"Why would someone make a deal like that? I can't tell ya for certain. I've never really understood it myself." Like many things about humans, really.

"They must be convinced that whatever they'd be getting is worth it, but I can't see as how anything's worth getting eaten when you die. Humans have an afterlife waiting for them, right? So getting eaten would be like true death."

He paused. "That could be a reason. Maybe the idea of whatever waits for them on the other side is worse than just not existing any more. Maybe they don't think it'll really happen. Or maybe they just don't care what happens to them as long as they get what they want. People consumed with vengeance or greed, people who want more power than was meant for human hands. There are definitely folks like that out there."