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Some approached her and she looked up with a start, staring up at the other girl with wide eyes. There was a vague sense of familiarity with her, a pleasant one. Somehow she knew her face..but how? Perhaps they had come across each other during a battle. That must have been it.

A hand reached up to accept the help to her feet, letting go of the other girl to instead hold the pendant around her neck in her fist as if it was a lifeline. "Ah..yes...it is." She frowned. "Do I know you..?"

He was back in the shrine, and it was much like it was when he first saw it. Seven pedestals, three statues, and he stepped up to read each of the plaques. He liked Ruin's the best.

Something was calling him, beckoning him. It was white around him, fog, what he once was, but now, it was still and quiet.

There was a door.

Offer to us your Heart.

He had no choice, this was his path. He had chosen it, and he opened the door. The room was quiet, like always, and looked very similiar to the one he had just left. The colors of the goddesses weren't quite right, but other than that, things seemed the same. He read the plaques.

They all said the same thing.

There were four more pedestals, empty and blank, and as he looked around, he began to notice others. Figures, shapes, they were like him. He could see their power, Their Heart. Just like him.

They were familiar, and as he looked down at his own, it was no longer just red, now it was a multitude of colors, mingling, full of strange emotions, and something more.

Memories.

He could feel them, the ones that felt as if they belonged to him, if only they weren't so different. He could a feel a word surfacing, trying to come out, but nothing. It was a word, a name, but try as he might, he couldn't remember it. Despite all of his memories. Nothing.

It was so close, mixed and jumbled in with everything, and he closed his eyes, to try, to remember.

But it wasn't time for that. The floor began to shake, and red burned through his eyelids, and cracking.

He opened his eyes. The sky was red, and the fog was gone. He could only see the moon, the bright red moon inching closer and closer. It grabs him, and he hears a voice.

"I once would have been a Queen. The most beautiful Queen, the Greatest Queen."

He couldn't help but feel it, the burning as everything was spoken in painstaking agony. "Yet my throne was torn from me, without mercy, without justice. False kings and prophets, wise children and brave knights will bow to my wrath and crumble until they are no more. I will give you all that you deserve until I, we, become once again, rightfully, a Queen. Your memories we gave to you to create far greater memories. Now, return your Hearts to us in this last and final task."

He could feel himself moving forward, slowly, one step at a time. His heart, his memories, did belong to them, and if they wanted them, he would give them up, willingly.

- "Will you give up so much-

- "-when you have experienced so little in return?"

The red sky churned, and then spilt, with even amounts of gold and green breaking through. They warred with the moon, branches growing against it, gold borders around it, and he didn't feel consumed by the red any longer.

Everything was at peace.

He remember something, that his name wasn't his name, that it wasn't his true name, that he had a true name.

If only he could remember it.

The sky quivered, feeling as if it was trying to rip itself apart, even as the earth changed. The grey buildings turned to green foliage, and then a castle in the distance. Towers, gates, everything changed, growing wildly, out of control, consuming the red.

He was faced with a choice.

Destruction, and bring chaos.
Pride and being unforgotten.
Creation and knowledge.

It wasn't an easy decision, but it wasn't hard either. Pride. An unforgotten legacy.

He watched as the greenery and ruined temple faded away, leaving only the marbled floors and a rich golden throne in a golden hallway. The crown was waiting for him, and he reached for his heart.

He began to tear it out; it was painful, and he almost stopped, but he couldn't. It was no longer under his control, and as he struggled with it, he could feel his memories, he could remember all sorts of things. Emotions, experiences, and finally it was out.

It was more than he had ever imagined, and he stepped forward, holding it out for Pride, one step, then another.

"You have made the correct choice. This is the end for you, but the beginning for me. Your sacrifice will not be in vain."

It hurt to not have a heart, and his memories slipped away. He remembered. People talking, people shouting, reaching out for him, shaking him, calling him by his true name, even as his eyes closed.

He faded away.

The shrine beckoned.

The moon grew ever closer, and the shrine beckoned. The air was stiff with tension. Today, on this day, something was going to happen.

Yiro didn’t know what to expect when she walked the all too familiar steps. The usual statues were there, the empty pedestals had remained empty, and the final door called out to her soul. Pulling, gripping, twisting as the fog engulfed everything so there was only her… And the door. This was how it started. How she formed this wretched existence of constantly remembering and forgetting. Forming an incoherent being complete with the quirks and perks, yet having no idea of how those resurfaced.

It had formed the single sentence that shook her to ask questions. ‘Who are you?’ it had said. This was something she had failed to answer still. A name was not the defining factor in individualism. Her name was not what made her… Her. So what did, really?

