The darkness of the inner sanctum vanished instantly. Maddy blinked, the spots in her eyes fading as the world rushed back in. She was no longer in an endless void. She was back in the main hall of the final station.
The massive, roaring fire stood in the center of the room. The other applicants who were there, some crying, some laughing, was now gone.
In Maddy's hand, the Black Smoke adventurer plate was finally cold, its heavy weight a solid reminder that her journey had truly begun. Prometheus was gone, but the truth he had spoken lingered in the air.
"A grieving girl from Earth… Madelaine… but now, Madelaine—the Mother of Monsters."
She hadn't heard that name, nor that truth, since arriving in this world. A small, sad smile touched her lips as she tucked the plate into her tunic, feeling the lingering warmth against her skin.
"So, Prometheus gave me his blessing. He saw the truth of what is in my heart. He knows I am no monster who kills for sport or hunger."
