Author's Note: Konnichiwa! This little idea came to me the other day, and next thing I knew, it was done! I'd always wondered how Zel got the idea to go hunting for the Claire Bible, and also how long Xellos had been following everyone. Suddenly this little idea occurred to me. Let me know what you think!
To Find a Cure
By Kuroneko
He stepped carefully over the debris, the lighting orb over his hand the only illumination he had aside from what the stars could provide through the clouds leftover from the previous rainstorm. Through the silent remains of Sairaag he walked, the midnight tomb raider, mysterious and ivory-clad.
What was he doing here in all this mess? He was fairly certain that nothing in Rezo's lab could have possibly survived – that battle with Copy Rezo, empowered by the demon beast Zanaffar, a week ago most assuredly would have led to complete and utter destruction. Nevertheless, he was here, almost as if he was drawn to the decimated city like a fly to the light.
Zelgadis Greywers looked around to make sure he hadn't been followed. He'd parted ways with the others, but he was still very cautious. Certain that he was alone, he continued his way to the crater, and took a long and considering look at the wreckage below.
Surely there was nothing left. One quick look should have told him all that he needed to know: dirt, debris, and the remains of charred pages and artifacts, none of which could ever be restored. Still, there was something gnawing at him in the back of his mind, something that told him he needed to look.
Casting a levitation spell, he gently lowered himself to the bottom of the crater, the light orb hovering just above his head. When his feet touched the soft and moist ground, he walked amongst the wreckage, looking for something that might have been left intact.
It was a fool's errand. He and Lina had talked about the lab before they parted in Saillune – they both had concluded that there was nothing left to go back for. So what was he doing here?
He hummed a little to himself, feeling a bit out of character for the moment. It had a rather calming effect, he noted. It wasn't just the memory of Copy Rezo's power and the battle against him that Zelgadis suddenly found unnerving.
He couldn't help but feel that he was being watched.
"Ridiculous," he muttered to himself. Who would be all the way out here in this wreckage? Even Sylphiel and the poor few who'd escaped the destruction would not come near this place. The Sairaag of the future was being constructed a few miles south of here. This Sairaag was nothing more than a mass grave, and Holy Tree Flagoon was its solitary headstone.
In the pale illumination of the lighting orb, he saw little that interested him: a pink stuffed teddy bear with an arm missing and stuffing poking out all covered in mud, the dirty head of a doll, the remains of ruby-encrusted music box… all things Rezo had collected on a whim. Of the many charred pages and blown apart covers of texts, little was left decipherable.
He shook his head in exasperation. He knew it was pointless to come here. Whatever made him think there was something left to be found?
Zelgadis walked around a bit more in the damp bottom of the crater. There was more mud than anything else, and the ground sucked at his shoes as he went along. A brief gust of wind swept overhead, creating a chill in the crater. He barely felt it, but he shivered nevertheless – he was beginning to feel like a trespasser in this city of the dead.
"There's nothing here," he announced to the general destruction, and began to walk towards the edge of the crater, when his shoe struck something hard. Looking down, Zelgadis saw that he'd almost tripped over the remains of a bookcase from the library he and Amelia had wound up in after Eris had divided their group.
Against his better judgment, he stooped down and ran his fingers along the bottom edge of bookcase, where it sank into the mud. In doing so, he felt what he thought was the spine of a book. Surprised, he lifted the case remains from the squelching mud and pulled out the object.
He rubbed the mud from the cover and gave a start.
"This is…" the words trailed from his mouth as he stared at the journal in awe. Stunned was hardly the word to describe the chimera's reaction. Here in his hands was a journal, one of Rezo's journals, completely intact and hardly touched by the wrath of the Red Priest's vengeful copy. He knew it was Rezo's from the insignia on the front cover – it was one of thousands that he'd used because he said he liked the feel of it.
Zelgadis felt as though he had stumbled into a dream, and now would be the ideal time for him to wake up at the sudden realization that this was all taking place in his unconscious. Holding his breath as he turned over the cover, he expected the pulls of reality to snatch him out of this fantasy.
But awakening did not occur, and instead he found himself staring at the very familiar handwriting of the departed Red Priest.
Few people had ever realized that despite being blind there were many things Rezo could do. He'd used a spell to help him read with his fingers, and had taught himself how to write long ago when he was still young. Despite his current hatred toward his great-grandfather for his curse, Zelgadis had always admired Rezo's ingenuity and resourcefulness. In truth, he'd been the one closest to the somewhat enigmatic Red Priest. His handwriting and the book covers were only two of many things that Zelgadis could recognize without batting an eye.
With the light orb as his aid, Zelgadis sat in the mud and read along the familiar curving handwriting, too engrossed to notice the dampness of the earth seeping into his cloak and pants. What he'd found was a chronicle of all ancient texts and grimoires Rezo had ever heard of or encountered. Surely this would provide him with the lead he needed!
Overhead, above the wreckage, floating effortlessly in the night sky, a purple-haired man dressed in clothes indicative of the priesthood watched as the chimera rifled through the pages of the journal, taking the bait exactly as planned.
"My, my, Lord Hellmaster certainly is good at predicting the way people will act," he remarked to himself, cradling his staff in his arms. He opened his eyes to reveal amethyst shards pointing directly down at Zelgadis.
'And very soon, he'll find the information on the Claire Bible. He'll go on a hunt for this possible lead to a cure, and in turn will lead me to the real treasure…'
"Lina Inverse," were the words carried on the wind that picked up overhead, swooping down on Zelgadis as he hunted through Rezo's journal. He looked upward to see if anyone was there, but all he saw was the light of the moon flooding past the parting clouds.