B3 Chapter 381: Temperance, Finale
The rough stone tore at his hands and knees as Kaius threw himself back from the edge. Reeling from the disorientation of being himself again, he stared into a darkness that hissed and bubbled. It called to him; demanded he reach out and sink into a temptation he barely understood and only vaguely remembered.
His heart slammed in his chest as his breath came heavy and hot.
Light burst over the inky black, so bright that it seared. Radiant and golden, it fell upon the pool — locking it in place as Xenanra wrought her magic. Truth and intent layered themselves again and again, thick plated barriers that sealed the pit shut.
Kaius looked over to see the ascendant moving quickly, her hands blurring as power and Authority was woven like a maestro. The barriers locked the substance back, cutting off all of its influence over Kaius. It screamed, splattering against the golden force, trying — failing — to dissolve it.
An ascendant's might was no meagre thing, and little by little, the darkness was compressed. Faster than he could blink, it shrunk until it was little more that a small vial the size of his finger — made of what looked like black ceramic.
Xenanra’s face didn’t so much as twitch the entire time. Rotten roots, this was easy for her.
“What the fuck was that?” Kaius asked, grasping at the stone so hard his nails cracked and bled.
The Ascendant stared toward the pool, now locked tight.
“One of many old inheritances, soaked in long-distant memory, that fell into my grasp many, many years ago. It is worthless — and something that should have long been forgotten.”
She turned to him, offering a respectful nod. “It was just one among uncountable others. Violent and terrible, all. Gesren fell before it. The entire shard he found was consumed — along with his attendants, every member of the raiding party that sought to steal that treasure from beneath his nose. Half a dozen other shards fell too — casualties of Gesren’s pursuit of vengeance when he realised Holcrest had already tracked down his house estates and wiped them out to the man. I stumbled upon the wreckage. Recognized the taint. Destruction is one thing, but annihilation is another — and the risk of it falling into the hands of another who would use it… it's too much.”
Kaius looked at her desperately, needing to know more. “But why? Why show me? If the risk is so great why would you show it to all that go through the Crucible? Wouldn’t those who know of it be more tempted to seek it out when they reach their limits?”
Xenanra gave him a tense smile. “That’s why you will not remember. Once this trial comes to a conclusion, you’ll remember vagaries of our conversation — and the essence of what you saw and rejected. But you’ll not know what it is: just that there is a line you should not cross. Only if you are exposed once more will you know. Besides that, this…recreation of a fluid that I have long since locked away is not some unique evil. They are rare, but my kind do stumble across them. I showed you that because Gesren’s temptations were one I knew would resonate with you.”
Kaius breathed slowly, letting the pounding of his heart settle as he marshaled himself. As overwhelming as the vision had been — as hard as it was to contextualize the sights he saw — it lit a fire within him. To experience such heights for himself only stoked his ravenous need to grow. Yet to find out there were such pitfalls and dangers…
It tempered his greed.
He understood the name of the trial now; he understood why temperance was expected from those who rose to the very peak. Still, Xenanra had not lied. Already, memories were slipping from him — the man that had desperately tried to regain what was lost. The temptation that had pulled at him remained elusive, fading into shadows. But the emotions stayed: the awe at what lay before him, the disgust at reality itself being torn asunder — used fuel for a furnace of ambition.
Once more he’d been victorious — passed a test of commitment; of ethic. He did not worry that any of his friends would fall to the same; it was not their way, not unless he had truly misjudged them. Powerful and strange as it might have been, the touch of it had been anathema to him. It had shaken his very soul, and caused his class and skills to shudder to their core. His aspects had flared in hatred and defiance; every part of him had screamed at its wrongness. There was no mistaking what it was — and none of his friends were the kind of fools who could reach for something that felt like that.
He had proved himself: his worthiness and his honour. His team would too.
He looked to Xenanra, still standing guard over the sealed pool of black. “How dangerous is it really? Whatever that is — do people encounter it often?”
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“No. Barely ever. Only the maddest and most corrupt seek it out for themselves. Those who do invariably destroy themselves and everything around them. It is rare indeed to find a surviving scrap or inheritance that points you in a viable direction. There’s more, of course. Other dangers. But you are far too young to learn of them yet — not when the only thing you should concern yourself with is your path.”
