As light floods Rain's vision once again, he realizes that he's in a circular room about the size of his own Soul Temple. However, it's quite different from his own. The room is essentially one big dome, the walls and ceiling made entirely of a translucent, blood red crystalline mineral.
The floor is stone with a mottled red and black color, and has the appearance of lava, though it's hard and cold to the touch. In the center of the room is an obsidian-looking rune stone, with deep red runes shimmering on it. Before Rain can read them, he hears a Tess's nervous voice beside him.
"So...what do you think?"
Rain mutters a response absentmindedly, without glancing at her.
"It's beautiful...like I'm inside a god's heart."
He glances over at Tess, and his reverie is instantly broken as his eyes widen in shock. Tess is wearing nothing but cloth shorts and a bra, just like she was before. He can't help but stare a bit, his eyes scanning the unfamiliar lines of her body, until she meets his gaze and gives him a puzzled expression.
"Rain...what's with that look?"
He quickly glances away, clearing his throat.
"Ehem...uhm...you know. Just...admiring your outfit."
Tess looks down at herself, and her eyes widen in surprise.
"Huh...well aren't you lucky..."
She glances back to him, and an amused smile forms on her lips as her green eyes study him intently.
"And...looks like I'm not alone..."
Confused, he follows her gaze, glancing down at himself, and he quickly realizes that he's shirtless.
'Makes sense...this is how I was dressed in the real world. Duly noted...'
He looks back at Tess and grins sheepishly.
"Well...guess I better get a move on before we get cold..."
He quickly turns back towards Tess's rune stone, simultaneously wondering is it's even possible for them to get cold in a Soul Temple. As he approaches the rune stone, he's finally able to decipher the runes.
Name: Tess
Prestige: Champion
Lineage: [Desire]
Bloodline: [Titan]
Nature: [Heart Reader],[True Self]
Talents: [Siren]
Relics: [Spear of Sorrow]
Normally, he'd at least casually scroll through everything else in the name of thoroughness or formality. Today, however, Tess brought him here for a very specific reason, and she's already told him about everything except her Quirk, including her singular Relic from her Trial. Plus, he'd rather not waste time since they're both dressed so...unreasonably.
He immediately pulls up what he assumes is her Quirk...True Self.
True Self
You cannot lie about your desires, and you long endlessly to fulfill them.
His lips purse thoughtfully as he reads the description.
'So...hers is kind of like mine. It doesn't sound like she loses control entirely, but maybe she feels constant pressure to act on her desires? And she can't lie about what she wants. That...sounds like her...'
He takes a few more minutes, combing through her other attribute descriptions, but there aren't any noteworthy surprises. Eventually, he turns to Tess with a conflicted expression, his voice hesitant.
"So, uh...you long endlessly to fulfill your desires. What's that mean, exactly?"
She lets out a long sigh.
"Well...basically...whatever I want, I want ten times as much as normal. Sometimes its easiest just to...give in."
He raises his eyebrows.
"That why I keep getting jumped without warning?"
She narrows her eyes.
"You complaining?"
He grins sheepishly.
"No, no...just curious. Your Quirk...explains a lot."
Tess smirks.
"Well, speaking of helpful explanations...since you seem to be done reading already, are you prepared to spill your own secrets?"
Rain raises his eyebrows at the comment.
'A deflection and a kick in the ass...how clever...'
He takes a deep breath and nods at Tess.
"Yeah...time for me to return the favor..."
*****
The pair returns to the real world, and they find themselves once again sitting across from one another on his bed. Tess watches him excitedly.
"Okay...so, how do you want to do this?"
Rain sits in thoughtful silence for several moments.
"Hmm...I guess, let's just bring you into my Soul Temple. "
Tess's eyes widen slightly.
"Really? You didn't promise me that...just that you would tell me what you've been hiding."
He shrugs.
"I know, but there's a lot to cover. It'll be faster and easier to have you read everything yourself. Plus...fair is fair. I want you to know that I'm trusting you with everything, too."
She stares at him in silence for a few moments, a gleam of affection taking root in her emerald eyes. Then, she smiles widely.
"Thanks, Rain...I appreciate it."
He nods nonchalantly and returns a small smile. Then, the eager Tess reaches towards his chest again, causing him to quickly but gently grab her wrist. She looks at him, puzzled, and he grins sheepishly as he responds in an apologetic tone.
"Err...not that I mind the aesthetic, but...we might be in there for a while, and I'm already having a hard time focusing with you dressed like that. Can we put our shirts back on? We can just figure out the logistics of touching one another's Marks under them."
Tess stares at him for a long time, a strange look in her eye, until she eventually just smirks and nods.
"Sure...we can do that..."
Rain grins appreciatively, releasing her hand, and grabs his shirt and dons it once more. After, he sees that Tess has done the same, and is staring at him expectantly. Seeing that they're both ready, he smiles at her and nods.
"Okay...let's do this."
Grinning excitedly, Tess runs her hand under his shirt and up his chest, until her palm rests on his Mark. The sensation sends shivers up his spine, but he remains focused. With her guiding his hand, he slides his hand from her collarbone, under her tank-top, and down to her Mark.
Before his thoughts can start to wander, he closes his eyes and focuses on flowing Ichor through her Mark and back to his own. Soon, he feels his sensations shifting as he's pulled into his Soul Temple. When he opens his eyes, he's in the familiar stone, dome-roofed space.
He can see Tess beside him, glancing around with a curious expression. As he watches her expectantly, he says the only thing that comes to mind.
"So, uhm...what do you think of mine?"
She glances back at him in surprise, then seems to consider his question for a moment before smiling in amusement.
"Hmm...it has real sex dungeon vibes."
Having lost the capacity to be flustered by her antics further today, he just frowns at her disapprovingly. Seeing his expression, she chuckles and waves dismissively.
