Chapter 2: Meet and Greet
The forest that once surrounded me was replaced by stone walls and winding corridors. It was closer to a medieval castle from a fairy tale. The main difference was that it was completely underground from what I understood. After the lady in white somehow brought me here she immediately vanished leaving me alone in this room. It was quite modest: a single bed, a desk, and a chair. The desk had some writing supplies on it, but other than that the room was empty. Since I assumed that she would come back to explain everything to me I walked over to the bed and laid down on it. It wasn't the most comfortable bed I'd ever laid on, but it would do.
I laid there for some time before the door at the other side of the room creaked open. I was expecting the lady in white to appear, however, it was a person clad in black robes with a tall, pointed hood. The figure bowed to me before gesturing to me to follow. I hopped off the bed and started walking. "Hey, where am I? What's your name?" I couldn't take the awkward silence any longer. The hooded black figure didn't respond at all to my questions which annoyed me a bit. If you're going to take someone and teleport them somewhere you should at least explain things, right?
We walked through the winding corridors which were filled with torches and depictions of a silver-haired girl with amethyst eyes. We passed by a few rooms that looked like they were for training purposes. I peeked my head inside one of them and saw more hooded figures with their hands pointed at training dummies. "Goa," The group yelled in unison and I watched as a small fireball appeared in each of their hands and launched itself at the dummies. Each one burst into flames, but before I could see what would happen next the robed person that was leading me tapped me on the shoulder and gestured to me to follow again. I let out a sigh and went back to walking. It wasn't too much longer until I was standing behind a large double door. The person that was leading me pushed the door open and held it as I passed through.
Beyond the door was a long table with eight seats. One at the head, three on one side, and four on the other. Each seat was a different color and had the image of an animal woven into the metalwork. The table was empty except for the one at the head of the table. There sat the lady in white who had a small smile on her face.
"Welcome. Welcome. Please take a seat, the others will join shortly." She faced the palm of her hand upwards and pointed towards a seat which had the image of a lion woven into the metalwork the metal was painted black while the cushion was purple. I sat down at the seat as she instructed.
"Where am I? How'd you bring me here?"
"This is the Eastern Cathedral located southeast of Flanders."
"You keep saying these weird locations like I'm supposed to know what you're talking about. I've never even heard of those places! I was at the park with my family and then I was in some rando forest in the middle of nowhere! I don't get it! What's going on!" Tears began to form in my eyes as I slammed my tiny hands on the table.
"It's only natural to be confused and scared. The circumstances sure are dire…"
"I want to go home! Take me home! Do it now!"
"This is… troublesome. I was hoping you'd cooperate. Hmm… If that is what is holding you back, then simply removing it… Yes, that's what I'll have to do." The lady in white stood up from her chair and approached me. She raised her hand and touched my forehead. Her fingers were cold which caused me to flinch slightly.
"All of your memories of your life leading to this day are consummated without your family's presence in them."
"Ah…"
"You're allowed to supplement them however you wish, but your name from now on will be Deneb Arided. It would gladden me if you don't abandon your desire to reunite with your brother even if you no longer know who he is."
I recoiled in shock, my eyesight stuttered and spun as drool seeped out of my mouth. It was crumbling. Did I have a family? I think it was just my brother and me? I feel dizzy. Yeah, my brother and I were playing in the forest where we were separated. I need to find him. My mind is crumbling. I need to find him. He can't survive without me. I need to find him. I need to find my brother. I leaned forward and laid my head on my arms which were positioned on the table. I could feel that woman's hand caress the back of my head as I calmed down as if nothing had happened.
"Deneb, are you alright?" The lady in white asked me her voice seemed to soothe away all my worries.
"Yes, I think so."
"You were lost in the woods. I found you and brought you here."
"My brother and I were travelling from our home in Flanders and… and…" Yes I think that's what happened, but what happened next?
"You two were travelling towards Gusteko and decided to take a detour through Kremaldy Forest and got lost, correct?"
"Yeah, he suggested that we play a game in the forest, but we got separated. Then I ran into you after that dog attacked me." Yes, that feels right.
"Yes, that's where we first met. I don't think we ever introduced ourselves."
"I'm Deneb Arided. What's your name?"
"I'm Pandora the Witch of Vanity, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Cardinal Arided." Pandora returned to her seat and placed her chin on top of her hands. I regained my senses and sat upright again and turned to face her, wiping my chin. "Now we must wait for the others to arrive before we can proceed. I do hope you'll be patient."
