On the other side of the portal were fragments—shards like stone-glass. They floated like debris in space, reflecting the gleaming darkness. It was beautiful and terrifying. The bald man floated in front, leading them. The shards moved as he approached, shoved aside by the aura pouring off him. Unlike the gatekeeper, this man showed no respect for David. He ignored them as they traveled through the silent void. David used the time to check how many of them had survived. He was surprised to find Alice alive. The woman dipped a head in a bow and looked away.

  “Eight,” David whispered. Zoey looked up at him and placed a hand on his arm. David tried not to look at her. “I brought them here. They probably would have been alive if they had stayed at home, away from the killing desert.”

  “You didn’t force them to follow you,” Zoey said. David wished he could take solace in that. He had shown them powers beyond anything they could imagine and they had rushed to follow. He didn’t force them but he tempted them to venture into the tower. That made him responsible for their lives, and he failed them.

  “Where are we going?” Gis asked, her voice was a whisper but David knew the man in front could hear her.

  “Like the gifts you received, you will be given insights to help you understand your powers better,” Zoey said before David could respond. “For now, you can ease up, and don’t be afraid.”

  David turned to look at Gis. He hadn’t expected the woman to be scared, but when he searched her face, he could see the signs of barely suppressed fear. He heard the murmurs behind him and noticed the giant, Ben had his hammer up.

  “You don’t have to worry,” David said, not just to her but to the rest. There is no danger he…”

  His eyes widened in shock as they were all pulled down the void. He tried to right himself, but nothing he did worked. Beside him, Zoey screamed as the darkness rushed past them in a blur. The black of it shone with sharp edges. David tried to reach for essence, but even as he felt for it, essence resisted. No, more like he couldn’t control it. They fell for what felt like hours.

  And then they stopped just before they crashed on what looked like solid ground. They hung above the brick path for a moment until whatever power holding them up let them go. David dropped to his feet. Beside him, Gis grunted and David quickly caught Chloe. He smiled at her and let her down.

  “Come,” The bald man said, the stars still twinkling on his robe. This time his feet were on the floor. “Prepare yourselves,” he said.

  “For wha…” the darkness vanished with the path as if it had been erased and replaced with a long hallway. The walls were like the shards of stones—they gleamed, reflecting blurry versions of their faces. The man led them down the hallway until they reached the first door on the left. It had Gis’ name. The man turned to look at her, his face had not moved since they met, not even a blink. He placed his hand on the door and it disappeared as if it hadn’t even been there to begin with. David didn’t sense the subtlest of essence movements. Which meant the man’s essence control was a world apart from his.

  Gis walked past them to stand before the door. She hesitated, turned to look at David with scared eyes, and gave him a nod.

  “You will not die within this space,” The bald man said. “This is a link to an iteration of Lord Balek. You will receive guidance from our lord, to help your elevation and enlightenment. You can only be blessed with what you can contain. An overloaded vessel will shatter, and our Lord does not wish to waste the brave.”

  Gis grinned, giving the man a nod. “Very assuring.”

  The man said nothing in response. His eyes settled on her, urging her silently. She held her ground for some seconds and then took the step into the room. David tried to see past the veil of darkness, but he couldn’t. The door reformed, locking her in immediately after she passed the threshold.

  The next door was for Chloe. Zoey walked her over to the door. The bald man stared down at her for a moment and then placed his hand on the door. Chloe jumped back when the door disappeared, but Zoey held her in place. Like Gis’ room, David couldn’t see into his sister’s. Something obstructed his view, blinding him. Zoey whispered something to Chloe and the smaller girl crossed the threshold, and the door appeared.

  Two more people went in their doors before it got to David’s. Unlike the other doors, David’s had a crown of thin, curving lines. It was strange and familiar. The bald man waited for him, hand clasped behind him David walked over to the door, watched it disappear, and stepped in. Behind him, th door slid into place and he was finally able to focus on what was in front of him.

  Light poured in from windows that weren’t there a moment ago. It splashed all over, unrestrained. Golden rays touched the low, small table and the red plush cushion on it. Opposite it, on the far wall was a high-backed throne-like chair. David stared at both for a moment and walked over to the lower himself on the cushion.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  On the table was a vial of red liquid and a rolled-up parchment. The rest of the room was empty and majestic. The sconce torches, unlit, and the curtains pulled back. The walls were bare brick, white, and polished. New details startled him as the walls suddenly had carvings and on the left side of the throne, a statue of a veiled, nude man filled up the space. A soft, purple rug spread before the throne, and more curtains made folded arches over the throne. Lights, more and more, filled the space until he could see every corner and every nook sparkled with decorations fit for royalty.

