Eliphas walked in the sky.

No, rather, he was stepping on it.

Clouds swam in a vast sea of blue below his feet, dancing serenely without a care for the world's strange state. Above him, endless land sprawled akin to an impenetrable ceiling, looming and ever-dark.

Everything was upside down.

Birds hung naturally from the branches of protruding trees, and bugs skittered amidst the shaded bushes—in fact, all manners of animals prowled this realm with complete disregard for its irrationality.

"I feel as if I've glimpsed a world not meant for human eyes," Eliphas remarked to himself.

He wasn't talking to anyone, as he had entered alone in this uncanny place. While a high-ranked operative in the OCA, Claude was not an Imperial Agent, hence why he had remained behind.

To Eliphas' understanding, everything pertaining to the Outer Layer, from its entities to the artifacts it birthed, was under the sole hegemony of the Imperial Commission, which answered directly to the Iaoxi Emperor. Local institutions, especially those linked to a Prince, were rarely allowed any kind of contact with such dangerous esoterisms without tight oversight.

The only exceptions were the OCA—a Hautefoy subsidiary of the Imperial Commission, and the Church of the Others, mainly due to the nation's particular disposition as an attractive nest for countless Outer Entities.

Guided by the details of his briefing, Eliphas searched for a prominent building in his surroundings.

It didn't take long for him to notice a flat-topped, inverted pyramid bearing the feathery sigils of the mainland. Colorful writings in Iaoxi calligraphy littered its stone walls, reading:

UXMAL SIEZE

As soon as the thought of approaching it was processed in his mind, a transparent staircase materialized into existence, going directly through its entrance.

How practical.

Eliphas remembered taking a single step. A flutter of his eyelids was all it took for the scenery to change, and he was now cornered by the same walls he had been gazing at from afar moments ago. The obscurity of an unlit corridor punctuated his surprise with confusion, and he remained still for what felt like an eternity.

These are some powerful chants. I expected nothing less for the shackles holding onto the horrors of the Outer Layer.

He intended to resume his walk, yet something shifted again.

Reality itself seemed to warp forward, spiraling around a lone, reddish spark. Its feeble hue soon grew into the radiance of a torch held by a human figure.

At the same time, Eliphas realized that he had moved once more. He was no longer in front of the entrance but deeper within. Proper light illuminated the place, and the silhouette was revealed to be a child.

No, it was a barefoot, petite man with androgynous features and brown, semi-long hair. He wore a white, drape-like garment underneath a purple mantle patterned with golden feathers. And most importantly, he had no soul.

Eliphas' eyes could discern that anomaly thanks to his unique esoterism, a feat no other Esoteric could replicate.

"I suppose you're Uxmal."

The OCA's sealed armory, which should have instead bore the Imperial Commission's name, resided in a separate, pocket dimension that was shared by other similar institutions around the world, all of them ruled by the emperor. Pyramidal temples were dedicated to the specific vault a country's Imperial Agents could access, with Uxmal being the Hautefoy one.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

It held every artifact and entity from the Outer Layer that was captured either in Hautefoi or by Hautefoy agents.

The being in front of Eliphas was neither alive nor sentient. It was a manifestation of a lingering chant left to guide those inside—a robotic librarian of sorts.

As he pondered how to communicate with it, Eliphas glimpsed the outline of doors chiseled into the very rock, seemingly appearing out of the darkness. Numbers and inscriptions were carved above each one, extending as far as he could see in either direction.

So that's how it is. Realization hit him almost instantly.

Eliphas approached a random door, prompting the librarian to speak in a jarringly deep voice:

"Outer Entity H-0112. Ast and Adt, twin deities of dreams and nightmares. Killed over a hundred thousand people, one half sleeping forever, the other half never sleeping again. Captured in 60 B.U southeast of the Orphic Sea."

Sixty years before the unification... That's a thousand and twelve years ago. It must've been captured by the Iaoxi Emperor and his companions right here in Hautefoi.

Eliphas chose a second door with a slightly different code.

"Outer Entity N-2003. A nameless goddess of fertility with forty-four nipples. Oozes unending milk with unknown properties. Not poisonous. Captured in 950 A.U south of the Golden Sea."

Two years ago. South of the Golden Sea, hm... in the colonies, perhaps?

He picked a third one, listening carefully as the librarian declared:

"Outer Entity V-0477. Unknown nature, taking the shape of an eyeless, decrepit man with a loincloth. Hunts humans with clear eyes, ignores those with dark eyes. Can traverse any surface. Killed nine hundred people. Captured in 504 A.U near the Obscure Gulf."

Children are still told stories about this one. It must've been quite the grisly epoch. That aside, the coding is self-explanatory. H stands for Hostile, N for Neutral and V for Volatile. I wonder if that's the case for artifacts.

Eliphas inspected a few more doors before choosing one with a different code altogether.

"Antique O-00085. A cord of bloodless white flesh, most likely umbilical. Unknown components. Any living organism that touches it will experience behavioral changes. Found on a rocky shore north of the Morpheic Sea in 733 A.U."

"Intruiging..." he mused. "Can I have more information on this one?"

"Records regarding Antique O-11085 cannot be accessed at the moment due to an ongoing investigation."

That's a shame. Eliphas didn't linger, moving towards another one.

"Antique E-00277. The oldest surviving compilation of the first Liturgy. Retrieved amidst ancient ruins beneath Noirsacre in 2 B.U."

It seems O-coded Antiques are artifacts originating from the Outer Layer, while E-coded ones are esoteric relics. He nodded to himself before saying, "More details on this one."

"Antique E-00277, also titled Tome of Screams, is a grimoire recording the very first steps the native Hautefoy, or Malchonites, had taken to control the incessant influx of Outer Entities plaguing the land. The content itself doesn't warrant its sealing but rather its adverse effects on its surroundings. Humans will lie down in prayer and enter a stasis near it, neither dead nor alive. This anomaly does not affect other living organisms. It stops once forty-nine people have been caught, although the artifact will continue expanding its range until then."

"Does it have other particularities?"

"A total of three hundred and seventy-four experiments have been conducted on Antique E-00277, resulting in a few discoveries;"

"The grimoire cannot be damaged through any means, whether esoteric or physical;"

"Recent mothers seem to be able to halt the stasis by singing lullabies native to Hautefoi or Malchonite culture;"

"Some adult men will be affected by the stasis should they touch the artifact, even if it already has forty-nine people under its grasp. Evidence suggests this is linked to the specific Malchonite tribe they descend from. Moreover, those bewitched in this manner will not wake again if dragged outside the antique's range, a notable difference."

Eliphas held his chin as he pondered the issue.

The Liturgy is a nationwide ritual that interacts with Outer Entities, a multi-layered chant that mirrors the core of Goetism. It's a branch of esoterism jealously guarded by the Church, and this Antique could be the very blueprint used to perfect it. A fine addition to my collection, I daresay.

Eliphas' stygian eyes lit up. "Open the door to Antique E-00277."

He could always browse the other Antiques later, but he had to at least glance at this one. It was a kind of curiosity he had never felt before, a throbbing drive that ignited his passion for the morbid and the otherwordly.

As an artist, he simply couldn't resist.

A grating sound shook the temple as the carved gate parted, revealing a whole new sight beyond.