It was hardest at the start. It would get easier as she got further into it.
That was an obvious lie.
At least on the solid ground, the boulder was able to slightly roll on its own. When Melania made it to the incline, everything got much harder.
She couldn't just mindlessly push the boulder anymore. She had to put thought into her every movement, methodically taking it higher and higher.
One step. Two steps. Three steps. Four steps.
Every single movement was intentional, so Melania was highly aware of when she made them.
She started sweating before she even made it to the incline. She refused to breathe heavily and tried to regulate it as much as possible, but she was still breathing loud enough for it to be heard over the wind.
She had only one goal, and now that she'd committed herself to achieving it, she was entirely focused on doing so.
Five steps. Six steps. Seven steps. Eight steps.
It was only just the beginning. Was it healthy to be this hyper-aware?
Whatever the case, it was her current state.
And in that state, she made it to the incline and started to climb.
She didn't make any extraneous movements or sounds in a bid to conserve as much energy as possible. Now that she was alone, though, she could struggle as she pleased without being judged for it.
All she had to do was push.
She wasn't allowed to think or be intuitive. She wasn't allowed to use energy. Her muscles, which were still largely undeveloped since she rarely used them, were now being pushed beyond their limits.
Honestly, it was already preposterous.
When Damien gave her this trial, he only wanted to see her dedication. Once she started pushing the boulder, she'd already passed.
The problem was that she wanted it more than he expected.
Melania never really showed a deep desire for power. What she wanted was the ability to protect herself and those around her, but it came from a place of survival.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})That was what made her current demeanor curious.
Why was she willing to put everything else away to mindlessly to chase strength?
What motivated her?
The trial was never meant to actually provide her with anything.
In the end, she was to find that it was all an illusion and deal with the disappointment alone. If she succeeded, Damien was planning to give her back what she earned in the illusion, a chance.
However, if she truly managed to push that boulder to the peak with strength alone, she would end up unlocking potential that she didn't know existed.
And that…
If she was able to properly earn it, then Damien had no plans of taking it away from her.
Frankly, he'd already been impressed with her performance.
It was just a matter of how much she could do.
In the end, what should've taken only a few hours at most was turned into a task that would last for years.
How much time would pass in reality was a different story, but in Melania's mind, reality didn't matter anymore.
The motivation was there.
As was the desire for action.
In the first three hours of her ascent, she'd already made it past the base of the mountain and a ways up its side.
She wanted to rest, but she pushed on without showing a single bit of mercy to herself.
Only once six hours had passed was she forced to give up.
Well, she only gave up on a direct ascent. She was still absolutely planning to reach the peak at some point.
She put her shoulder against the boulder and dug her feet into the ground. The instant she removed her hands, she rapidly turned to rest it on her back as she bent her knees and took a small break.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})From her current elevation, the endless desert below was already far away.
She could see deep into it, though nothing changed since the scenery was monotonous no matter how far away she looked.
"Huu…huu…huu…"
Her breathing was choppy. Her legs quivered. No, her entire body was trembling and threatening to give up.
She had stopped, so she was able to get at least the minimum amount of rest required, but that was it.
She could never forget about the thousands of pounds that were resting on her back.
The monotony didn't help. Whether it be in atmosphere, environment, or any other factors that could help her put her mind at ease, none of them changed. They remained dull, as if trying to provoke her into collapsing and letting everything go.
But Melania refused.
With the same single-minded determination she used to move for six hours without pause on a relatively steep incline, she turned back around and put her hands back on the boulder.
"Huu…huu…huu…"
It was hard to describe what was happening in her mind and body right now.
She was truly struggling. Her breath was more ragged than ever. Her body was hardly holding up, but she knew that she couldn't relax a single muscle.
It was hard. It was tiring. It made her want to lie down and die.
But…was it that those feelings were vague?
For some reason, she could barely feel them beyond the fog clouding her mind.
It started many hours ago. Melania started to redevelop complex thought as Damien released some of the restraints on her. Though her memories were still gone, she was allowed to keep everything else.
However, her complex thoughts didn't manifest into anything. At the same time, her mind became hazy and the task in front of her became her everything.
It was like Melania was watching herself push the boulder through a screen in her mind, controlling her body like it was a character in a game.
She could empathize with the feelings and sensations that her body was feeling, but she didn't feel like it was happening to her.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})In the moment, this little fact seemed to be a boon. It helped her work without minding her limits.
Right, she was able to work while unaware of her limits. When the time came for her to hit them, when the time came when she should have rested, she was able to keep going.
That was her first mistake, and the cause of her first death.
As Melania worked ceaselessly for almost twelve hours, only taking a few short breaks in between, her body broke down.
She approached a steeper incline. More of the boulder's weight was pushed back onto her.
Her flimsy arms, weary from the constant exertion, couldn't keep up any longer.
They bent. The boulder crashed down, snapping them into pieces, and as it tumbled down the mountain…
What happened to Melania, who was directly underneath it, didn't need to be said.
A girl appeared at the bottom of the mountain.
She looked at it, and she looked at the bloodstained boulder that sat at its base.
'I'm…alive.'
She was given another chance.
With a mind suspiciously numb to the fact that she had just died, she put her hands back on the boulder and started pushing.
She had a second chance. That was all of the information she garnered from her position before she stopped thinking altogether.
Melania was never kidding about wanting to see things to the end.
Whether it took days, weeks, months, or even years, she would find a way to the top of the mountain.
She would obtain everything that had been promised to her.
And perhaps, in the process, she'd find out why this moment meant so much to her.
Melania had been sent on a journey of self-discovery against her will.
But, it would end up being a pivotal point in her life, a memory she looked back on with pride.
This was the real start of her story.
And it was already guaranteed to be a grand one.
