purred, a sound like a boulder trying to imitate a cat.
Elias pushed himself up slowly, brushing dirt off his hoodie. The words I'm Trying My Best were now half-covered in mud, which felt metaphorically accurate.
The elders stood nearby, staring at him with the same expression people used when watching someone attempt to assemble IKEA furniture without instructions.
The eldest elder stepped forward. "You have returned."
Elias blinked. "Yes. Against my will. Again."
The elder nodded as if this were normal. "The Oracle awaits."
Elias looked at the tower.
Tall. Twisted. Wrong in a way that made his spine itch.
He swallowed. "Right. The Oracle."
The Trial Beast nudged him again, almost knocking him over.
Elias patted its head. "You're coming with me, right?"
The beast wagged its tail.
The system chimed.
CLARIFICATION: THE TRIAL BEAST IS NOT PERMITTED INSIDE THE ORACLE'S CHAMBER.
Elias froze. "What? Why not?"
REASON: THE ORACLE EATS BEASTS.
Elias screamed. "WHAT?!"
The elders flinched.
The system chimed again.
CORRECTION: METAPHORICALLY.
Elias clutched his chest. "STOP DOING THAT!"
The eldest elder cleared his throat. "The Oracle does not eat beasts. She simply… overwhelms them."
"That's worse!"
The elder nodded. "Yes."
Elias stared at the tower again.
It stared back.
He wasn't sure how, but it did.
He took a deep breath. "Okay. Fine. I'll go. But if I die, I'm haunting all of you."
The elder bowed. "Acceptable."
Elias blinked. "That was not a joke."
"We assumed not."
He groaned. "I hate this place."
CONFIRMATION: YOU HAVE SAID THIS THREE TIMES.
"STOP TRACKING MY MISERY!"
NO.
The Tower
The entrance was a tall archway carved with symbols that shifted when he wasn't looking directly at them. The air inside was colder, heavier, like stepping into a library that judged you for not returning books on time.
Elias hesitated at the threshold.
The Trial Beast whined softly behind him.
Elias turned. "I'll be back. Probably. Maybe. Hopefully."
The beast nudged him one last time.
Elias stepped inside.
The door closed behind him with a soft thud that sounded suspiciously like a coffin lid.
He whispered, "I refuse to die today."
The system chimed.
CATCHPHRASE ACTIVATED.
"Stop activating it like it's a skill!"
IT IS A SKILL.
Elias froze. "Wait. What?"
CATCHPHRASE: +1 TEMPORARY COURAGE.
Elias blinked. "That's… actually helpful."
CORRECTION: IT IS MINIMALLY HELPFUL.
"Never mind."
The Ascent
The tower's interior was a spiral staircase that wound upward endlessly. The steps were uneven, shifting slightly under his feet like they were breathing.
Elias climbed.
And climbed.
And climbed.
After five minutes, he was sweating.
After ten minutes, he was wheezing.
After fifteen minutes, he was reconsidering every life choice that led him here.
"Why… is this… so long…"
ANSWER: THE ORACLE PREFERS VISITORS TO ARRIVE EXHAUSTED.
Elias stopped climbing. "Why?!"
BECAUSE EXHAUSTED PEOPLE ARE HONEST.
"That's manipulative!"
CORRECT.
He groaned and kept climbing.
His legs burned.
His lungs burned.
His soul burned.
He whispered, "I hate stairs."
CONFIRMATION: YOU HAVE SAID THIS BEFORE.
"When?!"
IN YOUR HOME WORLD. YOU AVOIDED STAIRS FOR THREE YEARS.
Elias froze. "You've been watching me for THREE YEARS?!"
YES.
"WHY?!"
SYSTEMS DO NOT EXPLAIN THEMSELVES.
"That's not an answer!"
CORRECT.
Elias screamed into the stairwell.
His voice echoed back at him, sounding tired.
