The moment Praetorian Guard Amphitryon stepped through the gate, he confirmed that he had fallen into a trap.
Psionic warnings flashed madly, dyeing the holographic tactical display blood red. He blinked and dismissed the sudden alerts.
The First Secret Regiment soldiers and Battle Sisters who had followed behind him in tactical formation had vanished. Before him stood an ancient wooden gate studded with countless bronze nails, wide open. Frost and snow covered the broad plaza, and snowflakes melted upon Praetorian Guard Amphitryon's golden armor. Beyond the long staircase leading higher up, a figure in black robes waited for him. Brass and firelight gleamed from the figure's fingers, while Psionic Rune tattoos spiraled upward from his wrists to his neck before finally biting into his carotid artery.
Praetorian Guard Amphitryon took one step forward, and the figure vanished. The mountain staircase that had been close at hand flipped outward around one point as its center. Matter cast forth by the sun became aurora high in the sky, then fell downward into the very top of the staircase. The stairs unfolded in a rotational vector that could not be measured by the Hilbert Space geometry of the Material Universe, far beyond the reach of calculus. There were no handrails or guardrails on either side. Every step meant leaving behind a lightless abyss and climbing into terrifying heights.
The black-robed figure was here. Aether Fire blazed violently within his body, and aurora shimmered behind him. Amphitryon strolled into the spacious courtyard and stepped onto the white marble path. Slick frost shattered beneath his weight and that of his Power Armor. At the end of the stairs, the black-robed man disappeared from his sight again. Praetorian Guard Amphitryon glanced at the time on his tactical display. He remembered entering this courtyard twelve seconds later,