Once they woke up and got ready, the two of them did not sit around and wait for the woman to fetch them. Rather, they started to search around the room for anything that would be of further use for the upcoming journey. The room was tossed and turned to find the necessary equipment to get the further job so much easier.
They did not find anything they could use. There were so many items that were great for relaxation, not so much for combat. However, this task did help to cover up their boredom, enough time for the portal to appear and collect them.
Once more, they were brought to the throne room, where the woman seemed quite pleased to see them. She gave them a wide smile before another portal formed, this one leading to the dark hallway seen previously. The Crusader looked at him and nodded, before going forward and entering. Though, not before giving a scowl at her.
However, while the portal was open, he tested something with his divinity. He reached out through this gateway, seeing if he could navigate paths even though he was not present in the area. He was able to do so effortlessly, his mind taking in even more information of the tunnel area. The underground area was not as much of a labyrinth as the tower, in fact, the whole layout was rather straightforward. He had to admit that the pathway was rather clear and that there truly was only one enemy present in the area that they would need to take care of: the fog monster.
Though, he didn’t analyze for long. He closed his eyes as he released his divine powers once more, before looking back at the woman. Her face did not change from the smile, which meant one thing: she was not aware of the fact he had used his powers. This was good, key information that he could use to help his associate. After all, if she had the portals open, he could manipulate the man to maneuver away from any incoming attacks.
Though, that left him and the woman remaining. The Crusader was already going down the hallways and away from plain sight, though the portal stayed up. The two of them looked at each other, him with a raised eyebrow and her with a smile.
Time passed. Her smile was starting to fade as a light frown began to overtake her features. She raised an eyebrow before scowling and finally glaring at him.
“Aren’t you going to go forward?”
“Oh, no. I think I’ll stay behind here. After all, I’m quite certain my associate will be more than enough to deal with whatever freak monster lays within the underground tunnels.”
“No, you–” The woman seethed, “You are supposed to go down there! What, do you not care about your ally? Are you so willing to see him die?!”
“No. I will not be seeing him die,” he stated firmly, “I am going to see him survive and win. I will be seeing him prevail no matter what comes his way.”
“What kind of asinine drivel are you feeding me right now?” The woman spat.
“It is not drivel. It is trust. That is something I have, something you have never been able to experience throughout your life. I bet that you are nothing more than a coward that hides because you have never found anyone you would willingly die for.”
“Nothing is worth dying for.”
“That is what you think.”
The two stared each other down with clear hostility. She tapped her fingers against the throne for a little while, before sighing out with frustration and waving her left hand. In seconds, the portal vanished and dissolved, leaving the two of them the only ones in the room truly.
“So you say.”
“So I say.”
She scoffed at that. “What in particular do you expect me to do? What exact benefits or advantages can you expect me to obtain through doing all this? I’d like to hear your flawed arguments, at least before I inform you how horribly wrong you are.”
“It’s rather simple. You’re after the divinity of that monster, aren’t you? You were planning for us to take down the fog monster, get exhausted, and take the chance to secure the power for yourself. I do not know what exactly that will do for you, but I can only hypothesize that you would use this to obtain more power or possibly free yourself from this tower. This way, you take care of us, the two biggest threats, and have free rein to take control of the town.”
The woman stared at him for a quite a while, before shaking her head and bursting out in laughter. “Come now! You cannot even believe such drivel, can you? Did that meathead from earlier put those thoughts into your head?”
“If it was all nonsense, then tell me this: why are you helping us kill the monster? Shouldn’t you seek to protect it or hide its existence?”
“If I had not brought up anything, then you would have simply killed me on the spot, no?” The woman asked, looking back with annoyance, “Did you expect me to roll over and accept my fate? No, I did not get to where I was by being a complete doormat. No, I got to where I was with my wits and keen instinct. If you truly think I will be someone you can merely diagnose so easily, you are sorely mistaken.”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“If you truly did care, then you should have simply transported us to the door of the monster, not some distance away where we would waste energy reaching our destination.”
The woman flinched. At that moment, the Spartan knew he was on the right path.
“Tell me, what exactly are your plans upon obtaining the divine piece? What sort of goal do you have? If you simply seek freedom, then fine, I won’t be in your way. However, if your plan is to take control, then you will find me to be quite the dangerous opponent.”
