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The four companions walked aimlessly through the bustling streets of Kirrha, blending into the flow of merchants and travelers. Atlas, walking slightly apart, was quickly reviewing the scrolls they had stolen from Elpenor's house.
In the documents, there was no specific mention of the Cult of Kosmos's gathering location; the notes were maddeningly vague, repeatedly mentioning only "beneath the Oracle of Delphi." However, Atlas did find information about a local base near Kirrha, a place called the Snake Temple.
Atlas stopped walking, gathering the others. "Listen. No specific information on the grand gathering—it just keeps repeating the location is 'beneath the Oracle of Delphi.' But there is something else. We found information on a local Cult safe house. There's one close to here, located at the Snake Temple."
Alexios and Lukas exchanged a look of consideration.
Kassandra frowned, her impatience showing. "Then what do we do? Do we need to check the Snake Temple first?"
Atlas thought for a moment, weighing the risk of confrontation against the need for information. "We can check the Snake Temple first. If we don't find anything there, we go straight to the Sanctuary of Delphi and ask the Pythia in person."
Kassandra, Alexios, and Lukas were instantly shocked by the audacity of Atlas's plan. The Pythia was the title for the High Priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, serving as the most famous and influential Oracle in the Greek world. She channeled prophecies from the god Apollo, often in a trance-like state, her ambiguous words interpreted by priests for leaders, citizens, and colonists on matters of war, state, and personal life. She was considered Apollo's voice—an untouchable, highly powerful figure.
While Kassandra and Alexios harbored a profound grudge against the Oracle for the prophecy that had torn their family apart, the thought of directly confronting or even troubling the Pythia was terrifying.
While the siblings were silent, Lukas directly voiced his concern, his tone worried. "Atlas, isn't the plan of meeting the Pythia a bit… bold? She's the voice of Apollo, after all."
Atlas, seeing their worry, smiled casually. "Can you relax? As far as I know, the Oracle is a service. We can meet the Pythia to ask her a question for something, as long as we pay their fee. It's just business to them."
Kassandra, Alexios, and Lukas looked at each other, utterly speechless at Atlas's casualty regarding such a sacred and powerful figure.
Atlas clapped his hands again. "Alright, it's decided. Let's go ask around for this Snake Temple."
The four started asking locals around the city for the Snake Temple's location, being careful to avoid the masked Cult Guards still patrolling Kirrha. After a quick round of inquiries, they finally located the temple: it was situated in the mountainous area of Phokis, near the Desphina Fort.
It was high noon by the time the four reached the location. They crouched down, staying low in the brush on a high ridge overlooking the temple grounds. From this vantage point, they could see the overall structure clearly.
The temple itself was less a structure and more a ruin—a place built around a shocking, immense artifact: the complete, skeletal bone structure of a giant serpent. Masked Cult Guards patrolled the area in noticeable numbers.
Lukas and Alexios, seeing the colossal bone structure for the first time, exchanged looks of surprise and awe.
"What a huge snake," Lukas whispered, looking intently at the skeletal remains. "It must have been magnificent to hunt a creature like that."
Kassandra, Atlas, and Alexios instantly agreed, momentarily forgetting their mission in their shared sense of wonder.
Atlas, however, was thinking deeper. He knew that in the AC World, these 'mythical' creatures were often created by the Isu—the advanced precursor race. He marveled again at the high technology the Isu race possessed to create artifacts that granted strength, control, and even immortality, and to engineer creatures like the Cyclopes, the Sphinx, and the Minotaur.
While Atlas was lost in deep thought, Kassandra called him out. "Atlas, how do we do this? There are too many guards to charge in."
Atlas snapped out of his thinking and looked at the Snake Temple. He activated his Eagle Vision, the world overlaying with bright, tactical information. He saw ten Elite Masked Guards: eight were patrolling the outside perimeter, one was guarding the entrance of a hidden cave, and one was inside the cave, likely standing watch over something important. Based on their uniform armor and helmets, they were all high-ranking Cult operatives.
Atlas quickly informed the three of his findings. While listening, Alexios and Lukas also activated their own Eagle Vision, instantly seeing the cave entrance and the single guard inside, information Kassandra clearly missed.
Alexios chuckled and whispered, teasing his sister. "You still haven't learned the Eagle Vision, Kass? It's normal that you see limited, while Lukas and I see everything."
Lukas also chuckled softly, enjoying the moment of one-upmanship.
Kassandra shot a look at her brother's punchable face, ignoring his comment. She swore silently that after this mission, she would seek out Atlas and dedicate time to learning the mysterious Eagle Vision.
Atlas gave them a look, ending the banter. "We don't have a stealth advantage. We can take out the outer patrols head on, the cave is our entry point. But we need speed. Lukas, Alexios—wait for my signal."
(PS: Please support me on patreon there 135+ chapters there and there also my new GoT: The True Dragon Fanfiction of Game of Thrones
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