The two of them entered into the room, with Richard in the lead. Steven, upon entering, scanned around the massive placement of the hotel-like room. The room was lit by golden lamps placed all around the walls, their warm glow reflecting off polished surfaces. It was built with extremely high quality, far beyond anything Steven had ever experienced. A massive king-sized bed sat in the midst of the room, positioned beside a finely wooden-furnished wardrobe, its surface carved with intricate patterns. The sight alone made Steven question whether this room was even meant for him originally.

Richard turned around to Steven, who was still lost in mesmerization. He understood this would be his reaction, after all, being moved from a poor, decent room into something as luxurious as this would have that kind of effect on anyone who grew up with nothing.

"You can glaze at the entire room as much as you want when we are done, but for now, I need you to listen," Richard spoke, his voice loud and firm with authority.

Steven snapped out of it immediately and nodded.

Soon enough, Richard continued, clearing his throat before stretching out the card they had gotten from Hart toward Steven.

"In this card is your allowance as an Awakened, which is five thousand Realm Credits. Then you will receive a monthly allowance of one thousand Realm Credits," he said, handing Steven the card.

Steven stared at it for a brief second before taking it.

"Now, with that much clear, I’ll explain how you enter the Sanctuary," Richard explained, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt slowly until he revealed his first two sigils. His eyes were then fixated on Steven, waiting for him to repeat the same action.

Steven noticed this, tucked the card away into his back pocket, then raised his own hand to show the single sigil marking etched into his forearm. He stared back at Richard, waiting for further instructions.

"You are going to tap onto the first sigil, in your case, the only sigil on your forearm and in your mind, you will command it to take you to the Sanctuary," Richard wrenched each word from his mouth with care, wanting Steven to take every single one as seriously as they sounded.

After a few seconds, he continued, his tone lowering slightly, "By any means, do not command the sigil to take you to the First Realm. If you do, you will probably end up wasting away your life."

Steven gulped at the explanation.

Do not command it to go to the First Realm, only the Sanctuary.

Damn it.

Knowing that bit of information made his thoughts drift entirely toward the First Realm, what horrors it held, what kind of twisted existence awaited those unfortunate enough to end up there.

’No.’

Steven shook his head sharply, ushering those thoughts away. He placed a finger firmly on the sigil on his forearm and, with a steadying sigh, wished for it to take him to the Sanctuary.

{Your request has been processed}

{Lobby: First Sanctuary}

{Would you like to enter the Lobby?}

{Yes} {No}

Steven lingered for a moment, his sight trailing toward Richard as though waiting for confirmation. After a while, none came, only silent, unreadable stares.

Steven gulped once again, then made his decision.

{Yes}

{You will now be taken to the Lobby}

For a moment, a brief but blinding light shone before him, its intensity so great that he was forced to close his eyes, raising his hands to shield them from the overwhelming brightness.

’What the hell...’

He slowly dropped his hands, and strangely enough, he was no longer in the hotel room.

Instead, he stood on hard marble ground. The entire place was well lit by some sort of ethereal light that glowed from the pure, white, fluffy skies above. In front of Steven were crowds of people moving up a wide flight of marbled stairs toward a massive Sanctuary mounted high above. Seven golden pillars stood proudly, towering over everything else, and on each pillar was a statue depicting different figures—each carrying different meanings, different presences.

It was an enthralling sight to the eyes, especially to that of a young Awakened.

"It’s like everything here is made expensive," Steven whispered to himself, stomping softly on the ground beneath his shoes, testing the quality of the marble as though it might crack.

Soon enough, Richard appeared right beside him. The man wore a tired, bored expression as he let out a yawn.

"Welcome to the First Sanctuary."

Steven nodded, his eyes scanning behind him to see what next beauty awaited there to compare with the sanctuary ahead, but all he could see was a path made entirely of marble and gold. It stretched endlessly before finally ending in nothing but thick white clouds, rolling and shifting as far as Steven’s eyes could see.

He turned back toward the large monastery, his eyes glinting with pride and a hint of curiosity.

"Shall we walk?" Richard suggested, taking the lead in a slow advance forward.

Steven matched his pace, walking right beside him as they ascended the stairs toward the Sanctuary.

"All the people present here are Awakened... mostly," Richard added, correcting himself at the end.

Steven barely paid attention, his eyes feasting on the breathtaking sights before him, so Richard continued nonetheless.

"There are other Sanctuaries out there, but that is for when you become Fully Awakened. When that happens, you will understand what these other Sanctuaries are used for, and where to find and access them from."

Steven nodded, already forming a good enough idea of what these Sanctuaries were and who they belonged to, piecing the obvious together.

These Sanctuaries belonged to the various Clans of the human race, and they were used to house each of their strongholds.

The two continued up the flight of stairs, finally reaching its end and stepping into a wide landscape that seemed almost too majestic to be real. The marbled floor glowed under the brilliant light of the Sanctuary. The golden pillars were now adorned with diamond runes that shimmered intensely, and the scent of the place was so rich and glorious that Steven’s nose felt as though it had been blessed.

"Wow... this is really insane," Steven commented as they continued walking through the magnificent halls.

Their target slowly came into range as a large gathering of people stood at a far-off distance from them—still not close enough to distract Steven from the overwhelming beauty of the Sanctuary itself.

He even entertained thoughts of himself owning the Sanctuary one day or maybe knocking one of the diamond runes loose from the pillars and escaping back to the real world with it.

Steven licked his lips as he recalled the price of diamonds.

He would be rich if he could pull off that stunt.

Before he could wander too far in his self-glorification, Richard nudged him on the shoulder, snapping his full attention back.

"Before I forget, do not make the mistake of activating your sigil again in this realm. If you do, you will be sent straight to the First Realm."

Steven certainly had no argument with that condition.