I could hear Arya groaning to my side as I stood up after having been violently sucked through the strange black and white portal. We had ended up in what appeared to be a throne room of sorts, as there was a raised platform with a throne that was made from black and white crystals. Just before the raised platform was a table that seemed to have been hewn from a single slab of marble and on top of it was a large balance scale.
I helped Arya up as we brushed ourselves off. Thankfully our clothes were fine other than a bit of dirt since they'd been weaved from my silk, making them quite difficult to cut or tear, though they were rather thin so they didn't do much for cushioning the impact. Just as I was going to ask where we were, two voices echoed through the room in perfect sync. "Guests so early, what has caused this?"
The voices came from the direction of the throne and as I turned to look I saw two figures step out from either side, one the pure black figure of a woman, the other a white figure of a man. It was strange as while they were clearly three dimensional, it almost felt like they were featureless and flat. What was more off-putting was that they moved in sync as they sat down together on the throne merging into a single being of intertwining black and white, male and female, that shifted all around their figure, however, not matter how much each side swirled into the other, it always seemed to be a half and half mix.
The being looked at the two of us with what felt like an intense stare before speaking in a voice that shifted as much as their features, starting as the two voices before becoming male or female as black or white took over the head. "What strange guests you are. One the descendant of the fool who I cursed so long ago, the other-." it paused while looking at me. "It feels like you have been here before, yet this one has no recollection of seeing you. Tell me, do you know where you are?"
While I couldn't say for certain, I had a feeling that I knew where we were, solely based on one thing it had said. I looked at Arya who seemed just as bewildered as I was and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze while shaking my head. "I do not know where we are, but if I were to wager a guess, the Well of Balance seems likely."
The being made an amused expression as it leaned back comfortably into the throne. "It's good to see that you can at least think and reason logically, not all who come here can. That being the case, I assume the two of you are from Carceris? Or did you find some other means to enter here besides a Gate of Balance?"
Now that I thought about it I had never actually heard the name of the planet we were on, I hadn't thought it odd until just now, even if they hadn't discovered space travel, surely there were people who studied the stars and had come up with a name for their homeworld. I glanced at Arya who shook her head, just as confused as I was. "We don't know." she began. "We were just finishing our wedding ceremony when we were suddenly sucked through a black and white vortex."
"Oh? So you did not come here intentionally, but rather due to an accident. How bizarre. The two of you are wed then? I suppose that makes the pale one your Chosen." the being then shook his head. "No, she is not, your Chosen is no longer among the living, so how is it that the two of you are together? I sense you practice Universal Yin Yang Technique I passed down, but that requires intimate physical contact, something that should kill the pale one."
It was a surprise to hear that it had passed down the technique we practiced, but perhaps that had been one of the boons the two had completed the trial before had asked for. Regardless of who, or whatever this being was, I could at the very least tell that it was far beyond our current level of power, so there was no reason to hide anything, as if it was later revealed that we lied, I couldn't predict what kind of action it would take. "I have ancestry with a Yin Phoenix, it has allowed me to convert the cursed flame into Yin energy for my own use."
"I did sense that you had an extreme inclination towards Yin, to think you share ancestry with an almost unique existence. An acceptable answer, and I do not perceive that you are trying to deceive me either so I can only take it as truth despite its unbelievability."
I was relieved that I had decided to tell it the truth as it had some sort of method to detect lies at the very least, but before I could let out a breath of relief, the being suddenly continued.
"No, a Yin Phoenix would not allow you to convert the energy, you must have some other ancestry or power that lets you do so, stand before the scale so I can examine you."
My entire body tensed up as the being spoke. I was worried about what it would find and that it would become hostile, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice. I slowly walked towards the table with the scale on it, glancing back at Arya as our hands parted.
"Interesting, very interesting." The being said as I reached the table and was suddenly surrounded by solid black and white energy. "You do not need to answer this question if you wish. But how is it that the She-Demon's Kin ended up on Carceris?"
I hesitated to answer, as while it said I didn't have to, I could feel it's curious gaze locked on to me as the energy faded away from my surroundings. It didn't seem like he was an enemy of the She-Demon at least, so perhaps he was an ally. "I was forcefully reincarnated here, the Queen of Hell said to atone for my sins I should kill seven Outsiders who took up residence here."
My answer caused the being to stroke its everchanging chin. "Did she now? You're not lying, but I suspect you do not know the whole truth. Kali doesn't strike me as the kind of person to sacrifice some of her divinity to send the kin of the She-Demon to Carceris. However, I believe in non-interference, so I will let you discover the truth on your own. That said, I can give the two of you a chance." the being said as it stood up once again splitting into two beings again. "Since you know this is the Well of Balance, surely you know that in exchange for an offering I will grant a wish upon the one who exchanges. However, the wishes you two are likely to have would be beyond your ability to gather anything valuable enough for, so instead, we propose challenging our trial. Should you pass, you are free to request anything within my power to grant, however, should you fail..."
The two beings paused as the black figure stood before me and the white before Arya. "Death will be the least of your concerns. What will you do?"
