The Abyss (Sector 6: Limbo) 1:30 pm

That morning the cathedral was packed wall to wall with people. All of them had their own reasons for attending this particular ceremony. Some did so out of reverence, others out of curiosity. Something like this didn’t happen often. After all, none of them could have possibly died, it wasn’t their time yet.

“We are all gathered here today to mourn the loss of an old friend.” Luxcious began.

The crowd murmured and gazed up at the front of the cathedral. There was a casket in place of the altar, the body inside barely visible, even from the front row. From a glance, the corpse seemed to be in a relatively decayed state. The lower portion of the ribcage, alongside the bones of the right arm, were both exposed to the open air. Luxcious stepped down from the podium and walked over to the casket. He could see that the corpse’s eyes were still open. He turned his gaze to the row on his left and gestured towards a woman in a tan fur coat. She looked up at him and made her way over to the casket, the eyes of the crowd following after her.

She walked up the steps, laid her left hand on the casket, and, overcome with grief, started to weep. After a couple minutes, she moved back to her seat and sat back down. Another person stood up, and walked over to the casket. One by one, each member of the congregation took turns to pay their respects. Luxcious gazed out at the crowd and looked back at the sheet of paper before him. The eulogy seemed to switch fonts rapidly, as if it was deciding its own contents. He fixed his gaze and waited for the crowd to settle before speaking again.

“Each and every one of us bears the Seed of Night.” he said.

“This man here, my dear friend, managed to accomplish something glorious, something that no man could ever hope to achieve. He held the Seed of Night within him – he was one of us, not by birthright but by his actions. My friend stared out in the dark, and he knew that it stared back at him. The dark gave him a challenge, and an offer that he couldn’t refuse. The challenge was simple, stare into the consciousness of the Abyss, or die trying. This man who now lies before you survived his challenge. He claimed for himself the Seed of Night, something that those of us who were born to it take for granted. In essence, he had stolen the secret of immortality from us, and yet we allowed him to do so. For he conquered death herself, and as such we gave him our gift.”

“Did we not offer him a challenge? He survived, and reaped the rewards which we so willingly gave him. How does it come to pass that a man of such a hardened resolve as this lies dead before us today? The answer is simple, yet tragic. He chose to die on his own terms despite his newfound immortality. His life will be cherished by those who knew him. His death will be remembered, so as not to undermine all the sacrifices he had made for humanity. He was their Virgil, carving a path through the afterlife for them, so that they may find their way home. He was their light in the darkness, and now he shall serve as our guide as well. For even though we exist in death, we still require someone to guide us. Silas James Mori is that person, he is to be our Virgil, our guide to the world beyond our own. May he find eternal rest in paradise.” Luxcious smiled, stepping down from the podium.

The crowd turned around and filed out of the cathedral as rain began to fall outside. The stained glass ceiling of the building seemed to stretch out for and up endlessly, almost as if it was trying to pierce the heavens themselves. Luxcious scanned the crowd, only recognizing a few people among the sea of umbrellas. The woman in the fur coat was still sitting in the aisle, staring up at the casket. Luxcious walked to her side, his auburn robes dragging along the emerald carpet. She did not notice his approach, appearing transfixed by the casket, particularly the corpse inside it. He glanced over at her and cleared his throat. She jumped a little and then turned to face him.

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“Hello, I didn’t quite see you there.” The woman said, her voice cracking.

“Sorry to bother you, madam.” Luxcious said.

“You really shouldn’t apologize, it just isn’t necessary.” She groaned.

He sighed and simply sat down at the end of the aisle next to the woman.

”Mind giving me your name, madam?” Luxcious asked.

“Why’re you being so formal about it? This is a funeral after all, not a social gathering.” The woman responded.

“Better to mourn a loss together than to go through it alone.” Luxcious answered.

The woman nodded, sighed, and then turned to face him.

“Bethyinine, Mistress Bethyinine, though you could just call me Beth. Seeing as it’ll be much easier for your tongue.” The woman smiled as she stretched out her hand for him to shake. It was clear her heart wasn't in it, however.

“Luxcious, though considering we’re going with shorter pronunciations, you could just call me Laurence.” Luxcious chuckled as he shook Beth’s hand.

He then readjusted his robes and turned his attention back to the corpse lying in the casket. Beth turned away at the same time Luxcious did, and they ended up sitting in silence for a few minutes.

“You knew him?” Luxcious asked, pointing at the corpse.

“Yes, he was my brother.” Beth replied.

“Last I, or anyone else, checked, your brother was still alive.” Luxcious responded.

“My biological brother you mean, yes, Ceres is still alive much to his dislike.” she answered.

Luxcious regarded Beth with a faint curiosity. A small jade diadem adorned her forehead engraved with a symbol resembling a tree branching out at the roots. It was a type of marking bestowed upon those who were born with the Seed of Night. Luxcious himself had not been born with the Seed, but had received it as a gift from his mentor following his graduation from university. This particular sigil however, identified her as the Apex. She was the firstborn daughter of the Lord and Lady of the Abyss.

She quickly wiped the tears from her eyes. Noticing that his eyes were fixated on the diadem on her forehead.

“So, are you interested in this?” Beth asked, pointing to it.

“I’m not interested in the diadem itself so much as I am interested in the sigil on it.” Luxcious answered.

“Ah, so you’re a scholar, I haven’t seen your kind in ages, my apologies sir if I’ve been disrespectful.” Bethyinine responded.

“Sorry for derailing the conversation, but are there any other reasons for you being here?I can't imagine you would've stayed when everyone left, if there wasn't some other reason for it.” Luxcious asked.

“I got bored. It’s very disrespectful of me isn’t it? Attending a funeral out of boredom, I mean. Yet that’s just how I am, and even then I already gave you my real reason for coming here. Normally I’d be hunting right now, but instead I’m attending this. Better for me to be a little respectful of the dead compared to disrespecting the living.” Bethyinine smiled.

“Hunting? What exactly would you be hunting?” Luxcious inquired.

“People, they’re just so… interesting, aren’t they?” Bethyinine mused.

“I suppose they are.” Luxcious answered with a nervous chuckle.

Luxcious nodded, and after sheepishly bowing, rose from the aisle. He began to head towards the door. Bethyinine stayed there, returning her gaze to the casket, and began to hum an ancient lullaby.

Luxcious pulled his hood up as he walked outside and into the pouring rain. From within his left pocket he revealed a small mirror. He pulled it out, and drew a counterclockwise circle on the glass. A portal opened in front of him showing a third of his bedroom, which had been turned into an office. The edges of the portal seemed jagged, almost like broken glass. He smiled and stepped through the portal which closed behind him. The rain continued to fall down on the gravel path leading into town, and no traces were left of him. Almost as if he had never been there at all.

Back in the cathedral, Bethyinine sat down next to the casket bearing the corpse of her adopted brother. Tears flowed from her eyes as she laid her hands on his chest. She knew his reasons for passing on, she accepted his logic, and yet something within her denied his death. She looked up at the cathedral ceiling, noticing the rain falling onto the glass. Off in the distance the sound of thunder could just barely be heard. She smiled and began to sing her lullaby as the tears stopped flowing from her eyes.