The large door opened, Benjamin rode the carriage inside.
The new road was dark, only lit with the flame of torches on either side.
Soon the carriage stopped near an intersection between two streets.
Rathcliffe opened the door of the carriage and spoke in a mellow tone.
"You didn't expect this did you?"
"How? Was that… some type of voodoo supernatural magic?"
Rathcliffe just smiled and shook his head. He walked to a door just at a wall near the intersection and clicked on what seemed to be a panel next to it.
Abel was perplexed at his surroundings. It seemed as if his view on the world was about to be overturned.
The Supernatural!
Those were the words Rathcliffe had used to explain it.
Abel hadn't been a religious person, not of recent that is.
He'd stopped going to the Cathedral after the incident. He blamed the gods for abandoning the world, abandoning him.
Where were they when his sister was turned to a pile of ash amongst the many victims?
Where were they when an unholy sun ascended into the sky, turning almost half of Belmont into ash?
Where were they when others called him mad for what he saw?
Abel stopped trying to explain the unexplained after his answers remained unanswered.
But Magic? This was new terrain to him.
Just then, Rathcliffe clicked a button, the door before him puffed up steam, grinding open.
It was an elevator powered by a steam engine.
Rathcliffe signalled for Abel to follow. Both of them entered the elevator, which closed its doors and went down.
Abel was curious about many things, but he felt at this point that it was unnecessary to ask just yet.
Rathcliffe looked at him with a side glance, nodding to himself as if approving of his mandated silence.
Soon, after a minute of going down, the elevator grinded to a halt and the door opened, steam puffing from it.
"Welcome to the Belly of Ouroborus" Rathcliffe announced as the steam began to clear.
Abel's vision began to clear, and what he saw amazed him.
It was an underground city, as large as the Eastern Borough. The scale was so massive, Abel couldn't see the end of it.
His mouth hung open slightly, his heart trembling.
This was almost as big a shock as the second Sun.
''How… Does this exist?" Abel couldn't help blurting out. What even stunned him more was the traffic.
Regular people were seen walking to and from between different buildings. The town was lit up with electric bulbs powered by what seemed to be steam engines placed in specific zones.
Pipes were connected to these engine rooms, going up towards the ceiling of rock above.
"You'll understand soon" Rathcliffe said, striding towards a building just a few meters away. The building was guarded by heavily armed soldiers with helmets and what seems to be white faceless masks adorned in their faces.
Two of the soldiers held repeater rifles, whilst the third a steam powered machine gun.
They all saluted as Rathcliffe walked up to the door.
Rathcliffe nodded, before showing a golden coin with silver accents; the same as the one used to open the hidden door earlier.
Abel noticed that this coin of the old era might have significance in the organization he was to be joining.
The Soldiers brought them before the metallic door behind them, one of them staying in his post.
"Ser Rathcliffe, you know the protocol" one of the guards spoke in a gruff tone, causing the surrounding air to tense up.
Abel couldn't help but shudder at his words. Even the warm underground air seemed to cool down.
He looked at the intricate metal door, noticing that it was steam powered and reinforced with heavy metals.
Abel's mind drifted back to the Hospice of the Mentally unstable. Some rooms had doors similar to this one.
Now fear began to take root in his mind, his palms began to sweat as he struggled to gulp.
'They wouldn't want to lock me up again would they?'
Rathcliffe, as if on queue, turned to Abel with a slight reassuring gaze.
"Don't be afraid, we mean you no harm Mr Michaelson"
The guards on hearing this jolted. It seemed that they might have frightened the guest.
They shuddered about what might happen if they made this man before then unhappy.
They instantly backed off a bit, still not taking their eyes off any of them. But at least, they reduced the intensity of their gaze.
Rathcliffe looked at the door and placed his hand on it, the golden coin in his palm. His eyes began to glow, and an unearthly greyish white hue covered his irises. His coat began to rumple, moved by an unknown wind.
