Jashin and Idris stood on the other side of the door; there was a deafening silence as the two groups stared at each other. Kiari noticed the odd look of confidence radiating from them as they looked right past Marlin and Geier straight at him. Their gazes almost made him want to look away.
Behind the two, a pile of Kiari's grunts was knocked unconscious.
"Talk," Kiari directed.
Both Jashin and Idris held their hands up to the sky. The move surprised all three of them.
Jashin cleared his throat, "We've come to a decision. We will lead you to the Angel's Ring and let you take it."
Kiari's eyes narrowed, "You'll just let us? Why now?"
"We just don't want any more bloodshed. This used to be a peaceful village, and we want it to stay that way. Everyone is tired, hungry, and they just want their lives back."
Kiari was silent. He stared at Jashin, looking for any sign of deception.
"Hold on," Marlin said. "You think we'd trust this?"
Idris stepped forward, "We can tell you where it is and lead you to it. But only we can open the doorway."
"Elaborate," Marlin commanded laconically.
Idris shrugged, "Only people born of this village can open the doorway to the temple. It's just how it is. Don't know why; never questioned it. One of the people you guys killed would have known the reason…." Jashin put his hand on Idris' shoulder to quiet him.
"Listen," he said. "We don't want any more trouble. So can we all call a cease-fire?"
Both Geier and Marlin looked at Kiari for his reaction. There was a long pause, the nurse's words echoing in his mind. "Let's go," he finally said after glancing at the second-story floor.
Geier's eagles flew high above the two groups as they walked. Geier made sure they would alert him of anyone following them or any upcoming ambushes.
Fallen leaves crunched under Kiari's bare feet as he walked a few feet behind Jashin.
Jashin suddenly flinched and jumped to the side, Kiari's hand missing the back of his neck but wrapped around Jashin's wrist. "What is he doing? I let myself get caught off guard! We may have to screw the plan and fight right here," Jashin thought just as his hand connected.
Kiari's eyes were wide and unblinking as they stared into Jashin's. Idris reached into his pocket, his hands tight around his purple dice. Behind him, a sea-green wavy aura surrounded Marlin as he slowly raised his hands; one pointed at Jashin and the other toward Idris.
Kiari spoke, "Do you happen to know what a nitro-cell is?" His voice was calm and slow.
"A…what?" Jashin said, confusion flowing through his mind.
Kiari let go of his wrist, "Oh, never mind. Don't worry about it. Let's keep going."
Jashin stared at him, not sure how to proceed. "If you try something like that again, the truce is canceled. We will send an alert to the people who are inside the temple to destroy the ring."
Marlin glared at Jashin, 'He's clearly bluffing. He must think we're imbeciles,' he thought.
Kiari just gestured for Jashin to keep moving forward; eventually, he did. Kiari noticed that both Jashin and Idris' guards were completely up; he wouldn't have another chance. He would have to try it on Idris since he could only place one bomb at a time on a person.
Jashin continued to lead them through the woods toward the waterfall. Jashin had to yell over the roaring of the water. He pointed to the cascade of water in front of them, "It's right behind there!" Stepping into the shallow lake that led into Cassius' river, they all walked through the waterfall.
A massive boulder towered over them all on the other side. There was a small dry area to stand with the waterfall crashing into the lake a few feet behind them.
Marlin had a suspicious look on his face, "Are you trying to test our patience? We have been here before, there wasn't an entrance then, and there certainly isn't one now. Unlike you two, we aren't intellectually bereft."
Jashin produced one of the two coins from his pocket and held it up for everyone to see. "We use this to enter and exit the temple," he explained. He closed his eyes and concentrated, "Janus, open the door to void five." He threw the coin at the boulder.
The coin sank into the rock as if it were being slowly engulfed in quicksand. When it had been fully submerged, a standard white wooden door shimmered into existence in its place.
Jashin stepped to the side and gestured at the door, "it's inside this door."
Kiari's eyes narrowed, "You're going in with us."
"Yea," Geier said, scowling at Jashin.
Idris looked away, 'Yea, I knew they wouldn't make it that easy for us. It was worth a try, though.'
Jashin nodded and opened the door inwards. A grey, swirling vortex speckled with neon colors greeted them. With all possible caution, Kiari reached forwards, sticking his hand into the gray maelstrom. Warm air blew on his skin, like that of a hairdryer, as his hand passed through. The scattered lights of the gyre reflected in his eyes. He pulled back suddenly, looked to Jashin, and gestured for him to walk inside. Jashin did as he was told, disappearing into the bright haze with the rest following.
