The next morning Lucy was stirred from sleep by the pleasant smells of breakfast. She crawled from her tent still groggy from the night before. Devin sat next to the coals of last night's fire, frying eggs and sausage link with a practiced hand.
"Morning," he greeted her warmly with a slight smile. He seemed to have shaved the stubble away to leave a goatee, his hair also seemed cleaner than it had the day before. "I've got a shower set up on the other side of the wall there if you're interested."
Lucy looked around the corner of the wall and saw the large bucket with a shower head attach to it, the idea of a shower sounded good to her. She quickly stepped behind the wall and undressed, stepping under the bucket and pulling the chain let blissfully warm water pour from the shower head. She quickly washed, and got dressed, randomly looking over her should as she had gotten used to after so much time with Natsu. She soon joined Devin by the fire, taking the plate he offered her. The food was just as good as last night's dinner.
"I'm glad you like it," Devin's smile had a tinge of sadness. "it's been a while since I've had anyone to cook for." The reminder of his friends' remains laying below them in the temple underground was a sobering thought as they ate. After breakfast Devin washed and stowed the dishes before taking a small pack from his kit and headed for the temple's underground entrance.
Lucy followed hurriedly behind him, sensing the purpose behind his every step. After all, this was the day he would finally finish what he and his friends started. As they approached the entrance, Lucy saw a sandstone slab had been embedded next to the hole in the ground. The slab had glassy runes etched into it, she couldn't read what it said, but figured it was a memorial to Devin's friends who lay in the tunnels and rooms below them.
"prepare yourself, though we are entering a part of a long forgotten temple, it's also a world of death and misery where magic doesn't seem to work" Devin's warning made Lucy shiver. The thought of not being able to use her gate keys made her uneasy, but Devin's confidence and determination seemed to quell any hesitation as she watched him drop into the darkness of the hole.
"its alright, drop in and I'll catch you," Devin's voice echoed in the space bellow. Lucy took several deep breaths and stepped into the inky void. She fell for what seemed like forever before she realized Devin had caught her. Lucy looked up to see that it wasn't that far at all, just about 10 feet to the hole above, but the tunnel seemed to drink up any and all light. As Devin set Lucy down she realized that the tunnel was solid black marble, polished to a mirror finish and engraved with strange runes that resembled the ones on the sandstone slab at the entrance. Lucy couldn't help but be in awe of the detail and craftsmanship that must have gone into making such a place.
"This is incredible," Lucy remarked breathlessly. "is the whole temple like this?"
"yes and the runes you can see and feel on the wall are what make this place so interesting. The runes nullify magic and disperse light." Devin's explanation left Lucy in equal parts awe and terrified. She practically screamed when Devin took her hand. "Relax, it's just me." As Devin led Lucy through the tunnels, she quickly lost all sense of direction. Thankfully Devin seemed to know exactly where he was going and guided them through with an almost casual ease. Several times Lucy had asked if they needed some kind of light source, but Devin had simply said it wasn't necessary or that the light would just slow them down, and apparently he was right.
'How many times has he done this that he knows his way this well,' Lucy thought to herself. Several times Devi n seemed to make a strange move, like lifting Lucy off her feet or telling her to duck. She guessed that he was telling her how to avoid the many traps he had mentioned before they had started. At one point Lucy heard something rattle across the floor. She could have sworn that she heard Devin apologize to someone.
"What did you say," Lucy asked with confusion.
"Don't worry about it," was all Devin had to say on the matter.
They continued on like that for quite a long time, Devin telling Lucy to duck, jump, side step, or simply picking her up like she weighed nothing and carrying her through some unseen obstacle with practiced ease and surprising grace for someone so large, and all this while completely blinded by the darkness. Lucy couldn't help but marvel as Devin guided and protected her from the dangers of this strange temple. After several hours of careful trekking, and a few close calls where Lucy hadn't been quite fast enough to follow Devin's instructions, they came to the first light source they had seen since entering the tunnel. It was a large set of ebony double doors etched with more strange runes and carvings of ancient people dancing. There were also three worn out back packs beside the door.
