"You notice they respawn different here?"

"Yeah. No running back to your body. Nicer. Though we still don't have our stuff. Maybe we're close to her body though?"

Hazel looks around, stupid duller eyes. "Huh, skeleton. That yours, Malen?"

"Those are skeletons? Dunno. There's a bunch around here. Opal!" Then, at the top of her lungs: "OPAL!!!"

"...Malen?"

Running towards his voice: "Opal! It's me, I came back!"

She is collided with by a teary, huggy Opal.

"I thought you were... gone!"

"I did too! But there was this weird underground place with water, and other kids and gods, including a god of death. He pushed me into this thing and then I woke up here. Two of the other kids decided to come back with me, there's a bunch of places and the one they're from is horrible."

He's shaking with relief. "Kay, kay... what's a god?"

"A really powerful jerk. I think they have control over a specific thing? And they make gardens, which is what the places kids wake up are called. The death god says they don't die, too."

"So, this is Opal?" Hazel says as he catches up.

"Yeah! Opal, this is Hazel, and over there's Kenet!" (Kenet waves.)

"We're from the Garden of Bilas. Usually I have fur."

"This is the Garden of Sophia, apparently. She showed up and made them answer trick questions before she'd let them here."

"In our garden we train for the war that never ends"

"He's being dramatic, but yeah. There's a lot of fighting and dying."

"Ten times!"

"I've died... I think I'm on life thirteen? And I tended to spend a bit of time dead talking to people."

"What's it like being dead?"

"Kind of boring. The underworld's got a bunch of reeds standing in water, and the sky's rock with diamonds. Sometimes Veles the really annoying god of death comes to talk at you."

"Gods sound weird."

"They kind of are!"

"Think it's fun?"

"Being a god? They sure seem to enjoy it."

"You guys wanna meet Laashya and Bina?"