The Path of Secrets

Seated on a grand stone throne-like structure placed on a platform extending from the highest point of the pyre, the Elder of Rapture City gazed outward, holding his mask in his right hand. Despite the ever-present fog, the Elder habitually visited this seat and stared at the raging sky around him. Occasionally, lightning would strike the platform, or even the throne, but never striking the elder.

Suddenly, numerous phantoms and spirits rose from beneath the throne as the elder's eyes took on a shadowy hue before splitting into 5 sections. Despite this likely painful separation of the elder's pupils, he showed no outward reaction.

His 10 fractured pupils turned to look at something far below, their collective gaze seemingly piercing through the Fog of History. 

Without turning to look at the spirit world creatures behind him, Elder Gehrman spoke in a lofty, authoritative tone,

"Have someone bring me the boy."

Each creature, all of greatly different shapes and sizes, immediately dispersed from the miniature black hole under the stone throne they had emerged from

*****

Ascending the seemingly infinite spiral staircase of the Elder's pyre, Alista attempted to have a few of his countless questions answered, yet the man leading him responded only with, "All your queries shall be answered soon."

The Archbishop of Rapture City's church, Sir Cesimir, wore a coat-like white and yellow robe, the standard for all bishops of the church, and donned a mitre of the same colour scheme atop his short slicked-back blue hair.

Realising he would have to wait until meeting with the Elder to have his questions answered, Alista reserved himself and gazed over the marble balustrade at the floor far below. A small group of scouts sat at a round wooden table, receiving a debrief. Across from them, Leona, Imre, Neer and Bladell took off their coats and gloves, placing them in a locker.

How damn tall is this tower? 

As if on queue, a white stone archway revealed a bizarre-looking room akin to a mad scientist's laboratory. Deep within, amidst an array of potions, vats, plants, prayer tables and mystical symbols, a figure draped in a dark feathery cloak sat with one leg over the other at a desk in the centre of the room.

Alista met the Elder's gaze, shocked to be met with a black bird-like mask. Despite not being able to see the Elder's eyes, Alista felt an almost tangible scrutinizing gaze bearing down upon him.

"Your Eminence, I have brought the Outsider, as you have requested." Bowing with his hand on his chest, Cesimir addressed the Elder with a deep reverence.

"Thank you, Cesimir. You are dismissed." The Elder's ancient, masked voice sent shivers fleeing down Alista's spine.

With another formal bow, the Archbishop of Rapture City's Church of Life slowly departed back down the white stone staircase. Left alone with the Elder, Alista's sense of unease skyrocketed, and he almost wished he was dismissed too.

"At ease, young man. Please call me Gehrman." His warm tone momentarily stunned Alista, before he accepted the Elder's gesture and took a seat opposite him.

"I'm sure you have numerous questions - all of which I shall answer, I assure you - but first, let me explain some things you must be aware of first.

You are in Rapture City. The last remaining city of a once-prosperous continent known as Lunoria - a polytheist people believing in the Goddess of Life, the God of Death, the Snake of Fate, the Bird of Time, and the Queen of Stars.

Additionally, there were those of far more corrupted divinity - the Prince of Chaos, the Chained Father, the God of Rot and Decay, and the Living Nightmare."

"Sorry, slow down - when was all this?"

"Many thousands of years ago, son. A long, long time ago. The ancient history of this land. We, the people of Rapture City, represent the surviving few after the Divine War.

In the Year 117 of the Ancient Era, the 4 Evil Deities waged a world-shattering war against the 5 Great Gods. The war lasted centuries, and despite most of it taking place in either the Spirit World or a special pocket dimension, the continent of Lunoria felt the catastrophe.

In the end, only the Goddess of Life remained, along with the barely-surviving God of Death. To this day, it is unclear whether or not the God of Death is truly dead. We consider Him in a 'partially-awakened' state.

As for the vile daemons, the Chained Father and the Living Nightmare remain alive in a gravely weakened state - it is unclear how much They have recovered since, as no known believers exist.

The death of such divine beings caused great changes across the land, destroying essentially everything possible. The bodies of the Gods have created the practically uninhabitable nature of the remnants. For example, the cause for the continuously raging storm is the death of the Prince of Chaos, and the Fog of History came from the body of the Bird of Time."

Elder Gehrman gave the boy a moment to comprehend, assessing his reactions from behind his sharp-beaked mask.

"I... I see. May I quickly ask a question? I was transported here by the Spirit World. Is there any way of getting home? Incredibly few from my home ever return..."

The Elder regarded Alista's question with an uncomfortable silence, before answering,

"We consider the Spirit World to be the most Primordial of existences. All divine beings originated from the Spirit World - as did all of life. We believe the Spirit World to be slightly sentient, your transportation here is proof of the Spirit World's conscience. 

Return is technically entirely possible, as your home is merely another society within the Spirit World. However, such navigation is impossible. You would have to get lucky and be transported back. The chances of that, however, might as well be zero."

Alista was momentarily shocked, filled with emotions of sadness and despair.

Impossible... How did those few from my home manage to return? Were they just frauds all along who had never even been? Damnit!

"I understand this is unfortunate news. I do not have a solution to give you at this time. However, I do still have much knowledge for you. If you do not wish to continue listening, you may excuse yourself."

Elder Gehrman's blunt words shocked Alista even more, the shock switching his focus from his previous thoughts.

"No. I will keep listening. I will take all the information I can get."

"Good. Where was I... Ah, yes. How much do you know about spirituality, the Abyss, and the eight pathways?"

"Very little, admittedly. I had little access to that kind of information back home."

"I see. Well then, I'll start from the beginning of all that we know. What we call, the Age of Light..."