Page 245 of Of Sins and Sacrifice

“No, but I am here to relay my gratitude for his influence on my development,” I say, adding some flowery language for good measure.

The door watcher does not seem convinced.

“What is it you are carrying?” He points at the basket in my hands.

“This is a gift for Lord Groyo. It is a dish I made specifically for him,” I add sweetly.

“If you do not have an appointment, you cannot go in.”

“I’m sure an exception can be made. Lord Groyo will be happy to see me and listen to all the lessons I have learned after our interaction.”

“No exceptions,” he states firmly.

“Not even for a princess of the House of Cryos?” I smile. “You should ask Lord Groyo first before turning me away.”

He ponders my words for a few moments before he disappears. In a matter of seconds, he is back.

“Lord Groyo will receive you,” he declares.

I let out a small sigh of relief as I follow the door watcher to the portal. He inputs the coordinates and as a light blue color swirls around me, my surroundings change.

A lush, green valley extends in the horizon. The sky is clear and perfectly blue—a stark contrast to Aperion’s usual semi-orange sky, whose hue is given by its two blazing suns. The entire landscape is picturesque and the main color palette is a pastel version of the vibrant Aperion colors. A sudden calm settles over me. I’m not sure if this is due to the tranquility of the environment, or if there is something in the air in the House of Moirai that takes away all my worries.

“Balabas will lead you to Lord Groyo,” the door watcher mentions as a wraith materializes in front of me.

“Thank you!”

The wraith’s ghostly eyes meet mine. “Follow me, Lady Minerva,” it says in a monotone voice.

We walk down a small, paved road that seemingly stretches for miles.

I try to interact with Balabas, asking some questions about the threads of fate housed within House of Moirai, but I’m greeted with a very generic, “I am not programmed to answer such questions.”

Wraiths are soulless beings with no mind of their own. Their only purpose is to serve the commands of the person who created them. Although they are not sentient, all wraiths derive their knowledge from the Source, which means they are a wealth of information if one can get them to talk. Sometimes, there are loopholes in how wraiths are programmed, and one can get some tidbits of information. But as I continue to rephrase my questions, it seems Balabas is not one of them.

As expected of a wraith from the House of Moirai, I think drily to myself.

We walk for minutes on end until a massive construction appears on the horizon.

As we get closer to it, my eyes widen in astonishment at the sheer size of it.

It’s a circular tower with the radius of an entire Aperite city. Though that’s impressive on its own, it’s the fact that it’s so tall, it brushes against the sky, with no visible roof in sight.

That’s hundreds if not thousands of floors.

“This is…” I whisper, more to myself.

Balabas promptly replies, “This is the seat of the House of Moirai, Lady Minerva. Lord Groyo’s lodgings are on the one thousand and third floor.”

“One thousand…” I trail off. “How many are in total?”

“An infinite number, just as there are infinite worlds out there and worlds not yet formed,” Balabas surprises me when it answers my question.

“Is that where the fates of souls are located?”

“Yes. They are arranged according to their place of origin.”

“By origin you mean…” I probe carefully.

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