Hermes
The Sisters were quietly working, creating a circle composed of words and symbols derived from the language of Thoth on a large, smooth piece of stone that protruded from the earth. They worked without a break, never stopping or even showing weariness. The large circle was still incomplete, with one sister diligently working on the circle and making sure none of the ink got on her white robe. The ink they instructed me to get. Still working diligently, they left a large empty space in the center of the circle, and then another sister started working on making a smaller circle in the empty space. It's truly amazing to see them at work. Even though they are Thalassa worshipers, they would be very useful to have on our side. I do wonder how they are able to be this precise with that paper blocking their vision. There were no mistakes, no errors to be seen in their work. No, it was just perfection. How could someone be this precise? It's not natural; it's unholy. The sister who was working on the larger circle stood up and began helping the other one. Then the third sister came out of the tent that was off to the side of the stone platform, standing by waiting for the other two. A foul smell came from the tent. It looks like the smaller circle was completed, and with this one, they also left an empty space in the center of the circle. They worked so fast, and like the previous circle, there were no errors to be found. Each of the sisters pulled out a dagger, cut their right hand, and then placed their bloody palm on the ground in the center of the smaller circle.
"It looks like it's almost time. Hey, do you think this is going to work?"
"You do know that you didn't need to help me. I could have done it by myself."
"Yeah, I know."
"To answer your question, yes, I do know it's going to work."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because the Buddha gave me a vision of the future."
"You never told me this."
"I didn't think it was necessary to tell you."
"Why are we not friends? Have we not fought wars together? For two years I thought you were dead, and then you came back. I'm worried about you."
"You're right; you deserve to know."
"Thank you."
"The Lord showed me what's to come. I saw the Buddha and the sage standing together. I saw him killing the Sage, and then the three Sisters stood over the corpse of the Sage and brought her back to life. Then she led us into battle, and after there was no more war or disease. The world was at peace; there was no evil. I can't explain it, but it felt so real."
"I see. After you had this vision, what did you do next?"
"I went to the Buddha's temple and read the old text from the sage's library to gather information so that I could locate her corpse."
"Wait, you went to the Buddha's temple?!"
"Yes."
"How did you do that?!"
"I know the monk in charge of the temple."
"That's amazing. Someday you are going to have to take me there. I will consider it an apology for disappearing."
"Haha, okay."
"Yes!"
"Hahaha."
"Wait, did you see the bookkeeper?"
"Yes, I saw her, but she mostly avoided me."
"Oh, really? That's a shame."
"Yes, she could have sped the process up for me, but it is what it is."
"You said that you located the Sage's body. Where did you find it?"
"I found it in an unnamed forest. Not even the locals dare to give it a name!"
"Really?"
"Yes. God, that forest was hell. There were so many corrupted it made it nearly impossible to find the sage's body. I think the city of Yin used to be there."
"Wait, really?!"
"Yes, some of the book's hint that she died in Yin."
"What happened to the city? Did it turn toxic?"
"Yeah, it looks like it. Anyways, even after finding her location, it was still difficult to find her corpse."
"What about these lovely individuals?"
"They were a lot easier to find." As I said this, I heard a loud thud sound coming from where the sisters were. I looked and saw that there was a large cauldron sitting in the center of the two circles. The pot color looked to be a very dark green, and it had elaborate artwork on its sides.
"Ha, that sounds heavy. Do you ladies need help carrying anything?"
None of the sisters said anything and just ignored him, going back to work. "Hahaha. David, you should be a bit nicer to them. Hahaha."
"I will do no such thing. They are heretics and use black magic."
"Yeah, yeah."
"What are we going to do with them after they're done?"
"No idea. I'm probably going to kill them. But I should probably let the Sage decide." We both looked back and saw that two of the sisters were placing firewood underneath the cauldron. Then all three sisters made their way to the tent and came out with a large mummified corpse. The corpse was placed facing me with two empty holes that used to be where her three eyes were, staring at me.
"Is that her?"
"Yes."
"She's a lot larger than I thought she was."
The Sisters placed the corpse in the cauldron, and then one of the sisters went back into the tent and came out with a large bowl that looked to be filled to the brim with a red liquid. She walked so carefully that none of it spilled. The sister poured the red liquid into the cauldron. The liquid looked very chunky and made a disgusting wet sound when it hit the bottom of the cauldron.
