MLTNL P2- "Creativity"

"Creativity" is the second Part of "Miracula Luxia: The Northern Lights". It was released on 08.03.2020.
== Plot ==
Having completed the first challenge for patience without much difficulty, Jared passes on to the next one.
The second challenge will test Jared's creativity and how well he will solve a certain problem. His mind will be on fire for this new challenge and there is no escape from the flame.
Will Jared succeed?
== Story ==
Jared and the spirit enter another room, with the door slamming shut behind them.
"You have done very well so far, Jared."- The spirit continued- "But how well will you do in the next challenge the spirits have set for you?"
Jared shrugs.
"I guess that there is only one way to find that out... "- He says.
The spirit nods.
"Very well, young one. The next challenge will test your creativity. Good luck!"
A flash of light illuminates the two of them and soon, Jared finds himself in a new place.
This one is much more different than the previous small room. For example, it is much bigger, has many doors- many options to go through.
Jared realizes that he is in a mansion. He uses his intuition to find the right door for the challenge and goes into the room.
Inside, he finds a ruined library. However, there is something truly worrying about it. There are no books on the shelves and the few surviving ones are now on the ground, their pages thrown everywhere around the room.
Jared stares at the mess, shocked by what the place has become.
"Where... am I?"- He wonders to himself and looks around some more.
Finally, he notices a small panel in the far right end of the room. There, he sees a symbol engraved on it, but no buttons.
A quick look at the panel itself reveals that there is some sort of a pattern.
"This is the part when I finally get creative."- He says to himself and begins to think about possible outcomes for this new problem.
He looks at the pages that are scattered all around the room and realizes that most of them are blank. Curious.
He also finds a few crayons near them- three, in particular. A red, a green and a blue.
"Interesting."- Jared says- "Red, green and blue."
He looks at the symbol and realizes that it's drawn in four colors- red, green, blue and gold.
He looks at the crayons in his left hand and the sheet of paper in his right one.
"Maybe I have to draw the pattern on one of those blank pages?"- He wonders- "But... where can I find a gold crayon?"
After checking all possible hidden spots for a crayon, he finally finds one. However, by looking closer at it, he is disappointed to find out that it is only a yellow one.
He sighs.
"Well, this is the best I could find, so it is the best that I will use."
After saying so, he begins to copy the symbol on the panel onto the blank page, drawing it piece by piece, starting with red, proceeding with green, blue and finally yellow (gold).
Moments later, he lifts the now-filled paper up, proud of what he has done.
However, he realizes that there is still much to do. He notices the other three symbols around it, wondering if he has to draw them as well.
Spending a few moments of his precious time, the young hero grabs three more sheets of blank paper and begins to carefully draw the rest of the symbols on them.
He notices that it's not that difficult to do so- most of the symbols may be different in shape, but that's just it. The colors are just switched and there is no need for our hero to look for more crayons.
The first symbol's color pattern is red, blue, gold and green. Done.
The second is blue, red, green and gold. Done.
And, finally, the last one is pretty much a reverse of the first one- blue, green, red and gold.
Having completed all four of them, Jared looked around and found a hammer and nails on a nearby table. He wondered why they're here and stared at the four statues in the middle of the room.
Without even thinking twice, the young hero carefully hammered the four pictures on the statues, one after the other.
After the last one is firmly hammered on the last statue, Jared hears a rumbling noise and sees the spirit standing next to him.
"I think that it is a good time for you to go back a little bit."- The spirit advised the boy and vanished.
Taking his advice in mind, Jared stepped back a lot and watched in awe as the floor shifted to the left and to the right to reveal a stairway, leading below the room.
He hears another round of applause and sees the spirit once again.
"Well?"- He asks him- "Did I pass?"
The spirit shakes his head.
"You did well, Jared, but you still have a while to go before I congratulate you. Although I should say that you definitely surprised me. Most people who have been tested before you didn't think of that solution so fast. You truly have a lot of creativity in your mind."
"And the pictures were so pretty. Your talent is unbelievable!"- Another spirit adds.
Jared smiles.
"Thank you."- He says- "My mother taught me how to draw such symbols when I was five years old. I am glad that they came in use somewhere."
The spirit nods.
"And now, it is time for you to face the second part of your challenge. Meet me down there and I will explain what you must do."
Following the spirit's commands, Jared walks down the stairs and enters a new room. A room with a futuristic look.
