Chapter 13...
"Hmmm." Drake said as he examined the trap door that Natsu and Mero fell through. After they disappeared, Erza thought it would be best if they brought the head historian on the dig sit to take a look and hopefully find a way to rescue Natsu and Mero. "And it activated right after you nullifyed the vain?" He asked Treya.
"Mm." She nodded.
"Is it possible they went further into the temple?" Eclair asked.
"Well, hard to say." Drake scratched his head. "The Gavil really were into making traps for those who tried to steal their relics and treasures. If they fell, who knows?" He shrugged.
"We must venture further in." Treya pointed out.
"Well, I can't say I don't agree. My only assistant is down there, and she's the only one who understands how these structures work." Drake said as he nodded. "I'll need a minute to grab a few things." He said as he went out.
"Hope those two are okay." Erza said worriedly.
"It's fine." Treya said. "They are Lost Dragon Slayers after all." She stated.
"..." Eclair was silent while looking at the trap door. "...You wouldn't die from this...right?"
Deeper in the Temple...
Natsu and Mero were walking down a long hallway. They were looking at all the wall paintings.
"I wonder if this is some sort of history?" He wondered.
"I think...we might be in the Hall of Memories." Mero hypothesized.
"Hall of memories?" Natsu was curious.
"Yeah. I read they recorded their history by writing long strips of paintings." She noted while they stopped to look at the picture of the sun.
"These guys were really obsessed with the sun." Natsu noticed. "..'Another glorious year for the tribe of Gopa. We bask in glory from the blessing of our god. The recent Emperor, Calibor III, has been granted the gift of the sun from the Element Master Kai'zin."
"You can read Gavil?" Mero was surprised.
"I was taught it, yes." Natsu said while looking further down. "Lets see...this was about 250 Years ago." Natsu noticed a timeline underlined over the section of the wall.
"Ah, this must have been wrote about the time the Gavil were still waging war against the other clans and tribes." Mero noted.
"Lets if we can find the latest." Natsu said while they walked down the hallway further.
"..Soooo, Natsu Dranigon, right?" Mero suddenly asked.
"Just call me Natsu." He said.
"Ah, yeah! Hehe~!" She knocked her head while smiling. "Mero Serene is my name."
"You said you were a dragon slayer right?" Natsu smiled as they struck up a conversation.
"A LOST Dragon Slayer to be exact." Mero said while putting a fist to her chest. "Yoma Endveil was my dragon. He was very very strong. And very, very smart." She stated proudly.
"You don't say?"
"Hai! He was one of the oldest of the Prime Dragons. And he was also a very nice dragon." She recalled.
"What kind of dragon was he?" Natsu asked curiously.
"He went by many names. But he was known as a Nightfall Dragon."
"Nightfall?" Natsu raised his eyebrow. "What kind of element is that? You absorb darkness or something?" Natsu wondered.
"Quite the opposite actually. My power comes from moonlight." She explained. She lifted a finger, and a white light shined from it.
"Moonlight?"
"Sorta a combination of Dark and Light elements." She explained.
"Huh. That's pretty cool Mero." Natsu said while smiling.
"Ahaha, really? That makes me happy." She scratched her head and smiled from the praise.
"Just a quick question." Natsu suddenly asked.
"Eh? Oh sure!" She stopped and listened intently.
"You absorb moonlight, which means you would have the advantage during night. But how does that work?" He wondered.
"Ah...w-w-well." She seemed to be embarrassed for her cheeks seemed a bit pink. "It comes into contact with my skin, and it's stored inside me...A-and the more skin that is absorbing it I get more powerful...so I go out in the night..um.." She fidgeted with her fingers while she looked away.
"Uh..Oh." Natsu blushed a little and realized why she was a little hesitant. "S-sorry, that wasn't cool of me to ask." He said while turning away.
"E-ehehe. It's fine. You just asked cuz' you were curious." She smiled innocently.
"Ri-right." Natsu said as he cleared his throat. "Oh yeah..I grabbed this while we were falling." Natsu said as he summoned her staff.
"My staff!" She realized. "I thought I lost it! Thank you so much!" She said as she gripped her staff tightly.
"No prob. It's important to you, all the more reason to keep it with ya'." Natsu said with a smile.
