The eerie quiet of the outside was swapped for a susurrus of hushed voices echoing through the halls of the Palace. The ceilings were taller than they had any right to be, extending far higher than the roof had reported from the outside. Amos' footsteps echoed across the expansive entrance hall. He looked around warily: Stairs, carpets, statues, and a single person standing absent-mindedly in the middle of the riches.
She was dressed in a smart suit. Black with gold trim. The lapels were pressed down neatly and a short black tie sat around her neck, also with gold trim. As Amos approached, he could see the woman's eyes were pure white. Not the milky cloudiness of cataracts, but stark. Bold. Striking.
Amos hesitated, but he was here now, so he said "Uh, hello. Excuse me?"
"Hm?" Despite standing in front of her, the woman hadn't noticed Amos until now. When her chalky gaze landed upon him she jumped. "Oh, an accident! You're late!"
"Late? What am I late for?"
Accident?
Amos watched the woman's eyes roll back in her head. They kept rolling and rolling, like balls that weren't attached by an optic nerve at all. She cycled through pupils like a slot machine - a slit, rectangular, a range of pure colours, stars, indescribable shapes - before settling on something resembling a human's eyes.
"The auction is about to start," she said, smiling with too many teeth. "Hurry along, now."
Amos felt the muscles around his forehead tighten. The beginning signs of a headache.
He made his way in the direction indicated by the lady and found himself in a grand hall that could not have possibly fit inside the mansion Amos observed from the outside. Things worked differently here, clearly.
Inside was a group of about 50 people - the source of the hushed whispers. They wore wildly varying garb, ranging from under to overdressed (compared to Amos' simple getup). Some wore religious vestments, others wore work clothes similar to Amos. Some were dressed in riches, some rags. They all met here.
The voices that reached Amos' ears were spoken in a range of tongues - most he couldn't understand. They didn't sound like anything familiar from his old life, either. A few members of the group appeared to have blue skin or horns or other variously fantastical features.
Along the sides of the hall were twelve large thrones - six on each side. They were each unique and appeared to be carved by or for giants.
I wonder if giants exist in this world...
Placed on the opposite edge of the room to the door which Amos entered was a grand stage made of grey stone: Slate. It was well-lit from an unknown source, even and warm. The wall behind it was an elegantly painted fresco featuring an orb with twelve stars inside, held in a cloaked figure's hands.
The woman from earlier - with the strange anatomy - stepped wordlessly into the light. From where she appeared was anyone's guess. One second she was not there, the next she was. The other people standing in the hall fell silent as she adjusted her tie.
"Apologies for the delay everyone," she said quietly, her voice carrying across the gigantic room with ease. "We can get started now."
There was a soft hum in the air. It started low, unnoticeable, then grew. It never became loud, not exactly, but it was there if Amos listened.
Power.
Amos wasn't sure when the figures appeared. There was no fanfare to signal their arrival, no pop or rush of air. It felt like they had always been there, sitting in their thrones and looking down at the lowly humans, but had only now chosen to show themselves.
"Supplicants, you will notice the arrival of the Rulers, Celestial Gods of their own Realms, Soul Shepherds and Blooded Immortals, Birthgivers and Lifebreathers, the Zodiac: Patrons of the Drai! Please give them a warm welcome to tonight's Total Solar Auction!"
A smattering of hesitant applause filled the room. One man wearing heavy robes jumped into the air and started whooping. "Praise the Rulers!" he screamed.
The woman on stage looked at him with a stern eye. Without moving a muscle, the man's skin fell off. It was like nothing Amos had ever seen. The zealot's largest organ dropped from his body like a towel, or a curtain falling off a rod. The skin crumpled around his ankles, revealing muscles wrapped tightly around his bones.
He began to scream. "WHY! WHY, RULERS! I DEVOTED MY LIFE TO-"
"Enough," said the woman on stage.
With a word, his mouth was sewn shut. The skinless zealot fell to the ground, the very air touching exposed nerve endings causing extreme pain. He screamed and moaned through a muffled voice.
"I said enough." The lady waved her hand and he was gone. She gave an exaggerated bow - almost mocking - to the figures seated nonchalantly on their thrones. "Apologies, Rulers. There's always one."
"Can we hurry this along, Keeper?" asked one of the figures - the Gods - in a rumbling voice. He cast a glance at his eleven counterparts on their respective thrones. "We all know who's going to get the Drai this time. And we were quite busy."
The lady - Keeper, the God called her - gave an even deeper, more sarcastic bow. "You know as well as I do, Lord Aries, the Eclipse takes what it will. We are outside of time here. Your preoccupations will wait."
Aries grunted.
