The line between life and death is less strict here than in other places; the presence of the Lords blurs the border. One can cross easily, if the Lords allow.

Or want.

I was lured back to conscious existence by Nora’s voice. I opened my eyes as my mind dutifully reoccupied the flesh, the flesh where I no longer felt at home. Nora smiled, not in a dry, sad way like before, but full of joy. She was naked, her stomach disfigured by a fresh wound, a red line, as if she had been cut in half.

‘I’m home,’ she said. ‘I’m finally home and I understand everything! I understand myself!’

I was lying on the ground, and at first I couldn’t take in the perspective. Houses and palaces of indiscernible shape hung from the gigantic ceiling; tortured, distorted bodies writhed on the ceiling, and on the walls, tourists and devo­tees captured and pinned onto meathooks screamed their prayers for the Lords.

‘You look happier,’ I wanted to tell Nora, but no sound came from my wounded throat.

‘Don’t try to speak!’ Nora caressed my head. ‘You have been screaming for days in your death. The Frenchman gouged out his own eyes. He was lucky, they took his offering and let him go.’

She kissed me, the scent of spice filled my nose. From a distance I heard a scream that made my bones quake.

‘Listen to me!’ Nora went on, grabbing my chin with her fingers. Her grip was strong.

‘You have two options. One: you die. If that’s your choice I will make sure that you go relatively painlessly and never return. Do you understand?’

I nodded. I felt a sudden burst of love for her. She was the only person who mattered to me because she was the only one who offered a way out.

‘The other option is that you become my husband. They will wed us, and I will be your wife.’

I didn’t need time to think it over. I held her hand and kissed her ring finger. Nora blushed.

‘Are you sure this is what you want?’

I wanted it more than anything. I came to understand that this was why I had come on this trip. To be nullified, to be made nothing. To be even less than dead. That’s the highest reward. That’s why we all come.

Nora’s smile turned brilliant.

‘I will take off the wedding dress now,’ she said, then picked up a sharp stone from the ground. I understood why she had been cutting herself. She was just rehearsing for this one particular moment.