Temple of Love

**Date Started:** November 6th, 2022
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Next Role-Play:**
**Users Involved:** User:Ash9876, User:Starving Skeleton, User:Black Dwarf Star
**Setting:** Veronica, Ishgar
**Characters Involved**:
* **Bahamut Breath**: Mercedes, Constantine Noble
* **Butterfly Effect**: Pratna

## The Temple Gates

Veronica wasn't *too* far from Alexandria. And thanks to the intercontinental train system, their trip had been rather easy and more comfortable than the those who journeyed before them. Still, Mercedes had an almost heavy feeling in her stomach. Her famed intuition swimming about in her core. It wasn't often that they were sent on separate jobs. Mercedes, Shango and Constantine. Two A-Ranks and an S-Rank. They were a force within Bahamut Breath and known for being trouble for even the goody-two-shoes Diamond Rank guilds. Not to mention their Guild Master once belonged to the powerful and famous Chimera Heart. Being one of the Three Heads, herself.

And though Shango liked to complain and challenge Constantine to a fight, Mercedes knew that he held admiration and love for everyone. A brotherhood between two warriors. In all honesty, Mercedes understood how Shango really felt. It wasn't jealousy or envy as much as the feeling of being stuck. That for some reason *he* couldn't pass the S-Rank test despite being quite a powerful magician himself. Constantine and Shango were two sides of Bahamut Breath's strongest Mage Team.

But maybe this is needed. Scheherazade said she had an important mission for Shango that required his particular skills. And that this job was tied to it as well but might require Constantine's insane firepower, both literally and figuratively. Mercedes walked besides Constantine but her eyes were down. Their Guild Master's been acting weirder lately. And now they'd been sent on two interlinked but distant jobs. Bahamut Breath is a Mercenary Guild. Jobs are for money and adventure. They rarely intertwined or felt like someone had a particular motive in mind.

"Hey Constantine," Mercedes said. She wore her signature red crop-top and black stretchy pants. Her favored sword hanging loosely from her back. "Don't you think this job is a bit below you? I mean...I'm sure you could be elsewhere earning a lot more coin."

A bunch of worshipping sects disappeared during their pilgrimage into the temple didn't sound like much. A massive structure dedicated to a goddess whose name vanished long before meant endless free real-estate. "There's no way that there's anything valuable in there. I'm sure it's just a bunch of bandits who are killing the people who take the pilgrimage there."

Constantine had a clarinet to his lips, periodically playing notes, before making slight tweaks to his instrument. A courtesy of his magic and enhanced hearing, he had perfect pitch, which happened to make him an excellent musician. He had a variety back at the guild hall, but the one he always took with him was his clarinet. He seemed to finally take notice of Mercedes when he addressed her, previously lost in the world of music.

"If the master tells me to go somewhere, I do it," he said. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not just some lap dog that does whatever they tell me to, but rarely do I ever find a mission beneath me. Even if there's no treasure to be found and just bandits to be stopped, that's fine by me. I like fighting and stopping bad guys, no matter how weak or strong they are. I'm not much in it for the money anyway."

Mercedes crossed her arms and looked up. "Well that sounds like a lapdog to me." She teased with a genuine smile. She did enjoy listening to his notes, his songs were always shaping the atmosphere back at the guild. But still, all the stuff going on around them made it hard for her to actually calm down and enjoy his pre-battle tunes.

"Money is great though." She continued. "You can buy whatever you want! Eat all the foods from across the world." Mercedes stomach growled despite the fact she'd literally ate the entire food storage of the train they just took. And yet her body still looked amazing. "Without money we'd have to eat leaves and hunt for weird meat."

"Hm. In fact you can buy more dapper suits with money, right? Although I guess there's nothing wrong with the love of adventure and battle." She smiled. Bahamut Breath was one of the more unique guilds. Besides the Library of Alexandria, they didn't have some united grandiose plan. Everyone moved with their own purpose. Some just needed money to support their families. Others wanted to explore the world. Shango loved his hunts and Constantine was a hero. Each job and task fulfilled to the stories collected in the library.

They were approaching the temple. The grand structure showing itself carved into the face of a mountain. Two statues of muscular men stood at the gate. They were barely clothed with a certain imprint hanging from their earthen cloak.

"I haven't seen a temple like this since I've been home."

"Hm..." Constantine looked at the statues, the grandiose nature of the temple itself. He held his clarinet to his mouth and blew. A heavy tone came from the instrument, uncharacteristically deep for the instrument he was playing. The waves of sound went out from his body, permeating throughout the temple before returning to him. This was echolocation, and he was using it to map out the entire temple before they entered. All he had to wait for now was to find out what was inside.

