Throne of Steam

The endless fiery light eventually dimmed, allowing the deep darkness to recoup the control of its domain. The ruins were now in shambles, creating a forceful and oppressive atmosphere.

It was unknown how much time had passed, but in the middle of the chamber, the altar was still intact. Only, this time, it was empty.

...

Having written his name, Garett felt as if he was riding a carriage on a bumpy road. His body bouncing left and right, his only thought being to forcefully grab onto anything that could save him from this situation.

While signing his name on that book, he felt the scorching lights suddenly turned cold. The flames surrounding him dropped in temperature, the old book morphed into a serpent made out of shadows and forcefully entered his body through the dozens of injuries that covered his body.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

It was then that he realized, it wasn't the surroundings that were becoming colder, but his body that was getting hotter. Just like a whistling kettle, white steam came out of his pores, the multitude of cuts that shrouded his body were closing at a speed visible to the naked eye!

That's what I get for trusting a weird, old book! The pain is worse than when I was being burned alive!

And as suddenly as it came, it went. The torturous pain vanished after healing his injuries, restoring him to top condition.

After a few seconds of continuous silence, he could hear an unexpected sound.

Hiss!

And then, a thousand black snakes crawled out of the old book, as if they were made out of ink!

And from the book they came, crawling up his skin and engulfing him in ink! The old book started to turn incorporeal, its contents becoming the fiendish snakes that engulfed him!

"Hiss" They hissed as if trying to convey some meaning, and without waiting for his answer, started to enlarge and fuse, turning into a humongous snake!

"Wait! Wait for just a second! What do you think you are doing to-!"

The serpent opened its huge maw, its teeth, while seemingly ethereal, looked as sharp as razors! And then, with a woosh, it pounced on him, swallowing him whole.

Hiss!

And then it dissolved in shadows of the ancient altar as if it were never there in the first place. The only remaining thing in that chamber was the blinding, scorching lights sent by the executor, and even those would eventually dim.

...

"That should do the job. Let's go, lads, it's almost noon! It's been a long time since I've been to Lhûn, and I want to have a nice, warm bath before setting out again."

Lurmon spoke in a soft voice as if everything couldn't be more normal. The young recruits looked to one another, a majority of them shrugging, it wasn't wise to go against the Executor's whims.

"Sir, shouldn't we, at least, go down there and look around?" The young recruit raised his voice once more, still talking with his head down, showing his utmost deference to the middle-aged Executor.

"Oh, trying to tell me how to do my job once more, young Crold? Perhaps the esteemed family of knights now wants to stretch its paws to the church as well?"

Lurmon spoke with severity while approaching the young man, his presence, heavy as a mountain, pressed down on the squire.

"The Crold's loyalty to the kingdom shouldn't be questioned, sire."

The young man mustered all his courage in this reply, he had a duty to maintain his family name above all things!

"Tch."

Scoffing, the executor then grabbed an old revolver from his holster and carelessly tossed it to ground in front of the young knight, not caring at all about a possible misfire.

"Why don't you go down there yourself? Take it, It's loaded with six bullets, blessed with holy silver; lethal to mutants. I will eagerly await the report of your great adventure! You know where to find me when you're done."

The young knight's face alternated between different shades of red. Having to uphold the family's honor, rejecting was inadmissible! Indignance burned deep inside his heart, but there was nothing he could do.

"By your will, Executor." The boy acquiesced in reverence, his voice didn't contain a hint of the silent wrath that burned inside his heart.

Slowly rising, he grabbed the gun and went down the thin path down the hole. Only after a few minutes did he safely arrive at the bottom, and as a result of the earlier spell, now the ruins were charred and even more destroyed.

Wow... Maybe everything is taken care of...

He trod carefully, afraid that one of the so-called mutants or any kind of trap that could still be around.

Weird, the candles and torches are still intact, all lit and not destroyed, as if they were protected by some kind of barrier.

After walking for quite some time, he finally arrived at the open chamber, a few pieces of rubble blocked the view of the whole room, but there was something intact even after everything that happened.

An Altar? To which god was this thing made? The Gods of the Age of Carnage are pretty much all dead...

He subconsciously tightened his grip on the revolver.

Approaching the Altar, he could see the confusing engravings of angels and demons, the altar stood there, spotless as if it were just cleaned.

That's weird... I didn't see the corpse of any mutant down here. There wasn't any mutant? And where's the corpse of the man who lived in the burned house?

Hiss!

Just as he was thinking about leaving and reporting to the Executor his not so exciting expedition, the hairs on his neck stood on end! An ancient presence flooded the hall, and with it, the body of a young man suddenly appeared on the altar as if he materialized out from the shadows!

The young man had blond hair, a short beard, and a strong build, it wore a burnt tuxedo and a pair of nearly destroyed leather shoes. More importantly, he was breathing!

!?!?

