In the Celestial Offering's chamber, within the Inner Monastery.
Laemno gazed at the sky from his window, following the path of the blazing sun. It was slowly moving overhead as noon approached, rising alongside his heartbeat.
He found himself unusually aware of his surroundings, noticing every breath and hearing the slightest grazing of the wind. His senses grew keener as his mind focused on the upcoming hurdle, chasing away the weighing pressure in his gut.
"Honored One," Maia called. "It is almost time. I shall now proceed with my task."
"Please do, Maia." Laemno turned toward her, his expression grave. "I'm counting on you."
The Adonal Virgin bowed with a smile before silently leaving the room.
Left alone to his fears and doubts, Laemno moved his gaze back to the floor-to-ceiling window.
Come to think of it, the first assassin never reappeared. I have no idea where my secret helper is either, but it doesn't matter at this point. Everything is ready. I shouldn't let myself get distracted.
Under his watchful eye, he saw the figure of a clergyman climbing the stairs to the bell tower. He couldn't help but count his steps, following each of his movements like the approaching herald of his doom.
Three.
The clergyman reached the belfry, momentarily stopping to inspect its mechanical components.
Two.
He grasped a rope underneath the silvery pitcher, pulling on it to move the wooden wheel and start the mechanism.
One.
The giant bell rang seven times, its mighty call sweeping over the entirety of the Divine Capital.
"It's time—"
The moment he was about to finish his sentence, a tremor reverberated through the city, shaking his chamber.
An explosion of light flared like a thousand suns from the Theatre of Priene, followed by yellow pillars that dug out of the earth further north.
Immediately afterward, Maia's voice boomed with unusual strength all around him. She sang a nebulous tune, loud enough to drill into his eardrums and nearly make him collapse.
Cracks spread on his windows before they crumbled, and the shockwave birthed by those earlier detonations burst through his bedroom, blasting him away.
Laemno rolled on the ground, shielding his face from the glass shards. Large pieces shredded through his tunic and drew blood, but he hastily adjusted the wraps to hold his clinking artifacts.
He bit his lip, forcing through the pain as he hoisted himself towards the exit.
Outside his chambers, the armored guards were writhing on the ground, holding their heads and clawing their own ears from agony.
"What...?" Confusion blurred Laemno's wits, but he managed to make the connection with the resounding song. "It's Maia? She's doing this... She was a magus all along?!"
The door from the adjacent room sprung open, and Priestess Lyra crawled out of it, barely maintaining her consciousness amidst the malevolent melody.
It's not enough to knock them down completely... I need to hurry!
Seeing the Priestess still active snapped Laemno out of his shock, and he raced through the hallway, heading for the inventory. Whatever magecraft Maia was using didn't affect him that much, aside from the initial pain, meaning she could most likely choose her targets with a minimum of precision.
Thus, everything else was probably proceeding as planned.
As he turned to a corridor leading to the outer gardens, Laemno saw a large number of slaves running in every direction. They moved with purpose, out of the range of Maia's spell.
Some tackled the unsuspecting clergymen, others threw themselves at the guards' spears to hold them down, while the biggest group stormed the sentinels' spires to close the Inner Monastery's gate.
Laemon scurried deeper within the building, only slowing in front of the Sanctuary's reserves. He knocked on the wooden door thrice with his fist, and a keeper slid out from inside with a leather bag, his gaze vacant due to hypnosis.
"Here, your supplies, Honored One," he said, seemingly unfazed by the chaos.
Laemno nodded amid heavy breaths, snatching the bag before he dashed to the opposite way.
The entrance to the underground passageway was in the furthest section from his wing, separated by a single wall from the Luminous House on one side and the Outer Monastery on the other. By now, the mutiny should have neutralized the people guarding it, so he needed to escape before the Temple of Stars could catch up to him.
He went past another corner, nearly stumbling several times due to his pace.
The lack of exercise, as well as his frail constitution, made the whole ordeal irritatingly painful. Adrenaline helped keep him in motion, but the constant buzzing in his ears and the occasional quakes were making it more and more challenging.
BOOM!
A third explosion made the walls quiver, this time dangerously close. Maia's song abruptly stopped, and the shouts grew muffled near the gates. He heard chaotic footsteps on the floor above him, echoing from the ceiling.
The Temple of Stars was already on his tail.
He sprinted underneath an ornamented entryway, which opened to a vast, empty room supported by finely chiseled pillars. Large marble stairs stood in the middle, leading downwards. Around them, four armored guards were sprawled on the ground, drowning in a pool of their own blood.
This is strange. Where are the slaves that were supposed to keep watch once I went inside? Furthermore, I didn't order them to kill, only to immobilize the guards.
He shook his head, stifling his bubbling anxiety. Don't think, Laemno. This is no time to be lost in your thoughts. If Maia has been taken out, the magi should arrive soon. I can't afford to loiter here.
The metallic stench made Laemno wince, but he proceeded nonetheless.
He unfurled the map made by Maia as he climbed down with as much caution as he could muster. Oil lamps lit his way toward the subterranean gate, which had been left ajar as if inviting him to cross it.
Gulping down a mouthful of saliva, he advanced toward the entrance.
However, as soon as he approached its threshold, chills went down his spine, followed by the nagging feeling that something was wrong.
An odd sensation coursed through his left arm, prompting his attention. He carefully slid up his sleeve, dreading a broken bone or a seeping wound. Unfortunately, what he found was far more terrifying.
A face.
His gray skin had contorted into three slits, mimicking the shape of a smiling face. It briefly locked eyes with him, staring into his very soul while he was frozen from fright.
"W-... What—"
"aAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaH!"
The face started shrieking, its voice a louder blast than Maia's chant. Pulsating vibrations painfully rammed into Laemno's skull and made his ears bleed, resonating like a deafening alarm within the entirety of the Inner Monastery.