Page 141 of The Ascended
The sirens' bioluminescent patterns pulsed in what might have been approval. "You understand the price of betrayal. Memorica sold truth for gold, and gold became their grave."
“But what were the secrets? What was sold?” Kyren asked, looking between the ethereal beings.
The lead siren's expression grew even more severe. “If mortal ears were not ready for them a century ago, what makes you believe yours are now?”
Another slithered past us, blocking us inside the archive. “This Trial was not about discovering secrets. It was about understanding the weight of them. And that everything comes with a price. Just as the priests learned.”
"Now you face the inverse of their test." The lead siren inched closer. "You must do what they could not. Give freely what they would have sold. Sacrifice yourmost guarded truth."
The sirens circled us, their movements hypnotic. "Prove you can abandon mortal corruption for divine purpose."
"Speak the secret that costs you everything," another intoned. "Only then may you ascend."
We need a plan,Thatcher sent urgently through our bond.
But for once, I had none to offer.
Chapter 32
Archives of Truth
Their rippledwith glowing patterns that pulsed in rhythm with one another—almost like a silent language passing between them. The Archive chamber seemed to contract around us, the darkness below pulling at our feet, the weight of the ocean pressing down from above.
"Who will go first?" the leader asked, its voice reverberating through water and bone alike.
Shit.Panic surged through our twin bond, Thatcher's thoughts crashing into mine.
We’ll figure something out.My own fear matched his, though I fought to keep it contained.
The siren glided forward, its movements unnaturally fluid. "Place your keys in the receptacles. Speak your hidden shame. The path will open, but only truth will grant you passage." Its mouth curved in what might have been a smile, revealing jagged teeth. "And we will know if you lie."
"I'll go first," Marx said, stepping forward before any of us could respond.
She swam towards the platform, placing each key in itscorresponding slot. Marx's keys began to glow, their light spreading through the water in rippling waves. A section of the chamber wall dissolved, revealing a tunnel that led upward, toward the surface. But the sirens moved to block her path.
"Speak your truth," the leader commanded. “And you may proceed.”
Marx's face contorted, as if fighting against invisible bonds. When she finally spoke, her voice was stripped of all of her usual sarcasm, raw and unguarded.
"I cursed my family," she said, the words dragged from somewhere deep inside her. "I didn't just run away. I made sure they would suffer. And when I heard they had all died—painfully, horribly—I felt... glad."
The confession hung in the water around us, stark and terrible. She had told me her story, but the deliberate vengeance was something she had never revealed.
The sirens conferred silently, their glowing patterns flashing in complex sequences. Then the leader nodded.
"Truth."
Marx turned, her eyes finding mine. For a brief moment, I saw uncertainty there—a rare display of vulnerability from someone who kept herself so carefully guarded.
"Go," I told her, my voice steady despite the dread building in my stomach. "We’ll see you up there."
She nodded once, a gesture of farewell. Without another word, she swam into the tunnel, her form quickly disappearing as she ascended toward the surface.
"The next contestant," the mer-being intoned, its eerie gaze sweeping over those who remained.
Kyren looked between Thatcher and I before clearing his throat, a strange sound underwater. "I'll go."
He approached the platform slowly, his hands trembling slightly as he placed his keys in their slots. The same burst of light, the sametunnel opening in the wall, the same beings moving to block his path.
