The air around us was cloying and thick. I grew short of breath as my lungs worked in rapid, short bursts. I was reluctant to draw in too much of the repugnant scent and what atmosphere I managed to inhale seemed thin of oxygen. The space in front of the cathedral was an empty field of flat, wet dirt; gray in color and flecked with spots of dark blue. Combined with the awful smell, it reminded me of used kitty litter. It was even damp and clumpy.
The surface of the cathedral had the color and texture of pitted charcoal, with spires that rose 200 feet into the air, their spear-like tips nearly lost in blackness. Even with my darkvision, the shadows were impenetrable around where the ceiling should have been.
Dozens of stained-glass windows lined the church’s wide front, their chaotic surfaces glinting from flickering light within, rippled and devoid of any discernible imagery. A bronze door stood like a gleaming wound at the building’s center, cutting across it at a shallow angle–20 feet tall and barely wide enough for one person to walk through. It was shut and barred by a hundred iron chains.
As we stood on the landing soaking it all in and bathed in the chamber’s steely light, Nuralie let out a long, contemplative groan.
“You alright?” I asked.
She squatted low and swept her hand out toward the field.
“There are evil entities below.” Pause. “They are also profane.”
I stood up a bit straighter, feeling a touch of excitement at the news. Then I frowned over the emotion, wondering how healthy that reaction was.
“How many?”
“There are 12 within 24 feet of us. That is the limit of my detection range.”
“Think it’s a classic trap?” I asked. “When we step out into the field they attack?”
“I sense no life from them.”
“Ohhhh,” I said, looking over the dirt with hungry eyes. “Spooky church. Midnight vibes. Empty field perfect for dumping bodies.” She quirked an eyebrow at that last statement. “It’s clearly the undead.”
“There are many things it could be,” she countered. “Automatons, any number of creations made by a golemancer–”
“Enormous viruses,” I said. “But would any of those be evil?”
She rubbed her chin.
“Perhaps if they were created with an evil purpose.”
“Well, maybe it could be something like that,” I said. “But observe the foreboding environment of the grounds, the somber architecture of the church, the bleak and smelly ambiance. There’s 100% going to be a lich inside.”
“Now there is a lich?”
“The things out here are probably his or her horde, starved of brains and ravenous for living flesh.”
Pause. “Liches are not real,” said Nuralie.
“And because you said that, the chance of it being a lich has increased to 110%.”
“Then I will fight the fractional one-tenth lich and you can fight the whole one.”
“Eh, I’m fine with that arrangement,” I said. “What’s the move, then?”
“Since this is a Spiritual and Dimensional section, we should continue looking at it from that perspective.” She focused more intently on the ground. “There are spiritual threads connecting these entities as well. They lead into the cathedral.”
“Then we can expect another button, perhaps. Shall I take a stroll and tempt the fates?”
Nuralie stood from her squat and pulled an arrow taught against her bowstring. She nodded at me, then stepped back into the shadow of the stairwell and disappeared. I shifted my grip on Somncres, raised my shield, and stepped out onto the lumpy soil.
Nothing happened.
I walked a few yards further in. Still nothing. I began a slow and steady trod up to the cathedral and made it across the entire field without incident. I lowered my shield.
“Disappointed,” I muttered.
I turned to study the narrow bronze door, finding Nuralie already behind me. By this point her sudden appearances were routine. I barely even squeaked. Despite my display of mettle, she still turned to give me a judgmental look before approaching the chained-up entryway.
She ran a claw-like nail across a few of the links. They were small, each one about an inch long, but there were dozens of the chains. She stepped back and looked up at one of the stained-glass windows. It was 15 feet up, but that was little impediment to either of us.
“We could go in through a window,” she said, already finding handholds in the pitted walls. She swiftly climbed up, covering the distance in a second, and peered into the glass. “I cannot see through it.” She tapped the surface. “It seems very thick.”
I focused on the door, reaching for Shortcut and feeling around for a viable place to teleport. The interior was, predictably, not a solid mass of stone. I could make the jump without issue.
“I can teleport inside,” I said.
She looked down at me.
“Even though you cannot see where you are going?”
“A side benefit of Coordinated Thinker. I rarely use it, since I prefer being able to see where I’m going or what I’m blowing up.”
