THIS PLACE RESEMBLED the personal room, but the floor looked like a chessboard, and there was no ceiling, just a white fog in which stone fragments and spheres of planets could be glimpsed. I gripped the spear tightly, feeling anxious as if I didn’t have much time. The gates glowed before me, only this time there were eight, not seven…
“Nine. There is another way.”
The voice came from below, and looking down, I saw a scarlet card in my left hand. I think it was in the department’s storage right now. The path of betrayal? I threw it back, finally noticing what was behind me. Should I call it a Battlefield?
Monkeys, spiders, rats, a little further — goblins, people and mounds of bones. Not all were enemies, there were plenty of those I considered my allies and even friends. The red cloak spilling from my shoulders snaked off into the distance like a carpet, turning an ordinary piece of cloth into a river of blood. Or was it still a narrow stream? Something briefly stirred in my soul, but I didn’t succumb to the feeling of regret. I didn’t kill those who didn’t deserve it, and I always tried to protect my allies! Maybe some would disagree with me, but I believed it to be true.
The sky darkened and became much more threatening, but I took the next step. My hand closed around the hilt of the Sword of Heresy, hanging on my belt for some reason. It was strange and uncomfortable, but there was no Ring on my finger.
“Stop!”
The dead behind me came to life and tried to crawl after me, yet I wasn’t afraid. A piece that has once fallen off the chessboard cannot get back up, unless one of the players wills it. And not in this game. Their moans were powerless and only distracted me from my goal. My choice.
From a decision I had put off until the last possible moment by considering different options. All that remained was to put it all together and choose which portal to enter. My family was hidden in the Dungeon, my debts had been paid, and I had done all that possible.
“Don’t go in there! Hide, don’t risk it!”
It wasn’t the dead this time, but my own fears. After all, what could be easier than taking cover in the Dungeon and not making the choice? It wasn’t the best life, but with due care, the gods would never get me. Perhaps I’d become strong enough one day to come back and avenge… my own weakness?
“You’re going to die, you’re going to die, you’re going to die!” Cassandra’s Whisper joined in the chorus. I couldn’t confuse that triumphant whisper with anything else. Am I going to die? Even so, I will rise again.
Yet I stopped about halfway down the path. Just enough time to think it over once more. Even though there were eight arches, I only knew where seven of them lead. The infinity sign glimmered above the last one, but what did it mean? Refusal to cooperate with the gods? Escape?
“You can still leave.”
I ignored the voices. It was easier to use a process of elimination. Which gods are definitely not right for me? I dismissed the Great Set almost immediately. The Egyptian god didn’t have a great personality and had no ties with me. He was too unreliable.
I discarded Quel next. The resurrected Aztec god openly supported the United States, so I didn’t think my country would understand such a choice. Perhaps we could come to an agreement, but wouldn’t that be close to betrayal? Besides, his name was a pain to pronounce, and he was unlikely to appreciate the nickname I’d created for him.
Guan Yu? For some reason, I thought he would demand nothing less than absolute loyalty. If we didn’t reach an agreement, I’d never leave his temple. He was now the strongest of the Seven, and he didn’t need a strong player to take his rivals’ side. It wasn’t in the Chinese culture to spare one’s enemies.
I couldn’t go to Shiva for the same reason, although I’d been considering this option. Our last conversation had gone well, but not perfectly. Besides, he had excellent prospects for development through Hinduism with the arrival of the temples. Gratitude? He had already paid off his debts to me. No, forget it.
It was becoming harder and harder to dismiss each option. The sky turned from dark to red, hinting that I had to think faster. Time was running out…
Odin lay claim to Northern Europe and apparently to Russia as well. He wasn’t the worst god, Dmitry had spoken well of him, but we’d had almost no contact. Still, I wasn’t sure. Perhaps Odin?
Hera… I had saved her priestess’s life, and the goddess had helped the players more than once by warning us of danger. Even if she was far from an angel, I couldn’t dismiss this possibility out of hand.
And finally, Inti. At first glance, the worst option. I had killed his priest, taken his sword, and provoked him more than once. But my intuition suggested that we could reach an agreement. In theory. The Sun God had made several reconciliation attempts and was now considered the weakest of the Seven. Although Lisa hadn’t revealed how she had become his priestess, she swore during our last conversation that I would leave his temple alive, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations. But words were just words, while the consequences of a mistake would be severe. If you don’t want to be betrayed, don’t turn your back.
I raised my head to discover that half of the gates had gone dark. Still, I couldn’t choose all four of the remaining ones. I felt that at least two of them would be correct. Maybe more, but as I took another step, I discovered that the eighth gate, although open, was a dead end. A brick wall, how symbolic.
Another step, and Odin’s gate also went dark. So, Hera or Inti? Left or right? I would have my answer after I flipped the coin that appeared in my hand as soon as I wished it. Silver on one hand, with the symbol of Hera, and gold on the other, showing the “smiley face” of the Sun.
I tossed the coin... A bowl. I didn’t have to toss again — it looked like I’d already made a decision, I just had to acknowledge it. The voices of the dead fell silent, and the sky cleared.
I opened my eyes, interrupting the Meditation. A curious effect for a skill that was supposed to simply restore mana. Or was this a Spontaneous Epiphany?
In any case, the time for reflection had passed, and it was time to act.