They dressed Otto in a fancy set of black matte armor, but he didn’t look all that comfortable. Crow secured the last piece while Sarah finished getting armored up herself. Crow put on a set of armor after helping Otto, reminding him of Munro Duncan, who had adopted this fighting style.

It wouldn’t be Crow’s first choice, but the complex webbing underneath the heavy metal plates made the impact of getting struck feel negligible. Sure, he lost some mobility, but the security he gained from the protection was the counterbalance. Still, it didn’t fit Crow’s style because he liked to move around and strike his prey down quickly, preferably without them ever knowing he was there. No matter how they tried to pad the armor, it was still loud for a hunter like him.

Looking toward the half-dozen naked paladins lying unconscious on the ground, he felt they should do something with them.

“Sarah, how do we get rid of them?” Crow pointed at the pile.

“Toss them down the hatch over there—wait, tie them up first.”

“Just throw them down?”

“Yeah, it isn’t that far of a drop. Just don’t toss them in head first, and they’ll be fine.”

“And if they wake up?”

“Below here is a maze, and this hatch requires a prayer to summon it. Only Inquisitors are privy to the information on both. Most never memorize the map because they don’t plan on coming here. Eventually, they wander their way out, but it’ll be days or even weeks from now. These chambers also have inscribed formations, so no one will hear or see them unless they find this place.”

Crow didn’t bother second-guessing her. Even if she was wrong, he didn’t have a better option. Walking into the small antechamber, he marveled at the architecture. The Minnustern might be misguided fools, but their stonework could rival a Stone Breaker. Or maybe he overthought it, and the Stone Breakers made all this.

Otto helped Crow flip the bodies onto their stomachs and then cut sections of rope to tie their hands and feet. After he tied them up, Otto carried them to the round hole in the center of the room and dropped them inside. The bone-breaking sounds made him wince, but they should be fine—or… mostly fine.

“We going down or through the church?” Crow asked.

“Why do?” Otto asked, curious why they were getting involved at all.

“Several reasons, but mainly because we can’t escape currently. If I’m not mistaken, there is probably something we need to stop here. I’m not sure my random encounters are bad luck, and I definitely don’t want to be the hero. You know what I am, and I’ve been thinking about it. What if another force guided me toward these events? It isn’t forcing my hand but providing an opportunity to act for the greater good—events that might affect my cosmic luck. I’m starting to believe those born with a major deficiency in luck are unfated. A power beyond the Heavens grants us a path to survive by walking the razor’s edge between life and death.”

“Why?”

“I’m like a rudderless ship on a dark, stormy sea, big brother. While the waters thrash me, push me until I feel like I’m without control, the clouds sometimes part. A beam of moonlight guides me to calm waters, but getting there is not as easy as turning the tiller. Opportunities rarely come without risk. There is a cosmic luck that is beyond Heaven’s control, and to steal a portion of it, I act—or not. Not acting is fine, but an opportunity is also a form of luck, and if I ignore them, how many chances do I have left before disaster finally strikes?”

“You are unfated?” Sarah asked from the doorway. She looked guilty about eavesdropping, but it wasn’t like they were whispering.

“I am. Hah, they should consider me a demon in your order, right?”

“No,” Sarah said, staring at Crow with an indecipherable look. “We believe all things come from the void, and eventually, everything will return to it. Think about that. Aren’t unfated also called Agents of Chaos? Chaos is another word for the void and the primordial beginning of everything. Do you think one of its agents is a sinner in our eyes?”

“No?”

“We call those like you the Urgöttin, but I don’t know the exact translation—something like a primordial saint,” Sarah told him, but seeing his calculating eyes, she knew she had to stop whatever stupid plan he was thinking up. “Never tell any of the Minuustern about being unfated. You’ll suffer worse than me. They might even cripple your cultivation and parade you around while giving you the title of God’s Son. Oh, and they’ll castrate you so you remain chaste and pure in the eyes of their people.”

Otto saw Crow’s face and bellowed with laughter.

“You are quite the enigma,” Sarah laughed. “You are unfated, and yet fate brought you here.”

“No fate. Sluagh,” Otto claimed.

“I’m not familiar with that term…?”

Crow thought about what Otto said while Sarah looked to him for answers. He didn’t have them to give, but Otto’s thought was interesting. There was no doubt there were strong ties of karma between him and the Sluagh. “Otto is referring to a being called the Sluagh na marbh, and they are a host of the vengeful dead that gained sentience. They exist to claim souls who’ve built up too much resentment. Think of it like a champion of karma. It’ll torture them for eternity if it gets a hold of those souls. They are known by another name—the Wild Hunt. It’s nearly impossible to escape once it’s marked you as prey.”

“So he is your karmic guide? What did you call it, the moonbeam that guides you toward calm waters?” Sarah asked, and Otto chuckled at how she utterly destroyed Crow’s artistic intent. Her rephrasing left Crow speechless, and Otto was enjoying this moment. Truthfully, Crow was terrified because of what she said. It made it sound like the Sluagh was a spirit beast he tamed, and he shuddered at the thought.

“Please don’t belittle it like that,” Crow told her a little more sharply than he wanted, but no matter the bond he shared with the Sluagh, it was a primordial power that could destroy him as easily as breathing.

“Relax.”

“No. He right. Careful.”

“What? You act as if it’ll just show up.”

“It would, you fool. Trust me, that’s an encounter you don’t want as it would wreck your worldviews. You profess to worship the absence, right? It is a primordial being, and it can snuff your existence anywhere. The only thing saving your life right now is that you haven’t said its name, or you’d create a weak karmic bond with it.”

“Y-you are serious?”

Crow and Otto both nodded.

“What does it look like?”

“It is amorphous but usually appears as a murder of crows. Remember, it’s a host of vengeful souls, so it isn’t one thing. The being that usually talks to me is a three-headed crow. I mentioned before that I have a choice, but sometimes it is just the illusion of choice as all roads bring me to the same location. Like a mosquito drawn to light, I sometimes can’t avoid karmic events of a certain magnitude. Even if Acco, our Astrologer friend, didn’t bring us here. I’d have ended up down here one way or another.”

“That’s sad,” Sarah muttered, and they looked at her.

“What?” Otto asked and looked at Crow, who appeared even more confused than him.

“Paladins were raised to believe they are paragons of justice. Our existence is to cleanse the world of its filth, but the reality isn’t even close. You two represent our ideals more than my people, and you live that ideal on your terms. Sadly, it’s taken me this long to realize that sometimes the fight is greater than myself, which is the motto a paladin should follow. We will indeed return to the void when our time is over, but sending people there prematurely or because they don’t believe as we do…” Sarah sighed. “We’re the bad guys, right?”

“No,” Otto said. “Do bad things. Bad guy. You no do. Not bad guy. You blind. Now not. See wrong, fix wrong. Heart speaks. Follow it. No give up. Trust way. Crow sees way. Follow it. Strong conviction. He doubts, worries, pain, suffers, and struggles but always fights. Keep fighting. He do those. He stumbles but no falter. He fights.” Otto stepped up to her and slammed his palms heavily on her armored shoulders. “So fight. Be paladin. Show way.”

Sarah didn’t shift when Otto hit her, but he didn’t hit her hard. She stared into the innocent giant’s eyes and felt he had shaken her entire world. But that wasn’t the most amazing part. His words strengthened her foundation and reaffirmed her beliefs.