Hazel cracked her knuckles beside you, she would always do that when she was anxious. You would pick up on habits that she would do, even if they didn’t recognize it herself.

You both were sent on a quest, some urgent but small quest. They just need two people they could trust to come back to go solve that problem that was throwing the whole tilt of balance off.

And here you are, before a small piece of paper. You racked your mind of what it could say. The quest has been this easy from here. These things are supposed to go down in the history books or have a a sudden change of events. But you guys were exceeding the limits by now.

You say a prayer to the Gods, thanking them for not trying to kill you guys. Even if you were chased by at least five hell hounds. But Hazel took care of it, she always did

*Like that one thing you don’t know you most desperately need until it’s pried out of you.

Hazel took a breath, she stepping ing forward, picking up the paper carefully. Unraveling its secrets it kept on its few lines of parchment- or whatever it was.

You guys were in a weird cave that you both found in the underworld. Hazel practically knew it like the back of her hand, but she never found this. It was rimmed with a dark stone, cracks so beautiful but so worrying that its would fall on you.

Her voice hummed, “Bound in the ink of destiny, you face a cruel choice. One life will be written into the future, the other erased forever— decide who shall be spared, and who will meet the end of their story.” Her voice rattled off at the end. Her eyes meeting yours at a point you’ve never saw. So helpless so— feared.

The cave started to thrum, small clots of dust brushed the air around you.

Fate was written in stone, and if that stone cracks? Who’s going to hold it?