Chapter 197 - Four Steps of the Divine

This close to the peak, the myriad stars in the night sky shimmered with an unusual radiance, backed by a pitch black void. Millions of stars tinged with various colours formed clusters and galaxies that spread across the entire sky. A vast, limitless heavenly space that was full and magnificent against the bleak, dilapidated ruins at Yuzu’s feet.

The staircase up to the peak was not too long. There were four landings, each separated by about two dozen steps. A low knee-height wall acted as a barrier on either side of the stairs, beyond which the rocky terrain cut off in sharp cliffs.

Yuzu couldn’t see any building at the top of the top landing, but she noted that the stairs and walls broke down as they neared the peak, with the final flight of stairs being in such a state of disrepair that only a small section of it was actually walkable. If there was a temple at the top, she could only imagine the state of ruin that it must currently be in.

Was the monk really holding a ritual up at the top?

As Yuzu started up the staircase, a cold wind picked up around her. It was so brisk that it stung her face and the exposed skin on her hands and neck. Her hair blew softly to the side as she slowly climbed up step by step.

After twenty steps she reached the first landing and turned to gaze out across the horizon. It stretched out forever, melding with the silhouettes of the mountain range that lay low in the distance. Even the nearest peaks were not tall enough to interrupt her view.

Yuzu tried to recollect her surroundings when they first emerged from the portal. It had been dark, and her attention hadn’t been on the landscape, but something felt off.

We weren’t that high above the mountains when we arrived. Yuzu noted curiously. And it doesn’t feel like we climbed this high on the way through the village?

She frowned as she continued up to the second landing. The slate grey stone steps had an ancient feel to them. In the center of the steps there were even soft imprints where the stone had worn down from thousands of footprints over the centuries.

Yet Yuzu couldn’t remember there being any village that fit the description of this place.

This village is far into the mountains to the east of Noga… It might even be part of that country on the other side of the Yonge Mountains… But I think it was said that there was no way to pass through the mountains to the east…

Yuzu reached the second landing without coming any closer to the identity of the village.

Once again her spiritual intuition sensed that something was off with her surroundings. Turning her attention upwards, she saw a vague ripple in the air at the halfway point of this second landing, almost so subtle that she could have imagined the starlight was playing tricks on her.

Her white string continued calmly upward into the future, indicating that there was no immediate danger in passing this threshold.

She walked forward normally. A gentle breeze caress her face as she stepped past the ‘barrier’, but nothing particularly special happened.

She paused, looking around, when she noticed that the colour of her hands had changed subtly. Soft, saturated shades of red and blue shimmered in her vision in a subtle aura. She even was able to see this aura through her clothes. It was as if she could see the energy in her body.

She cast her eyes across the staircase, finding that her surroundings had largely remained the same. The subtle red-blue hues were present in the stones and rocks, but nowhere near as vibrant as her own energy. Below her, the shadows of the village remained dark and still, except for Officer Minnie, whose body showed the same characteristics as Yuzu’s.

Yuzu continued up the stairs, climbing another twenty steps.

Halfway across the second landing another barrier presented itself, but this time there was a visible shimmer to the barrier. There was a subtle veil effect, like looking through clouded glass.

Once again Yuzu checked her fate string and noted that there was no immediate danger.

She reached out to the barrier, which reacted to her spirituality. Colourful blue and red ripples scattered across the surface as she stepped through to the other side.

On this side of the barrier the saturated red and blues went away and her body took on a difference appearance. The edges of her fingers glowed with a soft white outline, while the colours of her body and clothing were dulled. She waved her hand in front of her eyes and could see the rocks behind it, as if her body had turned ever so slightly translucent.

When she turned around to look behind her, she let out a small gasp. The world on the other side of the staircase had disappeared, replaced by a starry void. Far below her she could see a pale blue planet with two small moons in orbit around it.

She watched it, mesmerized, as she tried to comprehend what she was seeing. Though she’d read about planets before and seen diagrams, to see such a sight in person filled her with awe.

If I jumped off the side of the staircase here… would I be able to fly to that planet? She wondered quietly. She recalled some information that Argus had told her before.

