"We have no evidence that says otherwise."
The old man’s voice echoed inside her head for a few seconds before she close the book and straightened her back.
"What happens to the people who had a demon essence on them?" Ava asked.
"They are hunted."
"Who hunts them?"
"Bounty Hunters. The demon realm is a mysterious place. We have been trying to study them for hundreds of years with little to no result. Still, some organizations were doing their best to eliminate demons. Most of them had received a gift from Angels."
"And they are called Bounty hunters?"
The old man nodded.
"Sounds..." straight from the movies. "So there is another world out there, huh?" A completely different world that is bigger than her and Matthew being mates. For some reason, that actually made her happy. This only means that her case isn’t unique.
The unexplored truths behind this world and the others could be the key to their mating!
"So, I am going to send you to the pits with the next bounty hunters."
Ava blinked at the old man’s words. What did he just say? Her eyes widened. "You mean I am going to pretend to be one?"
"Not pretend. You are going to become one. That is the only way that you could come in and possibly get out alive."
"So, I am going to kill a criminal?"
"Yes. No one can really tell us anything inside the pits because of its current circumstances but we believe a lot of criminals hide in that place as they know it would be very hard to find them when they are in that place. Moreover, the bounty hunters that people would send after them might not even survive, given the harsh conditions in that place."
"So, I am going to the pits as a bounty hunter than hunts criminals with no Intel and with no guarantee that the person who I am looking for is inside that place?"
"Precisely. Of course, you can stay here and just— "
"I am going." What is this old man’s problem? She frowned. "My only concern is the fact that I would forget everything related to the Pits once I get out. How should I know if I successfully killed the criminal that I was looking for?"
"You won’t." The Shaman said. "We don’t have any other way but to trust the fact that you could come out of there alive. Again, the only way to come out of that place is to win in the Pit games ten consecutive times. Killing outside of the games doesn’t count."
"So if I kill anyone outside of the games, it’s alright?"
"We believe so."
"But you cannot confirm this because the people who left the pits forget everything." How troublesome. Ava bit her lower lips. "That could be a problem."
"It is."
"Some criminals might not want to leave The Pits."
"That is true."
"We don’t even know if they established their own society inside."
"That is a fact."
"So going in there is perilous, it’s risky."
"But you love taking risks."
"I do," she answered almost immediately. "Staying in your comfort zone will not help you grow."
"Very well said."
"So, am I going there alone?"
"No. I will introduce you to a few people when the time comes. For now, follow me to the study."
Ava complied. And the two went to the old man’s study.
"This is the basic map of Mourning Pits. It is believed that Mourning Pits and The Pits should have similar climate and weather. And electricity doesn’t work on this plane. As you might have already noticed, there is no electricity here. We have tried to bring gadgets, but they don’t really work in this place. That’s why I told you to pack light. Laptops, phones, even a battery-operated light bulb doesn’t work."
Ava nodded. This place is indeed very mysterious. Whoever made this must be very powerful.
She looked at the map and realized that it was actually smaller than what she originally expected. But the fact that people in Mourning Pits don’t really stay here should explain that.
To get to the Pits, people needed to access Mourning Pits. It was the only entrance to the pits. To get to the Mourning Pits, an ordinary shifter needed to ride a boat for more than thirty hours or wait for a random portal door to open somewhere. Of course, a witch can use teleportation, but they need to use a magick circle with the direct coordinates of Mourning Pits.
Still, being a witch is definitely better than riding a boat for thirty-two hours.
"So, I am going to presume that most people living in Mourning Pits are Bounty Hunters?" Ava asked.
"Yes. It’s easier for them to stay here, especially since they have nowhere else to go. Some of them are just solitary witches, some solitary shifters who just chose to spend the rest of their lives living in danger."
"But what if they don’t come back?" Ava asked. "I mean, it could take them years to kill ten people inside."
"Then another person will occupy the house. It’s nothing special. People die all the time."
Ava nodded. "Have you been there?" her finger landed on the letters inside a circle on the map. "The pits."
"Once or twice."
"And you survive."
"I have."
"But you couldn’t remember a thing?"
"No."
"How about Baba?"
"Why do you ask?"
Ava shrugged in response. "Just curious. She’s very strong."
"No. Babaylan would never do that. She’s the conservative type. The woman would never put herself in any danger. She’s not as reckless as you."
Ava nodded.
"Well, I want you to read this." Shaman Gaas said.
"What is this?"
"It’s how you train your soul. If you succeed, you should be able to do astral projection and successfully control your abilities."
"Like dream walking?"
"Yes."
"Uh... I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Do you think I could still dream walk inside the Pits?"
The old man lifted his eyebrow.
"I wouldn’t know that. Even if I did knew that one time. I have forgotten about it."
Ava lowered her head as she thought of dream walking inside Matthew’s dreams. Then she smiled. "I need to start my training." Now, she is more motivated than ever!
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