It was not until both of them had caught the beast's attention did he turn his entire head down towards them, his voice booming over as he spoke, "What people see as value can differ quite dramatically." His voice alone demanded the presence of the scene as even the people trapped here were drawn towards it as the sphinx rose to his feet. "Many here hold gems and metals close to them as wondrous items, and yet not too long ago, we had one that preferred the property of flesh. However, those that understand the difference between value and greed can pass on by without much issue.

"I know why you two have come. You are not the first, and will most certainly not be the last. If you wish to leave, you must first join me up here." As if under his command, the wall below him rattled, shaking loose various coins, metal bricks, and gems before stopping, giving the surface area a climbable surface. However, at the same time, two panels cracked, causing lava to seep down around them. "You are free to keep what you wish to collect on your way up. I will not stop you."

Blinking at the event that had offered, Eden did not hesitate heading towards the wall and climbing up, but not even getting started did the tigerkin hesitate… pausing before stepping down once more, her eyes moving down to her massive weapon. There was no form of sheath for it, and there was never a need for one until now. And yet… she simply could not leave it down there. Especially not what was on it…

As the gilded beast thundered, she was holding her breath. The voice was so loud that it echoed in her ears, shaking her to her very core. While it addressed her and her beast-kin cohort, every soul in the circle looked to it with rapt attention. And no wonder–it indeed was the guardian. It said that as long as their understanding of value and greed was clear, they would be able to leave. The knot churning in her stomach loosened a bit, having expected something much more underhanded and sneaky. Part of her was relieved that they just needed to scale a wall and reach it at the top, but the other part was worried that there was something else the sphinx was conveniently omitting. They'd have to move fast and carefully if they wanted to avoid the lava before their climbing space was drastically diminished. All she had to do was to get up there.

Shiloh got a running start, then leaped onto the wall and started climbing like no tomorrow. Her focus was in overdrive, her eyesight locking onto the nearest handholds and her mind plotting possible alternative routes if her first options were duds. If there were any coins or gems near where she grabbed hold of to pull herself up higher, she swept them off onto the ground. She wasn't letting anything ruin her chances at success. Especially not a shiny piece of metal that could make her hands slip at an inopportune moment. The lava wasn't waiting for any one, and she wasn't either. She hadn't realized that Eden wasn't on the wall with her in her single-minded drive to reach the summit. There were only two things on her mind right now: the lava, and leaving for the next Circle of Infernos.

Just a little higher, she told herself. Soon she would almost be there. Beads of sweat were starting to form on her forehead underneath that mask of hers, and she was starting to feel the molten lava's heat the closer it came. She could do this, she had to. Failure was not an option. Psyching herself up she triggered a burst of adrenaline to push herself harder while it pumped through her veins. Everything else outside of her objective became a blur and even her sense of time became accelerated. It was probably her own imagination, but she could feel an invisible timer ticking away the seconds with each move she made.  

The two had very different results to the task before them. The Silent One was calm and patient, yet could not let go of what she had to proceed forward. Was it greed that had her cling to the object, or did its value shine more than being able to proceed? On the other hand, the Masked One took the challenge brashly, her eyes staring at its goal and nothing more. She did not care for anything else.

Not even the one she had just allied with.

With a glint from the sphinx's eyes, the brick the Masked One held upon was forced as she swung her arm out for her next handhold, slipping from her grasp. Knowing she would panic and hurry faster, the earth she would grasp for would shrink down into a flat surface, giving her no room to save herself, letting herself fall back to the bottom where the Silent One resided.

"As I have stated, Greed may take many forms. Not always does it take shape of a physical item. You have failed to see this," he spoke, eyes locked onto to Shiloh's. "Before one can face Greed, they must face Desire. Now tell me, what sacrifices did you make to fuel your Desire?"