  Once that was done, David was left with a deep silence. The open window looked out into a city of tall towers and distant spires. The sky was a brilliant blue-white and from where he sat he heard birds chirp as they flew past. Everything was confusing but oddly relaxing. This sensation—it was overwhelmingly new, and strange.

  “How often do you feel this calm?” A familiar voice said and David cursed himself for not suspecting Balek.

  “Is this the insight you want to grant me?” David asked, standing up. “I think I can do without it this time.”

  “Wait,” Balek said. The room echoed the god’s authority. “I only want to talk this time and then you shall have your measly insight.”

  David nodded and settled back on the cushion. It was strange, talking to a god. A low god from what Nauli told them, but still, a god nonetheless. And here he was, refusing Balek again and again. The arrogance was inebriating.

  “You have suffered since Amareth pulled you into his tower, have you become too familiar with that way of life?” Balek asked. “I offer you rest, security, and power and you refuse. Why? You are not tethered to Amareth yet. Joining me is no betrayal. You will still be the ruler of Amareth’s tower. Nothing changes.”

  “Except I relinquish my will to you, and I become your pet,” David said. “For some reason, you don’t want me and my siblings to continue. Why? What will we do that threatens you so much?”

  The statue next to the throne moved, and the veil fluttered to an otherworldly wind David couldn’t feel. The hand once stretched out in supplication, made a fist and fell to the statue’s side.

  “You think I fear you?” Balek asked. “A god? Afraid of a human? I can turn you into nothing, David. What I offer is mercy and kindness. You have impressed me and I want you to have all the things you deserve.”

  “You don’t fear us?” David asked, taking on Vith’s mocking tone. “Then you do not need to stop us.”

  A dark, crippling aura swept through the room and David shivered as terror infected him. A sliver of a moment stretched and within it, he saw his head in his hands. Maggots writhed out of his mouth and eyes. Beyond that, his siblings were impaled in large stakes. Chloe stretched for him, her mouth opened, begging soundlessly.

  And it all faded away

  David gasped, his hands going to his face immediately. His heart raced as he reoriented himself with reality. The statue was on the throne now, and from under the veil, David saw its lips wide in a fixed smile.

  He let his nerves settle before he spoke, and every word was calm and venomous.

  “You act human, Balek, Worse, a simple-minded human drunk on power. You are a god and yet, look at you threaten me when you can’t bend me to your will. If you could kill us, you would have already. But you can’t and your servants are not strong enough to help you. Act your station, Balek, or your altar will be without worship.”

  The smile was gone by the time David finished, and he knew what to expect. The weight of Balek’s presence fell on him, splintering the table in two. David’s knees pressed into the hard ground but David stayed up with his back straight. Cracks stretched along the walls, then the floor. Balek increased the weight on David every minute until he could feel his teeth grinding into each other. His head hurt so much that his vision blurred. Yet he stared, not pushing against the pressure.

  As quickly as it began, it vanished and David took a long shaking breath. His eyes closed completely and he tried to control his breathing. Once again he reaffirmed his plan to kill the god before him. Or at least make him pay.

  “You have grown,” Balek conceded. “Although that is only a fraction of my presence, to survive that without putting your authority against it, that is marvelous. I will offer this once more. It is a chance to stay off this bloody path. Go settle in a world of your choosing. There are many without wars, with suffering. I can show you.”

  “I refuse,” David said, his voice shaking from the exhaustion.

  “Your choices don’t affect you and your siblings only,” Balek said. “Your four might be powerful, but there are others who aren’t as powerful. You remember, don’t you?”

  David didn’t understand what the god meant, but responding would only prolong the torture so he stayed silent.

  The statue stood up, its grand feet made the ground tremble under David. “Farewell, David. When my wrath visits you and I go deaf to your pleas, remember I showed you mercy. I offered this kindness to you, and you refused.”

  David didn’t respond.

  The statue crumbled to dust when Balek left. The room repaired itself slowly until it was as if the god was never there. He picked up the vial and parchment and walked toward the door.

  The bald man appeared, before him, his cloak of stars flowing about him. “You are to gain your insight here, Lord Ruler.”

  “Here?” David asked, turning to the cushion. “How?”

  “The Eight Sense portion will sharpen your mind, and within the parchment is an insight to help you advance.”

  David nodded and the man faded into nothingness. David went back to the cushion. First, he took the portion and then he unrolled the parchment.

  [See beyond yourself]

  The word reverberated within him. He knew as if he’d placed the spell in the scroll himself, that he was being pulled into another space—a second realm. The parchment swallowed him, his mind, while he sat there with his legs folded under him.