She supposed, it was her heart, and it was just as she realized that, she noticed the inscription on this door.

Offer to us your heart.

Yiro’s hand gently sat over the softly-beating pastels that swirled around and inside the vessel, feeling at a loss, even before her feet forced her through the threshold. “But.. This is my heart.” She almost whimpered, clutching her chest. There was no real choice in the matter, was there? What was she if she didn’t have a heart? Perhaps… Perhaps this was what she wanted. With no heart, questions would cease to be asked. The voices she had been plagued with would go away. All the anger and frustration she felt from being left to her own devices with no explanations would simply… Vanish.

Her free hand pushed open the large door, though the other never released her chest.

This room looked the same, but… No. No, it wasn’t the same. The changes may have been slight, but there was no sense in neglecting them. They were there.
Sacrifice yourself for us. Yiro felt intimidated when she was sure she should’ve felt at peace. This was what she had been working for, wasn’t it? She had told herself she would do anything for the approval of the goddesses.

It was then she realized, as she tore her eyes away from the taunting plaques, that she was not alone. Other beings. Other people. She could feel them all around her. Their warmth. Their power.

Yiro removed her hand slightly to look at her own power. The beautiful colors, the mix of emotions both happy and sad, and…

Her face became blank when memories surged from her heart, filled her with visions she didn’t quite understand. Yiro’s heart burned as they filled her with grief immeasurable. The awful edges where the good memories ended and the bad memories begun. The thoughts she had slowly worked on coping with when she had been another person.

A word. There was a word on the tip of her tongue, and she opened her mouth as if she might vomit. As if it was physically caught in her throat. There were blanks in these memories, as the faces stared into her and addressed her. What was it? What was that name?

She didn’t have time to dwell on it, however, and perhaps she was grateful from the reprieve of watching those horrible moments play over and over again. Her eyes aimed upwards, dread resonating in her heart as the red swallowed her attention.

It was such a beautiful color.

Every word passed through Yiro like a sharp knife through a tightly wound cloth. The pain. The agony. The promises. She was hypnotized by them, until green and gold fought back the overwhelming red and created a balance of sorts.

There were choices, but none of them were the choices she wanted. Yiro’s hands clasped her chest tightly. “This is all that I have.” Her voice cracked, her jaw quivered. “It’s such a new heart. I’ve barely used it, and yet it’s so bruised already.” There had been so many things she wanted to do with it before this time came. That word she had choked on. This name… This name was not really hers. If only she could remember.

“I wanted… To share this heart eventually. Once I figured out how I was to fix it.” Yiro whispered to herself. “Is there no hope for it?” She knew there was no choice, and her words would not override what her being knew she needed to do. Perhaps, it had never been her place to decide how her heart was to be used. To be shared. To be experienced by others.

The only true question left was… What path did she damn this heart of hers to?

The choice is obvious, isn't it?

The thought caused her to stiffen.

This world. All worlds. It would seem that every trip is aimed at the bottom of the barrel. What is knowledge without a mind to think it? What is creation if every new life ends the same way as the last?

And red... Was such a beautiful color.

As she approached the red crown, the world returned to it's ruined state. This was where she belonged. Amongst the ruin. She could not create, she could only destroy. She was... Destroying herself, after all.

There was no point in sacrificing to anything else. Nothing about her was worth remembering, and she was too selfish to give her life to the greater cause of creating others. Let them perish. Let their worlds come crumbling down before they can build them up and fall from higher peaks. If she was going to die, then it was only fair to wish the same of others.

Misery loved company, after all.

But what about the story?

As Yiro grasped her heart after breaking through the ribcage, her thoughts resided in the only good memory she could recall. Laying down on that bed, with that girl who hung on her every word. The dreams, the anticipation of someday... Finding themselves.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she stared at her heart. She had expected it to look flawed, broken... But it was truly a marvel to behold. "For you, Destruction..." She coughed out and stepped forward. "Rise up.. And do what I couldn't..."

It hurt so much. It hurt to know that this was the end... That it had to end like this after she realized her flaws, but at least she could take solace in knowing her efforts would hopefully... Bring the rest of the world down to her level.

‘Something important was happening’, Decyl thought, ‘all three of them are here today.’

Or so he believes. The three goddess statues stood there with their words in their plaque. There were still four podiums that stood empty with nothing to represent itself. And now, it was time for the final task. The fog was beckoning, calling from his heart. However, it seems…oddly quiet? Questionable, but from there, he could see a door.

Offer to us your Heart.

…He should’ve known.

Decyl felt extremely uncertain of the situation, but that didn’t stop him from opening it. He had done so much up to this point just for this moment, if he turns away now, all his effort would have gone to waste. That would be the worse outcome.

