Auron struggled to get up, but with the help of the archeologists she came with, she was finally back on her feet. She felt dizzy, as she staggered for a few seconds, before she finally got her balance. She looked around to see everyone's worried faces. "Are you okay?" Lauretta asked.
"Yeah, I'm good now. Just a mild concussion, I guess," Auron said, with her hand supporting her head. She was still not up to full functionality yet.
"That's good to know. Let's get back to the rest of the mission," One of the archaeologists said. He was a tall, well-built man with a husky voice. He had a dark tan complexion, with dark eyes, but the rest of his features were hidden under his clothing.
"You don't get it, Arthur. That presence I just felt…we need to leave now and seal this place completely---" Auron said in panic but was interrupted.
"We can't do that. We won't excavate this site like you said, but we can't leave here without knowing what this place holds. There might be other things here too and PRIDE won't be happy if we came back empty handed," Arthur said. He was calm but his voice was rough. Auron felt greatly irritated. She was about to speak before Lauretta interfered.
"How about we start with what Auron felt? Auron, what did you feel?" Lauretta asked.
Auron paused for a moment, creating a lot of tension in the air. She was having doubts about telling them, but she knew she had to. Things were getting intense. "The hunter," Auron said, much to everyone's astonishment.
"The hunter?" Lauretta gulped.
"Yes. The most powerful of all the gods. And below him is something even more dangerous. I've never felt anything like it. I didn't even know something like that existed."
"So, the great Auron isn't all knowing. Or is it Liana this time?" Arthur goaded. It was his job to keep Auron safe, but it was also his job to keep her in check. That being said, he had never really liked her.
"This is a whole lot more serious than you're taking it," Auron snapped. If she had her way, she never would have worked for PRIDE. But it was out of her hands and she needed to do what she had to. "The goddess Heress is the most powerful god on our side and she's not yet been reincarnated. And even if she was, she is absolutely no match for him. If he were to come back and rally all the other gods together, it would spell absolute doom for us,"
"That is not my problem. Just do what you're told and we'll leave," Arthur jeered.
"Arthur!" Lauretta scolded. She was getting tired of the drama that was going on. "Auron, please ignore Arthur and wrap this up quickly. I'm getting really uncomfortable staying here now," Lauretta said. Arthur sneered as he walked towards the entrance of the tomb. It was his idea of giving them space. Auron sighed. She looked around, peering at the symbols on the wall. It was some kind of ancient language that everyone there wasn't familiar with. Well, everyone except Auron. She was well versed in all languages, a gift she inherited from Liana and everyone there knew that. Lauretta stared at Auron with scrutiny but her expressions said nothing. "You can read them, can't you?" Lauretta asked.
"Would you believe me if I said I couldn't?" Auron replied flippantly. Lauretta simply smiled. She knew what it meant, Auron didn't want to be disturbed. Auron examined the walls, scrutinizing every information it had to offer. She recognized the writings. They were hers. Liana's actually. Even though she didn't remember writing them, she knew how they got there, it was a manifestation of her seal. When she and Heress sealed all the gods, tombs were created on different parts of the earth. It was her way of making sure nobody knew where they were, not even her. And the reincarnation of the gods, meant her seal had started to wear off. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was, how did someone as powerful as the hunter, end up being buried over such a massive power source? It felt too much of a coincidence and what was that power source anyway? Knowing the hunter well, she couldn't help but think he somehow planned for this to happen. She kept on reading the inscriptions on the walls until she stumbled on something that startled her. She had the intention of hiding her emotions in the event that she found something alarming, but this was too much. Looking around, she realized that everyone had noticed the fear that exhumed from her face. And the ridiculous smirk on Arthur's face, showed that he knew more than he was letting them believe. His gloating look, irritated Auron down to her spine. "What is the meaning of this!" Auron demanded, glaring at Arthur.
"Why are you looking at me that way? Tell them what you saw?" Arthur teased, as he fought hard to hide his smirk. Even though it was blindly obvious to everyone.
