The funerary temple still glows with hush and gold, but the air has changed. Sisyphus is gone from the threshold of judgment, driven away into his endless punishment. The slope outside waits in bleak silence, and the dead stay where they belong.
Thanatos stands near the altar, pale and steady again, while Hades keeps one hand near his side, composed but watchful. Persephone watches the veil of light around Valintal's shade, her expression softened by duty rather than mercy.
Thanatos
The order holds. At last.
Hades
It is done. No king, no mortal, no thief of fate will break this law again.
Persephone
Let Valintal be remembered for what he gave, not for what he lost.
The shade of Valintal glows through the veil, not as a wound, but as a blessing. The temple feels quieter now, as if even the stone accepts the verdict.
Ares
The dead are safe. That is enough.
“I pay my respects to Valintal before leaving the funerary temple.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +2)
Ares lowers his head before the veil, and the temple answers with a deeper hush. Valintal’s shade shines steady through the gold, as if the farewell itself becomes part of the rite.
Thanatos turns that faint, exacting attention on the shade, then back to Ares, his own recovery made plain in the set of his shoulders.
Thanatos
He carried the burden well. I will see him on.
Hades inclines his head once, solemn and certain, a king’s approval offered without ornament.
Hades
You have done right by the dead, Ares.
Persephone’s gaze lingers on the glowing veil, then softens as the light begins to thin. The blessing remains, but the temple is ready to let go.
Persephone
Go in peace, Valintal. Your name stays bright here.
The shade fades from view with no strain, no protest, only calm. When the last glimmer settles into the altar stone, Ares has his quiet answer, and the temple feels complete.
The temple fell quiet as Valintal's shade passed onward, and the last strain of turmoil eased from the stone.
Thanatos
The dead have their due. At last, it is done.
Hades
Order is restored. The Underworld remembers itself.
Persephone
Let this peace endure. Let Valintal be well received.
Ares
Then let it stand. I will remember him, and keep faith with this peace.
Sisyphus was cast to his endless labor, and the old wound in the world closed over. In the stillness that followed, Ares stood within a realm set right, carrying Valintal's memory as a quiet honor. The Underworld held fast, and the chapter ended in rightful peace.