Time passes in the temple, and word comes back that the water has drained.

As we prepare, I see several challengers rousing from their rest. Those who've grown restless from a long period of idleness.

Samantha and I have no place in some of the parties that form. My companion is stoic in the face of so many who revile her.

I pat her on the shoulder. "Come on."

The road from the temple is peaceful, the mud drying.

It takes a few days to reach the point where we had been stopped.

Despite the lack of water, many snakes remain.

Many other challengers stand around trying to figure out what to do.

"We could use long sticks to push them away from the path."

While I join them in thoughts of how to pass this hurdle, I feel the blue snake slide down my leg.

Thoughts of the giant snake stir in my mind.

As expected, the blue snake begins hissing and rasping at the mass of idle snakes.

A chorus of hisses seems to shout down the blue snake.

But, my companion is a persistent little bastard. And after a while, the stubborn serpents slide off from the center of the road.

A thin path passable by only one or two people takes shape while the blue snake slides back into its position in my sleeve.

"Do you trust me?"

Samantha looks at me for a moment.

"More than anyone I remember."

I chuckle. "That'll have to do. Let's move before the snakes change their minds.

The first step is like walking on thin ice. Every muscle trying to maintain stability.

In the second step, I realize how many snakes are writhing and hissing around me.

Each step gets Samantha and me further from any help. The other challengers would only be able to help a foot in.

The middle of the mess calms me to some degree. Theoretically, it's all downhill from here.

I can't risk looking back to Samantha. But I haven't heard any distress from her.

Only a few steps away, and I begin to feel complacent. But, of course, that can't be allowed to happen.

I nearly jump out of my skin when I hear an agonized scream.

I can imagine the circumstances. They saw the path clear and didn't want to miss the opportunity.

One step, and I'm clear.

Samantha shortly follows.

Three other men and a woman make it through the snakes.

Those who missed the grace period earned by the blue snake have failed in their challenge against the gate.

With haste, those who succeeded move away from the lethal pit.

We catch our breath, and I can tell that the challengers want to travel as a group. As they ask for a party, I note their eyes going to my sleeve.

A couple have an issue with traveling in the party of a demonic thrall.

I'm surprised to see Samantha get angry.

"You got a problem?" I ask them bluntly.

Sullen eyes look away, "No."

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With that, our party moves along.

As the days pass, I can't help but feel as though we are being watched.

At the end of a day's journey, I have someone else take the watch and slink off into the surrounding foliage.

I have a general direction where I think the observer is following from.

I'm no expert at stealth, but I move quietly around the location.

Bat in hand, I approach the man's back.

A slight cough comes from my throat causes the voyeur to jump as he turns to see me.

For the briefest of moments, I see something I wasn't expecting.

The man's eyes have vertical slits for pupils and brilliant golden irises.

The moment doesn't last, and a blink shows more normal eyes.

My bat is ready to strike. But the stranger puts up their hands.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"I'm no one. I just..." he pauses to come up with an excuse.

I can see this isn't going anywhere.

"Get lost. We'll mind our business. You mind yours."

The man repeatedly bows his head before hastily retreating.

I can't get over the fleeting sight of his golden eyes. He was one of them.

If I had killed the thing, there would have been more hostility from the Annunaki.

Land of snakes, I wonder.

Annunaki was a subject of interest in the ancient astronaut community.

I only have a cursory knowledge of the race. But, they were supposed to be a reptilian species that once enslaved mankind.

It's ludicrous. But, with things I've been experiencing lately, those crackpots in the community are sounding fairly reasonable.

With a frown on my face, I return to the camp. The watchman, alarmed by my sudden appearance, stands up.

His tension is released as he recognizes me.

I return to my bedroll and rest easier knowing our observer is gone. Even if only for a moment.

At times, I forget the perpetual twilight of this world, as if the sun was ready to go up or down. But refuses to go anywhere.

I think about the peculiarity of this world as I watch the shadows dance with their own will.

Is everything possible? If all realities send their dead to this place, how big could this world be? And where do those who die, here, go?

As we walk the final stretch to our third temple, my thoughts are all over the place.

Unlike the first two illuminated by torches, this temple uses the purple Lightstone I'd seen before.

And this temple is noticeably smaller than the last.

There's no greeting. No monks going back and forth on the grounds.

This residence of a god looks like it hasn't been maintained for centuries, at least.

Nothing seems vandalized. It's just empty.

An awkward tension passes through us as we walk the grounds of this temple.

I have a general idea of where to find the god, if it's there.

I steer us in that direction and see the other parties circling the area.

No one wants to be first. But someone has to look.

I turn to Samantha, "Wait here. I'll be quick.

I speak with confidence I lack.

Still, this is part of the trial.

I wonder what kind of animist god this temple will display.

My footsteps grow loud in my ears as I enter the cavernous residence.

I feel a lump in my throat as I look for the god.

The room is as decrepit as the outside.

After a while, I start thinking my effort in vain. But I have to try, at least.

"Hello."

My words echo on dead walls and ceiling.

With a sigh, I'm about to turn to leave.

"Challenger," comes a rasping voice.

The origin is right behind me.

I would try to turn, but I feel a rusty sickle wrap around my throat.

"I have come for your blessing," I say tremblingly.

A hideous laughter fills the room, and I'm sure my party outside hears the cackle.

"Blessing?" It asks in a whisper.

Haltingly, I nod my head before the blade. "Yes."

The blade kisses my throat, "You would ask for a blessing from death?"

I'm surprised I can stay standing.

"Yes," is my answer.

The haunting laughter once more rings throughout the building.

Silence settles, but the blade doesn't retract.

"Death's blessing? Can you bear it?"

"Yes," I manage.

The sickle retreats and I feel the figure move away.

I'm hesitant to look. But, finally, turn around.

What I see is the epitome of death.

An abyssal black cloak is cloaking it entirely in shadow.

A reaper's scythe replaces the sickle.

I try to swallow, but my mouth is dry.

"You want my blessing?" it asks again.

"Yes."

For a moment, I hope I've convinced it.

"Stand still," death commands me.

Terror stirs in me as I watch the god of death raise its aged scythe.

My bowels run cold as the blade seeks me.

But, somehow, I don't flinch.

Death's reaping blade cuts into me.

A gaping wound that grows as the scythe cuts me diagonally from the shoulder.

The pain is tremendous. My life is a memory. My afterlife, short.

The blade comes out at the waist. My bones extposed to the air before the reaper.

And then, the pain ends. It began as the scythe cut into me and ended when it left.

The agony and fire that cut through me are replaced by confusion.

A great malevolent laugh fills the grand room as I look from myself to the figure.

Death disappears in a blink of an eye. But, the laughter carries.

My legs as lead, I walk out of the residence.

The faces I see are fearful as I return to them.

"What happened?" the woman in our party asks.

"Death."

The woman blanches as she contemplates my meaning.

"What should we do?"

The question is asked by one of the men.

I look from one face to the next.

"Don't flinch."

The party pushes me for details. And I do everything I can to prepare them for the trial.

Finally, someone works up the courage and disappears into the giant mouth.

More laughter comes as we wait.

It takes a while. But, the person comes back out. Their face pale and their limbs heavy.

The situation repeats.

An evil laugh of pure amusement reaches out to us. But, this time, the laughter is followed by one word.

"Unworthy."

We wait. But no one comes out.

The last person to go in enters with that in mind. But succeeds, with their wits all but gone.

We all want to be far from this place and leave the temple immediately.

Our party is one fewer. We walk with somber hearts until we make camp and rest.