“It sounds ominous, I know. But I don’t know if she literally crushes worlds,” Anunit said, crossing her arms. “The ghouls who guard her seal wouldn’t tell me her ability. They’re not the chatty type.”
“Ghouls? Since when do you let a few ghouls scare you?” Unending retorted, obviously not convinced by Anunit’s explanation. Reapers weren’t afraid of ghouls. At worst, they despised the creatures, since they had once been Reapers themselves—foolish enough to eat the souls of the living.
“They’re not your run-of-the-mill ghouls,” Anunit said. “They have scythes, they know death magic, and they can talk. They’re ruthless bastards. I tried to get into the Temple of Roses, where the World Crusher is being held, but they chased me away. They were too much for me. Maybe they won’t be for you,” she added, looking at Unending.
The more I heard, the more troubled I became. The World Crusher. Ghouls who could wield scythes. Why? Why had Death done this? Why put this true first Reaper away? Why here? The more I heard, the stronger the nausea clumping in the back of my throat became. I could only imagine how Unending felt about all this. Her expression gave away very little, but it was enough to suggest that my wife had reached the end of her rope where Death was concerned.
“Where is the Temple of Roses?” Unending asked. Her voice sounded shaky, tremulous with ragged nerves. She was furious.
“Smack in the middle of the city, like I said. Right in front of the tallest tower. You won’t miss it,” Anunit replied. “Just take your time with the approach. Give the ghouls a hint of your presence. I suggest walking from the edge of the city toward the center, so they can sniff you out. If you appear out of nowhere, they will get aggressive, and I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to protect Tristan against them. They are vicious creatures, as I said. And they know some pretty serious death magic. Spells I learned much later and after plenty of hard work.”
“When did you come here last?”
Unending’s question made Anunit smile faintly. “A little over a million years ago. Not much has changed since. There’s a protection spell over the city, which is why it looks pristine even after eons of nothingness. The ghouls did it to protect the Temple of Roses. I figure this whole planet will wither away someday, and the temple will still stand, holding the World Crusher within.”
“So you want us to learn the truth about the World Crusher, and then you want us to free her,” I interjected, my eyes once again drawn to the splendor of the white city as I spoke.
Anunit nodded once. “Then I will consider your trials complete. Your wife will have a mortal body, and you two will have a chance at your much-desired family.”
“Where’s your personal satisfaction in this?” I asked. “You chose these trials for a reason. They’re truths that Death has been keeping from her people. From Unending, in particular. What do you get out of all this, aside from that favor you’ll collect later? And don’t try to claim it’s out of the kindness of your heart.”
“Death is a lying bitch,” Anunit replied, narrowing her galaxy eyes at me. “I want Unending to learn the truth. To see for herself. Then maybe she will tell the others. Maybe the entire realm will see what I see: a liar and a hypocrite ruling over us. Mocking us.”
“You want a revolution,” I muttered, slightly disturbed by her response.
“No. I want the truth to come out. I want Death to feel the shame of a liar caught lying. She pretends to be flawless, this absolute entity that will outlive everyone and everything, but I want Unending and everyone else to see her for what she truly is. I could have waged a campaign against Death with everything I’ve learned, but my word means nothing. Unending, on the other hand—she has clout. Status. If I manage to get at least one Reaper to see Death the way I see her, I’ll consider it a well-deserved bonus. Aside from that favor.” Anunit chuckled softly, then nodded to the city. “You two had best be on your way. I’m giving you three days for this trial. Figure it out and set the World Crusher free. She deserves that much after all this time.”
Before either of us could say anything more, Anunit had disappeared.
Minutes passed in heavy silence while Unending and I gazed at the white towers with their metallic pin roofs. There was a lot on my mind. Perhaps too much for me to make sense of at once, so I chose to focus on what I saw and what I could do. The history of this place was unknown. The first men, some Reapers had called them. I wondered if they were in any way connected to the humans of Earth. Perhaps they had been one of the first humanoid races. I’d thought the Trakkians-turned-Aeternae to be the oldest, but Biriane seemed to go back farther than Visio.
“What do you think of all this?” Unending asked. She was on edge but doing a damn good job of keeping it together.
My eyes found hers, stars flickering within, bright with curiosity. The anger was alive, but a practical sense was coming over it like a warm blanket, and I could see the reason returning to her expression. “This feels wrong,” I said. “The World Crusher sounds like an ominous name. Why did Death put her away? I mean, the World Crusher must have done something to warrant this, right? Death, for all her faults... She doesn’t lock Reapers up willy-nilly.”
“We are on the same page, then,” she said. “Lots of questions, no answers unless we go looking for them in this place. The scythe-wielding ghouls might be of some help. To be honest, the original reason for this mission is fading with every second that goes by. But we must get
