Where am I?

  Ekon scanned the room as he stirred from the rough wooden bed. At the first glance, it looked identical to the interior of Mandra’s hut, the temporary dwelling she had set up in the woods near Daelin. Everything appeared the same, and yet, something was... off. He couldn’t put it into words, but there was a subtle wrongness about the place that set his nerves on edge.

  His gaze drifted to the chair by the window, where Mandra usually sat. But she was not there. Instead, someone else was occupying that space.

  Someone he did not recognize.

  An unfamiliar woman in a pristine white gown, teasing the eye with its near-transparent fabric that hinted at the contours beneath. Her hair was red and voluminous, bright as a firebrand, tumbling over her shoulders and framing her face in wild, fiery waves. Her eyes were blue and frosty, fixed on him, a playful glint dancing in their depths. Her lips curved into a smile, as though she was thoroughly entertained by his confusion.

  This was the first time he had seen this woman, but somehow, he instantly knew who she was.

  “Anastraza?”

  She giggled. “Oh, my dear Ekon. One look was all it took for you to recognize your mistress? That makes me so happy.”

  His frown deepened. “How the hell did you get here? Where’s Mandra?”

  She pouted in mock disappointment. “Please, don’t be so boring. Surely you should have realized by now that this isn’t the real world, right?”

  “What?”

  The woman’s eyes glittered as she waved a hand toward the window. Gemstones of different colors caught the light, flashing on her long, pale fingers.

  And that was when he noticed it.

  The sky was wrong.

  What?

  He leapt from the bed, heart pounding in his chest. He pressed himself close to the pane and craned his neck, trying to make sense of the impossible.

  It wasn’t sky at all. It was water. A great, upside-down sea, suspended over his head, rippling endlessly.

  And there, caught in the surreal waves, a dark sphere floated. A black sun, devouring the light around it. The water did not touch the sphere. Instead, it circled it like a whirlpool. And near that black sun, there was a faint, blinking dot. What is it? he wondered. A star?

  “Where the hell am I?”

  “The Realm Beyond,” Anastraza said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the universe. “As opposed to the Realm Within. You know, the physical world, the Reality.” She tilted her head. “I thought talking to you as a voice in your head might be a bit inconvenient. So I pulled you here, so that we could have a proper, face-to-face conversation.”

  “You pulled me here?”

  “To be exact, I brought your soul—no, your spirit—here. Calling it your soul might make it sound like you’re dead. But you’re not. Your body is still in the real world, sleeping.” She gave a teasing smile. “Consider this a dream. Well, in a way, it is.”

  A dream, huh? Ekon glanced around the familiar interior. The walls, the low ceiling, the uneven planks underfoot.

  “Did you create all these?”

  “This dirty hut?” Anastraza laughed softly. “No, it’s not me. It’s your own mind that conjured it.”

  “How?”

  “Well, this is your haven. Your sanctuary within this spirit world,” the woman said, her tone dripping with condescension, as if she were explaining a basic truth to a particularly slow-minded student. “A safe place that protects you from the denizens of the Realm Beyond. Well, mostly. A determined attacker could still breach it if they are strong enough, but this is as safe as you can get here. Everyone has one—their haven. Their mind recreates it from a location they know in the real world. A place they hold dear. A place where they feel at peace.”

  As he remained silent, she glanced at him sidelong.

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  “Any more questions?”

  He pointed at the window. “What is that black sun?”

  “That?” She turned casually toward the impossible sky. “That’s Oblivion. The end of all living things. Every soul eventually goes there. And usually,” she said with a smile, “they don’t come back.”

  Oblivion? That sphere was oblivion? The final destination? Ekon swallowed hard. The concept was something that he vaguely understood, but he had never imagined that it was a physical thing he could point his finger at. Though, considering that this place was the spirit world, “physical” might not be the right word to use.

  “It’s also the source of death magic,” Anastraza continued. “Remember the undead you fought in that dungeon? They were empowered by it.”

  Is that so.

  “And what’s the blinking dot next to it?” Ekon asked.

  “The abandoned palace of the God of Death. He used to reside there. To tame Oblivion.”

  “Used to?” Ekon arched an eyebrow. “Why is it abandoned?”

  “Poor Ossa-Irith,” Anastraza said with a chuckle. “Too many people undermined his Authority, both his fellow gods and the upstart Ascendants, so he had attempted a ritual to cement his place as the True Master of Death. And guess what, before it could even bear fruit, that little project had produced yet another Ascendant. The most powerful one that has ever existed, in fact. Now there are two Gods of Death. And neither of them can fully control Oblivion.”

