"There was an evil god who controlled a whole continent and was torturing and killing millions of people. And she had a way to stop him. But she had to - she had to trap him inside of a baby, and then kill the baby, and then he'd be destroyed forever."

" - okay I would not actually have expected that to be ruled evil."

" - she murdered her child."

" - right but that's, what, two years of service to the poor? Under ordinary, much less sympathetic circumstances? And you're allowed to kill civilians in the course of killing an evil god, if you didn't have a better way!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sorry. I just - man, there's a lotta paladins who've killed babies for stupider reasons."

"Are you from a place with people who call themselves paladins."

"...paladins call themselves paladins?"

"I mean, I would figure, but - what, are there, like, wizards and clerics and rangers and druids - "

"Yes? Shouldn't there be?"

"That - sounds like you're from a D&D world, or something. That is mildly bizarre."

"In my experience almost all myths are true."

"Okay but D&D isn't a myth, it's from, like, the seventies - admittedly they did raid just about all the myths in existence for the bestiary, but, like - "

"I'm confused how you know about Heaven and Hell but are surprised by the existence of clerics and paladins."

"Heaven and Hell are normal religious concepts that people borrowed when they decided to make up the game where clerics and paladins and rangers and wizards go around exploring dungeons and fighting dragons."

"Maybe you're from a plane where magic doesn't work? I think I've heard of that."

"No, magic works, just - nevermind."

And another person appears. 

She looks the same as the other Karen, except younger, and thinner, and a lot less hydrated, and also not wearing any clothes.

She stares around her in mild puzzlement. This place is different than the place where she was before. That's weird and has never happened before. It's been a very very very long time since anything weird has happened.

" - Karen?" he says this time, instead of immediately rushing to hug her.

She turns around and blinks at him. He appears to be whatever sort of thing she is. A person. She was pretty sure there weren't any other people who weren't imaginary.

"...should someone be giving her clothes."

"I think that's a good idea," says Hagan, who is still shirtless.

He takes off his jacket. "It's - it's probably been thousands of years -"

"How?"

She doesn't, like, reach for the jacket, or anything, she just sort of stares at them. They are making sounds. That's interesting. Way more interesting than most things that happen.

(None of her thoughts are in words, and none of her thoughts are private. The last time she was around she scarcely ever stopped thinking words, but now she isn't doing that at all.)