And so he enters.

Inside, it was quiet, something not unusual but added to the level of uneasiness running through his mind already. However, he had to wonder why they would build two rooms that look…oh wait, it’s not exactly the same. This time, the goddess’ statues glow, and on the plaque a different set of words stretched across it: Sacrifice yourself for us. All three of them.

The four empty pedestals were there too, but that wasn’t what caught Decyl’s attention. It was the gathering of many other figures that did. They were all so different, yet their hearts all so similar. His heart, it makes him dizzy with emotions the ones from his taken memories – the ones taken by the goddesses. But from the mess of memories, a name came out. It was blurred and spoken once. So easily lost and Decyl just couldn’t remember it.

Suddenly, Decyl stopped. A sound distracted him, and from there he looked up. Dude, the moon is…Oh no. And as the words that spilled slowly sunk in, he couldn’t help but be bothered by it.

The taunting of words…Decyl felt irritated, it’s not like he wanted to give it all up so quickly. He wants to keep it, but…it has to be done right? He was beginning to doubt himself but no, this needs to be done. And while he could see the strange colors dance across the skies, he couldn’t help but feel at peace. So oddly quick, yet it gave him a peace of mind to work with. Ah, right….first things first. His current name…it wasn’t really his name, what was it though? Decyl can’t remember. There was no time to remember. Everything was breaking down, and before anything else: A choice.

Choose Destruction. Choose Pride. Choose Creation.

Decyl reached for Destruction.

The world changes before his eyes, replaced with the buildings of Ruins. And there, the crown. He stood there staring at the crown for a while, a mixed of feelings between giving up everything or keeping it all. Decyl gave the crown another thoughtful look before tearing out his heart in offering.

It hurts, but it is done. He fades with the memory of someone calling for him.

The shrine had never seemed so ominous before. As she entered the room she was instantly aware of the pedestals; those containing statues, and those empty... One by one she made her way to each of them reading over the plaques as though in a dream.

Your fourth and final Trial is near. Your fragments will be tested, do not falter. You will not be forgotten.

A wall does not protect, a wall can only buy you time. A wall can only give you what you need to carry on

Your fragments, your memories will guide the way. Sacrifice them for us. We love you most.

In her head she could hear each of their voices as she read the words, recalling her conversation with Ruin at the spire, the way Longing had saved her from the battle she had been too weak to face alone... Paranoia, the only one that she had not come in contact with directly.

The empty pedestals; one for each of the candidates who were seeking ascension. She was one of them. Would one of those spaces become hers?

As if sensing her thoughts, the fog awakened, swirling around her ankles and beckoning her; pushing her forward. This was how she had started, where she had begun... Was it also where she would end?

Offer to us your heart.

"I already have..." She murmured softly in return, fingers brushing lightly along the intricate patterns of the door before she pushed it open to step inside.

.....

This room felt smaller; like the walls were closing in. Panic? Was that what this was?

One hand leaned against a nearby pedestal as she tried to steady herself, only to catch the words on the plaque. Sacrifice yourself for us. Her had drew back quickly, as though she had been stung.

Her eyes drifted to her hand, eying her grey skin as she held it in front of her, only to be distracted by her heart. She had not looked at it recently; not taken the time to make note of the changes, as she had during the first days. As it pulsed along with her panic it worked through a full prism of colors. These colors had become her, just as she had become them. Hope, joy, fear, rage... Not just emotions, she was made of more than that. She was also made of...

Memories.

They were all coming back to her, spinning faster and faster until the dizziness of it all sent her to her knees. Her hands came up, covering her ears and she screamed...

Or she would have, had the floor shaking beneath her not startled her out of it, eyes wide with fear as they drifted to the sky. She had known it was dangerous; known it wasn't to be trusted and she had never gotten her answer. Was this the work of the Goddess of Ruin? Had she destroyed them all?

It seemed to matter little as she made her way forward, crawling along the marble floor, beckoned by the Red Queen. She would have given herself over to her right then and there had it not been for the voices that joined hers... Warm Gold and Soothing Green.

Will you give up so much...

... When you have experienced so little in return?

She trembled from the floor where she had paused, eyes drifting back to the sky once more.

Quote:

The red sky churns, and then splits apart. Equal amounts of green and gold break through it, in strides of lavish beauty and simple imagination. Branches curl into the moon, growing odd pieces of foliage, gold filigree borders, the outline of a crown tearing into the other end, devouring the red. The result was nothing but an oddly twisted, convoluted sky, as if each colour was vying against the other, fighting a three-way battle.

Calm washed over her, everything seeming to settle within her mind, giving her a moment to pick through everything that had been, leading up to what would be.

