#btw no matter what i do i can't get that 8 in chapter 28 to turn orange lmao

[locked-in-the-tomb]

The Fate of Paul (a Locked Tomb Theory)

"Now I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed." — 1 Corinthians 15:50-51, NKJV

"Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." — 2 Kings 2:11, NKJV

"She, by an entirely unique privilege, completely overcame sin by her Immaculate Conception, and as a result she was not subject to the law of remaining in the corruption of the grave, and she did not have to wait until the end of time for the redemption of her body. [...] As the first element of these demonstrations, they insist upon the fact that, out of filial love for his mother, Jesus Christ has willed that she be assumed into heaven." — Defining the Dogma of the Assumption

"Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight." — Acts 1:9, NKJV

Paul has a problem. They are immortal, but their beloved Dulcinea is dead. In spite of that, both Camilla and Palamedes fully expected to get the chance to finally meet her—in person—after completing the Grand Lysis.

"Warden—will she know who we are, in the River?" "Oh, she's not stupid," said Palamedes lightly. "In the River—beyond the River—I truly believe we will see ourselves and each other as we really are." — Nona the Ninth, Chapter 28

How can this be?

To put it simply, I believe Paul will find a way to cross the River without dying.

To use biblical terminology, they will either ascend (of their own power) or be assumed (drawn by a higher power—Dulcinea?) into "heaven," which is to say, the world beyond the River—the side that Dulcinea and Abigail and Magnus and the terrible teens have reached.

"It's a river. There are two shores. If this ends well, you'll find that out." — Dulcinea, The Unwanted Guest

It's difficult to speculate at this point how they will cross or what will happen once they do because of how little we know about the true nature of the River or the two shores, which I take to mean either "the beyond" and the world of the living or "the beyond" and the world beneath the stoma, which we also have yet to see. I suspect the nature of the afterlife will be a major part of AtN (I believe we were promised Harrow harrowing hell? or is that a fan theory?).

Regardless, Paul, to us, is a dark horse. They are a new kind of lyctor and we have yet to really see what they are capable of. We do know that Pal, having spent eight months living in the River after the events of GtN, has an intimate knowledge of the workings of the River that few necromancers have ever achieved. I suspect this knowledge will play a role in how Paul finds their way to the other side, and to Dulcinea, at last.