NOVEL NEXT B1 | Chapter 37
Aria
The temple appears to be somehow embedded halfway into the cliff wall itself, just barely to the north of the fortress. And there are dozens of people in robes outside of it. Black and gray robes. All level 10 as well. Meanwhile the temple itself is also black and gray, and it has two narrow towers in front of it, with a large triangular building placed halfway into the cliff, some fountains that are flowing perfectly well despite the ice cold temperatures of the Great Divide, and some sort of magical bubble around it. One that’s blocking the snow from entering.
“Looks like we found their temple,” the First General says after a brief period of silence.
Another brief window of silence passes before she begins barking out orders to everyone, gathering up the other two nearby generals while also finding everyone lieutenant colonel rank and above. Then she moves out to the temple, having us from the Predator Division follow after just in case.
We silently walk through the snow towards the robed individuals outside of the temple who I can only guess are either acolytes or priests. And when we get close enough, each one of them bows their heads, their hands in their robes held together almost as if the seams of their sleeves were connected while they bow.
“We greet the natives of this world and welcome you to the Temple of the Void,” they all declare simultaneously, sending a slight chill down my spine at just how creepy it sounds.
It’s like a horror novel brought to life.
After a second, they all raise their heads again, each with blank looks on their faces. Then one slightly differently dressed man steps out of the temple, the doors not actually opening as he does it, leading him to just casually walk through the doors.
The man is also wearing robes, but his look more pristine. Which I suppose probably marks him as a higher up to these people.
Also, I can’t help but notice that these people all have purple numbers above their heads instead of the usual light gray. But that isn’t important right now.
“Welcome to the Temple of the Void, I am Vel’Torian de Val, Priest of the Void and head of this temple,” the man says with a light nod of his head, showing far less deference than the others. “Please, follow me.”
The First General quickly replies, “Of course, lead the way.”
Which is to be expected, considering what we stand to gain from the Temple of the Void.
Revival.
And if we manage to get that before the Arterians? Then the war is pretty much ours. Once it continues, that is. And I’m sure it will soon enough, now that the invaders have been taken care of for now. Especially since the Arterians are the best source of levels for us growing stronger and preparing for the invaders again.
Sort of like two bugs devouring each other for the other’s power so that they can survive a more powerful bug.
Not sure why I used bugs in that metaphor though.
We follow the Void Priest into the temple, also passing straight through the black stone doors without them opening. Which is so bizarre.
And right after we enter the temple, I find myself… appearing in an overhang above a large room. One that looks akin to a worshiping room that I saw in older pictures from before religions died out.
But my thoughts come to a halt when I see myself standing down in the worshiping room amongst the others as we all walk towards the statue where the Void Priest comes to a stop and turns around to speak with them.
What’s going on…?
“Pale One, Horseman of the Apocalypse, and beloved of the Spirits of Death,” a powerful voice echoes in my head, making me turn around to find some sort of black silhouette standing behind me. “This one greets Death. Should the Lady needeth the Spirits of Void, a bargain may be struck.”
I blink in surprise and an awkward feeling of having no idea how I’m supposed to respond.
Then I tense up slightly, only to relax again when their last words register in my mind.
So… they know I’m Death, and that’s probably why they moved to our world. And they’re willing to bargain with us only because I’m here.
Not entirely sure how I understood all of that considering their odd way of speaking, but whatever.
No idea what it means by beloved of the Spirits of Death though. I’ve heard of the spirits from Vargas’s mind reading of the invaders, but most of what the invaders knew was that spirits are incredibly powerful beings that are comparable to gods in some ways. In fact, some of the spirits are quite literally worshiped as gods.
Like this one apparently.
Also heard that death spirits are terrifying creatures that are even stronger than the other spirits and very much hate the living.
Well, whatever. That’s not important right now.
“You have my greetings as well, Spirit of the Void,” I tell the faceless creature in front of me with a light nod of my head, reacting based on what feels right from their own words.
The faceless spirit nods its head and vanishes in an instant. Then a copy of the Void Priest from down in the worshiping area appears next to me and bows, saying, “Lady Death, I am here to answer any questions you may have.”
I stare at the priest for a second before glancing down at the worshiping area again where this very same guy is talking politely to the First General and the other two generals. Then I look back at the man again up here.
He glances down at the lower area for a second before looking at me again and answering my unasked question, “The Greater Void Spirit is casting a projection of our physical forms down to keep up appearances for the others. We assumed you didn’t wish for your identity to be exposed, so they decided to go about our first meeting this way.”
Huh. Surprisingly considerate.
“Thank you,” I tell him with a nod of my head.
“Of course, as the Horseman of Death yourself, your position within our halls is on par with the Nine Grands of the Universe,” the Void Priest continues with another bow of his head. “Therefore you are due all the respect of your station.”
Interesting. Treating me as if I were one of the most powerful beings in the universe despite being rather weak in comparison to him. And I know he’s strong, just from a glance.
I’m pretty sure he could tear me apart with ease, and I’m not even sure how I know this.
Which is all the more terrifying, if I’m being honest.
He’s far stronger than the generals down below, and I for some reason get the feeling that he’s also got a Category 5 ability.
Hmm, well, if they’re letting me ask questions, there’s been something I’ve wanted to ask for a while now.
“Do you know if it’s possible to revive my family?” I ask, barely making it through saying the words without tripping over them. “They died ten years ago.”
The Void Priest looks surprised at that, but he quickly shakes his head and answers, “No, that would be impossible.”
I immediately feel my heart crashing down again, even as I ask, “Would you mind explaining why?”
“Of course,” he replies without hesitation. “Beings who are not within the System yet do not have a strong enough soul to be revived.”
“Oh…” I mutter.
I take in a deep breath and close my eyes, quenching down the gut wrenching pain that I feel in my heart at the hope I had begun building up ever since hearing about revival being possible getting crushed so quickly. And after letting out the deep breath again, I open my eyes again and move on to the next question I want to ask.
So I reach up and grab the red jewel necklace before pulling it out of my collar and resting it atop my clothes as I ask, “Do you know what this jewel is?”
The Void Priest, who hasn’t shown any emotion on his face whatsoever since I first saw him, blinks seemingly in surprise. Then he takes a single step forward, looks at it closer, and proceeds to step back again while answering, “I may know what it is, however, if I may ask for some time before I tell you.”
That has me frowning before I ask, “Why?”
He bows his head politely and explains, “I would like to use this time to confirm my current theory on the jewel and discuss with a few others before sharing it.”
I stare at the priest for a few seconds before I eventually nod my head and quietly mutter, “Okay.”
Silence fills the little balcony as the discussions below negotiating the Republic’s relationship with the Void Temple continue.
I… didn’t expect an otherworlder to know about it.
Just… who are my parents anyways?