A force lifted him, and beneath him formed a seat full of plush pillows. The walls receded, revealing hundreds of souls. Most sat on cushions like his, while others hovered at the periphery of the broad, open space.
The man who had greeted him tucked his long blond hair behind his ears and smiled, like he had at the entrance. He sat in the lounger closest to Jesstin. “Healing you is beyond our capacity, I’m afraid, but Rivenholde is full of those who can. My name was Edmond. Mon, they called me, and you may as well, unless formalities are more to your preference.”
“Mon.” Jesstin’s belly pinched when he spat another mouthful of unknown gore. “Never did like formalities.”
“You don’t strike me as a man who would.” Mon smiled again. “You’re thinking this must be what happens to all those who challenge the labyrinth.”
Jesstin wasn’t, actually, because existing at all was a fully focused effort.
“Your pain is distracting you. It was so unnecessary, really.” Mon sighed sadly. “The others who come through can do nothing for us. They take the challenge with exceptional hubris, but you should hear how they beg and plead.”
Tittered laughter rippled around him. Jesstin coughed again. Morbid fucks.
“Most don’t last half as long as you,” Mon said.
“I just got here,” Jesstin said. He couldn’t open his eyes all the way. The pain was everywhere, though he didn’t think he was seriously injured.
“You’ve been here four hours,” Mon retorted. “Do you not recall taking one hundred and sixty-five turns?”
“One hundred and what?” He hadn’t been counting, but it couldn’t have been more than fifteen, twenty.
“Never mind time. You know it runs differently in the kingdom than Rivenholde, and it runs much differently in the Infinitum. But here, in the in-between, it finds itself... well, in between.” Mon laughed at his own joke. “You shouldn’t squander time you can’t quantify.”
“Then show me the exit, and I’ll happily get the hell out of here.” Jesstin was calmer than he’d been when he’d first landed on the magical pillows, and now he was wondering if the other challengers had been through the same test. If they’d been told the same things. If he was too stupid to see the trap.
“You are not stupid,” Mon said kindly. “And this isn’t a trap.”
“So what do you want? A friend?”
“Think of the time, Mon,” said a young woman to his left. “We’ve already ceded too much.”
Mon sighed. “Some of us were necromancers in our most recent lives, necromancers who were conscripted against our will by Ryquin, who subjugated us, mentally tortured us, and then sent us to the netherworld to do his bidding, knowing we were not strong enough or skilled enough. Neither he nor Acheron are good men. They both need Aelloven but for opposing purposes, and this conflict in intentions will lead to tragedy if you, Jesstin, fail to decide the outcome yourself.”
It took some effort, but Jesstin sat straighter. “Why do they want her?”
“We wasted so much time while you were fighting the labyrinth,” Mon said with a pointed glance at the woman to his left. “But I will tell you something Aelloven herself does not know but her brother, Gennady, does. Then you will know we are being truthful, and you will know we are not here to trick you, but to implore you.”
“To do what though?”
“Come to the netherworld, just as Ryquin asked.”
Jesstin uttered an unflattering sound. “Now you’re suggesting I give him what he wants?”
“You’re the only one who can come to Infinita Mori without dying. And you’re the only one who can leave while still living.” Mon’s shoulders softened. “You would not be giving him what he wants unless you do as he says.”
“Is he the one who cursed the netherworld?”
“That was another, many years ago. But Ryquin wants to make it permanent.”
“Can he?”
“We don’t know.” Mon’s mouth twisted to the side. “With your help? Perhaps.”
“Sounds like you don’t know much at all.”
They were all staring at him in hopeful anticipation. They almost looked innocent, but how many men and women had they lured to their deaths to prove a point? The little boy he’d asked about the maze was among them, but he was too tired to be surprised. He’d never seen such an elaborate and confusing manipulation.
“And if you don’t know, then why would I go to the netherworld?”