Giving her time to think about the question, the Sphinx turned his head towards Eden. "As for you, you seem to be unable to let go of your possession. It seems you cannot abandon the idea of leaving the item behind, even if you possess the strength to be well without it, Do you hold onto it like some type of trophy, or is there more importance to holding onto it than meets the eye?"

Eden's eyes looked back up at his, listening to what it was saying before curling the thick edge into her arms and holding it into the air, as if something important was in the handle…. or underneath the guard.

"… I see…"

She hit the hard ground, but the fall wasn't what stung the most. The wall made what she had considered an impossible move, as the hand hold gave out from beneath her. Breathing heavily, Shiloh grit her teeth under her mask. She pushed herself off the coin-littered ground and forced her body to stand while the Sphinx looked down from above. Its words were condescending, accusatory. She was expecting that in the later circles, not here. As its words echoed in her mind, the last portion of its question dredged up an old memory. One that had almost been lost as time had passed. 

'You'er a strange little beastie fer a human, you know that?' It was early in the morning, and Unna had asked her to help fix the fishing rods for tomorrow. Compared to the mountain troll's large coarse hands, hers were as deft and small like a raccoon's. Threading the line through the holes back and forth, she looked up at her adoptive parent. 'How so?' Unna shook her head from side to side slowly as she carefully fastened a knot to keep the line from slipping. 'Some times you get so focused on doing something that you can't see anything else. Like an owl chasing a mouse.' Another tug put the knot in place as Shiloh finished up fixing Erra's fishing pole.'I thought staying focused on a task was a good thing.' Setting down her son Agur's pole against the wall when it was fully repaired, Unna gently lifted the three meter long pole cut from a fresh sapling last winter from the human girl's hands. 'Yes, that it be. But you'd be careful not to do that every time, or you'll miss what's right next to you. Remember to look at the world around you every once in a while.'

 As she relieved the memory, it hurt more than the Sphinx's words. There was something else about it that had made this one so important, more precious than life itself. "Now tell me, what sacrifices did you make to fuel your Desire?" Clenching her hands into fists until the knuckles turned white, she held her voice steady as she recalled how and why she had come into this world from her own. "…To keep what I held most dear to my heart, I told myself to never look back. For that desire, selfish or not–I gave up everything. Even my own life."  Pointing at the the creature perched above, she continued. "Don't think I make my choices all for my own sake. If I did, then I wouldn't have cared to enter the Circles for a chance to plead with the Harbinger of Death. Especially when the whole mess was spawned from the people's lack of judgment. The longer time passes the more people will die from those who drank the accursed vials. I only have one chance to try to plead my case with the goddess. I can't say that I'll be able to convince her, but if I don't make an attempt then my chances are zero." 

"You eyes…. they burn with conviction…" the sphinx admitted, listening to the Masked One's answer. "However, they should not turn blind to the world around you. If you can get around the obstacle  I have set before you, then I am sure the two of you may pass on to the next Circle. Just be sure to see what is right next to you…" Yes, the sphinx did peer a bit into her memory, but only to use it to help aid the Masked One. After all, his main goal was to see if they could get around their issues and develop. Who knows, it may even help their argument for the Mistress.

As the sphinx walked away and out of view from the cliff top, Eden headed back to the masked woman's side and place a hand on her shoulder. They both should have figured it would not be an easy task, considering the demons they had to get passed in the previous.

However, the woman still held her weapon cradled in her arm as she presented the weapon to the sphinx, with the handle now being pointed towards the other. If she had a careful eye, she would see a small collection of carvings underneath, as if letters…. forming a pattern of E D E N…

Taking deep breaths, she calmed herself down. The strain from remembering the past subsided, and the pain began to dull. Here she had thought she lacked human emotion, but it seemed the Circles had a mysterious way of drawing out the best and worst in people. It was a small comfort in a way; it meant she was 'normal'. The inner turbulence died down, and she turned to look when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was the beast-woman…the person she had ignored in her single-minded attempt to scale the wall. Shiloh was expecting disappointment, annoyance, disdain–even the expression of having been betrayed. But to her surprise…that woman didn't have any of those emotions at all. 

