At the edge of Tartarus, the same heat breathes up from the chasm. The thrum below is deeper here, like chained mountains grinding in their sleep.
Hades stands where the stone narrows, a living seal against the dark. Thanatos remains beside Ares, but his attention is not on the abyss anymore.
His gray eyes keep returning to Ares, measuring him, weighing him, as if the lesson has become a verdict.
Thanatos
You have held yourself well. Now I need to know if that restraint is yours, or only borrowed.
The words land cleanly, sharper than any blade. It is not praise. It is not doubt. It is a test of whether Ares is safe to stand this close to the prison of the world.
Hades
Answer carefully, Ares. Tartarus does not forgive carelessness, and neither do I.
Below them, something in the dark stirs against the seal. The chasm answers with a slow, iron groan, waiting for Ares to speak or move.
✓ Quest Accepted
Prove Ares can be trusted beside the Tartarus seal
✓ Quest Accepted
Learn what Thanatos is judging in Ares
“I stand firm against the heat of the chasm to show my resolve to Hades.”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled +2)
Ares plants his feet on the narrow stone and lets the furnace breath climb over him. The heat presses at his armor, but he does not yield, does not step back.
Hades glances over his shoulder, then stills again at the brink, holding the dark with the same calm weight.
Thanatos
He feels it. Not defiance, resolve.
Thanatos shifts closer, his scrutiny changing shape, less like a blade and more like a hand testing the strength of a chain.
Thanatos
I am judging whether you can stand beside this seal without becoming part of the danger below.
Thanatos
If you can remain yourself here, then you are not a problem to be managed. You are aid.
Hades
That is what I need to know as well.
The red glow rolls under Ares' shadow, and the pressure in the stone does not drive him off. Thanatos watches him like a verdict begun, not yet finished.
Quest Complete
Learn what Thanatos is judging in Ares
“I ask what standard he is measuring me by”
SUCCESS (Superb Willpower, rolled -1)
Ares
What standard are you measuring me by?
Thanatos lowers his hand from the air between them, as if the answer is heavy enough to rest on both of them. Hades stays at the brink, silent, listening.
Thanatos
The same one I use for every guardian. Do you make the danger smaller, or do you make everyone around it safer?
The words land cleanly. The heat still rolls off Tartarus, but Thanatos does not look for a crack in Ares anymore. He looks for the shape of his control.
Thanatos
You have already answered with your body. You did not lunge. You did not feed the seal your temper.
Hades
That is why I asked him here. I do not need a weapon that burns blindly. I need one that stands.
Thanatos gives a small, deliberate nod, and the hard line in his face softens at last into approval. It is not praise for strength alone, but for restraint under pressure.
Thanatos
Then my measure is simple, Ares. If you can hold yourself here, you can hold this realm beside us.
Quest Complete
Prove Ares can be trusted beside the Tartarus seal
Attribute Upgrade: Willpower Superb→Legendary