“So do we suppose that’s Rathe?” Xard asked as the group approached the giant stone mural that blocked the path in front of them from wall to wall. Intricately carved upon the piece was the depiction of a woman with long hair that flowed in all directions. She was holding her hands near her chest, as if framing a vacant indent right where her heart should be.
“She’s an absolute beauty if it is,” Nachi couldn’t hold back her comments. “Let’s get the damned door open! I want to get a good look in person.”
“Is it even a door?” Mallea took a closer inspection after catching up with the others. “I see no evidence of keyholes or any locking mechanism. Nor any handles or other traditional ways to open it.”
Itsy stepped forward and gripped her fingers on what bulges she could find in the stonework and then pulled with all her might to one side. When that didn’t work, she repositioned herself and tried to pull in the opposite direction. “Yeah, that thing ain’t budging. Might be able to break it though.”
“Hmm, well I’m not able to melt it,” Kada was able to tell with one touch. “I guess since Rathe’s aura is flowing through all this like Phon said, it counts as a living being. And I’m guessing it means she can’t teleport us to the other side.”
“Sure can’t,” The Vixen confirmed. “Can’t see on the other side either, so I have no idea how thick it is. But the indent in it… where have I seen that shape before?”
“Just say the word and I’ll cut it open,” Dice waited for the command. “I already have the calculation needed to slice it to bits.”
“Your enthusiasm is appreciated, Dice, but let’s try to figure out any other options first,” Tize suggested, staying the voice of reason. “For now, we are invited guests. And as long as that holds true, we should do our best to not damage Rathe’s property.”
“Well I’d say our options are rather limited,” Feyj was more pessimistic. “I’ve evaluated the area a few times now, and I’ve found no trace of any switches, buttons, levers, pressure plates, tripwires, anything that would notice our existence. Nor is there anything that I can perceive that would acknowledge any other input such as a passcode receiver.”
“Can confirm there is no electricity or any other flows like that around,” Ahvra followed up.
Egawo then laid out the crude reality. “So if we cannot find whatever needs to be inserted, all we’re left with is breaking it down. I say we don’t waste too much of our time and do what needs to be done.”
“Ah, I’ve got it!” Ipucco leapt forward to the front of the pack with a spryness ill-fitting someone of his age. “The shape of the indentation and the spot depicted on the figure’s body, it could be none other than the gem known as the ‘World’s Heart’. It seems the name is rather literal in this case.”
“Ah, our doorstop!” Phon suddenly put the pieces together. “I knew I’d stubbed my toe many a-time on that shape before. Now where did it get off to. Ah, right, I think I know.”
“Why are you looking at me?” Rishaki went on the defensive immediately, her face covered with far too much guilt for someone who was supposed to be a master haggler. “I don’t have it! You would never sell it to me!”
“Rishaki…” the acting leader held out her waiting hand, holding it firm with anticipation.
“Genuinely, I do not have it,” the woman still refuted. “I would let you borrow it if I did.”
“Roque,” Phon called out while still not breaking eye contact with the woman. “For every minute that she holds out on us, please hostilely take over one of her suppliers and ensure she can never deal with them again.”
“Oh, happy to oblige,” Roque smirked, digging through his jacket and pulling out his special digital coin, giving it a good flip. “Our phones may not work down here, but this little beaut still lets me make transfers anywhere.”
“Alright, alright!” The Peddler caved. “This is what I get for doing deals with Fiends. Always trying to take advantage of me. You are worse than devils!”
Rishaki plunked down the chest she’d been pulling along with her, it had wheels and a strap making it closer to a travelling trunk. After undoing the several locks, she flipped open the lid and began rummaging. A moment later, she stood up with a shining jewel in her hands. It was a red ruby that sparkled with such serenity, now making far too much sense that it was an object of the divine.
“I state again that this is a loan!” the merchant queen shouted in front of everyone. “I rightfully stole what you had stolen, so it belongs to me! Even thieves have a code, yes?! And it matches my ruby eyes, so it is clearly destiny that it would wind up in my hands!”
“Yeah, sure, whatever,” Phon yoinked the precious jewel out of her hands and skipped over to the mural, eager to see if it would work. It took a few attempts to get the fancy rock to line up perfectly, but it eventually glided into the stone slab and sat secure and snugged, like it was never meant to leave.
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‘The World’s Heart’, it was unknown who had named the jewel with its origins dating back before proper recorded history. Perhaps it had always been around since the beginning of creation, waiting for its chance to be brought back and used—the key to unlocking the biggest secret on the planet, truly opening the way to the heart of the world.
After the briefest moment of nothing happening, the ruby suddenly gleamed with enchanting light that surged all through the wall around it. “Wait, where did it go?!” Rishaki rushed over to the slot where the World’s Heart had been inserted. It had vanished entirely, though the glow it had triggered still remained. “Rathe, you mawhging demigod! I spit on your name! Give it back!”