"Oh, relax. I'm just teasing. Can't a girl ha-...hey wait...Rain, what's that?"
Her amused expression swaps to one of confusion, and Tess stares past Rain. Following her gaze, he sees that it's locked on the Chaos Altar. He scratches the back of his head thoughtfully, sucking air through his teeth.
"That...it's...actually, it's probably easier if we discuss that last. You should go read my runes first."
She casts him a deeply curious look, her eyes lingering on his face for several moments, then she seems to make up her mind and nods.
"Alright...fair enough..."
Rain breathes a sigh of relief, and watches as she makes her way towards his rune stone, her face once again becoming excited. He plans to answer any of her questions about the Chaos Altar, but...right now that would just lead to having to explain the primordials and Chaos and everything anyway. Best to have her learn those via his attributes first, he thinks.
He follows her over to his rune stone, his eyes scanning the familiar runes.
Name: Rain
Prestige: Champion
Lineage: [Chaos]
Bloodline: [Primordial]
Nature: [Chaotic Will],[Unhinged],[Fated Chaos]
Talents: [Uncertain Existence],[Fickle Strength]
Relics: [Glorious Pebble],[Ideal Protection],[Fate Shard],[Ego's Brace],[Severing Ties]
He watches as Tess scans over his attribute summary, and her face slowly twists into something that's a mix of awe and confusion. He expects her to ask something right then, like why he has two Talents and so many Relics, who Chaos is, or what a Primordial Bloodline is, but she remains silent.
Instead, she just proceeds to investigate his Lineage, reading the passage about Chaos, Fate, and Death with a serious expression. Then, she skips to his Talents and Nature attributes, reading through them. She gives him a long, bewildered look over her shoulder when she reads about Uncertain Existence, but even though her eyes are burning with curiosity, she still doesn't speak.
Finally, she returns to his Bloodline, summoning its details.
Resonance: 54 / 10,000
Blood Rite: Chaos Blade (Dormant)
As she reads the runes, her hand seeming to freeze above the Resonance, her face begins to pale. After a moment more in silence, she turns to face him, dumbfounded.
"Uhm...okay, Rain...I have questions..."
Taking a deep breath, he nods, then gives her a reassuring smile.
"I figured. Go ahead."
She hesitates for a moment, then her questions flood out.
"Who is Chaos, and what is a Primordial Bloodline? Is it the reason why you have two Talents? Is it why you have over three times as much Resonance potential as me. Also, how do you already have so much Resonance? How many Fel did you kill in your Trial? Oh, and what the hell is a Blood Rite?"
He puffs out his cheeks, exhaling slowly.
'That's...a lot of questions...'
Arranging his thoughts for a moment as Tess continues to stare at him, he nods absentmindedly before responding.
"Okay, let's start with Chaos. Essentially, as far as Bright and I know, there were two beings named Creation and Destruction, known as primordials, who actually created the gods that you know. We think Chaos is like them...another primordial.
"So, the answer to your question about my Bloodline is that Primordial ranks above Daemon and even God, as far as we can tell. It's...potent...and that's the reason why I have so much Resonance potential and two Talents. It's also why my strength is so abnormal.
"As for your other questions...well. In my Trial I killed about two dozen Fallen, one Harbinger, and one Curse...that's why I have so much Resonance. A Blood Rite is...uhm...from what Bright has told me, it's basically like a special ability that you have to pass some unknown test to unlock.
"They're supposed to be insanely powerful, and pretty much the primary reason that Godfrey Veyron and Klaus Abel rose to such immense influence. So, according to Bright, even knowing about Blood Rites, but especially having one, could make you a target for the major clans.
"It's really important that you never mention it to anyone, Tess...for both our sakes. That also goes for primordials in general, and the fact that someone can have a Lineage other than one of the gods'. This is why I needed Bright's help so much at first...as an Asphodel researcher, she's basically the only reason I learned all this without finding myself in danger."
For a long time, Tess just stares at him in silence, her face pale and bewildered. When she responds, her voice is almost a whisper.
"Did...you say...you killed a Curse?"
Rain blinks.
'That's what she's focusing on?'
"Uhm...yeah..."
Her demeanor becomes nearly frantic.
"How!? You weren't even a Champion yet!"
He purses his lips for a moment, then gestures towards his rune stone.
"With a Relic called Fate Shard. Read its description and you'll understand."
She gives him a confused look, glancing between him and the rune stone for a few moments. Eventually, she hesitantly makes her way over and pulls up the item's description. When she first scans the summary, her head whips around as her eyes lock onto him.
"You have a God Relic!?"
His expression remains serious.
"Just read it...the whole description."
She stares at him for another moment before reluctantly turning around to face the rune stone, and she begins to read the item description in detail. Eventually, he sees her body tense suddenly, then she turns back to face him with an incredulous expression. Her voice trembles as she speaks.
"Rain...you...you actually used this?"
His merely nods with a grim expression.
"Yes, but...I didn't have a choice..."
He takes a few minutes to explain his whole encounter with the dreaded Fel. How it blocked his way, how his attempt to lure it away failed, and what he endured before he finally managed to kill it. All the while, Tess's expression slowly warps into one of horror. When he finishes, silence hangs between them as her eyes study him, seemingly full of concern and pain.
Eventually, she just walks towards him...and wraps him in a hug. He feels warmth spread through his body, the scent of lavender assaulting him as her soft, brown hair tickles his face and neck. As he instinctively wraps his arms around her in return, she speaks quietly with her face against his neck.
"I think I've seen enough, Rain...let's go back..."
He glances down at her in surprise, but she doesn't meet his gaze. After a moment, he just squeezes her understandingly.
"Sure...let's go..."