"Arthur, what is this about?" Lauretta demanded.
"What's below us is a Taqah, isn't it?" Auron asked.
"Not just one," Arthur goaded. They were all flabbergasted.
"Did you say, Taqah? Aren't they supposed to be---" One of the archaeologists asked, the words barely coming out of his mouth.
"If you knew that, then why am I here?" Auron inquired.
"To prove their existence. We needed to be sure. I'm positive your generation never got to meet any, seeing as the gods before you completely used them up. But we need you to show us how to get them out," Arthur sneered.
"That's not what you told us. We spent years trying to find this place. And you---" Lauretta lashed out, only to be interrupted by Arthur.
"We told you want you needed to know. We needed you to find it and Auron to open it." Arthur cut in.
"And what makes you think I will?" Auron asked.
"Oh, you will. As long as your friends are on the line," Arthur smirked.
"That same threat? It appears I'm being belittled here," Auron grinned really hard. "So, what would you want with one?"
"Now don't start with me Auron. The Taqah are the most powerful energy sources. Even your god friends stole power from them. The more energy a god possessed from a Taqah, the more powerful he was. And your kind drove them into extinction. And now they're back. And before your kind has the chance to take them again, we will. We don't need you gods. We'll be gods unto ourselves."
"I'm not a god, petty human. I'm a Gifted! And don't you dare look down on us," With that, Auron waved her hands, creating a magic seal in front of her, that extended throughout the entire tomb. The tomb became lit and the grounds began to tremble. "Good luck getting them now," Auron teased with a mischievous laugh. And before they realize, the tomb was completely shut.
"What is the meaning of this!" Arthur was enraged. "You'll pay for this. You and the ones you're trying to protect will suffer dearly for your actions!"
"Wow, you've still got the nerve to threaten me? You're more stupid than I thought. Let's see who can last longer, a human or a gifted? Should be fun, don't you think?" Auron teased. The other archaeologists began to beg. They all knew the answer to that question. It wasn't even a question; it was more of a statement. But Arthur wouldn't budge. He bit his lip in exasperation, cursing violently under his breath.
"Come on Auron, why don't we talk this over, okay? I'm sure we can work this out," Lauretta pleaded.
"You're right. We can. But as long as it involves leaving Arthur behind," Auron said with a mischievous grin.
Out of thin air, a young man appeared. Everyone was petrified, save for Arthur and Auron. Arthur seemed to have been well aware of his presence and Auron was very displeased to see the intruder. He looked no older than twenty-five years of age, with auburn hair. His hair stood tall, defying gravity itself and it gave him an electrifying look. He had blue piercing eyes, making it hard to take your eyes away, once he caught your gaze. "That's enough, Liana," he said, with poise. His voice melted through the air, suddenly easing the tension that was once in the atmosphere.
But Auron was most displeased and it was very apparent on her face. "What are you doing here, Kai?" She said, spitefully.
"My, my, Liana, we're past this. Let's not fight over this. How about you do me a favor by letting them out? Seeing as you tricked me last time."
"And why would I do that?" Auron asked. Kai walked up to her and whispered something in her ear. Auron looked shocked to hear his proposal. She cursed under her breath. "And you're sure you can pull it off to the very end?" Auron asked. She seemed to have a very unconvinced look on her face.
"You know what I'm capable of. You decide," Kai said, confidently.
Auron paused for a moment. "Fine. I'll take your word for it," Auron stretched her hand out to him. He looked at her skeptically before taken her hand. It glowed for a second. "Now we have ourselves a deal."
"You've become so wary of me that you had to place a binder on me? You're the one who lied to me, remember?"
"Can't take any chances. Now I'm sure you won't go back on your word."
"What did you just do? I hope you're not planning on betraying us?" Arthur questioned.
"Is there no one that trusts me? I just got us out," Kai said as Auron reopened the tomb, much to everyone's relief. "Shall we?"