The Fifth Trial

[hot_mess_express]

Who: ALL
When: Day 11, noon
Where: Outer Space

Come hither, Heroes. Prove thy worth.

[ That familiar silence befalls everything following the call, and just like before the third trial there’s a glittering void, points of light twinkling in the air. As you step into the space it expands, seeming to consume you, the Aurora, and all that exists in general. There’s a feeling of vertigo as this happens, frozen lights swirling all about you and once again it's all accompanied by obnoxious giggling.

This time, however, when the darkness fades, you're...

Back inside of the Aurora? No, this is actually an entirely different train. Outside the windows, you can only see wispy, dancing lights illuminating the surroundings, which you can't quite make out. The doors outside don't open. ]

SIGN-UPS ☆ PRE-GAME MINGLE ☆ RULES ☆ ROOMS

Comments

[voreaciously]

If it is the only choice, at times, what is the difference?

[purrtagonist]

The difference is the level of acceptance. The difference is not leaping straight into dying without trying something else first.

[voreaciously]

It was the only option, that time. She did not even bother trying to hide it.

[purrtagonist]

It wasn't.

Nobody died in our group, did they?

[he'd like to say "nobody got hurt" but JASMINE]

[voreaciously]

Nobody died and we lost.

[purrtagonist]

[. . .]

[quietly, without judgment]

Why is winning so important to you?

[voreaciously]

I need to leave this place.

[purrtagonist]

[don't we all, he thinks]

And you think winning trials will help you get out faster?

[voreaciously]

I will do whatever it takes to complete the objective. If that means laying own my own life, that is a paltry cost.

[purrtagonist]

You don't even know for certain that laying down your life will get you out of here.

[why is this something he feels so strongly about, when he barely even knows her?]

[voreaciously]

In this case, I absolutely did know. It may not be pleasant, but sometimes, that is simply what it takes.

[purrtagonist]

How?

[he asks, somehow demanding and soft all at once]

How did you know that's what it would take?

[voreaciously]

Because she said as much. It is that simple. Perhaps, in other cases, it may not be as clear, but this one was.

[purrtagonist]

She didn't say that dying would get us out of this place.

Merely that it was to be expected from us. Because of our status as "heroes."

[his hands curl into fists, knuckles white]

And that is stupid.

[voreaciously]

I never said anything about the longer term. Only the shorter. Only for that trial. But I will die in trials as many times as it takes. It does not bother me.

[purrtagonist]

[. . . that makes more sense, but. . . it still doesn't help]

It bothers me. Especially when no one has to die.

[voreaciously]

We literally do. You may not like it, but that does not change the objective of the last trial. Someone had to stay to fight and die. No one in our group did, that is why we lost.

[they're going around in circles]

It is fine for me, please do not concern yourself with it.