Endyr turned her head and took in the surroundings. She stood on a cobblestone street amidst bustling crowds, surrounded by tall stone houses and streetlights. As she tilted her head further up however, her eyes widened at the sight of a stone sky, embedded with a multitude of shining gems, like the night sky.
Seeing her surprise, Kulkiri smiled and explained. "The Underworld is, as the name implies, underground. It takes up a gigantic cave system forged by refugees who fled the surface during the Great War, and is now inhabited by their descendants. The sky above us is artificial, the prized creation of the Churches of Consus and Metallus. There's a day and night cycle down here, and circulation devices to keep the air fresh. Heh, if it weren't for the Underground's absentence towards the Gods, it would have already been deemed a country by now. As is, it exists as a pseudo country: the City of No Nation."
"And it has no connection to the actual Underworld, the Spirit one?" Endyr asked quizzically.
"None. It's just called that since those on the surface never expected those underground to survive long. The actual Underworld is located in the depths of the Spirit World with the Abyss after all."
Nodding in understanding, Endyr stopped focusing on the roof and followed Kulkiri aa he walked down the cobbled streets with practised ease. "Have you come here regularly?" She asked. "Hm, not too often. Great Nobles has no real reason to interact with the Underground, but a few individuals sometimes use their services. House Legendry is rumoured to be a present force here, as are House Melvix and Atrazark."
Endyr didn't startle at the name of her House, but inside she perked up. "The Great Houses are deeply involved? What about those from other countries?" She asked carefully, not focusing on House Atrazark.
"The Underground deals with all Continents equally, even Tartarus and Astoria. Well, those haughty Angels don't interact with us lowly mortals much, but there are entrances around the edges of the Continent if you want to use them. The Underground barely gets any customers from there though. Since they're a secular nation, those brain dead Angels refuse to acknowledge their existence."
Kulkiri spoke of Angels with unconcerned scorn and derision, piqueing Endyr's interest: "You don't think well of the Angels?" Kulkiri paused before answering, looking at the crowd around them. Satisfied no one was listening in, he turned his head back to answer Endyr. "According to legends, the Angels were created by the First Almighty to fight against Abaddon and "His" Devils. Their entire purpose for existing is to serve all the Orthodox Gods equally, but after the fall of the Almighty Primordial, they rejected that purpose and flocked behind Seraphic instead. During the Dark Age, the majority of Angels actually backed the Yareli family. This leant both them and Seraphic extra credibility and allowed "Him" to rule the Borealis Continent despite already having "His" madness known. After the destruction of the Yareli Continent, the Angels struck a deal with Fallacy and Daemon and managed to settle in Astoria, making peace with the Orthodox Gods in the process. Since then, they haven't taken a step off their Continent."
"But despite breaking their vows, despite running away with their tails between their legs, despite locking themselves away from the rest of the world, the Angels retain their arrogance and hypocrisy. They demand respect without earning it, and exert their reputation as Holy Envoys despite severing connections to any God centuries ago. Even Seraphic, one of their own, cast them aside."
"My family has suffered quite a bit at the hands of Angels, all the way back to the Great War, so there's a bit of a feud between us, heh. But they haven't bothered us in many years, so we're wiling to let things lie for now. As long as they do the same, of course..."
Endyr listened silently as she digested what was said. Kulkiri openly stated he belonged to a Great House of a different country, evidently expecting her to have done research on him since their last meeting. And indeed she had: finding out that "Mist" was a Magi Lineage associated with the Royal Family of the Oureanos Continent. Tracing back to the Dark Age like most prominent Magi, the Mist Family were highly secluded, and suspected to be a front for one of the nation's Great Nobles. Here, Kulkiri indirectly confirmed this.
Why Kulkiri was so lax with this infomation, Endyr did not know, but it made her want to minimise contact with him as much as possible. He claimed to be leaving soon, but Endyr wouldn't be surprised if he secretly stuck around. People like Kulkiri were danger magnets, and an Abomination's presence in Sky Cross was the signal for calamity.
By the time they finished talking, the duo had reached a building taller than the ones around it, with a sizable queue waiting outside. Kulkiri just strode past however, flashing a badge he procured from thin air to the men standing guard. They let him pass with a casual glance, and no one else raised an eye either. Clearly, the existence of premium service was well known.
"How much did that cost you?"
"Enough hold to put you out on the streets."
She laughed at that, but didn't doubt him. Buying premium service in a place that obviously served as some hub in the Underground was sure to be expensive, and possibly impossible to buy with money alone. Again, this flex of authority unsettled Endyr, but she couldn't figure out what Kulkiri's goal was.
The inside if the building mirrored that of the Adventurers Guild, with wide spaces and high arches. People of all types walked to and fro within, and Endyr spotted a large number of non Humans amongst the crowd, such as Elves and Demihumans. Kulkiri walked up to a free booth and presented Endyr to the the clerk like a father showing off his daughter. "Excuse me, I would like to request your services for my friend here!"