" You're thinking it could be one of the Gods... "
You say as Tom continues to contemplate about it while looking down at the book. Tom nods his head before continuing to share his hypothesis.
" Yes, but I'm not sure which one and how a God could possibly obtain power on that level... If there's never been a creation of The One that's reached an Omniversal level of power before, then why did Reylesh sound so certain about it? "
Tom asks as he spaces out, mulling it over in his head. Remembering when you first encountered Reylesh, you chime in adding your perspective on her to the conversation.
" All of the Gods so far have talked about or acted towards The One's plan for me, so perhaps this powerful being that Reylesh spoke about is part of The One's plan as well. "
Seeing that there are potential errors with that statement, Tom responds to question your reasoning.
" Why would she attempt to open the book in the first place if she already knew that she couldn't? It wouldn't make sense for her to make that deal with you if she knew from the start that she wasn't going to get what she wanted by not opening it. "
" Perhaps if you look at it from a logical standpoint, but you also have to take into account that she's the Goddess of Manipulation. It's in her nature to build up tension and make me squirm like she did for her own entertainment by asking what she asked of me. When the book was in her hands, she could've been inspecting it to make sure things are on track according to The One's plan. "
You say as you recall the events from earlier.
" Maybe... That would also beg the question about her offering you a successor as a part of The One's plan as well. Did she really intend on making a backup plan in the event of your failure or was she just testing your resolve...? I have to admit, my intuition tells me that she's a lot smarter than she leads us on to believe. Her immature facade is impressive, and she's done a damn good job at subverting our expectations while fulfilling her duty in accordance with her father's plan. "
Tom says as he continues to ponder. Then after a brief moment of silence, Tom takes his earpiece out and speaks in a friendly manner.
" Here. "
Tom says as he hands it to you.
" I noticed that your earpiece is missing. Take mine. I'll still be able to hear Pads from inside your ear if I focus on his voice. "
You take the earpiece from Tom and put it back in your ear where the old one was and Pads talks to you.
" Are you kidding me? That fucker could hear me the whole time!? I've been trying to talk to him and he's just been ignoring me to talk to you instead!! "
You smile slightly before Tom speaks to Pads from your earpiece.
" Can you still open that door for us? "
" I don't see the point when you can just break the door down. You're not gonna be very sneaky if the whole city knows who you are now. "
Pads says in a skeptical tone.
" It would still help to keep things quiet while we're there because breaking the door might alert the people inside to our presence. Everyone in Voldoor may know about us, but we could still be anywhere within the city. "
Tom explains to Pads, who then agrees, eager to help.
" Okay, sure thing. You avenged Master Ryen, so it's the least I can do. If you'd like, I can also erase you from any digital media on the net and jam all communications pertaining to you to make you guys harder to track. "
" That would be great, Pads. We appreciate your help. "
Tom says before looking at you with a determined glare.
" Come on, Donny. Let's head back to the club. "
You nod your head before you both launch into the air from the rooftop and begin flying through the city together. As you follow Tom through the air like a speeding bullet, zooming between the towering buildings around you, you feel the eyes of thousands of Voldoorians watching in awe as you fly past. You can see dawn breaking over the horizon and the sky slowly shifts into a strawberry pink as you and Tom land in front of The Devil's Den. The bystanders on both sides of the road all stop what they're doing to stare nervously at you as you both approach the large bouncer outside the main entrance. It's the same guy as before and his eyes widen, instantly recognizing you. You can tell that he's afraid as he bows respectfully, talking to you in a respectful manner.
" Welcome back! Please- uhh- go on inside if you want! "
Tom nods his head at the bouncer as you both walk past him. Once you're in the entryway, you immediately see the man behind the desk duck down and hide before opening the door beside the counter that leads into the main area of the club. Tom speaks to you telepathically.
