Another scene soon appeared in Sett’s view. This one seemed to be one from Jess’s childhood. Compared to the earlier ones, this one was considerably tame and did not seem to be of much importance. Sure, it still had monsters and Jess’s traumas were still present, but its intensity could simply not compare.

Sett fell into thought. The space they were in seemed to operate on some very special rules. Specifically, it appeared that the space could perfectly replicate any traumatic or delicate memory in the person’s life. For some reason or another, the space would then cement these horrible experiences into monster-like horror tales.

The question that remained was why. Why did this space bring forth these memories that they had most certainly burrowed deep into their subconsciousness? Who would benefit from such mindless suffering?

Sett’s mind settled on the strange voice he heard during the scenes. Just like himself, it was an external observer. Someone who would not or could not interfere in the scene. Was it the formless voice that had brought the suffering to these victims? No, it should not be. The voice expressed sadness, after all.

The only logical answer was that the tormenting that the sacrifices had gone through somehow benefitted the monsters that had sacrificed them. The exact reason why remained unknown, though.

Sett decided not to mull on why’s and how’s anymore. The only thing that mattered was figuring out how to save himself and Jess.

The space they were in was strange. Very strange. All of Sett’s senses told him that he was back in the normal world. Even the laws of physics had been perfectly followed, making one think that it was no different from normal. It was a perfect replication. Except that it was not. It was an illusion. An illusion that could easily be broken if one only knew that they were inside it. Nothing in the scene really existed. It was something that scientists and engineers had spent many years working on but had never perfected to this degree.

Sett sighed and massaged his temples. Though he felt reluctant in expressing it, it was clear that the only way this space could exist was through magic.

Sett wanted to scoff at the very thought. Magic? It simply did not exist beyond fairy tales and children’s books. Yet, the proof was in front of his very eyes. Whether it be the monsters, the sacrifices, or the special space they were in, it was all proof of magic.

Thus, he could only continue with such thoughts in his head, despite his most base reasoning being against it.

Sett sat down and waited for the next memory to resurface. The current one was one of bullying in school. Jess really had a rough childhood, all things considered.

“Even school did not bring the child solace.”

The voice sounded and the light shone.

The moment the new scene settled; Sett went straight for the closest door. He did not want to abandon Jess in her time of need, but he was also well aware that there was nothing that he could do to help her if he chose to stay.

Sett was going to explore beyond the scene. His line of thought was simple. Magic had to follow rules, even if those rules were not those of the physical world. There had to be a limit to the scene. After all, logic dictated that nothing was eternal, even galaxies had to have an end.

“I’ll find a way out for us, Jess. I promise.”

Sett lightly said, knowing full well that Jess could not hear him.

Pushing open the door, Sett expected to find many different things. Perhaps another black void, exotic new monsters, or another kind of burning hell. What he found was different, far different from had expected.

Sett found himself in a gigantic field with countless flowering plants. Yet it was unlike any field he had ever seen or heard of. Everything was black as tar. Every budding flower. Every blade of grass. Even the sky had been coloured black. All of it was black.

Furthermore, all these black flowers were gigantic. Even the flower, which Sett had exited from, was many times bigger than himself.

But those towering flowers were not the most surprising thing about this new space. Every little plant, every strand of grass, was connected to the same point. With vein-like roots, they were all connected. These roots convened onto a single gigantic heart.

Looking at the black beating heart, Sett almost collapsed. The pressure that it exuded was beyond anything he had ever felt before. Before this heart, even the pressure that the master had radiated was nothing. Sett had never been religious, but now he felt as if he was standing in the presence of a god.

The formless pressure engulfed him, threatening to send him shivering to the ground. Everything hurt. A mighty migraine assaulted him, sweat cascaded from his pores, his innards felt as if they had been reversed and knotted, and his heart felt as if it could stop at any moment.

Sett could feel his instincts screaming at him. It told him to leave. To run as fast as he possibly could. To escape beyond this garden. To do anything to escape the heart.

Despite his pains and his most base bodily instincts, Sett would not leave. He had seen the pain in Jess’s eyes. How could he turn around and abandon her when he was her only hope for salvation? He had made a promise and he would honour it.

He turned his head upwards and stared defiantly at the heart. He refused to leave before he had gotten what he came for.

A way out. That was all that he asked for.

One step. Sett raised his foot and took a single step forward. That alone almost all the willpower he had. The pressure and pain only got worse the closer he got to the heart, but he would endure. Should he fail, not only would he face death, but so too would Jess.

Sett had no idea how long he had been walking. Pain erased all resemblance of time. There was only the objective. The heart. He would get to the heart and tear its secrets from its flesh even if it was the last thing he did.

Throughout his journey, Sett passed countless flowers. He had long since understood that all of these flowers encompassed a single human life. Each of them was a life’s worth of suffering. There were so many. Countless even.

“To think that it was not the false children of blood that visited my domain, but rather a mortal human child.”

