In the empty corridor, pure white light poured down from above, dispelling shadows and leaving no dead corners. Even the dust was hard to spot on the polished floor.
Nesanel walked through the corridor, his pace neither fast nor slow, his tall figure swaying slightly, exuding an intimidating presence.
Soon, Nesanel's steps came to a halt, and he stood at the end of the corridor, in front of a door marked with the Staff Sword emblem. A plaque hung on the door with the words "Decision Room".
Nesanel did not immediately push open the door but lingered at the entrance, as if hesitating over some decision.
Leaning against the wall beside him, Nesanel squinted his eyes. After a long sigh, he placed the container he was carrying at his feet. Various emblems were engraved on the container's surface, with a faint glow shimmering within.
The container held the recovered Immortal Heart, a forbidden item extremely dangerous to anyone, but at Nesanel's feet, it was no more than a piece of flesh not easily destroyed.
Nesanel rummaged through his pockets and lit a cigarette for himself. As smoke enveloped him, a sorrowful emotion crossed his resolute face.
As the Deputy Director of the Order Bureau, Nesanel had never particularly liked coming to the Decision Room. If possible, he would avoid any contact with it.
This was not about the Decision Room itself but rather the person inside, someone Nesanel preferred not to see. Every encounter with them readily unsettled even Nesanel's strong heart.
Nesanel loosened his collar and took out the necklace hanging on his chest. Opening the locket, inside was a photo of a woman.
"I always wonder, is all of this truly worth it?"
Nesanel gazed deeply at the woman's face, muttering to himself.
"This is the sorrow of mortals, isn't it? Our lives are too short. Even if we pay the price, the unknowable future remains distant, and we can't be sure if our sacrifices truly have an impact. We can only march blindly towards death."
Falling into silence, Nesanel said nothing further. In the prolonged tranquility, he was merely staring for a long time at the woman's face. Only after the cigarette burnt out did he slowly close the locket and pick up the container.
Opening the door to the Decision Room, Nesanel stepped inside. At first, there was an unknowable darkness. After an endless darkness, a gentle light appeared, and following a brief delay, Nesanel's sight recovered, and his vision brightened once more.
Golden light poured down from the dome, where sculpted angels occupied the sky. Their faces varied, with expressions ranging from joy to sorrow, and anger. Inverted on the dome, they stretched their hands towards the ground, as if trying to save something.
Decision Room, Inverted Hall.
Nesanel stood alone in the golden palace, raised his hand, and snapped his fingers. The permission exclusive to the Deputy Director was unleashed, causing the complex machinery in the Inverted Hall to pause for a moment before returning like a tide.
From the dim end, vague singing could be heard, as if it was welcoming an old friend.
Nesanel's body became light, entering a state of weightlessness, floating in mid-air. Then, the direction of gravity flipped, and Nesanel fell towards what had been the "dome".
With a nimble spin, Nesanel landed steadily on the ground, and the surface on which he had stood transformed into a new dome.
Nesanel lit another cigarette, casually flicking ash onto this golden hall. Without immediate action, his gaze swept across the surroundings.
The angels who had once stretched their hands to the sky had returned to the ground... or more precisely, they had never been high in the sky, nor were they ever so-called angels.
Within the Order Bureau, many had been summoned to the Decision Room for various reasons and had witnessed this sacred hall, but they never understood why it was called the Inverted Hall.
Nesanel's gentle gaze swept over those figures stretching their hands to the sky. They were as numerous as grains of sand, forming a pile as high as a mountain, and above them, the well once seen as an abyss had turned into the sky, its walls extending upwards until they vanished from sight.
Raising his foot, stepping on the void, the golden path was sketched out beneath Nesanel's feet. Pure Ether forged it into a staircase, continuous, spiraling into a stairway reaching the sky's end.
Nesanel walked for a long time, his figure entering the well-sky. He felt as if he had ascended several hundred meters, yet the ascent persisted, until he reached the end.
Above the dome was an expanse of lightless darkness. Nesanel stepped into the darkness; the well entrance he had come through contrasted against the dark world, an unmistakable glowing circle.
Nesanel stood on the edge of the well, lingering for a long time. After a prolonged wait, faint noises emerged from the darkness, as though countless toxic creatures crawled on the ground, approaching Nesanel.
Within the murky darkness, Nesanel vaguely saw the grotesque, monstrous figure. It was as large as a hill, grotesque and bloated.
"The Special Operations Group has contained an Immortal Heart. I thought you might have a use for this, so I brought it over for you."
As Nesanel spoke, he opened the container and pulled out the deformed heart.
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