Many things had to occur before Gehenna could be entered, but the time to enter was approaching fast.
The ceremonies of the tribe were incredibly important. As a society that lived by tradition, they believed it absolute.
The events began three days before the day Gehenna appeared.
First came a tribute to the spirits, a ritual to request protection for the young ones entering their realm.
This took an entire day, and consisted of many tribal dances and ritual sacrifices where the best of the tribe's food and wine was burned at an altar while the entire tribe prostrated themselves around it.
On the second day, the actual entrants were all brought together.
Damien finally saw the other twenty or so youths who'd be entering the realm along with himself and Thalia.
They were brought together by the elders of the tribe and made to worship for a day.
Damien experienced many things he hadn't before.
The Gehenna people had many statues made in the likeness of their ancestors and the Ancient Gods of the jungle.
Once protection was requested from the spirits, prayers were given to those deceased to introduce them to their future generations so they could recognize each other in the Spirit Cemetery.
And finally, on the third day, everyone returned to their homes.
They remained indoors without contacting each other, staying in meditation and connecting themselves to the jungle.
Damien also used this time to meditate.
The reasoning behind the event was to clear away the trials and tribulations of reality from the hearts of the tribespeople.
Meditation to connect with the jungle, to tune themselves into frequencies only those ethereal forces could sense, meant reaching a state of selflessness.
That state brought one closer to truth.
It brought peace to the heart and mind.
Damien didn't necessarily feel such things from the jungle, but he wasn't as skeptical as he used to be.
He had personally experienced the jungle's spirituality on several occasions as he explored it on its own.
However, the jungle had not accepted him. For that reason, it never allowed him to truly connect with it.
Damien didn't mind. It was obvious for him to be treated the way it was treating him. If anything, the Gehenna people were the strange ones for being so welcoming.
Still, the rejection of the jungle was the main cause of his lack of comprehension in the past year.
How could he comprehend the laws if the law didn't allow him to see them?
Nevertheless, he meditated.
Even if he couldn't get much, he could still slowly make progress as long as he tried.
The night passed as everyone in the village partook in the traditions, and when the sun broke over the horizon again, everyone gathered again.
Damien and the rest were led into the forest under the gazes and cheers of the village people.
The youths were proud. Thalia had a serious expression on her face, but even she couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes.
They walked through the forest with the guidance of the elders, taking a path where they encountered not a single danger until they reached a clearing roughly ten kilometers from the village.
This location had an aura of spirituality that even Damien could sense.
"Here, Gehenna will embrace you. Sit down and meditate."
The Saintess spoke, motioning towards the center of the clearing.
Damien and the rest walked there and followed her instructions.
Once they were in a meditative posture, the Saintess raised her staff into the air and began chanting in an ancient tone.
The language she used was different from the ones Damien had learned, but it shared a resemblance that made it evident that it was an ancestor of the languages that existed in the current era.
The entire village had followed them here. They formed a circle around the clearing and watched as the elders raised their staffs behind the Saintess and joined her in her chanting.
Little bulbs of white light, like dandelions in the wind, rose from the ground and decorated the entire clearing.
Those light balls gathered together and flew into the sky before cascading down as a collection of auroras that beautifully lit up the clouds.
A hazy mist filled the air, blurring not only vision, but consciousness.
Damien kept his eyes closed and felt the changes.
He could sense space getting more and more chaotic, reaching a breaking point where it would swallow everyone sitting in the middle of the clearing.
'It's time.'
Within a few seconds, he would be entering that mysterious place called Gehenna, where, according to the Saintess, he'd find his destiny.
He readied himself for the transportation, sinking deeper into meditation until…
'Hm?'
He felt something enter his palm.
His eyes peeked open, and he subtly saw the movement of the Saintess' hands.
Along with the smile on her face.
It wasn't a happy smile.
What did that smile mean?
He wanted to check what she had given him, but before he could, he found himself stuck in the midst of a spatial transmission.
He gripped his fist, making sure the object wouldn't fall out, and allowed the energy to embrace him.
And, in a single moment almost completely hidden in an aurora of light, the group of twenty-something individuals vanished.
Silence reigned in the clearing.
The tribespeople looked at the Saintess, while the Saintess stared into the sky.
She brought her staff down slowly and turned around.
The expression on her face was now one of utmost seriousness, completely different from the one she sent Damien and the rest off with.
"Prepare for war."
Damien stood at the entrance of Gehenna. He didn't pay a single bit of attention to the realm. Instead, he took the token that the Saintess put in his hand in that final moment and read its contents.
The tribespeople got their weapons ready. Though Tiamat and Darius didn't understand what was happening, they prepared themselves as well.
The things written on that token weren't small tidbits of knowledge at all.
This cosmos was called the Sacred Abyss Universe.
The one Damien came from was the True Void Universe.
This cosmos was ruled by a being called the Dark God and his ensemble of lackeys, organized in a feudal hierarchy system.
And this territory where the Gehenna Tribe lived was ruled by a Count, a God that viewed lesser beings as ants.
These were facts that could've been mentioned outside.
Why did the–
"–FUCK!"
Damien roared when he realized it.
But it was already too late.
He was not able to tear through the realm and leave on his own without access to Existence.
It went just as the Saintess had planned.
"DAMMIT!"
He could only remain trapped here as she intended.
As she stood before the entrance gate to Gehenna, the entire tribe behind her, she smiled.
A terrible foe was approaching, carrying with him a terrible fate for the tribe.
But, everything would go as she planned.
All the pieces would line up perfectly.
No matter what happened as that great evil approached closer and closer…
…as long as she had any say in it, her tribe would not fall.
