69 What it all means

As it turned out, the bank head's name was Alexious Antonius.

He was a taller man of this time of about 5,10, with swept back black hair, brown eyes, and light olive skin, with a lean build.

He was maybe in his late thirties, and was the successor of his father.

Meaning he was raised to be a head of this bank from birth.

Which was fine with me.

I didn't care who the bank heads appointed as their successors, just as long as they did their jobs correctly, and didn't take from the honey pot.

"Uhh, h-hello s-sir." Alexious stammered, as he avoided my eyesight.

"Take me to your office." I said simply.

Turning sharply, Alexious guided me through the massive building, until we were on one end of the large building, on the top floor.

Entering large steel doors, I was met with what I could only describe as an exorbitant amount of wealth.

The office was at least three hundred feet long, and 50 feet wide, with a ceiling about 40 feet up, with a number of pillars leading to the end, where I could see a large opulent wooden desk, with an open balcony behind it, that let in fresh air.

The pillars were marble, and had solid Gold rings surrounding them, covering the cracks, to make them look like one solid pillar.

As we walked to the end, I looked at the large stone carvings that covered the walls, as well as the tapestries.

Finally at the end, we stopped in front of his desk, where two comfortable looking chairs sat.

Turning to look at me, Alexious spoke first.

"Would you like any refreshments?"

"No…I'm alright." I said.

Alexious gulped as I took a seat in one of the chairs without asking, and finally lowering my hood, to show the white stubble on my head.

"Why don't you take a seat Alexious?" I said, gesturing to the open chair.

Quickly he sat, and perched himself on the edge, Looking like a child about to be scolded by their parents.

"so…the Circle." I asked, looking him in his eyes, which widened slightly.

I'm sure he had been trained in keeping his facial features calm in situations like this, but the subtle twitches, and perspiration that started to cover him were all the signs I needed.

"Ah, you found out about that?" he asked sheepishly.

"So all of you were trying to hide it from me?" I asked, raising one of my brows.

"W-well not exactly farther." He said, raising his hands.

"That was never the founders intentions." He continued before I could tell him not to call Me father.

"The founders?" I asked.

"Yes, the original bank heads. Very nearly a thousand years ago, all of the bank heads came together to make the circle, here In Rome." He said, pointing down at the ground.

"Mhm, and what exactly do all of you do? Because I'm a bit confused as to it all."

Alexious chuckled.

"It would probably be best if I showed you." He said, standing to his feet.

Following his lead, we walked to one of the nearby pillars.

Raising his hand to one of the gold bands that circled the pillar.

Alexious moved the band to the side until there was a solid "clunk" that filled the room.

Followed by the sound of stone on stone.

Turning in the direction of the sound, which was about five feet in front of the desk, I turned to see that a staircase was forming into the ground, as the slabs of marble that once looked sturdy, lowered down to make steps.

'Geez, they even have a cool secret entrance.' I thought, as we started walking towards the stairs.

Entering the stairs, I saw that it was already lit.

"These stairs will take us right to the hall of records." Alexious said, as we descended.

"The hall of records?" I asked.

"It is where we keep all of the records of the circle and you father." He said.

"Could you stop calling me father." I said, as I ducked a torch. "I'm not much for it."

"As you command." Alexious said, not breaking his stride.

To my amazement, it took us nearly twenty minutes of continuously going down the stares at a good pace to finally reach the bottom.

Once we were out of the staircase, Alexious had to take a moment to catch his breath.

"That is why we only have two meetings a year. This trip can be hard on some of our older members." He said with a pant.

Looking around, I was greeted by the sight of a pair of absolutely behemoth gold doors, that were no less than thirty feet high.

I stared open-mouthed at the sight.

"Are those made of real gold?" I asked.

Alexious nodded, finally able to breathe normally again.

"Yes, they were built here in our own foundries."

"And how did you get them all the way down here?" I asked.

Alexious smiled.