  Ekon stood where he was, his mind reeling. The weight of the knowledge pressed down on him, heavy and unwelcome. He had never imagined there would come a day he learned something like this. And he couldn’t tell whether it was a gift, or a curse he would carry for the rest of his life.

  “Have you done with your questions?” Anastraza asked, resting casually against the back of the chair. “Then we can move on to the real reason I brought you here. Tell me, what is the progress of the task I gave you?”

  “You mean... uncovering the identity of the Dungeon Master?”

  “Is there anything else?” The woman raised a delicate brow, looking at him as though he had just uttered something profoundly stupid.

  “I’m working on it. Gathering every bit of information I can get about the dungeon. But honestly, I have no idea how any of that is supposed to help me find the Dungeon Master.”

  Anastraza’s laugh was soft, almost musical. She rose from her seat and began to pace the room, her bare feet making no sound against the wooden floor.

  “If it were easy,” she said, “I wouldn’t have burdened you with it.”

  She stopped right in front of him, close enough for him to catch the scent of something floral. Her icy blue eyes locked onto his.

  “But I’ll be kind, so here is a hint. Look into those who first found the dungeon.”

  Ekon furrowed his brow. “Why?”

  “Use your brain,” Anastraza said, letting her fingers brush lightly against his chest. “If there’s a Dungeon Master, do you really think people just stumble over his dungeon by accident? Of course not. It’s found when its master allows it to be found.”

  “I see.” Ekon nodded slowly. “I heard the dungeon was discovered by a party from Beryn. On their very first day in Daelin.”

  “Oh, how delightfully coincident.” Anastraza giggled. “Sounds like you’ve just found where to start digging next.”

  “I’ll try to get close to them, but... it could be difficult. I heard that party hasn’t done anything for a while. They don’t go to the dungeon, and they don’t go to the Guild. They’re still in town, though. So I can find them. But there’s another problem. My party isn’t exactly welcome in Daelin anymore. After what happened in the dungeon... after their deaths... everyone regards us with suspicion. I can still manage, but it might take time.”

  “Then take your time, Ekon. No need to rush. Of course, I’m not telling you to dawdle, but prudence is always the best course.”

  Suddenly, Ekon noticed something strange. A ripple was running through Anastraza’s body. No, not just her. The whole room seemed to start wobbling.

  “Looks like time is up,” she said, her voice still silky yet tinged with disappointment. “Fine, then. I’ll send you back to your woman.”

  She lifted her hand, but froze mid-motion, as though something had caught her attention.

  “Is there anything else happening in town lately?” she asked, her playful mask suddenly gone. Her delicate brow furrowed, her blue eyes sharpened. “Anything important.”

  Ekon blinked, startled by her sudden seriousness. “Important, huh?” He rubbed his chin, thinking. “The town has set up an outpost on the other bank of the river, near the ruins. I heard it’s to counter the plan of the Guildmaster of Iskora, who wants to establish a new settlement on top of the old capital city.”

  “Someone trying to rebuild Voskryn?”

  “Yes.”

  She stared at the floor for a long moment. “That must cost a lot of money,” she murmured.

  Money? Of all things, that was what she was fixated on? He had always imagined such concerns were beneath her.

  “So... that’s... why those... guys... are coming...” Anastraza’s voice faltered, splintering into broken syllables.

  Around Ekon, the world began to warp. The walls, the floor, the ceiling, everything rippled like liquid, shapes and colors twisting into impossible angles.

  The distorted Anastraza turned to him, multiple fragments of her eyes locked onto his. “Beware... Ekon... beware of...”

  Then she, and everything else, shattered. Ekon screamed as shards of color and light exploded in every direction, impossible geometries spinning in his vision.

  “What’s the matter?” came a familiar voice.

  Huh?

  The chaos dissolved, and he found himself somewhere else. Or rather, he had been back where he had started.

  A familiar room slowly came into focus. Wooden bed was under him, blanket half-draped across, probably pushed away when he had sat up. And beside him, the warmth of another presence. Mandra was leaning close, her raven hair loose over her shoulder, concern etched into her tattooed face.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked again.

  “Nothing,” he said quickly. “Just a nightmare.”

  He let himself sink back into the bed, into her soft, reassuring arms, but his mind couldn’t settle. The strange conversation in the Realm Beyond clawed at him, especially those last words. That woman’s last warning.

  What did she say?

  He forced his brain to work, straining to piece those words back together...

  “Beware, Ekon,” she had said. “Beware of the Valiant Bank.”