A spiral stone staircase twisted downward, descending into the lake's depths. The light of dawn faded behind him, replaced by the warm green flames flickering atop the sparsely placed sconces that lined the narrow passage.

  Zephyr: "We are close now, but be warned -- our souls are not the only ones wandering this place."

  Virno's steps did not falter.

  Zephyr: "Soon, the voices of the others will grow so deafening that any communication between us will become nearly impossible. Even hearing your own thoughts will be difficult. The past bearers will cry out in pain, warning you of their eternal plight, begging you to turn back... but needless to say, that will not be an option."

  The torches cast eerie shadows across the stone walls.

  Zephyr: "No matter how loud their pleas or how desperate your desire to escape -- I will not let you go."

  Virno: "Save it, Greed. I'm only leaving here when the sword is mine."

  Zephyr's laughter echoed inside his mind.

  Zephyr: "Good... Let's see if your determination remains unwavering once you enter the Swordhall."

  Minutes stretched. Five. Ten. Fifteen. The descent felt endless. The only sounds were the rhythmic fall of Virno's boots and the occasional flicker of torchlight against damp stone. But then --

  A whisper.

  ???: "... Leave... leave...!"

  Virno's pace slowed.

  With every step, the whispers multiplied. What had started as a faint, distant murmur swelled into a cacophony -- like the roar of an unseen crowd. And then --

  Past Bearers: "THE SHORT-LIVED TRIUMPHS OF YOUR BRIEF LIFE WILL NEVER OUTWEIGH THE COST OF ETERNAL SLAVERY. YOU ARE A FOOL TO SACRIFICE YOUR SOUL FOR SO LITTLE..."

  Virno clenched his jaw.

  Virno: "... Shut up."

  At last, he reached the bottom.

  An ancient stone archway stood before him, the gateway to a vast, dimly lit hall. At its far end, upon a crumbling pedestal, lay the sword. Though dormant, its presence was suffocating -- like a sleeping beast waiting to be roused. The ground between them was littered with dry bones and the long-decayed remains of those who had come before.

  Virno shut his eyes.

  His divine sight pierced the veil of death, revealing the writhing mass of souls lingering in the chamber -- hundreds, perhaps thousands, bound in eternal torment.

  And their screams --

  They had reached their peak.

  Past Bearers: "YOUR TIME ON THIS WORLD IS BUT A MINUSCULE DROP IN THE OCEAN OF FOREVER. BEFORE LONG, YOU WILL FORGET EVEN YOUR NAME. EVEN YOUR FACE. EVEN YOUR DEEDS. ALL YOU ACHIEVE NOW WILL BE BUT A DISTANT MEMORY, AND GIVEN ENOUGH TIME --EVEN THAT WILL FADE!"

  Virno: "SHUT UP!"

  The walls trembled with the force of his voice, but the spirits did not cease.

  Unyielding, Virno strode forward.

  And with every step, hands -- countless hands -- reached from the ground, ceiling and all around.

  They were clawing at him, gripping his arms, his legs, trying to drag him back.

  Past Bearers: "HE WHO WIELDS THE BLADE OF VICTORY LIVES AN AFTERLIFE OF DEFEAT. HE WHO BEARS THE SWORD OF GREED SHALL SUCCUMB TO THAT VERY SIN. MOTIVES, IRRELEVANT. INTENTIONS, WORTHLESS. TO SEEK IT IS, ITSELF, AN OFFENSE OF THE HIGHEST ORDER. TO GRASP IT IS TO SPIT IN THE FACE OF YOUR ANCESTORS."

  Virno stopped.

  For the first time, he turned his full attention to them.

  Virno: "AND...?!"

  The ghosts froze.

  Virno: "HAVE YOU NOT DONE AS I HAVE?! HAVE YOU NOT OFFENDED AND SPAT ON THEIR FACES, TOO?! YOU THINK YOU CAN LECTURE ME WHEN YOU WERE NO WISER THAN I?!"

  The spirits swarmed, coiling around him like mist, tightening their grip.