I nodded at her and decided to space out to waste some time while I waited. The first two to arrive were a man and a woman or what I thought was a woman. The man's skin was a sickly green color, frankly he looked more like a rotting corpse. His eyes bulged out of their sockets and each step he took looked more and more like he was connected to a string, and puppeteer was controlling him. The woman, or what I thought was a woman, was wrapped in bandages from head to toe with a few strands of silver hair flowing out between them. Her eyes were amethysts which sparkled radiantly in contrast to the rest of her appearance.
The man was wearing the same robes as the person that led me here except the inner robes were green in color. The woman only wore a black cape over her bandages and had two chains wrapped around each arm. The man sat down at the green chair with the depiction of a sloth and the woman took the red chair with the dragon which both happened to be next to each other. The woman seemed to be clinging to the man's arm much to the man's disgust.
He turned to look at me then shifted his gaze to Pandora who was smiling then turned back and raised his arms and shouted, "How fortunate! How blessed, exalted am I to meet the sacred witch's newest believer in LOVE! How I've searched the very corners of this world to find one such as yourself. And yet… and yet… and yet and yet and yet and yet and yet and yet and yet and yet and yet yet yet yet yet yet yet yet yetyetyetyet! I was careless! I failed! How unforgivably careless, lethargic, slothful I was! Please I beg you to forgive me for my sloth, Lady Pandora!"
The crazed man thrashed wildly making movements that shouldn't be possible for a human. He twisted his arms and head in every way imaginable; it was almost as if he didn't have bones, but the sounds of them cracking said otherwise. He started bashing his head frantically into the table while repeating, "I must atone!" Over and over until Pandora raised her hand.
"All is well Bishop Romanee-Conti. Don't you think you should introduce yourself?"
"How could I be so careless to forget something so simple!" The man stood up from his seat rapidly causing the metal to scrape against the ground which sent a shiver down my spine. He bowed his head rapidly smacking it into the table in the process. His head jolted up and he was looking me directly in the eyes while completely horizontal. "I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult representing Sloth! Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti, yes!" The man sprung up with his arms towards the ceiling before sitting back down.
I opened my mouth to introduce myself, but Pandora waved her hand at me, "I understand you wish to return the introduction, but I ask that you wait until everyone's arrived."
"Understood." I nodded.
Next the woman next to him stood up from her seat and bowed, "I am deeply sorry to interrupt," Her voice didn't match her appearance at all, it was far too kind. "Please understand I dislike disturbing the lives of others. I wish nothing more than everyone to become one in love. It saddens me greatly that people fear me because of some title. So, I ask for your forgiveness. I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult representing Wrath, Sirius Romanee-Conti. Once again I'm sorry for interrupting your day." She bowed once more before taking a seat once again.
"So, if your last name is Romanee-Conti does that mean you're related?"
"Yes! Petelgeuse is my Dearest Husband!" "No." The two spoke in unison. It was obvious the woman was infatuated with the man, but it was most certainly one sided. I decided to not push the topic any further when the next members arrived.
The first appeared to be roughly twelve or thirteen years of age. His straight unkempt light-brown hair, which had tips drenched in blood and dirt, trailed down to his knees, and fell over his face in a way that obscured his right eye. His diminutive and slender physique had a surprising amount of musculature to it and his dark skin was littered with a multitude of grotesque scars that varied from whip to bite marks. His primary piece of clothing was a skin-tight purple bodysuit that exposed his arms, bare feet, and chest and had horizontal pink stripes across it. Over the top of his bodysuit, he wore a tattered black cloak with red patterns that reached down to the ground.
The other has long, disheveled dark brown hair, along with emerald, green eyes that are yellow in the center and have a poisonous glimmer to them. His clothing was a simple grey cloth around his body. Each had a pair of cross guarded daggers that were strapped to their forearms. The two took their seats, the first bearing the image of a whale and the second the image of a snake. Each boy looked around the room with bored expressions on their faces until their eyes fell on me.
"Food for us -tsu? She doesn't look very gourmet…"
"On and on about taste brother. We think it doesn't matter in the slightest."
"Are you two forgetting something?" Pandora chimed in as she glanced over at me.
"A new member -tsu… We are a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony representing Gourmet, Lye Batenkaitos -tsu." The boy in the bodysuit spoke.
"We are a Sin Archbishop of Gluttony representing Bizarre Eating, Roy Alphard -tsu." The one with the disheveled hair said. Each of their chairs had the symbol of a boar made from the metal work of the chair.
The two started bickering back and forth about food for some reason when two more people arrived, or it would be better to say broke the door down in a fit of rage. The man was plain in every sense of the word. His white hair was plain, his golden eyes were plain and murky. His primary piece of clothing was a pure-white overcoat that reached down to his ankles and had golden-edged cuffs, a set of five golden buttons running down the torso of his center front that usually ensured that the coat was closed above the hipline, and golden-highlighted edging.
