Simulator: Choice-Restart

"Selected?" Lu Siyan repeated, floating amidst the giant marshmallow-orbs (he was pretty sure they were marshmallows). "Selected for what? A reality TV show? Because if so, I want royalties. And a better wardrobe. This whole 'slightly singed and vaguely confused' look isn't doing me any favors."

The voice chuckled, a sound like distant wind chimes made of pure irony. "Not quite. Though, the ratings would be… impressive. No, Lu Siyan, you've been selected for… well, let's call it a 'unique opportunity.'"

"A unique opportunity to be repeatedly killed in increasingly creative ways?" Lu Siyan quipped. "Because I'm starting to think you guys have a death-of-the-week calendar back here. Last week was 'molten lava Monday,' this week's shaping up to be 'existential dread Friday.'"

"We prefer to think of them as… dynamic learning experiences," the voice countered, with the kind of smooth condescension usually reserved for tech support hotlines.

"Dynamic learning experiences that involve me screaming internally?" Lu Siyan floated closer to a marshmallow-orb, poking it tentatively. "Is this thing edible? Because I'm suddenly ravenous."

"Please refrain from interacting with the… environment," the voice said, a hint of exasperation creeping in. "As I was saying, you've been selected for a program designed to… enhance your potential."

"Enhance my potential for what? Becoming a professional scream-haver?" Lu Siyan asked. "Because I think I've pretty much nailed that one."

"The program is designed to… unlock certain abilities," the voice continued, ignoring his sarcasm. "To… awaken latent talents."

"Latent talents like… telekinesis? Because I've always wanted to move things with my mind. Especially gas cylinders. That would be a game-changer," Lu Siyan mused.

"More… subtle talents," the voice said. "Skills related to… perception. Analysis. Strategy."

Lu Siyan raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying I'm going to become… super smart? Like, can-solve-complex-equations-while-simultaneously-juggling-marshmallows smart?"

"Potentially," the voice replied. "Though, the marshmallow juggling is… optional."

"Deal-breaker," Lu Siyan muttered. "So, how does this 'enhancement' work? Do I get injected with some kind of super-serum? Because I'm not a big fan of needles. Unless they're filled with, like, really good coffee."

"It's a more… holistic approach," the voice explained. "We expose you to various… simulated scenarios, each designed to challenge you in specific ways. By overcoming these challenges, you… develop the desired skills."

"So, it's like… a video game?" Lu Siyan asked. "But with real pain and the very real possibility of actual death?"

"A… highly immersive video game," the voice corrected.

"And what do I get if I win this… highly immersive, potentially fatal video game?" Lu Siyan asked. "Besides the ability to juggle marshmallows, obviously."

"You'll gain access to… resources," the voice said. "Opportunities. Influence."

Lu Siyan grinned. "So, you're saying I'll become… powerful? Like, rule-the-world powerful?"

"Let's just say you'll be… well-positioned to achieve your goals," the voice replied.

"My goal is to have a happy family and never have to refill a gas cylinder again," Lu Siyan said. "Is that on the table?"

The voice paused. "We can… facilitate access to resources that would make those goals… more attainable."

"So, you're saying I have to go back to that crazy house and face more near-death experiences to… maybe, possibly, someday, not have to worry about gas cylinders?" Lu Siyan asked.

"Essentially," the voice confirmed.

Lu Siyan groaned. "So, it's back to the fiery abyss for me, then? Because honestly, I'm starting to develop a complex. I'm going to need therapy after this. And a really good fireproof suit."

"Not necessarily," the voice said. "We are… flexible. We understand that these experiences can be… taxing."

"Taxing is an understatement," Lu Siyan muttered. "I've aged five years in the past five minutes. And I've died twice. I think I deserve a spa day."

"We can offer you… a choice," the voice continued. "A rewind, if you will. A chance to return to the moment before… the program began."

Lu Siyan stopped floating and stared at a particularly fluffy marshmallow-orb. "A rewind? Like… Groundhog Day, but with less snow and more existential dread?"

"Precisely," the voice replied. "You could return to your previous life, with no memory of these events. As if they never happened."

Lu Siyan considered this. The thought of going back to his mundane life, his gas cylinder woes, his awkward office encounters… it was tempting. Very tempting. But… something nagged at him. A feeling that he couldn't just walk away. Not after everything he'd seen, everything he'd experienced.

"And what about… the House of Tricks?" he asked. "What about… Anya?"

"The House of Tricks exists outside the normal flow of time and space," the voice explained. "It's… interdimensional. It does not reside within the same reality as your own. Returning to your previous life would mean… severing all ties to it."