"Raedala." The word fell from her lips; a word, not a name... Something that she was calling herself, but not hers. How could she have forgotten her name.

She had only moments to think on that before the world began to change around her again.

It was now or never... She had to chose.

.....

In the memories that had returned to her, she had seen another sacrifice. There had been a reason why she had chosen Pride before and, staying true to that choice, she made it again.

The ruined temple began to fade away around her, leaving marble floors beneath her feet and a long hallway to walk ahead. Raedala began her walk down the hall, one hand on her heart.

Slender fingers, her own fingers this time, sank in to her chest. It was not easy... Not really a sinking either. It was more like a tear, claws breaking the strings. Scissors... Snipping them like scissors.

A wash of panic filled her and in her mind a part of her was trying to run away; had run away, cowered against a wall, crying, pleading... No, I had to. Please don't. The memory of what she had done, what had been done to her, brought stinging tears to her eyes.

It was too late. Pride had taken hold of her, now guiding her actions, pulling her forward, cutting through memories.

Her eyes went dull as she tore her heart from the safe haven of her chest, offering it up to Pride.

You have made the correct choice. This is the end for you, but the beginning for me. Your sacrifice will not be in vain.

She could hear the words, but they no longer mattered. It hurts. Things were happening. One by one the things that she had learned, the memories that she had captured, and even those that she had made, began to bleed out of her. It hurts. Words were coming. People were talking... There was a name. Someone was saying her name, shaking her, crying...

Her eyes closed, a soft smile on her lips as she felt herself, even the bits that were still hurting, begin to fade away.

It hurts... But not for much longer...

Something about the feral way he moved made Remye keep her distance. He had been the same way in the battle, but the girl still kept her distance. Just in case. She nodded slowly as Reap shook his head, offering a crooked smile. “Yeah.” She nodded, looking up at the sky again. “Of course he will be.”

She looked back. “I told him not to lose you.” She said, recalling that battle dimly. “Likewise.” She smiled slightly, looking at the sky even as her shoulders shook with the weight of it. The choice they were all going to have to make. It was suddenly terrifying to make that choice alone. Jealousy reared up at that; they had each other to lean on, to wave that fear.

Remye needed to move on.

“However this ends,” She said slowly, looking back at Reap, eying him for a long minute. “I’m glad you found him.” It wasn’t just Reap she was glad for; she could recall the others she fought with too, who had fought with others. Shasa and Shaw, the few she had fought with repeatedly. She hoped they would find each other before they choice, but in the end Remye wondered if that mattered, if any of it would matter. If they would fade together or be forced apart.

“See you on the other side, maybe. If there’s one where we’re going.” She smiled wryly at Reap, before stepping back.

There were familiar figures in the crowd. Two, in particular, that Rojand needed to talk to before his Sacrifice. Not that it would make that much difference. But he didn't want to go without having said something, at least.

He picked himself up from the tree, feeling a little calmer with his decision made, and slipped through the hesitant crowd to where Reap stood. He'd mostly avoided touching anyone, feeling a weird aversion to the idea, but now he put his hand gently on Reap's arm, feeling a distant, faint echo that might have been a memory. "He's here too," he said.

It was finally time. Nush made his way to the shrine as he was called upon. He walked past the three statues of the goddesses, pausing briefly as he saw the empty pedestals once more. As he reached the end, the fog began to stir and whisper to him.

Offer us your heart

There was no turning back now. He took in a deep breath, then began to make his way through the door. On the other side, he saw the goddesses, though they seemed a little different now. All around, he could see others with him. It was almost like the time he first entered this place; he could see their hearts emanating softly. However...

He glanced down at his own heart. It no longer was just blue. A swirl of colors could be seen, but these were not just colors. They were memories. His memories. Slowly, he placed his hand to his chest, and a name could be felt right at the tip of his tongue.

He couldn't remember what this name was.

Nush tried to figure out what it was, but a loud crack soon sounded out. Looking up, he saw the blood red moon. The fog had dispersed and now the moon was slowly making its way closer and closer. His eye widened as he was drawn in sharply. And soon only a voice could be heard. A queen spoke, and she did not sound happy. No. She was very angry, indeed.

Yet, he still found himself moving forward. The things that made him him now belonged to them. And this was the last thing he needed to do. Then he would be come something more. Something great. Looking up into the sky, he could see it begin to split into a few different colors. It took some of the pressure off of him, and he soon realized that his current name was not... his real one. It was not his true name. Yet, he couldn't figure out what it was.

The other memories had returned to him too. The ones he had experienced earlier. None of these memories were... particularly happy. Nush lightly frowned as he thought on this. A choice.. a choice...