Cambion (Complete)

26 - Into the Water

I had an epiphany.

With vomit pouring out of my mouth and into my lap, I found the sides of my lips raising into a mad smile.

Life could not get any weirder than it already was. This was it. Nothing more could surprise me. Not even if the Almighty revealed himself to me at that very moment.

Well, maybe that would surprise me but nothing else!

Gauss was standing up, his arms crossed over his chest. He was completely naked which made me realize that I was too. My eyes drifted to Deborah who, lucky for me, was also naked. However, it was hard to marvel at her stunning body when it was covered in puke.

I caught Gauss' eyes which told me to avert mine away from the woman and I did so feeling like a dirty pervert.

The land, the world, the... where were we? Wherever we were, it was plain. In the spiritual readings that had once been my life's goal to preach had defined a place called purgatory which, described this setting perfectly. Is that where I was? Purgatory? Where those poor souls waited to be relieved of their sins to be allowed into the heavenly kingdom? If so, where were the souls?

The ground was a mirror, reflecting everything above it. If I stared down at it long enough it ended up giving me a headache. There were also no walls and everything was white and without ornament. This world seemed to go on for as far as the eye could see. Being that everything was white, however, who knew if I was just staring at a distant wall.

I turned my head and noticed a large window behind me, which looked out into the real world revealing the other half of the church including the two dead homeless people and the church's exit. If I squinted my eyes hard enough, I could see the grass just outside the church steps which was frozen in a sideways stance from the wind blowing through it. Time looked to have stopped completely.

"Where exactly are we?" I asked Gauss, wiping stomach acid from my lips.

"The Chamber of Stillness, I suppose."

"And we're here to train, right?" asked Deborah, turning away from us and using her forearm to hide most of her butt. This brought my attention to my own nudeness and I quickly covered my groin.

"That is correct."

"And how are we supposed to do that butt naked and without weapons?" Deborah asked, pointing through the window at the armor and weapons that had been left behind on the ground.

Gauss rubbed his chin as he thought a moment. He walked to the window and put his hand to it. Then, he slammed his fist into it. There was a loud thud and I could feel the vibrations come through the ground to where I was sitting.

Then, he did something I hadn't thought of. He simply walked around the window, disappearing. A few seconds later, he whistled for us to join him and we did so. As we were walking, Deborah looked down at where I was covering myself, and then she looked me in the eyes and winked. I could feel my cheeks go red instantly. I wanted to think of something witty to say or maybe even wink back at her but my nerves kept me from doing so.

Behind the window was no window at all but another altar that looked surprisingly similar to the one Gauss had shattered what seemed only minutes before. It was even covered in the same dust and two half-melted red candles. The wooden face of the altar, which I had come to take for granted, had three hourglasses carved into it. The main one in the middle was standing upright while the hourglass on each side of it was tilted away. How had I not noticed this before?

Gauss hovered his hand over the altar. He kept it there a moment before letting it rest on top of it. A sword appeared instantly a few inches away from his fingers.