"Thank you Natsu! I'm sure Yoma would have scolded me if I lost it." She said happily as she put it on her back strap.
"I keep my things in a magic space so I don't lose them. Oh yeah, here. I'll show you mine." He said as he summoned his katana and held out to her.
"Dorruga?! You have one too!" She examined his sword with much enthusiasm. "My research says this can take in other elements and fire them in shock wave blasts. Yes, very nice!" She unsheathed it partly and stared in awe of the blade.
"This guy has saved my life on more than one occasion." Natsu said as he took it.
"You must be very strong if you can use this." Mero seemed to have a blank look. She then smirked and clenched her fist. She threw a punch his way which surprised him. He blocked with his hand, but he was pushed back by the sudden blow.
"What are ya' doing?!" He was shocked by her sudden attack.
"Sooowwy~! Just wanted to test your strength. You were able to see my punch. Hehe!" She smiled with a toothy grin.
"..." Natsu just sweat dropped and just couldn't understand her way of thinking.
"Treya-san is actually pretty tough too. Lost dragon slayers sure are strong!" She smiled.
"Back at ya." Natsu said as he hesitantly walked over to her.
"Well, I think we're almost at the end. The year is about 398X." Mero noted as they looked at the wall.
"What...is that?" Natsu asked. He and Mero stopped to look at a picture of some sort of large red-yellowish painting of a beast. It had wings and its arms out stretched as if it were reaching toward the sky from a temple.
"A dragon. But it has weird detail." Mero was squinting her eyes to try to make it out.
"Here." Natsu lit up his hand with blue fire and the majority of the wall had been revealed and they both gasped in surprise. It looked like the 'sun' was raining down destruction upon large amounts of people.
"Is that dragon...killing the Gavil?" Natsu wondered.
"Hmm." Mero wondered. "There is a lot more questions than answers. But from what this latest inscription tells us.." She pointed at a writing of some sort. "The wrath of the mighty Kai'zin smite almost the entire clan of Gopa. Calibor III has tried to dethrone Kai'zin with the hope of bringing independence to our people. But has fallen and has been swallowed by the light. Like a flash of a bolt of lightning, and a destruction that which would shake the very foundation of the grey heavens, with yet the tender warmth of the sun, Gopa has been nearly purged from the very earth. We, who have incurred the wrath of this God Being shall never forget his anger and judgement." Mero finished.
"Dark day for those guys." Natsu crossed his arms.
"Yeah. It must have been very terrible." She frowned. "All those people...all gone, just like that." She said while sighing.
"..Something wrong Mero?" Natsu asked.
"No, I just don't like the thought of unnecessary death. It makes me wonder how something with that much power decimates an entire civilization over one person." She said as she gripped her staff tighter.
"I agree with ya'" Natsu said while putting a comforting hand on her head. "Lot of things happen to people Mero. No matter how unfair it may seem." He said while she looked up at him. "I know a bunch of people who would kill someone without a care in the world. But one thing matters.." Natsu said "..Its about standing up to the other guy, and showing that you aren't afraid of facing him." She blinked. "Why do you think humans were taught dragon Slayer magic?"
"To fight dragons?" Mero thought it was obvious.
"Yes and no." Natsu said which made her confused. "My dragon told me the reason was because a certain number of dragons took pity on the humans, and opposed the mass murder of humans. They wanted the humans to be able to protect themselves, so they taught them their magic. But humans were much more ambitious, and wanted to use the magic to fight not just dragons, but use it for themselves."
"Really?" Mero was surprised to hear this.
"Yeah. Some sided with dragons, others just fought among themselves to prove that they were the best dragon slayer in existence."
"OH! Yoma told me that's how Lost Dragon Slayers were made!" She suddenly snapped.
"Right. But beside the point, the thing is there are two types of people in this world. If you were being beat down by someone on a higher level than you, and you suddenly were able to stand on the same level as them, would you fight them or become like them?"
"Fight them obviously!" Mero pumped her fist.
"Well, a lot of people have chosen to be like them, rather than oppose them." Natsu frowned a little. "But at the same time.." He looked at a picture of what looked like a man fighting the dragon. "..There will always be that reckless fool who'll fight for what's right." He smiled.
"Ohh.." Mero was slowly understanding what he was getting at.
"This Calibor guy that we read about, know which one he was?"
