Respect is an elusive thing. It appears when a person walks their own path and stays true to it.

~Dagda, the All-Father, Chief of the Gods

The door turned transparent, and Crow passed through it minus his clothes. Before the door re-solidified, Mara burst out laughing as Crow stood there completely naked. Seeing what happened to Crow, she took out a few gold coins and tossed them at the door.

“Sacrifice accepted.”

As she passed through, she saw Crow getting dressed and couldn’t stop laughing.

“Your grandpa was right,” Mara claimed as she gave him an evil smirk.

“Shut it,” Crow mumbled with a red face.

After getting dressed, they looked around and approached a nearby railing. It was like the library, where the central area was all open space. Leaning out, Crow saw the chamber had five floors total, and they came out on the middle one. While the center area was empty, twelve walkways equidistant apart connected to a central column. On that twelve-sided column, each side had a ladder that went from the bottom to the top. Additional ladders were on each walkway to make it appear more maze-like, but these either went down or up—not both.

“Why not just put stairs in?” Mara asked, wondering what the purpose of this place was.

“It’s an arena. The moment we ascend or descend, we are practically at the mercy of whoever spots us. Don’t be fooled. That is a death trap.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Mara asked while she looked around.

“Look,” Crow said and pointed. They stood in a hallway that circled the floor, and along the wall were doors of all shapes, types, and sizes. Some didn’t even look like doors. “They are everywhere, so you just need to find the one that is yours.”

“Which way are you going?”

“To the top. If others show up, it’s easier to drop down than jump up. I figure I can always drop from the railing and grab onto the next floor if I need to avoid people.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“Fine, but if you find your door, then go—don’t wait for me. Remember, we need that tongue.”

Mara nodded and led the way toward the ladder going up to the fifth level.

The walkways were wide enough for three people to walk side by side, but it swayed under them. He was sure it could hold dozens of people without collapsing, but the movement didn’t engender confidence. It created a sense of uneasiness within him, and he tread cautiously.

Reaching the central column, they both chose a ladder and climbed up. The metal bars protruding from the stone column were solid, definitely sturdier than the walkways. At the top, they both chose a different direction and walked around, observing each door.

A dragon maw greeted him first, and it was lined with teeth and looked extremely fierce. Crow was sure this wasn’t his door. To the left, a door with a hand crank and copper pipes that released steam as pressure built up. It was easy to figure out how to open that door, but he didn’t quite understand all the pipes. Still, it looked fancy and bright with all the polished copper.

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Around he went, and each door was unique. Even the common-looking ones had some special trait that defined them. Even the materials used ranged could be as common as wood or as unique as bone. Some didn’t even seem like they’d open.

Mara stopped when he approached. “What door are you looking for?”

“The Door of Paradox.”

“Uh… never mind.”

“Just think of something that seems like your mind can’t process it.”

“For example…?”

“Like having to die to live. Or going back in time to teach yourself something you didn’t know. Don’t think about it too much. Think of my door as the riddle door.”

Mara gave him a weird look but kept searching. She had already headed down to the next floor when Crow approached the last door on the top floor. Mist filled the semicircular-shaped entry, and as the mist moved, it looked as if there were creatures within the shifting moisture. Despite his fascination, Crow knew it wasn’t his door. So he headed toward the ladder.

The withered Vodun Crow saved earlier entered the Chamber of Doors as he was climbing down. Only he the man was now missing an arm. They both spotted each other about the same time, but the Vodun didn’t do anything threatening. It was clear the man was tense, but his lack of action was like a silent acknowledgment. Sometimes even enemies could respect one another, and if nothing else, Crow felt the man at least had some honor despite being a Hex Vodun.

Mara ignored them both, and the Vodun’s eyes widened as he saw her. It was to be expected since he’d witnessed her getting snatched by the Muirdris. Overall, it was just a very awkward scenario, and everyone ignored each other for different reasons. Now that someone was present, Crow went back to pretending he didn’t know Mara, and she did the same.

During that time, Crow also changed his mind and went to the bottom floor. It felt like something was calling him there. The first thing he saw when he stepped off the ladder was a stone face protruding from the wall, and it was staring at him. At first, he thought it was just a carving, but as he moved, the eyes followed. It wasn’t an optical illusion like seen in paintings, but the eyes were actually moving.

“What are you?” Crow asked.

“What are you?” It asked back with an emphasis on ‘you.’

“I am…” He stopped himself from saying more.

“I am…” the door replied.

A paradox pushed the boundary between true and false. If Crow had said he was human, and the door said it was human, would it still be a door?

“I—”

“I.”

No, not that simple. The answer didn’t need to be paradoxical, it just needed to define the door, so there was no ambiguity between true and false. More than that, he had to define the state of the door. Or at least he thought he did. If he claimed he was a door, would he be able to open it after the fact? Hell, if by defining what it was, could he also call it something else besides a door?

It hurt his head just thinking about it.

“I am an open door leading to the treasure room.”

The face on the wall smirked. “Nice try.”

“What? Aren’t you… what are you doing?”

“I am guarding a door. What are you doing?”

“I’m trying to enter the door.”

“Ah, but to enter this door, you must leave.”

“What? Wait, yes, that’s exactly what I want to do.”

“Then the only way forward is backward. Isn’t that how you entered this place?”

“Huh?” Crow was confused now, but a moment later, he slapped his forehead. The face was never the exit. He rushed toward the ladder and climbed up to the middle floor, but the moment he stepped onto the swaying walkway, two of the Vodun entered the chamber of doors. Essentially block his way.

One of them immediately started casting, but Crow was faster. The arrow went right through the man’s wrist, forcing his spell to be miscast. It amazed him that the guy managed to cast at all, and the black sphere of energy hit his buddy’s leg, and neither of them could continue fighting.

It horrified Crow to see the other man’s leg sloughing flesh like a snake shedding skin. That corrosive spell was nasty. The only upside was that it just took off a few layers of skin, which was something he could heal given enough time to cultivate.

Summoning back his arrow, he grabbed the man with a hole in his wrist and tossed him over the railing. It wasn’t high enough of a fall to kill a cultivator, but it should hurt like hell. He didn’t even bother to look at the guy with the gross leg. He’d prefer never seeing something like that ever again.

Instead, he went for the entrance and pushed on the door.

“Sacrifice accepted.”

“Gods be damned!” Crow growled as his clothes disappeared, and he passed through the door into a massive hall with black-and-white checkered tiles.