Chapter 13: The First Temple

Kiran walked naked through the Void.

The landscape was wrong in ways that made his head hurt if he looked too long. The sky was a dull, bruised gray with no sun, yet there was light, a flat, sourceless glow that made everything look slightly washed out. Strange plants grew in twisted shapes: tall stalks with translucent, veined leaves that pulsed faintly like they were breathing. Some flowers opened and closed slowly, revealing dark centers that almost looked like eyes. The wind didn’t blow in straight lines. It curled and twisted, sometimes warm, sometimes cold, carrying scents that didn’t belong together, wet earth, sweet rot, and something metallic.

There were no birds. No insects. Just the low, constant hum of the wind and the occasional distant sound that might have been a creature ... or might have been something else entirely.

Kiran kept walking. His paws were sore. His body still ached from the night before, from being knotted by the fake Farren, from being drugged while still tied. Cum had dried on his thighs. His cock was fully sheathed, no sexual desire at the moment. He felt sticky, used, and completely alone.

Then he saw it.

A massive blue stone temple rising from the barren ground like it had always been there. The stone was deep sapphire, veined with glowing silver lines that pulsed in time with his heartbeat. It had no doors, just a tall, arched opening that seemed to pull at him.

Kiran hesitated for only a second.

Then he stepped inside.

The world folded around him, and light stabbed his eyes.

When the light cleared, Kiran was no longer in the Void.

He was lying on a massive bed draped in silks and furs, in a chamber that looked like it belonged to a king. Golden light poured through tall windows. The air smelled of incense and warm skin.

Three male anthros stood around the bed, all of them smiling at him with soft, devoted eyes.