The Chamber
At the top of the stairs was a circular room filled with floating lights. They drifted like fireflies, but each one hummed faintly, like tiny machines.
In the center sat a woman.
Or something shaped like a woman.
Her hair floated around her like strands of starlight. Her eyes glowed faintly, shifting colors like the sky at dawn. Her presence felt heavy, ancient, and deeply uninterested in Elias's existence.
She didn't look at him.
She didn't move.
She simply said:
"You are late."
Elias blinked. "I climbed a thousand stairs!"
"Excuses are the language of the unchosen."
Elias pointed at her. "I didn't CHOOSE to be chosen!"
She finally looked at him.
Her eyes were too bright.
Too knowing.
"You carry the Desire System."
Elias swallowed. "Yes."
"You do not understand it."
"No."
"You fear it."
"Yes."
"You resent it."
"YES."
"You rely on it."
Elias froze.
"…No."
She raised an eyebrow.
He cracked instantly. "Okay, maybe a little."
The Oracle stood.
The lights around her dimmed.
"You are unstable."
Elias threw his hands up. "EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING THAT!"
"You are unprepared."
"I KNOW!"
"You are unworthy."
"HEY—"
"But you are chosen."
Elias blinked. "Wait. What?"
She stepped closer.
"You were chosen because you desire change more than you fear it."
Elias frowned. "That's not true. I fear everything."
"Yet you still move forward."
Elias opened his mouth.
Closed it.
Opened it again.
"…That's not fair."
"No."
She circled him slowly.
"The Desire System does not attach itself to the strong. It attaches itself to the desperate."
Elias felt something twist in his chest.
"…I'm not desperate."
"You are."
"I'm not."
"You are."
"I—"
The system chimed.
CONFIRMATION: USER IS DESPERATE.
Elias screamed. "STOP AGREEING WITH HER!"
The Oracle ignored him.
"You seek validation. Purpose. Direction. You want your life to matter."
Elias felt his throat tighten.
"That's not—"
"You want to be seen."
He froze.
Completely.
The Oracle's voice softened.
"You want to stop feeling like a background character in your own life."
Elias's breath caught.
He didn't answer.
He couldn't.
The Oracle stepped back.
"The system chose you because you desire change. But desire alone is not enough."
Elias swallowed. "Then what do I need?"
She raised her hand.
A glowing symbol appeared in the air.
A circle.
A line.
A fracture.
"You need to understand what the system truly is."
Elias stared. "What is it?"
She looked at him with eyes that held too much truth.
"The Desire System is not a tool."
Elias blinked. "Then what is it?"
"It is a question."
Elias frowned. "A… question?"
"Yes."
"A question about what?"
She smiled.
It was not comforting.
"What do you truly want?"
Elias opened his mouth.
The world shook.
The lights flickered.
The system chimed violently.
WARNING: SYSTEM INSTABILITY DETECTED.
The Oracle's expression sharpened.
"Your system is waking."
Elias panicked. "WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"
WARNING: USER IS APPROACHING A CRITICAL DESIRE THRESHOLD.
The Oracle stepped back.
"Do not think. Do not desire. Do not wish."
Elias screamed. "I CAN'T CONTROL MY THOUGHTS!"
CRITICAL DESIRE FORMING.
The Oracle shouted, "STOP THINKING!"
Elias shouted back, "THAT'S NOT HOW BRAINS WORK!"
The system chimed one last time.
DESIRE DETECTED.
Elias froze.
"No. No, no, no— I didn't desire anything!"
DESIRE: "I WANT TO KNOW THE TRUTH."
The Oracle's eyes widened.
"FOOL!"
The chamber cracked.
Light exploded.
Reality tore open.
Elias screamed.
The Oracle reached for him.
The system overrode her.
INITIATING FORCED REVELATION.
Elias felt something pull him inward.
Into the system.
Into the truth.
Into something he was not ready to see.
He screamed again—
And the world shattered.