Orphic Hymn 28

"You should not linger here for too long," The old man cautioned him, "The bridge isn't very sure. Moreover, Hermes hates it when travellers take a break." The old man advised Kanito and with with his lantern, gestured toward the far end of tunnel. "Let me escort you till there" He said graciously.

"Thank you, sir." Kanito replied.

As they neared the end of the tunnel, the air-pressure or whatever strange force was hindering movement in the tunnel started to dissipate. Kanito now had a much easier time to move and stand in the tunnel. However, the old man always seemed unfazed by this force. A very experienced watchman indeed.

Both of them stood in a dark area, it seemed like a secluded chamber of the tunnel, Kanito heard slight murmurs of the waters, the gulping and gushing of slow, shallow ripples suggested the presence of a water body close by. In the light from the old man's lantern, Kanito saw that beneath his feet were complex green and white designs.

'O my God! A magic circle again?'

But he was wrong, this was thankfully nothing like a magic circle, it only denoted the fathest edge of the tunnel. When the light from the old man's lantern flicked above, Kanito saw an illusive lake floating magically above his head. The lake floated excellently like a waving flag, not even a drop of water trickled down. It remained unhinged by gravity.

"This is St. Lucas' Lake, do you want me to show the way?" The old man asked graciously.

Feeling a genuine urge to not the trouble the elderly person anymore, he said, "That is very kind of you, sir, but I will be fine."

The old man smiled and said, "extend your hands above, you will reach the surface of the lake."

He did what the old man said, upon extending a hand, he felt a sheer, invisible force pull him upwards and then the next second, he was floating on the surface of St. Lucas' Lake, the water was cold and totally unlike the warm waters of St. Promius' Lake. Kanito had returned to Bakerheim, Ashfelt.

However, Kanito was stunned. He had spent almost seven hours in the Revolutionary World, yet the environment in this world remained unchanged. When he was first teleported, it was already nighttime in this world, but now, seven hours later, the darkness persisted. Dawn had not yet broken, and the sky remained a deep, foreboding black, still firmly in the grip of midnight.

'So it seems like the time of both the worlds run in different timeframes. The two worlds are ofcourse two seperate planets and there's no landmass that connects them, so the world-connecting bridge extends through space-time? How powerful can such a spell be?'

There was a short, concrete embankment that lined the boundaries of the lake. The city of Bakerheim was infront of him, sleeping on night's lap. Suddenly, he heard footsteps that became louder by each second. The jailors and guards were in the city, searching for Kanito.

'When I was saved from the prison by Fiona, the jailors must've followed the chariot and came into West Bakerheim.'

He saw a few guards at a distance, with a deep breath, he immediately immersed himself into the lake's depth, he could see the tunnel, the dark chamber below and the familiar green and white designs. However, the old man was not there.

Kanito waited in the tunnel and once again, that strange, movement hindering force, came rushing from all directions like an unstoppable ocean. This time, it was even more overwhelming, crushing and painful. Staying in there actually felt like staying under a lake, it was suffocating.

'No, it's just sheer pressure, the kind you'd find at the bottom of a deep lake. I cannot loose to something as natural as pressure!'

Gnashing his teeth, gathering all strengths from his body, he managed to survive the the pressure. Then when the sound of the footsteps weakened, he slightly extended his hand above and ascended back on the surface of the lake.

'Thanking God and Patrick once again for making me not skip swimming classes.'

Driving powerful strokes, he cut through the cold waters with ease, his wet hair clung to his forehead, his body streamlined, hauling himself onto the embankment.

He took a small peek from behind the concrete walls to check the presence of a guard. He found that he was closely resembling a soldier in a trench warfare.

'What's next? Digging foxholes?'

Guards were nowhere to be seen but still, footsteps, curses, yells and lamps rang out. The thought of taking a risk resurfaced in his mind again.

'If I don't get out of here, they will eventually find me, and if I get out, they will definitely find me. How I wish Fiona was here to save me.'

Carefully scanning the dark city in front of him, he started to find out ways and strategies to escape. There was one long alley that seperated two clusters of houses. It was seen clearly that after a distance, the alley bifurcates into two narrower alleys on two sides that lead to the respective cluster.

'I'm sure the lanes infront are filled with guards, Instead of entering the main alley, If I walk along the boundary of one of these houses, entering a less significant lane, I can flank upto a long distance and enter into the heart of the city. There, I will create some kind of chaos and wake people up. The presence of the guards will confuse the people even more and will halt them for some time, that way I will get mixed in the crowd and I will buy some time to devise my next move.'

When he realized that as a "mobster", he can only run around, trick enemies and dodge fates. The fact that in this world, he had no safe haven to call his own, no permanent refuge to flee to, unnerved him deeply. It crunched his heart and wetted his eyes.

'There's no time for drama,'

When he was in the tunnel, his body and clothes automatically dried somehow, but then, appearing in St. Lucas' Lake drenched his clothes again. He opened his cloak and dried it as best he could and also dried his soaked sandals. After that, he decided to carry his sandals in his hands to avoid noise and wet footprints. Then, taking a deep, resolute breath, he dashed, out from the embankment and into the city.

Following the plan, he carefully tread along the perimeter of a whitewashed building with ornate ironwork and flower-filled balconies. The footsteps of the guards, their clanging armour and spears were very clear, making Kanito's mind contort in anxiety. The wall curved and opened up into a dark, narrow alley.

'I have to be watchful of their strategies as well. If they really had to catch me, they would've easily encircled me with numbers. But they didn't, as if they are waiting for me to walk in their trap. I am a kid in front of their experience. Only if I had some kind of weapon.'

