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"I learned them the same way you did," the voice said.

Morgunov tilted his head, trying to lean more into his curiosity than his frustration. His vision was returning, at least. The world of white was fading back into the Pit Chamber.

He soon noticed that something was amiss, however.

The Pit was no longer active. The containment field made of pure fire and ardor was gone, and the only glimpse of the golden glow was now all over his body.

Asad and Qorvass were still there, both strapped down and apparently unconscious. Good thing, too. The reaper might have been able to escape just now, while Morgunov was both blinded and distracted.

Strange. He hadn't told the Pit to power down. It could have decided to do that on its own, though, if it had determined that its job was done.

He didn't see any physical form for this voice, however. Not that he expected to.

First things first. He moved over to Qorvass in order to make sure the reaper was indeed secure.

Before he got there, the voice spoke up again. "You wished to meet a god, did you not? A so-called Primordial?"

That made him pause. He didn't remove his gaze from Qorvass, though. This voice seemed to be coming from within the tattoos themselves, as he could feel the physical vibrations of sound carrying throughout his body.

Not telepathy, then. Which made sense. He built up his defenses against that long ago. He would've clocked a psychic intruder right away.

But then how did the voice learn those old words? And now these new questions? If the voice hadn't pulled the information out of his mind, then...?

"How did you know that?" asked Morgunov.

"A dull question from a dull mind," said the voice. "Ask something more intelligent."

Hoo boy. Trying to annoy him, eh? Such tactics usually didn't affect him, but he had to admit, he was struggling. Whoever this was, she'd caught him off guard.

For the first time in a long while, Bool's mind was actually playing a significant role here. Keeping him balanced. He needed not to lose his cool.

"That won't work, little missy," said Morgunov. "Deflect all you like, but one way or another, I'll find my answers. It'd be better for you in the long run if you just cooperated, otherwise I might get a bit vindictive later."