  Past Bearers: "HEED OUR WISDOM. CAST ASIDE YOUR ARROGANCE, FOR YOU HAVE EXISTED BUT A SHORT BREATH. WE HAVE BEEN FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS. WE WILL CONTINUE TO BE UNTIL THE VESSEL IS SATED. THEN, ONLY THEN, WILL WE BE FREE. WHEN ITS SHACKLES ARE BROKEN AND THE GOD OF WIND TAKES REVENGE UPON THIS WORLD, THEN WE WILL BE FREE. BUT WITH THAT FREEDOM -- WILL COME THE OBLITERATION OF ALL WE HAVE EVER KNOWN."

  The spirits pressed against him, their voices deafening.

  Past Bearers: "TURN BACK... LET IT STARVE. CARRY THE BURDEN OF ITS CURSE UNTIL THE DAY YOU DIE, AND IN DOING SO, HONOR THE FEW WHO WERE NOBLE ENOUGH TO DO THE SAME BEFORE YOU. HONOR YOUR FATHER, PROTECT OUR WORLD AS HE DID. DO NOT BRING IT ANY CLOSER TO RUIN -- DO NOT BECOME LIKE US...!"

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  Virno chuckled. A slow, mocking laugh.

  Then he spread his hands, palms facing downward.

  A smirk curled his lips.

  Virno: "'Honor my father'...? Bring the world closer to ruin? Oh, you old husks have no idea what I plan to do..."

  The air shifted.

  The sconces flickered violently.

  The ground beneath him rumbled.

  Virno: "Now step... ASIDE!"

  He dropped to one knee, slamming his palms onto the stone floor.

  Virno: "VENTUS, TIBI PRAECIPIO...!"

  The hall shook. The torches sputtered.

  Dust rained from above as the spirits shrieked in alarm.

  Past Bearers: "HE WIELDS IT ALREADY...! PAWN OF THE FALLEN GOD! TRAITOR! YOU COMMAND POWER THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN!"

  Then --

  Zephyr: "STOP! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU WILL DESTROY THE HALL!"

  Virno grinned as he continued the incantation, his eyes flaring green as Zephyr wrestled for control.

  Virno:"RATTLE THESE OLDEN WALLS, TEAR DOWN THESE ANCIENT HALLS...!"

  The Swordhall trembled, fractures splitting through its ancient stone. Chunks of the floor crumbled, plunging into the endless pit below.

  Zephyr's grip tightened around Virno's body, his presence crashing down like a tidal wave. The young man gasped as his limbs seized, his voice nearly strangled before he could speak the final words --

  Virno: "F-FACT... UT... IMPERO...!"

  A thunderous crack split the air.

  Its foundations shattered.

  The hall was collapsing.

  Walls crumbled, tumbling sideways into the abyss, dragging centuries of decay into oblivion. The spirits of the past poured from the cracks, shrieking as they plummeted down the bottomless chasm, their spectral forms swallowed by its darkness.

  At the center of it all -- the pedestal split in two.

  And the sword fell.

  Zephyr's roar echoed through Virno's chords.

  Zephyr: "NO...!"

  The blade, once dormant in its patient slumber, tumbled into the abyss, vanishing amidst the rain of shattered stone.

  But Zephyr would not let it escape.

  Now in freefall, he instantly reached into Virno's pocket. Zephyr seized the last pieces of scrap metal and flung them at the falling blade, bending the wind to twist their trajectory -- striking the sword from behind, nudging it closer.

  But Virno's body was weak.

  The magic faltered.

  Some shards missed their mark, swallowed by the void.

  Virno: "Do you think I'm stupid, Greed...?"

  Shackled before the obelisk, his spirit-self grinned -- ear-to-ear, the same smile he wore when first stepping into the ruins.

  Virno: "Ever since you locked me here, I felt it. The blade rested above the cradle all this time. But now..."

  He lifted his head, watching debris and lost souls plummet through the endless space above the cradle.

  Virno: "Now it will rest there no more. Whoever seeks the sword will have to descend into the cradle itself to claim it... if they survive the fall."

  Zephyr laughed.

  A low, reverberating chuckle, growing into a full, delighted cackle.

  Zephyr: "You truly are amusing, Virno von Virtus...! Cast the blade into the deepest lake, or cast it into the depths of the cradle -- it matters not."

