For a normal person the sound of their footfalls upon the stone stairway would have echoed down the tunnel, but for one trained in the art of stealth this was not the case. Gradually the air turned cooler, the stairs sloping gently to the right, limiting the kunoichi's vision to only so far ahead. Initially the going was dark, but Reiko's well trained eye was able to see how the deeper she went the more the stone began to glow gradually, until in time there was just enough light for an assassin to operate without great difficulty. Even despite this it was still very dark, as the glow was very faint indeed, and its exact source and nature a mystery. Perhaps, the stones of the ancient temple still harbored vestiges of its mystical energies, and this gentle light was the evidence of that.<br/><br/>In addition to their mystical glow the walls increasingly carried another visual curiosity as well; they were carved with gentle bas-reliefs depicting scenes of a forgotten world. Over and over again the motif was the same; young women being taken before the honored monsters or deities of a particular community, and being ravished upon an altar in a great public ceremony. Here one woman was shown in chains, her body grasped and molested by the many hands of a bizarre horned beast, and there another woman was shown tied to the altar itself while a sucking lips toyed with her full breasts. Most inexplicable out of all of this, however; was how in every depiction the woman was shown to evidently be experiencing a great deal of pleasure from the experience. It was clearly forced, on some level, but it would be inaccurate to say the women were shown as unwilling participants. And then there were the jeering crowds, drinking in the sights once considered sacred.<br/><br/>The light of Sol had burned away with a holy flame these ancient pagan rituals, enforcing in its people strict standards of purity and sexual restraint. The modern religion of Elysia, of which Reiko had learned a little, viewed these carnal rituals as perfect examples of the evil of the old gods. The incubi cults had all been crushed many generations ago, or at least that was the mainstream belief. Others insisted that the cults were still active, and would always be active, for so long as there are men and women there will be those who are tempted by the lust of the old gods, and the pleasure they can bring.<br/><br/>The stairs finally came to an end, and another archway led into a chamber of some size. It was at least twice as tall as Reiko in height, with carved pillars depicting intertwined lovers holding up a stone ceiling. Ahead of her rested an altar, and the faint glint of silver told the kunoichi that she had found her prize: a circlet once used by the those ancient cults in their rituals. It was so close now, only 30 or so feet ahead, but...<br/><br/>The temperature had dropped dramatically the moment Reiko had passed through the second archway. While it was true that it had been growing gradually cooler all while she had been descending, this was different, being far more sudden and dramatic. Reiko could see her own breath, and the well cut kimono did nothing to warm her shivering body. For a moment she could almost feel fingers run along her thigh, but surely that was a trick of her imagination. Or... perhaps this was a place where memories might manifest into a form all too capable of affecting the living. If she pressed on than it was certain that those shades would grow stronger, and more aware of her presence...