...arrived at the gates of the Chordeliniae mansion, with drops of sweat beading his forehead.
The gates were wrought iron, linked by a seal bearing the sigil of House Chordeliniae. They swung open of their own accord.
He walked up the winding path to the doors, wary of every movement. The hill that the mansion stood on was full of dead trees with white flowers. Black birds of prey nested in them, and their eyes followed the man in the silver suit.
He knocked on the oak door twice. A butler opened it, leading him inside. The interior was warm and torch-lit, with portraits on the walls of winged warriors from ages past. The foyer led to another door on its far end.
The butler tapped his bony finger on the door. The voice that answered him was full of mirth. “Bring him in, bring him in!”
The butler opened the door, which led to some sort of grand office, a beautiful mahogany desk in front of a wide window that looked over a forest filled with the same trees from the garden. A lake could be seen in the distance.
The man in the chair turned around to face the man in the silver suit. He was a tall and dark with a close-cropped beard and fire in his eyes. “Sit, sit. I’ve been waiting!”
The man in the Silver Suit did not sit. “Nighthawk Exiodore. I’m from Section 8, the Federal department specializing in unnatural phenomena. With all that’s been going on lately with the apocalypse, we’ve been busy. I’m sure you’re aware of the increase in cosmic energy last night in this location-“
“Please, sir, I insist.” Nighthawk gestured to the chair in front of his desk. The man in the Silver suit sat, without breaking eye contact.
“Do you have any idea at what caused the outburst?”
“But of course.”
“Then you are obligated by law to tell me, and to allow me to search this dwelling for any evidence illicit activity, or I will be forced to bring you in or use deadly force.”
“Hmmm. Tell me, Mr....”
The man and the silver suit did not give his name.
“Mr. Silver, then. Tell me, sir, how much do you know about sin?”
“I never went to church. Too many gods.”
“Exactly! So many gods that under one god, something may be a virtue, and under another that same action may be a despicable evil! The concept of sin, Mr. Silver, is so ambiguous that not even the highest priest of Bernthal could give you a list of sins that never contradicts itself.”
“I am not concerned with the spiritual, only the law. Now if you won’t talk, I’ll be starting my search of this house...”
Nighthawk pressed a button on his desk. Immediately chains sprung from the ground and wrapped the man in the silver suit tightly to his chair.
“Lord, forgive him, for he knows not what he does”, the fifth Sin whispered.
He pressed another button. The floor beneath the agent’s chair gave way, and he fell into the Labyrinth below the mansion. It immediately began to move and shift, hungry for its first victim.
[spoiler]Prepare yourself for the next chapter in the Apocolypse. [/spoiler]