They walked down the cave in silence as Nick looked at the stone in curiosity, wondering how this could help him. Every once in a while, he would look at Stella, noticing that her eyes glittered in the dark. He never had feelings for her but after that kiss, it sort of changed them. He became nicer and she changed herself, almost like she's softening herself. They walked in silence before she spoke.
"Listen, Nick I-" She said, when he kissed her, holding her head in his hands. They stayed in the embrace for a while before Hati and Mahdi finally arrived, seeing them. Hati looked away, covering her blush as Mahdi nodded, holding his hand out to her, who gave him a Arogian coin. They broke the embrace as Stella looked like a fish out of water. He nodded and walked away, leaving her confused and shocked. Hati walked up behind her and whistled.
"Now that is a man that you will follow to the depths of hell," Hati said, smiling. Stella gulped and nodded, following behind Nick as they made their way down the tunnel. When they reached the end, they saw a ladder that would bring them to the surface. He climbed up the ladder, pushing the grate off to reveal the ground floor, right under the statue. When they climbed out, they saw a staircase that lead to the top. Hati groaned and sat on the ground.
"Great, more stairs," She said and they set for the top.
***
When they reached the top, they saw the severed head of the Solis statue, lying at the bottom of the ocean. He looked at Stella and she nodded, pulling out the amulet of Prophetia.
"Sana!" She yelled, and they watched as the head floated out of the ocean, gallons of water falling off of the head and they watched as it fell into place, the rock repairing and a set of steps lead to the head. They climbed up it and it revealed an extravagant room with golden floors and crystal walls and in the middle, hidden behind a cage, were the eyes of Prophetia. They were sealed in a mask, the iris of the eyes pure gold. He approached the cage and placed his hands on it, looking at the eyes. Suddenly, he heard footsteps and he turned around, seeing Pax, who was smiling.
"Not much further now, Nick. Inside there are the eyes of Prophetia. The same eyes that the Totoribus ruthlessly pulled from Prophetia," She said, nodding at the cage. He walked around the cage as she started talking again.
"To keep their plan in motion, they need you back, Nick. They will stop at nothing until you return to Bellum," She said when he nodded, pulling his hand away from the cage.
"Bellum will have to find another to do his bidding," He said. She nodded and started to disintegrate in a flash of light as she smiled.
"I know you will set things right," She said, dissipating into light. He looked back at the eyes before he looked at Stella who just walked up to him, looking at the eyes.
"You did it," She said.
"No, we did it," He said, placing a hand on her shoulder. They looked at the cage before she started talking.
"How do we get in?" She asked.
"Good point," He said, letting go of her. He walked over to Hati and Mahdi, who were looking at the cage in confusion.
"Any of you find a way in?" He asked. Hati shook her head and scoffed.
"I can't get a stupid muzzle off of my face and you expect me to get inside of a cage?" She said, pointing at the cage. Mahdi pulled out his sword and walked up to the cage, slicing the sword across it. It bounced back, a blue force field surrounding the cage.
"It's magic, that's why we can't get in," He said, sheathing his sword. Nick sighed and walked around the cage, looking for a lock or a door, but to no avail. He went back to Stella, who was sketching the eyes inside of her journal. She closed it and slipped it in her satchel before she looked at Nick.
"Found anything?" She asked.
"Nope, found nothing. There isn't even a door on this cage," He answered, frustrated. Stella looked around until she looked up, facepalming.
"Look up, Nick," She said and he obeyed, looking up. There was a giant white crystal emitting a blue light around the cage. He facepalmed and pulled out his Kusaris.
"You gotta be kidding me," He mumbled, then he threw his blades around the crystal, hooking into it and pulled, snapping the tip off of the crystal. He then swung it around and threw it through the cage, breaking the bars and making a path towards the statue. They walked through the hole as they looked at the statue, feeling the power that radiated from the eyes. He walked up to it and grabbed the mask off of the statue.
"The Eyes of Prophetia, are finally ours," Stella said, smiling. He looked at them when suddenly, everything around him faded. He pulled out his Kusaris, looking around when the darkness faded, revealing a top of the mountain. He looked around, seeing that there was no sun, the ocean was half as high as it used to be, it reeking of dead fish, and coughing could be heard from miles around. He turned around to see a sword impaled into the ground. It had a beautiful ivory and gold handle with a steel blade that stretched almost three feet long. He looked at it in confusion when the blade flew into his gut. He dropped the mask and the vision faded, revealing everyone else.
"Be careful, Nick! You could break this!" Stella said, picking up the mask. He looked around, confused as he pointed at them.
"Did you see that?" He asked. They all looked at him like he was crazy.
"What are you talking about? You just stood there, looking at the mask," Hati said when the floor rumbled, Nick pulling out his blades.
"It's a trap!" He yelled and they ran out of the cage as a chunk of the ceiling fell in, crushing the cage. They ran when the floor underneath them collapsed, falling into the abyss.
***
Nick shook his head as he sat up, his head throbbing with pain. He looked around as the dust settled, looking for everyone.
"Hati?! Mahdi?! Stella?!" He hollered when he heard a moan. He turned around to see Stella pinned under a piece of marble, blood spilling out of her mouth.
"Stella!" He yelled, running up to her. He pushed pieces of marble off of her before he lifted the giant slab of marble off of her. He picked her up, blood spilling out of a wound on her side.
"Stella, stay with me!" He yelled when he heard laughing. He turned around to see the Tortoribus standing at the end of the wreckage, smiling brightly. In the middle of them, was Pax, who was bloody and bruised, her hands tied behind her back.
"I'm so sorry, Nick. When I learned that the Tortoribus were close, I came to warn-" She started when Lacrimae smacked her in the back of her head, knocking her to the ground.
"We have special plans for you, Pax!" He said, grabbing her by her hair. Suddenly, Sudore stepped forward, laughing evilly.
"After all this effort and you still fail?" She asked, smiling. Nick growled and dropped Stella, charging the Tortoribus when Sudore flicked her hand, coating him in the black substance. He then pointed the stone at the ground and a shadow appeared, taking his place. He ran forward as Sangius flew at him, grabbing the stone from his hand as more black substance coated him, freezing him in place. Sudore stepped forward and grabbed Nick by the chin, smiling.
"Come, we'll break him in the walls of Proceritas," She said, laughing. Lacrimae and Sangius grabbed Nick, dragging him away from Stella as she laid on the ground, bleeding, as Sudore stood over her.