Sachi stared at the orc in front of him. The sheer presence of his status as a Major God was overpowering.
"You're still a Lesser Champion, even with everything you've done... huh." Kaelthar opened the door and stepped into the cell. "On your feet, I'll give you one chance."
Reluctantly, Sachi pushed himself upward. He would've done so anyways, but being commanded to made it feel like the wrong choice.
"Join my guild and your misdeeds will be forgiven. You have too much promise to let waste in these cells." He jutted out his hand, gesturing for Sachi to shake.
'...Just doing what he had to in order to survive...'
"You'd... never let Dion go home, would you?"
"That's not relevant." His voice grew deeper, and he spoke slower. "Will you accept my offer?"
Sachi's labored breath was visible in the cold cell. "Unfortunately for you... Dion and I have the same goal. You'd only be in my way."
More than just Kaelthar's voice was angry now. His sharpened tusks glistened from the light of the torches in the hall. "Goddess, remove yourself from him immediately or I kill him right now."
A rustle emerged from Sachi's long hair, and a bright green bird floated onto the ground next to them. Sachi hadn't known where she was, but he was constantly feeling her singular blinding emotion: fear.
The hand that was meant for Sachi to shake now lunged for his throat.
Serendelle spoke for the first time since arriving at the prison, "No!"
Her cries were ignored as Kaelthar lifted Sachi into the air. He could barely breathe, the grip around his neck was suffocating.
"If you are so determined to walk through hell, I will send you there myself."
Sachi's vision was blurry, constantly flickering in and out of consciousness. Now, he blinked, and he was no longer in the prison cell. Everything had turned red and the frigidness of the cell had turned into a blistering heat.
The grip around his neck was released, and landed sideways onto the smoldering rocks beneath him. As soon as his landed, the ground hissed and the burning pain went right through him. No matter where or how he rolled, the pain was constant with the touch of the ground, like he was constantly touching an active oven. Sachi winced, and slowly, painfully, he pushed himself to his feet, his soles burning more each second. He looked for any sort of cover, anything that would ease this burning sensation. However, he found nothing.
He would die here, burning alive in this hellscape. He needed to go go home, he needed to keep moving forward. He couldn't leave them like this.
'She's alone... She can't live like that. I can't do that again.'
'I'll make it home, I swear I will!'
In a desperate attempt, he sprinted in a random direction. Surely he'd find someone, something that could help him. Anything.
That's when a portal opened right in front of him, yet he moved too fast to stop before diving headfirst in. He fell against the cool white marble floor, finally free from the scorching heat.
At the far end of the room were two thrones. Only one was occupied.
"C-Chronos..." Sachi winced from the pain, slowly recovering from the extreme change of environment. He looked closer to the boy on the throne, only to realize his appearance had changed drastically. His hair was ruffled, dark eyebags formed under his eyes, and his eyes were bloodshot. As he looked closer, he realized it was more than just the lone Chronos that was rough looking. The room around him had bits and pieces shattered and smashed. In one corner, there was even a large bloodstain.
Sachi looked around with wide eyes. "What happened here..?"
The boy got up from his throne and moved slowly towards Sachi. "Kaelthar came here. He knew of our... involvement with you. And he killed us."
Finally, Sachi got to his feet. "W-what do you mean?"
"We've been here for a long time, much too long, even. This 'Game'... This 'Game' is flawed."
The boy rolled up his sleeve to display a large cut along his arm.
"We didn't know... Not even the game knew who was the God and who was the Champion. When he came, he belittled us, and attacked us as soon as he could."
His voice became more strained.
"He shouldn't have been able to harm a God, it shouldn't be possible. And yet..." He stared at the cut on his arm. "He killed one of us, and left, assuming his job was done. But I was also harmed during the battle. Not even the game knows my identity."
He looked back at Sachi, his bloodshot eyes staring into his frightened gaze.
"Help me kill The Eternal Flame."
"Wha- But how-"
Chronos lunged out and grabbed both of Sachi's bare shoulders. "Your Goddess! Your Goddess is either the most brilliant God I've seen, or the most desperate." He backed up from Sachi slowly, his hands shaking and fidgeting. "That... 'System' she gave you... It's much more than what she told you. By now, she should've been a Minor God, especially with your feats, except she's still only a Lesser, and it's obvious why!" He paced back and forth rapidly. "You kill Champions, you give power to you goddess, she gives you powers relative to her power, you kill more Champions... That's how it SHOULD be. But for you, it's not."
Sachi's eyes grew wide again, and he opened his menu.
[Class: Samurai]
[Secondary class: Time Mage]
[Level 5]
[Unused Points: 2]
[STR: 6]
[DEX: 9]
[VIT: 6]
[INT: 6]
[LCK: 6]
[CHA: 6]
[ALL: +110%]
[Champions Slain: 17]
"Those stats aren't exclusive to you, every Champion grows stronger evenly whenever they gain enough power, but your Goddess, whether she knows it or not, is constantly giving you all of her power, not just a portion. Champion's aren't able to choose how they get stronger! And this!" Chronos lunged towards Sachi again, pointing to the stat that said "ALL".
"This isn't something that Champions usually have! For whatever reason, your Goddess believes that Champion's are supposed to get this strong, this fast, and subconsciously, she's giving you all her power to make that possible."
Chronos turned around and began to pace faster, almost muttering under his breath.
"Most Gods aren't aware they can give all their power to their champion, and those who do would never risk their existence on a mere Champion, just the notion of doing so sounds silly. But it's happening right here."
Sachi had to take a moment just to process everything Chronos was ranting on about. "So what you're saying is-"
"Your Goddess is constantly gambling with her existence by subconsciously giving you all of her power, which makes you grow exponentially stronger than any other Champion!"
"And that means-"
"Unless you claim a spot as a Major God, she will always be a Lesser God, and she will cease to exist if you die, no matter what."