Chapter 18 Ignis

Halcyon's P.O.V.

I didn't know how much needed to change before things went back to normal. I was in the War Room with the other High Council Members discussing what needed to happen next. Rojo was laying on A makeshift bed that was made out of stuffed pillows with A spread of cloth that was covering his body all the way up to his chest. It took us until Twilight to make sure that he was going to make it. I tried to focus on what Venom was talking about; what happened on the mountain, but all I could focus on was the voice that was calling me. It was extremely faint, but it echoed in my head and took my concentration from what I was trying to understand.

"As I was saying, what we could do here is take A couple of boats armed with cannons and attack the castle from the South side"

Venom was explaining when I stood up from my seat. Venom's voice trailed off as I stood up. I got worried glances from the High Council Members as I stood up.

"What's the matter Halcyon?"

Rose asked me as I looked out the window that faced towards the mountain.

"I need to clear my thoughts"

I stated as I walked to the door. Just as I was extending my hand out to turn the doorknob, I stopped and turned back to the see the others standing in A row.

"I'm going to the Geology and Petrology District"

I stated as I turned back to the door and walked through it and shut the door behind me. I looked at the various campfires that flickered like stars in the various locations that burned where the town once stood. I sighed and looked up at the stars that were flickering like the campfires.

"Will everything go back to the way it was?"

I asked with A heavy sigh as I started my walk down to the beach. I felt for some reason that many things would change within A short time.

"I wonder what's going to happen with Emperor as well"

I told myself as I stepped onto the sand of the beach. I looked for any canoes that I could use. Usually, when trade would happen amongst the people, they would buy and sell or trade within their canoes. At the end of the day, they would leave the canoes near the water so they could go back to their trading again the next day. It was hard to see through the almost complete darkness, but I found A line of canoes that were in the sand. I walked over the sand and it made crunching sounds while I walked over it to the canoe on the rightmost side of the line. I materialized a fireball in my left hand as I looked over the edge of the canoe. The flickering light of the fireball illuminated the floor of the canoe. There was nothing in it, so I hopped over the side of the canoe and fumbled in the darkness for the oars that were supposed to be in the bottom of the boat.

"Where are those things?"

I asked myself with annoyance as I continued to be unsuccessful in my efforts. I was about to take another pair of oars from another canoe when I remembered something.

"The oars are kept on the side of the boat"

I said somewhat annoyed and frustrated to myself. I reached over the side of the canoe's wall and got the oars from the sidewall. I then got out of the canoe to look for any damages that would hinder my progress. For some reason, I felt that the High Council Members and the individuals I chose to keep Emperor contained didn't do the best job. I shook the thought away and I finished looking over the canoe. I then pushed the canoe into the water and just as it was about to be fully in the water, I jumped in at the last second. I almost fell out of the boat since it was rocking so much, but I was able to steady the boat before I fell out of it. I got the oars that were on the bottom of the canoe and got into the standard rowing position. I had not used canoes and oars much, but I was acquainted with them. I started rowing and I looked at the sparkling water that shone with the bioluminescence of the fish and the light from the moon.

"I've never really taken much time to admire the beauty of nature"

I told myself as some of the fish jumped out of the water. Taking my mind away from this, I focused on what my mission was.

"I need to find whatever is speaking in my head"

I told myself as I neared the back of the mountain on this island. I drifted on the waves A short while to rest my arms and to see if I could find the cave that was supposed to be on the back part of the mountain. I had to look through the darkness for A while to find the cave, but when I found it, I snapped my fingers.

"Got it"

I told myself as I picked up the oars once more. I rowed with renewed vigor now. I was excited and nervous to find out where this voice was coming from, but I felt that once I found out what this voice was attached to, it would become A critical part to combatting the evil we currently faced.

"Interesting thought"

I told myself as I rowed against the waves. As I did this, I thought Rojo and Emperor.

The Fire Element Chose Rojo for some reason and Emperor got the Devil Gene from Abyss. If Emperor got the Devil Gene From Abyss, that would make him his….brother?

I thought to myself as I was nearing the cave entrance, and fighting the waves was tiresome.

Genes are passed down from generation to generation, so how is it possible that Emperor received the Devil Gene if his mother didn't have it and his father, which was A close relative to mine didn't have it?

I continued to think as the waves became weaker. I stopped rowing so hard and settled into A steady pace.

If the fire element chose Rojo, there's still the Water Element and the Earth Element left yet.

