Chapter 36: All That Is Gold
"I have good news and better news!" Weiss announced to everyone once his stolen memories were at least partially integrated. "The good news is, Neela and Verde had the exact kind of magic we need to get into the Lost Shrine. Even better, they gave me the ability to do something with-"
Weiss stumbled, biting his metaphorical tongue. This wasn't the right time either.
"The better news is," he continued. "There should be another Grimoire nearby. There is an old subway system leading from here to another research facility that specialized in transformative magic."
"Another Grimoire this close?" Nier frowned. "Isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence?"
"I wouldn't say so," Weiss replied. "Every facility we had visited before was close to each other. This one simply has a transport system."
They settled for a brief rest before moving out.
Weiss used the time to prod the magic bond between Nier and the Shadowlord a bit more before deciding to leave it alone, at least until they had dealt with the next Grimoire. He wasn't sure how helpful it would be, but more power and knowledge would certainly aid in his attempts to rewrite the spell.
Of course, looking at Kainé and Emil revealed some interesting things as well.
Kainé had an image of a Gestalt (that repulsive Tyrann, no doubt) hovering behind her back. His left arm and leg appeared to be merged with Kainé's, giving the limbs a melted, diseased look. And yet, Weiss couldn't see any bond between them like the one Nier had.
Emil had the images of his human body and the monstrous shape of Halua superimposed over his current form. All three were wrapped in chains that nonetheless didn't seem to impede their movements.
Weiss decided to leave them alone as well, even though he could almost decipher the spell allowing Emil to change shape. Once he got the power of the next Grimoire, then he would certainly attempt to do something.
This was an ultimate breakthrough, making him wonder what else he might be able to do with this power.
They were in luck: the subway system still worked, the generators requiring only a few drops of the Shadowlord's blood to power up. The ride was also uneventful if somewhat nerve-racking, since everyone half-expected the ancient technology to fall apart around them.
"Well, this is… different," Nier slowly said, studying their surroundings.
"That's one word for it," Weiss said, just as baffled.
Did they go the wrong way? Or was there a problem with memory integration? Because wherever they were, it definitely wasn't any kind of research lab.
Weiss looked at the huge cavern, glistening with gold. Twisted pillars supported the high ceiling, the numerous openings in it flooding the place with sunlight. Stalagmites grew from the ground, stalactites hanging above them like jagged teeth.
"It's not natural," the Shadowlord said, cringing back from sunlight. "Cave formations shouldn't grow like this."
"Too ordered," Nier agreed.
Yes, Weiss could see it too. All the pillars and formations were too smooth and too evenly spaced to be created by nature.
"You think it's the Grimoire's work?" Kainé asked, her swords already in her hands. She was always ready for battle. "You said they could transform things."
A low, hissing chuckle echoed around, accompanied by a light scraping sound of metal on stone.
"I think we're about to find out," Weiss muttered.
They inched closer to each other, looking around for their enemy. A glimpse of reflected light, a movement in the corner of the eye, a glimmer of gold…
"Look out!" Emil cried, raising a magic barrier. Something slammed into the shield, screeching and hissing in anger, and immediately jumped back, skittering up the side of a stalactite.
"What the fuck is this thing?!" Kainé yelled.
"Well, hello there, Zlato," Weiss murmured, looking warily at their enemy.
They looked like a giant spider, cobbled together out of paper and golden wire. Zlato hissed, clicking their mandibles, and raised their second and third pairs of legs, the joints bending in the directions they were hardly meant to. Magic gathered between the four tips, the barrage of crimson blasts flying everywhere.
The attack wasn't particularly successful, most of the blasts impacting the cave formations. The spider-like monster screeched again, their raised legs twisting and warping together, growing serrated edges and transforming into two long arms not unlike those of a praying mantis. Their remaining four legs bent and grew as well, until they resembled those of a grasshopper.
With a shrieking hiss the insectoid monster leapt into battle.
The unusually tough rocky pillars made it hard to maneuver, while Zlato took full advantage of the terrain, their incredible speed and agility making them nearly impossible to hit. Fortunately, despite their size, they weighted almost nothing, so the few hits they got in were barely more than scratches.
Only Kainé was fast enough to meet them on an even ground, but Zlato knew the terrain better and she didn't manage to do more than dent their metal limbs.
Completely sidelined, Nier resorted to methodically destroying the pillars to free up space.
Zlato hissed, noticing his work, and changed shape again. The paper wrapped around their wire-thin limbs lifted off, floating around in a swirling vortex. Their body compacted, the limbs disappearing, transforming into one solid flat mass. The paper whirlwind rushed in, attaching to the middle, and the metal cover snapped closed.
The golden Grimoire glowed with magic and the pillars grew again, filling the empty space.
"Hell, no!" the Shadowlord had enough of staying on the sidelines. A gigantic crimson hand he summoned curled into a fist and plowed into the growing pillars, crushing them into dust.
"Now that's more like it!" Kainé yelled, rushing in and slicing across the metal cover of the Grimoire.
Zlato crashed into the pillars behind them and Emil blasted them with magic, not giving them a chance to retaliate.
The Grimoire surrounded themselves with a magic barrier, but only trapped themselves between the remaining pillars. Forced into a defensive like this, Zlato wasn't given a chance to change the terrain again.
It didn't take long for them to beat the Grimoire into submission and Weiss tore out their golden pages, his world fading into white.
"You…!" she hissed. "I was the first one, the first to use magic! And now you come here and demand that I give all my power to you?!"
"I'm sorry, Zlato, but I need it far more than you do."
She laughed bitterly, "So you came here to kill me just because I have something you want?!"
"You attacked us!" Weiss snapped. His voice softened, "…You are dead, Zlato. You have been dead for a very long time."
She stared at him, her expression slowly crumbling, "That's right, I died and you didn't… So keep on living then. And… maybe remember me?"
"I will."
A/N: Amber, gold… What's the difference? It's still yellow. And again with the names. 'Zlato' means 'gold' in Serbian. Also, 'Zlata' is a Slavic feminine name, so I guess it's doubly fitting.