"These doors were commissioned by the 3rd head of the Rome bank, when we were expanding the vault's to deeper levels. When construction was underway, a large cavern was discovered, which was turned into the hall of records." He said, walking to the gold doors and laying a hand on it.

"The opening was big enough for us to get the doors through, then set upright."

"Can it open?" I asked, as I pushed on the door.

"No, they are too heavy. And are not meant to, they are meant to be symbolic." He said, while pointing past me, to what looked to be three large plaques.

In multiple languages, like Sanskrit, for the bank head in India.

Then there was Arabic, for the bank head from the middle east.

Then lastly there was one in Latin, which the bank heads from England, Rome, and Alexandria could all read.

Reading the Latin one, I was a bit amazed at what it said.

"Gold doors, gleaming with unattainable beauty, stand as reminders of the tantalizing desires that remain out of our grasp. They beckon, yet remain forever closed, serving as symbols of the untouchable dreams and opportunities that challenge us to seek new paths and unlock the hidden treasures within ourselves."

Then underneath that were more words.

'Success and Achievements: These golden doors can symbolize the rewards of hard work and success, the achievement of goals, reaching a high level of accomplishment, and the fulfillment of dreams.'

'Opportunity and Abundance: these golden doors can signify opportunities and abundance that await you behind them. prosperity, wealth, and favorable circumstances. A gateway to new opportunities and experiences.'

'Transformation and Enlightenment: Gold is considered a symbol of transformation and enlightenment. These golden doors may represent a passage or gateway to personal growth, spiritual enlightenment, and self-discovery. Or signify a transformative journey or a new phase in life.'

'The Hidden or Valuable Knowledge: these golden doors may also symbolize hidden or valuable knowledge that lies behind it. And the pursuit of wisdom, education, or the discovery of profound truths.'

Then at the very bottom was one more thing that I read out loud.

"In a world consumed by greed and overshadowed by darkness, let us embark on a different path, guided by the light of wisdom and knowledge. As we navigate through the complexities of life, may we resist the allure of selfish desires and instead, strive to cultivate our minds and souls. Let us honor the legacy of our blood father, who walks the path of righteousness, and embrace the responsibility to follow in his footsteps. By choosing wisdom over greed, and good over evil, we can shape a future that is defined by compassion, justice, and the triumph of the human spirit."

I was a bit stunned. This was a lot more than I had originally thought it would be.

What I had imagined was a bunch of cloak wearing crazies, sacrificing goats to a massive altar of me.

But from what I just read, these guys pursue knowledge, and the balancing of the spirit.

As well as to strive for justice and peace.

Turning back to Alexious, I raised an eyebrow.

"So how do we get in?" I asked. Ready to see what was inside.

Apparently the way we would get in was a sort of test of the mind, where you had to find a way to open a secret passage.

At least that's what it was for new members.

But Alexious didn't bother putting me through it, and instead walked to the 3 large plaques.

And pressed down on certain words on each one.

"The Hidden.'he said, pressing that word on the Latin plaque.

"Enlightenment." He said, pressing the other plaque that was in sanskrit.

Then at the bottom of the plaque in Arabic.

He pressed. " of the human spirit."

As the words left his mouth, a rumble started.

Turning, I saw the stairs we had come from rise back up, to reveal a tunnel.

"Sneaky." I said with a chuckle.

"Wait, so there is nothing behind those doors?" I asked, pointing over my shoulder at the massive gold doors.

"Or is this tunnel just taking us around it to the other side?"

He shook his head.

"No, just rock. This tunnel will take us in the other direction."

I couldn't help but let out a laugh as we started to walk down the tunnel.

The tunnel was carved out of the solid stone, and looked to go on forever.

'I'm really starting to understand why there are only two meetings a year. This is Turning into a whole side quest of its own.' I thought to myself.

Finally making it out of the tunnel after only a handful of minutes and a left turn.

We entered a large room.

'The cavern.'I said, as I looked into the large open space that seemed to go on forever.

We had come out of the cave about fifty feet up on a ledge that zigzagged down to the ground.

