Third Rebirth: Godsfall Apocalypse

Belladoll knew Zarek well enough to know that he would do anything to protect Priya. Not only would he pull all the attention and danger onto himself, but after he heard of the Trial of Fire, he would almost certainly tie it to Crux and go out of his way to crush it before he left.

That meant that there was a trap waiting there almost certainly.

Zarek had already seen through it, which was why he had left her such a subtle warning. And yet he was running right toward it nonetheless.

That might even be why Belladoll had been so enraged. She said so wholeheartedly that she would enter the Trial of Fire, and while on the one hand Belladoll had just seen Zarek sacrifice himself in this way so easily, seeing Priya not hesitate to say that she would do the same moments later was like watching two people she wanted to get between grow closer.

It made her sick.

Why would Sona need to be here? Because Sona was the crux of everything. Whatever was in the Trial of Fire was important enough to the stakes of this Dream Godsfall Tear that she had to be out of the way.

But the details of that weren't left to Priya. Zarek didn't have the time to explain them, and even if he did, it was unlikely that he would. After all, he just wanted her to know that he wasn't just sacrificing himself, but that there was a real purpose to what he was doing as well.

Yet, it wasn't just this. It was also Zarek telling Priya that there was something to take advantage of here as well, and Belladoll had just made an exploitable mistake.

But what was it?

Priya's legs were moving before her mind could decide.

"Respected Priestesses. I don't know if my actions were rude or not, but I would still like to affirm my position. I want to enter the Trial of Fire."

Priya looked forward with a flash in her eyes. Belladoll and Sona had been about to enter a passageway to the side that would lead up to the tower. This tower held the very ledge that they had just been on earlier before Zarek came hopping down.

This entire field was underground, and a great number of Matrices were keeping it lit up. This tower was probably the main source of all of its power.

Priya had gone through all of her thoughts and stepped forward before she could even finish them. But this time, she trusted her gut and acted the way Zarek would. If only for this one time.

There was definitely something here. There was a reason Belladoll exploded.

Given the stiffness to Belladoll's frame right now, Priya knew that she had guessed right. But her gaze was focused on Sona.

Sona turned back, a glint in her eyes. "Are—"

"The Trial of Fire is not a game, girl," Belladoll said coldly, before taking Sona's hand and pulling her along further.

Sona gave Priya an apologetic smile. She had seen what happened before, but judging by Belladoll's reaction, she actually felt like the Head Priestess was trying to save the girl.

Sona's respect for Belladoll deepened, ironically enough. It could be said that Belladoll was playing this well, but Priya knew better than to fall for something like this.

Sona might have reason to think that Belladoll would be nice to her, but why would Priya believe such a thing?

"I would like to enter nonetheless."

There was another pause in the two women's steps. Sona looked back, a complicated look in her eyes. She opened her lips to speak again, but once more, it was Belladoll who spoke up first, spinning around in a fury.

"Do you not know how to take a hint?!"

Priya's gaze only became more intent.

"With all due respect, Head Priestess. You've made your position clear already, and I've made mine. I would like to participate in the Trial of Fire."

"You—"

"Head Priestess," Sona said softly, pulling on her sleeve, "I know that you want to protect this one, but our rules… we cannot stop someone who would like to participate in the Trial of Fire. We must allow it."

"Even if that is the case, the situation doesn't allow for it."

"I understand this, of course. But as you know, Head Priestess, it is my duty to prepare the sacrifices. I cannot ignore this."

Belladoll's jaw clenched.

Priya was still scanning both women, still trying to understand exactly what chance she had to exploit here. Her gaze bounced between the two of them, and she vaguely heard Sona's voice, but it still wasn't enough to paint the full picture.

"You will stay with us," Sona said firmly. "From now until the start of the Trial of Fire, you will receive my personal grace. As spoken by our Ancestors, any warrior willing to risk their lives in the Trial of Fire will be treated like a hero until they have proven otherwise."

Obviously, the "otherwise" she spoke of… was death in the Trial of Fire.

That was when it all finally made sense to Priya.

Sona was here because she was the Guardian of the Trial of Fire. Here, she would take Priya in and supposedly protect her, but more importantly, if she had not been by Belladoll's side, whatever changes they had forced on the Trial of Fire to deal with Zarek would have been stopped by her.

Priya's heart sank to her stomach, her gut dropping just the same.

What was there to exploit here? It was protection. Zarek was getting her a protective talisman for the time he was gone.

But there was nothing here she could do to actually help him.

She clenched her small hands so tightly her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood.

She wasn't as good as Zarek. She wasn't as quick on her feet, she wasn't as good at finding and pointing out the weaknesses of her enemies, she wasn't as good at gambling when appropriate and drawing back when it wasn't.

And now, the best she could do was keep herself safe so that he could fight on the front lines free of worry.

It made her feel… useless.

Her jaw clenched.

…

Zarek leapt over another corpse, his breathing heavy, but his gaze steady.

Priya was right. It was mostly a gamble.

Sona's appearance was a hole in Belladoll's plan. They wanted to lure him to the Trial of Fire, but they also had to make sure that the one person that could control things there wasn't present.

From that, Zarek worked backward. Given he could feel that Sona was the Pillar of this Godsfall Tear, her importance to the Trial of Fire couldn't be small.

Then there was Dalton. Even if Dalton didn't want to make an enemy of Zarek, he wouldn't make his failure so obvious either. Unless he was also trying to warn Zarek of something as well. Of course, this had only happened afterward and only served to confirm Zarek's speculations.

The final leg was nothing more than what Zarek did best…

Gamble.

He was a heretic, a prisoner, and yet he had been given a luxurious room to stay in. That told him enough about the methods of the enclave.

Even those they deemed to kill were treated well.

Kindness... the supposed importance of kindness to the enclave...

If his Priya was as smart as he felt she was, she would figure out this line of reasoning. Worst case scenario, she would carve out a memory in Sona's mind. The more Sona remembered her, the more unlikely it would be that Belladoll could do something in secret.

As for the rest…

Priya should leave that to him.

A wall of heat slapped against Zarek's face as he turned a corner. The sound of feet stopped behind him, and before him, a sea of fire lay.

And high above, there was a familiar figure.

Crux.