“I remember the ability,” said Nuralie. “I meant that you do not know what is inside.” Pause. “That also does not help me get in.” She dropped from the window and returned to the chains. “I could melt through these.”
“Waste of resources,” I said, dismissing Somncres and sending Gracorvus back into my armguard. I stretched one arm across my chest, then the next. I shook out my limbs and walked up to the door. “Plus, I haven’t been able to test out my new Strength score.” I reached out and grabbed one of the chains with both hands.
“That will make a lot of noise.”
“It’s this or break a window.”
I bent my knees and got ready to pull. Nuralie held up a hand to stop me.
“Let me scout the perimeter of the building,” she said.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
I hung my head but agreed. She slunk back into a shadow, reappearing only a few minutes later.
“Find the back door?” I asked. She shook her head, looking irritated. “Then we do a little breaking and entering.”
I gripped the chain, widened my stance, and pulled. There was a moment of resistance, followed by a groaning squeal. The chain snapped and I stumbled back a few steps before catching myself, links clinking to the ground.
“Oh,” I said, looking at my hands. “That was pretty easy.”
I stepped up and grabbed two chains this time, pulling until they broke. It took a bit more effort but still wasn’t close to being a challenge. I grabbed 4 chains, 2 in each hand, and reared back against them. This time I really had to pull, forced to hop up and press both legs against the door. A few seconds passed before the first chain broke, followed in rapid succession by the other 3. This time I was ready for the sudden loss of resistance and did a nifty one-handed backspring to keep my balance. Nuralie applauded softly and I gave her a little bow.
“I think that’s my limit,” I said.
“Seven down,” she said. “Ninety-three to go.”
“Varrin could get through this in a second,” I said.
“You could also use Oblivion Orb,” said Nuralie.
“I’d rather save the mana. This won’t take long.”
I grabbed four more chains, breaking them two at a time with one arm so I could keep myself steady with the other. The chains ran up the length of the 20-foot-high door and I climbed up it as I went. I finished up in a little under 4 minutes, then dropped back down to the ground with ease.
“You also could have used your hammer,” said Nuralie.
I pulled out a rag and wiped the iron dust from my gauntlets.
“Would have been less fun,” I said. “Besides, you wanna talk about making noise? You’d be able to hear that all the way back out into the hall.”
Nuralie looked unconvinced but gestured for me to open the door. I walked up and grabbed the knob, but it wouldn’t turn. I pulled with a little pressure.
“It’s locked,” I said.
“I am nonplussed,” she replied, deadpan.
I gave the knob a hearty tug and there was a clank as the lock broke. I pulled the bronze door open and the internal components clinked and clattered to the ground. I peered around the interior. Seeing no signs of hostility, I went inside.
I had to side-step to enter the narrow doorway, finding a large, empty nave. Like the basilica, columns lined the chamber’s sides, but the room and ceiling were geometric, rather than spherical. There was a short set of three marble steps leading down to the main floor, which was once again decorated with a complex mosaic, this one made up of black-and-blue tiles. At the far end of the room was another altar, with an identical rising triangle of flickering glowstones on countless small shelves beyond.
However, unlike the basilica, a statue sat behind the altar on an ornate throne.
It was a woman clad in soft, white robes, her head and arms covered in bright, painted feathers of many hues. Her features were sharp, but kind. Irises of bright orange shone amidst eyes that possessed a wealth of intelligence and what might have been amusement. A pair of wings were tucked in close behind her. Their long, polychromatic feathers matched those on her body.
A mighty spear was thrust through her heart, pinning her to the throne.
“Deijin?” I asked.
Nuralie moved closer, carefully appraising the figure.
“She is similar to other portrayals I have seen. Although, this one is very”–pause–“lifelike.”
“Are there more people under our feet?”
“No. Not that I can sense.”
“Do you know why she’s been impaled?”
Nuralie shook her head.
“The scriptures do not speak of such a thing.” She closed her eyes. “This room is as profane as the rest of this place, but there is no evil inside.”
“I suppose depicting a deity as having been slain could be profane.”
Nuralie opened her eyes again to meet the statue’s gaze.
“She does not look dead. Perhaps she is only trapped.”
