The Feast of Two Gifts

You enter a circular ruin of black-veined marble where two colossal tables face one another beneath a cracked dome. One table bears fourteen empty bronze plates engraved with divine symbols; the other groans beneath roast meats, jewel-bright fruit, steaming bread, wine, sweets, and fragrant herbs. Dust hangs motionless in the air, yet every flame leans toward the tables. Around the walls, a faded Olympian mural glimmers whenever someone approaches the food. At the center, a bronze basin waits beneath a sealed vault door, its keyhole pulsing like a heartbeat. Two small offerings, a bowl of apples and a jar of honey, remain apart from the other dishes.