***
{Outside The Projection}
Malik had done it indeed.
They were excited for him.
Proud of him.
But also scared for him.
Again, this wasn't anything new, but...
Most of those in the hall were getting agitated.
They no longer wanted to see this.
The sight of Malik sacrificing so much for them was just...
It was too much.
Unfortunately for their soft hearts, things were about to get much, much harder.
***
{Inside The Projection}
Malik fell.
He fell into the Sixth Gate:
Al-Sa'ir—The Blazing Flame.
He wasn't falling into the ground or an abyss.
No, he realized what this realm was the moment he looked down.
Malik was falling into a giant torch.
He saw it, the endless shape of a colossal inferno, its base somewhere far, far below.
Fire spiraled a short distance beneath him, brighter than white, louder than thunder, screaming like a hundred thousand damned.
Sinners fell with him—if they could be called them that.
