They turned around the corner and were met with fifty-two steps. With every step, the ambient light increased. By the time they reached the top, Marc had a view of a cavernous chamber. At its heart, there was an altar and a large pool of red liquid behind it.

There was a woman near the altar dressed entirely in white. Marc noticed there was a harsh beauty to her, and a symmetry that bordered on perfection. He imagined her likeness being immortalised in stone as a goddess or an angel…

Marc later learned that they buried him deep underground and later built the ziggurat overtop to worship him as a god. For centuries, that city served as the centre of a massive empire… all controlled from his crypt…

“What happened?” Marc asked.

“The surface water dried up,” Susanna said. “The lands became inhospitable, and his followers scattered like sand in a desert storm.”

My empire will rise again!He knew nothing of this city, or the ziggurat she mentioned. However, the effect that this god had on them left him humbled… I know nothing of this world…

Two-hundred paces ahead, there came a glow from an opening. He assumed they were headed there, as the space was elevated to prevent flooding.

“He’s one of our kind,” Susanna said. “So old that no one has ever seen him outside of his crypt.”

“Crypt?”

A crypt was for the dead, and whoever this was, they clearly were not content with eternal rest. Marc was surprised that the voice influenced her; the Contessa was not some fledgling vampire.

“He reaches out with his mind over vast distances to influence his pawns on the world stage,” Susanna said.

You cannot ignore me forever!

The voice was much clearer here. What began as a whisper carried by the wind now drowned out his internal voice. The experience was disturbing, because it played out exclusively in his head.

Eventually, a headache took root along his forehead. After rubbing his temples, he noticed that Susanna was hunched over, with her hand pressed against the damp wall… That headache must really be getting to her…

Marc clenched his jaw and focused on the strain to steel his resolve. When that failed, he bit the inside of his cheek until blood welled within. The sharp pain and taste of iron focused his mind.

She fears me…

Whatever Susanna was hiding, she must have pushed through it. The smile she normally wore returned as she approached. She pecked him on the cheek before looking into his dark brown eyes.

“You’re sweet for thinking of me,” Susanna said before pinching his lips together to prevent a quip.

She poisons your mind…

He pouted when she snapped back her fingers. There was a voice, one he initially dismissed as being a figment of his imagination. However, those statements lined up with what was going on… My imagination’s never been that potent…