"Is your heart ruthless enough?"
"What do you mean?"
Unconsciously looking up, he met Laine's gaze.
This time, no one spoke, but invisible messages still emerged in Heracles's mind.
The fresco on the dome seemed to have a double image, with a vortex spiraling into existence another opposing stream.
In it, Heracles saw life, slaughter, and the flesh; he also saw deceit, lies, and civilization.
Above the nine layers of interface, a king with red pupils and wings perched; in the endless void, the Ancient Serpent around the Central Court hissed.
In the axis of the nine layers of interface, Heracles seemed to see a colossal tree growing snakelike.
Order and covenant were its branches, and blood and body transformed into the sources of its strength.
At that moment, an intuition told Heracles that he could also achieve his goal here, with laws to follow and traces to pursue.