"Mr. Quentin Thorntrope, that's enough. You have been assessed properly. Please return to your bed as we commence the next step."
The voice put a complete and utter halt to Quentin's escapades. He looked around one more time, checking for the source of the sound, and yes, he was sure there weren't any speaker outlets.
As a matter of fact, he was certain that the voice had spoken right inside his head!
'Am I finally going mad?'
"No, you aren't. I wouldn't let that happen to you. I'm coming in now, so please refrain from any illogical doings, as I wouldn't know how to react if I feel threatened."
Quentin didn't know what to think anymore.
The mind was one place; as a matter of fact, it was the only place where one had total and complete privacy.
But here he was, in a strange room with strange voices entering directly into his mind.
Suddenly, a noise came from somewhere down the room. Not far off the spot he had chosen to practice his punching prowess.
He held his breath and took some steps back as a doorway seemed to manifest out of thin air, and he waited to see who or what was going to walk into the room.
At first he was convinced that it was some twisted pedicure work.
The curved, protruding claws on the toe shone a dark red like they were painted with the blood of some poor sucker, then the legs matted with thick brown fur came into view, and then the rest of the body.
Judging by the pristine curves at the hips level, Quentin could tell it was a lady.
The lady held a staff in her left hand and had on some kind of pink robe that covered most of her front area but left a sizeable gap at the thighs, making them pop out in glorious fashion.
She looked beautiful if it was possible for something definitely not human to look beautiful.
Her perfect symmetrical face bore a couple of horns. Two small red ones protruding from the left, two red of similar size from the right, and then one shining gold one beautified the centre of her head.
She had matching gold bands on her wrist and ankles too.
Behind her was a shorter being. Quentin could tell it was male. It made no efforts in concealing its chest area and had on quip-looking glasses. He followed right behind her, clutching some weird device Quentin didn't understand on his hand.
Quentin wondered for a brief moment what the possibility was that he could take on his two jailers.
"Don't." The lady thingy said.
Quentin nodded his head in a guilty but funny way.
"Are we going to stare at each other all day? Or will someone tell me what the hell is going on?" he asked.
"First off, the sun has long set, and as a matter of fact, you're taking this surprisingly well," she replied.
"Yeah, you can't do too much against creatures that can read your mind, now can you?"
"We're Naguals. Not 'creatures' as you so explicitly put, but Naguals. Follow me, let's get you something to eat, but first sit while Gallows here takes care of that."
She said, pointing with her staff towards Quentin's bloodied hands.
Quentin didn't realise just how hungry he was until the lady Nagual talked about food. His belly grumbled an embarrassing noise as the lady left the two alone in the room.
'Now I wonder just what kind of personality you have?'
Gallows walked with his head down as if he were searching for a lost pin or some other stuff. He motioned Quentin towards the bed and whipped out a bandage from somewhere behind that Quentin wasn't totally comfortable with.
"You can't read minds, huh?"
"U-uhmm, no, I can't... How did you know?" Gallows asked.
"Well, before I go on... did you bring out the bandage thingy from your ass?"
Gallows face flushed pink.
"N-noo, I've got a tiny pouch I carry behind a flap on my kilt," he said, turning around to show Quentin and knocking the bandage off the bed.
"Oh? I apologise. Though that's how I realised. I thought about it first, and you made no reaction.
"Lady Amira is the only Nagual around you'd find with that ability."
"Let me guess, because of the staff she wields."
"Yeah, I guess you could say that."
Quentin handed him the bandage he had picked up from the floor.
"It's nice to meet you, Gallows; please let's get this over with. I'm dying of hunger here."
Gallows eye sunk, "What do you mean by you're dying?"
Quentin cocked his brows, "It was an expression, bro, calm down."
"Calm down? But I'm calm? Oh, wait, another one of your 'expressions.' Gallows replied with a chuckle.
When Gallows was done patching up his hand, he led Quentin out of the room, and they walked past the observation area where Gallows had stood while watching Quentin.
Quentin stole a glance at the glass he had been punching, and when he saw the mess he had caused on the other side, he was kind of happy his hard work wasn't all for naught.
Then he was led past a small hallway and into a larger room where Lady Amira sat exuding grace by a table.
"Sit," she said, motioning towards Quentin.
"We have some things to discuss before you're sent out on your journey."
Quentin was fully engrossed by the meal on the table and muttered some incoherent gibberish as he sat down to eat.
There was something ironic about the last meal he had alive and the first meal he was about to have dead.
"Just to be super certain... I am dead, right?"
Gallows stared at him, while Lady Amira answered.
"Yes. I mean, your last life as a human ended. You remember it well, don't you?"
The thoughts of the freezing water flashed past his mind, and Quentin shuddered.
He brushed it off as he began eating.
"So, you said we had something to talk about? What exactly are you guys?" He asked, mouth half-stuffed.
Lady Amira looked at him with a little disgust as she wiped away a spittle from her glistening fur.
Quentin noticed and gave a sheepish apology. "Sorry."
"We're Naguals, as I told you earlier. We are a breed of—what do you call it? 'creatures'—that can shape-shift from our beautiful, pristine form into you humans."
Gallows, who had been standing all along, decided to get himself a seat.
"O-okay… Is this the treatment all humans get? I was kind of expecting heaven, or I don't know—hell"
Quentin stopped eating at this point; for some reason he felt like he was about to receive some answers to the reason he was here.
"No. Generally, humans do not come here. Well, some certain kinds of humans do. Half-Myths."
"Hmmm, half-myths, you say, and to be clear... That's what I am?"
"Yes. A little secret: all the mythological beings you've heard of, the ones human parents use to scare their children into being good? The ones humans have worshipped and praised for eons? We are all real."
"Huh," Quentin said, resuming his feast. "Y'all don't need to eat anything?"
Gallows shrugged, "Don't worry about us."
"I'm not like a part of your meal, right? Like you guys aren't just fattening me up for some late dinner?"
Gallows chuckled. Lady Amira ignored the comment.
"After your food, you'll go and get some rest, and tomorrow you'll start your calling," she continued.
"Calling? And what might that be?"
"First, you'll head to the limbo circle; there you'll learn what it takes to be a half-myth, Gallows said.
Lady Amira stood up and glanced at Quentin, and he could have sworn he saw a hint of kindness in her cold demeanour.
"I'll leave you and Gallows to chat as I have some urgent work to attend to. I might see you before you leave tomorrow."
And with that, she excused herself from the table.
"She's not a real chatter, huh?"
"You'll have to forgive the lady. She has seen much more than either of us could ever comprehend."
"Whatever man." Quentin said as he drank the last of the wine from his cup. He heaved a strong sigh of relief.
"I really hope my recent good luck with meals lasts forever, bro."
"It won't."
Quentin looked at him with a 'Come on, bro' face.
"Man, you couldn't have let me live in my delusions for a minute."
"It's going to get much worse, Quentin. I look at you, and your spirit gives off such a pleasant and welcoming vibe. I hope it lasts forever."
"But?"
Gallows sighed.
"The Mythical Realm is a dark, dark place. Rarely ever does one retain their true nature when faced with the hardships this realm dishes out."
"What exactly is this Limbo place I have to go to tomorrow? Do I really need to? I'd honestly have no issue staying here with you Naguals. Y'all look like you could use good company."
It was Gallows time to stand up from his seat.
"It's pretty late, and I'm really tired, so I'm afraid I have to call it a night too. But first, come along; I've got something to show you."
Quentin wasn't too eager to get up. Especially not after stuffing his belly full with food, but he got up anyways and followed.