The Last Primal

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It was lunchtime, and Aiden was navigating through the crowded streets back towards his home. Meanwhile, he was thinking about today's events and the supposed end to this trial.

'Do I really need to die? Who thought that this was a good idea for a test? I don't want to die!' he cursed inwardly.

[You have to die in the illusion, and not in reality. If our theory is correct, you have to play out the day's events as they are supposed to, and once you get to the end, then you will have to die. If your death comes prematurely, most likely you will fail the trial and will be booted. You will not die in reality.] Enya answered promptly.

'How can I follow the events if I don't remember anything about it?' Aiden complained. He only knows that this is his life because Enya told him. He did feel some familiarity with the faces on the picture back in his room, but that was it. He had absolutely no recollection of anything that happened, or who these people really are.

Heck, he couldn't even recall his supposedly best friend's name! Then, how could he even hope to guide the day's events?!

[Remember Aiden, that you can spot the irregularities by relying on your system. Just make sure you are vigilant. Also, once you get home, you have to banish the Nightmare out from your mother and father. However, that might be harder as you left them there in the morning, and since then, they have fed off from the negative emotions, and could be much stronger now.]

Listening to her, Aiden sighed. Yes, he was careless and didn't even bother checking them in the morning, he got lost in the events.

'Yeah, I know. I will think of something, don't worry.'

[Just make sure you rely on the system and don't forget yourself again.] Enya replied. He could hear the smirk in her tone. Not bothering to answer, he focused his attention. He has just arrived in front of his house.

'What should I do, to get their attention? First I should know what the root cause of the problem is, I guess… *sigh* It would really help if I would remember how they should be acting towards me. I don't even know what am I studying at the Academy.' he muttered to himself while making his way up the stairs in the stairwell.

Thinking about it, there was another thought that kept bothering him ever since he 'awakened' in his room.

'Come to think of it, just how powerful Number 3 and Granny are to create such a detailed illusion, not to mention this whole pocket world?'

[The pocket world was something that already existed, and it was not something they created. Most likely this is something that she had access to as a high-ranking member of the group that woman belongs to. Maybe it's a training ground that their group no longer uses, or something similar.]

'Hmmm… Maybe. Anyways, we have arrived, let's see how bad the situation is, and see what we can do to fix it.'

Opening the door and stepping inside, he was in the small hallway that led to the kitchen, bathroom, and directly opposite of where he was standing, the living room. Stepping inside, and looking to his right, he saw that his mother was still in the kitchen, just like she was when he left for the Academy.

"Hello, mother! How are you?" Aiden greeted. As he expected, the woman did not reply but only scoffed at his greeting. She kept focusing on the contents of the pan.

'Well, let's check her then.'

Focusing on his [Dark Sense] system-ability he poured some extra Soul Power into it and focused it on the middle-aged woman. Looking at the results on the map, he was astonished, that he didn't feel anything. The woman basically oozed out the black fog-like aura. Her intent was also full of negativity and it was directly aimed towards Aiden. Anger, Disappointment, Pain… Thoughts that normally should never surface in the mind of a mother.

'What is she so angry about? Also, Disappointment and Pain? What did I do?' Aiden thought after seeing the results on his screen.

However, before he could continue lamenting, he heard Enya's berating voice in his mind.

[Focus Aiden! Try talking to her and guide the conversation to you and what you did. That will surely elicit a reaction.]

'Yeah… I will banish the nightmare spawns out from both of them. I will get to the bottom of this!'

"Mother, I have come back from the Academy. I checked my scores today, I am among the top scorers!"

The only reaction he received from her was a loud "Humpf!".

Aiden sighed at this, then continued.

"Mother, didn't you hear? Your son has achieved good results! Why can't you be happy with me? What did I do to earn your ire?

Hearing his words, the middle-aged woman stepped away from the stove and looked at the boy. Anger visible on her face, she slowly replied.

"Why? You dare ask me why? After all, didn't we ask you to not go to that Academy and instead help your father in the business? We needed you, but thanks to you neglecting your parents, he had to file for bankruptcy. We have no idea how we will make enough to live for another month, but yes, we should be glad for you that your SCORES ARE HIGH ENOUGH?! CAN YOU PROVIDE FOOD WITH THOSE POINTS? HMM?!" she answered. By the end, as her anger reached the boiling point, she was basically shouting at the boy.

"This is not you, mother. You should be happy that I achieved success. Snap out of it!" he said.

"HAPPY?!! YOU SAID I SHOULD BE HAPPY?! SURE, LET ME SHOW YOU HOW HAPPY I AM!" she grabbed a rolling pin lying on the kitchen counter, and was ready to hit the boy when they both heard a male voice coming from the living room.

"Shut up both of you! I'm watching TV! You can discuss my misery after lunch, let me at least have a bit of peace and quiet before that!"

Hearing her husband, she visibly calmed down and put the rolling pin back on the counter. Looking at the boy, she scoffed and turned her attention back to the stove. After a few seconds, she snorted under her nose.

"Go back to your room. We can talk after lunch. At least give that little peace to your father and to us."

Still stunned by the turn of events, Aiden could only nod, and silently leave the room. He wasn't shocked by the words the woman that should be his mother said, but the fact that the nightmare had such a strong grip on her. When she was ready to hit him, her face distorted and a dark shadow engulfed it. Her eyes turned red briefly, and Aiden wasn't sure that if the man in the living room didn't interrupt, what he would have done.

He didn't want to resort to violence, as that wasn't the goal of this scenario. He didn't feel any attachment or emotion towards these people that should be his relatives and friends, apart from that vague feeling that kept bothering him in his heart.

Quickly entering his room, he closed the door, and in the next moment, he fell down on his bed. Looking up at the plain white ceiling he sighed

'This will be harder than I thought, Enya. I'm not sure I can do this without violence.' he muttered mostly to himself. Just a simple question got such a strong reaction, what would happen, and how he would resolve this he had no idea.

The difficulty of this trial was much higher than the ones before that, he was certain of.

---

A figure holding a small child could be seen running through the shrubs in the forest. She was heavily huffing, as she had been running without any rest for several minutes now. Running out of air she finally halted her steps, and as she put down her daughter, she leaned against the trunk of a nearby tree.

"*Huff* *Huff* We should be far enough for now. Lily, dear, stay close to me, we will take rest for a few minutes before we continue. *Huff* Mommy needs to catch her breath." Heavily huffing she addressed her daughter.

Looking back towards where she came from, she couldn't help but worry. She left that teenage girl all on her own, while she escaped with Lily. She could only hope that the girl would follow not far behind.

'Just who was that girl… Is she from the clan? How else could she know the sacred prayers?!'

Sighing, she closed her eyes while she sat down on the ground while still leaning against the tree trunk.

Seeing how tired she was, Lily was worried. She didn't know what happened, but she could understand that whatever was happening was bad. She didn't know why they left the kind blonde girl behind. Looking up at her mother, she tugged at her clothes and asked in a worried tone.

"Mommy, will the girl come after us?"

"We can only hope honey. Let's pray for her safety while we rest, okay?"