Chương 78: Chapter 75-Chosen Truth

A bubble of water is around us. Well, technically, it's a bubble of air surrounded by the freezing lake. Yeah, if you want to get technical, that's right. I'd rather not be technical or literal. I like to be somewhere in the fuzzy line between reality and, well, not reality. What's the word for not reality? Anti-reality? No, that sounds wrong. Gods, this is going to bother me. What's the word?

"Hey, Penelope. What's the word for not reality?" I ask as her greatsword alights.

"What?" she asks with annoyance.

"You know the word that's opposite of what you're trying to say," I explain. Hopper unpacks his bow.

"An antonym?"

"What's that?" Penelope sighs.

"The word or phrase that is opposite in meaning to another word or phrase."

"Oh, yeah, that. What's the antonym of reality?"

"Fantasy, illusion, fiction, pick one and stop stalling," Penelope accuses as she points towards the entrance to the 9th floor.

"Stalling? Me? Never. Why would I even stall?" I [Lie].

"I think it's a compulsive tick or addiction. Basically, it's out of your conscious control. That sound about right?" Penelope asks with a sweet smile.

"No," I [Lie]. Hopper looks down the stairway.

"If the two of you are done, I'd like to see what's down there." Walking over to him, I grab him by the elbow and keep walking.

"Well, let's go, Penelope. What's taking you so long?" Penelope rolls her eyes as she follows suit. Hopper's bunny ears twitch as we go further in.

"Odd. I hear something big down there, but it really isn't moving." Penelope looks over with curiosity.

"Not moving? How do you hear it then?"

"Its body. It's made of stone or some sort of hard material. Even without moving, it's grating against the floor. Do you know of any creatures made of stone?" Hopper asks.

"Too many to count. Gargoyles, Golems, Earth Spiders, the list goes on and on," Penelope lists the various creatures I would rather never have to encounter.

"So, nothing good?" I ask.

"That's what I heard," Hopper jokes. The stairs eventually give way to a large rectangular room with pillars made of gold. At the- Gold? Is that gold? I rush over to the nearest pillar of gold and place my face right up against it. By the smell, I can tell this is pure gold. With a chunk of this I-"Charlatan. Get away from there," Penelope whisper-shouts from the stairway. Prying my eyes away from the gold, I see Penelope and Hopper crouching by the stairway. What's got them all tense?

"Why have you come to my domain?" A voice booms through the room. Slowly, I turn to see the rest of the room. At the end of the room lies a large stone lion with the head of a woman and the wings of an eagle. It looks down at me, waiting for an answer. Ok. Time to [Lie].

"I came in here to see if I could [Steal] some of this gold," I say.

"I see. Your greed knows no bounds," the creature says.

"Why did I say that? That wasn't what I was trying to say?" I ask out loud.

"You have entered the Chamber of Truth. No lies are permitted in this chamber. You must speak the truth," the creature explains. Fuck. Fuckity fuck fuck fuck. She must be lying. There's no way a room like that can-"What is your name, Vashrin?" the creature asks.

"Carlos Juárez, but most people call me CJ. I also have a long list of aliases that I've used for a wide variety of jobs. Some examples are Juan, Arturo, and Saul. I'm also known as The Chosen One, even though I'm n-" I slap my hand on my mouth, stopping myself from outing myself in front of Penelope and Hopper. Okay. The room does exactly what she said it does. That's not good. Underestimate. It's fucking disastrous. How in the hells am I supposed to tell the truth without outing myself? Think, CJ, think.

Penelope enters the room.

"Great Sphynx, would you please tell us your name?" she asks with a bow.

"I am Dolion. Who are you?" Dolion the Sphynx says with a bow.

"I am Penelope Sylvian, First Princess of the Nova Empire. I am honored to be in your presence, Great Sphynx. May I ask you a question?" she asks with her royal ways.

"You may."

"Are you The Dolion? The one who betrayed the Gods?" Penelope asks.

"I am the one and only Dolion," she says, sucking the warmth from the room. What in the hells are they talking about? Who's Dolion, and what does she have to do with the Gods? As I get lost in thought, Hopper slowly trudges his way over to us and into the room.

"Why are you here?" Penelope asks with a hint of confusion and curiosity.

"As penance, I have been placed here as a guard. What is your name?" Dolion asks Hopper.