I remembered as I narrowly missed some stalactites that signified the mouth of the cave. As I traveled over the water in the cave, I felt A strong presence. It felt...powerful and wise.

What could possibly have been here all this time without anyone causing any mention to it?

I thought as the front of the canoe hit something hard, jarring me from my thoughts. I turned around in my seat so that I could see where I was. When I looked at where I had landed, my breath was taken away with awe. My canoe had stuck in the sand, so I dropped the oars back into the canoe and jumped out of the small boat onto the sand. I looked at the cave in awe once more. Crystals were growing out of the walls in many vibrant colors that shone brilliantly in the night. Stalactites hung from the ceiling and they were covered with tiny crystals as well. The walls shone with Blue-Green bioluminescence that casted the same color on the floor with A soft glow of that color. I took some more steps and found myself at the edge of the sand. The ground after the sand looked like limestone. Then my awe was replaced with interest.

"This doesn't look like the work of nature"

I told myself as I found intricate drawings in the walls. I walked to the closest one and studied it. The drawing depicted individuals of my species bringing what looked like offerings to A large...animal of some sort. Whatever it was, it looked like A huge lizard. It was many times the size of the Assassin Lizards that lived on the Island Chain, but what was odd about it was that it looked like something I had studied A long time ago. I wasn't sure if the picture was drawn to scale, but I couldn't help that fact that it was drawn so large. I turned around and looked at the next picture on the opposite side of the wall. It looked like the same large lizard from the other side of the wall, but this time, it showed the same lizard with what looked like to be an orb that had many lines going around the outside of it.

What could this be? What are the artists that drew these pictures trying to say?

These were the questions that I asked myself as I looked at the drawing next to this one. It showed the same lizard with its wrist open. With its other hand, it was holding what looked like to be A single claw. The claw was depicted with an aura radiating from it; similar to how the light was coming from the bioluminescence on the walls. I turned back around and looked at the last picture that was on the wall. It looked like this huge lizard was fighting another individual of my species. The lizard had changed in appearance. From the normal lizard shape it once possessed, it now had large spikes coming from its back and the front of its legs, but these spikes faced up and away from the lizard's legs.

"What changed from the last point to this one?"

I asked as I looked at who the lizard was fighting. The bioluminescence started to flow slowly down the wall and settle in the lines that the artist drew. It was something to marvel at. The artist was able to use nature and their imagination to display beautiful drawings! Right after this, I heard A low rumbling sound. The ground shook with the energy that the rumbling was emanating. I looked for an area of cover just in case that the stalactites fell from the ceiling, but I couldn't find any. I then saw what looked like to be A door with A small overhang. I bolted to the door and put my back to it to make myself as little as possible. The shaking gradually stopped and the door opened and I fell backwards. As I was about to hit the ground, I backrolled and got up. The door had shut again, so I looked around. I was in another cave. It was significantly larger than the area I was just in. more the of the bioluminescence that I saw out in the mouth of the cave was present here as well. There were no stalactites, just stalagmites that poked out of the ground in various areas. As I studied the area, I saw more of the pictures of this lizard in the cave area that I was in. my attention was then drawn to a large mound in the center of the room. I walked around the stalagmites and stood myself in front of the mound.

"Fancy meeting you here"

A voice said to me. I growled.

"What are you doing here?"

I asked the individual behind the mound.

"I'm here for the same reason you are"

The voice said. The individual walked out from behind the mound. I was astounded by the physical features of this person. He had long skinny legs that supported A round body that was topped with A human head that had A strange projection of hair coming from underneath his nose in both directions. He also wore goggles that covered his eyes. He had A black shirt with A Red overcoat that was adorned with Gold buttons. I took A few steps back and almost tripped on A stalagmite as I got into my fighting stance.

"I have no idea who you are, but what I do know is that you're not here for A good purpose"

I said as the figure dug in his pocket for something.

"Looks like you need to chill out!"

The individual said as he brought A weapon from his pocket and fired it at me in one swift motion. I ducked under the blast and materialized DeathBringers.

"You're going to lose if you fight me here"

The figure said with an evil laugh. I tensed up. The individual was right. I relied on speed and power to neutralize my threats. I needed A way to fight this individual without expending too much of my magic energy. Besides the individual that had me in check with A weapon, I felt A stronger presence in the room with me.

What else could this be?

I asked myself as I considered my options.

I could try to pick one of these stalagmites out of the ground and use it as A weapon, I could use my DeathBringers as stepping stones to fight on, or what I else could I do?