There were four planes of existence - Physical, Spiritual, Astral and Aetheric. Though she didn’t know the details of each plane, being suspended in a starry void with planets certainly fit the concept of an ‘Astral’ plane. The second landing, with its vibrant colours that reacted to her spiritual energy, would that be the ‘Spiritual’ plane?

The first landing which didn’t have anything special about it could have still been anchored in the ‘Physical’ plane.

Yuzu turned her eyes toward the peak once more. There was one landing remaining.

Once again she climbed the steps and came across a barrier. This time it was milky white and rippled with a faint opalescent sheen. A familiar energy radiated from the barrier, calling out to Yuzu.

Yuzu’s skin became pale and the colour in her clothing faded as she stepped across the final threshold with confidence. Her long hair turned pure white as she found herself once again in the white world.

The starry void had been replaced by an endless, featureless white sky. The planets and stars disappeared. The colours of the stairs and landscape were desaturated and white washed.

Here, however, the stairs were no longer in ruins. The carved stone steps were polished and whole. The knee-height wall on either side of the staircase was engraved with intricate symbols and murals. The murals were filled with various imagery. Men with skulls for heads carried staffs and caskets. Oxen pulled carts fitted with oversized wheels with intricate spokes. Women dressed in robes carried vases and children.

All the people in these murals had skulls for heads. At first the imagery disturbed Yuzu, however as she walked up the final twenty steps she didn’t sense any violence or aggression in the symbolism.

Above her, a three storey pagoda with curved sloping roofs and circular windows had appeared seemingly out of nowhere. If this temple existed in the physical world, it definitely would have been visible from the bottom of the staircase, and even further below in the village.

In the physical world, this temple does not exist anymore. Even in the spiritual and astral planes it’s simply a ruins. It’s only survived here in the Aetheric plane. I wonder why…

The top of the staircase was adorned with a torii gate. Two long, straight beams stretched across the staircase, supported by two thick white pillars. The four meter tall gate gave off an intense demonic aura, clearly proclaiming to Yuzu’s spirit, ‘beyond this gate lies a Divine Kingdom’.

The torii’s pillars were engraved in deep, thick runes. A black aura radiated off of them, giving off an air of mystery. Reminded of similar engravings at the entrance to the Great Library, Yuzu kept her eyes averted. As she mounted the final steps she saw that a man was waiting for her just beyond the gate.

Just like in her vision, he was dressed in long robes that accentuated his height and lean build. His arms were crossed, forming a square frame, with his hands concealed within the sleeves of his robes. He had a reverent, scholarly expression on his face as he patiently waited for her to reach the top of the staircase.

Yuzu observed how her white string intermingled with his, gaining insight into their first interactions. The obstruction in her powers were suppressed by the pressure from the surroundings, but were also enhanced by her presence in the Aetheric plane.

Though she couldn’t access the information in the monk’s black string, she had just enough power to read several minutes into her own future.

As such, even as Yuzu walked up the final steps she learned the third coin in the caretaker’s lantern had been Medusa’s, though she hadn’t made it up to the top of the village.

Yuzu also learned that the man was not a monk as he’d claimed to Medusa, nor was his name actually Steward Atticus. These were simply the story that he’d invented for the cultist, who had stumbled on the village looking for answers.

In other words, this ‘monk’ had not been asked by Medusa to provide help and information like she thought. Instead, he’d taken interest in the White Maiden and taken action to make her come to him.

All this information was given away freely by the man in their future ‘introduction’. It was an admission that he had deceived the cultist, and that he had a particular interest in the White Maiden. The only question that he didn’t answer in their short introductory conversation was… why?

Yuzu stopped at the top of the steps just before the massive gate. Her grey eyes turned serious as she carefully examined the man. He also watched her carefully, not yet aware of her identity or purpose in so boldly arriving.

“Good evening.” The scholarly man said, bowing his head to her respectfully.

“Thank you for receiving me.” Yuzu replied, placing her palm on her chest and bowing her head in return as she pre-emptively answered his first question,

“I am here on your invitation.”

“Ah?” The man raised an eyebrow, “Then you must be…”

“My name is Yuzu Xing.” Yuzu said, “But you may have heard of me as the White Maiden.”