Hermes
The Great Sage Hermes will soon be resurrected and released onto this world after five hundred and forty-five years. It is only a matter of time. It appears that the magic circle is almost complete. It's been so long, and soon the Great Sage will finally be brought back. The Sisters were quietly working, creating a circle composed of words and symbols derived from what I could only guess was the language of Thoth on a large, smooth piece of stone that protruded from the earth. I must say it's amazing to see them at work. Even though they are Thalassa worshipers, I can't be anything but impressed with their work. They aren't even showing weariness! The large circle is still being completed, with one of the sisters carefully working on it using the ink they instructed me to get. It looks like the circle is almost done. There was a space left empty in the center of the circle. Another sister began to make a second magic circle in the empty space, and the other also began making a third circle on the outside of the original circle. I do wonder how they are able to do all of this with that piece of paper covering their vision. Well, I guess there is no point in thinking too hard about it. There were no mistakes, no errors to be seen in their work. No, it was just perfection. It's not natural; it's unholy. The innermost circle also had an empty space left in the center of it… What is that foul smell? Is it coming from the tent? Each of the sisters pulled out a dagger, cut their right hand, and then placed their bloody palms on the ground in the center of the smaller circle.
"It looks like it's almost time!"
"Yeah."
"Do you think this is going to work?"
"Yes!"
"How are you so sure?"
"You do know that you didn't need to help me. I could have done it by myself."
"Yeah, I know."
"The Buddha gave me a vision of the future. That's why I'm sure this will work."
"He did?"
"Yes! 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."
"That sounds amazing. So, is that why you disappeared for two years?"
"Yes! I first need to locate the Sage's corpse."
"How did you do that?"
"I went to the Buddha's temple and read the old text from the sage's library!"
"You went to the Buddha's temple?!"
"Yes."
"How?!"
"Well, I know the monk who is in charge of taking care of the temple."
"Someday you are going to have to take me there. I will consider it an apology for disappearing."
"Haha, sure!"
"Haha! That reminds me, did you see the bookkeeper?"
"I did, but whenever I tried to strike up a conversation with her, she would ignore me."
"Really? That's a shame."
"Yeah, she could have sped the process up."
"... Where did you find the Sage's body?"
"I found it in an unnamed forest. Not even the locals dare to give it a name!"
"Really? That's terrifying."
"Yes. But that wasn't the only terrifying thing. I think I found the lost city of Yin!"
"Wait, really?! What happened to the city? Did it turn toxic?"
"Yeah, it looks like it. God, that forest was hell. There were so many corrupted it made it nearly impossible to find the Sage's body."
"What about these lovely individuals?"
"They were a lot easier to find. They believe that it's their divine mission to resurrect the Sage."
"Why shouldn't they hate the Sage?"
"That's what I thought, but when I asked, the leader just said that their mission is to resurrect the Sage, nothing more and nothing less!"
"How strange."
Bang!
What was that? It looks like the sisters have brought out the cauldron. 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?"
"..."
"Hahaha!"
"So, what are we going to do with them after they're done?"
"I have no idea. I'm probably going to kill them. But I should probably let the Sage decide."
"Yeah."
The sisters then began to place firewood under the cauldron. One began chanting a spell to light the wood, and another went into the tent. Then she came out with a large, mummified corpse. The corpse was placed facing me with three empty sockets that used to be where her eyes were, staring at me, piercing my very soul.
"Is that her?"
"Yes."
"She's a lot larger than I thought she was."
"Yeah. You could only imagine my surprise when I found her." 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.
"Not our finest moments… Do you think it was worth it?"
"Of course! Why are you feeling guilty?"
"Yes, do you?"
"Of course not! It was for the greater good! A small price to pay!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night."
I do! I do feel guilty! Of course, I feel guilty! They didn't deserve their fate, but it must be done so that the Sage can be reborn. Sorry, David, for bringing you into this. 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. The 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.
"Aaaahhhh!"
"...What was that?!"
"What was it?"
"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. This is horrifying! I don't know why, but I can't move! I don't know if it's because I'm so scared or if it has something to do with the sisters. 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. What is that? Am I crying? I'm crying! 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. I didn't want to open my eyes, but I did open my eyes, and when I did, I instantly realized that it was nighttime. 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!" He's not waking up! All three sisters 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! 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! "Buddha, please look over me as you've always done and protect me from this black magic! Protect me from this blasphemy so that I can remain pure!"
"Do not be afraid! You must do it if you want the Sage to be resurrected! Do you understand?!"
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. For whatever reason, I felt comfortable around her. Not only comfortable but also safe. "Ye… Yes!" 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?! Are you okay?!"
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.