Utopian System

"The whole system..." Dionz gestured at their surrounding reality.
Find adventures on My Virtual Library Empire

"It's not just entertainment or a test. It's a preservation mechanism. It's not perfect since Nala and I are fighting to decide the right way to do this… But for now, it's a way to keep experiencing life without being crushed under the weight of eternal life. Each reset gives you a chance to feel that spark again, to experience things as new, to keep being you."

He created another hologram, this one showing the city and its inhabitants. "The limitations, the levels, the challenges… they're all designed to give a powerful sense of wonder . To make you feel the need to survive, to make life feel scary, hard, but meaningful, to find a way to provide goals and achievements that can still excite you even after countless repetitions."

"But I don't remember any of this," Elio argued. "How can you know if it's working… No, how can you even say I agreed to something I have no memory of?"

"Because that was part of the agreement," Dionz replied. "To truly experience each cycle as new, you had to forget. The memories had to be wiped clean, leaving only the core of who you are. We have a way to measure the "engagement" and the repetition is that large to have a good sample, full of data. But now..." He looked troubled.

"Now even Nala has found that she can't retain everything without breaking, she is also bored now, something she was supposedly immune to. And if she wins complete control the solution will be to drop the "Ego" we all stop being separated beings..."

He left the sentence hanging, but the implications were clear. Someone who could remember everything, who had experienced everything, who had complete divine power and no fear of mental decay… Had failed to handle boredom.

What could they, simple humans, do better then?

Dionz's form seemed to dim slightly as he continued. "There's something you need to understand about Nala. She... she hates humans. Not in the simple way mortals hate each other. It's deeper, more fundamental."

He created a holographic image of human crowds, going about their daily lives. "She believes humans are inherently selfish, that they can never achieve true happiness. In her view, humans very existence is... pointless. A sad, futile struggle that should be ended for your own good."

Elio watched as the hologram shifted, showing scenes of human conflict and suffering alongside moments of joy and triumph. "And you disagree?"

"Obviously!" Dionz's usual dramatic flair briefly returned. "Why do you think I've tried so hard to keep the playing field level? But she's..." He deflated slightly. "She's too powerful. The most I've been able to do is stall, and well..." He gestured at their surroundings.

"Here we are."

The god began pacing in the air, his agitation making him forget he was supposed to be maintaining a dignified divine presence.

"There's only one way to prove to her that human individuality is worth preserving. We have to beat her. And not just beat her, we have to create a truly utopian world where humans can live as much as they want. And have one of you live a million years… At least once."

The hologram changed again, showing a vision of a perfect city. "A world where humans can find genuine happiness, where they want for nothing more than what they have and where they don't grow... bored of being themselves. Of living."

Emberg and Poison Stinger moved closer to the hologram, their forms reflecting the beautiful vision. The salamander's flames danced with possibility, while the scorpion's crystals seemed to capture and amplify the light of this potential future.

"If we fail," Dionz's voice grew heavy, "she'll take all our consciousnesses and combine them into one. And let me tell you," he shuddered, "being part of a multi-consciousness is far less interesting than it sounds. The sense of self, of being an individual... it just vanishes."

He looked directly at Elio, all pretense gone.

"It's like returning to infinity. Imagine a drop of water returning to the ocean. The water still exists, but that specific drop? That unique collection of experiences and thoughts? Gone. It might as well never have existed at all."

Elio thought of Zara, trapped sharing a body with Zahyla… with Nala. "Is that what she's trying to do to Zara?"

"Yes… and no, that's different… Zara's mind should have just reseted, like dying. What's happening with Zara is... unexpected. Unprecedented, actually… At least in my current memories…"

Dionz rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But what Nala wants for all humanity is far more complete than a memory reset from her cursed skill. No individual thoughts, no personal desires, no unique experiences… Forever. Just one vast consciousness, eternally content in its uniformity."

The god's form brightened slightly with determination.

"That's why this run is so important. We've never had someone reach this point before, never had a chance to actually challenge her vision with a perfect world. With the extra power from my challenge, with your unique levels of curiosity maybe a long life is..."

He gestured at the iridescent sphere they'd won. "But first you need power to take the world from her… Then we might actually have a chance to show her she's wrong about humanity."

Elio looked at his invocations, these unique beings who had developed such distinct personalities despite being constructs of mana.

"And if we fail?"

"Then billions of individual stories end," Dionz said softly. "Not with death, death at least preserves the story that was. No, they'll end by never having been unique stories at all. Just drops returning to an infinite ocean, losing everything that made them themselves."

The chamber fell silent as the weight of this revelation settled. Even the usually dramatic Emberg and mischievous Poison Stinger seemed subdued, understanding that they too would lose their unique existence if Nala succeeded.

"Each sphere," Dionz explained, floating closer to examine the iridescent object, "will grant 100 points of mana. One for each level of the challenge. And since this is a system-wide upgrade, every human will receive the same increase. Should help your friends quite a bit."