The door of the elevator opened revealing a nice, white lobby. It kinda reminded Sam of a clinic of sorts, but in a way very exclusive.
Two golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, their light reflecting on the white marble floor. The surrounding walls were halfway covered by wood, decorated with golden elements on top, where they bordered with white wallpaper. Several doors led to some rooms on the side, and at the end of the hall, while the middle was occupied by two brown sofas. One of them had two girls sitting on it. He also spotted small tables in the corners with vasas that had flowers put in them. Even the smell was pleasant.
„Welcome to the church," said Adrian as he stepped out.
Sam followed him, glancing over his shoulder at the guy who stayed in the elevator. It appeared he was not getting out, but the teenager didn't have the time to confirm. Instead, he focused on the blonde stud who was guiding him further.
„Church?" he asked.
„The director will tell you everything you need to know. Please follow me," Adrian retorted while walking forward.
They passed by the two females, who looked at Sam curiously.
One was a striking beauty with long, flowing silver hair that cascaded gracefully down her back. She appeared to be tall with an elegant posture. Her hourglass figure didn't escape Sam's attention. Especially her substantial bosom caged in a white shirt with a golden jacket on top. She was wearing a black skirt with golden patterns embroidered on the fabric, and on her legs were white stockings. She was ridiculously beautiful, like a doll in the uniform of an elite high school.
The other one was a petite and cute girl, of apparently a below-average height. Her dark wavy hair cascaded down to her shoulders, framing her delicate features. She wore baggy clothes. A wind-proof jacket on top of a black hoodie, and a jean skirt. What captured him the most were her large eyes. She shyly raised a hand to greet him, as he went past her.
„H-hi," he muttered.
„This way. You will have your time to shoot your shot with Rose. I doubt you have a chance with Bella," said Adrian as he approached one of the doors.
„Hmpf," snorted the silver-haired beauty.
The stud opened the passage, revealing a short corridor, which ended with yet another door. This one had a plate mounted to the surface. „The director," it spelled. He gestured invitingly to Sam, stepping to the side to make space for the teenager.
Shepherd smiled in response, before going in. He heard the door closing behind him. The sound made him worried. After all, there was a possibility that he just walked straight into some trouble, but the curiosity was stronger. He approached what had to be an office, then knocked on the wood.
„Yes, please," a feminine, yet strong voice came from the inside
This prompted Sam to open the door, revealing a cozy office. Behind a desk sat an elegant woman with long, sleek black hair neatly tied into a ponytail. She wore glasses that added an air of sophistication to her appearance. Her lips were adorned with blood-red lipstick. Her attire consisted of a white shirt, a black dress, and matching high heels, exposed clearly, as she kept her legs on the desktop, leaning in her comfortable leather office chair.
„H-helo?" Sam stuttered glancking around, before his eyes focused on the director.
„Welcome," she smiled, taking her legs off the desk, before fixing her posture. „My name is Elena Noir, and I'm the director of this church cell. How much do you know? I've been told you came with a message that had our address in it."
„Nothing," he bluntly revealed. „I got the message this morning, then came looking for some answers."
„So you are one of those," she chuckled, before gesturing to the chair on the other side of her desk. „Please sit down, I'll provide you with some explanations, but don't get your hopes too high. You are not a member of the church, you were only invited here, so I can't tell you that much. Even if you were to agree to join us today, you would first have to prove yourself to learn about certain things, but I can assure you, you won't come out of here empty-handed. I hope this will satisfy your curiosity."
„I guess it will have to," Sam murmured.
Hearing his words Elena smiled. „Usually our members recruit potential candidates for the church, mainly to keep our facilities a secret, but now and then certain individuals are brought here in more unusual ways. Their lives lead them to us, or they receive a message, like you did."
„Who sent it?"
She shrugged. „Higher-ups from the church? I don't know, but I can tell you from experience that everybody directed to us in such a way, is usually something we call a 'safe bet'. I never heard of them being suspicious people, or traitors. Actually, I never heard of anybody, who received an invitation in such a way, to not become a church member. You won't even have to look far for an example. Our medic, doctor Kessler, one day got a message just like yours, but let's maybe move to a topic that will quench your curiosity, at least a little bit."
Sam nodded firmly, accepting her offer.
