Dance of the Gods

The implications of this discovery didn't sit right with Veronica. There was a lot she didn't understand, but a few things became quite clear.

That Person who done the ritual wants to ascend to the 1st Order, at least that's what her brother wrote in the letter.

The question is the order in which one becomes a god, which Veronica was unsure of. Is it the 1st? Or maybe there was one above it? She had no way to tell.

There was just so much she needed to learn and as she walked towards the inn's entrance, an uneasy feeling got hold of her. She felt as if time was running out.

She stopped at the entrance of the inn, and stared down the street. They were much emptier than usual. On Sunday, they should have been crowded with people.

The few that were outside moved along with hurried steps. Their faces showed permanent worry. The people feared the future, which was uncertain at best.

With a sigh, Veronica entered the inn. The main room was mostly empty, typical for Sundays. Only inn residents sat at a few tables.

James saw her enter and gave her a small smile and a nod, then got back to talking with a customer.

Veronica moved along into the kitchen, but Suze was nowhere to be seen. She sat down at the dining table and waited there, unsure what to do.

Her mind was still full of strange thoughts and uncertain theories. She required a distraction; however, she lacked ideas.

Feeling bored, she consulted her Dancer's Rose to check the time, causing the pair of earrings to fell from her pocket.

Because of yesterday's events, she had forgotten to put them in. She stared at the two gemstones and watched as the gas lamp's light glistened on it.

She looked towards the window. The sun dipped low and with nothing else to do Veronica, departed the inn for a second time that day.

She informed James of her destination before proceeding to the Unbroken Headquarters.

...

The building was very unassuming. Nobody would think that it housed a church's secret supernatural force.

The one story structure stood on a raised foundation, with a small courtyard surrounding it. A lone carriage stood in a sheltered space, with a few horses standing nearby.

No clues revealed the building's purpose, yet Veronica confidently recognized it.

She ascended the small staircase and rapped on the double door, which functioned as the main entrance.

"It's open!" came the shout from inside. It was an older male voice.

She opened the door and entered the building's reception area. It was quite spacious, with multiple seats, which Veronica found weird.

'Nobody would visit this place without prior knowledge of the building's purpose, so why do they even have a reception area?'

A few meters away from the door, a large desk stood where the older man who spoke sat.

He had graying hair and beard, his hands and face had wrinkles on them. He must've been around fifty or sixty years old.

A small smile played on Veronica's lips as she neared the desk. Yet the man remained uncaring.

He was reading something intently, and only after he reached the end of the page did he look up.

The man wore a pair of reading glasses, which he placed down while looking at Veronica.

"What can I help you with, Miss?" His voice sounded bored as he spoke, even though he forced out a smile Veronica could tell that he would rather do anything than talk to her.

"Hi, I'm looking for Michael Kane. Is he here?" asked Veronica, while faking nervousness.

The man looked her up and down, then his mouth became a thin, annoyed line.

"Sorry Miss, don't know any Michael Kane. If you don't have any other matters, can you go?" He said while placing his glasses back on and continuing to read.

Veronica stared at the man in disbelief. She didn't expect to be shaken off that easily.

A surge of indignation washed over her, replacing her uncertainty with a matching rudeness.

"Is that so?… But I was sure that this was the Unbroken Headquarters. Mind if I check in the back? Thanks!" And with that, she walked past the desk and entered the corridor behind.

The receptionist reacted slowly; Veronica reached the corridor's end before he rose.

"Miss! You can't enter there!" He shouted, but it fell on flat ears as Veronica walked to the right.

Unsure of the recreational room's location, she chose a random path, which was a mistake.

She only took a few steps before a special looking door caught her eyes. Whispering voices assaulted her mind. They were asking Veronica to approach the door, to venture inside and rescue them from their captivity.

Without thinking, Veronica began walking towards the door and, just as her hand was about to touch the doorknob, something stopped her.