"So, I'd never see her again?" Lu Siyan asked, surprised by the pang of… something… he felt at the thought.

"That is correct," the voice confirmed.

"And… why is she doing this?" Lu Siyan asked. "Why is she trying to kill me?"

"Anya… has her own motivations," the voice replied. "She became aware of your… potential… the moment the Simulator System activated within you. She recognized the threat it posed to her own… system."

"Her own system?" Lu Siyan repeated. "You mean… the Trickster System?"

"Yes," the voice confirmed. "Anya is… a user of the Trickster System. She used her abilities to lure you to the House of Tricks, hoping to eliminate you before your own abilities could develop and pose a challenge to her."

Lu Siyan stared at the marshmallow-orbs, his mind reeling. Anya, the beautiful, enigmatic woman he had met in the market, was trying to kill him. And she was doing it because of some kind of… interdimensional turf war between rival systems?

"So, it's either go back to my boring life and pretend this never happened," Lu Siyan said, "or go back to that crazy house and risk dying a million more times to… maybe, possibly, someday, stop her?"

"Those are your options," the voice confirmed.

Lu Siyan sighed. "You know," he said, "for a bunch of all-powerful architects of reality, you guys are really bad at giving pep talks." He paused, then looked directly at… well, at the general direction of the voice. "But," he began, a flicker of something – was it bravery or just stubbornness? – in his eyes, "I'm not going back. Not yet. I have questions. And I'm not going to let some crazy lady with a magic mask and a penchant for attempted murder dictate my life. I'm going back. And I'm going to figure out what's going on, even if it kills me."

"Again," he added as an afterthought, a wry twist to his lips.

The voice was silent for a moment. Then, it spoke, the amusement gone, replaced by a tone that was… almost regretful? "As you wish, Lu Siyan. But be warned. The path you choose is fraught with peril. The House of Tricks is a dangerous place, and Anya… she is not to be underestimated."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," Lu Siyan said, waving a dismissive hand. "Crazy lady, magic mask, attempted murder. I've got the memo." He paused, then added, "So, how do I get back? Do I just… think really hard about fire and brimstone?"

"The process is… complex," the voice replied. "It involves… recalibrating your dimensional coordinates. It will be… disorienting."

"Disorienting how?" Lu Siyan asked. "Like… spinning-in-a-washing-machine disorienting? Or more like… trying-to-understand-quantum-physics disorienting?"

Before the voice could answer, the white space around Lu Siyan began to shimmer and distort. The marshmallow-orbs started to spin, faster and faster, blurring into streaks of light. Lu Siyan felt a lurching sensation, like his insides were trying to swap places with his outsides.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he yelled, grabbing onto… well, nothing. "Maybe… maybe I should have taken the rewind option!"

The colors intensified, swirling into a chaotic vortex. Lu Siyan felt himself being pulled, stretched, twisted, like a piece of taffy being pulled in a dozen different directions. He squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for the inevitable.

And then, everything went black.

Lu Siyan gasped, his eyes snapping open. He was lying on his bed, his alarm clock blaring beside him. He groaned, reaching out to silence the infernal device. His hand landed awkwardly on the ring, sending it spinning, creating a chaotic screech. With an exaggerated thunk, he managed to stop it by tapping the white arm of the clock.

"Stop… please…" he muttered to no one in particular, his eyes still half-shut. He felt… disoriented. Like he'd just had a really weird dream. A dream about marshmallow clouds and fire and… a crazy lady with a magic mask.

He slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed, his feet meeting the cold floor with a muffled slap. He groaned, realizing he'd probably knocked something over while crashing into the bed last night—again. Stretching out, he shuffled toward the door, his movements sluggish but determined. His hand reached for the doorknob, pushing with all his sleepy might. But the door refused to budge.

Wait… wrong side, he thought in sudden realization.

A defeated sigh escaped his lips as he circled around and tried again, this time with success. The door creaked open, and the chaotic room greeted him. Clothes were scattered across the floor like a poorly executed laundry day, a bag left open, and papers—a crime scene of disorganization.

He stood there for a moment, staring at it, as if it was the source of all his problems. With an exaggerated sigh, he muttered, "Well, here goes…"

He started picking up clothes, piling them into some semblance of order. As he did, a faint tingling sensation at the back of his head. He paused, frowning. That dream… it felt so real. He shook his head. Just stress, he thought. I need coffee.

He left the room, shaking his head, deciding that he would deal with the rest later. He walked toward the bathroom, where his usual morning routine awaited. Unaware that his "usual morning routine" was about to get a whole lot more unusual.