Chapter 23 Purpose
PURPOSE
TRIVIA
“You can bring her back, can’t you?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“Why not? Dammit, do something!”
The voices floated around her, distant and hazy. Trivia was certain she was dead. She waited for her soul to cross over, for clarity to brighten in her mind. What awaited her on the other side?
Tartarus, no doubt. But… Tartarus had been destroyed. So, what else was there? A numbing void, like within Pandora’s box?
Oh, gods—Pandora! Where was she? Had she been defeated?
Had Midas died? Or had Trivia managed to stop the goddess from killing him?
Gods, her head hurt… Why was she in so much pain, if she was already dead? Something wasn’t right.
“There has to be a way,” said one of the voices. This one was deep and vaguely familiar. A man. “I don’t care what you have to do, just do it!”
“Ordering me about is not helping,” snapped the second voice. This one was a woman. “Her blood is different. This isn’t just another mortal or another goddess. There are certain conditions to bringing back a vessel like hers.”
“What the hell are you talking about? There isn’t time for this!”
“She is a child of Janus!” shouted the woman. “She holds the magic of the Triple Goddess within her! Only when the three sisters are reborn can their powers be unlocked. But their death must be an act of selflessness. A sacrifice. It’s the only way.”
Silence followed her words. Then, the first voice said, “How can we tell? We don’t know what happened to her.”
“I know.” A third voice joined the conversation, this one more grim than the other two.
Trivia’s concentration ebbed, and the voices faded. Ah, at last she was moving on. Surely the pain would subside now.
But no, it only intensified, drilling into her skull with brutal intensity. She wanted to swat at the pain, to bat it away like a pesky insect. Leave me alone! she wanted to scream. I’m finished. I’ve paid my dues. Let me rest now.
But the pain only seemed to laugh at her, burrowing deeper. Yes, it was certainly like an insect, digging into her flesh, so far in that she could no longer pluck it out. It would fester inside her for an eternity.
“Trivia, please,” whispered the first voice.
Something within her stirred at the sound of that voice—the sound of her name.
I love you, Trivia. The echo of that voice resonated inside her, awakening her soul. Gods, she wanted to drown in that voice. The way it aroused her and soothed her. The way it made her bones tremble and her blood sing.
It called to her. And amidst the pain and darkness and confusion, she emerged, following the sound.
“Gods above,” he murmured. “Look.”
The woman gasped. “Yes. Yes, my darling, come back to us.” A warm hand pressed into her chest, and power seeped into her.
The pain ebbed, leaving a comforting heat in its place.
It spread through her, coursing through her veins and filling her with life.
Sounds became clearer—she could make out the distinct sound of rushing waters and the smell of saltwater.
A breeze tickled her skin. She tried to move, but she still couldn’t reach those parts of her body.
But she could feel now.
She was alive.
“Trivia, I need you to live. I need you to breathe.”
Sol, she thought. It was Sol calling to her. She would follow the sound of that voice anywhere in all the realms.
Even the jaws of death could not stop her from coming to him.
Her eyes flickered open, her lids crusty and heavy. She yearned to close them once more, but the tether connecting her to Sol was far stronger.
I have to go to him, she thought. I have to see his face. To touch his skin.
Her lips were cracked and dry, but she managed to wheeze out his name. “Sol.” Her voice sounded like sandpaper.
“By the gods.” Sol let out a laugh of disbelief.
Hands pressed into her shoulders, her cheeks, sending more warmth through her body.
Slowly, inch by inch, she was awakening.
A faint throbbing still echoed in her skull, but it was diminished compared to the anguish of before.
More power flooded her, filling her with energy and strength.
It felt so… foreign. It was earth magic, but different from her own.
More pure. More vibrant. It called to memories buried deep. Memories she didn’t even know she had.
“Sol,” she said again, her voice clearer now. But her throat was so dry, her tongue sticky. She smacked her lips, and something cool and wet touched her mouth.
“Drink,” Sol urged, and Trivia obeyed as he carefully poured water into her mouth.
Her vision was so hazy. Even with her eyes open, she could only make out vague shapes around her.
Two figures stood above her, and she knew one of them was Sol.
Judging by the sound of the waters around her, she was either by a river or the ocean.
Could she be in Elysium? Was she on the very beach she had envisioned while in Pandora’s box?
It seemed like a dream. Too good to be true. A fantasy that could never be. Something she did not deserve.
“Is she alive?” This third voice was almost unfamiliar. It tugged at something within Trivia’s mind.
