“The reward of one duty is the power to fulfil another.”

George Eliot

“Finally! My back was killing me. Those stone chairs are not comfortable to sit in,” Rocky said, arching his back until it gave a satisfying crack.

A moment later, Emily flung herself into his arms and embraced him. She hissed from the pain in her ribs but did not stop.

“Why didn’t you tell me what you went through?” she accused, lightly slamming her fist against his shoulder. “That’s the kind of thing you tell your best friend.”

Rocky looked embarrassed. “Emily, you are the only friend I’ve ever had. I didn’t want to scare you away.”

Emily punched him playfully in the belly. “You big lummox. You’d have to do more than that to scare me away. I’m never going to leave your side.”

Rocky wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. “I’m never going to leave you either.”

Bethany stood awkwardly against the shattered stone table, watching the friends embrace. They had each other to lean on in hard times. What did she have? The final bonds with her old life had been shattered in the Arena.

Where did she belong now?

Emily provided her with an answer as she stretched out her arm and waved to Bethany. “Come on Bethany. Join the hug. You’re one of us now.”

Rocky laughed and extended his arm as well. “Emily says its like hugging a fluffy cloud, though hugging her is like holding a muscular, and often violent, twig.”

Emily punched Rocky playfully, and Rocky laughed.

Bethany felt her smile grow, and she walked over into her new friends’ embrace. The Arena had severed her past, but it had also given her a future. She had been given a crash course in the trials and tragedies of her new friends’ lives, and in the process, she had grown to trust them. There was no doubt or hesitation in her mind that she would stay by their side, whatever this God Contest had to throw at them.

They stayed together like that until the voice of Thoth returned.

“Bethany Fox, I have deliberated with my fellow gods of judgment. We decided that your choice, though unexpected, is within the range of justice allowable for your grandmother. Her spirit shall wander the realm of purgatory, until it encounters the spirit of her son. Her final judgment shall weigh the insights she gains during her wanderings. May she learn in death what she failed to learn in life.”

The moon brightened, bathing the room in the bright glow. Winged Eyes flew down from the sky above, circling above the trio to capture their reactions to the final judgment. Bethany thought could hear the distant sound of a cheering crowd. It was growing louder by the moment, and soon Rocky and Emily could hear it too.

“What the hell is that?” asked Emily.

“Our audience, I’m guessing,” responded Rocky, staring into one of the Winged Eyes that was hovering in front of him. “Hey, this is the same damn eye that has been following us around. How did it get here?”

Bethany looked at the eye floating beside her and recognized it. “Jitters?” she asked. The eye bobbed in the air excitedly, as if it were proud of the human it had been assigned to.

Thoth’s voice boomed out across the night sky. “My fellow Gods. These mortals have demonstrated intelligence and sound judgment in my Arena. I am pleased to present them with their rewards. May they find themselves at the end of The God Contest, victorious.”

Bethany raised her head. This was different than the Arena of Dolos. There, three gold discs had appeared, and she had to choose one. Did every Arena have its own rewards rules as well?

“Emily Desjarlais,” Thoth announced to the crowd. The bright light of the moon fell upon Emily, illuminating her like a spotlight. “You have shown your worth. For successfully completing my arena and demonstrating judgment beyond mortal men, I award to you the Gift of Infinite Recollection. May the memory of your sister remain forever in your mind, even as her own memory fades for all time.”

A golden disk appeared before Emily, engraved with the image of a brain. Emily reached out and grasped it in both hands. The disk dissolved into fragments of golden light, and light was absorbed into Emily through her skin. Then Emily’s eyes grew wide with surprise.

“I remember it all!” she said with amazement through shallow breaths. “Every single detail of my life. I could tell you the color of the clock on the wall where Emma and I were born. I remember the smell in the air on our first day of school, and the taste of Emma’s first batch of chocolate chip cookies. I remember…I remember our last hug, the feeling of holding her tight, and not wanting to let her go. If I close my eyes, I can picture it so clearly. It’s as if she were still here beside me.”

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Emily wiped happy tears from her eyes. “Thank you,” she whispered, grateful for the gift.

The light of the moon moved to Rocky, illuminating his frame as she wrung his hands nervously.

“Rocky MacMillian,” Thoth’s voice spoke. “You have shown your worth. For successfully completing my arena and demonstrating judgment beyond mortal men, I award you with the Gift of the Healer’s Touch. Through forgiveness, you have healed wounds within yourself and within the soul you judged. May this gift help you heal those that you love and protect.”

The golden disk that appeared before Rocky was engraved with the image of two hands cupped together, a blue light shining between their palms. The disk disintegrated when Rocky touched it, and its power flowed into him.

Rocky closed his eyes and could sense the world around him in a new light. His nose twitched, curling up as if smelling rotten garbage. He opened his eyes and stared at Emily’s chest.

“Hey, big guy. Watch those eyes,” Emily protested, folding her arms across her breasts.

“What? I… no, I’m not… it’s just…” Rocky stammered, his face turning beat red. “I… I can feel your injuries. It’s like a pressure on my mind, calling out to me. Emily, why didn’t you tell me you were hurt so badly? You have three fractured ribs, and your chest is covered in bruises. I don’t even know how you are standing right now.”

