Page 300 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

His mother strains a smile. “And why do you think demons might be involved?”

“I am not sure. But demons have always been drawn to conflict due to the large number of deaths. The Sons of Tenebreis are said to use those made demons to get stronger so they can finally escape their prison realm. It wouldn’t be far-fetched to believe the SoT are trying to create more conflicts so they can consume more souls.”

“The only issue I would have with that is the fact that people were not killed in cold blood at my camp. Sure, there were those who tried to escape, but otherwise, we were left alone.”

“Perhaps your camp, but I have heard rumors of medical experiments.”

“What type of experiments?”

Rità straightens her back and leans forward.

“Underground laboratories where disgraced doctors perform all types of tests. Some of them are merely biological, testing the limits of the human body. But others…” She glances at Mine. “I have heard from some sources that they are trying to see what happens after death.”

“How would they do that?”

“By killing someone and then reviving them.”

“How is that possible?” I blink in confusion.

“There are some ways to momentarily stop the heart,” Mine explains. “Freezing temperatures can do that to the human body. If submerged in freezing water, the heart eventually stops. If the body is then immediately taken out and electric impulses aresent to the heart, the person can, technically, revive from the dead.”

“What?” I whisper, shocked. “I have never heard of anything like that.”

“There are cases in which this type of death occurs naturally, which is why we have accounts of people’s experiences of the afterlife,” his mother explains.

That only makes me more confused. Life and death are black and white. There are no shades of gray in the middle. No dying and coming back—under any circumstances. Well…technically, there is no coming back if we’re talking about mortals. There are other ways to come back, one being as a made-demon, or as one of those rare vampires created by the House of Skia.

“But…” My brows knit together. “If they are to go to the afterlife, that would mean they would follow a messenger to P’asala. They cannot return once they do that.”

“They can and they do,” Rità mentions. “I’ve seen it in my research. In fact, I’ve interviewed a great number of people who’ve experienced these near-death episodes and they all described similar things. They recall being led down a long, barren road toward an unknown destination and seeing some type of apparitions before being yanked back into their bodies.”

“That…”

“I can only conclude that it must not be their time to die yet and thus they are allowed to return to their bodies while their mortal biology still allows it.”

I mull on her words for a moment. Although it seems impossible to believe, there is a logical explanation to it. Mistakes happen, as evidenced by my interference with fate. And the House of Moirai is always striving to fix those mistakes. If the mortal in question can still survive in their original body, then it stands to reason that the House of Moirai would sendthem back. Given that the messengers are not sentient beings, they cannot stop a soul from being sent back by a higher power.

What strikes me the most is the fact that I was never taught any of this. If Rità interviewed multiple people who experienced this, then it’s not a one-off phenomenon. Why was I never told this could happen?

I also assume that since the soul exits in P’asala and returns to its original realm, it once more becomes vulnerable to demon attacks. For this reason alone, we should have been taught about it.

“You think they are experimenting with killing people and reviving them?” I ask carefully. If that is true, it could change everything

“Yes, though I am still trying to understand what the aim is,” she notes with a sigh.

My hand tightens around the fork before it falls onto the plate, a thud echoing in the room.

“Minnie?”

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I mutter, suddenly getting up. A wave of dizziness assails me as I stumble forward. Strong arms catch me, pulling me into his embrace.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, his voice worried.

His mother jumps out of her seat, coming toward me and regarding me with concern.

“You know what they’re trying to do,” she mentions quietly.

I nod.

---