Sollivan’s gaze became clear, and despite the pain he was feeling, he stood up naturally and stretched his body indifferently before walking forward.
Otieno stared at him with suspicion, but he didn’t make any further moves. However, he didn’t feel at ease and continued to think.
After the two of them walked for another thirty minutes, the pained Sollivan noticed a massive metal door on the right side of the tunnel.
He furrowed his eyebrows in anger and noticed that the priest’s pace had slowed slightly, then stopped in front of the door and ordered him to stop as well.
Sollivan stood silently, continuing to observe everything that was happening, directing a small portion of his attention to Noctis, who was still wandering aimlessly on the surface above them. Due to their close proximity, the bond between them had regained its usual strength, so he knew what Noctis was feeling.
Noctis even sent him occasional waves of thoughts, informing him of what it saw and wanted. But Sollivan couldn’t find any way for Noctis to enter, despite its ability to merge with shadows. It still couldn’t penetrate solid objects.
Clang!
Creak!
Otieno opened the massive metal door, which emitted a high-pitched creak that echoed through the area due to the rust on its hinges. After pushing the door open enough, he looked at Sollivan and ordered, "Enter."
Powerless to resist, Sollivan walked inside to find another spiral staircase, but this time it was well-crafted, with wide and slightly cleaner steps. Even the glowing stones on the sides were brighter.
*Bang!*
The door slammed shut behind him, and without looking back, he began ascending the staircase, which was shorter than the previous one. Within moments, he reached another large wooden door that was slightly ajar, with strange murmuring sounds coming from behind it.
Creak!
Otieno pushed the old wooden door open. When he opened it, what lay inside was revealed: a slightly spacious hall with a foul stench that made Sollivan nauseous. The strange murmuring he had heard earlier became very loud and continued to echo in his head like a mysterious melody. Even after shaking his head and trying to clear his mind, he couldn’t maintain his composure.
With a disturbed expression, he quickly scanned the hall to find three people with very mysterious appearances inside, dressed in black robes that completely concealed their bodies. Even their eyes were hidden behind black cloth, making them resemble black mummies. Their attire was similar to that of priests, yet there was something off about them that made the already uneasy Sollivan even more uncomfortable.
Clap!
Otieno clapped his hands loudly and said in a voice filled with joy, "Enough sterilization, prepare the altar." Then he looked at Sollivan and ordered, "Go to the center of the hall."
As soon as Sollivan stood in the center of the hall, the three priests surrounded him, making him flinch in surprise. Although they maintained a safe distance and didn’t touch him, he hated the sight of them. They stood silently like statues around him for a full minute before moving simultaneously. They pulled their hands out of their long, wide sleeves and cut their wrists in perfect harmony.
Then they pulled out their other hands and stained them with their blood, which was flowing profusely, before kneeling and painting the ground with random lines. Their movements were coordinated and harmonious, as if they were professional artists.
Within moments, the random lines turned into mysterious shapes that caught his attention. ’A blood formation, as I expected. They’re performing a demonic ritual.’ Although the idea itself was terrifying, he smiled strangely, and the look of hatred and resentment directed at Otieno returned.
While the shapes were being drawn, Sollivan carefully examined his surroundings, discovering that the hall was filled with various objects, from books and manuscripts to monster body parts, metal ores, and piles of minted coins. He was slightly surprised, as this was the first time he had seen currency in this world. From what he had seen before, the tribes in the plains relied on bartering, with warriors receiving their wages in the form of food and resources, while the common folk mostly received food, clothing, and other basic necessities.
After a few minutes, the three priests finished drawing the formation and added stabilizing materials, which were strange elements Sollivan recognized some of, such as monster organs and certain ores, but most of the materials were unfamiliar to him.
Once the priests finished stabilizing the formation, they dispersed, each heading to one of the formation’s corners.
Otieno adjusted his stance firmly and sternly ordered Sollivan, "Sit in the lotus position, and don’t try anything stupid. Stay silent and still until everything is over."
Despite the sternness of his words, Otieno seemed relaxed, and all the anxiety he had felt on the way disappeared. Because once the ritual began, no one could stop it unless he allowed it.
Sollivan sat down reluctantly, yet he wasn’t bothered and continued to watch what was happening around him with curiosity. When he saw Otieno remove his clothes, revealing his massive, muscular body covered in deformed scales—or rather, large black burn marks that covered a significant portion of his body—he smirked strangely. Then Otieno removed his mask, revealing his withered features: a face full of wrinkles and sunken eyes. Despite being middle-aged, his physical condition made him look like an old man.
As Otieno wiped his body, Sollivan smiled strangely, and if he hadn’t been unable to move or speak, he would have laughed out loud and thought to himself, ’ Well, would you look at that—half a man and running a serious horn deficit. Tragic, really.’ Otieno’s horns were cut off, and all that remained on his forehead were two small red bumps.
Although Sollivan hadn’t heard this directly, he had noticed how important horns were to the men of the tribe. Their tribe itself was called the "Red Horns." How would they view someone without horns?