I could hear Arya groaning to my side as I stood up after having been violently sucked through the strange black and white portal. We had ended up in what appeared to be a throne room of sorts, as there was a raised platform with a throne that was made from black and white crystals. Just before the raised platform was a table that seemed to have been hewn from a single slab of marble and on top of it was a large balance scale.
I helped Arya up as we brushed ourselves off. Thankfully our clothes were fine other than a bit of dirt since they'd been weaved from my silk, making them quite difficult to cut or tear, though they were rather thin so they didn't do much for cushioning the impact. Just as I was going to ask where we were, two voices echoed through the room in perfect sync. "Guests so early, what has caused this?"
The voices came from the direction of the throne and as I turned to look I saw two figures step out from either side, one the pure black figure of a woman, the other a white figure of a man. It was strange as while they were clearly three dimensional, it almost felt like they were featureless and flat. What was more off-putting was that they moved in sync as they sat down together on the throne merging into a single being of intertwining black and white, male and female, that shifted all around their figure, however, not matter how much each side swirled into the other, it always seemed to be a half and half mix.
The being looked at the two of us with what felt like an intense stare before speaking in a voice that shifted as much as their features, starting as the two voices before becoming male or female as black or white took over the head. "What strange guests you are. One the descendant of the fool who I cursed so long ago, the other-." it paused while looking at me. "It feels like you have been here before, yet this one has no recollection of seeing you. Tell me, do you know where you are?"
While I couldn't say for certain, I had a feeling that I knew where we were, solely based on one thing it had said. I looked at Arya who seemed just as bewildered as I was and grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze while shaking my head. "I do not know where we are, but if I were to wager a guess, the Well of Balance seems likely."
The being made an amused expression as it leaned back comfortably into the throne. "It's good to see that you can at least think and reason logically, not all who come here can. That being the case, I assume the two of you are from Carceris? Or did you find some other means to enter here besides a Gate of Balance?"
Now that I thought about it I had never actually heard the name of the planet we were on, I hadn't thought it odd until just now, even if they hadn't discovered space travel, surely there were people who studied the stars and had come up with a name for their homeworld. I glanced at Arya who shook her head, just as confused as I was. "We don't know." she began. "We were just finishing our wedding ceremony when we were suddenly sucked through a black and white vortex."
"Oh? So you did not come here intentionally, but rather due to an accident. How bizarre. The two of you are wed then? I suppose that makes the pale one your Chosen." the being then shook his head. "No, she is not, your Chosen is no longer among the living, so how is it that the two of you are together? I sense you practice Universal Yin Yang Technique I passed down, but that requires intimate physical contact, something that should kill the pale one."
It was a surprise to hear that it had passed down the technique we practiced, but perhaps that had been one of the boons the two had completed the trial before had asked for. Regardless of who, or whatever this being was, I could at the very least tell that it was far beyond our current level of power, so there was no reason to hide anything, as if it was later revealed that we lied, I couldn't predict what kind of action it would take. "I have ancestry with a Yin Phoenix, it has allowed me to convert the cursed flame into Yin energy for my own use."
"I did sense that you had an extreme inclination towards Yin, to think you share ancestry with an almost unique existence. An acceptable answer, and I do not perceive that you are trying to deceive me either so I can only take it as truth despite its unbelievability."
I was relieved that I had decided to tell it the truth as it had some sort of method to detect lies at the very least, but before I could let out a breath of relief, the being suddenly continued.
"No, a Yin Phoenix would not allow you to convert the energy, you must have some other ancestry or power that lets you do so, stand before the scale so I can examine you."
My entire body tensed up as the being spoke. I was worried about what it would find and that it would become hostile, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice. I slowly walked towards the table with the scale on it, glancing back at Arya as our hands parted.
"Interesting, very interesting." The being said as I reached the table and was suddenly surrounded by solid black and white energy. "You do not need to answer this question if you wish. But how is it that the She-Demon's Kin ended up on Carceris?"
I hesitated to answer, as while it said I didn't have to, I could feel it's curious gaze locked on to me as the energy faded away from my surroundings. It didn't seem like he was an enemy of the She-Demon at least, so perhaps he was an ally. "I was forcefully reincarnated here, the Queen of Hell said to atone for my sins I should kill seven Outsiders who took up residence here."
My answer caused the being to stroke its everchanging chin. "Did she now? You're not lying, but I suspect you do not know the whole truth. Kali doesn't strike me as the kind of person to sacrifice some of her divinity to send the kin of the She-Demon to Carceris. However, I believe in non-interference, so I will let you discover the truth on your own. That said, I can give the two of you a chance." the being said as it stood up once again splitting into two beings again. "Since you know this is the Well of Balance, surely you know that in exchange for an offering I will grant a wish upon the one who exchanges. However, the wishes you two are likely to have would be beyond your ability to gather anything valuable enough for, so instead, we propose challenging our trial. Should you pass, you are free to request anything within my power to grant, however, should you fail..."
The two beings paused as the black figure stood before me and the white before Arya. "Death will be the least of your concerns. What will you do?"
