A BOTTOMLESS CURSE, A BOTTOMLESS SEA || CAUSTIC

[BLOODHOUND.]

Bloodhound hears Caustic before they can see him. A great wolf, trudging through the brush, his breath peppered with coughs, a large man who also happened to be fairly noisy. Their eyes fall upon the other's large frame as it comes into view, and they twist away from the playful raven, rising to their four, the black bird fluttering into a nearby tree, cawing.

Caustic speaks, getting very quickly to the point. Bloodhound supposed they needed little preamble. They bow their head in greeting, taking a moment to think before responding.

"I am not sure," They say truthfully. Carefully. "...I remember that I was in the ring." Concussed and bleeding out. "I had lost. In the space between losing the fight and death, I found myself here."

They had died wrong, had slipped between the cracks of a world class insurance company. They would not pretend that dying and being constantly revived for the sake of crowd entertainment was a sort of healthcare.

"I thought it may have been the will of The Allfather, that I yet had another trial. But..." They glance again at Caustic, head cocking to one side curiously. "...now I am not so sure."

They were sent by The Gods, they fought to prove themself to The Allfather, fought to satiate His need for blood. Whatever sent Caustic had long been disproved to be a god. And if it was divine, it was not something they wanted to meet.

"Have you seen any of the others?" Or rather, it was better to ask... is it just us?

THE TRUE TEST IS BEFORE THE ALLFATHER.