When recognition finally dawned, something jolted within her. “Midas?” she asked in bewilderment.
Her vision sharpened suddenly, the shift so intense that it sent another spiral of pain through her head.
Something soft tickled her ears and cheeks.
She was lying in the grass with a canopy of trees hanging over her.
Sol knelt by her side, his face pale and his midnight blue eyes filled with worry.
On his left was Gaia, her eyes closed and her brows drawn together in concentration.
One of her hands was pressed to Trivia’s chest. Then Trivia realized Gaia was using her magic to give her strength.
Her mother had brought her back to life.
Behind Gaia and Sol stood Midas. He hovered a safe distance away, as if he was afraid to get too close. He wrung his hands together, his mouth twisted in unease.
Trivia’s gaze snagged on his hands. They were gloveless.
Her head lifted, but Sol gently eased her back down. “Careful. Let Gaia finish.”
Trivia shook her head. “I—I don’t understand. What happened? Why is Midas here? His gloves—Pandora—The box—”
Sol pressed a finger to her lips, silencing her. “It’s all right, love. We’ll explain everything. Just let your mother finish.”
Mother. Gods above, Trivia still couldn’t believe it.
Gaia had brought her back. Gaia had saved her.
Her mother had saved her.
Tears stung her eyes. The concept was unfathomable, the idea that someone loved her enough to bring her back. But here were Sol and Gaia, so desperate to keep her alive, desperate to save her…
Yes, this certainly had to be a dream, for she did not deserve this at all. Not one bit.
“Can you talk to me while she works?” Trivia begged. “Please, I have to know. Is Pandora still alive?”
“No,” said Midas. “She’s dead. Her box was destroyed.”
“Impossible,” Trivia said at once. “She was too powerful. The darkness was too strong.”
“You were stronger.” There was pride in Midas’s voice.
She closed her eyes. No, he didn’t understand. Surely he was mistaken. “I don’t—I can’t—I’m not strong enough to defeat her! There’s no way.”
“Midas told us you gave it all up,” Sol said, brushing the loose hair away from her face.
Midas nodded in agreement. “Trivia, you used up so much power that you killed yourself. Pandora was not willing to do the same. In the end, your strength outmatched hers because you gave everything. Something she never had the courage to do.”
Trivia blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears from spilling over as she stared at Midas. But she failed. The moisture tracked down her cheeks. “She was going to kill you. I—I—”
Gaia let out a long, slow breath, then opened her icy blue eyes to gaze at Trivia. “You gave up your life for him, didn’t you?” Slowly, she turned to shoot an accusing stare at Midas.
He raised his palms. “I didn’t know she was going to do that. I—I had no idea.” He took a slow breath. “Gods, Trivia, I—Why? Why would you do that for me, of all people?”
Trivia swallowed hard, the memories from before sliding into place. Her fight with Pandora. The darkness creeping closer to Sol. Pandora threatening Midas’s life.
“I don’t know,” Trivia admitted. “I didn’t think, I just acted.
You had endured so much. I figured if I couldn’t live an uncursed life, then I wanted you to do it in my place.
You and I are the same, Midas. Both cursed.
Both willing to betray everyone we love to be free.
I wanted to believe in second chances, and if that meant you lived and I didn’t, then so be it. ”
Midas’s lips parted, his face slack with shock.
To Trivia’s surprise, Sol barked out a laugh, then turned to glance at Midas. “She’s got bigger balls than you do, uncle.”
Gaia snorted, then covered her mouth. Her expression cleared, but her lips twitched, betraying her amusement.
Trivia wanted to laugh, but her chest felt too tight, as if she couldn’t get enough air. Her body was… off. Like another person’s organs were inside her. Like her skin wasn’t the right size for her skeleton.
“How do you know Pandora’s box was destroyed?” she asked. “How do you know the darkness didn’t just flee somewhere else?”
Midas drew closer and withdrew a small object from his pocket. Trivia felt the blood drain from her face as she recognized the small black box. Unease and dread filled her.
“Oh my gods,” she breathed. She wanted to wriggle away from the cursed thing before it consumed them all.
But she felt no power emanating from it. It was… just an ordinary box now.
Still, she stared at it, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for the darkness and destruction to burst from it.
Nothing happened.
“I—I can’t believe it,” she whispered. “She’s really gone?”
“See for yourself,” Gaia said, gesturing to Trivia’s chest. “Can you sense her?”