He opened his mouth to speak, and an uncanny silence covered the area.
Only his voice, almost as faint as a whisper, yet as clear as day, spoke up.
"The Seat of Ancients, the Sigils of the Divine… I, Rathcliffe l, by the Order of the Goddess Mihira, Mother of Shadows and the Hidden, Keeper of Secrets and the unobtainable. I beseech you in your name that I am true and Untainted, Holy and Pure before the Mother of Truth. Let your Child in"
A light shone on the crevices of the door, flowing like water inland forming what seems to be the pattern on an eye with a slit down the centre.
Immediately, the large door creaked and moaned, opening up to another elevator room.
"This way Abel, your destiny awaits you" he said as he turned to Abel, pocketing the coin.
Abel stood stunned. If there was any doubt, now he could fully believe that magic was real.
'But what did they need me for?' he thought.
His suspicion rose, his heart trembling. Thoughts began to run through his head.
Maybe I'm special to them
An experimental guinea pig? No they wouldn't have to go through all the trouble to get me out.
Initiation into a dark cult? Maybe… but he swore by the goddess just now
What then?
"Mr Michaelson?"
Abel shook his head and rushed into the elevator. At this point in his life, he had nothing to lose anyway. Let destiny do as she sees fit
***
In the Surface, at Hillsborough suburbs.
The Cathedral to the Goddess Mihira stood proud.
Its marble structure a spectacle to behold for all to see
In an office, a large office. An old man dressed in priestly robes sat on a wooden chair behind a desk.
His robes were black with white accents, a silver necklace with the figure of a woman wrapped in thick cloth and blindfolded; the symbol of the Goddess Mihira, one of the four Divines.
He was clean shaven, his hair white and his wrinkled face showing its age. But his eyes spoke otherwise. It twinkled with youthful exuberance, like he was still as young and as agile as ever.
He was studying a book on his desk, taking notes on a diary in his hands.
Knock! knock!!
Two quick raps on his closed door seemed to bring him out from his studying stupor. He frowned as he turned to the door and spoke.
"Come in"
The door opened slightly, a young nun dressed in black robes, walked through it, her head bowed in slight fear.
"Ah, Sister Catherine, what matters could disturb my study time?" He asked, flipping the next page of the diary, not even bothering to look at the nun standing by the door.
"Father Eric, Sister Freya bears news from… the Vault"
Father Eric looked up on hearing this, his attention grabbed as he put his diary down.
He nodded to the nun to speak.
"The person you sent Captain Rathcliffe to get has entered the Vault. She wanted to ask what to do with 'him'"
Eric shook his head and stood from his chair.
He walked towards the shelf just right behind him, grabbed a scroll for sending messages and a stamping sigil.
The nun instantly shook, her eyes locked on the sigil he pulled out.
This was the sigil used to send the most sensitive message in the Church of the Goddess. Only the Archbishop or anyone of higher authority could ever be allowed to use it.
He grabbed a quill and dipped it into his inkpot. Then he began to write.
He spent three minutes writing, before he dropped the quill and rolled up the scroll.
He looked at the nun before him, who instantly grabbed a pot of wax nearby and poured it on the closed letter, sealing it.
He stamped on the hot wax with the sigil of the Goddess, before he handed it over to her.
"Send this directly to Freya, it is top priority that you do so. Let the Goddess guide your steps in this world of Darkness" Father Eric spoke in a heavy tone, his face scrunched with a frown as he let go of the letter.
The nun winced slightly, but then nodded with resolution. She tapped her forehead in reverence and then replied.
"I will work in the darkness and fear nothing" before she turned around and walked away.
After she had left, Eric sighed. It was as if the weight of something large was just removed from his shoulders.
He walked to the window and looked at the bustling city before him.
More than a year ago, many lives were ruined and people still carried the scars.
But they at least had a chance to return to a normal life.
But something big was happening. Something that could shake the balance of power in the divine and mortal realms.
"You will be done Mother…"