Chapter 186 - Torn Asunder

When the light faded from Argus’ surroundings, he found himself standing inside a pitch black chamber. It took Argus’ eyes a moment to adjust as the afterglow faded away.

The sudden change in his surroundings didn’t startle him, in fact he had more or less expected it, after seeing the reaction that the astrolabe had with the temple.

As his eyes became used to the darkness his dark vision activated and his surroundings slowly materialized in shades of gray. He looked down at the golden watch in his hand.

The astrolabe’s two hands had calmed down and settled securely on two spots. The astrolabe’s face was complex and composed of numerous rings. The main face was a chart of several suns and moons and twelve constellations, each of which corresponded to a different Exalted domain. A silver ring cut the constellations in half and was engraved with various astrologically significant numbers. On the outside of the watch face were three more rings engraved with more numbers and Fortus script.

Each of the astrolabe’s silver hands extended to the edge of the outer ring, so they always pointed to multiple locations at once. Interpreting the meaning of the astrolabe not only required in depth knowledge but also a sensitive intuition to distinguish the true message. Furthermore, the arms were constantly moving in most astrolabe readings, increasing the complexity by many times.

After confirming that the hands of the astrolabe had calmed down he closed the lid and placed it back in his pocket.

“The hands point to the rising and falling stars of the Craftsman… It signals an ending and a beginning in the Domain of Knowledge… The astrolabe was set by the energies of this space. It signifies a place that was left behind… and a place to return to… Therefore… I have found one of His temples?”

The ‘Him’ that Argus was referring to was Okuron, the dead God of Knowledge. The Craftsman constellation also referred to Okuron, as He was one of the original gods of antiquity.

Argus inhaled deeply, casting his eyes about the room.

Based on the astrolabe, he had been transported into the interior of the temple. The floors, ceiling and walls were constructed from the same marbled stone as the temple’s exterior, validating his suspicions. He perked his ears up, listening for any sounds, but the space was completely silent.

The room had five walls, forming a pentagon. The room was only a few meters wide, with a conical roof. Argus stood on a raised platform in the center of the room. The pentagonal platform was engraved with numerous glyphs. Looking around the room there was a band of glyphs carved into the top and bottom of the walls. In the center of one of the walls, a stone door was set into the wall. The circular symbol of six-petaled flowers was engraved into the door.

“This rune represents the Divine Domain of Knowledge… Like all the domain runes, its exact shape and configuration is only known to high level immortals. Reproducing it here means the creator of this space likely had a deep connection to Okuron… The glyphs are not ancient Fortus or Eslin, but something even more obscure. Whoever constructed this temple had deep knowledge of the arcane…” Argus muttered.

Based on the construction of the place, Argus dismissed his original idea that this temple had been built by or for Okuron himself. For one, there are not enough chandeliers… Nor are there any adornments on the walls or displays of craftsmanship.

Furthermore, Okuron preferred grand buildings and designs. Even the runes in his Great Library were thick and powerful. This small entry room with its complex, multi-layered glyphs were completely different.

No, this was a temple to someone else.

“Okuron was a True God… Throughout his rule he never relinquished it. Therefore, the highest position the owner of this temple could have held was Angel… The Angels of Okuron were well documented in myth. Most of them perished in the previous Era, which ended with Okuron’s death and the rise of the new Gods. It’s likely then that this temple belonged to one of them.”

A sense of satisfaction filled Argus as he came to this conclusion. Feeling that he had solved a small mystery, he squinted his eyes as he tried to examine the engravings. He could only recognize a few of them. “Secrecy… Warding… This temple was designed to be hidden from divination. Is it really a temple, then? How would it receive prayers? If it’s not a temple then perhaps it serves another function.”

Following his visual investigation he didn’t yet move away from his starting position. To an onlooker he would have seemed somewhat insane, standing in the dark muttering to himself for an extended period of time. He was not in a hurry as he mulled over his conclusions for a while longer until he was satisfied.

Only after carefully observing his surroundings with his eyes and ears did he decide to continue his investigation using his Exalted senses, still without moving from his position. Argus cautiously reached out with his spirit, probing the surroundings with his aura, looking for hidden creatures and entities that might be watching him.

Argus was a Keeper of Secrets, a path in the Domain of Knowledge that specialized in all that was hidden and obscure. There were very few things in the world that could hide from his perception.

After a few moments he concluded that he was alone, and that as far as he could discern the temple itself was inert.

