Chapter 3: The Chosen One

26 B.C. Persia

"To think that once I could not see beyond the veil of our reality… To see those who dwell behind. My life now has purpose, for I have learned the frailty of flesh and bone… I was once a fool."

In the Persian desert, two Roman soldiers stood before their commander, Pious Augustus. Behind them, the water of an oasis glittered in the sun, giving it the impression of jewels. "Rest the men," Pious said, "they will need their strength. Make sure they take enough water, and are in high spirits. Today's battle was but one of many, if we are to complete our mission."

"At once, Centurion Augustus," the first soldier replied. "I would like to compliment you once more on your battle tactics. Our enemies did not stand a chance." The solider departed, returning to the other troops. The second soldier watched him leave, then looked back at Pious.

"Do you believe it really exists, Centurion?"

I do not doubt our Emperor's beliefs… or his orders. But if we are to retrieve the artifact, then we must be strong… and patient…" The two soldiers exchanged salutes, and Pious's subordinate left.

"Come to us… Pious Augustus…" He turned around, eyes narrowing a bit. Wondering who was calling him, he followed the voice into the desert.

"Come to us… Pious Augustus…" a feminine voice said. Pious drew his Gladius as he followed the voice. It was a while before he arrived at a circle of five stone monoliths; the center one was engraved with three strange symbols. It sounded like there were whispers coming from the monoliths, but he ignored them. Trudging through the sand, Pious entered the circle. The tips of the monoliths glowed yellow, and a low humming filled the air. Yellow light connected them in a pentagon, before lightning shot into Pious, and he vanished.

The Roman Centurion appeared in a strange room, decorated in a style he had never seen before. He walked towards the pit in the middle of the room, climbing down the ladder. He found himself in a long hallway with three corpses on the ground, each one further down the hall. As Pious walked forward, the corpse all the way down the hall stood up, as if willed to. The Roman soldier's eyes widened in surprise, but it quickly passes as he readied his Gladius. Pious ran forward at the creature, slashing at its head. But the creature didn't die. It felt around where its head had been moments before, then swiped at Pious. Before the soldier could counter-attack, two more of the walking corpses staggered out of alcoves on either side of him. Instead of risking getting hurt fighting the creatures when he could just escape through the door, Pious shoved the headless monster in front of him out of the way and ran down the hall. As he ran, the soldier spotted a granite block with a strange red symbol on the ground, and he stopped momentarily to pick it up before walking through the door.

Two more walking corpses came at Pious, who easily cut off their heads with the Gladius. They swiped the air blindly, unable to see their target. On a small platform about a foot off the ground was another granite block with a strange, green symbol on it. Pondering its meaning, the Roman Centurion picked it up and walked towards the door he didn't go through.

In the next room, five of the creatures waited for Pious. Deciding to try and dodge them, he ran in between the first two, snatching up a granite block with a blue symbol on it. He spotted a ladder leading downwards off to his right, but it was being guarded by another one of the walking corpses. Pious swung the Gladius hard three times at the corpse's torso, and it fell to the ground. Without looking back, the Centurion ran for the ladder and climbed down it.

The corridor he was in went forward, then branched off to the left and right. Another of the creatures limped around the corner, heading for Pious. He wondered if they were the servants of the god of the dead, Pluto. Perhaps the artifact he sought was hidden here, and Pluto's minions were to guard it. The walking corpse was decapitated, then knocked to the ground. Pious impaled the Gladius into its torso, then pulled it out. As he walked into the intersection, he saw that a large, steel gate blocked the door to his left. Instead, he walked through the door on his right.

Pushing open the large, metal door, Pious found himself in a short hall that led into a large, circular room. Four creatures turned to him and started his way, but were quickly rendered blind as the Centurion slashed at their heads. Now out of danger, he examined the strange symbols on the walls. They were red, blue, green, and purple, and the symbols on the first three matched the symbols on the granite blocks he found. Just under the symbols were square holes. Grinning, Pious put the blocks into the holes under their matching symbols. With just one hole left, he looked around and spotted the final block in the middle of the room. As he inserted the block, he could hear the sound of a gate lowering somewhere.

Pious went back through the metal door and entered through the now unblocked gate. Before him was a statue of himself. A distant voice spoke to him. "Pious, prove your worth to us by destroying this statue." Wondering if the very gods themselves were guiding him, he slashed downward, destroying the head. Behind the statue, a door lowered a bit. Two quick horizontal slashes destroyed the arms, and the door lowered even more. Slashing one more time at the torso, the statue crumbled, and the door behind it was completely opened. Feeling he was close to what he sought, Pious walked through.

The room the Roman soldier was in was dark, but the light from the nearby torches was enough to reveal three walking corpses. Pious quickly dispatched them and looked around. There was a strange button with yellow light around it that attracted his attention. When he pressed it, three stone pillars rose up, and the circular pattern on the floor began to glow. Pious entered the circle and vanished.

The Eternal Darkness

Pious found himself in a short corridor that led into a small circular room with three pedestals. A strange object hovered over each one, and a strange power emanated from them. The Roman soldier looked at the one on the left, which resembled a red-clawed worm. The one in the middle looked like a floating dome, and the one on the right resembled a warped angel. Thinking that the one on his right was what his Emperor sought, Pious went to grab it.

As his hand neared the artifact, it began to glow. Red lightning shot into Pious, who cried out in pain as the magick filled him. Screaming in pain with red light coming out of his eyes and hands, the soldier collapsed to the stone floor on his hands and knees.

Minutes later, an almost skeletal hand shot up and grabbed the back of the middle pedestal. Pious struggled to his feet, armor black and smoking a bit. He struggled to regain his breath as he looked up from the pedestal. His entire face was resembled that of a skeleton's, and his gray eyes burned with a hatred for the human race. Humanity's betrayer had come.

"Aeons have passed since then, and I have learned much. Chattur'gha's power filled me, invigorating my dead body. With a touch, I could level buildings, rend the ground asunder, and channel power such as mortal men could only dream. Face me, and you shall surely perish!"

Danielle staggered backwards from the desk until she hit the wall behind her. It took her a few seconds to catch her breath. The vision she had just seen looked so real, like she was really there watching Pious as he had made his way through that insane temple. But seeing him become a skeletal monster was far worse than those creatures. When he looked up, it was like he knew she was there and staring straight into her eyes.

"Do not be afraid, my child. All of what you are seeing is the history of the Chosen recorded in the Tome." Danielle looked up, just as her grandfather's ghost appeared. "I cannot explain how you are seeing these visions as Alex reads, but what I can tell you is this: Over time, your questions about all of this will be answered. Just be patient."

Danielle hesitated, watching him fade away. Was it true she would learn what she needed just from these weird visions? She rubbed her head, shaking slightly. She could only hope she would…

"What the heck? That guy… What was he?" Alex stared at the last lines of the page, then got up from the chair. The man in the chapter had spoke of something called Chattur'gha. Maybe if she found more pages, she would learn more about it.

Alex spotted a piece of paper that looked like it came from the book in a frame behind her. She had ignored it before because she couldn't read the strange writing on it, but now she could read them perfectly. Maybe it had something to do with her finding the Tome? She mentally shrugged and grabbed the page, reading its title. "'The Binding of the Corpse God'… Weird title, but I'm not all surprised…" She sat back down, beginning to read.