GUARDIAN OF THE END

Diana slipped the silver ring off her finger and gently touched it Jason's forehead. The latter's body instantly went limp as Diana laid him on the floor.

< Commencing 'Death by Lust'. Results of the trial will depend on the actions of the user. Be warned, external as well as internal damage might be suffered by the undertaker of the trial.

"Best of luck." She muttered before standing up and waiting for Jason to finish battling the trial of lust.

***

"Are you underage or not? To be specific, eighteen years of age is considered as the age for one to be considered an adult." Jason read the message in front of him.

He selected the yes option before filling his real age in a blank. It felt like he was signing into his gmail account.

Once he had filled his age, he was asked to fill his gender. After being done with that, Jason waited for the trial to begin.

But the moment it started, Jason released a sigh.

Busty elves dressed in maid costumes appeared all around him with their heads bowed down. One of them was kneeling near him and it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening.

"Sorry but I am still underage and though you all are very beautiful, I am not interested in losing my virginity during a trial." Jason said with a bored expression.

All of a sudden, the busty elves vanished and Jason was left standing alone inside what looked like a marriage hall.

He was able to tell this because a woman in a bridal dress was standing atop a stand meant for the groom and the bride.

"Who is she getting married to?" Jason muttered before facepalming. The answer was quite obvious as to who she was getting married to.

[ Remember that Diana said there is very less difference between love and lust. I guess this is supposed to show the love part. ] The system guessed.

Jason sighed and walked up to the stage to see who the bride was. However, his feet started slowing down when he noticed her face.

'Isn't that…' his thoughts trailed off when the woman turned around and faced him.

A wave of shock passed through his entire body when the woman revealed her face. It was as though someone had just told him that everything he had been experiencing till then was a coma.

"Thalia…"

Jason fell in a trance as he saw his best friend from his previous line. As if in a trance, he continued to advance forward towards her.

[ Don't fall for it! ] the system tried to stop Jason, but it didn't work.

He soon reached the stage and jumped on to it. He moved forward and stood right in front of Thalia, his eyes staring into her pure black ones.

"Hello, Jason." Thalia smiled before touching Jason's right cheek with her left hand.

Jason felt goosebumps spreading throughout his body from the contact made by Thalia's hand. His eyes were wide open and were noticing every single moment done by her.

"Hello…" He muttered.

Thalia chuckled lightly before stepping forward and cupping Jason's face in both of her hands. Suddenly, the hall vanished and the two of them appeared in a bedroom.

Jason couldn't utter a single word as he got pushed on the bed by Thalia. His heart was beating loudly inside his chest while his brain was trying to make sense of things.

Thalia slowly lowered herself over him, her eyes staring straight into his eyes.

[ Host… Jason, can you listen to me? ] The system called out.

'I can.'

[ Then listen carefully. What you are seeing is just an illusion created by the ring by picking up on the feelings you had for Thalia. What you are seeing isn't real since she died back on Earth. ] The system explained calmly.

Jason's slowly felt a sense of clarity spreading throughout his body. He sat straight up and stared at the version of Thalia in front of him with narrowed eyes.

[ Listen to my voice and focus on it. ] The system guided. [ You are just looking at an illusion so focus on what's real. ]

Hearing its voice, Jason closed his eyes and focused on the sound of the system's voice. He could still feel Thalia's hands touching his body, yet they didn't make his heart race.

[ I will say one last thing. Thalia won't do anything like that. You know it as well. She isn't like that. ] The system finished before falling quiet.

Jason took a deep breath before opening his eyes again. Thalia had vanished from the place and all that remained was the bedroom.

Slowly, the bedroom was vanishing as well. The calmer Jason became, the faster it started vanishing.

'Thank you very much for what you said, system. I am afraid that I wouldn't have been able to do to anything due to being in a panicked state.'

[ No problem. It's my job to remind you of such things and I don't think it would have had a good effect on you if I didn't do that. Though this trial is still a bit sexual for underage people. ]

'Technically, I am not really underage. I am well over thirty if you combine both of my ages together. But then, my mentality got affected by the environment of this world.' Jason sighed.

He stood up from his bed and stretched his body. The room had already faded away and left him standing in the middle of a garden.

It was a garden he was familiar with since it belonged to his house only.

'Are those Risa and Issac?' Jason asked with a surprised expression.

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}

His grandparents stood under one of the large trees and seemed to be talking about something important.

Jason slowly edged closer to them and saw that both of them looked even younger than they currently did.

It looked as though they were recently wedded as a marriage ring gleamed brightly on both of their hands.

A smile appeared on Jason's smile as he realized what the trial was trying to make him feel. It was sad to admit that it had succeeded in it.

'I also want to enjoy this experience, but I still have much time left before I do it. There are still many adventures and plots that I have to wrap up. I am sure there will be time for marriage later on.'

With a smile, Jason lightly touched his grandparents shoulders and closed his eyes. The world around him started spinning before he suddenly woke up on a cold floor.

Diana was looking at him with a curious gaze and even helped him stand up.

"How was it?" she asked gently.

Jason remained silent for a few seconds before smiling.

"It was eye-opening for me…"