Alice POV
Alice floated in a silent void with no sense of direction or gravity. Endless darkness stretched around her, while several glowing screens blinked one after another before her eyes.
[Alert! Protocol 214AS214X-QQ is active on Alice Calloway's World! Quest Difficulty will be automatically chosen. Difficulty 'Hell' chosen—]
The message stopped halfway through before vanishing. Another screen immediately replaced it, appearing so quickly that she barely had time to process what she had just read.
[Important Alert! Protocol 432531AAAA found in Alice Calloway. Prerequisite met. Revealing Hidden Difficulty Level.]
[Nightmare Hell Difficulty.]
Alice frowned slightly as she stared at the words. She had no idea what prerequisite she had fulfilled to unlock something beyond Hell Difficulty. The system gave no explanation, leaving her with nothing except guesses.
After thinking for a few moments, she remembered the protocol that had forcibly removed her from the Group Conqueror Trial. The number was exactly the same. If that protocol had affected her, then Isaac had probably received the same option as well.
'Should I attempt Nightmare Hell Difficulty?'
The thought came naturally, but she didn't rush to answer it. She couldn't tell what separated it from 'ordinary' Hell Difficulty.
Perhaps it wouldn't allow players to leave the Trial midway. Perhaps even the Trial Exit Tickets Avery had given her for emergencies would become useless. Since the system called it a hidden difficulty, there had to be consequences beyond what was written.
Alice bit her lower lip as she weighed the choice. She had tied her life to Isaac's because she had always worried that one day his recklessness would get him killed. It wasn't an unreasonable fear, considering he had already thrown his life away once before.
At the time, she had believed she was placing restraints on Isaac. Lately, however, she had begun to realize that she had tied herself down just as much. If Nightmare Hell carried the risk of permanent death, then choosing it wasn't simply risking her own life anymore.
More screens appeared before she could continue thinking.
[According to Protocol 214AS214X-QQ, all difficulties below Hell will be locked.]
[Please choose between available difficulties.]
[Hell]
[Nightmare Hell]
[Note: There is no danger of death in Nightmare Hell Difficulty. However, unknown conditions will be applied on Alice Calloway.]
Alice carefully read the final sentence. Then she read it once more to make sure she hadn't misunderstood it. Her eyes lingered on the first half of the message.
There was no danger of death.
That was enough for her.
If she couldn't die, then Isaac wouldn't suffer because of her decision. Whatever those unknown conditions were, she could deal with them later.
"I choose Nightmare Hell."
The screen flickered before another message appeared.
[Nightmare Hell Difficulty chosen.]
[Condition applying: All of Alice Calloway's memories, excluding a portion of her life, will be sealed.]
Alice's gaze froze as she reread the message. It took only a second for her to realize she had been tricked. Sealing away almost all of her memories wasn't a minor condition. It would fundamentally change who she was inside the Trial.
She instinctively reached toward the screen.
Before she could say anything, an overwhelming force slammed into her head. A sharp pain exploded through her mind, swallowing every coherent thought she had. Her vision dissolved into darkness.
...
A loud slap landed across Alice's cheek.
She jolted awake, her mind still clouded as burning pain spread across the left side of her face. It felt as though she had been dragged out of a dream before she was ready to wake up.
Slowly, she raised a hand and touched her cheek. The skin was already swollen, and fresh blood trickled from her nose onto her fingers. The pain was real enough that any lingering confusion disappeared almost immediately.
She wasn't surprised by the strength behind the slap. Selene was an awakened, while she was nothing more than an ordinary human. If anything, Selene had shown restraint by not using more force.
"How could you steal money from our own company? Do you even realize what you've done?" Selene shouted.
Alice lowered her gaze and remained silent. As her thoughts settled, memories naturally filled the empty spaces in her mind. Everything had started after the Talent Awakening Ceremony.
She had failed to awaken a Talent.
From that day onward, her standing within both the Calloway family and the Calloway Conglomerate had fallen apart. The people who once surrounded her with smiles slowly disappeared, while those who had always envied her no longer bothered hiding their contempt. Even her own sister had changed.