Speaking of his path — he burned to know what came next. The danger he had just faced had been an illusory one — a test that he had passed, and one he would apparently barely even remember. He had proven his worth, and no matter how much his stomach churned at the memory of a dying realm, his curiosity was greater.
He had found and embodied his aspects; he could feel them within him. The triumvirate strengthened him: solidified his place in the world around him. He’d been hardened — better able to process the lingering effects of his vision and the creeping touch of that cold temptation that had curdled within his belly.
What else could there possibly be left to test? Try as he might to rack his brain, nothing came to him. He had questions, of course — on the nature of embodiment, on the strange unity he felt in his aspects, and the way they intermingled and complemented each other. But he did not see how it could be a trial.
Xenanra walked closer, stepping on empty air until she drifted down to crouch over him.
“You’re surprisingly close, you know. The next trial is an opportunity. Unlike the others — personalized conditions created to help you ignite and embody your aspects — it can be seen as the reward of this place. A teaching. Whether you will be able to seize upon the insight needed to make use of it is up to you — and you alone. What is on the table is an advantage in the latter steps of the path. A technique, you could say. You will not be able to make use of it overmuch while you still remain in the first tier, and it is something that everyone uses to some degree on the step of refinement — much like the process of conscious embodiment. However, for most, it is an unconscious action—something autonomic. ”
She paused, then added, “Understanding this on a waking level will let you progress your refinement faster — to a greater degree of completion than you would otherwise be able to. More importantly, beginning the process now is intensely beneficial to the metamorphosis you will undergo during your rise to the second tier.”
The ascendant’s words were palpable and magnetic, drawing him in, drawing him up straight.
A moment later, Xenanra waved her hand.
And they stood in a field, surrounded by waist-high green grass. Kaius rose to his feet, standing before her. The sudden change was shocking, but welcome; it freed him from mostly forgotten memories of contagion and corruption, allowing him to focus fully on what she was saying.
A new power. Another step. Advancement toward refinement, and another advantage he could gain.
But why was it so vital that people who failed this trial not learn of the secret — even if it happened automatically?
“Because what you learn in the next trial, you will not be able to share. It can be grasped by individual effort — but it is much less likely. To receive this instruction increases your chances of walking your path to the end greatly. On a relative level, that is — and only so long as you continue to show the same will, determination, and ability you’ve shown thus far. Regardless, it is simply too risky to aid those who’ve proven themselves lacking.”
“What is it?” he asked. “A first lesson? Some secret of the pillars — some way to bolster them further and make the process of refinement easier?”
Xenanra smiled. “In a sense. You can feel it, can’t you? The way your aspects feed into one another; the way their fires coil and join. They support one another, and you through that union, forming a virtuous cycle. From that grinding wheel of refinement, something new can be born — not true accumulation, like what you see at later steps of the path, but a spark of something great that can be fed, and cycled, and nurtured. All the while, it does the same to you in return.”
She folded her arms, gaze firm. “Grasping it before the second tier is incredibly difficult—it’s just as beneficial, of course. Knowing how to cycle that spark will only potentiate the benefits that aspects bring to second-tier ascension. But know, at least, that even if you do not succeed, you will leave this place a victor. And you will be better for your failure. Simply knowing that it can be controlled as a conscious process will ease you greatly in developing the ability as you start the process of refinement.”
Kaius inhaled deeply. He could feel it. Had felt it since he’d started to embody his Aspects. A latent potential, simmering just beneath the surface. Though he knew it must not come easily, that much was obvious. Even if Xenanra hadn’t said so directly, it still would have been.
It might have been their reward, but it was still a trial in and of itself. If he and his team wanted the advantages that would come at the end of this process, they would need to prove themselves.
“What is it called?” Kaius asked.
“It has no official name,” Xenanra explained. “It’s not a step, like the legacy, or the aspects, or refinement. It’s a technique. It has had names eloquent, grand, and simple. The most descriptive would be to call it cycling. A wheel of refinement within your aspects. There is more to it — but that can wait for the next trial.”
Kaius knew then that he was ready — for whatever it was. He hungered to know more.
“When can we go?”
Xenanra regarded him, clearly pleased by both his performance in the Trial of Temperance and the eagerness he now displayed.
“Right now, if you wish.”
She gestured behind him—and Kaius turned to find a familiar arch.
Without waiting another moment, he strode forward and crossed through its boundary.