“I’m a toughie,” Emily answered, unfolding her arms. “And I’ve had worse.”

Rocky stretched out his meaty hand and pressed it against Emily’s stomach below her breasts. He closed his eyes, and his hand began to glow with a faint blue light. Bethany could see Rocky’s eyes moving back and forth beneath his lids, as if he were asleep.

The blue glow expanded and spread across Emily’s chest, and Emily gasped as a cool numbness spread inside her. “Rocky, what… what are you doing? It… oh, that feels nice.” Emily said a relieved sigh. She lifted her white shirt to expose her midriff, and Bethany could see the deep black bruising that had started to form where the pasta bull had struck her.

The blue glow danced across her bruises and soaked into her skin, and Bethany watched in astonishment as the bruises slowly disappeared. Emily gritted her teeth in pain as each fractured rib, one by one, was set back into place, but her expression turned to one of pleasure as they began to mend.

Three minutes later, every bruise had faded from Emily’s chest, and she could breathe normally. “Rocky, you are incredible. I feel like I could run a marathon or climb a mountain. Or fight another bull.” Emily gave a joyous laugh and took an exaggerated breath.

“Please… don’t do that. It’s exhausting,” Rocky begged, bent over at the waist. His shirt was drenched in sweat from the effort, and his breath was rapid. It looked like he had just run a mile.

“But it felt so good! If that’s what a hand on my chest feels like, I’d love to know what else you can do,” Emily said casually.

Rocky suddenly realized his hand was still pressed against Emily’s chest, and he yanked it back so quickly that it looked like he had been bitten. Embarrassment spread across his face.

Emily flashed a coy smile at Rocky. One that said she was only half joking.

Bethany did not think Rocky could blush harder than he already was, but somehow, he achieved it. He turned around and walked back to his stone chair, hiding his face from the two women.

Bethany walked over to Emily, who smiled mischievously. “He’s fun to tease. He’ll recover soon,” she whispered.

“Are you just teasing?” Bethany asked curiously.

“Of course. We’re just best friends, Bethany,” Emily said quickly. Too quickly. Bethany didn’t believe her for a second.

Rocky did recover a few minutes later, though Bethany could still see his mind spinning as he processed Emily’s teasing. He pointed to Bethany’s cheek, bruised from her father’s final blows. “Bethany, do you want me to…”

Bethany raised a hand to her face. She had forgotten about the bruise, though the pain remained. She had long ago grown accustomed to bruises. “Umm… okay, if you want to,” Bethany mumbled, not knowing what to expect.

Rocky cupped the side of Bethany’s face in his palm. Bethany felt the healing energy flow, and soon her father’s final blow on his daughter was only a memory.

Rocky stumbled over to his stone chair and plopped down in it. “That really takes a lot out of a guy,” he said breathlessly.

"Don't forget yourself, lummox," Emily instructed, pointing at Rocky's bandaged hand.

"Oh, right. I hope it works on me," Rocky said. He unwapped the bandage on his hand. Bethany gasped as she saw the bruising along his knuckles. His index finger was askew, clearly dislocated, and he had a dozen cuts across the skin. She realized Emily was not the only one hiding her pain.

Rocky focused on his fingers, and the blue flame appeared once more. Bethany winced when, with a soft crack and a shout from Rocky, his index finger slid back into place. Three minutes later, Rocky's hand looked healthy, though there was some light bruising that Rocky simply ran out of energy to heal.

Bethany looked skyward, her hand stroking her newly healed cheek. “I guess that just leaves me.”

Thoth must have been waiting for them to finish exploring Rocky’s new talent. Bethany suspected it made for good entertainment. As if on cue, the spotlight of the moon shifted to her, and she braced herself for what was next.

“Bethany Fox,” Thoth’s voice boomed out for a final time, “You have shown your worth. For successfully completing my arena and demonstrating judgment beyond mortal men, I award you with the Gift of Insight. As you have granted your grandmother time to see the consequences of her actions, so do I grant that gift to you. May you have the fortitude to use it, and the wisdom to use it well.”

The engraving on the golden disk was an hourglass, mostly empty but for a tiny bit of sand that flowed from top to bottom. As the last grain fell, she watched the hourglass flip over and the sands began to fall anew.

Bethany grasped it, closing her eyes and bracing, having no idea what to expect.

The disk dissolved into its shower of golden light, and Bethany felt the power flow into her. She could feel it pulse within her and take on the rhythm of her own heartbeat. And then it was over, and Bethany was left wondering.

“Well?” asked Emily, expectedly. “What does your new talent do?

“Umm…I have no idea. I don’t feel any different,” responded Bethany, turning her palms over to try to make something happen.

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out in time,” comforted Rocky, “You said your hammer didn’t appear right away either. It could be an innate talent such as Emily’s, rather than one you activate.”

“I guess so,” Bethany sighed, disappointed.

“Does this mean the arena is over?” Emily asked, staring up at the black staircase. “Can we leave?”

“It is over, but I have one more gift for you.”