When he peeked from behind the curved wall and into the adjacent alley, he saw a guard. The guard was right in front of him, facing in the opposite direction, pointing his spear. Kanito froze in fear, his palms became ice-cold.

'Let him be guard X'

Right then, he heard footsteps come from the other side of the building. He saw light being cast on the walls of another house, the light was coming from the other side of the building. There were two guards in his vicinity, one was guard X who was in the alley and another one who was on the other side of the building.

'If I stay here for long, guard Y will ultimately see me and alarm everyone else. I cannot engage with them face to face right now. What should I do!?'

Kanito kept the pair of sandals inside his robe's pockets and opened his black cloak. As the sound of footsteps from the other side increased, he dashed towards guard X and using his cloak like a net, wrapped the guard's face around it.

Entangled and disoriented, the guard let out a blood-curdling scream, he wildly clutched his head, letting go of the spear. Kanito immediately grasped the falling spear and plunged it into the guard's waist.

The bleeding guard fell on the ground and his scream alarmed the other guards in the colony, they hurriedly rushed to the scene.

Without wasting a second, Kanito sprinted to the alley's fork where it branched out into two seperate lanes on the either sides while also continuing straight ahead. With the spear gripped tightly in his right hand, he entered the narrower alley on the left.

There was another guard standing directly in his path. As their eyes met, the guard rushed towards Kanito with reckless abandon. Kanito hurled the spear at the onrushing guard and in a second, the spear pierced through the guard's neck, killing him right on spot. Kanito's heart pounded from his actions – this was his first kill.

Kanito decided to pick up the spear from the dead guard. Now possessing two different spears in two hands, his sinister confidence got doubled. He could hear the footsteps from all directions, especially from behind.

Running up to a certain distance, this narrow alley forked again, the neighbourhood was truly a befuddling maze. Kanito devised another move, he took out a sandal from his pockets and cleverly placed it by the side of a building of one alley and moved to the opposite alley and waited.

The plan was to create a decoy and lure the guards in as he stays hidden behind the terminal dorics of a large pavillion which stood proudly on the opposite alley. The plan wasn't anything unique, given the short preparation time.

As anticipated, the guards upon reaching the fork, immediately veered to the side of the shoe. Seizing the opportunity, Kanito launched a spear right at one of the guards, expecting a kill like last time. But it didn't, the armour clanged, even though it got damaged but it saved the guard's life. This was a bad move as now his position which he hid for so long is revealed. He turned around to escape but saw a guard standing right before him with a cutlass, smiling.

"You sly little devil, your tricks are over!"

The guards from the side of the abandoned shoe also rushed towards him, he was wedged from two sides. The guard aimed the curvy cutlass at Kanito's neck, but as the cutlass touched his neck, the entire body of the guard was set on fire. The guard lay down on the wide, peristyle, burning in the fierce, golden and sinister flame.

The guards behind him stood in terror, "Ar-Are you a disciple?" They shouted in confusion.

'What.. what happened? I have not even learned fireball, what level of fire magic is this!'

Not understanding his own powers, he stood as puzzled as the guards. However, not fearing his abilities, one guard had climbed on the the roof of the temple from beforehand, he shot his spear down, but Kanito dodged it by very small margin, however scraping his ankle in the process.

Kanito ran to the other side of the peristyle and the guards chased him again, he found the backdoor of the temple, in the heat of the moment, he knocked the wooden door open and entered the temple.

The door being unlocked was once again, awfully convenient.

Kanito got immense flashbacks from the time he was in Sun Temple. Expect that this temple was even darker. The unlocked door can also allow the guards to enter the temple and catch him, this thought worried him. His scraped ankle was not hurting anymore, was it healed or was the pain numbed? He pondered.

'If this temple is built like a church, I am probably standing on the aisle, there must be seats on both of my sides.'

Kanito was correct, after extending his hand to the right, he did feel a solid, wooden seat. Following the touch, he slowly moved forward in the darkness, but then a yellowish-green light began to emanate from the temple's depth. The light coalesced into a concentrated beam, illuminating a singular region.

'Am I now supposed to witness a protagonist's dramatic soliloquy?'

Kanito comforted himself with humour until he saw the "protagonist" in the spotlight.

The sculpture was of a lovely youth, in the spring of his life. His face was chiseled and handsome, his muscles were strong and defined. He wore a gorgeous white chiton and a blue, red chlamys juxtaposed on his right shoulder with a feather-shaped broach. He stood dramatically, facing to left, with a winged staff in his right hand and an envelope in his left. His golden sandals and golden diadem were both winged.

Yes, Kanito was right, this was the statue of the divine messenger, Hermes!

When the glow from the statue of Hermes expanded a little, the very first row of the temple became visible. The statue stood on an elevated platform and before the platform was kneeling a figure.

To add to Kanito's intrigue, he heard a feminine voice, "Fumigation from Frankincense. Hermes, draw near, and to my prayer incline, messenger of Zeus, and Maria's son divine; prefect of contests, ruler of mankind, with a dove-like heart and a prudent mind."

The prayer was recited in Agloic, the langauge of humans, however it was way more archaic. Kanito didn't understand some of the words, it continued, "Dire weapon of the tongue, which men revere, be present, Hermes, and thy suppliant hear; assist my works, conclude my life with peace, give graceful speech, and memory's increase."

The figure then rose up and bowed before the deity. Without turning back, it said, "So this is the renowned Orphic Hymn 28. Saints from the Human World were truly poetic."

The voice had amusement.