"But you are right. Introductions are in order!" The Keeper straightened and indicated Aries with an open palm while addressing the throng of regular sized humans. "Supplicants, the twelve Gods that grace you with their presence will now take turns bidding on your souls. Only one may be bought. They will pay a price you will never comprehend. Should you be... unsuccessful, I will be forced to end your lives. These are the rules of the Eclipse."
Amos half expected anger, a clamour of voices arguing that they didn't ask for this - he certainly didn't. No one made a sound, remembering the skinless zealot that was writhing in agony only moments before.
The Keeper proceeded to introduce the Gods in bidding order. The reeling list of names and titles flew past Amos. His eyes began to spin, and he was only able to recall a few:
Aries, Lord of Mars. Headstrong and quick-tempered.
Gemini, Lord and Lady of Dorix and Dautera, respectively. Twin Gods; sly and cunning.
Cancer, Lady of the Moon. Kind yet mysterious.
Aquarius, Lady of Uranus. Adaptable and persistent.
Pisces, Lord of Neptune. Foretold and forever.
Xaemarra said a Drai's capabilities are determined by their star signs. These Gods must grant powers aligned with themselves depending on who wins the auction.
They also seem to rule over planets, but there are some names I don't recognise...
Perhaps the solar system in this world is not exactly the same as my old life.
So, it seems my patron would be Cancer, Lady of the Moon.
Mysterious... I have to make sure she picks me!
The Keeper flashed her grin packed full of teeth. Amos shivered at the sight of it.
"Let the bidding begin!"
Numbers flowed from the mouths of the Gods, fluctuating up and down, sideways and inwards. Words that Amos had never heard were shouted in faux desperation, flung as if it were a last resort, only for the same God to bid more and more when it came back around.
Eventually, Rulers began dropping out, unwilling to pay whatever eldritch price the Keeper was extracting from them. As they did so, their thrones became empty. Not one seemed happy to lose, but there was some relief (however miniscule) on their face at not having to pay.
By the end of it all, two Gods were left in the auction. Aries and Cancer.
The air between them was electric. All the mortals on the floor of the great hall were silent, heads turning as each Ruler spoke like they were watching a tennis ball go back and forth.
"Permanency!" Aries called with a desperation.
"Permanency and five full stores," Cancer countered.
"Permanency and ten!"
Cancer licked her lips, eyes searching Aries face. She saw that he was serious. Amos wasn't sure what about, but if Cancer gave up he was dead. The Keeper watched with glee.
Cancer leaned back in her chair and sighed.
The majority of the mortals had sat down with a weight heavier than any Amos had ever seen before. People whose patron had already dropped. The faithful who prayed to these very Gods. The people who scorned them but found their lives in eldritch hands. They were all condemned to die, except for those lucky enough to be born under Aries or Cancer.
To the Rulers, it was a matter of risk.
Amos thought of the scum from his old world who calculated the worth of a life in dollar value, who would kill to save an extra penny. He realised the Gods were no better than stock brokers.
It was at this point that Amos understood the lies of divinity. Why Emperor Maur detested them and the Drai - his Holy Purpose.
But he still had to live.
This wasn't his life, not truly. He couldn't just throw it away. He owed Amos that much. He owed Kien and Leila and Yakob and Ink and Plunket and even those demonic chickens back on the farm. Amos saw Kien's pale skin and gaunt lips and Leila's face in his mind - the look she gave him just before the Eclipse took him away.
He took a deep breath and looked up, preparing to fight for his life. He noticed Cancer's gaze settling on him. Something flickered across her ethereal, silvery face. Confusion or intrigue?
This is my chance.
"Wait!" Amos called out breathlessly. Images of the man without skin flew through his head and he realised how stupid, how utterly transgressive this was. "Cancer!"
She's watching me. She wants this.
"Please! I'll give anything to become your Drai!"
The Ruler of the Moon gave her full attention to the screaming Amos.
The Keeper's smile faltered, a flicker of annoyance crossing her features. She raised a hand to punish Amos and he felt his bones grinding against each other as her cosmic power touched his essence.
Amos screamed in agony, but he was alive enough to scream. The Keeper frowned. A miscalculation. Punishment for one soul in a body with two.
"Keeper," said Cancer cautiously, "this one intrigues me."
The Keeper dropped her hand, smile returning to her face. "Would you care to bid for him?"
"No. I'm clearly outbid here."
"Wait-" Amos started. His jaw was forced closed and the Keeper shot a murderous glare at him. He directed a silent plea at the Ruler of the Moon. She returned the look with a mischievous one of her own. A wink.
What is she planning?
Cancer stood from her odd throne - a low, wide seat of burnished grey material, one armrest lower than the other to create a sort of crescent shape.
"Look closely, Keeper," were the last words of the Ruler of the Moon before she disappeared.