"This is it, the ritual chambers," Devin's voice was grim but hopeful. "Once we enter here the ritual will begin and there is no turning back." Devin's words hung in the air like smoke. Lucy began to get cold feet, but realized that she was still holding onto Devin's hand. His strength and resolve gave her a sense of comfort as she remembered why they were here. Lucy took a shaky breath to calm her nerves.
"I'm ready," Lucy placed her hands on the doors and tried to push, but the doors barely budge until Devin helped her. With a push that seemed effortless, Devin opened the doors to the massive round chamber. Like the rest of the temple it was solid black marble that seemed polished and was set with ancient runes and hieroglyphs depicting two people dancing together. "Is that…"
"Yes, it's the mana-link ritual. Every step perfectly preserved. Before we go in we must wear the ceremonial garb." Devin pulled two sets of clothes from his pack and handed one set to Lucy. It consisted of a long red skirt with a slit up one side and a top not too unlike a bikini top, but with glittering bronze scale mail sewn to the outside. Out of some strange sense of curiosity Lucy couldn't help but to look over her shoulder and saw Devin completely from the back. Scars ran all over his body as though he had seen many battles and possibly been tortured and burned, and his muscles were well defined from years of hard work, like those of a warrior or a miner but also softened by years of hardship and struggle. Lucy couldn't help but blush as she let her eyes wander over Devin's body as he dressed in a set of leather and bronze armor. She quickly realized that she needed to hurry and dress, easily tying on her ceremonial skirt and top, finding it strange how comfortable the outfit was on her. The fabric was a soft silk and the bronze didn't seem to weigh as much as she thought, she was definitely keeping this outfit when they were done with the ritual. Lucy finally turned to see Devin standing with his back to her, his armor seemed to glow faintly in the odd light cast by the room as he read his notes on the ritual they were about to perform. Lucy tried to read some but Devin's handwriting was absolutely terrible and she couldn't make out very much besides some small details about the importance of completing the ritual and about a magical backlash in the event of failure.
"should I be concerned about the backlash of the magic," Lucy asked feeling a touch worried about what might happen .
"if we do this right, then nothing will happen to us. If we fail we wont live long enough to worry about it."
Despite her suspicions, Devin seemed genuine and Lucy could relate to how he felt. However she was definitely going to grill him on the subject later
"Ready to get this over with?" Devin held his hand out to Lucy. "Just follow my lead and everything should work out just fine."
Lucy took Devin's offered hand as she nodded her confirmation. Together they walked into the ritual chamber and stood in the center of a large magic circle that was inlaid with glowing silver and gold. As he pair stood in the ready position , Lucy could feel the magic humming through her and she could tell just how powerful the spiritual backlash would be if the ritual went wrong or was left incomplete. Slowly they began the ritual, an intimate dance that seemed to make the hum of the magic grow in intensity and pulse with a rhythm that matched the tempo of the dance. Devin skillfully lead Lucy through every step of the ritual performance as they spun and stepped in almost perfect harmony, all the while Lucy marveled at the power and grace of Devin's movements. He had really studied every part of this with the utmost care and hadn't left anything to chance. They danced for so long that Lucy had lost track of time, feeling a sense of openness and care in Devin's arms, she also noticed that the magic circle had started o glow brighter as the hum of magic grew in intensity as the finale of the ritual quickly approached.
Suddenly Devin pulled Lucy close and placed a quick kiss on Lucy's lips, though as soft and quick as if they were kids, she felt tingly as a powerful surge of magic course though her and it felt like her skin was glowing. Lucy opened her eyes to see that she and Devin were in fact glowing, Devin was glowing a dark and fiery purple while she was glowing a bright and vibrant blue. As the glowing faded Lucy felt her body return to normal, though much more energetic, as she tried to process this new found energy and what that sensation was, she heard Devin say 'that was strange, but we aren't dead so that's good.'
"That is true, but what is this strange feeling," Lucy replied. Devin looked at her as though she was crazy.
"How did you know…" as Devin trailed off as realization dawned on him as he thought to himself. 'Lucy, I think we can ear each other's thoughts.'
Lucy gasped as she heard his thoughts as clear s if they had been spoken aloud. She looked down at her hands as she tried to figure out how this happened, and noticed a silver metal band with a diamond in the center on her left ring finger.
"What the fu-."