"Hey! Who are you? Are you okay!?" The young Crold approached cautiously, with his hand lifted the revolver, inspecting his surroundings. Even if he hadn't had a lot of chances to gain experience in the church's guard, he was still a Crold! He could rely on his training!

The young man didn't answer, obviously he had passed out. And only he could answer what had transpired in these old ruins, the young squire hurriedly supported the young man on his shoulders and made way to the exit.

"You're gonna be okay! I'll have the priests to take good care of you!"

The young Carried both of them out of that damnable hole.

...

Garett slowly opened his eyes, half-expecting to see the ceiling of his home, hoping everything that happened to have been just a dream. The other half of him expected him to still be in the ruins, buried alive amidst the wreckage.

Instead, he was in a small room, its walls painted with a light-gray tone and were inset with copper pipes that occasionally connected to a wall lamp.

The lamps were the classical style of the old era, a glass bulb with wirings on the inside, the pipes provided the heat to the wiring, igniting the gas inside of the bulbs, thus creating light.

This place seems nice, or at least nicer than my neighborhood. I wonder where I am, maybe in the Inventors Borough?

The Inventors Borough constituted the richest part of Lhûn, its residents being mostly parliament members and royalty.

There was a sturdy looking desk on the wall opposite do where he laid. A man, probably in his early twenties sat in a chair, analyzing a notebook in his hands. After a few seconds of reading, he then started to stretch, his eyes finally falling on Garett.

"You are finally awake!" The young man excitedly walked to him, then using his hands to rudimentarily feel his temperature he smiled. "Everything seems to be okay now. Do you know your name? Age? Place of Birth?"

The barrage of questions made Garett dizzy, nonetheless, he forced himself to try answering what he could.

"O-oh, hello... My name is Garett, I'm nineteen years old and I don't know my birthplace... my mother used to say I was born on the road between Lhûn and Altra..."

Why I'm answering these questions anyway!? I'm about to be interrogated or something? They're filing me!?

"Good, good. Your memory seems to be just fine, and your temperature is in the acceptable range."

Garett then tried to stand but was stopped by the young man with a push.

"Wait there brother, I can't let you put any kind of effort without the approval of a doctor, you know, a member of the church patrol dropped you here personally! So we can't afford any kind of disservice happening to you, esteemed sir."

Annoying! It makes me want to punch that guy in his face! I'm perfectly healthy! Besides, who on earth is going to pay the fees of this hospital!? I can't afford that, just let me go!

"I'm going to fetch the doctor, please wait patiently, it shouldn't take long." The young man said as he left.

Garett grumbled internally and then tried to remember everything that took place earlier, only then did his eyes froze.

That damnable book! What happened to it? I remember being swallowed by a snake or something like that!

When his thoughts arrived there he felt that he could vividly remember the contents of the book in his mind, even if he hadn't read it!

Materialization, Control, Perception... what the hell are these!? Is this some kind of evil witchery!? Wait... I can use these spells?

The thought of becoming a powerful being started to take root in his head, clouding his judgment. He wanted to get started and analyze all those things that suddenly appeared on his mind! With this, he had the potential to become rich!

I always loved things that involved mysticism the most.

And then the door was suddenly pushed open by an old man, interrupting his fantasies, following him was the same young man of before. The old man wore a white shirt with golden buttons and round glasses, from his neck hang the symbol of the God of Knowledge, three feathers in an inkpot. He approached with a steady gait, his stature as a man of class was evident!

The hell! I can't even pay for his shoes, nevermind being treated by him! This guy seems like he could be the royal physician!

"Hello, Sir. My little apprentice here told me that you answer by the name of Garett, is that correct?" The old man said while pulling a small chair to the side of the bed.

For all you care my name could be Vivian! I'm not going to pay for the services of such an expensive hospital! You can't force me! Garett complained inwardly, using all the strengths he could muster at that moment!

"Y-yes, your apprentice said that I was brought here by the church patrol... Do you perhaps know something about that?"

The doctor didn't seem to be paying much attention to whatever he spoke and proceeded to take his tools out of a medical bag and started to analyze him, only answering after a long time passed.

"Oh, yes you've been brought here by them, they said you've had already been treated by the priests, but needed to be kept in observation, these kinds of things happen with some frequency and costs are covered by the church. You do not need to worry."

I'm saved!

Phew! I wouldn't be able to pay even if I sold off my kidneys!

The doctor sternly analyzed the patient, making sure everything was in order and then kept back all his tools.

"Good, you seem to be fine. The member of the church patrol that dropped you here should have been notified by now, he wants to talk to you. Garett, right? I hope you are not in some kind of trouble." The old man showed his set of yellowy teeth and then stood up, leaving as quickly as he came.

Damn! I still can't remember anything before that fire! What do they want with me? I know nothing!

Then his thoughts traveled to the mysterious book that had taken root inside his body.

Maybe they want this thing!?