"Here, have the rose as a symbol of my honesty and candor."
Mind approached the goddess. She was dressed in a crimson double slit tight dress, adorned with white roses. Her hair was braided in a bun, her lips nude, and her cheeks red. Heels were on, high and shiny. Men would fall before her beauty. But it wasn't a beauty Mind admired. The Goddess was lustful, and nothing good emerges from Lust. Philotes had her arm extended, offering the rose. Mind approached even more and took a look at the rose. It was fragile, red, and perfect. Too perfect maybe. Nonetheless, he took it. But the moment he did, something changed. The air suddenly felt arid. The atmosphere dropped. Mind felt he was choking on his breath.
"Oh you must be feeling the changes. Don't worry, it's not poison, it's a protection against intruders," whispered Philotes. With a flick of a finger, everything went back to normal.
"As for your part of the bargain, here it goes;"
I am the daughter of May, mother of the day, killer of the night.
I shine in darkness and disappear in sunlight.
I am never dark. If you see me in darkness, know that I'm not real.
I lead armies into war. My body kills.
Mind felt confused at first. The riddle was of high dosage. And he didn't think he could guess it in a short amount of time. Philotes walked down a straight line, murmuring something underneath her breath. She rested the palette on the pillar, turned at Mind, smiled, kissed him and disappeared.
That's where the kiss hit him. The beginning of the end. The walls started closing in on him. Mind had to act fast, and correctly, because he only had limited tries. But where to start from?
"Alright let's see, mother of day and killer of the night, it might be Light. It also works well with I shine in darkness and disappear in sunlight. And light is never dark as well. Alright. My answer is Light."
The pentagon lit up red, and the walls didn't stop. If this wasn't a sign that the answer was wrong, I don't know what would be.
"What about Fire? It starts all wars and its body kills a lot. FIRE."
Again, the pentagon lit up error red. Mind was now desperate. He was running out of answers and work under pressure wasn't his thing. He sat down on the floor, closed his eyes and eyed the pillar. It was glowing crimson. Maybe that's going to be the color of my blood when those walls crush me. Mind laid out all his possessions, like someone admiring life for the last time before dying. A hexagon, a triangle, a diamond, a gold ore and now a rose. The rose felt so real between all three artifacts.
"Wait. A rose blooms in May, it appears in the day, and it radiates in the night! No one notices roses in the day because they're very common. And a rose can never be naturally black, or dark, that's why it's never a real one. Roses do lead armies into wars too!. Roses are a symbol for love, and love spawns wars. And YES! Body kills, because often, roses were used to poison with thorns. ROSES. THE ANSWER IS ROSES!"
The pentagon lit up white. The walls stopped moving. The riddle was solved after all. Mind was still on the floor. But he couldn't get up. He literally couldn't get up.
Mind was paralyzed in his place. That's when Philotes came in storming. But she wasn't alone. Behind her, stood a very familiar visage.
"Salutations, son."