"Hmhmhm, the reckless fool right?" SHe chuckled.
"Exactly. And who are we?" He stood up and put his hands on his hips.
"Reckless fools!" She shouted.
"Ehehe..that sounded better in my head." Natsu sweat dropped in a little embarrassment as he chuckled.
"Mm'mm! If I had to choose between being a bully or standing up to him, then i'd rather kick his ass!" Mero declared.
"I agree." Natsu said with a smile.
"C'mon! Lets find our back up there!" She said and grabbed his hand and lead him down the hall.
Upper level...
This place must be centuries old." Treya thought as they walked down a stone passageway.
"Perfectly preserved too. Just look at this undisturbed structure." Drake said while examining the walls along the way.
"I wonder how far the two fell." Eclair asked.
"Oh, if I had to guess." Drake leaned back up. "Probably around five stories. I have a map Mero made awhile ago."
"A map?" Erza said as her and the others came to look.
"This can't be-" Treya shook her head in disbelief.
"Oh I assure you. Miss Serene can map out dimensions, sizes, perimeters, you name it, and she can make a blueprint of a structure around 95% accurate." He said with a smile.
"If the runt is as good at drawing buildings and floor plans, than we should be here." Treya point to the top of the temple.
"The Viewing Platform. We're at the very top. And if that trap door led down five stories, they should have landed here, the Hall of Memories...aaand the Death Pit." He pointed out hesitantly.
"Death Pit?" Eclair asked.
"Ah. A sacrificial pit. I imagine a hole with spikes at the bottom." He said with a sigh.
"I'm sure he did not fall on such a thing." Treya said insistently. "Knowing him, he probably saved the runt and has been trying to find a way back up."
"You seem to have a lot of confidence your friend has survived."
"Mate."
"Huh?"
"He's my mate." She made sure to state that fact firmly.
"Uh, right. My mistake." He shook his head confused. "Well, if by chance he and Mero survived, there should be a platform to witness the executions...here. Right into the Hall of Memories." He said while running his finger along the blueprint.
"Then we should make our way down there." Erza said as they all nodded. Treya and Eclair were a bit behind Erza and Drake who were discussing the history of the temple. They walked along side each other. Treya suddenly spoke up.
"I have a question for you."
"What?" Eclair asked.
"Why are you letting Natsu follow you everywhere?" She asked. Eclair just blinked and kept a straight face.
"He is helping me. Is that a problem?" She said a bit annoyed by her question.
"Apparently not."
"He's just doing what he wants." Eclair said with a blank look.
"Cut the act." She suddenly stopped and forced Eclair against the wall and trapped her there as she stared deep into her eyes. "It is quite irritating how he is able to go along with you when you clearly show no regard for his well being." She said coldly as Eclair was staring back at her.
"His well being is of his own concern. If he wanted to, he could have left me on a number of occasions."
"Then why don't you just tell him to leave? It's pretty obvious you don't want him with you."
"..." Eclair just remained silent.
"You think just because he is helping you, that you shouldn't have to worry about him?"
"He chose to follow me." She said as she felt Treya's finger on her chest.
"And I chose to follow him. And I choose to keep him safe even at the cost of my life. And I have zero tolerance for any blunder that will lead him to death by your selfish needs." Eclair felt like blade was forming in her hand.
"So? What are you waiting for? You seem to know more about me than I do." She said as he hair covered her eyes.
"Eclair! Treya?!" Erza called back.
"I want to know who I am. And either I die finding out the truth or I don't. Natsu merely wishes to help me find out. He promised me." She than glared back at Treya and got up in her face. "And I intend to hold him to it." She then brushed past Treya calmly and headed toward Erza and Drake.
"...That's why I hate you." Treya gripped her arm.
Lower level...
Natsu and Mero had entered a central room that was nearly empty. In the middle was a large alter like structure. It had a brass pole with a golden sun attatched to it.
"Everywhere I look there is nothing but objects or paintings of the sun. Seriously, just how obsessed were these guys with the sun?" Natsu wondered as he, and Mero examined the structure.
"Well think about it." Mero shrugged. "The sun is a great source of energy and power. Old legends say that the sun is the origin behind all life energy."
"Yeah, yeah." Natsu said while looking around the room. "I don't see anything that looks like a door."
