March from Darkness | ✓ (to be edited)

THIRTY-NINE

PHRER

I was incredibly uncomfortable leaving Daraya by himself. I knew he could more than take care of himself, but that wasn't the concern.

The concern was that we had no idea who those people were. Yes, I trusted him more than anyone else, but I heavily debated turning around and just running after him. However, I kept it to myself and kept walking, knowing that going after him would just end in a completely different argument.

A few minutes later, Ubaid knocked on a large door, the entrance to a giant building at the centre of the city. This building was entirely made of marble, gold fixtures adorning the outside and an open roof letting in the natural light and the light of the thousands of stars present at night in this Dimension. I loathed the temple with a passion, but I wouldn't have come if it was unnecessary.

Ubaid pushed open the door, surprisingly strong for his stature. He bowed to me as he held it open, then he closed it behind me, disappearing from sight.

I had been here enough to know my way around the temple, so I just made my way through the elaborate hallways, sandstone affairs decorated with colourful paints depicting the gods and their respondents. Several depicted the Firsts, only two of which I recognised, those being Sāma and Daraya.

There wasn't much else that I recognised as I walked, the sunlight finally fading as I entered the largest room at the centre of the building.

The gods present at the moment sat at the large table in the middle of the room, their figures backlit by the candles and torches lit around the room. Their clandestine laughter and conversation stopped as soon as they heard the door creak open, their eyes trained on me.

"Well, well, well! What do we have here?" a familiar voice asked. I hated that cocky tone even more than I did the being himself.

Osiris stepped down, dark skin and black eyes gleaming in the dim light of the room. I could just barely see the black tattoos decorating his nearly-black skin, their whispered prophecies echoing around the room.

I held back the disgust that threatened to choke me. To think that I had ever been remotely attracted to this fool, this leech, that stood before me.

Honestly, I was almost glad that Daraya wasn't here to witness this exchange.

"We need to talk," I started immediately, holding my ground, removing my gloves and placing them on the dais.

"Not even a 'hello, old lover? How have you been?'" he cajoled, mocking me.

"I've come purely for business, Osiris."

"Oh, really? Not for pleasure?"

"I never come for pleasure," I growled.

"How unfortunate for your lovers, Phreryan," Isis laughed, her blonde-streaked black hair glittering as she tossed her head back. The others joined in, save for Seth, who sat quietly and simply stared at me curiously.

I ignored her crude joke and kept my gaze on Osiris, who went to take a sip from the goblet he held in his hand. "Where's Forseti?"

The goblet halted in its ascent, so abrupt was its movement that the jewels encrusted in the gold seemed to flash in anger. The laughter automatically silenced. The god chuckled, but his eyes held confusion. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"I'm not fucking around. Where is he?"

The goblet was placed on one of the small daises around the room, his eyes narrowed.

"Do you honestly think that another god, a foreign god, no less, could enter my realm without my knowledge?"

"I'm not saying that it was without your knowledge," I countered.