"For starters, here's your bribe. Thank you for having the courage to take the first turn, Violetta." Fay leans over and picks up a small chest which was almost certainly not on the floor next to him a moment before, and places it onto the table in front of him. Continuing with her previous behavioral trend, the mage shows no hesitation as she pulls it closer and opens it up.

"Goodies! Let's see...mana potion, coins and...a dagger? This seems a little light for a Floor Seven reward." Violetta turns the knife about in the light of the room, and indeed the thing looks far too small to be of any real danger to a dungeon monster.

"...Typically we don't provide identification services, but in this case, I'll let you know that it's been enchanted with an illusion spell. Those who are cut with it will begin to see hallucinations and the like."

The woman grins. "Really? Might try that out myself, then. Bribe accepted! So, we're doing a confessional here, hrmm? Where should I start? If I'm supposed to tell you everything I've ever done, we could be here all day!"

Fay doesn't answer right away, instead taking a moment to place his arms onto the table in front of him, folding his hands across each other while fixing the mage with a stare. It's not harsh, but it has a certain intensity, and Violetta's smile begins to become a bit strained. "Actually, we're going to be focusing on something very specific today. Tell us about Lynette."

At the mention of that name Violetta's good mood evaporates entirely. "...How do you know that name? I never...I'm sure I never talked about her with Sevastion. You're not reading my mind, are you?"

"We have our sources, but they're incomplete. We have half the story, but what we don't have is your perspective. Why don't you tell us about her?"

Violetta doesn't answer right away, instead returning Fay's stare with one of her own. Although the Acolyte is only a minion of a monster, and would hardly last twenty seconds in any sort of fight, the man doesn't show the slightest bit of fear or concern about being trapped in a small room with the Expert-qualified mage. Perhaps his confidence is well-placed, as instead of reaching for the dagger or her wand, the woman eventually does respond with her words. "Lynette was my cousin. A year older, we grew up together. Had most of our education together. Best friends, really. And eventually, I killed her. Does that qualify as my confession, Mr. Fay?"

"Not in the least. We know you killed her. We would still like you to tell us about it."

This time the silence is brief before Violetta continues, in a rather monotone voice. "I used a dagger, not much different than this one here, actually. Didn't need anything bigger, given that she was strapped down to a table when I did it. She was drugged, so she didn't feel much physical pain, which is good because I killed her slow. Bled her out. Not drugged enough to not know what I was doing, though. There was certainly a fair bit of emotional pain! But that was important. Couldn't have her knocked out all the way, or it wouldn't have worked."

Fay leans forward slightly, and speaks without judgment in his voice. "You killed her for power."

The mage's voice grows quiet. "...How do you know that?"

"The priestess, Brightsky, she's an excellent judge of people's souls, you know. She can't exactly read your life's story, but she sneaked a peek at you while you were working your way through Floor Six. You bear the undeniable marks of a dark pact, Mage Violetta."

The woman's fingers tap against the tabletop. "If you know that, then what's the point of all this? Confession might lighten the heart, but it doesn't do a thing to the dark gods. This is a waste of time, I think."

"We're curious, you know. Were you expecting the pact to fade when you left your home realm? Gods cannot directly intervene outside of their territory, the local pantheon usually frowns on that sort of thing. But that doesn't negate their gifts either, most of the time. Priestess Brightsky is certainly an example of that. A pact with a god isn't something you can run from."

This time Violetta's smile returns, but it seems far less genuine than before. "Who's running!? I paid a lot for my power, didn't I? The life of someone - someone important! It'd be a waste to give it all up even if I could, don't you think?"

Fay's answer to that seems to ignore her question entirely. "You're fortunate though, you know? Certainly, one god's power can be a good answer to another's, at least if they're of a similar strength, and depending on their particular divine portfolio. But Priestess Brightsky is an agent of Lord Theolif, a divinity directly opposed to your dark gods, and one familiar with their ways. And this far out from their domain? Why, if you were to sever your pact then there would be absolutely nothing they could do about it. Even if they could locate you, attempting to retaliate on you directly, here, would risk an inter-pantheon war, and given your realm already has one of those going on I doubt they'd care for a second."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Sever the pact? You're being ridiculous! After the price I paid? That's - no, besides, I need the power. Without it I'd be the weakest member of this whole sorry lot!"

Fay locks eyes with Violetta again. "Tell us about when you killed Lynette."

The mage fidgets for a bit, looking like she might just get up and leave instead of answering, but eventually seems to decide to play along. "...It was our mothers' idea, you see. They were sisters, and our grandmother was a priestess of the dark gods, a high-ranking one. Not the original owner of the pact, but an inheritor, that's how it works in our family. When grandmother died, the pact transferred to the youngest generation of our family - but if that involves multiple people, it splits and weakens. Eventually the benefits of the pact would fade into being practically nothing at all."

