Krenocia says "Are you done wandering around?"

"That depends, if you want we can go wander around longer."

Seronia says "No, we have had plenty of time to catch up. Thank you, Ash."

Krenocia says "Yeah, unfortunately I need to get back to the underworld, things get insane pretty quickly when I am not there."

Seronia says "Yes, we must both return to our obligations."

"I understand, I should get on with figuring out how to beat the final trial."

The time has come, so I turn to the drake and when he lowers his head I hug it fiercely. I know he is already dead but I feel like I am losing a friend all the same.

Seronia says "The drake wants me to give you a message. He says thank you, he doesn't regret his death at all, this time with you has been the best of his life."

I can't help it and start crying as I cling to the drake. He lays down and gently wraps his claws around me, his way of hugging me back.

Seronia says "He also wants you to make use of his body in any way you can. He doesn't want it to rot away in that horrible room, he would rather it become a part of you."

Krenocia says "Beings don't always lose all the memories from their past life. He says he knows the smell of your soul now, whether it is this life or the next he says he will find you and play with you again."

"Me too! I hope we can meet again as friends instead of enemies!"

The drake pulls his head back away from me and then licks me, leaving my face and chest drenched with saliva. I am laughing as his soul fades away and Krenocia leaves with him. Once he is gone I break down in tears again and Seronia holds me and lets me cry on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this."

Seronia says "It's fine, you have been through a lot lately."

"I know you are both depending on me to deal with the temples, I'm sorry I got stuck in this trial."

Seronia says "It's okay. We didn't expect you to go near here or we would have warned you."

"Are the other six trials like this one?"

Seronia says "No, the other six are dungeons not trials. This one is unique because Arkat wanted to make sure the person who got control of the orb was worthy."

"Dungeons?"

Seronia says "Yes, when a god dies they leave behind an artifact. A dungeon is created by their power and the artifact attracts monsters to guard it."

"So, there wouldn't be any divine power for the two of you if I cleared one of the dungeons?"

Seronia says "All the divine power would be contained in the artifact, if you gave one of us the artifact we could gain power from it. Or we could save it to help with raising a new god."

"Do you know the locations of the six dungeons?"

Seronia says "Yes, they exist where my fellow gods died. I will never forget the locations."

"Ah, sorry. If I end up close to one of the dungeons let me know and I will retrieve the artifact for you."

Seronia says "You are taking the job of restoring our powers very seriously."

"That is because after meeting the two of you I have come to like you, and I believe that you two gaining power will be good for the human race."

Seronia says "And it has nothing to do with the fact that the more powerful we are the more we can help you?"

"No! I appreciate the fact that the two of you are willing to help me when you can, but I don't expect it or count on it."

Seronia says "It is only natural to help you as much as we can, after all we are the ones who put you in this position."

"You don't have to because of that. In fact I am grateful to you both, even if it is a short life, I would much rather be here than my old world."

Seronia says "Thank you, Ash. That makes me feel less guilty about this whole situation."

"Anyway, I should start working on how to beat the last trial, can you tell me what I need to know to give you the orb."

Seronia says "Of course."

I listen carefully to Seronia's instructions and bid her a fond farewell. Then I end the soulscape and open my eyes only to instantly close them again. The reason is the room is full with a bright light that I wasn't expecting.

Slowly letting my eyes adjust to the light I get up and walk over to the open door. Beyond the door is a small room where normally a corridor would be, in the center of the room is the source of the light. The orb is radiating a bright white light as it floats above a pedestal in the middle of the room.

Not even bothering to examine the orb, since I know what it is, I quickly perform the ritual as Seronia instructed and off the orb to her. The orb disappears with a flash of golden light and at the same time I feel a burning pain on my chest as the medallion is removed. Now I don't have to worry as much about Ruby if it takes me a long time to escape from here.

With the removal of the orb the light returns to normal and I am able to see another door beyond the pedestal. Walking over and pushing the door open reveals a natural looking cave with a tunnel on the opposite side from me. I stretch my hand out in front of me and slowly move towards the tunnel.

As expected halfway through the cave I run into the barrier that surrounds the trials. Because I am moving slowly I manage to avoid hurting my hand, if I hadn't known ahead of time I probably would have found it with my face.

Final Trial: Escape!

Just to test it I try hitting the barrier with my fist, I know with my strength I can do some decent damage with a punch. However the only damage I end up doing is to my own hand. Since I have plenty of time I leave the barrier alone for now and head back to the drake's room to rest up and deal with his body.

Before I rest for a few days to heal up I need to butcher the drake and put the meat in my pouch so it doesn't go bad. I would feel pretty bad about this part if the drake hadn't asked me to make use of his body. The first thing I need to do is carefully pry up all the scales, I don't want to damage them so I can use them later.

Based on how hard it was to hurt the drake I am positive the scales will make excellent armor at the least. My only worry is whether or not my skill is good enough to work with them. Maybe I will hold onto them until I find someone good enough to make the best armor, or teach me how to make it.

Seeing the skill books on the floor reminds me of the rewards for the heart trial, but they can wait until after I have rested. Once I am done removing all the scales I set to skinning and butchering. The meat goes straight into the pouch to keep it as fresh as possible, which is when I remember I don't have any more firewood to cook with.

Then I think of using the portable forge to cook with, but then I remember it won't work without Ruby around to power it. Guess I am going to be stuck eating raw meat until I get out of here. Luckily I have the endless waterskin so water won't be a problem.

I haven't seen any source of water since entering the trials, if I didn't have water with me I would have died of dehydration. It makes me wonder how many people have died in here just because they didn't carry enough provisions. Then again everyone probably died to the ogre, especially if they came in here like me, not knowing what this place was.