Rapna is a city of sin, a beautiful city of sin. Shadows loom over the building that rise and fall into the sky. Omens of something much darker coming from the depths of conquest. You can feel it in the air, cut it like bread. Faces peek from the windows, watching eyes looking for the signs of the end. Looking, praying, for some sign of hope, knowing that will never come. Knowing that doom will fall upon this city, turning it to ash.
This hunt will be the last. The Holy Sea Church will not be able to withstand the chaos that is coming. I'm nothing more than a storm building in the distance, traveling to rain hell onto the city. The gargoyles turn their heads from me in fear. The ravens follow me, knowing that I will bring them with me because together we are murder. Together we are death.
I no longer feel like the man who left his home trying to care for a sick child. I'm the embodiment of rage. The embodiment of fear. The embodiment of everything that stands against the Holy Sea. A fire burns brightly beside me, and the body of that child is consumed by flame.
I stare into the flames and see death circling a drain. Before, I would feel pain; now, I only feel malice, knowing that I could have saved this child. If only I had taken the power sooner, fought harder, become something more than myself. I was a fool to think that I could waltz into this hunt and win the prize.
There is no prize.
My reflection is stamped into the moon, and with a snap, I rise into the sky. As though my body knows exactly what to do when my mind thinks of it. I do not waiver, I do not bost, the wind cannot move me for I am an immovable force. The monster and I are in sync, trust building as I rise higher into the sky and stare over the city like an angel sent from heaven to cast judgment.
Everything shines from the sky, reflecting moonlight towards the void. The creed of this city is more than noticeable from here. Gold caps and crosses on the roofs of buildings, stained glass with pictures that seem to move with the light, even statues that capture the essence of glory for the lord. Would god ever want statues of marble and crosses of gold, or would that be too righteous?
I see the church in the distance, a massive building towering over the others like a monolith. I want to watch it burn. I want to watch it all burn, but first. I must find my way to them. I have to find Lenora.
"The books," ________ whispers.
I pull the book from my pocket and notice that the cover has changed. The black leather is harder, more coarse, and withered. It's as though it was placed into another time to rot away until I needed it again. The word 'Magick' is roughly carved and scorched into the leather.
It opens to a page and begins to write to me.
'You've chosen your path. Congratulations.'
As quickly as they are written, they melt into the page.
'To find the one you search for, you'll need to cast this spell. Find the inner eyes, find the image, then say "Tea-ch-tui-r-th-I." You will be transported.'
I'm lost to the words on the page, unable to make out what they mean. Unable to understand how this book works.
"We are connected." ________ says. "You are shown what you need. Focus inward, see her face, and we will see her shortly after that."
I place my trust in the unknown and focus on that point inside where I believe the cage sits. I push my mind into memories of Lenora. I see her face on the day we met, her bright blue eyes casting waves over my body and sending me spiraling into a sea of emotion. I see her on the day of Evelyn's birth, the happiness written into her smile like it was a page out of a book. I see myself finding her again, embracing her, and us growing old together.
"Tea-ch-tui-r-th-I." I say.