Luxuria | BTS

Part XVI

"Eorum responsa sunt diu expectata"

-Their answers are long awaited-

~~

You'd never really believed in the existence of God and godlike creatures.

The orphanage that you had lived in for most of your life may have raised you catholic, but they had never managed to make you internalize what you were taught to preach and live by. You made your own rules as you grew up, and for the most part, they feared you so much that they let you get away with it. God was not something you believed in - more so the supernatural.

At the age of twelve or thirteen, you had started to research more into old societies and their beliefs. Ancient Greece and Rome fascinated you for some reason. Their gods had so much power, so much influence on the real world, and what you liked the most was that each of them had a specific field of powers and complete authority over it.

Hera and Ares were the Gods you found yourself to resemble the most. Ares, the Greek God of war and violence reflected what you almost craved making others do, evoking hatred and anger with a simple glance. Hera was the queen to all deities and was associated with kingdoms and empires, with a constant vengeance inside of her due to Zeus' infidelity. You got caught up in reading her stories, soaking in her rightful jealousy, acts of revenge and regal attitude.

However, you didn't really think that these were or had been actual beings.

Gods and Goddesses were remnants of old civilisations who needed belief to guide their way. You found it purely old fashioned, not belonging in a time like this. And after researching for so long, staying open to the mere thought of Gods existing if that would help you find out what you were, you ultimately didn't find anything that matched you completely, in turn ruling deities out as an option.

But as you stood at the gates to the home of Luxurias descendants, all you could think about was that if Gods had existed, this was the kind of place that they would live in now.

The mansion towering over you was designed in a Renaissance and Gothic style, dark and mystic. The grounds surrounding it were well kept and looked enormous, a high iron fence with matching gate circling around it. Dark colours and an aesthetically pleasing facade gave the place an intimidatingly beautiful look, hidden away behind high trees. The many windows reflected the dying sun, curtains drawn on most of them. An air of foreboding invitation was the final touch, an alluring presence lingering upon the area that didn't come from the house alone.

It was quite a distance from the main village to here. You had walked for surely twenty minutes in uncomfortable tension, along the main road and along the edge of the woods. The house sat upon a small hill, concealed by the forest surrounding it, and overlooked the rest of town with a strange aura of timeless superiority.

To you, it drew similes to the Mountain Olympus, overseeing ancient Greece.

"Impressed?" Jimin's voice made you jump a little, so caught up in your thoughts. The boy stopped on the path beside you, silvery hair glistening in the light. He followed your lost gaze up to the house, wandering across the windows as if looking for something.

As your eyes landed on him, a sudden surge of emotion obstructed your throat and airways. You tried to inhale, coughing violently as you found yourself unable to breathe and stumbling forwards quickly. A strange dizziness made your head spin, white dots appearing in your peripheral vision.

You heard Jimin say something with a sharp, concerned tone, then calling out quickly to the others when you didn't answer. Struggling for air, you tripped over yourself to get even further away from him, panic rising with every second. You physically couldn't breathe in, jagged and desperate exhales rendering your body without air.