I asked as this individual started to speak again.

"My name is Doctor Ivo Robotnik, and now that you know my name, you're gonna be terminated!"

He said as he put the weapon in his pocket and brought out another gun.

"This is my prized possession; my mobile Jupiter Cannon"

He said. A chill went down my back.

What's A jupiter cannon? What's it capable of?

I asked myself as I looked at the thing. It looked like A short and wide metal rod with A cage near the muzzle of the weapon.

"You think that's enough to beat me?"

I asked angrily as I chose one of my options.

"I sure hope this works"

I told myself as I jumped on the nearest DeathBringer in time to see the area where I was melt into magma.

"For wanting me to chill out, you're A little hot headed"

I told him as I nearly fell of the DeathBringer I was on. I stood on the hovering DeathBringer and crossed my arms.

"What exactly are you trying to get from here?"

I asked him as my eyes were drawn to the muzzle of the gun. It was an angry Red color that sent wispy smoke of Black color from the metal. Robotnik laughed.

"I'm here to harness the power of the legendary creature that rests here for Master John"

He said as he charged another shot. I sighed.

"I understand that there's A very powerful being here, but why do you want it so bad?"

I asked him as he fired another shot. I backflipped from the DeathBringer I was on, to another one close to me as I watched Robotnik put another hole in the wall.

At this point, it seems that Ivo isn't going to stop doing damage until he gets whatever is in that mound, or i'm dead

I thought as Robotnik dropped the cannon on the ground and yelped in what seemed to be pain for some reason.

"Now Fire!"

I commanded the remaining DeathBringers. I almost hit the ceiling from how wide the DeathBringer I was on opened its mouth. I watched the streams of energy erupt from their mouths and impact the ground right where Ivo stood. The DeathBringer I was on disintegrated and I fell to the ground, right next to A stalagmite. I assessed the current damages. Numerous holes were cut into the walls by the "Mobile Jupiter Cannon" that Ivo possessed, most of the Stalagmites on the floor were scattered around the floor of the cave in shards, and dust littered the floor.

"I thought you were against defacing monuments"

I hear A familiar voice say. I turned quickly to see who it was.

"What are you doing here!?"

I hissed to him. The sounds of metallic clinking resounded in the cave as the individual stood himself next to me.

"You're supposed to be in the dungeon. How did you escape!?"

I asked wildly as I looked around. Emperor laughed.

"No cell can contain me Halcyon"

He said as he took the Reborn off of his back.

"I'm sure it was the Devil Gene that helped you"

I muttered to myself as I saw Robotnik emerge from behind the mound of rock with another weapon.

"If I can't hit you with something big, I'll just hit you with many small things!"

He said crazily as I looked at the weapon he was holding. I looked similar to the weapon he had previously. It had many long and short shafts that started to rotate at A high speed with A high mechanical whirring sound that hurt my ears.

"Halcyon!"

I heard A voice cry as soon as the Weapon's muzzle started to flash rapidly.

I'm not fast enough to dodge all of these bullets.

I told myself.

These are my last moments. The only regret that I have is that I never told Emperor who he really was

I told myself as I turned to see who it was that had called my name.

"No...It's not possible!"

I watched as the Pink scaled individual walk past me at A normal pace as time seemed to slow down all around me. I followed her steps with my eyes while standing place as she casually walked around the bullets, occasionally flicking one to the side. She stood herself in front of Ivo and studied him for A second. Then she strolled back to where Emperor and I were standing. Emperor was already in the air readying his sky impact attack. The pink individual grabbed Emperor by his leg and he froze in his stance. Then, she put him under her left arm and carried him to the wall. She set him against the wall and brought me to where she put Emperor. She then walked to the middle of the cave and snapped her fingers and everything went to normal speed once again. I watched in fear as the bullets were blasted from this machine. I wanted to cry out in fear, but I was in A freeze spell. I had no choice but to watch the bullets go around her as she neared Ivo. I saw the muscles in her arm tense up as she stood in front of Ivo. at this point, Clicking sounds went through the area. Ivo glanced nervously at the gun and then to the pink individual that was in front of him.

"You're very lucky that I'm in A great mood today, otherwise, you would've been dead by now"

She said angrily. Ivo opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

"Scram!"

