[It would be naive to think that they’d be left alone for long. Obviously, everyone is here for a reason, the Summoned even moreso, given their connection to the Singularity. So it’s not a surprise, when the acolytes come for them. Aloy puts up a fight—it’s in her nature, but she’s quickly subdued given the supernatural forces that their captors are using.

Of course there’s an altar, and Aloy does everything in her power to not end up in front of it, but all of that is futile. It’s only after she’s fully bound and immobilized does she seem to realize there’s someone next to her.]

Don’t eat that thing.

[Aloy’s voice is steely, but there’s a waiver in it, like she doesn’t trust either herself or her similarly-unfortunate partner to resist whatever’s coming next.]

Don’t do what they tell you, it’s not worth it.

[If they’re going to die anyway, why would she do it giving them what they want?

[Aloy resists, though she isn’t sure how. She’s been subjected to a great deal of injury and trauma since the proving (which feels an entire lifetime ago, at this point), awakened screaming after nightmares, pushed herself through unimaginable pain, barely allowing herself any time to recover before getting up and starting again. It’s that determination that serves her well now, though when she spills back into the pit, she’s gasping and choking just like the rest.

Over the course of the next few days she suffers the consequences of her resistance while still trying to keep everyone else safe—an exercise in futility, at this point. There’s blood in her mouth and she’s barely keeping herself awake, but she has to try.

She will, however, sit when she needs it. She’s managed to get a hold of a cup of water, and though it’s tempting to down all of it, she manages a sip and then nudges the person closed to her, perhaps in the same boat.]

Here. You need this more than me.

[Debatable, at this point, but she feels so powerless otherwise.]

[Even suffering through the ritual and its aftershocks doesn’t deter her from trying to find a way out. Now, she’s even more determined to do so. It’s only a matter of time before things get worse, and she isn’t about to wait around for that to happen. They need to be planning an escape, and it needs to be happening quickly.

Without her full strength, she tries to find a defensible area and works on observing. It doesn’t take her long to realize that something has changed.]

Do you see that?

[Part of the wall, that she hadn’t noticed before. Strangely stable, unlike everything else.]