Amazingly, the room had survived after all these years of neglect. It is a computer room, where only the most important of operations were performed by the owners of the place- a place of artificial intelligence and modern machinery. 
All of those things combined leave Jared staring around himself in awe, unable to believe what he is seeing before him.
Only the presence of the spirit manages to snap him out of whatever strange dream is in his mind (But seriously, who wouldn't dream of using this room for themselves after witnessing all of the useful machinery within?).
"Well then. You are here."- The spirit says- "It is time for you to test two traits at once."
"Here, you will test both your intelligence and your creativity at the same time. You must use the computer to open the door over there."- He points at a nearby metal door- "That has three layers in total."
"If you succesfully enter a code on the supercomputer, you will open one of those layers. Failure to enter the right code means that the rest of the layers will close and you will have to start again."
"Each one of those layers has a different code that unlocks it. So, do you remember everything?"
Jared nods.
"I heard it loud and clear, spirit. I will open those doors and complete the challenge you have bestowed upon me."
The spirit smiles, nods and fades away, leaving Jared alone in the room.
He sits on the computer and thinks about the possible solutions for opening the doors.
"Hmm. Let us see... "- He mumbles as he stares at the keys of the huge keyboard, as if it's a puzzle he has to complete.
In fact, all of those challenges are like a huge puzzle to him. Piece by piece, he has to complete it in order to reach his end goal- to defeat Vanitas and redeem himself as a true hero.
Jared looks at the screen of the supercomputer. Then he looks at the keyboard. Then at the screen again.
He looks at the pieces of paper around the supercomputer and realizes that there might be hints hidden inside them.
Without a moment of doubt, he grabs one of the papers and reads what is written on it:
"You might be looking for hints. Well, it won't be that easy, young man! (Man, that is rude). Anyway, I might give you one, but you better guess it right. The first password is related to the person you love the most and wish to protect her at all costs. Who shall it be?"
Jared looked down, lost in thought. He lifted his head, only to look down again a few moments later.
"Person I love the most, hm?"- He says- "Well, if we count the living ones, there are very few people I care for a lot. And, if it is a female person, that makes it a bit harder."
"It would be Akari, but I stopped caring too much about her a year ago, so... "
He shakes his head.
"No. It's not her. There's another girl who has a special place in my heart. Much more important than Akari. Let me think... "
He loses himself in the trains of thought once again, unable to find the answer.
Yet.
After a few minutes, he finally remembers the person.
"Annie!"- He exclaims- "Oh, my dear Annie! How could I forget about her?! I left her with her brother in Duskwood, promising that I would return as soon as possible, thinking that she would be safe there."
He writes the name "Annie_Mitchell" on the keyboard and presses the huge "Enter" key.
The supercomputer emits a confirming sound, slightly calming Jared.
He lets out a sigh of relief. One of the layers of the door behind him falls down.
"One down, only two more to go!"- He says and looks at another piece of paper.
He stares at it and sighs.
"Here we go again."- He says quietly.
"You're done with the first one? Hah, good job. I would clap with my hands to applaud you, if I had any. But there's no time for such nonsense. If you want to enter the second password correctly, you need to find out what the most favorite male member of your family loves the most. Here's a little think- it's food."
"Favorite male member of my family? That would be my uncle, Jason. He's always been my favorite. Sorry, dad!"
"Let's see. I think he told me about his favorite food ever when I was a child. Now, if I can only remember it... "
While trying to remember about his favorite food, Jared experiences a flashback from the earliest days of his life.
He sees a younger version of himself, walking with his uncle Jason around the forest near their hometown. Jason buy himself and his nephew two icecreams from a nearby icecream shop.
Jared stares at his uncle's icecream and starts to make sense of what his favorite food ever is. However, he has to figure out the flavor first before he jumps into any quick conclusions.
The younger version of Jared looks at his uncle and emits a cute giggle.
"Uncle, do you really love this icecream so much?"
Jason stares at his nephew, his eyes beaming with excitement.
"Nephew, if I ever told you that I love something else other than this delicious icecream, don't believe me. This icecream has been my favorite ever since I was a child and it still is now, when I am an adult."
"So, what's it called?"- Little Jared wonders.
Jason notices the little boy's interest and smiles.