"Hopper Lightfoot." Trial of Truth has started. Suddenly, the stairwell is closed off by metal gates, and three large stone walls rise behind us. Our names are etched into the stone along with three empty circles. What in the hells is that for? Dolion looks down at us, waiting for us to do something.

"What's happening?" I ask.

"You have started the Trial of Truth that takes place when you enter the 9th floor of The Chosen Dungeon and introduce yourself," Dolion answers. A large X fills in one of my empty circles, leaving me with two empty circles. That's unsettling to say the least. Did that fill in because I asked a question? What are the rules, and how do you win?

"How do you pass the trial?" Penelope asks.

"By satisfying the conditions of the trial," Dolion vaguely answers while one of Penelope's circles is filled with a large X.

"What's with the circles?" Hopper asks.

"They're X'ed out when you ask for a truth," Dolion yet again sidesteps the question. Penelope goes to ask a clarifying question, but I cut her off.

"You're fucking with us. I don't know why, but you're trying to get us to ask questions in order to fill out these circles behind us. My best guess is that you have something to gain from that, and we have something to lose. That means you're bound to the same rules as us. Which means you also have a wall with your name on it," I say as I look behind her to see four empty circles on a stone wall.

"Was that a question?" Dolion asks with a toothy smile.

"Nope, but that was," I answer as I watch my filled circle become empty again, and one of her empty circles fills back up. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"Asking for a truth costs you a circle and offering a truth gives you that circle back," Penelope explains out loud.

"That's correct," Dolion answers.

"Wait, how is that fair? I didn't ask a question," Penelope complains.

"You didn't. Which means you didn't lose a circle, but now you do," Dolion answers. Penelope's second circle fills up as she realizes the trap that she just walked into. This one is tricky. What exactly is the win condition? I can't ask Dolion, because she'll just say something vague. Which leaves me with only deduction. Circles that fill and unfill. A trial based on truth. A guardian who's trying to make us lose.

"Princess, why does the name Dolion sound familiar?" Hopper asks, filling in his second circle.

"Dolion was a coconspirator who helped Barinog in his betrayal against the Gods. Her betrayal was an example that even the Angels of the Gods could be turned against them. For the most part, her involvement isn't common knowledge like Barinog's due to the sensitive nature of an Angel betraying the Gods," Penelope answers, unfilling one of her circles. A devilish smile crosses my face.

"Penelope, do you find me handsome?"

"Yes, I do. As long as you're not talking that is… Charlatan! Forget that now!" she orders as her last circle unfills and my first one fills.

"Sorry, had to test something. Seems even personal opinions are considered the truth if you believe them to be true. That's interesting. Well, with that, I have a plan," I say as I sit down. Dolion paws at the ground as she scowls.

"You haven't been here for even an hour. You do not have a plan," she states.

"Oh, Dolion, that's where you're wrong. This is the Chamber of Truth. No lies can be told here. So, let me tell you again. I have a plan," I say with a devilish smile. Dolion shakes her head.

"What plan?"

"The plan I just came up with," I say as my circle empties and hers fills. Dolion growls as she stands from her perch.

"Insolent being, you dare use my own tricks against me?"

"Yeah, it seems like he does," Hopper answers, emptying his second circle and filling hers. Penelope nods.

"I understand. Charlatan, why do you lie all the time, even for the most mundane things?"

"Because it puts distance between me and everyone else. I don't want to grow attached so that it'll make things easier when I leave. Penelope!" I answer as one of Penelope's circles fills.

"It's only fair, Charlatan," she says with a sweet smile.

"Fine, but you know what you're doing, right?" I ask.

"Of course she does," Dolion answers, filling in my circle and emptying hers.

"Caught ya," I say with a devilish smile.

"Hopper, I'm the one who hid all of your socks at the start of the quarter," I say, the truth, destroying one of my empty circles.

"I spent weeks looking for them, CJ!" Hopper yells.

"What have you done?" Dolion asks.

"He did the plan," Hopper answers, emptying his last circle and filling hers. Surprisingly, things are going according to plan. As a novice game aficionado, I realised something important. Dolion has to get rid of all of her filled circles to win, and we need to fill all of her circles to win, which is what I assumed. After all, asking a question fills your circle, answering empties it. It doesn't matter if the question was intended for you or if it was rhetorical. All that matters is if you give an answer.

It's a perfect game for subterfuge and people like me. Which brings me to this question. Why is a Trial of Truth built around lying and scheming? It isn't. Dolion wants us to think it is.