She yelled. Ivo flinched and dropped the weapon. He ran around the mound and as he emerged around the other side of the mound, I saw him drop something behind the formation. He ran out of the cave and that was the last we saw of him. His departure was signified by the the sound of something that sent some water into the cave. It was then that I could move again. I fell to the ground hard and Emperor fell on top of me.

"Get off"

I growled as I pushed myself up from the ground. Emperor rolled off of my back and he rolled to his feet.

"Oh, no"

I heard him quietly moan as he saw the Pink individual.

"What's the matter Emperor? Lily here just saved your life!"

I said as I turned to him and scolded him. He buried his face in his hands.

"That's just what I'm complaining about"

He said with his voice muffled by his hands.

"And what's wrong with me saving your life?"

She said as she walked to stand by Emperor's side

"You should be thanking me Emperor"

She said as she put her hand on his shoulder.

"I'm going to thank you for saving my life, but I'm not going to let you...you know"

Emperor stated flatly as he shrugged off her hand. He walked to the mound that was in the center of the room and stood himself in front of it. I looked at Lily.

"He just doesn't want to admit he likes you"

I said as I walked over to her and gave her A sympathetic hug.

"I guess"

She said sadly with A sniffle.

"Who knows, maybe one day he will like you"

I said with A wink as I let her go and walked to the mound in the center of the room.

"Do you think that whatever it was that was drawn on those walls out there is the thing that's buried under this rock here?"

He asked as he tapped the rock with his knuckle. It made A somewhat hollow thumping sound every time his knuckle hit the rock. Suddenly, I remembered something. I walked quickly to where Emperor was standing and stood next to him.

"Do you remember what Ivo dropped behind this mound of rock?"

I asked him as time seemed to slow down once again. I saw A huge and extremely bright flash of light fill the room momentarily. Emperor seemed to be moving much faster than the slowed time for some reason. Lighting fast, he drew the Reborn off of his back.

"I'm not going to let anyone else die anymore!"

He shouted. His shout echoed off of the walls and in my head as I saw the Reborn glow A yellow color and the Symbol for the Sacred Art Armor appeared in the eyes of the weapon. Emperor swung the weapon and just as the shard of rock from the explosion was about to hit me, an orb of Yellow color formed around me. Just then, the speed of time returned to normal and the shards harmlessly bounced off of the shield that was around me. It was then that I saw what exactly Robotnik had been searching for. The shield remained around me for about ten seconds before it disintegrated into dust. I heard Lily walk over to stand on my left side and all three of us looked into the small crater that was left in the center of the room.

"Is that?"

Lily started. Emperor nodded.

"According to the text that I found on the walls, it seems that the name of this creature is Ignis"

He said as the lizard that was portrayed on the wall became somewhat visible.

"Ignis huh?"

She asked herself. As soon as she finished her sentence, the lizard broke the surrounding rock that bound it and raced up the side of the hole, swept Emperor and I off of our feet, and I saw it slam Lily against the wall. Lily went unconscious upon impacting the wall. Emperor was already on his feet.

"Ignis has Lily against the wall by her throat Halcyon"

He stated as the Reborn flashed Yellow and then went back to glowing the Blue-Green color it did when an art was not being used.

"I would advise taking caution rather than an aggressive approach"

I stated as I shook my head and stood up. The artists who drew this creature were not joking about its size. It was about as long as three of our average sized individuals and looked very intimidating, yet, I didn't feel anger coming from the creature. I felt...fear and restlessness.

"What have you done to my resting place!?"

The thing yelled at Lily. it was then that I saw the nails on this creature. They were long and curved at the tips. They were similar to sickles by how they looked.

"You have desecrated my sacred resting place! You'll pay for this!"

The lizard continued yelling at Lily.

"I don't think that she can hear you...whoever you are"

I said. The lizard looked from yelling at her and looked at me while still holding Lily against the wall.

"Who are you and what is your reasoning?"

The lizard asked angrily.

"I am Halcyon, and my reasoning is that she is currently unconscious"

I said carefully. I had no idea what this creature was capable of, but I thought that seeing this was only the beginning of its power.

"Unconscious?"

The thing asked as it dropped Lily and scrabbled over the floor to stand itself in front of me.

"Can you explain to me what this unconscious is?"

The lizard asked as it looked around cave. I sighed.

"I think that you've been asleep for A very long time"

I said as I watched Emperor drape Lily over his left shoulder.

"How long have you been at rest?"

Emperor asked as he walked over to stand next to me. The lizard looked up at the ceiling and tapped A single claw against its chin as it thought.

