Chapter 914: The Council Below

"Hurry up," Clementine called without looking back. His voice traveled down the tunnel ahead of them, echoing from stone walls painted from floor to ceiling with symbols written in something that looked uncomfortably like blood.

The markings glowed faintly, providing just enough light to reveal that they continued far beyond the reach of Hiro’s vision. Lines twisted through one another across the walls and ceiling, separating into elaborate branches before converging farther down the passage.

Hiro hated the place. His armor felt heavier with every step, while the golden sheen that normally surrounded him had dulled considerably since entering the tunnel. Even the holy aura he relied upon almost instinctively felt compressed inside his chest, leaving him uncomfortable enough to pull at his collar.

"This entire place feels wrong," Hiro said. "Why is something limiting my holy aura?"

Nobody answered immediately. Hiro endured several more steps before turning toward the creature walking beside him, visibly expecting an explanation.

Calling Hoyo a man had become increasingly generous, though traces of his original body remained beneath the changes. Several additional eyes had opened across one side of his forehead and cheek, while two extra arms folded against his torso beneath the ragged remnants of his Holy Order clothing. His ears had become long and elven, patches of coarse gray fur covered his neck and shoulders, and something wolf-like had pushed his jaw forward until sharp teeth showed whenever he spoke.

"The wards are suppressing it because holy aura carries farther than you realize," Hoyo explained. "The gods that summoned you can sense their power when you use enough of it, and nobody here wants them noticing where we are."

Hiro’s expression shifted from annoyance to concern.

Hoyo turned his many eyes toward the passage ahead. "Keep moving. Clementine has already warned us that we cannot arrive late."

Clementine was several meters ahead and had not slowed once. The vestments he once wore as Pope had been discarded almost immediately after their escape from Solania. A dark robe now covered his torn underclothes, and its hood could be pulled low enough to conceal most of his face whenever necessary.

The former clerics trailing behind Hiro looked even worse. Several still wore pieces of Holy Order robes, although the white and gold fabric had become filthy and torn during their flight. One man had removed every visible symbol of the Order from his clothing, while another kept a shattered holy pendant hidden beneath his shirt as though he could not decide whether he still believed in it.

None of them appeared to know where Clementine was leading them. Hiro certainly did not. They had entered through an abandoned cellar beneath a ruined settlement hours earlier, descended several flights of stairs, crossed a natural cave, and eventually reached the blood-marked tunnel. There had been no landmarks, windows, or anything else that might indicate which country lay above them now.

Hiro lengthened his stride until he moved closer to Clementine. "You have been telling us to keep walking for hours. How much farther does this tunnel go?"

"If you still have enough breath to complain, you have enough breath to continue walking," Clementine answered. "Try using it for something less irritating."

"I am the Hero," Hiro said, bristling at the dismissal. "I should not be sneaking through underground tunnels like some common criminal."

Hoyo released a rough laugh behind him. "You are being hunted by the Holy Order and the Empire. Whatever title the gods gave you, the people above us consider you a criminal."

"I didn’t do anything," Hiro snapped.

Clementine finally glanced over his shoulder. "Then continue shouting your innocence while half the continent searches for you. I am certain someone will eventually hear and become convinced."

Hiro scowled, but none of the former clerics spoke in his defense. Their silence followed him as the tunnel continued and the bloody markings grew denser around them.

What had initially resembled individual letters now overlapped until Hiro could no longer identify where one symbol ended and another began. Circles intersected with geometric shapes, narrow lines passed through ancient script, and several markings seemed to shift whenever he looked away. Each became perfectly still when he turned back, so he eventually stopped trying to understand what he was seeing.

Clementine finally slowed as they approached the end of the tunnel. An enormous gate stood before them, formed from two slabs of blackened metal that filled the passage from floor to ceiling. More symbols covered its surface, although these had been carved directly into the metal and filled with the same dull red glow as the writing behind them.

The patterns on both halves interlocked so precisely that the seam between the doors almost disappeared. Hiro stared toward their upper edge and asked, "What is this place, and who built something like that beneath an abandoned settlement?"

Clementine ignored him and approached the gate. Symbols brightened one after another as lines of crimson light traveled across the metal, linking together until the entire structure appeared to pulse.

Something heavy shifted on the other side. Metal groaned against stone, and the two halves slowly opened inward to reveal darkness beyond them.

Clementine entered without hesitation, and Hoyo followed close behind him. Hiro looked back at the former priests, saw his own discomfort reflected on several faces, and sighed.

"This keeps getting better," he muttered. He entered before the others could respond, leaving them little choice but to follow.

At first, Hiro could see almost nothing inside the chamber. A handful of candles burned somewhere in the distance, but their weak flames revealed only the outline of a large table, several pillars, and figures waiting beyond them.

The gate closed behind the group with an impact that shook the floor. Its red symbols vanished, plunging the chamber into complete darkness for one uncomfortable second before bloody writing ignited across the walls, pillars, and ceiling.

The underground hall revealed itself all at once. It was far larger than the tunnel leading into it should have allowed, with several circular tiers descending toward a gigantic table positioned at the center.

Seats surrounded the table, and many appeared occupied despite no physical bodies resting within them. Holographic figures shimmered above the chairs, some almost human and others possessing forms that made Hiro’s hand drift instinctively toward his sword.

One projection had antlers spreading wider than the chair beneath it. Another possessed no visible face, only a black cavity where its features should have been. A third appeared to consist almost entirely of layered arms folded around one another, while something farther down the table had the upper body of a woman and a lower body concealed beneath a mass of feathers.

Several seats remained empty, displaying neither bodies nor projections. Only one person seemed physically present within the chamber.

A man sat at the far end of the table, dressed in dark clothing and holding himself with rigid composure. A strip of cloth had been wrapped around his head, completely covering his eyes, yet he turned directly toward Clementine as the former Pope approached.

"You may sit," the blindfolded man said. When Clementine remained standing, a slight smile touched his face. "Whatever reservations you may have, you are safe within this chamber."

"I did not come here seeking safety," Clementine replied. "If that is all your council intends to offer, we have wasted the journey."

The man’s smile widened. "Is that so? Without our assistance, you would still be hiding outside Solania and hoping Titania’s people failed to find you. If they had succeeded, I suspect your ending would have been substantially less comfortable."

Clementine stopped beside one of the chairs but offered no response. Hiro sat beside him, while Hoyo lowered himself awkwardly into another seat and arranged his additional arms around its backrest. The other former priests remained standing several paces behind them, apparently unwilling to move closer to the projections.

The blindfolded man folded his hands upon the table. "Tell me, Clementine. How does it feel to lose everything you spent so long building?"