I considered the idea, then walked up to the altar. There was another button–this one the color of ice–but it lacked a soul halo.
“Did you get an idea of how many entities were buried outside?” I asked.
“I did not step into the field,” she said. “But they were set in regular intervals. It was one every 6 feet in any direction.”
I brought up the field in my mind, visualizing the space.
“If that’s consistent out to the edges of the field, that’d be 512 evil dead,” I said.
“That is 8 times more than the number within the basilica.”
“The System likes divisions of 8,” I added. “Every platinum Delve grants 8 stat points. There are 8 stats. Grotto has 8 tentacles.”
“There are just as many divisions of 10 and 6. Active and intrinsic skills are limited to 10 each. Time limits and cooldowns are often in intervals of 6.”
“But 4 passives. Half of eight. It’s all divisible by 2, though. There are 2 churches.”
“We have not finished the loop yet,” said Nuralie. “There may be another.”
“That would be very asymmetrical,” I said. “But fair point.”
“Do we intend to solve the riddle with simple division and abstraction of limited data?”
“Things to consider,” I said. “We have two buttons, one within a sacred basilica and another within a profane cathedral. The basilica is filled with living entities–also sacred–whereas the field outside of this cathedral is filled with evil ones, which are profane.”
“If they are direct opposites,” said Nuralie, “then the entities within the basilica would also be good, not evil.”
“All of the entities are bound through spiritual channels to a button. One of the buttons has a soul whereas the other does not.”
“The creation myth of Deijin tells of Deijin creating souls from the stars and imparting them unto the living.”
“Whereas within this cathedral, Deijin is pierced and bound by a spear,” I said. “No souls here, either.”
“Then perhaps we free Deijin so that she may deliver souls to the creatures outside.”
“Think it’s as simple as yanking the spear out?” I asked.
“No.” Pause. “But try it.”
I climbed up onto the statue, doing my best not to step on anything that might be offensive to the deity, and gripped the spear. I pulled, pulled harder, then pulled with everything I had. It wouldn’t budge.
“It was worth a try,” I said. “I could try to destroy it with spells.”
“Let us save defiling the icon of one of my gods as a backup.” Pause. “Have you been looking for any Dimensional clues?”
“My mana regen is capped,” I said. “Which means my Ambient Absorption is pulling in a lot of Dimensional mana, so the space is saturated in it. There’s no Divine mana interfering with it, either.”
“Curious,” said Nuralie, running a claw along her chin. “My divine sense does not trigger here. The basilica was filled with it. Anything else?”
I scratched my head and tried to feel for anything else of note.
“So, I haven’t really used Dimensional Magic to, ah, detect Dimensional stuff before,” I said. “But nothing’s jumping out at me.”
“Maybe we press both buttons at the same time,” said Nuralie. “Or within a limited time frame.”
“How’d you get to that conclusion?”
“It seems obvious,” she said. “They are very far from one another, so you teleport from one to the next.”
“Or we could each go to 1 of the churches and time it so that we press the buttons simultaneously.”
“Coordinated by the timing of our regen stats?”
“Since we don’t have a good way to communicate across distance without Grotto, yeah. We each cast a spell to trigger our mana regen and agree on the interval.”
“We would be separated if something attacks.”
“Something like all the things buried in the ground…” I realized that I was still standing in Deijin’s lap, so I hopped down. “Again, we’re not pressed for time, so maybe we should finish walking the loop. See if anything else occurs to us.”
Nuralie agreed, so we walked back up the steps and continued westward to our starting point. There was nothing else of note, so we kept walking back around to give the basilica another look. However, when we approached the basilica, we were met with another cold, dark stairwell. We went down to confirm, finding the cathedral again.
“Did we get teleported?” asked Nuralie. “Some other spatial anomaly?”
I shook my head.
“No, Coordinated Thinker tells me that we’re in the exact place that the basilica should be. Could it be a copy?”
“Your footprints are in the soil,” Nuralie said. “The chains on the door are broken.”
“A perfect copy? One that retains any changes made to the other space?”
“Or it is the same space.”
“Any way we can confirm that?” I asked. Nuralie toyed with her bowstring again, working something over in her mind.
“Yes,” she said. “I can use my revelation.”