Seth wandered aimlessly all the while staying on the narrow path. Everything looked the same, and he wasn't sure how far he had walked already, or how much he had left to go. He looked to his right, and saw the wavering water sit to the side of the path, beckoning him to dive in and forget what being alive was like.

Faintly recalling Morgana's words, he looked down at his ring, then slowly slid it off his finger and tucked it carefully inside his pocket. He took at step towards the water and looked into its in measurable depths before diving in.

Immediately the darkness consumed him. But it wasn't as terrible as before, he felt less afraid or hopeless and realized that before he had been eaten by the dark, now he should become it. He relaxed his body until he almost felt one with that water itself. His consciousness began to slip once more, but this time he didn't notice.

Something slapped him hard across the face. Seth's eyes snapped open and his sight net with a wrinkled, tall, and very thin woman… with blue skin. He stammered and coughed a little, she shook him not so gently but not too rough to help him get the water out of his lungs.

He sat up in her arms and bowed his head, "Thanks, um…" He glanced up at her, "Are you a demon?"

She rolled her three eyes and stood, "Jiin." Was all she said as she trudged away, dragging her shackled ankle behind her free one.

"Is that like a genie?" Seth asked, climbing to his feet and following her.

She stopped and looked back at him; she muttered something in some sort of Asian language that he didn't understand. But she did motion for him to stop moving. She kept walking and went back to being silent. Seth took a few more steps to follow her. She turned around again and tapped his forehead.

In his mind's eye, he suddenly knew where to go; a shortcut to get back to the dais. She seemed satisfied with that and was about to turn away when Seth said, "I know that's where you think I should go, but I don't want to go back there."

She seemed to be listening, so he continued. "I don't belong here, you don't either, do you?"

She paused for a moment, processing his question, and then tapped his forehead again. She walked away, but this time Seth didn't follow her, she had shown him where to find her if he ever needed her. It made him feel better to know that someone else down here was kind, but it pained him to see someone innocent jailed at the same time.

He followed the Jiin's instructions for getting back to his chair. He took a deep breath and put one foot on the surface of the water. Instead of sucking him in or letting him fall, it supported him and saw what he needed. When he opened his eyes again he was back at the edge of the dais.

He went back to his chair and sat down, tired from the ceaseless walking and the swim. His stomach growled, he was starving, the last time he ate something had been a day ago, his body was weakening and he could feel it. Would Morgana feed him? Probably not.

He relaxed in his seat, his body now accustomed to the darkness, and decided to sleep. But before he could close his eyes voice crashed into his mind like hammer blows. He reeled in his seat, all at once delirious. The noise grew stronger until he heard Slauthgras laughing in the background. Seth gritted his teeth and forced himself to fight the power of the whispers, moans, chants, pleas, cries, and screaming, yelling, taunting, laughter.

"Enough," A cool voice cut through the din, and all were silenced. Morgana stood in front of the throne, gazing piously at Seth with her green cat eyes. "You must eat to survive, here." She handed him some leathery balls the size of his eye, "These will sustain you."

Seth took one and looked at it. Poisoned? Maybe not. He stuck it inside his mouth and instantly regretted it. It was the worst thing he had ever tasted, it made him want to gag, but it filed the entire space of is mouth. He was forced to chew and swallow, at the end his throat was so parched he knelt down on the floor and puckered his lips to the surface of the water.

Morgana grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him backward, pulling him away from the water. "It is poison, you foolish boy." She struck him across the face and left him to get to his feet and watch as she vanished with the wooden platform once again.

Seth felt something warm trickle down the back of his neck, he reached back and felt his blood dripping from the nail marks Morgana had left. He removed his hand and looked at the garnet red shine. He almost turned away from the water and went back to sit on his chair, but the water moved as if a being of unknown size had just woken.

"What now?" Seth mumbled, too tired to deal with whatever came next. Vasilis was left back up in his old room, so he was virtually defenseless.

The water calmed to a slight ripple, but there was still a sense of tension in the water. Then a great but silent voice came from it.

Blood makes a contract. As unbreakable as death. Make a contract. Blood sacrifice. Give me your blood.

Seth felt himself fall into a trance; some part of him knew that was a terrible idea. But his body followed the voice's commands. He dipped his bloody hand into the water; he felt the water suck away the blood and he heard the voice again.

What is your name?

"Seth Sorenson." Seth muttered against his will. He had to fight this! He had to!

I am known by many names, among them Tartarus, Hell, and Xibalba. You knew me best as Inferno, old friend. Is that not right, Avitus?

"Not what you once were, friend." Seth mechanically said, "You are down here, you have fallen low."

But now, with you here, the key to my rise is here. The contract is made, you will resurrect me, and I shall unlock the secrets of death for you, young shadow charmer.

The presence faded, and Seth crumpled to the obsidian floor, unconscious and unaware of anything but the sounds of curiously familiar Latin being spoken to him softly.