As we approached the old man, I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at the overwhelming stench."What brings young lads such as you 'ere?", he asked with a toothless grin.
"We're here for the card," Olivia replied confidently.
'Card?' I thought, trying to keep up with her.
"Follow me," the old man said as he shuffled towards the end of the factory, sweeping trash as he went. We trailed behind him, dodging piles of garbage.
Finally, he stopped at the last trashcan and reached inside, pulling out a set of cards.
"Which one?" he asked.
"The Ace of Clubs," Olivia said without hesitation.
He flicked the card and it disappeared into thin air, causing the wall behind him to crumble and reveal a gate.
"Go ahead," he said, gesturing for us to pass.
As we stepped through the gate, my senses were assaulted in a different way. The environment had completely changed, and now a refreshing, luxurious temple made of black wood and golden inscriptions.
Two guards stood by the entrance, each with a dome of fire on either side, sporting dull yellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gi.
"Woah, we really upgraded from the garbage dump," I quipped, earning a disapproving glare from Olivia.
"This place is a branch of Ankarath, where martial artists practice and get trained", she added as she stepped forward.
She took out the same ace of club card as the one that the old man just made disappear from her heart pocket and handed it to the guard.
"Hand them yours", she said.
I felt a sudden itch in my pocket and as I reached in, I found the card that the old man had given me.
With a disgusted look on my face, I held out the card towards the guard, as if it was a dirty sock I had just found on the ground. The guard raised an eyebrow at my reaction but didn't say anything as he threw the card into the dome of fire.
'Did that old man just give me a trash card? Is this some sort of initiation?', I thought.
"What was that?" I whispered to Olivia as we walked past the guards.
"If the cards burn with a red flame, that means you're here without anyone's permission. Either you fought the guardian to take the card, or you somehow stole or fabricated it," she explained.
"By guardian, you mean that trash picker?", I asked.
"…Yes, and don't call him trash picker next time", She replied.
Ignoring her reply I followed on the straight path for quite a while observing the surroundings as we reached the gates of the temple.
The sound of clanking metal echoed through the temple as we stepped inside. The room was shrouded in darkness, with only the flickering candles in every corner providing any illumination.
The lanterns hanging from the ceiling swayed back and forth, creating an ominous atmosphere.
Suddenly, the gates behind us slammed shut with a resounding thud. The candles flickered even more violently as the room filled with a palpable sense of hostility.
I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but something was off. My senses were on high alert as I grabbed the back of Olivia's collar and pulled her to the side, narrowly avoiding an attack.
With a deafening sound of metal and the tearing of wood, a spear with a chain attached at its end slammed into the floor where I had been standing just seconds before.
"What the--" Olivia shouted.
The sound of metal clanks increased, and I could sense a slight movement, of the chain, indicating that in the next second that spear is going to be pulled back. I stepped forward as the spear was pulled out from the floor and gripped it midway.
Although it was clear that Olivia was not the intended target, I didn't show any signs of my capabilities yet.
I knew that my opponent wanted me to initiate the fight, so I remained calm and focused.
As the sound of clanking grew louder, I prepared myself for the imminent attack. One by one, various weapons with chains attached to their handles rushed towards me from all directions.
From daggers to katanas, hammers to machetes, each weapon was aimed at me with the intention of causing me harm.
With my grip on the spear tightened, I pulled it with all my strength. Despite the massive strength of my opponent on the other end, the chain attached to the spear broke, giving me full control of the weapon.
With my mastery of martial arts, I swung the spear in every direction with precision, creating pressure in the air that blocked every weapon aimed at me. The candles turned off due to the heavy air pressure created by my movements.
The weapons came at me with lightning speed, but I was able to deflect each one with ease.
The clashing of weapons came to a sudden halt, leaving behind only the sound of heavy breathing and the crackling of the re-ignited candles.
As the smoke cleared, the source of the attack revealed itself in the form of a man in a black Gi, sitting on a throne with chains attached to it.
"Don't tell me you got detained by her with this level of skillset," the man sneered, his voice filled with dominance as he exuded his energy. Olivia fell to her knees, struggling to withstand the pressure emanating from him.
The air grew tense as we stood facing each other, locked in a silent standoff. The flickering candles cast flickering shadows on the walls, and the sound of chains clinking echoed throughout the room.
After what felt like an eternity, I broke the silence.
"Is this how you welcome your guest?" I asked, my voice cutting through the stillness.
The man on the throne, dressed in black and with chains trailing behind him, turned his gaze towards me. His eyes were cold and calculating.
"There are no guests here," he replied in a deep, menacing voice. "If you enter, you either belong here, or your existence will be erased."
"And which one amongst the two am I?" I asked as I stood my ground, meeting his gaze without flinching.
"Depends," he replied cryptically. "Your actions, your emotions, your mindset, they all need to be in the right state."
I pressed him for more information. "How will these criteria be assessed?"
"For now, you pass," he replied, his voice echoing throughout the chamber.
"Well, that was kind of a surprise test," I commented, "Curious about what you mean by 'for now'?"
"The way you behaved from the moment you took a step inside the Ankarath, I can tell you have a twisted mindset," he said, his eyes piercing into mine.
"You don't know the difference between right and wrong, but at the same time, you do."
I was taken aback by his words, not entirely sure what he meant. "What does that mean?" I asked.
"You'll find that out sooner or later," he said enigmatically, gesturing with his hands towards my back. The gates behind us creaked open once more.
"For now, you are accepted here."