“Hmph.” She looked up at the ceiling, before back at the Spartan. “Tell me. How does it feel to walk, to live, to be able to do things without worrying about your body? To have the sensation of walking freely through the streets, to feel the night breeze on your skin? Those are luxuries for me now, unknown ideas that I can never get back again.”
“Ridiculous. Your portals should allow you to replicate that to such a degree.”
“I cannot walk. My body is fused to this ridiculous stone seat. All the work I had done prior to my ‘ascension’,” She stated as she threw some finger quotes, “Were destroyed in an instant. My own change and gifted divinity is nothing more than a curse, one that has changed my body so much that I can no longer call myself a human. I am warped, someone that is beyond capacity of even feeling normal again. All my servants have been transformed into the very monstrosities you see roam the streets. I have nothing left, and that divinity will be the key for me being free again.”
“All at the cost of two people that came in.”
“Oh, spare me the platitude,” she waved her hand, “You two came in here with one goal in mind: to kill me and free the town of the fog and monsters. Never mind the fact the monsters are not controlled by me, or the fact that I was helpless. The goal was to kill me no matter what the circumstances, thus forcing me to think on the spot.”
“Yet you chose not to try to do anything to free yourself before we came in,” the Spartan pointed out.
At that, she growled and slammed a fist against the armrest of the stone throne. The rock cracked from the impact as she shot a death glare at him.
“How dare you! You have no idea of what I have gone through, the suffering that has been dealt to me after I have been ‘gifted’ this power!” she snarled as she moved up as much as her body would allow, “Do you think I’ve been doing nothing and twiddling my thumbs, waiting for some kind of savior? I have tried to escape, put in as much effort as possible to get a way out of this hell I have been shoved into. There was nothing I could do, nothing! Do you know how it feels to have possible freedom at your grasp, with mystical powers and all of it does nothing?!”
He stayed quiet at that, allowing her to continue her rant.
“All this power and no means to use it. My home, my servants, everything was torn away from me with this gift. Do you know how long I craved human contact again? To be able to talk to people, to have connections, to not be alone? I want to have my servants back, to have the ability to eat delicious meals and drinks, to feel human again. Everything I have been given is not a blessing, it is a curse. A burden forced upon me in such a twisted and broken manner that the only thing I can do is wish and pray for safety.”
“I see. However, I don’t quite understand. If you are so depressed by everything, the lack of control and all, why did you not bother attempting to end your life here and now? Why continue to suffer and wait for salvation that you did not even know would arrive? After all, most people who meet you would most likely be prepared to take you out for your crimes. You could get all of this over with by crossing over to the other side on your own merits.”
The woman stared at him with an incredulous look, clearly uncertain if he was being serious or not. She blinked, her red and black eyes seemingly bulging out from the pure shock of hearing those words.
“Pardon?”
“Why haven’t you decided to give up and pass on? Surely, eternal rest would be better than this torture you keep on spouting about.”
The woman’s face went pure red at the suggestion. She leaned in even more, to the point where the flesh that was bound to the stone throne began to rip bit by bit. A heavy growl erupted from her as her face showed pure rage throughout her features.
“How dare you! Do you think that such an action comes easily? Perhaps not all of us are suicidal and foolish like you and your compatriot! Some of us still have desires and dreams!”
“That means nothing. Especially when you are a coward that would not dare to do anything in fear of repercussions.”
“Oh, is that what you think?” The woman sneered as she leaned back onto her seat, looking somewhat smug now, “Tell me, what do you think will happen when you die? What hopes and dreams do you expect once you pass on to the other side? I have told you that there is nothing there. What, do you consider me to be a liar?”
“Yes.”
She chuckled. Then, she started laughing hysterically. Tears began to flow down her face as her body went up and down from that very statement, finding some kind of amusement where there should not be any. After a brief while, she calmed down, before giving him a dark sneer.
“I have seen the other side. There is nothing there but darkness and silence. I have always thought there was something, anything, but all that remains is nothing but the pure emptiness of the world. But, if you don’t believe me, perhaps we should see how your friend fares with the one that controls the fog. Perhaps watching him die and scream for help as the darkness takes him will open your eyes.”
Before the Spartan had a chance to respond, a giant portal appeared in the middle of the room. Then, in a single moment, that surface displayed the room the monster was in, with the Crusader starting to walk in.
At that moment, he got ready to intervene if necessary. After all, he had more divine partner than his associate. Besides, he wasn’t going to let the man die if he could help it.
He’d grown a bit on him after all of this.