’That’s why he hides his face.’
Sollivan focused on the priest and watched him closely as Otieno sat on the ground in the central circle opposite him and said sternly, "Begin."
Following his orders, the priests began chanting strange incantations and pouring their blood into the formation, causing an outer circle to form and move strangely, as if it were a circulatory system. The solid elements of the formation began to melt and mix with the blood flow in a bizarre manner.
Within moments, the entire area was enveloped by an invisible force that tightened its grip on everyone, especially Sollivan. At that moment, he felt the well’s seal in his chest weaken, allowing him to regain a bit of his freedom. ’When two opposing forces meet, one gives way.’ He thought aimlessly before hearing Otieno’s voice again, who began chanting words even more mysterious than those uttered by the priests around them.
The intensity of the invisible force surrounding them increased, tightening its grip on Sollivan. Strangely, he felt his blood stirring to its limits, and warmth spread through his body. Without understanding how, his wrists were cut, and blood began to pour profusely from his body. The same thing happened to the priest in front of him. As soon as the blood touched the formation, a small structure began to form in the center of the larger formation, also resembling a miniature circulatory system, through which the blood mixed in a strange way.
The dark blue blood mixed with Otieno’s ordinary red blood, and the blood began to circulate around them, entering their bodies through the left wrist, flowing inside them, and then exiting through the right wrist before moving to the opposite end to repeat the same process.
Sollivan watched everything in amazement. Despite the immense pain and chaos he felt inside, his face remained steady. Suddenly, he noticed something strange. The blue blood was purifying the red blood, making it more transparent and increasing its quality.
Meanwhile, his blue blood began to darken. When he understood what was happening, his eyes narrowed. ’He’s purifying his blood at the expense of mine. What a bastard.’ He shook his head slightly, then looked at the stone ceiling above him, where he sensed Noctis’s presence. At that moment, he made up his mind and looked into Otieno’s eyes, which were filled with joy and eagerness, and said, "Do you know who I am, Your Excellency?"
"Huh..." Otieno laughed happily, indifferent, and continued to look at the blood around them. Then he said mockingly, "Now you decide to reveal your identity? Hahaha, whatever you are, I don’t care. But there’s no need for that. You can’t stop the transfer. Stay silent and accept your fate. You won’t suffer much."
"Oh, really?" Sollivan smiled calmly, making Otieno frown slightly and look at him strangely. But as soon as he remembered the nature of the formation around them, his doubts vanished. He asked mockingly, "So, who are you?"
Sollivan made a pained face, while smiling a savage smile due to his broken teeth, which conveyed deep sorrow, as if he were whispering the deepest secrets of the universe. He answered, "I’m your mother’s lover, you bastard."
Then he burst into loud laughter, trying with all his mental strength to move his immobilized hand. Finally, his hand moved after the blue blood began to drip from his nose and eyes, seeping into his mouth and staining his insane smile. Then he pointed his middle finger at Otieno and said, "Screw you. In our next meeting, I’ll kill you, you bastard." He was deeply resentful because he had been forced to do this.
Quickly, he grabbed the key to return that was in his mind with his remaining mental strength, and within a fraction of a second, he felt something strange happening inside him. His vision became blurry, and his body began to disintegrate and turn into black smoke, starting from his raised finger.
Otieno opened his mouth in astonishment, unable to believe what he was seeing, as Sollivan disappeared before his eyes without leaving a trace. Even the ashes that were in his place evaporated and disappeared. Due to his shock, he didn’t realize that his blood, which had been circulating in the formation, had also disappeared, causing the formation to lose its cohesion and begin spinning in emptiness. The formation cracked and lost its stability due to the sudden disappearance of one of its elements. When Otieno noticed this, he quickly ordered his followers, "Stabilize the formation!"
But it was too late. In just one second, the formation suddenly exploded with tremendous force, destroying all its elements.
Even the three priests at the stabilization corners and Otieno were subjected to an extremely violent backlash. They were thrown from their positions by the force of the explosion. As for their blood, which had been circulating in the formation and maintaining its stability, it evaporated quickly, and this evaporation extended into their bodies, destroying their internal organs.
One of the priests’ bodies exploded, and his destroyed organs flew everywhere, staining the ceiling and walls behind him red, while the ground was contaminated with a disgusting stickiness from his flesh and thick organs.
The other priests acted quickly and severed their blood connection, which lessened the backlash. However, they suffered many superficial and internal injuries, causing them to cough up blood profusely.
Otieno was thrown backward, his eyes bloodshot. Thanks to his experience and composure, he was the first to act, directing all the backlash toward the stabilization corners, which lessened the impact of the explosion. However, he lost a lot of blood, and despite his stability, he couldn’t stop the blood from leaking from his nostrils and ears.
He continued to stare at the spot where Sollivan had been, his eyes almost bursting with anger. Then he roared in fury, "I’ll kill you!"