...One Month Later...
The bathhouse doors swung open, and William walked inside hastily, his footsteps echoing against the polished stone floor as the warm mist rolled around him. He had already been waiting outside for several minutes, and the patience he had maintained throughout the morning was rapidly disappearing.
"What is taking him so long... All the ministers are waiting...." William's annoyed voice trailed off as he looked toward the massive bathing pool, and the irritation immediately vanished from his face.
The entire pool had become completely pitch black. There was no reflection from the marble walls, no visible surface beneath the darkness, and not even the faintest trace of the water that had filled it moments ago. At the very center, however, a bright crimson light pulsed beneath the surface like an enormous heartbeat, each pulse sending faint ripples of red through the darkness.
