The Talk 2
[Adresin POV]
"You're such a talented child Adresin," my mother used to tell me that when I was a kid.
"One day, you'll bring our tribe greatness," my father used to boast in the village.
Talented... Heh. As if. In the face of raw power, talent just seemed so pathetic.
I glance at the man I saw come out of a coffin yesterday. For someone so great, he's acting like a child who just came out of his house after a long time.
"What the hell is that?!" he says as he points at an apartment complex entangled with vines. "Oooooh! Are those real catgirls?! That's so cool!"
Yep, a child. Did twenty demons really lose to this guy? Haaaah...
"Hey man," he calls out to me. "Sorry I had to drag you with me."
I shake my head profusely. "N-no don't apologize. Sir Mammon ordered me to escort you to the city so it's my job to do it."
He grins and replies, "That so? Well, thanks then."
After that small exchange, we walked through the bustling city of New York. I don't know what the world was like during Sir Rorschach's time but it seems that every scene excites him to the point that I can't help that it was dull.
"Sir," I call out. "If you don't mind my asking, is there a particular place you'd like to see or visit?"
He thinks for a bit.
"Well, I wanted to go to this temple Mammon mentioned earlier," he replies.
"The Temple of Plutus you say?" I muse. "Wh-what do you plan to do there?"
"Weeeelll, I just want to meet the head guy you know," he explains. "From what I heard, gods saved humans when I disappeared so I'd like to thank them if I could. I also have some questions for them."
"Phew..." I let out a sigh. "I thought you were gonna fight them."
"....."
His silence bothers me.
"You're not gonna fight them right....?"
"Well, just lead me to the temple!" he announces as he tries to pat me on the back.
I instinctively feel death and avoid it quickly.
He looks stunned.
"S-sorry... I was fearing for my life," I apologize.
"Haaaah... I know," he replies. "I'm a walking disaster right now. Sorry about that man. Just lead me to the temple."
He seems almost sad. I guess having immense power has its own issues.
We make our way to the city and eventually end up at the most prominent structure in all of New York: The Temple of Prosperity. Claiming an island for its own, this massive tower with gaudy golden decorations represents the will of the people which are wealth and prominence.
*Whistle* "I guess the Statue of Liberty got destroyed," he comments. "I didn't care personally but damn this is vain as fuck."
"Shhh be careful with your comments Sir Rorschach," I quickly reprimand. "You'll be smitten if you're careless."
"Well, whatever," he shrugs. "Let's go in!"
He then marches forward without a care. Oh gods... This man's going to be the death of me.
The inside of the temple is as extravagant as the outside. There's gold and valuable pieces of art everywhere. Meanwhile, tons of people wearing expensive suits and dresses do their businesses over their phones or with each other.
"So they moved the World Trade Center here!" he exclaims in realization. "Now I know what this god's all about."
"Ummm... Sir, I've been meaning to ask since we got here. What's the Statue of Liberty? And what's the World Trade Center?" I ask hesitantly. Hearing him speak of such foreign structures just piqued my curiosity.
He wistfully looks about before answering, "I'll tell you about it later. It's ancient history after all."
"Right..."
Again with those sad eyes. Just what did he lose in order to become so strong? What happened to this man? The more I associate with him, the more drained I become. But at the same time, my curiosity gets hungrier every time he speaks.
"Well, shall we head to the inner courts then?" I suggest and gestures for him to move forward.
The temple is divided into three parts: the Outer Court, the Inner Court, and the Holy of Holies.
The Outer Court is the place where ordinary people pray to Plutus and do their business. The Inner Court is reserved for the priests and it's where they do their duties. Then, there's the Holy of Holies. It's a place where the presence of plutus literally resides. Once a year, the high priest would enter it to represent the people and receive oracles from Plutus himself. I heard crazy stories about how some people entered it without permission and died because they couldn't stand Plutus' divinity.
"Hello sirs," a man wearing the most extravagant semi-formal outfit greets us. He is dripping with affluence from head to toe. It's nothing compared to sir Mammon but it's quite up there.
"Greetings," I bow slightly out of respect. "We came to request an audience from the high priest."
"Do you have an appointment?" he asks as he rubs his thumb and index finger together: a sign for payment.
"Of course," I reply and hands him the cheque that Sir Mammon gave me earlier. I never look at the amount since the last time I did, I collapsed from shock.
He takes it and nods in approval.
"You may enter," he says. "His excellence shall descend upon you in a few minutes. Meanwhile, please enjoy some refreshments in the lounge."
"Thank you kindly," I reply and gesture for Sir Rorschach to head inside.
I've only been in the lounge a couple of times and I can never see myself ever getting used to it. The walls and floor are made of pristine marble and the lamps that light the place are encrusted with gems. Meanwhile, the refreshments he mentioned are made up of high class foods made by the top chefs in New York. Just one bite could easily cost hundreds of dollars.
