Acher lay sprawled across the ground with his feathers trembling in faint shivers. He panted hard, chest rising and falling, then muttered:

  “Just a bit more and we’d be in big trouble. Good thing I managed to cut off the spell before it finished, or it would've been such a goddamn waste.”

  Luther sat slumped on the floor nearby with his back pressed against the wall. His whole body was quivering from the pain building inside. The side effects of drawing upon the ascended power had started to surface.

  “Luther, how’re you doing?” Acher asked.

  Luther bit down hard on his lower lip, trying not to let the groan slip out. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead and soaked through the back of his shirt, while a burning sensation raged through his entire body, like fire licking his insides.

  Letting even a thread of ascended power flow through one's body while still just a novice mage had caused severe damage.

  “Channel your magic and wrap it around your body,” Acher instructed. “It won’t stop the pain altogether, but it’ll ease it a bit and also help you heal faster.”

  Luther closed his eyes and followed the raven’s advice. Cool dark magic began to flow over his skin like a calm stream, soothing the scorching heat little by little.

  “What a damn unlucky day,” Acher grumbled, feathers puffing. “It was only your second mission, and we already ran into an archdemon. Curse the damn Flow! Still ... I guess we should be thankful we’re both alive and well. A novice mage fooling a demigod? Never thought I’d see such a day.”

  He gave a tired chuckle, then added:

  “Now it’s time to claim your reward. Mandatory missions are nasty, but the pay-off is meant to be worth the trouble. Let’s hope this one doesn’t disappoint.”

  Luther opened his Book of Fate. As the pages shimmered, three distinct glows descended from the Great Flow and hovered before him.

  Inside the first beam of light floated thirty transparent crystals. The second one contained nothing but a single drop of water, pure and shining, suspended in the air. And the last glow faded, revealing a pale gray egg resting within.

  “Not bad,” Acher commented. “That drop of fatewater will help your body recover much faster. Swallow it, and instead of being stuck in bed for weeks, you’ll be up and moving in just a few days.”

  Luther created a shadow hand and guided the drop into his mouth. The moment it touched his tongue, a soothing warmth spread through his chest. Though each small move still felt like torture, the sharp pain dulled almost in an instant. The burn mark on his right hand, caused by the curse on the orb, also began to heal before his eyes, the skin knitting itself back together at a visible speed.

  However, the cut he’d made during the moon ascension ritual still remained. It had only just begun to scab over. The fatewater seemed to have no effect on that particular wound.

  Acher narrowed his eyes and examined the final reward.

  “This egg’s dead,” he said. “No sign of life inside. I don’t even recognize what kind of egg it is. Let’s hope it’s still edible.”

  He frowned. Something about the egg stirred a vague, distant familiarity in him, but he couldn’t figure out why.

  Then, the raven turned his gaze to Aaron.

  “And now we need to decide what to do with this boy.”

  “Uh ... hello, sirs. Are you ... are you doing okay?” All of a sudden, Aaron found himself able to speak again.

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  He tried his best to force a friendly smile onto his face.

  His greeting made Acher stunned for a moment. The raven's eyes narrowed, and when they landed on the glowing golden apple inside Aaron’s chest, he blurted out without thinking:

  “What the actual fuck?!?!”

  . . .

  Aaron was sure this had to be one of the strangest and most dramatic days of his life, even comparable with that Halloween night.

  First, he had been staring death in the face, waiting for it to come. Even he himself was surprised by how he had managed to endure that crushing pressure for so long without breaking down and begging for mercy.

  Maybe it was this damn heart ... or maybe I’m just too stubborn for my own good. Can’t stand being pushed around. But whatever, it doesn’t seem like begging would work anyway.

  Then, in the last day, the goat-headed monster that had been glaring at him nonstop got distracted for a moment. Their expressions grew confused, their heads turning this way and that like they were looking for something.

  Aaron’s gaze followed theirs and saw it. A giant frog demon perched on the rooftop dome, and in front of it floated a glass orb with a replica of him inside.

  Someone’s trying to trick it! He realized what was going on.

  He didn’t feel relieved. This was still the Abyss, and if he fell into something else’s hands, he would still end up being in danger.

  Ninety-nine point ninety-nine percent chance I get devoured either way. But hey, at least it won’t be that damn bug. Serves it right!

  A bit of wicked satisfaction rose in him.

  Sure enough, a quiet vortex opened just above the sphere once Tarisel went chasing after Haimeros.

  A reaper!

  Aaron realized who had been pulling strings behind the scenes.

  Over the past few days, he had done his best to absorb the bits of knowledge Orpheus had left behind, hoping to find a way out. Even though the memories were fragmented and broken, they still gave him a decent understanding of how the supernatural world worked.

  Only those with the divine authority of death could open a gateway to the Underworld at will. Tarisel hadn’t been lying about that part.

  From inside the swirling vortex, a hand draped in a cloak of raven feathers reached out and grabbed the orb.

  It was a human hand. Normal. There was even a long scabbed-over scar running along the palm.

  Huh. Looks pretty average. I was expecting some freaky bone hand. Movies are such bullshit, Aaron thought.

  But then things took another turn. His eyes widened as he saw Tarisel rush back and grab the reaper’s arm, stopping him from escaping.

  Oh hell no! Don’t tell me I’m just gonna end up in that thing’s hands again! Aren’t reapers supposed to be super powerful? Come on! Just crush that nasty centipede already! Aaron shouted in his mind. But wait, if he was stronger than Tarisel, he wouldn’t have needed to go through all this sneaky business in the first place.

  As the orb was tossed into the vortex, it hit the floor and rolled a bit before coming to a stop. Aaron was dazed for a moment before snapping back to awareness.

  Everything was over by then.

  He looked around and tried to figure out where he was.

  What the … where is this?

  Then he saw it, his body, lying on a bed.

  This is a ... hospital room? Holy shit, I'm back on Earth!!!

  The wave of relief that crashed over him almost made him cry. But then his eyes landed on a figure slumped against the wall: a death god clad in a raven-feathered cloak with his hood drawn low over his face. Right next to him was a black raven lying sprawled out on the floor, mumbling nonstop.

  Wait ... they really did save me? Oh. That guy’s name is Luther, huh? He got seriously hurt because of saving me? But why would he do that? It was just his second mission? Hold on, are reapers supposed to have apprentices?

  Dozens of questions raced through Aaron’s mind as he listened to the conversation between Acher and Luther.

  Better not to celebrate too soon. If this reaper wants to eat me, then nothing else matters anyway. The thought settled like a cold stone in his chest.

  “Now we need to decide what to do with this boy,” Acher said, making Aaron’s heart tighten with a mix of fear and nervousness.

  He tried speaking and realized that he could.

  “Uh ... hello, sirs. Are you feeling well? Oh right! Thank you for saving me! I’m truly and forever grateful to you both, amen ...”

  He squeezed out the most innocent, sincere expression he could manage.

  “What the actual fuck?!”

  Acher’s curse rang out, and the room thickened with sudden tension.

  Why did this raven suddenly get angry? Did I say something wrong? Aaron felt a flicker of confusion and panic.

  Acher stared at him for a long moment before speaking again, voice dark and sharp.

  “He’s a Sunkindler!!! What the hell is going on here? Since when did divinity of this level become so easy to find? No wonder that archdemon brat was hunting him down. The boy can see us. One of the powers of the light is to pierce through all secrets, so your cloak of ambiguity is useless against him.”

  His gaze toward Aaron grew more intense, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.