"The Trait Origin rejects the title Star Mender."
Blood started leaking out of Isaac's eyes when he heard his own voice express the trait 'origin' rejection of the title. Isaac collapsed onto the magic circle he just powered, feeling all the strength in his body drain out.
Many versions of his own voice spoke deep inside his head, which caused more blood to pour out of his eyes.
"Such a title is unworthy of us."
"What name is 'Star Mender'? We are worthy of much greater."
"You dare even consider such a pathetic title!"
"You sicken us, Isaac."
"You are unworthy of your life!"
Deep inside Isaac's mind, hundreds of people with Isaac's voice ridiculed him for even thinking that the title 'Star Mender' was worth something. As Isaac tried to get a hold of himself, the voices began to form inside Isaac's mind.
Each version had a completely different look, some looked human, just like Isaac, but others were closer to monsters. Demonic and angelic people fill Isaac's mind, and then Isaac forms inside his mind.
Still writhing in pain even inside his own mind, he tried to stand up, reflecting his own actions in the physical world. Each attempt to stand seems to make the blood pour out with vigour.
Faint steps could be heard approaching Isaac, but as they got louder, the voices berating Isaac grew quiet. A hand reached down and held Isaac's, and as Isaac looked up at the figure, his mind went blank.
Time did not feel like it passed inside his mind, but looking at the figure made Isaac feel like he had forgotten something of deep importance, like something that shaped him had been removed from his life.
Isaac stood thanks to the figure's help. Due to the blood that covered Isaac's eyes, he was unable to make out the figure, but he felt deep inside himself that even if he could see, the figure would not allow Isaac to gaze upon it.
The figure guided the blind Isaac deeper inside his mind, steps clattered around them as the other people began following the two of them like a school of fish. After what felt like an eternity of walking, Isaac arrived at a set of steps.
As the figure guided Isaac up the steps, a brave voice spoke out from the crowd.
"This place you are entering is called your origin. It's where all versions of you who have been something come to rest."
Isaac's eyes began to clear slightly, albeit very slowly. The steps Isaac had just walked up were into a garden full of trees. No tree was the same some were high and mighty, like they were the world tree, while others had deep cuts and scars engraved into them.
The only thing that was consistent with all the trees was that they were dying, and only barely hanging onto life. The figure took Isaac to the centre of the garden where a familiar tree sat.
It was the tree that Isaac first saw them. He came to the other world, the same tree where he first tried to use his system, the same tree he awakened magic at, the same tree that guided him to the berries.
Isaac fell silent at the sight, but the same could not be said for the brave voice as they spoke again.
"This tree is your current origin, and it is dying just like ours, albeit slower. If you pick that title, it will die, and so will you."
Isaac let go of the hand of the figure that he could not see and reached out to the tree, but he phased right through it. Only a seed fell into his hand, it was small and pathetic, and it had a red hue to it that made Isaac think about himself.
All the actions that led him here, to that very moment. All the things that could have been different if he had just chosen differently, but that was what made him Isaac, so why should he reflect on it?
The brave voice walked over to Isaac and crouched in front of him, and held his shoulder.
"You must always reflect on your origin, and on your actions as they dictate your fate. Time is a line that changes colour due to your actions, your voice, and your meaning."
Isaac looked at the man in front of him. He was a bearded man with gray hair and a scar covering his left eye. He was dressed in platemail with a sword hanging at his waist. It felt like each and every one of his words carried a meaning that Isaac could not understand, but the world around them could.
Isaac looked at the seed in his hands and spoke.
"But how do I? My life his been borderline meaningless, I slacked off thinking nothing could ever come from my trait, and then when I got here I tried acting like I had my life together, but that's just wrong!
Tears lined Isaac's eyes, which helped clean them. Isaac felt like the weight of everything crashed down on him. His lackluster school life, his pathetic attempt to live in the wild, and his attempts to act like he was still that same old Isaac who could goof off every day with James.
Isaac began bawling his eyes out, which made almost all the figures around him look down at themselves, like thinking back at an old memory. He tried to overcome the tears flowing down his face.
"B-But hoow? How do I? How do I live? I don't want to die. Not out here. Out here with no one I like?
Isaac grabbed the man by the shoulders.
"How do I live with all the odds stacked against me?"
The man gave Isaac a look of regret and spoke.
"By learning the ways of the people before you, Isaac. By learning from others, and making it your own, only then can you learn what it means to be one of us."
Isaac let go of the man and looked at the seed.
"What if I can't do it? What if I'm not made for this type of life? The hunting and killing. What if I can't take it anymore?"
From behind Isaac, a glowing hand landed on Isaac's shoulder, and a whisper hit Isaac's ear.
"There is no I, only Us."
The world around Isaac seemed to fade out of his mind, leaving only him and the seed in his hands.
"The Trait Origin rejects the title Star Mender."
"The trait Origin grows the owner's body."
"Isaac Wright has opened his true world."