"John, please don't tell me that's what I think it is."
"..."
"John, please!"
"It had to be done."
"You… You're a monster!"
"Yes. Yes, I am." Sorry, David, but it must be done so that the Sage can be reborn. Once all the liquid was poured into the cauldron, she went back into the tent and out again with more of the strange liquid. This continued several more times until the pot was brimming full of the red liquid. They lit the firewood, and red liquid started to boil. It gave off a putrid smell, and all the while the corpse was still looking at me. The Sisters were on opposite sides from each other, some distance away from the cauldron, looking at the sage. Then I heard the sisters saying something. I couldn't understand it, but I did recognize it also coming from the language of Thoth. "It's begun." I listened to the chant; it felt good on my ears, and I almost went into a trance.
"Aaaahhhh!"
"...What was that?!"
"What was what?"
"Did you not hear that screaming?!"
"No?"
"I swear I heard someone screaming!"
"Aaaahhh!"
"You don't hear that?!"
"Here what?!"
I don't like this feeling. A malevolent force is here watching. What does it want? Is it the Sage? Is she here watching us, judging us?
"Well, I don't hear anything. Are you sure it was screaming? Could it have been the sisters?"
"I'm sure it wasn't them." The chant got louder, and the sisters began to dance around the pot. Seeing all of this happen, I felt fear that I had never felt before in my life. Not even when I was close to death was I this scared. This was like a primal fear; every part of my being told me that this was true evil. I reverted back into a child, and tears began to run down my cheek. I closed my eyes in a desperate bid to hide. To get rid of this feeling that I was experiencing. I was scared to open up my eyes and face my fear. But I did open my eyes, and when I did, I instantly realized that it was nighttime. This was insane because when I closed my eyes, it was midday. How was it night already? What is that sound?! It sounds like whispering! I can't make out what they're saying, but I can tell it's not good. I looked to my right and saw David. He looked to be in a trance. "David! David, wake up! Please!" I said while violently shaking his body in a desperate bid to break the trance, but it was to no avail. I looked at the sisters, and all three pulled out a dagger from their white robes, pulled up the piece of paper that was covering their faces, and cut out one of their eyes. Then they tossed it into the cauldron, and then the chant got even louder where they were yelling it. Is it getting darker? It was like we were in a black void; I couldn't see very far. And there were many blurry faces in the air, peering out of the darkness, watching the sisters. All they did was watch them. There was only indifference on their faces. What are they? What do they want? Then there was a face that became less blurry. I could tell that it was a woman who had long black hair. The whispering got louder and louder, and I began, unconsciously, walking towards the pot and grabbed one of the daggers from the sisters, and held it to my left hand. I snapped out of it and realized what I was doing. I threw the dagger, but one of the sisters came to me.
"You must do it."
I looked at her; her face was covered back up with a piece of paper, and it had a symbol that looked to be an eye on it. She smelled very good. It reminded me of my mother's scent. For whatever reason, I felt comfortable around her. Not only comfortable but also safe, like a child was with its mother. I nodded my head and stood up, grabbed the dagger she was offering me, cut off my left hand, and threw it in the cauldron. I looked at the blood that pooled out of my arm. My thoughts were frantic. What have I done? What should I do? "AAAAAAHHHHHHHH! Oh my god!" I drove my left arm into the cold stone. I was drenched in sweat, and my vision started to get hazy.
"John! Oh my god! What happened?!"
I tried to mutter some words out, but before I answered, the cauldron valiantly began shaking, then... I woke up on the cold, hard ground and propped myself up, still clutching my wrist, trying to stop the bleeding. Where the cauldron used to be was replaced with a massive fire. "David! David, where are you?" As I stood up, I saw the sisters kneeling where the fire was. "Hey, have any of you seen David?" They said nothing. I looked where they were looking and saw the red liquid. It was moving, slowly taking the form of a person. The liquid turned into a girl who was standing where the pot used to be, surrounded by fire. She had black hair and pale skin and was looking around almost like she didn't know where she was. Then she saw me, her three lapis blue eyes fixed on me. The great sage, after five hundred and forty-five years, has been unleashed onto the world once more.