"Why aren't you angry at me? I almost left you behind." Even though she didn't expect an answer, Shiloh kept talking to speak her mind. "I don't understand. In this situation, you have every right to be upset. That's how people usually react. …I guess you probably knew it wouldn't change anything even if you did. You're smarter than what people say about you, you know?" She didn't speak so freely around other people, but maybe it was because her partner-in-arms wasn't a human. It was always easier to talk when she was with non-humans. The other woman had the great metal weapon in her hand, something that was important in a secret sense to the owner alone. A memento, or a keepsake? As she looked, her eyes made out a group of etchings forming what resembled letters, reading 'EDEN'. "E-d-e-n… 'Eden'. So is that your name? I'm Shiloh. Glad to work with you, again."

Now her attention returned to the wall. With new knowledge of the properties of the wall itself, her gaze panned over it more slowly. The lava she had previously been so anxious about was stationary from where it was. They both had to reach the top, with the large metal beam included. For both of them getting up would be easy, but the problem lay in how to bring the other's weapon along. There was no way she could help carry it, and climbing needed two hands. "Hey, is there a way for you to tie your weapon to yourself? You're the only one who can even lift it off the ground, so even if I tried using a pulley system it wouldn't do much good." Thinking, she began rummaging through her knapsack. Producing a rope with a grappling hook attached to it, it was all she had in terms of securing anything to one's person. "…I have this. Will it work?"

Whether Eden stayed because of trust or ignorance, it would not be a topic that could be easily discussed. However, hearing the other speak her name, she nodded to confirm it, making a small note that it did get off the same impression as when it was around her neck… Sure, Rhea proved that as well, but she didn't honestly know what she was mimicking back then. Now, she knew her name could be easily shared at the underneath of her name. How else would she share such words otherwise? Still, at the very least, the other introduced herself as Shiloh, leading Eden to point back and forth between each other, as if her way of establishing the names. A strange habit she was working on…

When Eden heard Shiloh ask her question, she looked over, tilting her head. Her weapon was one that never had a sheath in the past. Then again, what it had for a blade was the dullest one imaginable. If anything, it was more of a place to focus the item's weigh for its cutting damage, and most of the time, it was crushing… Still, it was not like she had never seen a weapon this size being carried unarmed. Seeing Shiloh pull out the rope, she went and holstered her weapon along her back, looking at both tips…. It could be tied there to open her hands…

But the issue was the rope itself against the blade…. If she couldn't concentrate its edge down on the rope, it would be harder to cut… right? Taking the rope as is, she laid it upon the ground before setting the weapon on top on it, blade tip in the air. However, before anything else, she removed the top portion of her kimono and meshed it against the edge, baring a bit more of her arms before fussing with the rope.

Now how did people get these to hold stuff?

Shiloh watched as Eden took her grappling hook and then put it on the ground, trying to do…something with it. She then removed the upper portion of her clothes which made Shiloh even more confused. If her mask wasn't on it would be clear she was making a face with a raised eyebrow observing quizzically. Was she…trying to secure it to her person? That had to be it right? "…Uh. I don't think you need to make it so difficult. Here, I'll show you." Crouching down she took the grappling hook with its rope, then began looping it around and under the hilt. With the remaining length of the rope she in turn looped the ends beneath her arms, crossing behind at the back, then coming back around the waist where she tied the rope's end with the hook. In her demonstration she tried to stand, but the sheer weight of the weapon wasn't letting that happen any time soon. 

"Urk! …Nope, still too heavy. Anyway, try tying it like this. If you want, I can help you." She pointed towards the makeshift harness she had made on herself, and then pointed to Eden. Untying the rope, she laid it back on the ground before catching her breath. Good lord, just trying to move it made her winded. If she had managed to stand upright with it she was sure it'd break her spine like a brick on a twig.