Until then, however, I had to brace myself for what came next. From what I could see, the Hermessi were racing through the ocean, headed for the bottom and determined to obliterate anyone and anything that stood in their way.
“Get ready,” I said to Widow. “They’re coming.”
I decided I should reveal myself to the plane of the living, prompting several fish that swam across the white sand to scatter, suddenly frightened by my appearance. I’d noticed I did more damage if I was fully anchored in this dimension.
“If we hold out for long enough, it might give Taeral the shot he needs at getting Zetos,” Widow replied, as if reciting a mantra.
It was a good thing to focus on. The endgame. The ultimate objective: helping a future Reaper save the world. I was on board, as long as it helped Vesta and her people survive. That girl deserved a longer life than what the Hermessi had planned for her.
Taeral
Without our abilities, we were pretty much screwed, trapped in a mystery which we had to unravel, one way or another, if we wanted to get out of here and complete this mission. The Soul Crusher had quickly established himself as a calculated lunatic, and this was the worst kind of foe.
“There’s a minor advantage here for you,” he said after a while. “I thought you should know. In here, time passes at a slightly slower rate. Mind you, that doesn’t mean you have weeks at your disposal! But it’s not just minutes, either.”
We’d spent the last twenty minutes checking the room from top to bottom, worried that if we pressed the wrong lever, it might trigger something unfortunate. The Soul Crusher had yet to explain what these things did. I’d asked, multiple times, but he’d been quiet until now.
“What’s the time difference?” Lumi asked.
“If I’m not mistaken… I don’t know!” The Soul Crusher laughed.
“You’ve yet to give us the rules for this room,” I said, ignoring the string of curse words leaving Raphael’s and Herakles’s mouths—and Eva wasn’t far behind them. “How do we get out?”
The Soul Crusher paused. “I thought that was obvious. I find myself once again doubting Death’s decision to send you over here. Press the right lever, and you’re out! Duh.”
“I hate him so much right now,” Eira murmured.
We looked at each other, until I exhaled sharply and motioned around me. “Might as well pick one and get started, I guess?”
With four walls covered in levers, it was difficult to actually pick one. We were all on edge, aggravated by the knowledge that all hell was about to break loose outside, once the Hermessi got here. I needed us all focused and calm, but our circumstances weren’t helping. No one responded well to being locked up in a room at the bottom of the ocean by a psychopathic Reaper.
Herakles muttered something under his breath as he walked over to the nearest lever and pulled it.
“Herakles, no, wait—” Riza stopped herself at the sound of a hiss.
“Don’t pull that yet? Is that what you were going to say?” Raphael replied, equally irritated by Herakles’s reaction.
“We had to start somewhere!” Herakles defended his decision.
“It shouldn’t have been that one,” I said, looking up. Though barely noticeable, I could see the air shimmering softly in a corner of the ceiling as the hissing persisted. The air smelled funny. I tasted sweetness on the tip of my tongue.
Amelia was the first to cover her mouth and nose with both hands. “Guys, it’s gas. It’s a toxic gas.”
“Oh, for…” Herakles’s voice trailed off, his breath cut short as his eyes bulged. He started choking, coughing and wheezing. Riza was instantly by his side, but the gas hit her too.
Everything happened too fast. I didn’t even have time to react. I felt something swell and expand in my throat, making it impossible to breathe. I dropped to my knees, poison spreading through me like liquid heat.
Someone said something—maybe Lumi, I wasn’t sure. Hands fumbled with a backpack, and I could hear the clicking of straps and rustling of waterproof fabric. Glass clinked.
“Oh, God…” Varga croaked, collapsing.
“Healing… Healing potion,” Nethissis managed, reaching out to Lumi.
I followed her desperate gaze, but my body gave out. I ended up flat on the floor, my face soft against the cold stone. Lumi wobbled as she made her way toward me. She handed Nethissis a few vials. I could see them being passed around. At least I understood now why the Soul Crusher had taken away the pulverizer stuff and the breathing devices, but not the healing potions. The jerk wanted us to live through as much of this as possible.
Herakles was unresponsive, but Riza, despite her condition, managed to push the potion down his throat, lifting his chin and forcing him to swallow. Everything went white. My blood burned. My bones ached as though a claw hammer had come down on them, over and over.
Was this it? It couldn’t be. Death had made me immortal. I’d wake up eventually. But the others? What about them?
“Amelia… Raphael…” I heard myself whisper.
“Take this,” someone said. Maybe Lumi. The voice was distorted. The white before my eyes became black, and darkness seeped into my being, threatening to take me away. How quickly this nightmare had unfolded. How swift its delivery.
I felt the rounded edge of a glass vial pressed against my lips. A cool liquid slipped down my tongue. I tasted berries and something slightly acidic, a little tangy. It was something I’d had before.
“Come on, Tae.”
I must’ve swallowed it. It went down, reaching my stomach and spreading out in ripples of sharp pain. My muscles jerked. I couldn’t control any of this. The blackness took over. It prevailed. My inner light went out.
Snap. And it was over.
Riza
My eyes popped open. I sucked in a desperate breath, suddenly remembering how I’d fallen, in the first place. Relief washed over me as I realized that I was still alive. How or why, I wasn’t sure, until I noticed the aftertaste in my mouth. The healing potion.
Lumi.
“Herakles!” I cried out.
