My Servant System

The moment that the Gate appeared in front of us we both readied our weapons and leapt back, anticipating the emergence of something the instant that the Gate stabilized, but after a few seconds nothing happened.

Nothing emerged, no noises or smells were emitted from the Gate... it was just there, a swirling portal of energy connected to who knows where and meant for Gods knows what; and yet we couldn't just leave it alone, nor could we just approach it.

We were stuck with this enigma of a situation, stuck with no real answer to what was happening and left glancing at one another as we waited for the other to have some sort of idea; I knew it was bad when even Lady Fenyras was hesitant to act, which practically sealed this entire thing for me.

My instincts were to run, but they were something that I had to seriously consider the 'worth' of since my instincts against most monsters and enemies nowadays told me to run, and yet I couldn't run against them.

Could I run against a Gate inside of a closed off space that was effectively trapping us in here with this anomaly was the question, and the answer was an even more obvious no than the no's I had been giving to the Demon Wolf nearby.

"What do we do..."

My murmur spurred something Lady Fenyras, but it was just a seedling as she continued to stare at the Gate, sparking something in me as well since I recalled the 'ability' that Lilith had showed me; with my eyes growing colder thanks to my mana - and getting to the level of cold that turns into 'heat' - I was greeted with... a sight.

It was definitely... a sight, of all time.

There was a metric fuckton of mana swirling around within that Gate, and the amount that was leaking out of it was just... if I had a few of the highest grade Mana Crystals in the world - equivalent to, say, a generator that could power an entire industrial complex - then they could easily be fueled up in just a minute.

That much power was being radiated by this Gate, and yet I couldn't feel a damn thing coming from it; it was there, it was something I could now 'see', but it wasn't... doing anything at all, just wafting around and very clearly avoiding us.

Avoiding anything that was 'alive' for that matter, which included the grass around us and the nearby shrub; the mana was just in the empty space around us, waiting, lurking, like it was being controlled and told to not harm anything at all.

Even when I moved my arm around and spilled a little of my own mana into the air it wasn't touched, though that didn't mean it wasn't noticed; perhaps our inaction had spurred on the Gate, or perhaps it had just wanted some time, but something did happen after I did that.

Appearing within the pooling miasma of energy in front of us was a figure - not one that we could truly make out any details of, nor one that had anything telling about it - standing in the middle of that Gate, neither with us in this Trial or anywhere else.

They were just in between everything, clearly standing in this Gate as a means to breach our reality and connect theirs to ours, but not doing anything with it... anything besides observing us.

No characteristics, just a blank, shimmering outline of something that was undeniably mortal staring at us, its presence scratching against our instincts like a knife on a chalkboard, setting off our desire - our need - to run, but leaving us far too intrigued and indecisive to do so.

"What in the actual fuck..."

Once more Lady Fenyras plummeted my hopes of her having some crazy, outlandish experience with something like this for us to rely on, and once more I was left uncertain about everything as I just stared at the figure in the Gate.

What, who, why and where were definitely valid in this instance, that was beyond certain, and yet I had no answers - or any idea where to get them.

| I sense... confusion. Uncertainty. Fear, yet curiosity. Pray tell, why are you surprised? You are aware of the Trials, no? The purpose for which these exist? |

A wave of sound, feeling, emotion and just... intent washed over us, causing my stomach to flip a million times while my knees were determined to find stability with the earth; I fell instantly, while Lady Fenyras gasped and stumbled back, barely holding herself up.

| Oh. |

The figure tilted their head and raised a hand, almost hesitant in their actions as their fingers gathered up that impossible quantity of mana into a single snap, only for it all to disappear instantly.

The Gate remained, the sheer power radiating from it stayed as well, but the instantaneous vertigo, whiplash, migraine and everything else that had come from hearing its 'voice' was gone, replaced with relaxation, warmth, comfort and serenity.

| Fascinating. You know not what this Trial is for, and yet you are here. That is simply... astonishing. How long has it been? Do the... how do you say... Do the Aspirers still maintain the Stairway Imperata? |

Swallowing down the bile that burned my mouth and throat, I stared at the figure in silence before glancing at Lady Fenyras, who just remained stock still as she stared as well, neither of us vocalizing an answer at all.

That was, however, the answer the figure sought, and after letting out a sigh that bounced around inside of my mind it nodded its head once, then twice, slowly and carefully bringing its hand up towards the edge of the Gate.

| Then it has been that long... Time is a... fickle concept. It flows no matter what, like a river down a mountain. You can try and stop it, contain it, but it will always find a way to move. Nothing stops time. Nothing.

And yet there are those that hope to do just that. The creator of this place, she hoped to stop time. She succeeded, in a way; a loop that takes time and- ah, you wouldn't understand. None of you would. That is what separates you from us. But that is also what these Trials - this 'Stairway' - was created for.

Alas, if you are here by accident, if the Aspirers are gone... is there hope? Can you meet the same aspirations set by your ancestors? Will you climb the Stairway Imperata and join us? Or will you falter and stumble? I suppose... |

Grasping the edge of the Gate, the figure slowly began to pull the Gate shut, and even in its all present, blank state of being it still managed to convey what seemed like amusement as it finished 'saying' | Time is going to tell, no? | before shutting the Gate completely and leaving us completely alone once more.