The monk offered me a clay vessel.
The water was colder than I expected.
I drank until nearly half of it was gone before lowering it.
I looked around
The cave opened into a small ruin.
Time had claimed most of it.
Broken columns leaned against the mountain wall, while carved stones lay scattered across the uneven floor.
At its center rested a circular stone dais, worn smooth with age.
At first, I took it for little more than an ancient monument.
Only later I would find it strangely familiar.
It all resembled the place I had seen in my dream.
Not perfectly...
But enough to unsettle me.
"My apologies."
"My friend is still waiting below."
"I should not keep him waiting."
The monk accepted the vessel.
"There is no need."
Only then did I take a proper look at him.
His appearance was unremarkable at first glance.
Long dark robe.
His plain face bore neither youth nor age.
"I am Sarel."
"Few seek this place."
"For what reason have you come?"
Although his voice was unfamiliar, I had to ask.
"Are you the one who called upon me?"
"I am merely a caretaker."
"Are there other monks around here?"
"I am the only one."
There is something wrong..
What kind of a temple is this?
How can he even dwell here?
"I came here looking for answers."
"I heard a voice of someone telling me to meet him here."
"And do you truly believe that?"
"What?"
"Do you believe that there is someone who is capable of speaking onto you from distance?"
"Couldn't it all be a mere illusion?"
"That is impossible .."
"I even saw this place in my dreams."
"I wouldn't have climbed all this if I do not."
"I have no other choice but to believe!"
Sarel lowered his eyes.
A faint smile appeared.
"Very well."
The monk pointed toward a narrow flight of stairs carved into the rocks.
"The real temple lies just above."
"If it is answers you seek..."
"They are not mine to give."
....
As I walk through the last steps to the top, I could see almost nothing.
The sky seemed to be concealed by the heavy clouds.
I could see neither the stars nor the moon.
Only darkness.
A few steps farther into the surface, I could see a glimse of a square of weathered stone, surrounded by broken pillars.
I stood in the middle, gazing in the darkness above.
"At last."
That voice!
It spoke directly into my mind.
Every muscle in my body froze.
My eyes darted through the darkness.
There was nothing.
An overwhelming feeling washed over me.
Every instinct told me I was not alone.
"Hear my decree, for I am the Overseer."
"The people who came before were given much, yet desired more."
"They knew truth, yet chose falsehood."
"They sought judgment for others, yet mercy for themselves."
"And each generation walked further than the last."
"So I gathered what remained of them, concealed their memories, and placed them within a world befitting their nature."
"A world of hunger, toil, and struggle."
"And so they remained."
"For what they perceived as ages."
"Seeking deliverance while remaining unchanged."
"They pray for mercy while clinging to the very faults that condemned them."
"They curse the harvest, yet continue to sow the same seeds."
...
"Yet after everything, they have not been abandoned."
"The Great 'I' has willed that they be granted a second chance."
"A chance for redemption."
"Among their former selves was one whose measure differed."
"One who did not forsake what he knew to be right."
"He remained steadfast while others strayed."
"He was called Eidos."
The name stirred something within me.
"He was chosen to guide the people to the path of righteousness."
"Should they follow him, they shall be saved."
"So The Great 'I' placed him beneath the desert sky."
"And called upon him from afar."
"The chosen one heard."
"Thus his steps were guided through the wasteland to the temple."
"And now he stands before me."
"Eidos..."
The voice echoed through the darkness.
"This is your purpose."
"Tell the people that if they truly wish for change, they must first achieve change within themselves."
"Once they prove themselves capable of repentance and worthy of forgiveness,"
"The Great 'I' shall aid them in breaking free from the Riveran tyranny."
"This is my decree."
...
Silence fell.
Although the questions I came for had been answered, I was still uncertain.
Now I knew my name.
I knew my purpose.
And I knew why the world was the way it was.
Yet I had many more questions.
Footsteps near the stairs broke the silence.
I turned around.
