Free Web NovelChapter 19: The Door Opens
Gabriel felt his fingers cold, a numbness spreading from his fingertips to his hand.
It was very abnormal to have seen that enigmatic presence just seconds after entering the game.
He still carried the faint chill on his nape. He recognized that the puzzle was deep, but he couldn’t glimpse its true depth.
He ran a hand through his hair in a contemplative gesture. The movement hid the tension in his posture.
In his eyes, however, shone a defiant, cold, and thoughtful gaze that didn’t reflect in the rest of his expression.
It was no time to turn back.
He went down to the market in the center of the village. Among improvised stalls and vendors with shifty eyes, he bought several low-quality health and stamina pills.
They were just cheap herbal granules wrapped in greasy paper that barely restored a small percentage of HP and stamina, causing mild nausea as a side effect if overused.
It was all his pocket allowed without ruining him.
He stored the pills in his inventory and descended slowly toward the edges of the village, where torches began to grow scarce and shadows seemed to envelop the atmosphere.
He soon reached the worn walls of the abandoned church. The full moon was beginning to rise in the sky, tinting the facade with a deeply beautiful silver.
Gabriel stopped for a moment. He needed to steel himself before finally entering.
Only his mask managed to conceal his complex thoughts.
Inside the church, few members received him at first. They kept a solemn silence, their eyes visible through the slits of their masks.
They contemplated the void with a mixture of fervor and anxiety.
The leader, with his imposing eclipsed sun mask, remained kneeling, praying in silence.
The veins on his hands stood out like roots beneath his pale skin, tense from how tightly he clenched his fists.
Gabriel waited in the shadows, observing. The night grew deeper and the numbers slowly increased. He counted nineteen members in total when the group seemed complete.
Surprisingly, he never saw the wearer of the serpent mask. Gabriel stopped paying attention to him; they had only exchanged a few words. It wasn’t worth the distraction.
The leader then rose to his impressive height. His voice resonated, deep and magnetic beneath the mask:
"Tonight only the weak of spirit will be set aside. And we, with refined ambitious minds, will be able to drink from the truth. We will deepen our bonds on this most intimate night, brothers. Flesh and blood will unite us beyond what this false world can offer."
Gabriel listened in silence. Those words disgusted him. Their conviction, blind devotion, and the way the leader spoke of renewal as if it were a gospel.
Even so, he maintained his composure. His body remained unchanged, but he felt the tension in every muscle.
Finally, the entire group descended through the same narrow, damp tunnel.
The silence was nervous but natural, broken only by the sound of boots against stone and the restrained breathing of some.
Everyone hid their expressions behind masks. No one made unnecessary noise.
The air grew denser, charged with anticipation.
The leader stopped in front of the iron gate. His posture tensed, he held his breath as if about to cast a spell. Then he spoke, his voice seeming to vibrate in their bones:
"Here we will build a new century. Not with empty words, but with our own blood. May our greatness be reborn from the flesh!"
Each member, one by one, had to sprinkle their blood again on the metal surface. Gabriel imitated the gesture with precision, making a slight cut on his palm with a dagger.
The blood gleamed for an instant before being absorbed. When the last one finished, the gate began to pulse. freёwebnovel.com
The metal surface softened, pulsing beneath. Thick, throbbing veins emerged, and pieces of pale flesh sprouted from the cracks.
Many members stepped back, stifling exclamations. The leader raised his arms.
"Behold! See the beauty hidden behind fear! What seems monstrous is only one more step."
The door opened. Before crossing the threshold, the leader turned to his fellows:
"Beyond there are challenges you must overcome. If you do not believe yourselves capable of facing that destiny, if you doubt even for an instant... stay behind. Only the valuable and the strong will remain standing."
Having said that, he advanced without fear and disappeared into the whitish light emanating from the portal.
Many hesitated. Gabriel saw some fists clench tightly, their breathing growing ragged. They advanced decisively.
Gabriel didn’t hesitate much either. In his interface, the chain quest was flashing, demanding progress.
The dizziness was immediate and strong. The world spun, a tunnel invading his vision for a second.
When he regained his balance, he was no longer in the narrow, damp tunnel.
He found himself in an unknown room, elegantly decadent.
Walls covered with tapestries embroidered with colorful flowers. A large window showed a starry night landscape.
In his hands rested a fragile and refined harp of dark wood with silver inlays. His fingers ran across the strings almost by instinct. A pure, crystalline vibration filled the air, reverberating in his chest.
His mind suddenly awoke from that daydream.
[You have entered the Door!]
[Discover its secrets. Act according to the scenario and survive.]
The system message was extremely ominous. It immediately furrowed Gabriel’s expression.
Survive. This was not a simple exploration or conquest quest.
Its meaning carried a dangerous ill omen.
Three loud knocks sounded on the room’s door.
"Young master, the banquet will begin soon. The rest of the guests await in lively conversation. Do you need assistance getting dressed?" called a female voice with polite softness.
Gabriel tensed. He had no idea about the scenario. No context, no story, no role he was supposed to play.
He took a deep breath, forcing his voice to sound natural.
"I’ll come. Wait for me."
The voice on the other side responded with a slight understanding noticeable in her tone: "As you command, my lord."
Footsteps moved away down the hallway. Gabriel released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.
He carefully placed the harp on a small wooden table and began exploring the room quickly but silently.
A wardrobe contained elegant clothes from an unknown era. In the inner pocket of the soft upper garment, he found a golden invitation:
Banquet of the Eternal Night.
In honor of the Silent Patron.
Do not forget your musical contribution.
Musical contribution? He looked at the harp. Apparently, he was supposed to play the role of a musician or noble guest.
The notification still floated in his vision: "Act according to the scenario."
He stepped out into the hallway. The corridor was illuminated by candelabras holding reddish candles whose wax melted slowly.
Distant voices and muffled laughter came from the far end. Gabriel walked with measured steps, feeling how the cold in his fingers persisted even here. At the end of the hallway, two large double doors opened into a magnificent and disturbing hall.
A long table occupied by about thirty people dressed in the same decadent elegance.
In the center of the table, on a silver platter, rested a strange dark meat that pulsed.
The guests cut pieces with silver knives and ate them delicately.
Gabriel felt nausea in his stomach.
"Ah, our harpist," announced a woman in a blood-red dress, smiling with lips that were too red.
"You arrive just in time. The Patron awaits your melody before the main course."
All eyes turned toward him. Some curious, others hungry.
In a corner of the hall, seated on a throne made of limestone, a tall hooded figure watched him. His face was not visible, only the extension of his disturbingly wide smile.
Gabriel swallowed. His cold fingers closed around the strap of the harp he had brought with him.
The quest glowed red in his interface. Survive.
The melody began to form in his mind, a nervous but precise improvisation.
As he walked toward the center of the hall under the attentive gaze of the diners, he knew this night had only just begun.
The strings vibrated under his fingers. The first note sounded clear, beautiful... and terribly wrong for the horror that surrounded him.