The inside of the coat was black and featured vertical golden stripes travelling down the entire coat. The most striking part of his coat was the opulent gold and black high-neck collar it sported that had the symbol for infinity inscribed on it. He stepped over the scatter remnants that used to be the door and started screaming.
"Now listen here! Who taught you it was acceptable behavior to drag someone out of their home against their own will? I was minding my own business spending time with my lovely wives! She was about to feed me as I requested. And yet you call me here out of the blue? For what exactly? I was perfectly satisfied at my mansion with my wives. Please explain quickly why I've been dragged to this detestable crypt filled with those things servants." He looked at Petelgeuse as he finished speaking.
"Now. Now. Cardinal Corneas. Isn't that a bit presumptuous?" The man's face twisted in anger even more than it already was and he raised his right arm as if he was about to slap her. "You know I would never disrespect you to take away your valuable time if it wasn't of utmost importance." This for some reason seemed to calm him down. His face relaxed and he calmly lowered his arm and took his chair that had the symbol of a fox. He seemed to finally notice my expression unchanging.
"I believe we haven't met, have we? Not knowing the people around you puts you at a disadvantage. To rectify this grave error, I will give you my name as a show of the most basic respect. I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult representing Greed, Regulus Corneas." Regulus bowed his head slightly as he spoke. He seemed quite nice when you weren't on his bad side.
Down the hall where the door was busted the sound of paws scraping against the ground could be heard. Each step the creature that was heading for them took sounded heavier than the last. A few moments later a dog that looked just like the one that attacked me in the forest charged into the room and was running at the table. Regulus turned his head towards the animal and let out a sigh. Without any provocation the dog was split in two mere seconds later. I sat in shock of what I just witnessed, my mouth agape. As if that wasn't enough the dog's body began melting down and reforming into the shape of a woman. She had short golden hair with a rose attached at the end of her ponytail. She wears revealing clothes, hot pants, leggings, a bikini, and nothing more.
Once her body was formed, she immediately pulled out a cross guarded dagger and launched it at Regulus's head. I couldn't even see the dagger anymore once it left her hand. Merely a second later the sound of the dagger hitting the floor could be heard as it was reflected off something invisible surrounding Regulus. His face twisted in anger once again as he turned to Capella.
"Really? That's how you decide to greet someone? I was minding my business when a filthy mut entered this sacred place. I was merely doing my duty of ridding the world of such vermin and this is the thanks I get? I don't usually think poorly of others. Quite the opposite, in fact. I like to see the best qualities in everyone even if they lack them as severely as you do as I absolutely detest fighting. Even between us Archbishops there needs to be some modicum of respect, does there not? Without warning, without any sort of advanced notice, you come barging in like a dog and then after I perform the duties expected of an Archbishop, you throw a knife at me? Do you even understand why we have been called to this place? Why-"
"Give it a rest already, flesh sack. Nobody gives a shit about you or your stupid rights. You speak too much and irritate the hell out of this lovely lady." The woman interrupted him which seemed to only make him angrier.
"Please settle your anger, Cardinal Corneas. I understand that you feel afflicted, but it leaves a bad impression on our newest member, does it not?" Pandora spoke to Regulus whose expression of rage shifted from the scantily clad woman to Pandora. He picked up the knife that was sitting on the ground and in mere moments it was turned into dust. He then swung his arm at Pandora and the cloud pierced Pandora. The attack decimated her body leaving nothing behind besides a cloud of blood. The remnants of her strewn and scattered about as scarlet chunks on the stone which was littered with small holes.
"This is what happens when you prattle bullshit at me. How come nobody can practice any basic goddamn form of consideration? Don't get in my way. Don't obstruct my path. Don't interfere with my actions. Don't rebel against what I do. Am I really asking for anything so difficult? Say, what are your thoughts on this?" He turned to me as he asked his final question.
"I- I- think pe- pe- people hur- hurting and being rude to each other is bad." I stuttered out as I was trying to process what I saw. Regulus seemed satisfied with my response and sat back in his seat with his neutral expression returning. One thing I learned about Regulus: Don't make him angry.
"Now that the fires have died down, we may continue. Thank you for making it Cardinal Lugunica. Please take your seat and introduce yourself to our newest member. We will begin the meeting shortly after." Pandora suddenly reappeared in her seat as if nothing had ever happened. I couldn't hide my shock as my eyes went wide when she reappeared.
"I am a Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult representing Lust, Capella Emerada Lugunica." She spoke as she took her seat.
"Now that everyone has arrived. We can finally proceed."
The meeting of the Archbishops was about to commence.