Blood dripped from Gabriel's nose in slow drops, pattering against the stone as thick crimson slid down his lips and traced his chin before falling to the floor. His breaths were deep and heavy as his body finally caught up to the toll he had placed on it, and sharp pains shot all over before collecting in his arm and abdomen. The collision with the pillar had broken the bone in two, and the stitches on his abdomen had torn, releasing dribbles of blood out of the edges of the half-healed wound.
Tess forced herself over to one of the pillars dotted around the room, using it to keep her balance as a black clawprint covered her neck where the Voludvare had squeezed the last drop of energy out of her.
Gabriel was the first to move, turning towards Tess as the words struggled to leave his mouth. "The nest is clear."
"What was that thing?" she replied, taking deep breaths between each word.
"A Voludvare." He replied through gritted teeth while gripping his arm.
A confused look washed over Tess's face, and he saw it in her eyes before continuing. "A strong vampire."
Tess straightened up against the pillar. "Did we just take out an S-class monster?"
"No. B-rank at most, probably A-rank in the North."
Tess blinked with disbelief written across her face. "That was only a B-rank?"
Gabriel's fingers tightened around his arm as pain flickered across his face from the pressure, and Tess noticed immediately. "Are you injured?"
"Hmm," the demon-eyed adventurer replied before turning away. "We need to look around," he grunted.
Words written on the centrepiece flashed in her mind, sending a shiver down her spine. "The Eighth Divine One," she mumbled to herself while Gabriel walked off towards the book that had called to him earlier.
What was that earlier? Dracamere? What's Dracamere, is it the owner of the book? I need to look at it.
The air began humming as he got close, and he looked over his shoulder at Tess to see if she was noticing anything, but she was still next to the pillar with her hand on her chin.
She's not feeling this power.
He got closer, but it didn't feel the same as last time since his vision remained intact and the voices didn't pierce his mind. It just felt like he had walked next to a mage expelling all his mana as he reached out his blood-covered hand while the air swirled around it and buzzed.
Last time, it was warning me away.
His fingers touched the edges, and some of the blood from his hand dripped onto the cover before Gabriel's head flung back like he was being shocked. Red lines scrawled across the whites of his eyes as his mouth opened, swallowing the knowledge of the book.
A picture of a man flashed into his mind where a tall figure sat on a throne, motionless, with black hair falling over his shoulders and contrasting the pale angles of his face. His eyes glowed red, not with magic but with something ancient, and he wore black metal armor with each plate layered with battle marks that showed nothing ornamental about the design. His right hand was wrapped around the hilt of a massive greatsword with the blade driven straight into the stone floor as cracks spread from the point of impact.
He stared forward from the throne, looking Gabriel in the eyes as his mouth parted.
"Dracamere." The only words that escaped.
Gabriel's body jerked forward, and the vision shattered like broken glass while the throne room scattered across the stone floor. Blood from his nose was still trickling down his chin when Tess's voice echoed through the temple, loud and hurried.
"Gabriel!" She pushed herself off the pillar and hurried towards him with each step unsteady from her fading adrenaline. "Gabriel," she reached down and tried to lift him from behind. "What happened?"
The former Paladin didn't respond, and her voice rose. "Gabriel!"
His eyes opened slowly as the red lines retreated from the whites of his eyes. "I'm fine," he muttered while attempting to stand.
What was that? Again Dracamere, but what is it?
Tess frowned and looked at her hands, now sticky from his blood. "You're lying."
Her eyes flicked to his abdomen where crimson liquid was seeping through his white tunic, and Gabriel looked down at the wound. "It's just the corners. The wound is half healed."
"And what about your arm?" she scorned.
"It feels like a clean break." He reached his hand up to grab it carefully. "I'll get a splint in Blackhaven."
Tess brushed past him with a chuckle. "Who knows, they might have a healing potion."
"We need to get back to Blackhaven." She walked over to the centrepiece and glanced over her shoulder. "But first, what are we going to do about this? Hello, are you sure you're okay?"
Gabriel nodded while picking the book up and placing it in the back of his waistband. "I'm fine. We need to cover the opening and leave."
Tess's face scrunched up in confusion. "Why?"
He started walking to Tess with his voice turning serious. "No one can know about this. Tess, this is blasphemy, and they will execute you if you mention it."
"But we only found it?"
"It doesn't matter. The church will execute us if this is true and there is an Eighth Divine One, and they will execute us if it's false." Gabriel had an unusual snap to his words.
"For just finding it?"
"Yes, the church isn't tolerant. If it's true, they are purposely hiding it, and if it's false, they will execute us for heresy. No one disrupts the church's control."
"How do you know?" Her tone matched his intensity.
"Because I was a part of the church for years, and I watched as my superiors killed people for questioning the Seven. I was trained myself to seek out blasphemers and execute them."
She took a step back away from him. "You were a Paladin?"
"I trained, but I never ascended. I was taken before it was my time."
"Taken by who? The people who gave you those scars?"
Gabriel nodded as a pained look washed over his face. "I know how the church works. If we discuss this with anyone, they will send real Paladins, and they do not offer forgiveness or mercy."
Tess was unable to speak since she knew every word he was saying was correct, but the magnitude of this discovery could change the world forever.
Gabriel turned and staggered towards the opening in the ceiling. "We seal this place," he said, his voice low and final. "We bury it, and never speak of it again."
Tess stared at him and swallowed hard as the candle flames lining the temple flickered all at once. She began walking towards him without looking back at the temple. "Fine."
Gabriel gave her a boost through the opening before turning back towards the altar one more time, and the vision of the man on the throne flashed through his mind for the briefest of seconds before he grabbed Tess's hand and pulled himself up.
They worked in silence, dragging loose stones and broken debris over the opening while every sound echoed loudly in the hollowed chamber. Every scrape of stone reminded Tess that this place should never have existed, and when the last slab fell into place, sealing the darkness below, Gabriel finally stepped back.
"It's done," he muttered.
Tess turned to him with daggers in her eyes and her arms folded. "Now, let's go find out why they set us up."