Entering the building, I was met with an open area with many rows of benches, each facing a podium.
'I guess this is where their sermons are kept.'
My eyes lazily panned across the room, studying each detail. The inside walls were as white as the outside, the benches were made from a dark brown wood and had light pink cushions on the seats and backrests, and the windows were stained golden with open red curtains over them.
When my eyes reached forward once again, we were already at the podium, it was draped in a red cloth and was made from the same wood as the benches. On it was engraved the symbol of a heart with a star within, it glowed peach slightly.
I noticed two doorways on either side of the podium, beautifully crafted from a lighter wood than the rest of the furniture.
We turned to the right towards the door with a silver plate marked
The corners of my mouth twitched, 'It works!'
"Here is the prayer room." Lilith opened the door, revealing a room similarly built and open as before, albeit smaller and without the benches. At the far end of the room was a large statue depicting a bare, beautiful woman holding high the heart in her hand. Her hair was puffed and curly, antennae hung from her head, her eyes seemed to contain stars, the moth wings on her back were folded, resembling a cape.
A red carpet was laid out before the statue. Three figures knelt on it before the statue, draped in translucent cloaks, their clothes beneath sparse. Of the three figures, two were women, the middle one being a man.
Lilith spoke, "We will be joining them." She pointed to the three people, "They are the elders of the church in the Inner Circle."
I nodded in response.
We both walked closer to the statue and knelt. Lilith turned to me, "When starting your prayer, begin the the mother's title 'Great Mother Of Desire'. This is to ensure it is The Mother that answers and not any other being."
"Alright." I agreed without question. Having read... No, having remembered this in the library, I knew there were many gods and evil beings that could intercept the prayer if done differently.
Lilith turned her head, clasped her hands, and began praying.
I followed her lead, closing my eyes and beginning to pray.
"Oh Great Mother OfDesire." The accent came out of my mouth naturally. As I was about to continue the prayer, I was interrupted by a soft violin and the whisper of the voice I heard outside.
"You're here..."
'...!'
I heard the voice right beside me, along with a warm breath. My eyes shot open, and I swung my head around to look behind me, but there was nothing.
'What the hell was that?'
My gaze fell on Lilith, who was beside me.
'Could it be her?' I shook my head, no, this is their religion, she wouldn't interrupt a prayer session to prank me, and it didn't even sound like her, the other were out for the same reason.
'Maybe my imagination was playing pranks on me.' That could very well be the case, as I didn't hear anything else.
"Wait." I thought out loud, I didn't hear anything else? How could that be the case? I looked around and realized, everything was silent and still. I didn't hear the soft mumbling of prayer from before or the slight wind from the opened windows, hell, I didn't even feel it.
'What's going on?'
As I thought this, the world around me changed, fading into pure white. Everything disappeared, leaving me alone in the white space, at least that's what I thought. I turned around to see the statue very much still there, but this time it was different. The cold gray stone of the statue was no more; her skin became copper coloured, free from blemishes, complemented by her peach hair and pink eyes that held blue stars within them.
Her figure was much beyond the already beautiful state, drawing my attention and forcing me to stare at her.
Badump... Badump
The Red her in her hand beat slightly before dissolving into pink moths that were absorbed by her glowing pink wings.
Step...
She stepped forward with her bare body towering over me. If not for the fact that I was in awe, I would have been too embarrassed to look.
The woman, whom I believed to be the Mother of desire, spoke.
"Welcome, Adam, to my little village."
Her voice hung in the air, as if the world was desperately trying to keep hold of it. It was a clearer and more ethereal version of the one he heard before. As my ears picked up the sound of her voice, I felt something slither into my mind, whispering sweet nothings to me, telling me of all the things the woman before me could do if I just submitted. I felt constant pressure, the words in my mind trying to dominate me.
At the same time, I felt my origin and another energy flare up, fighting back against the whispers, but the more she spoke, the worse it got.
Suddenly, golden dust, accompanied by a wind of relief, blew over me.
"My apologies, I didn't realize you weren't at that stage yet."
I collapsed to the floor, my body failing to hold me up.
Huff... Huff...
The mother sat down beside me.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Annarith, the Mother of Desire.
I brought you here to speak with you, and give you... a welcoming gift of sorts."
Taking a few seconds to regain my bearings, I sat up and looked at the Mother in confusion.
"Wh... What?