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I looked down at the Crimson Cringe and heaved her over my shoulder like a sack of dirt saying, “Let’s go. She isn’t exactly light.”
We reached the small inn fairly quickly, the receptionist at the desk looking surprised as we entered the lobby. I wasn’t sure which she was surprised it, that we had an unconscious person with us or the fact that I was carrying the unconscious person…
Maaya looked disturbed at the news when we told her, but Katsu didn’t look very surprised.
“I thought there was something strange about her.” He said idly, opening a can of soda.
“You look so concerned in the current events.” I said dryly.
“Is there something wrong with enjoying soda?”
“No wonder Kazuki didn’t put you in charge of Exodus or even Valkyrie.”
“Hey! What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Maaya,” I said dismissing him, “This is Nea she knows about the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw.”
The exchanged greets and Maaya asked,
“Are there any traps in the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw we should know about?”
“It’s a labyrinth.” Nea replied, “Unless you have maps, you should take a guide.”
“How much of a labyrinth?” I asked.
“Well, people have died in there. I’ve been exploring it slowly since I was little so I know the way to Alunia’s chamber. It’s locked, but the Key of Seventh Heaven would probably open the door.”
“How deep is the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw?” Maaya asked
“A few miles. Alunia’s chamber is at the deepest point, as I’m sure you’ve guessed.” Nea replied, “I can be your guide, if you want my help.”
Maaya, still looking wary, nodded asking, “How much will you want as pay?”
“Perhaps…” Nea paused, then shook her said saying, “No, I will not request any pay. It is my duty as an heir of Alunia to lead you there.”
“You’re an heir?” I cut in abruptly. “Is that what that clerk meant by you should rest, you have Lorcarsa?”
“Yes.” She replied, “When my parents were still alive, I was told that I would not live far past the age of twenty so I’m lucky to be here now.”
The only cure for Lorcarsa is Skyevi cell which could lead to Evi poisoning if not administered properly. The worlds came back to me, and made me think that all the people with Lorcarsa wouldn’t be able to have treatments with Skyevi gone, and it’d also obliterate Gaia’s main power source. I shook my head, dismissing it remembering if Alunia and Mayoninla were awakened the disease would disappear completely.
“Why weren’t you ever treated?” I asked.
She shrugged saying, “My parents didn’t have the money to go to Ragnarok for expensive medical services. With Skyevi’s time in this world ending soon, there’s not much of a point now.”
I exchanged looks with Maaya, who said, “If you could guide us to the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw you could come back to Ragnarok with us where you’ll at least be able to get some medical treatment.”
“I could never accept-”
“I think it’s a fair trade.” Another voice said upon entering the room. I looked up, surprised to see Kazuki. “Without the Soulslayer hidden in the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw we cannot defeat Trenxi to topple Twi-LIGHT, it would only be fair to reward you accordingly.”
“Kazu-kun!” Maaya said, looking relieved and a little surprised.
Rei shook her end upon entering the hotel room saying, “You shouldn’t be so surprised. You thought we were gong to let you have all the fun?”
I smiled saying, “Not for a moment. Such peace is unimaginable!”
Katsu shook his head saying, “Could there be more people in this room? It’s only outfitted for a few.” He turned to Niketa saying, “If you want, we could-”
“I have no interest in doing anything with you.” Niketa said before he could even finish asking her out. I though I heard him mutter, “damn…” but I wasn’t positive.
“I’m here for five minutes and you’re already hitting on women.” Kazuki sighed, even though I could tell he was kidding, “I was hoping you’d mature a little traveling with Akhy and her group. And you wonder why I never leave you in charge of anything. I didn’t even like letting you babysit Maaya when we were young.”
“When you were young.” Katsu retorted, “I’m still young.”
Kazuki smiled a bit saying, “What? The age gap between us is smaller than you’d like to believe, brother.”
“So you think.” Katsu said stretching.
“I hate to break up sibling rivalry,” I cut in, “But we’re leaving for the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw tomorrow, right?”
“Sounds good.” Rei said, “What time?”
“I think we should leave before dawn, such a large procession will draw too much attention if we do it in broad daylight.” I replied.
“You’re right.” Maaya added. “We should find a restaurant nearby for dinner than start getting ready. We’ll leave at four thirty tomorrow morning.”
