The location marked on the map was not actually outside the city; it was, however, outside the Pillars. While reconstruction was a ubiquitous sight in the Foundations, some rubble on the outskirts of the Saint Reinette Forum had been carefully arranged to conceal a blank spot of stone wall. A wave of Kasrjin's hand on the wall revealed that it was a glamour; if nobody knew to look at this exact location, it was highly unlikely it would ever be found.
The passage within was dimly lit, but it mattered little, for it was more or less a completely straight corridor. It was impossible to tell for how long they walked--Kasrjin stopped counting the seconds at around three hundred--but they eventually reached what could vaguely be called an intersection. According to the map, they should be close to directly underneath Saint Reymanaud's Cathedral. Straight ahead was an unremarkable steel door. To the left was another long hallway.
There were no guards and no personnel present in general. While suspicious at first, the more the Au Ra thought about it, the more it made sense; constant ingress and egress to this secret passage would only draw more attention to it, so it was likely whoever came here only came sparingly. Second, they relied almost entirely on secrecy to protect its location. Had Roen not been given such valuable information from the dragoon, the likelihood of them finding this location was likely close to zero.
"I will go straight ahead," Kasrjin said, pushing open the steel door. "We will meet at the entrance, if we do not encounter one another." A part of him was wary about finding his way back given his sense of direction, but it should theoretically be impossible to get lost in a completely straight hallway. Maybe.
Behind the door was what appeared to be nothing more than a modest, circular chamber. What Kasrjin saw, however, was very different; colours and shapes of all sorts and sizes, nearly incomprehensible to him. The myriad reflections of light sent his mind reeling as they flashed upon the walls of the chamber. The Correspondence burned, and each time he blinked he could feel each character marking itself within his eyelids.
Sitting on an unimpressive pedestal in the middle was an obsidian hemisphere. Or so it seemed; with every second that Kasrjin stared at it, it seemed to change. One second it was pitch black, and the next it was dark red. From being a smooth hemisphere it because a long cone-shaped object.
Instinctively, he reached behind him to touch the keystone's counterpart. It felt warm, the heat pulsing upon his hand even through his metal gauntlets. The resonance was unmistakable. His left hand was firmly fixed on the stone in his pack, while his right hand gingerly reached out to grab the stone on the pedestal.
Images and sounds flashed before his eyes. Dialogues and sights. They cannot know your part in this. It was a voice. His voice? Or Tsuven's voice? Kasrjin felt the chains around his wrists and ankles, staring up at the obsidian pillar within Karaad-El. He saw Tsanai, biting her lip, as if on the verge of breaking into sobs, her hands curling into fists as she stared at the temple from afar. The chains tightened. A white hot light brighter than a sun, brighter than a thousand suns, seared his eyes. He felt it digging into him, into his skull--
YOU WOULD STILL SEEK IT, KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW? YOU WOULD RETURN IT TO HER KNOWING OF HER BETRAYAL?
And it was over.
Almost unconsciously, his right hand scooped the keystone off of its pedestal and placed it in the bag with the other piece. The myriad colours of the Correspondence flickered out, one by one, leaving the Au Ra in complete darkness.
He collapsed, briefly. When his hands opened his pack to make sure of the keystone's presence, the hemispheres were gone. In its place was a single, perfect sphere, roughly the size of a melon. Its smooth obsidian surface pulsed and streaked with lines of myriad colours. Kasrjin took a deep breath.
That was enough, for now. Just a brief rest.
The passage within was dimly lit, but it mattered little, for it was more or less a completely straight corridor. It was impossible to tell for how long they walked--Kasrjin stopped counting the seconds at around three hundred--but they eventually reached what could vaguely be called an intersection. According to the map, they should be close to directly underneath Saint Reymanaud's Cathedral. Straight ahead was an unremarkable steel door. To the left was another long hallway.
There were no guards and no personnel present in general. While suspicious at first, the more the Au Ra thought about it, the more it made sense; constant ingress and egress to this secret passage would only draw more attention to it, so it was likely whoever came here only came sparingly. Second, they relied almost entirely on secrecy to protect its location. Had Roen not been given such valuable information from the dragoon, the likelihood of them finding this location was likely close to zero.
"I will go straight ahead," Kasrjin said, pushing open the steel door. "We will meet at the entrance, if we do not encounter one another." A part of him was wary about finding his way back given his sense of direction, but it should theoretically be impossible to get lost in a completely straight hallway. Maybe.
Behind the door was what appeared to be nothing more than a modest, circular chamber. What Kasrjin saw, however, was very different; colours and shapes of all sorts and sizes, nearly incomprehensible to him. The myriad reflections of light sent his mind reeling as they flashed upon the walls of the chamber. The Correspondence burned, and each time he blinked he could feel each character marking itself within his eyelids.
Sitting on an unimpressive pedestal in the middle was an obsidian hemisphere. Or so it seemed; with every second that Kasrjin stared at it, it seemed to change. One second it was pitch black, and the next it was dark red. From being a smooth hemisphere it because a long cone-shaped object.
Instinctively, he reached behind him to touch the keystone's counterpart. It felt warm, the heat pulsing upon his hand even through his metal gauntlets. The resonance was unmistakable. His left hand was firmly fixed on the stone in his pack, while his right hand gingerly reached out to grab the stone on the pedestal.
Images and sounds flashed before his eyes. Dialogues and sights. They cannot know your part in this. It was a voice. His voice? Or Tsuven's voice? Kasrjin felt the chains around his wrists and ankles, staring up at the obsidian pillar within Karaad-El. He saw Tsanai, biting her lip, as if on the verge of breaking into sobs, her hands curling into fists as she stared at the temple from afar. The chains tightened. A white hot light brighter than a sun, brighter than a thousand suns, seared his eyes. He felt it digging into him, into his skull--
YOU WOULD STILL SEEK IT, KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW? YOU WOULD RETURN IT TO HER KNOWING OF HER BETRAYAL?
And it was over.
Almost unconsciously, his right hand scooped the keystone off of its pedestal and placed it in the bag with the other piece. The myriad colours of the Correspondence flickered out, one by one, leaving the Au Ra in complete darkness.
He collapsed, briefly. When his hands opened his pack to make sure of the keystone's presence, the hemispheres were gone. In its place was a single, perfect sphere, roughly the size of a melon. Its smooth obsidian surface pulsed and streaked with lines of myriad colours. Kasrjin took a deep breath.
That was enough, for now. Just a brief rest.