She looked down at the very white and pale hand that held onto her forearm. Still, her mind was confused and her hand tried its hardest to reach for the door. The white hand held her firmly. Even with her ascended strength, she couldn't move.

Somewhere far away, Veronica heard shouting and talking, but her attention remained fixed on the door.

Reaching with her other hand, she noticed a sudden change. It was like she blinked once and suddenly she was somewhere else.

One moment she was reaching for the basement door; the next, she sat in a chair with a steaming hot cup of tea in front of her.

With confusion and a terrible headache, she began looking around, while scratching the back of her head.

"That was a very dangerous thing to do." Said a male monotone voice.

She yelped and jumped to her feet in an instant. Her gaze fell upon the man opposite her. He was pouring milk into his tea, then he began swirling it with a small silver spoon.

Satisfied, he placed the spoon down and then took a small sip. All of his movements were methodical and calculated, not a single useless motion.

After taking a sip, he looked up at Veronica and motioned with his hand at the chair where she sat earlier.

"Why don't you sit back down, Veronica? I think it's time we have a talk." A bit reluctantly, she did as he asked.

She had already guessed who this individual was, and if she was right, then she wasn't in trouble. He remained silent, clearly intending to unsettle Veronica.

His blackish-purple eyes bored into Veronica's own. His complexion was unnaturally white, like a corpse's skin. He had medium length black hair, and a perpetually bored expression.

Without looking away, he took another sip and, while still holding his cup, he pointed at Veronica's own.

"You don't like to drink tea? I think it's pretty good." Veronica only glanced at the drink for a moment, then she continued to stare at the man.

It made him chuckle a bit, and with a small, unnerving smile, he spoke...

"You aren't in any trouble, Veronica. I just wanted to talk to you before your relationship progresses any further with Michael... Let's start with the introductions first. My name is Ted Walton, the leader of the Unbroken's Hammon Chapter."

Veronica breathed a small sigh of relief. She had guessed that this person was Michael's boss, but she wasn't sure. It was also nice to hear that she wasn't in any sort of trouble.

With a bit more comfort, Veronica reached down and drank deeply from her cup of tea. The different tastes suggested to her that the drink's ingredients possessed Ethereal Properties.

Ted nodded at this display of faith, and he continued...

"You aren't the first person I had this conversation with, but you are the first ascended. I can't stop you or do anything about you dating Michael and I'm sure you already know about the whole secrecy stuff, but be sure to stay discreet with your visits..."

"...You could've approached Owen with a bit more... Professionalism. Barging inside was a terrible idea, and even worse, you nearly touched the basement door."

Veronica nodded with faked understanding. She had already known that the strange door she was about to touch was for the basement, but she wasn't sure why it was dangerous to touch.

"Well, I didn't want to barge in, but your receptionist is quite rude. I asked if Michael was here and he just said that I should leave!" She tried to sound outraged, but Ted didn't seem to care at all.

"Yeah, he is like that, but that's not important right now. Since you will definitely visit this place more in the future, I suggest you use the side entrance and keep as far away as you can from the basement door." Veronica took another sip of her warm tea and leaned back in her chair.

"Why? I know it has a bunch of traps, but if it's locked, I wouldn't be able to open it!" Only after speaking did she realize how dumb she sounded.

Ted stared at her like she was an idiot, before answering her stupid question...

"That door isn't just trapped. It has dozens of different spells, traps, alarms, curses, etc. If you would've touched the door, you would've died in a second, because your order is simply too low. Neither Billie nor Gerald can touch that door, since it would be deadly even for them... Just stay away from it and you will be fine."

With that, he stood up and walked out of the kitchen, but before leaving, he said...

"Michael is off with Billie, but he should be returning soon. You may stay here or in the recreational room, but do not walk around; also you cannot enter the office area. Are we clear?" There was an unyielding firmness in his tone that demanded obedience.

Veronica nodded and, with that, Ted walked off.