Meanwhile Mercedes went to the giant stone walls and pressed her hand against its coldness...or what should've been cold. "It's warm." She realized.

"There's magic going on in there. But why...Even if it was bandits."

"Oh, you two are already here. Sorry I'm late!" Another voice scurried as it reached the temple. She briefly panted, but another one of the same person trailed in from the opposite side.

"Hey, can't forget about me!!" The second one spoke, as she looked around for anyone else. "Hm, where's number three?" She asked, thinking to herself.

"Goddamn it, both of you ruined the surprise! Well...no I mean I guess I ruined it myself." The third spoke as she appeared from, somehow, behind Mercedes and Constantine.

She waved, "Hi! You might remember who I am. Pratna from Butterfly Effect reporting! You two are..." Pratna took a closer look, "Oh, Mercedes and Constantine from Bahamut Breath! Doing well?"

As Pratna's third clone spoke, she snapped her fingers, and the other two clones seemingly vanished and were reabsorbed into the original body. "Sorry it took me so long to reach here. Actually, I was here a lot earlier. But I got a bit tired of waiting, and I saw some other ruins in the distance, so I got distracted. I kept a clone here to greet you, but she also got distracted and kept a clone. And then that one got distracted too..."

Pratna realized she was rambling on and covered her mouth. "Sorry, sorry!" Pratna shook her head. "Did you guys notice anything so far?"

Mercedes was shocked by the impressive magic before her. But the revelation of her guild solved everything. butterfly Effect was a guild opposite to Bahamut Breath. Fame against infamy. Devotion to knowledge and power commitment to adventure and coin. One celebrated and praised the other tolerated and feared. She didn't have any strong feelings towards them since she knew the true history. Bahamut Breath, Butterfly Effect and Fox Tail were once one guild. A massive organization which spanned across Ishgar. Headed by a powerful Guild Master with three S-Rank Class mages known for their awe-inspiring magic. Three mages who once held the reputation for being able to ta take over countries when they were sent out.

Perhaps this made Pratna their cousin? Either way, Mercedes only smiled. "Good to see you. I feel safe with three of us going in there."

While she spoke, Constantine would receive his sound back to him. A large cavernous palace with countless tunnels stretching deep into the mountains. Empty rooms upon empty rooms. Gigantic chambers filled with stone structures to small rooms that once served as bedrooms. But perhaps the most frightening detail would be that there was a space where his sound bounced back with force. A black abyss. Almost like a rebound from a rubbery substance. Meant to blind all peering eyes and ears.

"Nice to see you again, Pratna," said Constantine, taking his lips off of his clarinet. And that's when the sound waves had returned to him. He squinted at the temple, as there was clearly more to it than meets the eye. "Most of it's clear. But there's one part my magic can't penetrate. I guess that's where we should be headed."

“Or we go back and tell them it’s safe now but they’re not allowed to come here again?” Mercedes joked. But when she saw it would’ve fell flat, the ebony girl turned away and started towards the door.

“Ugh fiiiiine.” She complained. The temple had two massive stone doors that remained shut. Pushing against them didn’t do any good. As well as trying to pull.

“They’re closed. How?” Mercedes asked herself.  She gently pressed her hands against the cold rock once more. “It’s repelling my magic.” She replied. But her mouse pursed into a smile.

She’s the daughter of a Wizard Saint who sits on the Magic Council, no second rate spell like this’ll stop her. Crimson energy flowed throughout her arms and into her fingertips.

“Magnetism Magic: Lovers Quarrel!”

A low hum vibrated the air. It grew louder and louder into the doors pushed inward with a great crackling force. Slamming against the temple’s stone walls. “There we go.”

Mercedes lead the group into the first chamber. A gigantic room with pillars as high as the mountain’s first top. Colored paintings on the wall told various stories. And although all the valuable treasure had vanished, paintings and clay pottery remained.

Men raped women. Bulls mounted girls. Debauchery. Women ran on the walls deeper into the caverns. Fire. Death.

“What the…”

"Well, this certainly isn't a pleasant sight," said Constantine. He hooked his clarinet to his belt as they continued through the temple. He pointed down the hallway. "That's the direction of the anomaly. Keep your eyes and ears sharp. My magic isn't infallible after all. We wouldn't want someone getting the drop on us."

“Infallible magic would be amazing!” Mercedes jested. “Tired of falling into traps or almost dying cause someone got the drop on us.” How many times have the three of them fallen victim to a plot or stealthy attack? More times then she’d cared to admit. Perhaps due to Shango and Constantine’s constant bickering. Plus the fact the three of them rarely faced a trap they couldn’t brute force their way out of. But without their third man…well…the team wasn’t at full power!

