Kael let his long-time curiosity about the Temple of the Silent Circle get the best of him.
The air grew noticeably cooler as he stepped through the crumbling archway.
The silence blanketing the temple grounds felt different, unnatural, especially compared to the soft, familiar sounds of the village just beyond the trees.
Maybe it was all in his head. But Kael couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching him as he walked deeper into the temple.
The closer he got to the main entrance, the heavier his footsteps felt. A weight pressed against his chest.
He'd seen many terrifying things… in dreams, of course, so many that fear had long since fled him. Yet here, he was feeling a sense of uneasiness.
Subtle at first, but growing stronger, curling into his spine like cold fingers. For a moment, he stopped at the threshold, considering turning back.
He exhaled.
"No. If I don't do this today, I'll always wonder what's inside, and I'll just end up coming back anyway," he mumbled.
Squaring his shoulders, he stepped through the door.
Inside, the air was filled with dampness and a strange lingering scent, like incense that had burned long ago and never quite faded.
It was hotter than outside, the space stifling and close. The lack of windows gave the temple a claustrophobic feel. Kael could barely see where he was stepping because it was dark.
Kael's eyes roamed the chamber until they landed on a lamp sitting on a stone pedestal near the wall. Its warm light spilled across the carvings, steady and soft, revealing the details more clearly.
The walls were covered in strange artwork—twisted figures woven into spiraling patterns. Some reached toward the sky, others curled inward as if in pain or ecstasy.
Their faces were stretched with emotion, but it was hard to tell if they were in bliss or torment.
Kael closed the distance, taking it all in. The designs were unlike anything he'd seen before, yet something about them pulled at the edge of his memory.
On the far wall, another faded painting caught his attention.
Kael stepped closer to get a better look at the mural. In the center was a man, or maybe something more than a man.
His face was hard to see because of how old and worn the painting was, but the way he stood—tall, calm, and confident, made him seem important. Maybe even god-like.
He was surrounded by women, some clothed in flowing robes, others naked or dressed with little, gathered around him in poses that blended reverence with something more intimate, as if caught between worship and devotion.
Kael tilted his head, studying the scene. Probably some god these strange people worshiped.
Still, something about the figure felt oddly familiar. He must've seen this painting somewhere before, but where?
Kael didn't think too much about where he saw the painting as he continued to look around the temple.
Then something caught his eye, making him come to a still for a second.
"What is that!" He whispered.
And then he approached, his gaze settling on the floor.
There was a massive carving dominating the center. It was a carving of a sun, or something like that.
Perfectly circular, its twelve rays stretched outward: six etched in radiant clarity, six darker, shadowed, and incomplete.
But what caught Kael's attention and shocked him even wasn't the fact that there was a giant carving in the chamber, but the fact that, this same symbol, was also barbed to his sword.
Before Kael could even think about it, he heard something. A whisper.
He looked up from the carving and tried to listen to the noise he just heard, but it was faint; it could've been the wind. Or maybe… something else.
Just as he was about to refocus his attention somewhere, he heard the whisper again.
It was a low, rhythmic moaning, punctuated by what sounded like hushed chanting.
'What is that.' Kael quieted his mind and tried to focus on the sounds.
The noise seemed to be coming from further within the temple, carrying an undercurrent of passionate devotion.
His heart quickened with a strange mix of apprehension and a compelling sense of recognition. 'Was that moanings? Was someone having sex here?"
Not even thinking too much about it, Kael let his curiosity win once again. He followed the sounds, his footsteps soft on the dusty floor, until he reached a doorway leading into a larger chamber.
He peeked inside, and the sight that greeted him was both shocking and intensely arousing.
His jaw was on the floor at the scenery that greeted him: It seemed like a ritual was taking place.
In the center of the room, bathed in the flickering light of several strategically placed candles, two women were the focus of the ritual.
One woman knelt, her head bowed low, her lips and tongue actively engaged with the exposed pussy of the other, who stood before her, legs slightly parted, her hands resting on the kneeling woman's shoulders for balance.
Both were completely nude, their skin gleaming with a mixture of sweat and fragrant oil.
What kind of ritual even was this? Kael wondered, however he could not peel his eyes away from the scene.
Around them, a circle of other women, some also nude, others adorned in loose, flowing robes decorated with a dark sun and 12 rays, chanted in unison.
Their voices were a low, hypnotic drone, the words occasionally rising in fervor as they repeated a name that echoed with a strange resonance in Kael's mind: "Vaelyrion... Vaelyrion... He shall return..."
The air throbbed with a weird energy, a mixture of raw sexuality and fervent devotion that felt both alien and strangely familiar.
But what truly ensnared Kael's attention was the standing woman's moans, raw, unrestrained, and intensely erotic.
It was the worst possible time, but his body couldn't care less. A bulge began to form in his trousers, undeniable and insistent.
Suddenly, the standing woman, with red hair like a phoenix's flame, let out an intoxicating moan, her back arching as the woman kneeling before her traced slow, deliberate strokes of her tongue across her pussy. Her hands cupped her own breasts, fingers pinching her nipples as she bit her lower lip in rapture.
Kael swallowed. The sight was overwhelming. Who would've thought that in this seemingly abandoned temple, such sacred, sensual madness unfolded? And with so many beautiful women.
His heart thundered in his chest. Sweat beaded on his brow.
The red haired woman through her head back in apparent ecstasy. Her eyes suddenly fluttered open, immediately locked onto Kael in the doorway. Her breath hitched, and she abruptly pushed the kneeling woman away, a startled gasp escaping her lips.
"Shit." He muttered under his breath. He'd been spotted.