A.N. (4/11/23) - Here's an extra chapter to make up for last week.

Atlas (19) - Panta Rhei

Marcus realized that his newest companion was unusual.

After their encounter, the two somehow ended up traveling together once he explained to her what his goal was. They both set off in search of the ruins that Marcus was looking for and his thoughts were constantly wrapped around the mystery that was Emilia.

She claimed to have no memory of anything other than her name and that she was looking for something important to her. Furthermore, she also claimed to have no Aura despite possessing that abnormal strength of hers. Everything he knew about how the world worked told him that what she said was supposed to be impossible, and yet, he believed her.

"We should go this way."

"How do you figure?"

"This wasteland has areas that are similar to high-elevation deserts. By taking into account the history of the land and the fact that everything is flowing from one place to another, you can find several power spots that would likely have places of civilization around."

"I don't get it."

"Everything flows," she said. "All things move and nothing remains still. Water flows downward to more water, lightning flows to opposing charges, heat flows from warm to cold, and air flows from high to low pressure. In a place full of sand, calculating the movement of the land can help determine ideal locations where people would have lived in the past."

It sounded like nonsense to him, but Emilia seemed to believe what she was saying. Shrugging, Marcus allowed the girl to take the lead while they walked together.

And soon, he realized that she was heading in the right direction. Gradually, their surroundings began to change as traces of life and vegetation started to appear all over the place.

"Who would have thought we'd find a place like this?"

"These kinds of favorable conditions used to be commonplace all over Vacuo," Emilia replied. "But like everything else, time also flows and its current never ceases. The Vacuo of the past is no longer the same as the present, and yet, some choose to cling to the past with a tight grip."

"Well, don't people say that you're supposed to learn from the past or something? Maybe there's meaning in clinging to the past then."

"Is that why you are seeking out these ruins?"

"No, that's because I'm working on behalf of my boss. I honestly have no clue what's going on in his head, but he pays the bills so I have no choice but to do what he says."

She frowned but did not comment any further on the subject.

They came across a couple of Grimm, which Marcus mostly handled while Emilia stayed in the back. Despite her strength, it seemed that she had no experience using it in combat apparently. Either that or her amnesia made it difficult for her to know how to fight.

After cutting down another camel-like Grimm and avoiding the puddle of acidic venom, Marcus gave out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, how did you make it this far anyway? There's no way some random person can survive in a place like this without knowing how to deal with a few Grimm."

Emilia frowned. "I'm not sure. The furthest I can recall is waking up in the middle of nowhere and walking for a long time. During that time, Grimm never seemed to bother me until I met you."

"That's fucking weird."

It was common sense that Grimm attacked any human or faunus on sight. They only ignored living beings like animals, although he wasn't sure if that applied when their Aura was unlocked. Hearing that Emilia somehow had the ability to avoid them only added to the pile of weirdness that she already possessed.

Who was this girl?

They eventually found the ruins he was after. Or rather, it was more accurate to call it a temple judging by its appearance. Despite the passage of time, it appeared relatively undamaged even if parts of it were covered in moss and weeds.

He noticed Emilia clapping her hands together next to him.

"What are you doing?"

"This is a place of prayer," Emilia answered. "An act like this is equivalent to offering up a part of oneself. For places like this, what is not offered is usually taken instead, so I am praying for safe passage while we explore the place."

"You sound like you believe in all that occult stuff."

"Either way, it wouldn't hurt to take a few seconds to say a prayer."

He shrugged, deciding that it would be best to not argue too much on the topic. It felt weird for him since he never did anything like this before, but he pressed his palms together and closed his eyes.

What am I even supposed to ask? Marcus thought to himself. Hey mysterious temple, please don't try to kill me while I poke around inside the place.

Of course, he received no reply.

Opening his eyes a second later, he noticed that Emilia was already walking ahead of him. Was it his imagination, or did she somehow seem different? It was hard to put it into words, but she somehow appeared to be more somehow.

Walking through the corridors, it was almost as if the air was thick with dust. It was obvious that nobody had been here for a while, and Marcus wondered how many archeologists or historians would kill to be in his place. He was more curious as to how Merlot even knew to direct him here though, and his vague instructions of looking around and finding something interesting weren't exactly helpful.

"Turn left here."

"Let me guess," Marcus said sarcastically. "More guesses based on the fact that everything flows?"

"Well, it's true that the airflow circulates better in one direction than the other. But I mainly said that because there's a sign that says we should turn left."

"Huh?"

True to her words, there was something carved in the center of the wall that marked the fork in which the corridors split. It was written in an unknown language, but there was still an obvious arrow pointing left underneath the message.

"Not everything I have to say is based on cryptic reasoning."

"So you realize that you're doing it on purpose."

"Whatever do you mean?"

She was smiling playfully at him, and even in the dim atmosphere, he was amazed at how she seemed to glow.

Hold on…

"What?" He rubbed his eyes. "The fuck is going on with you? Why the heck are you glowing?"

Emilia blinked, before raising her arm to see for herself. It wasn't particularly bright, but it was undeniable that a faint glow was covering her entire body.

"Oh?" She continued to observe her hand. "Maybe there's something radioactive in this place, and I'm showing oncoming symptoms of irradiation."