The small group made their way through the chamber. All the way until the path Constantine identified started to smell of rose flavored mould. A very dingy damp smell. Soon the hallways would start to stretch the longer they walked. Stone vibrating beneath their feet. Rushing water.

"Hmm, this environment..." Pratna began to speak, as she seriously engaged in thought for a moment. "Ahh I would love to leave a clone behind!! But I gotta conserve my strength oof." She sighed.

Pratna shook her head, "I hope this black abyss is worth it."

The smell seemed to hit Constantine before everyone else. He started waving his hand in front of his face. "Woo! That is putrid!" He seemed to grimace, a little bit more than it would seem from just the smell. Like he was sensing something else. A more sinister miasma. "He's seen something like this before..."

"Is a black abyss worth it?" Mercedes asked. "It's never worth it. Especially when it has a weird smell to it." She continued walking until something clicked beneath their feet. The six feet providing the pressure needed to activate a giant square. "An anti-group measure!" Mercedes screamed. "A certain weight'll trigger it."

The opening behind them and before them immediately closed. Slamming with an loud enough bang to echo forward. The rock started to crumble as high pressure water began filling the space. Creating a small river which soon started to rise.

"Fuuuuuuuuuck!" Mercedes screamed. She stepped around. The stone becoming extremely slippery to the point she fell on her bum.

The red mould absorbed the moisture and rapidly expanded. Growing so much so that it would start to cover the ground. Making it nearly impossible to keep their footing let alone rush to the end of the tunnel as water continued to fill the confines.

"This is such a stupid trap!" She announced while trying to regain her footing. It was then, she saw an inscription on the wall. A warning which read.

*"Rarely is love stable. Stand on a heart leads to a harder fall. Yet let it carry you to marriage."*

"Oh oh this isn't good...-!" Before Pratna finished speaking, she slipped, landing on her rear. "Ouch, ouch! Sigh, what an annoying trap."

Pratna focused magic in her finger, and touched the water that had begun to submerge them. "Lost Law: Conversion!" Pratna's magic appeared almost lilac, and quickly enveloped all of the water that it came into contact with. It felt almost like a ghost-like mouth, that sought to absorb all the water in the area until there was nothing left. Pratna winced, as a bite mark seemed to appear on her hand after using it.

"Anyway," Pratna spoke, as the water had finished absorbing. They were still stuck in this barricaded room. "Solid Script!" Pratna called out, as she began writing with her finger, her lilac-coated fingers seemingly releasing the same water that had been absorbed prior, into a word. "Water!"

The word, formed by water that had previously been absorbed, charged forwards in the air, slamming against the forward wall with intense pressure. It transformed from the word into a cannon, leaving an almost perfectly sized hole in the wall, while the rest of the water seemingly dissipate afterwards.

"Phew, that was annoying. Can you guys stand up?"

Constantine seemed to be floating slightly off the ground as Pratna asked her question, his feet seeming to slightly vibrate before he lowered himself to the ground, now much less slippery than before. "Nice and quick thinking Pratna. My magic wasn't exactly well equipped to deal with that situation. Or at least not the water. Glad you're here with us."

"Oh look at me," Mercedes mocked while standing up. Her bottom and legs completely soaked. "I can float!" She made sure to watch her step to avoid slipping any further.

"Great job Pratna! I heard about how powerful Butterfly Effect mages are but seeing one in action is always a treat." Mercedes smiled at the girl before leading them down the hallway.

The perfect hole lead them into another chamber. This one filled with strange instruments and devices littered about. Tables with belts and spikes. Cages. Blades. Stone alters were situated at the walls beneath statues of four woman. Each clothed in a veil. They held their hands in different positions. One clasped before her. Another laying on her lap.

Mercedes walked around. Examining each alter. "Blood." She said aloud. "This has to be a room meant to prepare sacrifices and perform religious rituals."

"Do any of you recognize this goddess? Maybe there's something about this cult that'll let us know what's going on." She said while still looking about. Mercedes bent down and dipped her hand on crimson liquid on the floor. Fresh.

Constantine's eyes seemed to narrow into slits. His ears wiggled, as if someone was whispering into them. "This old temple..." he began, stopping briefly as if he was being fed the information rather than knowing it, himself. "...it's the temple of the goddess, Junoaeternum, Goddess of Marriage, Love, and Fertility." His pupils returned to their normal shape and he shook his head, as if he had just broken free from a trance. That would happen to Constantine on occasion, he'd suddenly go out of it spout things that he had no way of knowing from civilizations past. Sometimes it even seemed as though he was talking to someone that wasn't there. It was often pretty unnerving.

