Rain watches as Aron stares at him with a dumbfounded expression, as if expecting Rain to scream 'gotcha'. After several moments, Aron widens his eyes in surprise and makes a concerned expression.
"Oh boy...alright. That's a serious oversight on my part...after what else you didn't know, I shouldn't have assumed. Uhm...we should fix this quickly – that's not something you'll live long without understanding. Can you feel your Ichor in your body, and are you aware of your Ego? It should be right under your Mark."
Fighting the warring emotions of annoyance and fear at Aron's offhanded comment about him dying, Rain responds flatly.
"Yes, I did learn some things in the Trial. I can feel my Ichor, and I know about Egos. Why?"
Aron's expression becomes relieved, and he nods at Rain encouragingly.
"Great...then close your eyes, and focus on flowing your Ichor through your Ego. Try concentrating it there."
Rain casts an apprehensive glare at Aron, but closes his eyes nonetheless.
'He could just tell me what this is about. Otherwise, if I didn't already have a guess, I wouldn't be so cooperative...'
Rain focuses on the foreign feeling of the warm, flowing Ichor in his body. He imagines the flow of it being slowly directed to his chest, right under his Mark, and beginning to swirl. It takes a while, requiring him to focus on visualizing the Ichor as though it were a physical fluid, but eventually he feels the flow of the Ichor in his body change to match his expectations. Then, his Mark starts to heat up.
Almost a minute after he starts the endeavor, he finally feels a sharp spike in heat from his Mark, then...he suddenly feels like he's standing. Snapping his eyes open in alarm, he quickly takes in his surroundings. A bewildered murmur escapes his lips...
"Well I'll be damned..."
He's back in the circular stone room from the end of the Labyrinth, standing in front of the black rune stone again. The Temple is in the same, reforged state he left it in. To his side, he notes the small, round table made of stone from before. Behind the rune stone, he sees the familiar misty exit he left through the first time.
'Yeah, I think I get the picture...no need to explore this place a second time.'
With that, Rain quickly walks through the mist gate. The next thing he knows, he's opening his eyes, back on the couch near Aron. Aron's watching him with a curious and expectant gaze. Seeing Rain's eyes open, Aron smiles.
"So, did you see it?"
Rain rolls his eyes and sighs.
"Yeah, it was the Temple that I ended my Trial in. I'm guessing that's the Soul Temple you mentioned, but what exactly is it?"
Aron nods, obviously pleased.
"Nicely done, that was fast! Yes, that's your Soul Temple. Essentially, it's like an...interface...for your soul. I guess it's kind of a representation of your soul as well. Everybody's Soul Temple looks different, but they all serve the same general function. There's some kind of rune-covered stone, which lets you learn about your abilities, Relics, and progress. There's also two doorways. The first one allows you to exit your Soul Temple, which you just used. The second one is what allows you to travel to Asphodel, but it shouldn't be unlocked yet."
Rain remembers the second archway in his Temple, the one that's just filled with stone currently.
'Huh, so that's what that one's for.'
Rain combs over the layout of the Temple in his mind, and recalls the strange table near the rune stone.
"Yeah, that all sounds familiar. What about the table, though? The one near the rune stone? What's it for?"
Aron's face suddenly twists in confusion.
"Table? There shouldn't be anything functional except the rune stone and the doorways...how strange..."
Aron stares at Rain curiously, as though studying him.
'Crap...I guess I can chalk that up to another thing about my soul that's weird and unexplained. I'm guessing that also means I don't want people asking questions about it...'
Rain shrugs, then waits a few seconds before making a surprised face, as though something just occurred to him, and he's already forgotten about the inconsequential table in his soul. He directs a calm gaze back at Aron.
"Oh? Weird. Well anyway, what's this about unlocking the gate to Asphodel? Honestly, I have zero intention of ever visiting there – I got my fill of horror shows in the Trial. Still, I'd like to at least have the option. So, how do I unlock that second door in my Soul Temple?"
Aron shakes his head dismissively.
"You don't, it unlocks itself. Actually, it's pretty cool! Basically, about once per year, all the new Champions have their Asphodel gates opened at the same time for the Crucible. One fancy pants scholar figured out that it corresponds to some recurring astronomical phenomenon. It occurs every 314 days, and it's been called the Divine Cycle, since Asphodel is associated with gods and all. If I remember correctly, y-"
Aron stops talking suddenly, his face slowly losing its excited gleam. He cocks his head to the side, his sandy brown hair falling into his eyes, and looks at Rain with a nervous expression.
"Wait a second. Rain...what you said a second ago about Asphodel...what do you know about the process of Ascension for Marked? About the Crucible, specifically."
Something about Aron's expression and demeanor, his fixation on the Crucible, it brings back the apprehension that Rain had when Aron mentioned it before. Rain gives Aron a hesitant look, and responds slowly.
"The basics, I guess. After a Marked becomes a Champion, they have the option to undergo new challenges like the Trial, except the challenges involve your physical body going to Asphodel. The first challenge is called the Crucible, and completing it allows a Champion to become a Paragon, like you. The rest of the challenges are called Rites. You challenge the First Rite to become a demigod, the Second Rite to become a Titan, and so on. Nobody has completed a Third Rite and become a Daemon yet though."