"Well, well, well! I see that someone is interested in learning more about this ancient icecream! I will tell you what I was told when I was younger- this gift of the God is made from something that you can find in the sea. No, it's not very sweet, like the other flavors, but it still makes you happy and that's what matters the most-- "
But before he could hear more about what his uncle has to say, the big Jared is teleported back into the reality.
He looks at the keyboard and thinks about what his uncle said in the past.
" "Something I can find in the sea"? Well, it is definitely not fish, so it has to be something else. But... what could it be?"
He notices a small icecream in a glass box and looks at it. Suddenly, memories from events long past reenter his mind, filling it with vital information for his quest.
Jared says "Eureka!", as if he just discovered a new technology.
"Sea-salt icecream!"- He says- "Sea-salt icecream. Sea-salt icecream! ... "
He repeats the same word over and over, trying to keep it in his mind. After a few moments, he finally succeeds and writes it down on the keyboard as "Sea_Salt_IceCream".
Success! The supercomputer emits another approving noise, opening another of the layers for Jared.
Jared picks up one last piece of paper and realizes that the last password will be the hardest one yet.
"Well, you did it. Unbelievable! You truly know how to have a good "trip down memory lane", eh? Anyway, I applaud you. Again. But don't think you're safe yet! You still have one more to go, and it's going to make you think the most. Trust me, it truly will! For the last hint, I will tell you that it is related to something you really love. And no, it's not a person, food or anything materialistic. It is related to something that is within you! A source of strength that has always kept you going, even in your darkest hours which scared you the most. Even in the darkest of places, that made you lost faith in yourself. Thanks to this power, you always prevailed in the end, protecting the people around you and making them believe. It is the power I am talking about that has always been with you, in every moment of your life, guiding you like a compass in the sea of darkness and despair. So, it is your turn to figure it out, young hero. Get on with it."
The last riddle makes Jared very confused. A strange power? Something that has always been with him? That saved him when he needed the most help? Interesting, but also very hard to figure out.
After a few moments, Jared realizes that it has to do with an element that he knows. But what could it be?
It doesn't take our hero long to figure out which element matters to him the most- the element of Light, an element that has always guided him whenever he went, whatever he did and always helped him achieve what he thought to be impossible for him.
"That's right!"- He exclaims- "No matter where I went, the light in my heart always showed me the right path to go, always helped me do the right things! The light of a true hero!"
He tries to write it down, but his mind stops him from doing so moments before it happens.
"But... why did I not write it down?"- He wonders to himself.
He realizes that there is something that he is missing. A key element, like a notch in his rifle, still waiting to be found. Something that adds up to what he has learned so far.
Something that describes him for what he really is- all the deeds that he has done throughout the years, during which he has been on the planet Earth. All the people that he helped, all the respect that he recieved.
Yes. The thing he is truly looking for... is something that describes him as a person. As a hero.
Jared has another vision, this time of himself, staring at something in the distance.
His real self. No flashback selves. No nothing. Just pure, innocent him.
He stares at the light in the distance and realizes that it is going away.
He tries to chase after it, in a futile attempt to reach it.
"Wait, don't leave me alone! I need your help!"- He yells, but his words are not heard.
The light slowly fades from view and leaves Jared in a total darkness.
Moments later, he wakes up back in the room, having gained knowledge about the password.
"I get it. I get it now."- He says and begins to write the beginnings of a long word.
"The_Light_Seeker_Seeks_The_Light_In_His_Heart_All_Alone"
Surprisingly, this long password turns out to be correct. With a loud sound of approval, the supercomputer's screen says "Congratulations! You win!" to Jared as the final layer of the door finally falls down, enabling Jared to pass through it.
Jared smiles and pats himself on the head, silently congratulating himself for another job well done.
The spirit appears and pats Jared on the shoulder with his translucent hand.
"Incredible, Jared."- He says- "You have managed to guess all of the words and combine knowledge with creativity at the same time! That is truly impressive and for that, I congratulate you and announce that you have passed the second challenge successfully!"
"But there are still five more to go, so, whenever you are ready, pass through the door and you will be taken to your third challenge where I will explain what happens next."
Jared smiles and immediately heads towards the door without any hesitation whatsoever.
"I know that I should probably rest, spirit, but there is no time for me to do so. An ancient evil awaits me and I need to prove myself as soon as possible to have the chance to defeat him before it is too late."
"Then proceed through the door and we shall talk."
With that, Jared and the spirit passed through the open door which closed behind them, keeping the hidden supercomputer room as it was supposed to be in the first place.