„In the past several years the world flipped and is now kinda standing on its head. You must have heard crazy theories about mutations, magic, and other nonsense produced by those so-called experts. I bet you, yourself, wondered not once what was going on. I can tell you," she paused to achieve a certain effect. She wanted him to ask her for an explanation, but Sam endured, which prompted her to finally spill the beans. „New gods came to this world. Very powerful gods. Their power is spilling around, and some of the people are blessed by it. Not necessarily good people. This is why we have the super-criminals running around, and even the super-humans who decided to become heroes," she chuckled again. „But they are nothing more than blind children, running around with guns. We are different. We are guided by our god, and serve in his name, to bring humanity to the next level."
„The god you are talking about… Who is it?"
„The god we serve is called Mutatio."
As she spoke those words, Sam twitched in his seat but quickly masked his reaction, unsure if he should give her any indications about the strange dream he had. He simply didn't trust her.
„Mutatio teaches us that the evolution of the human race is the only way to ensure the survival of our species. We must survive to evolve, which creates this never-ending spiral, which will bring us everything we ever wished for. Eternal life, wealth, well-being. Unfortunately, we first must fight for it," she elaborated. „We are granted every necessary tool to achieve our goal, but our god must not fight for us, just like other gods won't fight for their worshipers. It's in human hands to choose our path."
„So… What, or who are the other gods?"
She sighed heavily. „We know of some, but others remain a secret, as they see advantage in remaining in the shadows. I can tell you about Vigilatio, a god who says that we need to abandon our privacy because humans are opportunists by nature. If allowed to commit bad deeds for their benefit, they will. If you strip them of those opportunities, and instead give them opportunities to be good, they will. I can't speak for you, but to me, my privacy means a lot," she paused for a moment, expecting an answer from Sam, but the teenager remained silent, waiting to learn more. „Then there is Fortuna. May sound familiar from history lessons, but the Fortuna you've learned about, and the one I'm speaking of, are two entirely different things. The Fortuna I'm talking about teaches that the law of the jungle is the only natural law humanity should follow. The strong shall rule, and the weak shall serve. A bit brute if I may say… The last one I know of is Sapientia. Goddess of knowledge. She teaches that only by pursuing knowledge, deciphering how the universe works, and applying this knowledge for our benefit, humanity can progress. It's quite similar to what Mutatio preaches to us, so our churches often cooperate."
As she finished, another pause befell them. Sam didn't speak for a moment, hoping to learn more, but soon it became obvious she had nothing more to say.
„I-if I were to accept this invitation… What would it mean for me?"
„There are ranks within the church. You would start as an acolyte. This means you wouldn't learn too much about the church. Your contact with the church would still have to go through me, but you would receive more knowledge about the blessings granted to humanity by the gods. You would also be able to direct your blessings, to become more powerful to fight alongside your brothers and sisters in faith. You would have a chance to prove yourself. Acolytes clear missions, given to the church cell by the higher-ups. They go through me. Since this cell is new, we don't even have a proper unit. You met Adrian, haven't you?"
„Yes"
„Adrian, and the two girls, Isabella and Rose, are acolytes. They are about to become the first unit, but unfortunately, we won't let less than four create a unit, because it could be dangerous. If you were to join, the first unit would be created. I would give you missions, which you would have to carry out. Of course, you would be compensated for your efforts."
„Compensated? You mean paid?"
„In a way, yes. But don't think about money. The church rarely uses financial benefits to reward its members. We have other… compensations."
„But you won't tell me what, because I'm not a member."
She only smiled at him.
Sam nodded very slowly contemplating his situation. He was not convinced about this whole crazy cult, but there was no denying that Mutatio was somehow connected to what was going on. After all, he heard this name, as well as the other names, during the trial. Maybe the people weren't real, but the dream could very well be. It awfully looked as if there was no other choice, but to become an Acolyte if he wanted to find out more.
„W-what if I were to later decide that I made a mistake, and this… Organization… What if I decided it's not for me?"
„This depends on how far you would go in the ranks of the church. Acolytes, Neophytes, and Initiates only have to swear to keep the secret of the location of the church cell they were a part of. The church will obviously keep an eye on them, but since they didn't know much in the first place, there is no need for any further measures," she informed.
'Why do I have a feeling this is not the entire truth?' Sam asked himself. It simply had no sense for the church to try so hard to stay hidden, and just allow the members to leave with no consequences.
„W-what would be the further measures you mentioned?" he asked aloud.
She only smiled at him again.
„I see..." He muttered. 'If I want to find out anything, I should accept this invitation. If I don't go too far within the church, it might not be that hard to leave… As a last resort, I might somehow seek refuge in a church of a different god. This Sapientia didn't sound too bad,' he thought. „I'll accept the invitation."
„Good. Great! Let's bring the good news to your new colleagues, and then I'll tell you everything you need to know," she said as she rose from her chair.