54 Rite of Passage

After having witnessed so many miraculous things already, the existence of gods shouldn't have come across as a surprise to the youth, but it still did. After all, he'd been an atheist for as long as he could remember, and his father had been too drunk to instill the values of religion in him.

Just as the youth was reeling with shock, five figures dressed in black hooded robes walked out from behind the statue and approached the two.

"Is this the one?" one of them asked.

Daniel respectfully nodded. "That's right, elder."

The five robed figures quickly surrounded the youth and curiously observed him, causing him to feel nervous. After all, he felt a dangerous aura emanating from the five figures.

"How intriguing! He has the presence of someone who's embraced the darkness for their entire life."

"Indeed, he embodies the aura of shadows!"

The figures continued talking amongst each other, puzzling the black-haired teenager. 'What the hell are they talking about?' Suddenly, he thought of something. 'Is this perhaps because of the memory fragment!?'

Right at that moment, one of the hooded figures coldly spoke, the voice that of a woman. "All of you are forgetting the most important thing."

At once, the robed figures stopped speaking.

The robed woman continued, "He might have the makings of a true assassin, but we still don't know what his mindset is."

She looked at the youth and coldly muttered, "Tell me, boy. To you, what does it mean to be an assassin?"

The boy thought back to the memory fragment of Zorath Raven. As he recalled the creed of the House of Shadows, a look of reminiscence flashed past his eyes and he softly mumbled, "Embrace the shadow and forsake the light. Become the balance in an unbalanced world…."

Silence ensued in the cavern after the words escaped his lips. The robed figures just stared at him. He couldn't see their expressions, because their faces were covered by hoods. However, the way Daniel was looking at him caused him to be taken aback.

"I-Is something the matter?" he meekly asked.

Daniel snapped out of his daze and laughed as he looked at the elders. "Didn't I tell you? He has what it takes to be a true assassin."

"Indeed." The robed woman who had spoken earlier removed her hood and revealed herself to be a middle-aged lady with noble features. She looked at the boy before her with approval. "You're loved by shadows."

The youth was perplexed; he didn't know why everyone was behaving this way. "I don't understand what's happening. Can someone explain?"

The lady smiled. "In the darkness of the night, the Mistress once sent a revelation: greed and ignorance are what makes a human a human. But as my followers, you must strive to bring balance."

"Followers? Are the members of the Cosmopolitan followers of the goddess?"

The woman shook her head. "They're but mercenaries. The followers of the Mistress are the select few, the true members of this organization."

The youth remained silent. He couldn't help but think how similar their tenet of balance was to that of the House of Shadows. So he asked, "Is the Mistress also the God of Death?"

Another robed figure replied, "The Goddess of Eternal Darkness naturally has dominion over death."

Suddenly, the lady asked, "So, child. Are you willing to join us?"

The boy found all of this extremely absurd and shady. But deep down, he knew that there was some truth to their beliefs. Thus, he felt conflicted. The next moment, he put his hand in his pocket and grabbed the silver coin. Inside the pocket he performed a divination, causing the coin to spin in his palm.

A few moments later, he looked at everyone and nodded. "I'm willing."

Following that, the robed figures built a runic ritual formation in front of the tall statue. The formation was in the form of a six-pointed star that was enclosed within a circle. Candles were placed at each point, glowing with an eerie purple light.

At the center of the formation, the young boy knelt in a pious pose with his hands clasped and fingers interlocked, facing the statue of the goddess.

Behind him, the robed middle-aged lady religiously chanted, "Oh Mistress, witness our devotion. We pray for you to bless this child. We pray for you to give strength to this child. We pray for you to guide him in the darkness so he may see the truth.

"Oh Goddess of Eternal Darkness, cloak him in your shadow and welcome him to your embrace. Bless this child so he may carry out your will, so he may become your sharpest blade."

She looked at the boy kneeling in front of her and said, "State your name, child."

"My name…" he mumbled. Over the past few days, he'd had a lot of time to think about his identity, about who he truly was. He was ready to discard his old self and start anew. And a new beginning required a new name.

Seeing the boy remain silent, Daniel began, "His name is David Wat—"

But right at that moment, he was interrupted. "No. David Watson is already dead."

Everyone was taken aback, but Daniel quickly figured out what was happening. He faintly smiled and asked, "Then state your name."

The youth rose to his feet, his eyes shining with brilliance. "My name… is Morpheus."

The very moment Morpheus stated his name, the entire cavern was shrouded in velvety darkness, interrupted only by the warm violet lights of the fiercely burning candles.

"She has acknowledged it…" the robed woman said in shock, which soon turned to reverence.

"Very well, Morpheus," Daniel solemnly said. "Welcome to the Cosmopolitan."

...

After the ritual was over, Morpheus was guided to one of the suites on the fiftieth floor by Daniel and the robed lady. He later learned that her name was Rhea.

Inside the suite, the three of them sat on the couch in the living room. Rhea looked at Morpheus and smiled. "Now that you've officially become a member, you must go through a rite of passage."

"And what might that be?" Morpheus curiously asked.

Rhea gestured to Daniel, who then gave the new assassin a dossier. Morpheus opened the file and read through the documents as Daniel gave a brief introduction. "Maria von Zarowich, a Russian currently residing in New York. The Sanguines want her dead."

As Morpheus continued reading, his brows furrowed. He learned that Maria was a vampire who was directly related to a massive human trafficking case. Moreover, she was blatantly exposing the secret existence of vampires.

He looked at Daniel and asked, "Sanguines are…."

"Yes," Daniel nodded. "The so-called 'noble' vampires like to be called Sanguines."

Morpheus nodded. He finished reading the documents and asked, "When do you need this done?"

"Tonight," Daniel replied.

"Consider it done."

Daniel and Rhea got up from their seats and proceeded to leave. Before leaving, Rhea handed Morpheus a circular black medallion that had a full moon enclosed by two curved daggers carved on it. "This is your identity token. Keep it safe."

Morpheus looked at it for a moment, then put it in his pocket.

Rhea said with a smile, "By the way, this suite is my gift to you. You may use it as your permanent residence."

"Thank you." Morpheus smiled.

Daniel patted his shoulder. "You'll find my gift in your bedroom."

Morpheus bade them farewell and closed the door, then went to his bedroom and found a large black briefcase as well as a garment bag. He opened the bag and found a luxurious black suit inside, which seemed to be tailor-made for him.

He curiously opened the suitcase. On one side he found rows of platinum coins, numbering in the dozens. On the other side were two Glock 26s, a pair of silencers, and multiple magazines. Lifting the guns and inspecting them, Morpheus couldn't help but smile brightly.

About ten minutes later, he had changed into his new suit. He was wearing black trousers, a white shirt, and had a black tie around his neck. Over his shirt, he was wearing a tailored black blazer.

He hid the magazines in his clothes, then placed the Basilisk's Venom Fangs behind his waist. After that, he checked his guns and finally placed them in underarm holsters.

Morpheus walked in front of the mirror and looked at his reflection. He straightened his tie a little and tugged the cuffs of his shirt under the black blazer, then displayed a predatory smile.

"Let's rock."