"I'm asking you a question. Or are you planning to keep pretending you did nothing wrong?" Selene asked sharply as she raised her hand again.
Alice looked at the raised hand and instinctively flinched.
The reaction embarrassed her the moment it happened. She couldn't remember when she had become someone who feared being hit. Somewhere along the way, she had stopped expecting anyone to stand on her side.
"Why did you steal the money? We've treated you like family all these years. How could you betray everyone like this?" Selene asked.
Alice quietly bit her lower lip.
She hadn't stolen anything. She knew that, and so did Selene. Chairman Lucius also knew the truth, but none of that mattered because she had already been chosen as the scapegoat.
There was no point trying to defend herself. Nobody in this room had gathered to hear her explanation. They had already reached their conclusion before she ever walked into the office.
Selene swung her hand again, intending to slap her once more.
Just before the strike landed, a calm voice interrupted.
"Alice."
Chairman Lucius's voice echoed through the office, causing Selene's hand to stop only an inch away from Alice's face. When the expected pain never came, Alice slowly opened her eyes and looked toward him.
Chairman Lucius stood near his desk with the same composed expression he always wore. There wasn't a trace of anger on his face, nor was there any sympathy. He simply looked at her as though he were handling another routine matter.
Selene lowered her hand and stepped back without saying anything.
"You will no longer be a part of Calloway Conglomerate. Our legal department will also file an official complaint against you. The matter will proceed through the courts," Chairman Lucius said evenly.
His words struck far deeper than Selene's slap.
Alice felt a tightness spread through her chest as she stared at him. She opened her mouth, desperate to say something before everything became irreversible.
"Uncle, but I didn't—"
"We are done here."
Chairman Lucius cut her off before she could finish. Without waiting for another word, he turned around and calmly walked out of the office. The heavy door closed behind him with a quiet click.
For a brief moment, silence filled the room.
Then a smile slowly spread across Selene's face.
"Considering the losses you've supposedly caused and the charges they're going to file against you, you'll most likely be exiled from the city after the trial. Goodbye, 'sister' ," Selene said with obvious satisfaction.
She casually patted Alice on the shoulder before walking toward the door. A moment later, she left the office as well, leaving Alice standing alone in complete silence.
Slowly, tears fell from her eyes.
…
Catherine POV
Catherine floated through an endless void, surrounded by nothing but darkness. Several glowing screens flickered before her eyes, appearing one after another without pause.
[Alert! Protocol 214AS214X-QQ is active on Catherine Lorrain's World! Quest Difficulty will be automatically chosen. Difficulty 'Hell' chosen.]
Catherine slowly closed her eyes and waited for the Trial to begin. Her heart beat much faster than she wanted it to, and no matter how calmly she breathed, she couldn't completely settle herself.
She always acted confident, but at this moment, she was afraid.
Fear, hesitation, and tears had always been answered with punishment throughout her childhood, and pretending to be fearless eventually became second nature.
She was afraid, and only when she was alone could she admit it. However, the thought lasted only a moment before she tightened her fists and took a slow breath.
'No. That's not true anymore.'
A faint warmth spread through Catherine's chest as she remembered Isaac before they entered the Trial. He had quietly taken out several Imperial Artifacts and insisted that she keep them, despite knowing exactly how valuable they were. What made her happiest wasn't the artifacts themselves, but the fact that he had noticed her fear without her ever saying it aloud.
She no longer needed to carry everything alone. She had a master she trusted, Isaac, and she also had people she could proudly call her family. Thinking about them steadily pushed away the uneasiness lingering in her heart.
Catherine slowly opened her eyes again. Whatever awaited her inside this Trial, she would face it without running away. Even if it turned out to be another repeat of her previous nightmare, she would overcome it.
The darkness disappeared.
Vision returned to her eyes, and the familiar academy grounds came into view. Students walked between buildings as instructors supervised the awakening ceremony from the front of the stage. Catherine immediately recognized the place where she had once taught Isaac, Alice, Peter, and countless other students.