"Yo this is sick!" Sir Rorschach says as he gravitates to the table with food. To my horror, he grabs a plate and stuffs it with as much food as possible.
"S-sir! What are you doing?" I ask in alarm.
"What's the problem? He said to enjoy the refreshments so I'm doing just that," he replies with already a mouthful of food.
Meanwhile, the other high class guests snicker among themselves.
"Who invited a peasant to this establishment?" a dwarf whispers.
"Is that a human? These hairless monkeys sure know how to embarrass themselves," a fellow elf comments.
I can hear them so clearly so I know that he can hear them too. However, unlike me, he just doesn't care. True to his desires, he just enjoys the food that was given to him. No shame, no guilt. Just living. To the onlookers this must be such an embarrassing display but at that moment, I somewhat grew to admire him a little.
"What?" he asks me when he realizes I've been staring at him.
"Nothing," I chuckle. "Just wondering if this is what true strength looks like."
He cocks his head in confusion.
Eventually, we get called into the Confessional. It's best describe as a wooden box that's divided into two partitions by a thin wall. In one side, the high priest would speak to the worshipper in the other through the small frame between them. No one is allowed to see the high priest's face. The temple claims that the moment they are chosen, some of Plutus' divinity latches onto them so whoever lays eyes on the high priest would immediately die.
Sir Rorschach and I make ourselves comfortable in this tiny box.
"Man, why would they stick two dudes in a tiny space like this," he complains.
I chuckle apologetically.
Eventually, we hear rustling on the other side of the wall and the frame cover slides open.
"Greetings, worshippers," a female's voice flows through the opening. "What do you seek?"
"Oooh, a lady eh?" he comments nonchalantly. "I was expecting some decrepit old dude when I heard 'high priest'."
"Hey!" I blurt out in surprise.
How can this man not have an ounce of reverence?
The high priest chuckles. Her voice is soft and gentle. She reminds me a little bit of my mother.
"I'm sorry for my master, high priest," I apologize. "I swear on my ears that he means no disrespect."
"Oh don't apologize for such a tiny thing," she replies. "I do like a man who has a free spirit. Such is a man after Plutus' heart. Don't you agree?"
"Just as you say!" I reply stiffly.
"Man, you look like a fan who met his favorite idol for the first time," he laughs. "Hey lady, do you give out handshakes too?"
She chuckles again.
"I'm quite entertained by you two, but I'm afraid that if we don't get to the business at hand, we'll run out of time before I could give you some wisdom," she says.
"Oh? We have a time limit? Well, I'll get straight to the point then. How do I meet Plutus?" he asks directly.
At his question, the high priest and I sit in silence. Never, I mean never, in the history of mankind has anyone dared to ask how they can meet a god.
"H-high priest I-"
"Silence," she quickly interrupts me. Her once gentle voice is now stern and filled with anger.
"Oh? Did I push some buttons?" Sir Rorschach presses further.
"Be careful what you say mortal," she replies grimly. "I have the authority to grind you to dust before you could leave this place."
My heart's about to explode out of my chest. These two... Their clashing auras are making me choke.
"Lady, I just asked a question," he says with a tone far more serious than he's ever used. "How can I meet Plutus?"
"Such blasphemy has never been said in the temple before so I have no idea how to deal with you," she replies. "But if you must know, only I, the high priest, can get an audience with His presence."
"I somehow don't believe that," he pushes on.
She sighs from the other side of the wall. "The other instance where a god descended was during <
"And why would a god do that?" he asks.
"Gods are objects of worship," she replies. "If you've done your research, you would know that the strength of a god is dependent on how many worshippers they have."
"So basically, Plutus would come if the source of his god juice is threatened?" he deduces.
"Weird way of putting it, but yes," she replies.
The high priest can't see it, but Sir Rorschach is wearing the most disgusting grin I've ever seen him wear. I don't have a good feeling about what's going on in that mind of his.
"Thank you, miss high priest," he says as he starts to walk out. "I'll see you around."
"Wait!" she calls out before we could leave. "May I ask for the reason why you risked yourself to ask how to meet Plutus?"
He turns back and leans really close to the grated opening. "First of all, don't even think for a second that any of you are threats to me," he scoffs. "And second, I just wanna ask him about a fellow god of his."
"Such arrogance for a human," she says with bitterness in her voice.
"Such venomous words, fitting for a siren," he replies and walks away.
After saying his last remarks, I hear a thud and clattering noises from the other side of the wall. Did she fall by any chance? Whatever, I'm just glad that this is over. As we walk out of the temple, I dart my eyes around to see if anyone's coming after us. Luckily, the worst we got are nasty stares from some of the priests. Eventually, we exit and I can finally sigh in relief.
"Hahaha you were so nervous in there!" he laughs. "I was scared that you'd piss your pants."
"I can't handle that!" I reply. "Just being in the same room as the two of you almost killed me."
"You're exaggerating!" he says. "Come on, let's get going?"
"To where?" I ask curiously.
"To find an old friend," he replies.