" Keep your guard up, Donny. Now that our cover's blown, The None's followers know that we're here in the city. Let's get into that back room to figure out why Sowzo sent us here and get out as soon as possible. After this, we'll head back to Moriarch. "
" Sounds like a plan. "
You respond telepathically before you both step through the doorway into the main area, heading towards the balcony above the club that you were at before. As you and Tom walk through the club floor, the people slowly begin to recognize you and they stop their debaucherous activities, scrambling to get their clothes back on and leaving nervously. You see the workers that take notice of you quickly get up off of the pedestals that they're sitting on and discreetly head towards a room in the back, leaving a trail of fluids behind them as it drips off of their bodies. You remain focused on your objective, passing where Gareth killed the bodyguard and ascending the stairs. Pads speaks up in your earpiece.
" I got a few clubgoers trying to snitch on you using an encrypted channel. I'm blocking their signal, but from what they're saying, it seems like they're trying to alert someone who's hiding here. "
" Did they say any names? "
Tom asks as you reach the door and Pads hacks it open, responding in a brief but informative manner.
" Not specifically, but it sounds like they're expecting you... "
Tom immediately stops in the doorway and looks at you with suspicion on his face.
" You think we're walking into a trap? "
You ask telepathically before Tom responds in a serious tone.
" That's what it sounds like. Prepare yourself. We might be getting into another fight here soon. "
You take a deep breath before Tom turns back around and you follow him quietly through the doorway and into a dark hallway. Once you get further down the hall, it becomes too dark to see, so you switch to your Trap Sight in order to follow Tom as you both navigate the dark corridor. Once you reach the end of the hall, you quietly open another door to a spiral stairwell that looks like it goes down forever. Tom asks you a question telepathically as he peeks down into the abyss.
" You just wanna jump? "
You walk up beside him and look down the stairwell as well before giving him an answer.
" Sure. "
You say before Tom grabs the railing with one hand and jumps over it, swinging his legs up and to the side before he falls down the center of the spiral. You quickly follow suit and jump over the railing as well, falling behind him and you both descend for several seconds before reaching the bottom, gently catching yourselves with your ability to fly as you levitate onto the ground. At the bottom of the stairs, you see a doorway with light peeking around the cracks and several people on the other side of the door all standing in a circle. You switch your vision back to normal and notice that the light on the other side of the door that's peeking through is red, and Tom looks into the room through the door as well before talking to you telepathically.
" That's strange. It looks like these guys are armed, but they don't have guns... they're carrying knives. "
Tom puts his hand on the handle to the door and you see the dim red light reflecting off of his face as he asks you another question.
" Ready? "
You nod your head before Tom quietly and slowly opens the door into the room. Once the door is open enough, you get a glance into the room over his shoulder and your heart sinks in your chest as what you're looking at gives you a dreadful sense of deja vu.
You see a multitude of robed men with pointy red hoods obscuring their faces as they stand around an altar that's illuminated by red candlelight. You observe that they're holding a dagger at their chest pointed downwards and you can hear them mumbling some unintelligible language as they look towards the altar at the center. On top of the altar, you see a pregnant woman who's tied down and completely naked with a mind-broken stare; and you see one of the robed men in-between her legs who's using her body to pleasure himself as he's penetrating her. As the robed man continues to thrust himself into her, you can see blood and seed splattering onto the man's lower body; then after the man finishes inside of her, he pulls out and the fluids pour and ooze out of her womb onto the floor. The man then steps back out into the surrounding circle and holds a dagger at his chest like the rest of them before another robed man steps forward and opens his robe before putting himself between her legs to take his turn.
" What the fuck? "
You whisper quietly before all of the robed figures freeze in place. Without turning to look at you, one of them speaks in a sly voice.
" Our Lord was true... the witnesses have come just as foretold... "
The robed men all around the altar then slowly come together at the woman in the center and they place their hands on her pregnant stomach before the sly voice speaks again.
" Bring forth suffering's end... and realize the birth of what beckons... "
The robed men all around the altar then immediately cut their own stomachs open from their waist to their ribcage with their daggers before falling onto the floor and leaving a circle of gored bodies surrounding the woman who's bound to the altar.