Before Pratna could make her own analysis of what the blood and sacrifice-like markings left behind meant, she was caught off-guard by Constantine's sudden 'recollection' of where they were. She could instantly tell that wasn't normal procedure, so she narrowed her eyes into a squint in order to try and analyze him. Really, she was scrutinizing him. "What is he, some kinda weird medium?" Pratna asked Mercedes, blinking twice.

Pratna shrugged and flipped her hair back out of her way as she more carefully inspected the room. "Marriage, Love and Fertility...with sacrifice? Doesn't that sound kind of weird to both of you?" Pratna asked. "Honestly, as strange as it might sound, maybe this was a place for sexual liberation? Unless people were sacrificing themselves for the sake of fertility...which sounds a bit strange."

"That's not too out of the question," said Constantine, seemingly ignoring the other comment made by Pratna, "some ancient societies *would* sacrifice animals like rabbits or goats as a part of a ritual to increase fertility. However, I can't say I'm particularly familiar with sacrificing humans to get such an effect."

"Sexual liberation or eternal devotion." Mercedes said. She stopped before a large slab of stone which had endless paragraphs etched into it. The lines seemed to wrap around an image of a man bowing before a woman. "Marriage is sacrifice." Mercedes started. She'd often dreamed of marrying the man of the dreams. And joining Bahamut Breath alongside him made it seem even more likely than ever. To the point others knew that them two were inseparable. Even despite her father's political and physical protest.

"A successful and happy union between two people means sacrificing other things that you love for them. Time. Energy. Money. Dreams. Everything is up for grabs."

She smiled.

"I get it. I mean its fucking weird but I understand it." Mercedes touched the slab. Causing it to start glowing. Soon the solid stone melted around her fingers. Revealing a dark pathway with stairs which lead into emptiness. She lead the group into an even wider chamber. One with pillars which stretched as high as the mountain top. Green lights radiated from surrounding walls.

Alters decorated the main floor with an emerald flame levitating above. It swirled around into the center.

"Are we getting closer Constantine?"

"If that hadn't opened up into a new corridor you would've been in for the chastising of your life, Mercedes," said Constantine with a light chuckle. His ears perked up at Mercedes other question, with a small sniff as well. "We're pretty close at this point. It shouldn't take us much longer to get there. Mind if I take the lead?"

"And that's why I did it." Mercedes said with a slight smile, despite not actually knowing anything about the stone. "But be my guess. I feel like we're reaching the end...I feel something radiating from up ahead. There's something ancient? Going on. Almost like I knew it at one point but forgot it."

Constantine stepped in front of the two women. He kept a strong grip on his clarinet, which was strangely white, like ivory. He always seemed to do this when something had him on edge, just hold on strongly to the nearest instrument that he owned. Despite the age of the temple, the deeper the went into it, the more well-kept certain portions of the "ruins" seemed to be. Constantine took note of this, sniffing the air and wiggling his ears to tell what was ahead. And that was the problem. He could only hear or smell so far before he found himself running into a void. The first time his enhanced senses had ever failed him. And that was the most unnerving thing of all.

The void would meld into an open temple filled from wall to wall with pews. An aisle leading to an altar with several steps leading to a stand. A statue of a woman in a stone veil dwarfed the room. The smell of roses and sound of wedding bells were what overwhelmed his enhanced senses. In a way that it repelled his magically infused sensory output. A nearby pattern of flames would reveal that the group now walked an island where dead women and girls sat in attendance. Their stomachs gauged with sharp blades. Entrails decorated the floors. Death permeated the room. And yet it still smelled of roses.

"What the..." Mercedes groaned. She approached a corpse and kneeled over. "T-they weren't forced into this." She revealed. "Their faces are prepared like a marriage much less a sacrifice. And..." Her hand reached down into the open cavities. No blood. "They have no hearts or uteruses."

But a Constantine's and Pratna's attention might be better spent at the beautiful young woman standing on the aisle. Opposite nothing. She held black flowers and her eyes remained locked forward. Her smile etched onto her face while tears streamed down her cheek.

Constantine made sure to keep himself between the two women and the seeming statue as he approached it, slowly and carefully, ready to put up a barrier of some kind at a moment's notice. With the tears actively moving down its face, it almost seemed alive. "Hello?" Constantine called out, his voice echoing somewhat throughout the room, waiting for it to respond. Although he prayed that it would just stay put.

"My, what strange sacrifices...Not to mention, the organs being sacrificed..." Pratna observed, mostly talking to herself, although slightly aloud.

As they had approached the young woman on the aisle, Pratna's eyes widened. "Did these women..." Pratna began to ask, "Sacrifice themselves...to revive their goddess?"