Chapter 19

Walking down the hallway after his encounter with Ansem, Richard Aimes held on to his severed arm. The fight had gone very poorly, but he was still the victor. His heart filled with rage at the one that had injured him so close to the promised time. But that man was dead now and brought a sliver of happiness to his darkened soul.

The doctor would certainly chew him out for being so careless during such a crucial time. Preparations for the ritual were ready. The ritual was a banquet, a delightful banquet full of delights that would elevate the soul of the participants. He couldn't wait for it to begin.

But without his arm, he wouldn't be able to participate. The doctor would be at his 'real' office preparing for the events to come. Richard owed a great deal to the doctor. Without him, he wouldn't be the person who he was today. A man with a future.

Standing in front of the doctor's office, Richard paused, thinking about what the man on the other side would say to him. But he needed his arm mended and stepped into the room.

Strange artifacts filled the doctor's office. Old books lined the cramped the bookshelves and on the walls hung paintings featuring strange landscapes. A strange feeling of uneasiness crept up Richard every time he stepped into the office. He couldn't explain why. Perhaps it was the remnants of his human nature still lingered somewhere in his soul.

He brushed that feeling aside and fixed his attention on the man sitting at the large desk at the other end of the office.

"Master Becker, we have dealt with one of the intruders," Richard said, bowing his head.

Clive Becker was combing through ancient scrolls written in a language so old that few linguists would be able to decipher them. Becker had explained once that these scrolls, not only were written in an old, forgotten language but also written in code to keep the knowledge within hidden, but to a select few.

Richard once heard of a book that was written in a mysterious code, full of strange illustrations that have baffled even veteran code-breakers.

"What about the other?" Becker asked without lifting his eyes from the scroll he was reading.

"About that," Richard said humbly as he placed his severed arm on the desk.

Because of the modifications made to his body, the severed arm had almost no trace of blood on it. Like a torn arm of a marble statue. Richard still registered the pain at the beginning, but it faded quickly, allowing to carry on his duties.

"I got a little careless."

Becker inspected the severed arm and let out a heavy sigh.

Then he grabbed the severed arm and examined it."So close to the deadline, you can't afford to get careless anymore . We'll have to use an accelerated process to stitch you back up. It may result in some irregularities."

"I'm ready to face the consequences," Richard was eager to show his determination and desire to prove himself to his master. "Then I will deal with the other intruder."

There was a faint beeping noise, and an image popped up on a custom-made computer monitor. On the screen, there were two figures walking up the flight of stairs. Gustav and Rosya. He immediately recognized Gustav and felt his stomach churn. How was that detective able to find their installation? Was he working with Ansem?

Richard felt the anger rise up like a burning flame and heading out the door to intercept them, when Becker stopped him.

"Wait," he said, examining the image on the screen. "The enchantment should've dealt with those two, isn't it?"

"That's right," Richard replied. "The walk up isn't very long, but the enchantment drains stamina and increases the gravitational pull, turning the stairs into a long torture room."

"Quite devious," Becker observed. "One of your best ideas."

"Thank you, sir." Richard tried to contain the satisfaction in his voice.

"Yet," Becker continued. "The man, I believe his name is Gustav Johren, seems to be unaffected by the enchantment."

A faint smile drew itself on Becker's lips. He recognized Gustav. For Becker, most of his patients were faceless, just engines to fix, not human. However, Gustav was different. He had survived the trap he placed in him, contrary to the orders of The Council.

"That man. Don't kill him."

"Why not?" Richard asked. "He's here to interfere with our plans."

"Just don't kill him. Bring him to me," Becker ordered. "I'll be waiting at the altar."

Richard didn't want to follow that order. He wanted to kill Gustav. His purpose was to complete the ritual. Letting one of the people who were looking to interrupt it live was something he couldn't approve. He would find a way to deal with Gustav and make it appear like an accident. Becker would get angry at him, but he would eventually agree that it was the right choice.

"Did I make myself clear?" Becker tapped Richard on the shoulder.

"What about the woman?" Richard asked.

Becker pondered for a second. "Do with her whatever you want."

Richard put his broken mask back on to conceal the grin that drew itself on his lips.

Closing the door behind him, Richard set out to complete his task.

**

Feeling a bit better, Rosya stood guard at the office door while Gustav investigated the contents of the files. There was nothing out of the ordinary in the office itself. However, there was an uneasy feeling she couldn't shake off. Everything was so familiar, yet had a bizarre quality about it. Like if something was going to jump at them at any moment. She tried to shake that feeling off. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

Her arising sense of nervousness kept her on high alert, but when she saw Richard approaching and called out to Gustav, it was already too late. Richard drew a symbol on her chest with his fingers. A spell. The effect was immediate. Rosya's senses shut down and her body went limp and fell to the floor. There was nothing more she could do.

Richard would've acted more covertly, but his despise for Gustav made him threw caution to the wind and confront him head on.

"Richard Aimes," Gustav said. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Keeping the mask on is pointless now," Richard slowly removed the mask and let it drop on the floor.

Gustav felt an itch on his finger to draw fire and double tap Richard on the chest. How was this he involved in all this supernatural mess? But he stayed his hand. Richard had almost messed up when he interrogated him when the case began. This was his chance to make some sense of the surrounding craziness.

"What happens now?" He asked.

"I'm supposed to bring to you to the master," Richard said with a heavy sigh. "But if it was up to me, I would've killed you and you never would've noticed."

That was a lie. Becker had given him an order, but Richard wasn't really going to follow it. He would escort Gustav to the Becker and then stab him in the back. A quick and easy kill.

"Why don't you do it?" Gustav challenged him.

"Don't test me," growled Richard. "Now, let's go. And leave your guns here. You won't need them where we are going."

Gustav placed his gun and the duffel bag on the ground and tried to help Rosya.

"Nah, don't concern yourself about her."

And so began the long walk to the altar. To those involved with The Council. The altar was one of the holiest of places. It was located beneath the hospital where Becker worked, and they had built it for the ritual, calling it the Seat of the Heavens.. On the outside, the hospital had a circular shape, built out of glass and steel, and beneath it lay the real purpose for which they built it.

Richard considered Gustav to be unworthy to witness the Seat, but that's where Becker would be waiting for them.

Gustav gazed at a giant circular structure in front of him, in the center of a giant dome. Several seats ringed the structure at the bottom with empty bowls and plates. Something was going to happen at the top of the structure, for there were nozzles pointing at the empty bowls. The more he looked, the more he got more agitated. They designed everything in this dome for a purpose he could only describe as demonic.

"Magnificent isn't it?" Richard said with admiration. "You're looking at the Seat of the Heavens."

"The Seat of the Heavens?" Gustav glared at Richard. "You're not making sense."

"I didn't expect a rube like you to understand," Richard scoffed. "Keeping walking. We don't have much time left."

Richard shoved Gustav forward to continue walking until they reached a man dressed in a white ceremonial robe. It was Becker, and he was mentally preparing himself to bring the ritual to completion.

"Welcome, detective," he said with a smile. "Glad you could join us."