Aron nods absentmindedly at Rain's explanation, then stares at him expectantly.
"And do you know why that first challenge is called the Crucible and not a Rite? In other words, do you know what makes it different?"
Rain feels his apprehension spike even more, and he rattles his brain for any semblance of familiarity with the Rites and Crucible. He vaguely recalls that the Rites might not actually take place in Asphodel.
'Do they take place in one of the gods' personal realms, and you just access them from Asphodel? Is that the difference? The Crucible is in Asphodel, but Rites are in a divine realm.'
Rain glances at Aron, and hesitantly voices his suspicion.
"Uhm...is it that the Crucible actually takes place in Asphodel, but the Rites take place in one of the divine realms?"
A look of surprise flashes across Aron's face, but his expression doesn't become any less concerned.
"Yes, that's part of it. For the Crucible, you're dropped in a random part of Asphodel, and you just have to find a Bridge back to Earth. The Rites though...well. First, the Rites for each stage of Ascension have different versions for the various gods. You can challenge them in groups, but one of your party members has to have the Lineage of the god that the Rite is associated with, and act as the anchor for everyone else. Second, the Rites take place in another realm like you said, but they're also...in the past."
Rain's eyes widen in surprise.
'He can't be serious, right?'
"Err, what do you mean that they're in the past? Like, the actual past? Wouldn't that cause all kinds of problems for us in the present?"
Aron sighs and shrugs defeatedly.
"I've never done one myself, so I don't know exactly. From what I'm told, you are transported to the divine realm of the god associated with the Rite, except there's still thriving civilizations there. You arrive in your own body, with your own Relics, but it's like you've taken someone else's place in history. That person is always the same status as the Prestige of the Rite. In other words, if you challenge a Rite to become a Demigod, you take the place of a Demigod. The Rites seem to expect you to follow in that person's footsteps at the time, replicating their legendary feats, as if to prove that you deserve to be compared to someone like them."
Rain's mind reels at the idea...so much more about Earth's understanding of the gods and Asphodel makes sense to him now. Whether it's real or not, the Rites must serve as an invaluable tool for understanding the gods, Asphodel, and the history of the realms. Given Earth's situation with the Rifts, that raises an important question.
"Hey, Chosen Aron...you said that the Rites have different versions for the different gods, and that they take you to a past version of those gods' realms. I also know Nether is supposed to be the source of the Fel, and it's so dangerous that nobody has returned from it alive. But it seems like, if there was an answer to saving Earth from the Rifts, it'd be there. Is the past version of Nether less dangerous? Have the Marked with Death's Lineage learned anything useful from its Rites?"
Aron directs a puzzled expression at Rain for a long time, to the point that Rain is considering saying something about how rude it is. Right before he opens his mouth, though, Aron speaks in a sad tone.
"That's a fine idea, Rain, but no. There are certainly Rites of Death that have been found, and Nether may very well have been more hospitable in the past, but...there's no way to challenge them."
Now it's Rain's turn to be confused.
"What do you mean? What's keeping the Marked with Death's Lineage from challenging the Rites?"
Aron shakes his head seriously.
"Rain, there aren't any Marked with Death's Lineage. As far as I know, in the decades since the Marks first appeared, no such Champion has ever emerged."
An entire Lineage missing from the population of Marked...that's news to Rain.
'I guess I've never heard of any famous or powerful Marked with that Lineage. But I just assumed that was because of Death's association with the Fel, or because the Death Lineage is weak. The fact that it doesn't exist at all...'
Rain directs a bewildered expression at Aron.
"How is th-...no, why is that the case? Every other god has Marked that carry their Lineage, right? Why not Death? Does it have something to do with the Fel? The Rifts?"
Aron shrugs and leans forward, propping his elbows on his knees and rubbing his temples.
"I don't know, Rain. Again, those are questions that are way beyond my station. If you're really curious to hear theories, ask Master Bright...err, my boss...when you talk tomorrow. For now, though, we've gotten off topic. This isn't what I meant to discuss when I brought up the Rites versus the Crucible. There's another big difference between the two...I think it's much more important than this."
Rain fails to see what could be more crucial than the key to safely exploring Nether, the place that may hold the secrets to stopping the Fel and the Rifts. In addition, this is the first time he's heard Aron refer to his mysterious boss by name. 'Master' is the honorary term reserved for Demigods, so now he's even more curious to meet her.
Opting not to voice his opinion on those matters though, Rain simply raises his eyebrows at Aron, whose face has grown solemn again.
"Okay, Chosen Aron, I'm listening..."
Aron looks at him evenly as he responds, his voice terse.
"Earlier you mentioned not wanting to visit Asphodel, or take part in the Crucible. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. You don't just visit your Soul Temple and step through the gate to access it. The fact of the matter is, in about eight weeks there's going to be another Divine Cycle. When that happens, you're going to be dragged into Asphodel whether you want to be or not. The Crucible...you don't have the option to avoid it, Rain."