A small oil lamp burned quietly in the darkness.
Beside it stood Sarel, the vessel in his other hand.
"You must be confused."
He offered a faint smile.
"Come. Let us take our leave."
We descended to the center of the temple.
Sarel stopped beside a circular stone platform and motioned for me to come closer.
As I did, he pressed against a hidden stone in the wall.
A deep rumble echoed beneath us.
Then the circular platform began to descend.
I stood frozen.
"You did not think I came and went using the stairs, did you?"
Before long, darkness surrounded us completely.
Only the sound of turning wheels could be heard.
"I hope you are not upset."
"He wished to test your determination."
"And you succeeded."
...
"'Sarel..."
"Who are you, really?"
"If you knew I was coming, what else do you know?"
"I am but a servant of the Overseer."
"I was entrusted with the care of his temple,"
"And now with aiding you in your mission."
...
"Who are the people I am meant to guide?"
"I have yet to know any lands beyond Apiru and Rivera."
"There are none."
"The world was built as punishment for certain people."
"The Apirunites."
"They are the ones you must guide."
"And the Riverans?"
"The Riverans are not people of the past."
"They exist merely for punishment."
"An instrument of his wrath."
"No different from the storms or the barren lands."
"What of the old world?"
"Did we die?"
"Is this hell, as some say?"
...
"And the Octangula..."
"What is it?"
"Pardon me."
"My knowledge is still limited."
"And any knowledge his greatness has not permitted me to share is forbidden."
The platform came to a halt.
Sarel moved aside a pile of stones concealing a narrow passage.
We stepped outside.
Kaelum was lying upon the steps, seemingly unconscious.
Sarel knelt beside him and offered him water.
Meanwhile, I gazed toward the north, reflecting upon everything I had heard.
Everything within the temple should have proven that I was not hallucinating.
Yet somehow, it still did not feel real.
Kaelum stirred.
"What happened?"
"And who is he?" pointing at Sarel.
We explained everything to him.
"So help me understand this, young man."
"Or should I say... Eidos."
"The world we live in is but a small fabricated world."
"It was built as punishment by an entity called "The Overseer" because he was angered by the actions of our former selves."
"And the only path to salvation is for you to walk across Apiru telling people to do better."
...
"Yes."
"How kind of him."
Kaelum looked toward Sarel.
"With all due respect..."
"I think this monk has been feeding you nonsense."
"It was not him."
"I spoke to the Overseer myself."
"What did he look like?"
"I never saw him."
"I only heard his voice."
"Exactly."
Kaelum pointed toward Sarel.
"The monk took advantage of your hallucinations and gave them meaning."
"That is how occultists begin."
He continues.
"Suppose I believe all of this."
"What then?"
"You walk into the city and tell people they deserve to suffer?"
"You tell them some invisible voice judged them for sins they cannot remember?"
"You think they will thank you for it?"
"I don't know..."
"That is my point."
"You climbed a mountain looking for answers."
"You found a burden instead."
Sarel spoke calmly.
"The people do not need to know everything."
"Only the path."
Kaelum scoffed.
"And who decides what the path is?"
"The supposed creator of our suffering?"
"It is fine if you do not believe in the Overseer or Eidos' revelation."
"Our teaching remains the same regardless."
"What does that mean?"
"Tell me, Kaelum."
"When you first met Eidos, what did you hope to gain from helping him?"
Kaelum remained silent for a moment.
Sarel continued.
"Whether one helps another for redemption, reward, or no reason at all changes very little."
"You already accept the teaching, you merely reject the testimony."
The old man looked away.
"I had my reasons."
Then, he let out a weary sigh and turned to me.
"Well, Eidos, you found your answer."
"What you do from here is your affair."
I glanced toward the road stretching back to Apiru.
"The road to the city is long."
"Perhaps you may reconsider."
Kaelum adjusted the cloth across his shoulder.
"Do not count on it."
After a final look at the mountain behind us, we set off together.