Phaedra looks down and finds a menacing sight beneath the surface of the sea. Sea ghosts lit with Cheth’s characteristic red crowd beneath her in the shape of a great beast with a gaping jaw armed with innumerable sharp teeth.
Phaedra: You.. What did you do to us?!
Cheth: Exactly what you asked me to do, girl. Your life has been restored! Thing is- My sister only allows me to bring back one life after a victory… not five. Shoot, I really should have mentioned that, shouldn’t I?
Phaedra’s blue features are lit with the red light shining up from the sea. She listens, dismayed, as Cheth explains how her wish has been fulfilled and foiled in one fell swoop.
Cheth: So I have split your soul five ways- each of your friends has received a small fraction of your own life energy. But a human body can’t function with only a fifth of a soul. So, in spite of your lucky victory, you are still very much dead.
Phaedra puzzles through that thoughtfully, then throws up her hands.
Phaedra: What? But I- no… This has to be a joke. You can’t do that!
The god rises from the sea and their twin avatars, the matching man and woman, grin at Phaedra over her shoulders. They have far too many teeth in their mouths, just as the shape in the water did. Phaedra’s face is caught in the dawning realization that she has been royally tricked.
Cheth: Ooh, I’m afraid I can. See, if you were a little more selfish, you could’ve gotten away with your full life… But such is the high cost of generosity and friendship.