"You never actually said what the win conditions were, did you?" I ask fully knowing what I'm doing. Dolion scowls.

"No, I didn't," she answers, filling one of my circles and emptying hers.

"So, that's how it is. Hopper, ask me something." Hopper looks between us before asking, "Weren't we supposed to not do that?" he says, filling his first circle and emptying one of mine.

"That's what she wanted us to think. A bit of reverse psychology. Try to trick us into filling her circles while we avoid filling ours. When in fact it's the exact opposite. This is a Trial of Truth after all. Tell the truth, Hopper," I explain.

"I secretly eat things other than carrots," he answers. Penelope and I look over in confusion as the filled-in circle is destroyed. That's… That doesn't feel right. Penelope nods.

"Ask a question, tell the truth without being asked a question, and repeat until you've lost all three circles. That's how you win," she explains.

"Just because you understand the rules of trial, doesn't mean you can pass it. After all, each truth needs to be a bigger truth than the last," Dolion says with a toothy smile.

"I'm subconscious about the muscle I'm gaining from my [Blessing]," Penelope says, destroying one of her circles.

"What's your favorite color?" I ask, filling my circle. Hopper answers, cutting off Dolion, "White."

"Where do you go in the middle of the night when I go to see Luna?" Hopper asks.

"I walk. It helps clear my mind," I answer, clearing my circle and filling Hopper's.

"Why do you wear that hairstyle?" I ask, filling my circle.

"It's stylish, and I can pull it off," Penelope says.

"How do you know how much is in my coin pouch?" Penelope asks, filling in her circle and clearing mine.

"I can tell because I [Steal] it every morning just for fun. I don't actually take any coins," I answer.

"You do what?"

"He steals it!" Hopper answers before Dolion can, filling his last circle.

"Tell the truth, and you win! Quickly!" I yell.

"I thought you and the Princess were courting, and I may have accidentally spread some rumors around. It was before we really got to know each other!" he defends himself as his second circle is destroyed. Penelope and I struggle not to ask a lot of things.

"Go on," Penelope says with an undertone of anger.

"What's the matter?" Dolion asks. Someone has to answer, and if it's Hopper, he'll lose his chance to win.

"Hopper's having a hard time thinking up a truth," I answer, filling her second-to-last circle. With panic in his eyes, Hopper yells, "I think I'm in love with Luna!" With that declaration, his final circle is destroyed, and he disappears. I'll have to unpack that later. Right now, we have to get out of here before Dolion can.

"My favorite food is stew," Dolion says, destroying her fourth circle.

"Penelope, ask a question, quickly!"

"Why do you call me Penelope?" she asks.

"Because when people call you Princess, you look like somebody stabbed you. A little less personal would be nice," I answer, filling her second circle.

"My first love was a lion named Wallace," Dolion says, destroying her third circle.

"I'm on the spot here. I'm scared of failing and never being able to amount to anything," she says, destroying her second circle.

"How can you tell when I'm [Lying]?" I ask, taking advantage of the situation.

"If I catch myself believing what you're saying, I automatically assume you're lying," she answers, filling my second circle.

"I blame myself for what happened to my mother," I say, shattering my second circle. Penelope looks stunned.

"Why are you The Chosen One?" she asks, being careful with her words.

"I would've died if I wasn't," I say, remembering the [System Contract] and the circumstances of that day. Penelope's final circle fills.

"I… I… I want to become the Empress," she says, shattering the last circle and then disappearing.

"I helped Barinog betray the Gods because I found it amusing, and I don't regret a single thing I did," Dolion says, shattering her second circle. My last empty circle stands behind me, and so does Dolions. All it takes is one question and then one truth. It's all a question of who's faster at asking the question. My heart hammers away as I break into a devilish smile.

"Are you The Chosen One?"

"Which one?"

"The current one," Dolion slams her paw on her face, realizing her mistake as my circle fills.

"I'm scared that sooner or later, my luck will run out and this charade will be over. I'm scared of what my friends will think when they find out I've been [Lying] to them the whole time. I'm scared they'll find out that underneath all the charm, I'm just an empty person with nothing to give them. I'm scared. I'm scared," I say as I watch the last circle shatter.

"It seems he was right," Dolion says before I'm teleported away. Congratulations, you've passed the Trial of Truth! +1 INT +1 CHA