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She could not shake the chills that ran along her dull body. Or the slow realization that she may have done something... horrible.

But she couldn't think on that.

No. There were only the Goddesses and the Blessings.

... Right?

Owl stared blankly at the pedestals, moving closer to each one in turn as she worked to understand what was being asked of her. It was so hard to focus when the memory kept twittering around in her mind. And the warm trail of liquid that slowly trailed down her cheeks. She'd thought it to be left over residue from the nasty water, but it kept coming from her.

She didn't even really notice when she'd returned to one pedestal in particular, staring unseeingly at it. Owl didn't like the feelings she felt. Didn't like the weight of this bag! Shuddering horribly, Owl tossed the heart onto the white pedestal and backed away quickly.

Shaking herself like a wet dog might, the shadow turned and made her way to leave. And with each step, the memories and heavy weight of what all had just occurred faded, yet one weight seemed to linger. Fitting, then, that she'd found herself in front of despair.

Staring at the pedestals, Chaesel had no idea which was the "correct" choice. It stung at the back of her mind, that she hated things like this. Was it a test? Who knew.

"Sacrifice me if you wish for Malevolence. There is nothing in this world but the resentment left behind."

That was simple enough. The past was the past. She liked that idea. Chaesel believed in moving forward- why not get rid of the past altogether. There was nothing but resent in the past. She wanted it gone. Malevolence.

With an unsure grin, Chaesel set her heart on the black pedestal, tapping it a few times with her fingers. She turned to ask the goddess what to do next, but she was gone completely. "Where in the- ..." A sigh escaped past her lips. This was so cryptic. Why wasn't there a straightforward answer for once?

She waited around for a few minutes, but nothing special happened. Thinking it was nothing, she brushed it off and left. There was nothing else to do, after all.

The dull grey eyes still hung in her head. The gleam of the scissors would haunt her forever.

Ezophyr trudged back into the Shrine and noticed that the goddess has disappeared. His soul was throbbing in pain. He noticed that he was indeed crying. The denial that he was in while in the room was trying to keep it's way up-- but it was destroyed the moment he took his step in.

He's full of despair. His soul nearly tearing with what he had just done. The anguish.. yes, he decided that it was anguish. That is all he has felt during everything that has happened-- no that is not true. He had felt other feelings. Brief happiness, sudden fear. But nothing compared to the powerful residue from this feeling.

His hands clutched the bag tightly and he felt sick once more. He didn't even bother taking it out as he placed the bag onto the only pedestal that called to him. The White Pedestal of Anguish. His grief echoed in his mind. It echoed into his soul. It poured out through quiet sobs as he turns to leave.

She did not want to give the bag up.

That bag represented something to Shasa. It represented freedom. it represented a second chance. More than that, it represented her own innate strength. She had stepped into that unforgiving dark, and she had been rewarded with freedom. She had fulfilled that task, and she had come out on top.

He was back in the cold-dark where he belonged, and where he would have to stay.

She did not want to give the bag up, but she would, if only to complete the task she'd been given. But there was a part of her, a small and stinging part that wanted more than what she'd been given, and with that thought in mind, Shasa placed her bag hesitantly on the green pedestal.

She did not feel anguish. She did not feel a sense of hubris, of malevolence.

Shasa wanted more.

Head held high with pride, Shasa made her way back to the shrine. The memories faded like the scars that they were, paper-thin and white, and though she would not remember her Journey, she was not left without that hunger.

Vettey never thought that she would be so relieved to see the light once again upon her return to the shrine with the bag and the wretched thing she had been asked to fetch contained within. She had to keep moving - that was the only thing that she knew as she approached the goddess statue to read the instructions detailing what she was supposed to do next.

Looking at each of the empty pedestals, she paused to ponder over which one she should offer the heart to. It really came down to anguish and resentment in her current frame of mind really. She had no wish to be associated with the other two titles. It didn't take her long to come to a decision, the bag finding its way to the glowing white pedestal and then she blinked, wondering what it was that she had been so upset about. Well, no matter. The task was done apparently and it was time for her to receive the blessing that she had rightfully earned.

Sheenah returned, the memories still vivid in her mind yet somehow paling in comparison to what was truly important. She had completed what the goddess had asked of her, and came back now with the heart she had retrieved, contained in a bag that was held tight in a closed fist around its top. She had held on to it through everything, had held on to it through struggles for dear life, because it was what the goddess would have wanted her to do.

In order to receive a blessing. In order to be considered for a much higher blessing by far.

The goddess no longer remained, but a new statue had taken its place upon a pedastel. She moved forward to read its words, to consider what it all meant.

She understood. To be considered, to become a candidate, she needed to give up what she held on to so tightly. She was more then willing to do this, and quickly turned towards the other pedestals, reading each before a decision could be made.

Beyond all others, one color, one pedestal, one chance called to her. She moved towards that one, the bag containing the heart lifted and placed on top with a gentle thud. The Gold pedestal. Hubris. Vanity. That was her choice.

With a small bow, a lowering of her head, she whispered her thanks to the goddess, sure that she could hear even if she was not in sight, before she was ready to depart.

Acerola made her way back to the shrine, still soaked in watery substance. She stood outside for a while, not wanting to dirty the sacred place. She peered inside and noticed that the Goddess was gone, but the statue was back in place.

Once Acerola had dried up a bit, she went inside, and the first thing she noticed was the plaque. Candidate for Goddess? She could become as powerful as them? She then went to each and every one of the plaques and read what they said. Without hesitation, she took the bag and placed it in front of the plaque glowing black, Malevolence. Only when the bag was about to touch the pedestal did she pause for a bit. "Shu...what about Shu? What would he want?" Acerola thought. The bag touched the pedestal. It disappeared. "What would he think......he? Who's he?" All memories of Shu had disappeared. Acerola only remembered getting....something, a heart? ...and taking it, then something chased after her, but she freed herself from it. Nothing too important, besides being a candidate for a title and fulfilling the Goddess' wish had happened right? Good.

She returned with a non-beating heart in her bag, following the goddess's order on the plague, she read the plagues on the empty podiums one by one. Finally she put the bag onto the Hubris which is glowing in a brilliant gold. She was confused for the choices, they were all bad things.

But the goddess must have their reasons.