Then unable to hold it in any longer, Roque broke down laughing behind her, doubling over in both elation and agony from how funny he found his joke. “Ahahaha, I’m sorry, but I had to do it!” The Swindler unfurled a contract displaying the newly stolen ruby. “Though if you truly want it back, I suppose you have to strike a deal.”
But the woman wasn’t up for negotiation at the moment, and instead chose violence. She pounced at the man, knocking him over, trying to claw at his face while he held her back. The rest of the group normally would have been delighted to watch the impromptu scuffle, but they were a bit too distracted by the other spectacle happening in the room.
On the mural, the woman’s arms that were etched into the stone actually began to move. They spread wide, her fingertips reaching the ends of the wall as if to welcome the group. And then where the ‘Heart’ had been, the glowing hole began to spiral, warping out of existence, ravaging the mural until the wall in front of them vanished completely.
The group collectively took a deep breath and stepped forward towards the newly opened passage. But now they found the lights on their phones no longer worked. They were still on and shining, but provided no actual illumination to what was ahead. However, when the last of them stepped into the abyssal darkness, the room around them suddenly burst with brightness.
It was like the entire atmosphere had changed. The cave they’d been in before was damp and dreary, but now the ground beneath their feet was flat and dry, tiled like a proper floor, and a fancy one at that. The walls and ceiling had received a similar treatment, perfectly cut and textured to look exquisite. Strange sconces dotted around them, lighting the area like torches, but brighter, more akin to proper lamps. A few among the group recognized them as those they’d found in the ancient ruins strewn across the continent.
Some of the Fiends turned back to inspect where they’d come from. And the tunnel had changed too, all the way back to The Salvation that they could see if they squinted. It was now an ornate entryway, filled with statues and artwork, relics and tapestries—a historian’s dream. Ipucco in particular wanted to drool all over them, but his better manners took hold, and Xard went ahead and physically restrained Rishaki—grabbing her by the wrist before she could start stuffing items into her chest.
But everyone’s attention was quickly drawn to a new point of interest in the room. They weren’t alone, and all their eyes steadily drifted over to the slim figure who was walking by. She was dressed in barely more than rags, walking barefoot along the cold floor. The woman hadn’t even noticed them yet, strutting with intention, toting a ragged, weather-worn, and rotting crate filled with what could only be described as trash scrounged straight from the ocean floor. Surely she couldn’t be…
And before any of them could try to greet the woman, she suddenly noticed the entourage out of the corner of her eye. The crate crashed to the floor as she yipped to attention, startled by all the people staring at her. Next thing they saw was the woman vanish from sight, but she didn’t actually go anywhere.
Instead, a new wall sprouted in front of everyone, clearly made out of similar stone as to the other areas around them. But oddly, unlike any other type of rock they’d ever seen, it wasn’t completely opaque, with just a slight hint of transparency, and they could still make out the woman’s silhouette.
"The Fiends For Hire!” her voice was a bit squeaky. “I wasn’t aware that you were coming today. The tides did tell me that something had entered The Drain, but I figured it was simply a wrecked ship caught again or a sea monster stupidly trying to expand its territory. A courteous call ahead to let me know you were coming would have been the least you could do.”
“Well… it’s not like we have your phone number or anything!” Kada lashed out unconsciously, a bit annoyed since all of her efforts to hunt the place down had ultimately been fruitless.
“You could have prayed to me!” the woman spouted what she clearly felt was common knowledge, though none among them would have ever considered the idea. “It’s not like I get very many—mostly the occasional farmer praying for a good yield or a sailor hoping for clear weather on their voyage, both of which I’m usually happy to oblige. But the vast majority go to my father instead of me, since he is your society's chosen deity. So I definitely would have heard it!”
“Actually, not very long ago I did hear someone spit on my name. I don’t usually pay much attention to such hateful things, but that wouldn’t have been one of you, would it?” Eyes roamed to Rishaki who’d tensed, but none of her fellows snitched.
“No matter,” the hidden voice continued. “You all have taken great lengths to visit me, so allow me to greet you properly and offer my hospitality.” The silhouette began to morph, changing shape entirely as it grew, and grew, and grew some more. “Before you stumbled across me in a state of convenience. It would be in your best interest to erase it from your minds and remember only as you witness me now!”
The veil of rock shattered, dissolving to dust and twinkling out of existence, revealing the divine being to them. There was no trace of the scrawny, timid woman from before. Now standing proud and tall was a towering titan that dwarfed even Itsy with an imposing figure that made them all feed inadequate in comparison.
She was adorned in a flowing dress that appeared to be made of thin rock, similar to everything around them. Her skin was flawless, but a shade that none of them had ever seen before, like ghostly gray with a twinge of stone blue. And her hair flowed majestically in all directions, just as it had in the mural, but it too looked made of hard mineral, dark yet dazzling like gleaming obsidian.
“I welcome all of you who have been blessed by mine own hands, proven yourselves superior to the other denizens of my world. The one who stands before you is none other than the being who has shaped this world and granted you all your lives. My children, revel in my company and feel at home in my embrace.” ❝For I am Rathe, Demigod of Haste!❞