Page 32 of Incarnate

The temperature drops in stages, each threshold colder than the last, until my breath comes out visible and my fingers ache from being unable to move them underneath the cloak for warmth.

At some point, I’m aware that my jaw is utterly clenched, biting my lip. “How many times have you been here?" I quietly ask, not able to take the silence any longer.

"Enough to know when to leave. Which we will do so if the slightest bit of concern is present.”

“Unless you leave me as an offering or something?” My tone is bitterly laced.

Her sharp laugh echoes on the walls. “Firstly, I’d never do that to you. Secondly, if I do that, Penelope, then our Realm will certainly die. As an ocean deity to a pantheon on an island, your energy surrounds us and acts as its first defense. Remove that, and we’re all utterly doomed. If Margaret hadn’t appeared, or if he hadn’t worked out your name, we could have let this sit longer with you. But I don’t want to wait another month until one of these gatherings. Taking control over you right now is out of necessity, not because it’s what I want.”

“What guarantee is there that they’ll help us? Don’t they want to destroy us?”

“The rest of us have agreed that we will surrender the island if they let us properly transition.”

I grunt. “That sounds like capitulating.”

“We’re dying, and trying to preserve ourselves. It’s up to the other pantheons now to defend these Realms. Not our responsibility anymore, to which I’m fucking relieved, honestly. I’m tired… Anyway, they’ve agreed to it, because it strengthens their claim over the island.”

“And if. It. Doesn’t. Work?” I ask, as if this is a glaring error she hasn’t processed.

“Nara told me that she couldn’t live her life knowing she didn’t try everything within her power, so what I’m doing now is honoring a friend’s wishes while she can’t advocate for herself.”

I stop arguing with her because it honestly feels like a waste of breath. The wrongness down here is physical, a pressure behind my eyes. All I can do is hope that she means what she’s saying, and if not… then, hopefully, this is all truly a terrible dream.

Maybe my panic is on delay, or something.

It’s not long before the corridor widens and grows in height, with a wooden double door at the end that torches illuminate. As we approach, they open without any slowing down of Judica.

Bright firelight makes me wince, and the orb guiding us disappears back into nothing. We emerge into an incredible gathering space. The ceiling is cathedral-sized, with massive candle chandeliers hanging down. Dozens of figures gather in a circle. Nearly all are wearing a bright orange robe, and a few have waxy skin and strange proportions.

And in the center of the cavern, there is a pit.

A perfect circle of absolute darkness, perhaps thirty feet across. It’s like staring into a place where existence simply stops. My eyes refuse to settle on it; they keep sliding off the edges, as if my vision is trying to protect me from understanding what I'm looking at.

A shimmering barrier surrounds the pit, maintained by figures standing at intervals with their arms extended, hands trembling with the effort.

"Don't get close to that," Judica murmurs, guiding me to the shadows along the far wall. "It’s the Void, and to slip into it without protection removes your soul completely. They call that Sundering."

“How does Kallúm not know about this?” I ask, thinking of the ring on my pinky finger. The one I feel called to remove, if only I were in control of my body.

She glances at me. “Only those of authority from other Realms can penetrate this layer of the Underworld, if you’re not of the Godless. Kallúm would have to come here himself to find it.”

“Then what about you?”

“I am from our Realm, Penelope. Just as your soul is still attached to its goddess form. We both harness authority.”

“What are you even a god, or goddess, of?”

“Trickery, deception, chaos. We got along because the ocean, at its core, is chaos.”

Oh that’s just great. I’m following a deity of deception. Perfect. This isn’t bad at all. “And those that are here?” I ask, looking at the others in the distance. There are far too many for them to all be deities. “Are they all just of the Godless?”

“The Godless have managed to give their followers tattoos on the soles of their feet. They are becoming masterful at altering the realities.” She stares at me as we stand behind many, lingering on the outskirts among others who watch. “It’s what happened to our world.”

“And what do we do here, exactly?”

“If all goes well, they’ll use the Void and turn it into a portal to get us home.”

I sniff, my gaze unable to focus. The idea of leaving here is terrifying to me, because at least here, I know my soul chose this place.