"I've never thought about measuring my years"

It said as it focused on Emperor.

"What's that on your back?"

It asked as it rotated Emperor with only one claw.

"It's A weapon called the Reborn, and I would appreciate it if you didn't touch me"

He said angrily and with annoyance. The lizard returned to its resting position.

"According to my thoughts, I would've been alive for about 10,000 years, or 12,000 of your revolutions"

The thing said. Without missing A beat, the thing asked another question before I could open my mouth.

"How did you know my name?"

It asked as it focused on me now.

"There were some pictures on the wall that depicted you"

Emperor stated as he shifted Lily to his right shoulder.

"I believe that they are called pictographs if I am not mistaken"

I said as the lizard scratched its head.

"I see that the both of you are very attentive to detail"

The lizard said as it stopped scratching its head.

"What else was drawn on the walls?"

Ignis asked as it looked around once again. I looked at Emperor and he returned A somewhat worried gaze.

"We saw something that looked like you take something out of your wrist"

Emperor started. Ignis looked back at Emperor.

"Is that true now?"

He asked as he flipped his front left foot to reveal un upraised portion of scales.

"What's that under your scales there?"

Emperor asked. Ignis laughed.

"Unfortunately, I can't tell you that at this point"

He said as he flipped his foot back over.

"I can feel concentrated elemental energy confined to the area near your foot"

I told Ignis. Ignis twitched.

"How can you feel magic, most specifically Elemental Energy?"

He asked quickly as he put A single claw on my chest. I wanted to back away, but that would show fear.

If I were to show fear to this creature, who knows how much it will try to take advantage over me?

I thought as I looked to see one of the eyes of Ignis. The eye was A base color of Yellow, with A Red vertical slit pupil. I could see the Black capillaries that ran through the eye. Ignis blinked, and I could see A thin third eyelid cover its eye moments before the creature completed its blinking action.

"I am currently studying Elemental Energy, and I want to understand how it works"

I said, but Ignis stared blankly at me and I sighed.

"In the most simplest words, I can feel it because I use it"

I said as I looked at Emperor. He had put Lily on the ground next to him.

"If you can use magic energy, why don't we see it?"

Emperor asked as he reached for the Reborn. Ignis scratched the floor absently, causing sparks jump from the tips of his claws.

"I can tell you that if you listen to A story"

He told us. Emperor looked at me and I nodded slightly.

"Very well, you might want to sit down for this one"

He said as he lifted his right foot. Two circular stones that were flat on the top appeared close to where Emperor and I were standing. As Ignis started to speak, we sat on the stones.

"A long time ago, I was nothing more than An orb of magic energy. I floated around in existence until I wandered into A volcano. As Magic Energy, you can't feel anything, but I was somehow able to feel the area around me. At this point in time, the magma in the volcano had somehow fallen out from underneath the rock base it had been resting on. Since the Magic Energy form I had taken was too heavy to be lifted, I fell into the hole where the rest of the magma had gone to. I soon found myself being compressed by immense forces and after some time, I wondered if I was ever going to be able to find A way to the surface. More years passed and the magma around me started to crystalize. My hopes were starting to fall. At this point, A great earthquake took place, and along with the current state of my Magic Energy, I was able to form A body. Then, right after the earthquake, I was swept away by A river of magma. As I was carried along, I was constantly hitting rocks that were sticking out underground. This made my underside very tender and soft, but after getting battered for some time, I eventually came into this world when I was casted out of A volcano by an eruption that could be seen for miles around. Soon after I was casted out of this volcano, I noticed my body was very different than the other that had found me. I was found by individuals like you. They spoke A different language that you speak here, but they started to worship me for some reason. They understood that I could use Earth Magic, but they didn't know how I could do it. After some time, they gave me A name after one of their elements. This element was fire, but I didn't understand why they named me Ignis. After meeting with the leader of the tribe that had found me, I asked him why this was. He told me that he had named me Ignis because he saw me come out of the volcano in that eruption. He also then told me that the top side of my body was extremely strong. He could also sense great magic potential in me as well. After he explained these things to me, he told me that he had thought my name came from the way the top side of my body was formed. He then showed my how the tribe had made bricks using clay and the