"Aries wins!" Announced The Keeper, her jovial expression marred only by the slight crease in her smooth brow.
Everyone was waiting for the proclamation. They knew their fates were sealed the moment the Rulers of their Zodiac withdrew. The statement seemed to shock the mortals out of their stupour.
Several sagged further, trying to hide underneath the floor or carpets, some began to smash their skulls into the walls of the great hall. One mortal, driven to the point of insanity began to laugh. That was silenced by the Keeper immediately, no Ruler to stop her now. There were a small group rejoicing - Aries supplicants, presumably.
Lord Aries leaned back in his throne, satisfaction at the result of the auction radiating from him like a hot iron.
Amos' lungs burned. His pulse stuttered. He had to simply trust in Lady Cancer - that the Gods had a plan for him.
The Keeper clapped, a resounding sound full of delight. She was the only one.
"Payment received, Lord Aries. A most generous offer!"
She retrieved a thick, dusty ledger and began reading out names. It was in alphabetical order.
The first name called was Amos Aquila.
The other Aries supplicants moved forward to kneel at the foot of the Lord of Mars' throne. Amos stood in stunned silence.
Aries? My star sign is Cancer...
This must be part of Lady Cancer's plan!
"Send me the souls, Keeper," growled Aries.
"But of course, Aries, nine new Total Solar Drai ready to serve!"
The Keeper's eyes glazed over. One by one, starting at the end of the line opposite to Amos, the supplicants gasped as power rushed through their veins. The link was made between Drai and Ruler.
When the Keeper got to the end of the line, the frown returned to her face.
"Nine..." she mused.
"Keeper?" Aries was getting nervous.
The Keeper took a step forward, off the stage. The air fuzzed around her and she was standing in front of Amos. He gulped. Hard.
Her smile faded.
"You," she said, pointing a too-long finger at Amos
"Yes, Keeper?" Amos was experienced at pretending he belonged, now.
"How queer. Stand."
Aries rose from his throne. The air around him sizzled. "Keeper, tell me I will receive all I have paid for. Tell me I will receive nine Drai tonight."
"Hush," the Keeper said without even looking back at the Lord of Mars. She flapped a hand at him behind her back, and he sat down, ashamed.
Amos stood.
"Let me have a little look," muttered the Keeper, not really asking.
Her pupils dilated. Amos felt a chill slide down his spine. He felt something - unsure of what, exactly - enter the space between his very being. The empty space where atoms connected and molecules joined parted way for a sensation like a clammy hand pushing its way through his body and thoughts at once.
The sensation began rifling the contents of his self. Examining him. The Keeper stood face to face with him, the mortals watching with bated breath. Aries stewed on his throne.
She could kill me.
As if reading his mind, the sensation squeezed his heart. Blood stopped flowing for millisecond - enough for a shock. Amos gasped. There was a pressure behind his eyes, like fingers trying to push them out from behind. Pushing and pushing.
The pressure increased until something metaphysical, something in Amos' very psyche, gave way. His headache returned in earnest. The same throbbing, pounding pains he received when Amos original soul was trying to take control of his body.
Amos fell to his knees. He held his head in his hands, pressing to his temples. He bit his lip and squeezed his eyes. Dug his nails into his palms, letting blood drip down. Anything, anything at all to try and distract from the indescribable pain of that headache.
Pain.
Aries was leaning forward now, a wild look in his flaming eyes.
Pain. Pain. Pain.
"Well, now isn't that fascinating!" exclaimed the Keeper. She looked up at Aries.
"My apologies, Lord of Mars," she said sweetly. "It appears your purchase may not be singular."
PainPainPainPainPain.
Aries' eyes truly became a blaze then - from figuratively firey to literally alight. "Explain, Keeper." He ground his jaw, trying very hard to keep his tone even.
PAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAINPAIN.
Amos screamed.
"Explain yourself, Keeper!" said Aries.
The Keeper smiled - teeth stacked on teeth - watching Amos writhe on the ground. "This supplicant contains a second soul."
Aries rose halfway from his seat. "Impossible. You accepted my bid."
"I did."
"You received my payment."
"Correct."
"You promised me nine Drai."
"Yes."
"Bind him to me."
The Keeper finally turned to look at the raging God.
"I will, as per our agreement. You have purchased a soul and you will receive one. It is simply unfortunate that these souls cannot be separated."
Aries stepped down from his throne. "Keeper! Do not test me!"
"You forget yourself, Lord Aries," she said around that unwavering, disingenuous smile. "Sit."
He sat.
"The Drai is yours, but not yours alone. The process will grant both souls access to their mana. Inside the one body, there will be two Drai. Aries, and..."
The other Aries Drai pretended they weren't listening, but not a one made a noise.
"Cancer."