Celestial Force Chapter One : Leo

I look down at the invitation in my hands. It bears the stamp of the wealthiest man in the solar system, and here I was standing in front of his tower. I steel myself for the unknown and approach the entrance.

Whisssh. The iridescent-silver door slides open, reacting to my presence.

I step inside.

The door closes. A slight shudder, and then I realize I'm in an elevator. Seconds later, the elevator stops. The door whishes open again. A robust looking butler stands outside the door, beckoning me inside with a bow and a flourish of the hands.

I step inside.

It's a large oval shaped room with no walls, only windows and a ceiling. Outside the windows was not a view of a city or of the sky, but of space. Within the room were a dozen steel booths, with only a single window on a wall of each one.

“Mister Smythe, I presume? May I see the invitation?” The butler asks. I nod and hand him the letter. He takes it and reads it over.

“Very good.” He pockets the invitation. “If you would follow me, then.” He says, twirling a cane I hadn't originally noticed.

The cane was gold and a large ruby sat atop, as the head. A red ring of light wove itself around the ruby like a ring around Saturn.

“Aren't you going to tell me what all this is about?” I ask, following the butler. He stops in front of a booth.

“I'm afraid I can't say just quite yet. The master left me a very important set of rules. He can be a bit... dogmatic that way.” He says to me, before motioning for me to look inside the booth's window.

I do.

It's dark inside, but there's just enough light to make out a large golden statue of a lion sitting majestically upon a raised pedestal.

The man taps the glass with ruby-head of his cane. A video clicks on within the window. It was three-dimensional, and stretched into the booth. Somehow, the statue was no longer there.

“This is the Zodiac of the lion, Leo. My master is fond of what the Earthlings of the past called, “Astrology.” This creature was considered the king of the jungles.” He says.

An animal appears on the screen. It lifts its head high into the air and releases a mighty roar. The video fades into another couple quick clips of the animal hunting and fighting with other animals of its kind. Then the video fades away, replaced by the dark room and the statue of the lion.

The butler taps his cane on the ground and starts walking towards another booth.

“If you would follow me, there's still eleven more to go. My master is quite generous after all.”