A low voice that seemed devoid of energy sounded out nearby Sett. It was the exact same one that he had heard when he observed Jess’s memories.

Hearing this voice, Sett could not help but smile despite the excruciating pain that pressed down on both his physical body and his mind. His target had been exactly this formless voice.

Sett felt the pressure that assaulted him gradually weaken. It did not disappear entirely but stabilized at a level that was comparable to the master’s pressure. In comparison to before, it felt like a light summer breeze.

“Apologies, child.” The voice sounded out again, it sounded genuinely worried. “I have long since lost my ability to completely control my powers, you will have to bear with this pressure of mine for a time.”

Sett simply nodded in acceptance as he regained his breath.

“If I may be a bit forward, who and what are you?”

Deciding that he did not have much time, Sett began to be rather brazen in his approach.

“Ahh… The long ages that have passed since I have last spoken with mortals have erased my manners from my mind. My apologies. I will remedy this.”

As it finished its words, the air before Sett blurred greatly and a figure appeared from thin air.

“I was granted the name of Selt’Artek by my followers many aeons ago. I hold the divine right to the realm of darkness.”

The figure, Selt’Artek, lightly curtsied before Sett. At least, that was what he assumed it was doing.

Sett stood eye to eye with the same creature that was depicted in the great hall where he was sacrificed. A humanoid chimera was the best words he found to describe him. He largely resembled a human in his overall form, but that was where the similarities stopped.

He stood at a massive height of three meters. With the only exception being his head, his entire body was covered in snake-like scales. Below his knees, his legs contained an additional joint, granting him an alien look. On his back, two massive bat-like wings sprung forth obscuring all that was behind him. He an additional set of arms, which sported enormous, clawed appendages instead of fingers.

Finally, his face was unlike any creature Sett had ever imagined. There were no holes in the face. No mouth. No nose. No eyes. At least not in the figurative sense. Seven brightly glowing spots instead inhabited the upper half of his face. Three on each side and one slightly brighter one on top.

Like everything else in this place, he was coloured tar black.

Surprisingly, despite the many alien and monstrous features of the one before him, Sett was not as horrified as he thought he should be. Perhaps it was the pleasant aura that surrounded the creature or maybe it was simply because he had become used to more abnormal monsters.

Sett quickly returned the courtesy of Selt’Artek and bowed before him.

“Greet… Greetings Selt’Artek. My name is Sett.”

Sett struggled with the divine being’s name, both due to its abnormality and because of the fright he felt but managed to pull through in the end.

“Sett… A good name” The creature mulled on his name. “Sett, you are a child of great misfortune, but also great fortune. The path that has taken you here has many winding twists and turns. Even I cannot see it clearly.”

Sett agreed with Selt’Artek that his misfortune was great for him to arrive in this desolate place, fearing for his life at every turn on the way. Yet, he could not find the fortune the divine spoke of.

“Ehm… Mister Selt’Artek. Is there a way out of here? Can I save my friends?”

“Perhaps it is possible. But it would require my cooperation.”

Sett felt a huge wave of excitement wash over him, almost making him completely disregard proper respect for the god.

“Then…!?”

“Alas, it is not so simple.” Selt’Artek stopped Sett before he could speak any further. “Those that sent you to this place, those that I regard as the false children of blood, imprisoned me when I was at my weakest. Their chains bind me, forcing me to be in their service. In my current state of being, I could do little to threaten them.”

“Is there truly no way?”

Sett felt as if he had been on a rollercoaster of emotions, but still held on to a little bit of belief. The one before him was a god, ultimately.

“Come closer, child.”

Sett warily stepped closer, knowing that the god-like being before him was only doing him a curtesy in asking.

Selt’Artek reached one of his non-clawed hands forwards and lightly touched on Sett’s chest directly on the spot where the black daggers had pierced his chest.

“Remarkable.” Selt’Artek mused for a couple of seconds in consideration. “Child, you survived the infusion of two pieces of my essence. Something that should have been impossible for any mere mortal… Yes, perhaps it is possible.”

Sett dared not interrupt the divine being in his mussing, even as he felt his excitement rising greatly again.

“Walk with me child.”

Selt’Artek gestured for Sett to walk beside him. Their direction was the enormous black heart.

“An essence inhabits your body, Sett. What exactly that essence is even I cannot discern.” As they walked, Selt’Artek began to talk. “What I can discern, however, is that your body is dying. That which has brought us this opportunity is tearing you apart from the inside. The unique essence within your body is trying to fight it back, but it is a losing battle.”

They neared the heart. The moment they got within one-meter distance of the beating heart, the fleshy walls that were before them split open, creating a large pathway directly into the interior of the heart.

“To survive, you will need to harmonize with the essence, my essence, that has forced into you. Perhaps if you had been a trained ascendant, it would be possible to do it by your lonesome, but not for a mortal.”

They arrived within the centre of the heart. Within this place, Sett’s eyes immediately fell on a lightly glowing black orb.

“For you to harmonize with the essence as is, you would have to unite the origin.”