The sky was only beginning to brighten on the edge of the horizon when our large procession set out. I didn’t like traveling with a large group, but I didn’t have much of a choice. Me, Cloud, Rei, Maaya, Rikku, Niketa, Nea, Katsu, and Kazuki were all going along. Nea was leading the way, with Cloud and me behind her more as guards than anything else because we had the most combat experience. Or at least, we’d has the most recent combat experience.
The entrance to the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw was in the rocky side of a mountain, hidden from view of passerby. Evidently, even though all the villagers knew of it they didn’t want it to become a tourist attraction, I couldn’t blame them.
Nea had me unlock the door with the Key of Seventh Heaven, and I was surprised at the scenery as we entered the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw. I’d expected a dark mine, but instead we entered crystalline halls. I slowed down, surprised to see the walls glittering with all different colors of the rainbow as our flashlights illuminated the way, but I didn’t slow the procession down because the others were also surprised.
“It looks like the Tear of Two Souls.” I said. “Same kind of crystal that reflects the rainbow.”
Nea nodded saying, “The Tear isn’t exactly the same, but it is very similar. Supposedly, the crystal walls are from Armayon. Although it could easily be a myth, it could be possible since Alunia is the minion of a god.”
As we continued deeper into the Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw, nothing changed much. It might have been all in my head, but it felt like the tunnels were getting smaller the deeper we got. It was just like the cathedral and the Neivila underground in the sense that even though it had been closed for years, the air was clean and fresh. The turns were also getting more frequent, I couldn’t help but wonder how Nea had memorized this.
Around noon, we stopped to rest for Nea was getting tired. She’d been too stubborn to stop sooner, even though she started getting short of breath half an hour ago. I was rather surprised even though she had Lorcarsa she was able to go so long without resting.
Maaya was talking with Kazuki and Rei, Rikku was flirting with Katsu (who seemed to be flirting back, although I didn’t have much interest), Nea and Niketa were talking, and unsurprisingly Cloud and me were left unbothered.
Maaya has been doing this a lot lately. I though, scowling slightly. She hasn’t been trying to be inconspicuous the last few times, either.
“What’s got you scowling?” Cloud asked idly.
“Nothing.”
“If it were nothing, you wouldn’t be scowling.”
“Wise ass.” I retorted, “The Kozxv lu Gsv Hovvkrmt Tlw isn’t exactly what I expected.”
“I was surprised too, not that I have any complaints about not having to go through another dark and dank mine.”
“The Neivila underground wasn’t dank.”
“The ones in Mazar were.”
“Neivila was the most recent though. And I doubt many of us here right now have been in Mazarain undergrounds. I’m not surprised there wasn’t proper ventilation in them though, Mazar always starves their citizens for a week or more to buy new weapons early.”
“Their determination to keep up with Ragnarok tech-wise was unhealthy.” Cloud agreed, “Since the rule of the country never left their imperial line, nothing really changed. I can’t help but wonder if any of the rules wanted to possess Skyevi to make the country better.”
“Hard to say. Ragnarok never really had any serious depressions since every country and city on Gaia runs off of the power Skyevi radiates. It’s pollution-free, but even the holding tanks of that power will just evaporate when Skyevi harmonizes with End of Time, and Ariest is reborn. They’ve been using divine radiation as a power source for a few hundred years now, they’ll have to revert back to solar, wind, and water power for a while before they can get refineries for fossil fuels functional. Even then though, the burning of coal and oil will destroy this world faster than any of these divine beings would.”
“There wouldn’t be any way to use Gaia’s power for a while?” Cloud asked.
“Maybe. Although we’ve been told it was just mistranslation and that’s why this planet was named ‘Gaia’ after the one that is to suck the life from this planet, I think there’s more to it than just that. I think Gaia does have some connection to the planet.”
“I forget who it was that said it, but didn’t we hear from one source or another that Gaia was sealed at the center of the planet?”
“I think so.” I replied, “It was either Skyevi, the priest, or Nea.”
“So it’s a possibility.”
“Unless…” I paused, “Trenxi said it when I gave him the fake Tear of Two Souls. If that’s the case, it was probably a lie because everything he told me then has proven to be bullshit.”
“It’d make sense though, it’d be a minor misinterpretation of ancient text rather than a complete one.”
“But the point of what I was saying, is that even there was a way to use Gaia’s power it could decay at the planet.”
“You think further ahead than most government officials in any country, you know that?”
“Was that meant as a compliment?” I asked suspiciously.
“Yeah, it was.”
“I still don’t know if that’s a good thing, though.”
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