"That's because there isn't one." Mero said which made him make a sound of surprise.
"What?"
"I mapped out this whole structure last month, and most of the rooms are separated by thick walls."
"Well then how the hell did they get around?" Natsu leaned up against the sun structure, and it suddenly flashed, engulfing the room in light.
Elsewhere...
(HUMMMM)
"Ack!"
Ahh!" Natsu and Mero had appeared in another room that was with in the temple.
"What just..?" Natsu looked around and they had appeared in another room with the same sun pole that was in the center of the room.
"I think we teleported...Ah!" Mero put her fist in her palm, coming to a realization. "That's why all the rooms were separated! These sun balls can transport you to another part of the temple! Oh boy, I gotta make an entry in my journal when we get back! This could bring a whole new understanding of how the Gavil-!"
"Uh, Mero?" Natsu interrupted her hype and was sporting a furrowed, confused look. "What is this room?"
"Huh?" Mero looked and her eyes widened in surprise. Natsu summoned fire and shot it at some torches on the walls. The whole room lit up and it seemed large and narrow, leading up to a large golden box upon a flight of stairs.
"I-I have no idea..I've never seen this part in the archives.." She stood next to him and they looked at the circular, decorated room. It was huge all right.
"Is this like a treasure room?" Natsu asked, noting the gold coins, jewels, and many exquisite goblets placed neatly around the box.
"No..." Mero seemed to be shaking slightly.
"Huh?" Natsu looked down to her.
"T-this is..!"
Higher level..
"Through here." Drake lead on and looked to a room just beyond the hall. The group arrived in a room filled with books and scrolls. Old candles were all over the floor and paper with strange writing was scattered about.
"This must be a document storage of some kind." Eclair hypothesized.
"It is in such a mess." Erza said while looking around.
"I cannot believe it. This is incredible. This predates the Fall of Karn and the Tribe Wars." Drake was in awe of how preserved the writing was on the books. "This could open up a whole new era of research! Please take care of not messing anything up!"
"...There's..nothing here...I'm not finding anything going back to 400 years ago." Eclair said while putting the books and scrolls down.
"...Wait." Treya said picking up one of them she carelessly cast aside. "This one is from around 389X" She unrolled the scroll. "... . .. ..Hmm."
"What is it?" Eclair asked her.
"You said you were looking for something related to 400 years ago?" Eclair nodded. "Well this looks familiar." She showed her the scroll and Eclair narrowed her eyes. She then widened them.
"The..Phoenix Stone?" She felt like her head was hurting all of a sudden and she fell to her knees.
"Eclair!" Erza rushed over to her.
"Are you alright?" She asked worriedly.
"Y-yeah..This is normal for me..don't worry about it." She said as Erza helped her back up.
"Maybe you should head back up-"
"I'm fine. I can move on." She said after walking towards the wall and leaning against it while panting.
"...Well, if you all are in agreement, shall we move on?" Drake asked.
"Yes." Erza said. Treya turned to Eclair and just stared. She was so weak it was irritating to look at. But her attitude made up for it. She wondered why Natsu was hooked with this cold-hearted woman. Perhaps he felt an obligation to keep her safe because she could not defend herself that well. She shook her head and just contemplated on the fact while walking on. Perhaps she would find out what would make the dragon slayer charmed.
"Treya.." Eclair said catching up to her. "What did..the text say?"
"It said the Phoenix Stone was once stored here. And it was used in something called the Haiz'Jo Hreen."
"What is the Haiz'Jo Hreen?"
"It could translate into three meanings, but it would best be described as Flames of Destiny."
"Flames of...Destiny?" Eclair wondered what this meant. For some reason it felt familiar to her. But the more she thought about it, the answer seemed more farther away. But they must have been on the right track.
"I think I found something!" They all gathered in the room at the end of the passage way and it had a sun on a pole in the center of the room.
"What is it?" Eclair and Treya arrived on the scene and Drake and Erza were staring at the sun ball curiously.
"What is this thing?" Drake wondered.
"A decoration perhaps?" Treya thought. "Its emanating a faint bit of magic from it." Treya said as she walked up to it. She then put her hand on it and suddenly it flashed.
Lower level...
"A what?" Natsu asked Mero again.