Kiari noted that it did seem to be a temple of some sort, but something was off. 'Dilapidated. Broken. Derelict.' All words that came to mind when he looked around; not at all what he expected from a supposed temple that holds enormous value to Cassius.
Marlin held his arm over his face and squinted, attempting to block the wind that came from all directions. He looked down, noting his feet weren't visible from the slowly moving cloud layer slightly below his knees. A bright light seemed to shine down from somewhere; he wasn't sure exactly where, as there was no spotlight or sun above them. Geier, who was next to him, knew—based on his instincts—that they weren't inside any building.
Long, thin, tan marble columns around them held up an invisible roof. 'Or maybe they're holding up the swirling gold clouds,' Kiari thought as he stared straight up at the ceiling. Some columns had cracked in half and lay on the floor. Others looked as if they had just been crafted earlier that day. As he looked around the area, Kiari noticed that the occasional elevation of the ground made it so dirty yellow cobblestone bricks stuck out from the clouds.
An acre away, the dark silhouette of a massive castle loomed. Its rusted golden gates and spires reached through the aureate clouds.
A low hertz note sounded from behind them. Kiari jumped forwards, spinning around to face the unfamiliar sound. The doorway was a steel elevator on the void's side, which dinged once more as the doors slowly slid shut and evaporated.
"So we're trapped in here," Kiari said, his voice hollow. He whirled around and faced Jashin and Idris, "What are you playing at? Where's the ring?"
Geier looked concerned, "My birds are still outside."
Idris took the purple die from his pocket and rolled it on the ground. Side six of six. He reached down and picked up a heavy green tortoiseshell shield wrapped with several leather bands and a long, thick wooden paddle, the edges of which were lined with razor-sharp obsidian. The weapon was sharp enough to decapitate a fully grown female Charcat with a light swing.
Idris looked up, a confident smile on his face, "Oh, this is perfect!" A purple aura surrounded his weapons as he stood to his feet. "The Aegis," he held up his shield, "and the Atika." He pointed the paddle at them.
Jashin had a furious look in his eyes, "You aren't getting out of here at all!"
Kiari grimaced; a look of disappointment crossed his face. "So you didn't keep your word," he said softly.
"My word? You and your people have killed dozens of my friends and family!"
Kiari winced, and his gaze fell at Jashin's words. "So, this is it then,"
"Yea, this is it, buddy!" Jashin lifted his hands forwards; energy coursed through his body, manifesting his signature orange arms in front of him.
Marlin stepped forward, his sea-green aura slowly surrounding him, "I could always tell you two had a death wish. We can call this a requiem for Kurt, killing you two guileless things."
Idris jumped above Kiari, using the momentum to swing down on him with the paddle. Kiari quickly moved to the side, the weapon slamming into the ground shattering the blocks where he just stood. Kiari's open hand shot out towards Idris' head, which he blocked, the explosion leaving a dark scratch on Aegis' surface.
Idris noticed water condensation appear on the inside of his shield. He opened his mouth to speak but felt the water flow down his throat and into his nose, slowly choking him while he swung wildly at Kiari, making sure to zone him away. It was as if he was wearing a fishbowl as a helmet—wherever he moved, the water perfectly stayed on him. The water bubbled as its temperature quickly rose.
Jashin launched himself at Marlin, who had his fist pointing towards Idris. Dodging Geier's wild slashes with his claws, he sent a hand out to grab Marlin and slammed him into the floor. Idris' water prison broke, splashing to the ground.
Marlin rolled to his feet, the water from his body perspiring from his pores rapidly forming around his right hand and feet.
Using the water around his feet, he launched himself towards Jashin, bringing down the typhoon in his hand.
Marlin's ability: Water's apprentice
Marlin has complete control of any water that comes from his body. He must constantly keep his stomach above or over eighty percent full. Marlin will continuously sweat out most of his ingested water, causing him to drink excessive amounts of water every day. Having complete control over water, he can utilize it for different things.
He may also conjure water in places away from him, but this requires much more effort at the expense of energy and time.
He must be in total concentration to use his ability; if he is distracted, it will deactivate.
Jashin tried to put his arms up to block the attack; his right arm felt much heavier than usual. He gave it a quick glance; a grey plastic device held together with tape and nails sat strapped to his wrist like a watch. A minor repeating tone, beep beep beep, repeated. A small screen with large red letters had counted down from 'five.'
Seeing the device strapped to his wrist, Marlin quickly hopped back away from Jashin, with Idris blocking another explosion from Kiari while barely missing Geier with his paddle.
Kiari had one hand opened, aiming at Jashin.
"Detonate," he said while closing his fist.