“A secret temple, hidden away from the world. Only this mysterious astrolabe allows entry…” Argus muttered, his curiousity bubbling up within him as he resisted the urge to excitedly explore the place. “If the astrolabe is the key, then this chamber is clearly the intended entry point for the owner… Therefore, the danger for continuing should be less.”

In secret places like this there was always the possibility for traps, but Argus decided to trust his intuition.

Even at the starting point of this hidden ruins Argus had learned some extremely valuable information. The astrolabe which he had mysteriously received several years ago was inextricably linked to Okuron. Since it was able to open Okuron’s library and now acted as the key to this mysterious ruins, it likely belonged to an Angel of Knowledge.

From the glyphs and mysterious, hidden nature of this place, this unknown Angel was likely attuned to the aspects of secrets and hidden knowledge.

“In other words, another Keeper?” Argus’ eyes lit up as a possibility entered his mind, “Could it be… I have an angel watching over me, secretly helping me to recover my soul?”

His spirit suddenly tingled with an electric energy as he didn’t hesitate anymore and stepped off the platform. He stepped over to the door and pulled out the astrolabe, presenting it in front of the glyph of six petaled flowers.

Tiny galaxies swirled to life in his eyes as he channeled his spirit into the golden astrolabe.

The astrolabe lit up with a white light as its hands spun rapidly with a mechanical whir. The flower glyph on the door began to glow with a ghostly bluish white light as mist began to pour from the door’s seams.

Argus felt a tingle in his spiritual intuition as an invisible, imperceptible, and incredible subtle seal broke like a soap bubble.

pop.

A shiver ran up Argus’ spine as an intense sense of deja vu suddenly filled him with dread.

The door was engulfed by the ethereal glowing fog, forming a misty, opaque doorway. A cold, dusty breeze flowed into the room. Beyond the doorway he could hear the sound of fluttering papers. He felt, no, he knew that the door itself had vanished and he simply had to walk through the glowing mist.

The seal that had popped had not only opened the door to the next room, but it had opened up memories and past knowledge that had been contained within that seal for years.

His memories. His knowledge.

His past.

Argus stepped through the mist, passing through to the other side.

The room that greeted him was much like the previous room. Small, cramped, with a pentagonal shape. The ethereal glow from the door lit up the space in a flickering, grey light that cast dark, harsh shadows.

A single platform stood in the center of the room surrounded by melted candles and burned up incense. The wall was plastered with tattered parchment covered in faded ink. They fluttered in a breeze that had no origin or destination. Torn, burnt paper swirled chaotically around the floor amidst ashes. The intricate runic engravings on the floor were stained with dried black blood.

In the center of the room was a blood stained brass dagger with empty sockets. Shattered fragments of sapphire and carnelian were scattered amidst a pool of dried blood.

“A ritual happened here, long ago…” Argus pieced together the different items in the room. His mind began to throb as he muttered, “Why does it feel so familiar…?”

He stepped into the room, stepping on the burnt scraps of paper as he made his way to the platform. Each step pierced his brain. He felt like he had made these exact movements in the past, though each time he tried to recall his memories they slipped away.

“For a ritual to be complete, it requires three basic conditions…” He muttered, trying to focus and use logic to remember the clues. “First, an abundance of energy.”

His eyes fell upon the candles, incense and parchment inscribed with runes.

“Second, a focus for the energy.” He stepped up onto the platform and looked down at the blood stained dagger. The fragments of gems on the floor had clearly once been inset into the empty dagger. “Blue Sapphire, representing the Domain of Spacetime. Red Carnelian, for Death.”

Pain pounded through his head as he knelt down to examine the dagger. He ran his fingers along the blood stained stone floor. “The third condition… a person to serve as the conduit.”

With hesitation Argus grasped the dagger in his hand. The cold weight of the handle instantly triggered a flood of memories to burst from the depths of his mind. His heart beat rapidly as he clutched at his chest. A hot, searing pain plunged into his heart as he felt like he was being ripped in half. His body sheared off in swaths of paper filled with glowing runes. He screamed and heard his screams echoed back in multiple dimensions.

Blood splattered across the floor as a furious mist broiled across the floor, churning in saturated red and blue colours. The shadows became dark and deep with twinkling stars that stretched out to eternity.

Clatter!

Argus dropped the bronze dagger as he fell backward onto his butt. The pain and images suddenly disappeared from his mind as Argus snapped out of the memory. Sweat trickled down his pale face as he stared at the dried blood on the floor while gasping for air.

His whole body trembled as he realized where he was and the nature of the ritual that had taken place here. The conduit of the terrible ritual that had taken place in this room had been him.

This was the place where his soul was torn asunder.