Mesmerize

Two metal doors stood towering above them, contrasting against the mountainous terrain from which it was embedded into. The spectacle of this display, the immensity of its size looming over them as they stood before its presence felt intimidating through its stature, somewhat supernatural almost. It would be fitting then to say that these doors could easily be mistaken as the mystical gates to a better world, a safe haven which kept tucked away from our corrupted touch. Here they were, standing near the top of the mountain, the clouds hovering around them creating a thick fog so as to diguise this cloud and shield it away, tucked and hidden under plain sight.

There was a mystical element surrounding this temple, a unique aura engulfing its very structure. There was a lack of animals within or without, no bird droppings nor moss decorating the crumbling stairs leading to these doors. They had ascended up the stairs one by one, some with shackles and others without. Emyri and Leone were the ones at the front, no gaurds needed with the Hunter looking after his prisoner and mate. She closed her eyes as she caught a faint roar from below the stairs, her lip quivering as she felt an immense pain of guilt and regret. Leone could do nothing but put on a strong face, a facade of a mask of masculine stoicism as he continued to repress his emotions. She could see through him however, feeling his pain through the mark he still carried from her, the curse of a bond.

Dimyri calmly climbed up the steps after them, with Syri being carried by Raz holding her cage. He had hoped the sight of her sibling would enlighten the cats mood, but her mewls had long since fainted. She was curled up in her cage, defeated and robbed of her optimism and high spirits. Norowa Reta was not too behind, turning around to catch the sights from where they now were. The view was breathtaking, best described as a painting of mother nature at her most beautiful time. The numerous mountains curved and traversed around each other, capturing the wide green jungle in the center with numerous creatures and insects making noise further down. Not too high up, she could catch a flock of birds flying east below the clouds. Looking around, she thought she had glanced a lone wolf staring back at her for a second, looking all too familiar with its sorrow filled eyes and lack of direction, a lost wolf forever searching for a home.

Moving back, she picked up Na'Vi by her other arm and assisted KuliKuli in picking her up, slowly moving up the stairs with a trail of swords following behind them. It seemed a lot was troubling the mixed Nekomata, separate troubles from her family to their predicament, but all that mattered was keeping her friend with her today. She glanced over at Reta when she began to help, who seemingly looked ahead never bothering to return her gaze until eventually she gave a knowing nod. It was enough to lift her spirits even a little bit, as KuliKuli and Reta both helped carry the injured Nekomata with them.

At the very top, Perdilius had stood waiting for the rest to arrive. Placing a hand at the metallic surface, one could see within such close proximity that these doors were not barren but in fact carried a unique design depicting something of a mural. Once the others had arrived, Emyri and KuliKuli stared at the structure in awe with Reta's eyes growing an inch larger at the spectacle, carved onto the doors were seven unique symbols each from a separate language, forming something of a halo above what looked like numerous creatures depicting people of different race and species. One of these symbols was written in her language which read one word: Ikari.

The air at this height contained water droplets and felt cool and wet to the touch, containing a refreshing feel as it touched skin and fur. Perdilius closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, filling his lungs with much needed oxygen in place of courage. The Nekomata's behind him were able to hear his heart racing, his hand beginning to tremble in anxiety and anticipation. He had spent so many years of his life fantasizing, waiting for this day to come, and now that he was stepping closer to reaching his destination he was beginning to grow nervous. Here he was, at the doorstep of his dream goal, feeling his palms sweat as he reached in and pressed his other hand against the metal door, pushing them open.

A sliver of light began to grow, emitting from beyond the two doors. KuliKuli's eyes grew wide and her ears pulled back as the sight began to take hold, many of them in fact looked mesmerized somewhat at it's interesting pink glow from within. As Perdilius stepped aside with both doors now held wide open, neither girl realized that a guard passed by them, freeing them of their shackles and allowing the free movement of their limbs. They can escape now, they can roam freely should they choose to do so. Perdilius smiled, feeling immense relief from within.

"Bless my heart, I was beginning to have doubts. Do you like it? It looks beautiful, doesn't it?"

KuliKuli felt herself nod in accordance to his question, wondering why was she not taking advantage to grab her family and run off? Dimyri thought much the same, struggling in her mind to summon the strength to move a muscle, yet she was unable to do anything. Something was wrong, that became apparent as Raz leaned down and undid the small latch on the cage door, freeing Syri yet she sat up and stared like the rest of the girls. Looking over at Perdilius, Raz nodded to confirm his beliefs.

"It looks like they're under."

"Indeed. We will need to grab new collars to make the process much easier. Leone, would you kindly take our guests to their chambers?"

Leone was looking at Emyri, waving a hand over her face as she stared with a dumb look and parted lips. Looking back at the others confirmed his fears, their eyes reflected the same pink light from within the temple. It cracked, his fist had clenched momentarily, a sight which did not evade the priest whatsoever. After a reluctant pause, he forced himself into submission and nodded, succumbing to his contract and guiding Emyri inside. Most of the silver guards followed them inside, taking the other Nekomata girls with them leaving a select few outside, Raz included.

Raz had thought of mentioning something when a guard pulled Reta by the arm, bringing her to their attention. She yanked her arm away, cursing at the armored man as several guards awaited for orders to deal with her. Perdilius glanced over without a care.

"Ay, the bothersome one. You know, had I ever displayed such a temper, they would have punished me severely for showing such disrespect within the house of gods. You're neither marked nor Monster, so what to do with you?"

"Don't expect letting me go is an option, unless it is. No one has to know." Reta smirked, making a passing glance at Raz who turned away feeling embarrassed. Perdilius clicked his tongue as the other soldiers stepped up, surrounding her. "Hey, back off."

"You aren't of any use to me, and I doubt you are a believer of faith. Dispose of this one however you see fit." He muttered with the flick of a hand.

"Damn." She grumbled, feeling the guards pull her forward as they dragged her through the temple. Looking back, she could see the other Nekomata girls from before, collars on and sitting beside their master as he turned his back to her. Cursing under her breath, Reta looked around as they walked into a large hallway, laced with seven pillars at each side and equipped with numerous red guards standing by. Up ahead at the far end stood a large red crystal about several feet in size, half exposed from the rocks chunky surface giving a faint pink glow. Actually, the walls were all laced with numerous tiny red shards all around, giving a pink hue through the hall as they arrived into two sets of stairs, one ascending and the other going down. Reta struggled and pulled her arm free only to have a sword drawn on her from all sides, forcing her surrender.

Raz watched as they dragged the woman downstairs before her cries grew weaker the further they went. Perdilius stepped in his tracks, hearing himself crying at a small child's age many years ago. Oh yes, the day he discovered them, that was when his life ended and a plan was set in motion.

"Praise the Gods, Raz. We are almost ready, have the workers work twice as longer if we have yet to meet our quota. We're so close, can you feel it?"

Raz nodded, closing his eyes to breath. Something did not feel rigt, it felt off, he was thinking doubts. For a moment, he wondered if they were leading the righteous path as the Gods had marked for them.