Giannis examined the obsidian door closely, searching for a way to go past it, to open it, to somehow reach the secrets held behind it. Running his slender fingers delicately across the finely-detailed engravings, he looked back in his memory for any hints that might have been given to him. However, there was nothing.
The face carved into the door did not mock or deride him. It watched, motionless and lifeless, as Giannis puzzled over his predicament.
After a minute of close examination revealed no further information, Giannis turned around to question his shadow-guide, the guide that had brought him on the long trek to the God-temple. However, the cloaked entity was not there! Shouting out in surprise, Giannis heard nothing in response but the echoes of his own voice reverberating off the rufous stone-lined walls.
In contrast to a journey marked by calm confidence, Giannis felt a small amount of panic seep into his demeanor, panic mixed with deep doom. He was now stranded inside the labyrinthine pathways of the temple, with no knowledge on how to navigate back to the entrance. Even if he did manage to escape, the chance was frighteningly remote that he would ever be able to find his way back to the dimensional portal that had served as his gateway into this dimension and onto this other-dimensional Earthlike world.
A soothing thought suddenly burst through the bubbling anxiety: he had reached the home of the God, surely the final step in his mission. There was no longer any need for a guide or a companion, as this was the endgame. His whole journey, or perhaps his whole life, had been culminating into this ultimate climax, and he had to experience it alone. The entity who had brought him both to his dimension and this temple had fulfilled its duty.
This thought brought peace to his mind again, and he revisited his task with renewed vigor. He had already tried placing a finger upon the multitude of vibrant gemstones which dotted the surrounding rocks, thinking that there perhaps was a hidden button or lever. Now he traced his fingertips over the lines of the carving, feeling their perfect geometrical precision. This, also, was an unsuccessful effort. There had to be a way in, but Giannis was stymied, and frustration took hold of him in the way that panic had threatened to just minutes earlier.
“I am here to learn,” Giannis said in exasperation, pounding a fist against the hard stone as he sunk to his knees. “I wish to have my mind broadened, expanded, filled! My struggle is over, and I await your guidance, great one.” He looked down at the floor, exhausted, feeling the human feelings that had seemed to abandon him in this dimension.
Suddenly, there was a great uproar, like the colliding and grinding of massive stones. Jumping back from the shuddering door, Giannis watched it slowly slide away into the wall alongside it. From the expanding crevice shone a bright radiance, brighter than any sun in the galaxy, more brilliant than the luster of the purest gold. It stunned his eyes into a squint, and he put up his hand to block out the steadily-increasing glare.
Now, the door was fully opened, and inside the God’s chamber, Giannis could see a dark, humanlike figure bathed in light.
“You made it, Giannis. I’ve been expecting you.”