And from where I stood at the top, I could see hundreds of shelves that held leather bound books, and scrolls shoved into them all.

All around the hundreds of lined up shelves, were large stone bowls that were carved from the earth with oil fires burning from them, being the only fires needed to cover the shelved area.

But further out, the light didn't reach, making it look like the shelves were an island in a black void.

"And what are all of these texts of?" I asked, turning to look at Alexious.

"medicine, languages, and anything we could get our hands on." He said, with a smile.

"as well as some about you," he added.

"Of me?" I asked, tapping my chest.

"There are stories about me?"

He nodded.

"Yes there are. Would you like to see them?" He asked.

"Lead the way."

It only took us a few minutes to get to the bottom of the stares, and into the bookshelves.

Finally making it to the center of the bookshelves, there was an opening where a large round table sat, but something else caught my attention instantly.

"What is that?" I asked as I came to a dead stop.

Turning to look at what I pointed at, Alexious spoke.

"That is you." Alexious said.

"I can see that, but what I'm asking is why there is a fifteen foot marble statue of me in the center of this room?"

"Well, you are the reason for all of this. Our guiding light" he said, his voice taking on that hint of worship.

Long story short, there were stories about me written from long gone bank heads who had met me, as well as stories from scholars who had encountered me on my travels.

Some of them were thousands of years old.

For hours I went through each and every one of them one after the other, as Alexious kept handing me more.

And to be honest I couldn't really remember much of them.

Sure I was smart and had a pretty good memory, far beyond a regular person, but there is also a limit to it.

That's why I had a very private journal that I kept hidden from even Jane and Julius, with things I needed to know about in later years, like the whole plot of the world I'm in, the name of certain characters, and all that.

Along with everything else I knew about the 21st century.

By the time I finished reading all the stories they had about me, I started to realize why this group that had formed around me, were the way they were.

To them I was the first man, created by God.

In the stories I was shown as an immortal person that sought justice, like when I ended up dealing with a number of the corrupt businessmen in Rome, even though I was using corrupt officials in Rome, to get rid of my competitors so I could make more money. But they didn't know about that. The story they had only showed the outside story that was created to cover up the real reason.

Or that I was someone that sought knowledge. Because I was seen stealing a bunch of scrolls from the library of Alexandria when it was burning to the ground.

Even though I had taken them to add to my own collection of items, and saw it as a waste to just let them burn.

Once I was done reading we slowly made our way back, and out of the underground library.

I didn't say a word the entire time, being too caught up in my thoughts.

'They actually believe me to be the person they wrote about. A good person?' I thought.

Finally exiting the stairs that led us back to the office, Alexious re-closed the stairs as I took a seat.

For a few more minutes I didn't say anything, and instead, I continued to think.

'Why should I care what they believe in or use to better themselves?'

So making my mind up I gave the approval to Alexious that he could continue all of this, but I made sure to leave him with a warning.

"When I came here today, I didn't know if I was going to kill you or not." I said, pausing, to let that float in the air for a moment.

"Then the rest who were involved in all of this." I finished.

I saw Alexious gulp.

"But…from what I have seen here, I couldn't be happier." I said, instantly seeing the relief of Alexious's face.

I kinda felt bad for them, they were using me as someone to follow in pursuits I myself never followed.

I never had a problem bribing a corrupt person to get what I wanted.

Or killing someone.

I wasn't a wise old man who gave advice about the cosmos.

I was just like any other person.

But this group of people use me as a figurehead, and a person to follow to better themselves. So who was I to get in their way of something they had apparently been doing for a thousand years.

Just as long as they didn't start doing any of that weird crap I was fine with their little book club.

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"Woah…that's three in three days, what's going on here!"

I decided to end this one here so I can start on the skips in the next chapter.

And thank you all for the support you have all shown.

It truly means a lot to me.

-BEAN-

Oh and I nearly forgot to add this.

Please check out some of my other works.

They are pretty good if I must say so myself.

Enjoy.

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