"I don't need a Geiger counter to know that's bullshit. You don't see me glowing, do you?"

"Well, I think it's fine. It's not like it's harming anyone."

"No, I'm pretty sure that glowing all of a sudden should be something to worry about."

"Why? You glow all the time when you use your Aura."

"That's different!"

In the end, Marcus realized that only he was making a fuss over the glowing. Emilia seemed content to ignore the issue, and he eventually stopped grumbling about it.

Going deeper into the ruins, they eventually came across a room with several stone statues of vague human form and a sealed door with several intricate symbols on it. A casual look around showed that there was no obvious mechanism to open it, and he glanced at his companion to see if she had any better luck or not.

"Found anything?"

"No." Emilia was staring hard at the door. "But something about this seems familiar somehow…"

"You getting your memories back?"

"That's not it." She shook her head. "But maybe I have an idea of how we might be able to get through this door."

"Is it breaking it down using force?"

"Nothing so barbaric. I doubt you would even make a dent if you spent the entire day chiseling away at it. Rather, the clues are already in this room."

"Clues?"

"The statues," Emilia clarified. "Do you notice the round indentations in each of them?"

Marcus glanced around and saw her pointing at various holes in each of the statues. All of them were located in various places of each statue, but he noticed a pattern. If he took into account the human form that each statue emulated, then the location of each hole corresponded to an important organ or body part of the human body.

"So we need to find something like a key and use these statues to open the door?"

"That appears to be the case. Marcus, I have a question for you. If you were to judge which part of the body is most important to a living being, what would you answer?"

"Heart and head," he immediately replied. "If you destroy either, then it's almost impossible to survive without them."

"I agree. And if you take into account the three elements that make up a living being, those two also play a higher importance than others. Therefore, if these indentations are meant to convey some meaning regarding the body, finding a statue missing those two would appear to be the correct answer."

He found it in an instant.

There was a single statue where its head appeared caved in and its chest had a gap where its heart would be. Like many other things in the room, the statue was covered in delicate and ornate patterns that signified some unknown meaning to the two of them.

"Guess that means we need to find the key now."

"No, it might be simpler than that." Emilia took a step forward. "It is true that when one sees a locked door, the solution to opening it would be to find a key. But I believe that it would be simpler to…"

Instead of finishing her sentence, she lifted both arms and pressed her palms toward the statue. The moment her hands entered the holes located in the head and heart, Marcus felt the entire room shake in response.

A second later, the door slid open with a rumbling sound.

Emilia took a step back and smiled. "There, that should do."

"What just happened?" Marcus stared at the statue. "It doesn't look like there's something like a switch or lever inside there."

"Does it matter? If it works, then the exact details aren't really relevant."

It sounded pretty fucking relevant to him, but Marcus bit his tongue and decided not to reply. Moving past her, he entered the room with an annoyed expression until it shifted into a confused one a second later.

"The fuck?"

Inside the room, there was another statue. Unlike before, there was only a single one standing in the middle of the room. The figure depicted was that of a young person with similar traits to the statues outside but was far more detailed in comparison. So detailed that he could tell that it appeared to be a young girl whose face he recognized.

It was a statue of Emilia.

"Hey, what the heck is going on?!"

But when he turned around, he came across Emilia staring at the statue in shock. It was clear that she also had no idea that they would encounter such a thing if her pale face and horrified look did not clue him in enough.

"So that's the case," she muttered. "In the end, she too sought for an end."

"Hah?"

"Everything flows," Emilia repeated. "All things eventually reach their end. All flames eventually go out. All that lives shall die. The only one that remains is the person abandoned by the gods."

"What are you talking about?"

She finally seemed to realize that he was still there. Turning to face him, Emilia suddenly bowed in his direction.

"My apologies, but I believe that it would be best if we part ways here."

"Don't bullshit me." He quickly moved to grasp her arm. "You aren't leaving until you explain what the fuck is going on! Why the heck is there a statue of you in a place like this?"

She struggled. "Let me go!"

"Tell me the truth. Who the fuck are you?!"

He heard a voice come from behind him. "I believe it would be wise to listen to the little lady now."

It was his only warning, and Marcus immediately dodged to the side right as something tore through the air. Letting go of Emilia in the process, he quickly pulled out his weapons to defend himself from this new person that appeared out of nowhere.

Marcus took in his opponent.

Pale face with gold eyes and a braided ponytail. White sleeveless jacket with a bare chest that revealed several scars. Two bladed bracers attached to each arm. And most prominently, a long scorpion tail extending from the back of the man standing before him.

"Greetings!" The man took a bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Tyrian Callows, and I am here to retrieve something that belongs to my Queen."

Wasn't expecting this, huh? As a treat (and to make up for last week's missing chapter), I decided to write another one and release it early instead of saving it for Friday.

I've been placing hints all over the past arc about which direction this story was heading in, and the appearance of Emilia and one of Salem's agents will eventually lead to the endgame where everything comes together. While I didn't plan on Marcus playing such a prominent role in all of this, it somehow ended up that way when I began writing the chapter.

The next chapter will continue exploring Marcus' past and how it later ties to his involvement with the Crown.