A quiet sigh escaped her before she smiled faintly. At least this wasn't the same Trial as before. She had been worried she would once again relive those memories.
She soon noticed something strange. Students walked straight through her without reacting, and when she reached toward a nearby wall, her hand passed through it as though it didn't exist. Looking down, she found her own body had become transparent, resembling little more than drifting mist.
'Am I only supposed to observe for now?'
Curious, Catherine floated across the academy grounds instead of walking. It didn't take her long to find Isaac standing among the first-year students, patiently waiting for the ceremony to continue.
A playful smile immediately appeared on her face as she drifted behind him and tried to wrap her arms around him.
Her hands passed straight through him without meeting any resistance. Catherine pouted. She had expected as much, but it was still disappointing.
Since hugging him wasn't possible, she simply stayed beside him and watched the ceremony. Looking at this familiar scene reminded her of those peaceful days at the academy. Since long ago, she had always left a clone near him to protect him.
The only time she allowed him to be alone was during the night. It wasn't because she trusted the situation, but because she trusted herself even less. Spending too much time around him sometimes made it difficult to suppress thoughts that absolutely shouldn't become actions.
Remembering the awakening day made Catherine chuckle to herself. She had watched Isaac fight the assassins inside the Mirror Dimension, then later he had been trying so hard to hide his true strength from her.
Her favorite part had come afterward. She casually pointed out one suspicious detail after another, pretending she had figured everything out through careful observation. With every single word from her, Isaac was panicking, and she had enjoyed watching those reactions far more than she probably should have.
Of course, thinking about the assassins quickly ruined her mood. Catherine's smile disappeared as she remembered them hurting Isaac. The only regret she still carried was that Isaac had killed them before she could.
If they had fallen into her hands instead, they wouldn't have died so quickly. She would've made sure they regretted every decision that had brought them to Isaac. Even now, thinking about them left her feeling slightly dissatisfied.
Pushing those thoughts aside, Catherine turned her attention back toward the stage. The principal looked down at the awakening crystal before announcing the next result in a loud voice. Students immediately focused their attention on him.
"Peter Parkinson! S-Rank Life Talent! Golem Master!"
Peter accepted the announcement with a bright smile before stepping down from the stage. The surrounding students quickly gathered around him, offering congratulations and excited questions about his Talent. The scene looked exactly as Catherine remembered it.
Then she noticed something that shouldn't have happened.
Peter wasn't walking toward Isaac.
Catherine frowned and continued watching him. Peter, Alice, and Isaac had always stayed together in the academy. She clearly remembered Peter immediately finding Isaac while Alice joked that he could now eat even more and get fatter.
None of that happened.
Her eyes immediately searched for Alice instead. It took only a few seconds to find her standing some distance away from Isaac, surrounded by several girls fawning over her. Catherine frowned even deeper as she looked between the three of them.
'What's going on?'
She had assumed this Trial was simply recreating the past, but that assumption no longer seemed correct. Small details had already changed, and those small changes were beginning to pile up. Catherine immediately became more alert, realizing she shouldn't casually treat this as a simple memory.
Alice's name was eventually called.
Just as Catherine remembered, Alice failed to awaken a Talent. She quietly stepped down from the stage without saying anything, but the people waiting for her never approached. Instead, the girls who had surrounded her earlier stayed where they were, while nearby students whispered among themselves before laughing openly.
It was an ugly sight, but it wasn't unfamiliar. People often enjoyed watching someone fall after spending years at the top. Unlike the real past, however, Alice didn't have Peter and Isaac standing beside her.
A heavy feeling settled inside Catherine's chest as she watched Alice standing there alone. Something important had changed in this version of the past, and she had no idea what would happen next. Before she could think any further, the principal announced the next student.
"Isaac Hargraves!"
Isaac calmly walked onto the stage and placed his hand on the awakening crystal. The principal stared at it for several long seconds before finally speaking again. His voice echoed across the silent academy grounds.
"Isaac Hargraves! No Talent!"