Phanes blankly stares at Erebus, waiting for him to explain the situation. Although she has a hunch that the reason centers on the magic circle, she has never seen this type anywhere before.
"Do you know the legends written about 'the First'? You must have read the records since you are taking the succession trials," asks Erebus.
"Yes, I have read about those records," Phanes nods.
"In the legends, 'the First' created a place to punish evil, for souls that do not know redemption. I think this is a replica of that place described in the legends. This must be Udarr's doing."
Her lips part in shock. Udarr knows about how to replicate something created by 'the First?' Phanes is aware that the things left behind by the first god cannot be touched by just anyone.
'The pit that punishes evil... That means that the souls trapped in the pit know no redemption for the evil they have committed; that is why they are trapped. No one can save them unless they truly redeem in their hearts.'
"Then… The essence that Maya is taking…" Phanes ponders about how Maya could have gained enough essence to sustain herself.
The only clue lies with the magic circle that managed to take Eric's soul for essence.
So, Phanes heads towards the magic circle on the floor. Breathing in sharply to release some pressure from her chest, she kneels next to the magic circle and lights it with her essence. Her essence travels in reverse, going through the connection inside the ground all the way to the pit that the souls are trapped in. The essence travels under the pit, reaching first the bottom. Then, hidden magic circles begin to light up one by one. As the chain reaction continues, her essence reaches towards the surface, and the walls around the pit brighten with the patterns of magic circles.
From her fingertips, she feels the essence that the magic circle is gathering, and to her surprise, the process is much slower than what she has imagined. The magic circle gathers essence naturally released by the souls, like energy released by humans in the form of heat.
That is how the numbers of souls kept piling up to the millions without dissipating; Maya could just have extracted the essence from the souls directly, but she didn't. Instead, she has decided the more tedious choice that harmed no one.
Coming into realization, Phanes feels shaken up by her misjudgment. She stands up slowly by pushing on her knees. Covered in clouds of gloom, she lifts her head in shame and guilt. She judges Maya like she knows the entire situation, and now, everything turns out that Maya did not plan all of this. Instead, Udarr did.
The souls that died in the dungeon will get into the pit first, and those that repent or are innocent can free themselves away. To think that those souls that cry so loudly and pitifully are those who cannot see the evil they have committed in their lives. The possibility of such a thing happening has never come to Phanes's mind until the truth slapped her face.
Not all sadness and tragedies are injustices.
Not all things that she sees are truths.
'I need to apologize to Maya… I almost destroyed her with my own hands…'
Phanes looks at her trembling hands.
'Conclude without prejudice,' Phanes places those words in her heart.
Being too confident is no different than being blind. The only one that looks beyond to what is in front has been embarrassingly the mortal amongst them. The king of the gods might be very disappointed if he finds out. Plus, she is still in her first trial.
"Aahhhh!" Phanes lets out her frustrations, "I made a huge mistake!"
The goddess venting her frustrations out surprises Erebus. He looks at the goddess, soon returning to her collected self as if she has walked past the gloom and regrets.
"I am going to apologize and make it up to her!" shouts Phanes.
What has happened already happened! If the situation cannot change itself, she will change it. Phanes sighs as she looks to the pit. These souls can free themselves because they must have seen other souls do so. Yet, they refuse to look within themselves, so they are left stuck in a place of agony.
Erebus walks past the metal door. Wanting to examine the pit further, Phanes follows him, but Erebus stops her with a hand motion.
The god wraps himself with a layer of essence when he walks nearer the pit. He scuffs at himself for almost releasing these spirits.
"Let's go," says Erebus after returning from the pit.
"What are we going to do with those souls? Don't tell me you are going to leave them there!?!" Phanes inquires, trying to catch up with his pace.
Kyrie silently follows after picking up the unconscious Eric who was left leaning against the wall.
"We can't release them like that. This has gone beyond the level that we could decide," says Erebus.
"Why?"
"First, they might become vengeful spirits and cause a lot of trouble if they are released without a guide. The second reason is more troubling. No one in history has been able to recreate creations from the legends, but for Udarr to do it…"
The gods have no ability to create the same things as the First because of essence shortages. Creation itself cannot create something that goes beyond his or her own reserves. The gods can only create beings or places that are lower than their own powers. So, for Udarr to break that rule and replicate creations made by the First could mean either a blessing or a curse. What if Udarr is not the only one behind?
"Then?"
"We will have to inform the king of gods and ask him to assign the right gods to guide these souls for reincarnation. The rest, the king will deal with it. Makes sure this does not pass through any other ear."
Phanes nods in agreement, but she pauses, looking at Erebus to say something about Maya.
"You can do what you want with Maya," says Erebus.
She spreads out a smile when she hears Erebus's approval because now, at least she knows that Maya would not have to die when she separates herself from her source of essence. When Phanes goes back to the god realm, she will use Erebus as her shield from all the nagging!
---
The blue sky has slowly transitioned into a sweet pink, and clouds that morphed into cotton candy floats around the setting sun. They enter into the same city they were in this morning, but they do not recognize the surroundings any more.
Maya has used too much essence to strengthen and grow her body that her reserves are at an all-time low. The essence used to keep the city under an illusion has completely depleted, and the real city came out from the illusion. Aside from some shops that Maya has kept over the years, the rest of the city is in shambles.
Two figures appear walking towards them at a distance. The sunlight shines behind them, casting a shadow on their appearance.
When Maya sees the gods, she hides behind. Ian stops walking since Maya stopped moving, hesitant to walk towards them. But then, she looks at Kyrie amongst the scary gods.
Kyrie, who is carrying Eric on his back, gives out a smile when he sees them. Maya's mood immediately improves upon seeing Kyrie.
Sensing that the gods are not hostile towards her, Maya lets them get closer. However, she is ready to run if she senses the slightest hostility from them.
"Maya," calls Phanes as she kneels, putting herself at the same level where Maya can see her eyes, "I am sorry I have misunderstood you."
Maya slowly peeks behind Ian.
"Will you forgive us?" Seeing the sincere apology, Maya is unsure what to do.
She turns towards Kyrie. Kyrie answers her question with a nod. So, Maya naturally nods as well. Her nervousness slowly leaves her body, and she stops hiding behind Ian.
"I forgive you," says Maya, "But you still want to release those souls, right?"