heat of the sun. after showing me these things, he told me that if I was going to use their land and resources to live, I had to do my share of work. So they used me to dig holes, plow land, cut away rock formations, dig tunnels and tell stories to those who would listen. I didn't understand why I was needed to tell stories, but I later found out that telling them stories made them legends among the tribe. After some more time, I had gained the trust of the tribe. The leader called me to A mountain that he often went to. There, he told me that he was very happy and impressed with how much I was helping out the tribe. As an act of his gratitude, he gave me the object that you saw that was near my hand. It was something special that he wore around his neck when he went to ceremonies. Soon after this, I heard A commotion down in the town. The tribal leader and I raced down to the town to see and individual that looked similar to Emperor here. The only difference was the he had Black scales, not Green. He was breathing fire, tearing up houses and destroying the monuments and statues that the tribe had made of me. I wasn't too pleased with this individual, but I thought by telling him to stop, I could stop the destruction I was seeing. Words couldn't get to this individual for some reason, so I resorted then to what the tribal leader had given me. I had to cut myself to release the item from my body, but when I took the item out, I saw the tribal leader get impaled through the chest with one of the Black scaled individual's arm spikes. His last words to me were these: cut off one of your claws so that you may awaken your true power. After he said this, the individual ripped the spike out of his chest and tossed him to the side. I was overcome with grief and hatred. I wanted revenge and I vowed to myself that day if I ever was found by someone that looked like my tribal leader, I would pledge my allegiance to him with my very life. Most of the town was destroyed by now, and the individual was about to leave, so I ripped one of my claws out and put the new claw in. as soon as I put the new claw in, I felt A rush of energy and Magic Energy. This Purple and Pink orb formed around me and the wind picked up around me. As I was in this orb, my body changed. I gained more mass, spikes grew out of my back and legs, and my body temperature became much hotter. I told the individual that had destroyed the people that I knew of for so long to stop running away and fight. As my body finished transforming, the orb around me shattered and I looked at the individual who had razed my town. Needless to say, we fought, and I won my the narrowest of margins. In the end, I condemned this individual to A ceremonial bottle that I had found among the ruins of the tribe. There was only one individual left it was at this point that I understood that the world I lived in was not very kind or caring. It was A maroon individual whose name was Rosa. She was A young individual that was only a hatchling at the time, but I wanted her to know what kindness and caring was, so I took her under my care until I could find A place that I thought would be suited for her. That's how I ended up here. You may be asking yourselves these questions: how was I able to swim with Rosa on my back? How was I able to provide for Rosa? Where is Rosa now? How did you get here? Why did you choose this place? These are many questions that are asked by those who meet me"

Ignis finished. I looked at Emperor who seemed to be transfixed by something. I got up from my seat and waved my hand in front of his face. As I did this, Emperor shook his head as if he was clearing it and looked up at me.

"Sorry Halcyon, I was just amazed by his story"

Emperor stated as he got up from his seat and stretched. I scoffed.

"He's A storyteller Emperor, of course you would be mesmerized"

I scoffed as Ignis shook his head.

"I'm surprised I remember all of this myself!"

He exclaimed to himself. I turned to Ignis.

"How about you answer those questions Ignis? Maybe we could understand you better"

I said as I sat Emperor down on the rock that Ignis made.

"I was able to swim because the tribe taught me how. Even though i'm heavy, I'm buoyant for some reason. As for Rosa, I have no idea where she went after I got here"

Ignis's voice trailed off. He looked sad and and lost for A moment, but he shook his head.

"I was able to provide for Rosa by staying close to area I knew of. She loved fruit, mostly Watermelons, Dragon Fruit and Coconuts"

Ignis went on.

"Needless to say, I got here by swimming. Rosa picked the place, and my last request to her before I slept here was that I could be buried in here"

His voice trailed off again.

"I don't know if it was her that drew those pictures on the walls before she left, but I do miss her"

Ignis stated as he started walking around the room.

"Now i'm unusually hungry"

He started. I looked fearfully at Emperor and he returned my same fearful glance.

"What is it that you eat?"

I asked fearfully as I saw Ignis start to dig into the wall across from me. I was astounded and scared by how easily he cut into the surrounding rock with his claws.

"To maintain my body, I usually eat ore deposits"

He called as Emperor and I raced across the room to watch Ignis burrow into the wall. We dodged rocks that occasionally flew past us to reach the other side of the room. We were careful not to trip over any stalagmites as we made our way over.

"I found some!"

I heard him exclaim as we reached Ignis. I looked at Emperor, who had his face in his hands once more.

"We're gonna be here A while aren't we?"

I asked him. He nodded slightly.

"I believe so"

He said as Ignis started crunching on something metallic.