"A Sarcophagus. I think it's a special type of burial coffin." Mero explained.
"N..No way. This thing is like 20 feet long. What the hell did they put in here?" Natsu wondered. "Hmm?" He looked and saw a skeleton in ragged clothes clutching a book of some sort in its bony remain.
"Eeeww." Mero was slightly grossed out by the cracking noise it made.
"Looks like our friend here killed himself." Natsu noted. He bent down and saw another hand clutching a rather shiny dagger, thrust into his stomach."Rest in piece." Natsu said after grabbing the old book. It's hand suddenly fell off the wrist.
"Eek.." Mero made a disgusted look.
"Err, pieces." Natsu said before standing up. He opened the book and found out it was a journal. He flipped towards the recent entry and then flipped back a few pages. Mero came up to him and looked at it closely.
"Lets see..'I do not know how long I have been down here. I fear that no one was left alive after recent events. I don't think I can live much longer, I must look for a way to escape.'. Looks he was trapped down here." Natsu theorized. He read on. "It is as I feared. Only warlocks can access the Light Gates. I must consider that any attempt to escape is in vain. Therefor I shall put down what little I know about this room for any who ventured in. If you are reading this, my name is Ifreet. I was in charge of observation of the sealing of Kai'zin. What dread I feel for the chaos and destruction he wrought throughout the temple and surrounding area. I must inform you of what is left to say before I depart to be with my mother and brother." Natsu flipped the page.
"'The room you are currently present in is a prison. It was constructed for the sole purpose of sealing the wretchedness of Kai'zin's fury. He is not human, no, too powerful to be human. But he is not so mighty he has reached the level of a god. Kai'zin is a Element Master of the Sun. He is capable of breathing life into many living things, as well as taking it. Calibor III, has died in combat with the beast god, and what he had told me had come to pass. For he knew that he would not live to see a dawn of joy, but only destruction."
"This is sounding like a type of warning." Mero pointed out.
"The seal of this room is constructed from the Mana Stones that appear to be harmful to these God Beings. However, they would be rendered useless if Kai'zin were to leave the sarcophagus. The cover upon this indestructible slab of Mana Stone was made by a Element Master's flames. It required us to bring the Phoenix Stone from Corre-huh?" Natsu suddenly realized something.
"What is it?" Mero asked.
"This Phoenix Stone...I think Eclair was talking about it at one point when we were traveling." Natsu tried to recall.
"Oh! Then your friend might know what this means then!" Mero said surprised.
"I doubt it. She doesn't even know much about it." Natsu said with a frown. "That's why we came here. To see if she could find anything to jog her memory."
"Oh. I guess that makes sense." She said crossed her arms. "This is the first time i'm hearing of a Phoenix Stone though. What does the last part say?" She asked.
"Right..uhh.."...the Phoenix Stone at Corre. It required me to lure the great being into the temple. I managed , but it was at the cost of my life evidently. I can pray and hope this beast remains sealed inside. Should the seal break, I fear no force other than another God Being could stop him. Please heed my warning and do NOT release Kai'zin De`Folga for any reason. He will not tolerate being kept for so long in this temple. Should this happen, it will be more than the end for the Gapa clan, it could mean the end of the Gavil. I feel almost faint. I put my pen dowwnn-ope that youu-...erwell...' " Natsu finished.
"So...we're currently in a room designed for a dragon?" Natsu said after making the journal disappear in his magic space.
"A dragon of the sun..hmm. Can't say I've heard of such a thing." Mero shrugged. "Sun...Sun...I don't think a Sun Dragon exists, as far as I know."
"Yeah. I've studied dragons, but I've never heard of one that gets it's power from the sun." Natsu shrugged. "Well, lets keep looking around. I think we're bound to find the right...Light Gate I guess it's called." Natsu said looking for another way out.
"There's another room over here!" Mero called. Natsu went over to where Mero was. He then glanced back at the sarcophagus. He wasn't sure why, but he had this nagging feeling that told him to stay away from that thing.
"Natsu?" Mero came over to him. She noticed he was looking at the golden burial piece.
"...Nothing." He said before he walked towards the other room. Mero looked back and was curious as well. She shrugged and happily trotted off behind Natsu.
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P.S.
I'll have a profile for Mero soon! Just wanted to get her some more background before I do that!