  Zephyr watched as the blade plummeted farther and farther.

  Zephyr: "The hands of the last wielder will always ensure that the blade finds its way back. No matter where it falls... one day, it will be found again. You have gained *nothing* with this little stunt."

  Virno's body shuddered as Zephyr pulled the last card from his deck.

  No more scraps.

  No more hesitation.

  Divine power surged through him.

  With a roar, Zephyr launched Virno's body through the air, channeling all of his might into a single, explosive push. The air itself cracked with the force -- propelling him toward the falling sword like a missile.

  His skin seared.

  His muscles tore.

  His body ruptured under the strain.

  Virno: "Even so... That's not the only reason I brought the sword down here."

  A flicker of amusement passed through Zephyr's stolen expression.

  Zephyr: "Oh...?"

  The blade was within reach.

  Zephyr's fingers closed around the hilt in midair, and at his touch, the sword ignited. A blinding green radiance burst forth, illuminating the cradle like a lighthouse cutting through the infinite black.

  Below, the entirety of the cradle was bathed in its glow, and the souls of past wielders -- were ripped from the air, sucked into the sword's famished core.

  Their screams faded into silence.

  Virno's spirit remained shackled before the obelisk, his lips curling into a knowing smirk.

  Virno: "This obelisk... this whole place. It was created by the gods, wasn't it? You included. If the sword's power is as great as I have seen it is... Then I can think of no better testing grounds."

  Although Zephyr had celebrated finally seizing the sword, his expression soured at Virno's words.

  Zephyr: "You have no idea what you're saying... Don't be foolish!"

  Virno's spirit flickered, his body was calling him back -- the sword had started slowly pulling Zephyr's soul into it.

  Virno: "Don't I...? Maybe I don't. Maybe I'll accomplish nothing. Or maybe --"

  The pull tightened, reality snapping him back into himself.

  His fingers clenched -- and he felt it.

  A handle, perfectly fitted to his palm.

  As if it had always belonged there.

  As if it had been made for him.

  Virno: "Maybe I'll make the earth above collapse into the cradle, exposing the very fabric of creation for all to see. But especially..."

  Zephyr: "You will plunge your world into chaos...!"

  Virno: "... I will destroy the obelisk that encodes the very rules of the world. I will undo creation as the gods envisioned it... as you envisioned it."

  Zephyr screamed.

  Zephyr: "NO!!!"

  The blade pulsed.

  With a tightened grip, Virno amplified its pull -- widening the radius, ripping more souls from their tormented descent, consuming them whole.

  Virno: "What's the matter, Greed...? Is this not what you wanted? To destroy what you once created?"

  Zephyr: "CRUDE BRUTE...! IT IS MINE TO DESTROY, NOT YOURS!"

  Virno gritted his teeth.

  With each soul sucked into the blade, the wailing of past wielders faded more and more, their voices no longer polluting the quiet of the Cradle.

  Zephyr still desperately clawed at Virno's mind.

  However...

  ... Virno felt it.

  The god's hold was breaking -- he too, was being absorbed.

  His body was becoming truly his own once more.

  Zephyr's fading voice twisted in rage.

  Zephyr: "INSOLENT MORTAL...! TRAITOR TO YOUR OWN KIND! YOU WILL NOT ROB ME OF MY VENGEANCE! YOU WILL DIE LONG BEFORE YOU ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING...! IN YOUR IGNORANCE, YOU -- "

  Virno: "Silence."

  With a surge of power, he raised the sword high overhead -- pouring every drop of power into it.

  The blade howled.

  Zephyr's form, wretched and ethereal, was ripped from Virno's body, dragged screaming into the weapon's core.

  Bound.

  Sealed.

  A prisoner once more.

  The Sword of Greed -- for the first time in centuries -- was whole again.

  It hummed in Virno's grasp, energy coiling along its edges, begging to be swung.

  Virno: "I refuse to become just another wielder, Greed."

  The glow of his sigils burned brighter.

  Virno: "Whatever it takes... I will make sure I am the last."

  His fingers tightened around the hilt.

  Virno: "And I will make sure that the title of fallen god... is the last one you ever attain."