Fay gives an understanding nod. "And your family decided to...re-consolidate the powers the god granted you?"

"It's not enough for someone under the pact to simply die, you know. If that happens the power is simply lost forever." Violetta shakes her head. "It has to be a ritual killing. One family member has to bleed the other over the course of an hour, with them remaining conscious the whole time. Or most of it, at least. The..." The woman swallows before continuing. "...The betrayal and suffering fuels the ritual."

"And your family chose you?"

Violetta barks out a laugh. "Ha! That would have been too easy. No, they made us compete, with the main event being tasks to eliminate groups of enemy mages and witches. I...poisoned Lynette's party before she went out on her assignment." She looks away, staring off into the distance. "Not enough to kill them, at least not directly. Just enough to sap their strength. A few died in the fight, but mostly it allowed half of her targets to escape. She failed, and I won the competition. It wasn't even cheating, really. Tricks like that were basically expected. She killed my best horse."

"Betrayal fuels the ritual." Fay repeats her own words back to her, and she nods in agreement.

"Exactly so." The mage takes a moment to collect herself, and takes a deep breath before continuing. "So, does this confession please you, Mr. Priestly Rabbit? Have I held up my end of the bargain?"

The Acolyte nods. "You have. And now, I would like to present you with a second bargain."

"Dark gods, you're making me wish we had simply chosen to slash and blast you instead. Isn't that what a dungeon's supposed to be about!? What's your game now?"

"Actually, you might like this particular game. It involves killing me."

"Oh, well now we're talking."

"As a Rabbit Acolyte, I contain within myself a small amount of divine energy - something unique to Worthy Dungeon, if we're not mistaken. Not a lot, not compared to Priestess Deylia, let alone Priestess Brightsky. But enough to be potentially very useful in certain rituals."

The mage only needs a moment to consider the implications of that before her eyes grow wide. "Wait, you're not just an acolyte in service to the gods - you possess actual divine essence!?"

"A little, as I said." Again Fay leans over to pick up a box from the floor, again finding a chest which Violetta would swear had not been there when she'd entered the room. This time he keeps it on his side of the table, opening it up to withdraw a second dagger, a glass bottle filled with a clear liquid, and something similar to a large magnifying glass lens held in a vertical frame. "These are ritual components constructed with Priestess Brightsky's assistance, I don't know if you're familiar with this particular ritual. The dagger is capable of killing a divine being without allowing the divine energy to escape, or at least not right away, while the lens can focus and direct that energy into the alchemical potion we've prepared here. Such a divinely-powered potion can be used for multiple rituals, we have the steps written down here for two of them if you need a guide."

"A Potion of Divine Essence...I've never even seen one before, but I have heard of it, yes! You're...serious about being willing to die for one of these rituals? What about those 'safe floor' rules?"

Fay smirks. "Fortunately, or unfortunately, those rules only protect mortals. But in any case, I'll respawn soon enough - I may contain divine energy, but I'm actually quite soulless, so I'm at no long-term risk from the ordeal."

"And these rituals? I don't recall the steps for any off of the top of my head, what are the two you've prepared for today?"

"Quite simple. If you say one particular set of words over the potion before consuming it, it will be sufficient to shatter the pact holding onto your soul, weakened as it currently is in this realm. If you say a different set of words...it will corrupt the potion, and make your pact stronger."

Violetta's eyes narrow with suspicion. "I see. And if I chose to preform the 'wrong' ritual? I'll step outside and find some punishment waiting for me?"

"No punishment, no rewards, beyond the ritual itself. The only thing we're offering here today is freedom."

The woman snorts. "You really think offering me freedom from my pact will what, turn me into an ally or something of yours? That I'll turn against Prince Thaddeus and the rest of his followers? Half of us are inclined to turn on each other even without all of that."

The Acolyte shakes his head. "That's not the freedom we're offering, not directly, at least. No - we're offering you the freedom to make whatever choice you want to make. Right here, right now, your future is yours to decide."

Violetta spends a while staring at the dagger sitting across the table, carefully considering her words before responding. "You really offer this to me? Even knowing what it could do? In local terms, an empowered pact would turn me into a Master overnight, or so I would estimate. I would become...very difficult to kill. Your deeper dungeon floors might not be able to stop me, or at least, me fighting alongside the others."

Fay's answer is to sit back and begin undoing his robe, eventually baring his pale chest to the mage. "It seems it's not just my life in your hands, but many. What will be your choice, Violetta Threnel, Warlock of Rot?"

----------------------------------------

Unseen but still watching, Xenia stands in silence as she watches her Acolyte be slain and an esoteric ritual be performed.

And eventually, silently, she smiles.