Chapter III

Whispers in the Dark

Sylvia held up an oil lamp, it barely illuminated a thing ahead of them, even when he squinted his eyes.

"Don't worry, Johan, we got you covered," Topaz Tiger's eyes shone in the darkness as he slowly walked alongside his master.

Johan smiled and nodded, his gaze focusing in front of him, on Sylvia's back. Just yesterday she was almost crushed under the building, is it possible she is fully unscathed?

"Johan, I'm sure her ankle should've been sprained, this is odd that she can walk normally," Amethyst Cat reminded him.

"You shouldn't trust the lady just yet," Sapphire Pegasus reinforced.

"Sylvia."

He called, she got startled, turning her head sideways, her profile half lighted and half shadowed by the lamp.

"Hm?"

"Are you sure you can walk properly? I thought your ankle was sprained."

"Ah, that."

She turned ahead, pondering over for a second. The pain she felt when she was dying was atrocious, much worse than any ankle sprain, yet, when Johan arrived, there wasn't a vestige of that, her body was perfectly healthy and unharmed.

"I also thought so, but the pain was gone when I woke up today, so it must've been very light."

"Is that so…?" he trailed off, doubtful.

There's definitely something off about her explanation, but questioning her here wasn't the right move.

"Listen, I know you don't believe I'm innocent, but I'm also here to clear my name. Can you see anything ahead?" she turned around.

"Not a palm in front of me," he admitted in defeat.

It wasn't a problem, for his gem beasts could see more than well for him, Topaz Tiger prodded his head forward to indicate the way.

Sylvia spoke. "Hm, this isn't good. Here, grab this."

Unfurling the whip attached to her waist out, she grabbed a tip and offered the other tip to him. A bead of sweat rolled down his face as he reluctantly took it in his grip.

"Ahm, tell me, why should I hold this?"

"In the darkness, explorers usually all hold onto a rope while walking so they won't get lost. I don't have a rope with me and I'm not stealing supplies from the expedition, so… This will have to do."

"So that was what the whip was for?"

He gasped, shocked, flinching after realizing he said it out loud after she gave him the droopy eye.

"You can also hold onto ledges using it or restrict movements of people," she resumed walking ahead.

Re-restricting movements? Tough.

"This pathway is secret, but it has to be connected to the main temple. I bet that disgusting Melchior was bribing some people from the excavation team to hide this fact so he could use it," she clenched her teeth, growling.

"This explains why he was going around giving money to people," he concluded. "Also, why this pathway that was subterranean to begin with didn't get too affected by the outside sand sliding and covering the main structure of the temple again."

"The light here is dim because they wanted to keep it as inconspicuous as possible, anyone would've noticed if our main lamps vanished."

"Did you suspect him too, Sylvia? Melchior, I mean."

"Ever since the accident with professor Hoenman, I was 100 percent sure he was fishy. Given how you even caught him stealing, I'm surprised he wasn't suspended and arrested yet."

"I had to let him loose to find out where he was going and what he was doing, also if he had external contacts, which brings us here."

"So you pretended to ignore his behavior to spy on him while I took the fall? What a gentleman," she huffed.

"Once we have proof, then we could also clear your side," he scratched his head, a thin, guilty smile playing on his lips. "I had the intention of making amends for the situation and telling the truth to Pegasus myself."

"Oh, wow, you're such a great guy," she blurted out sarcastically.

A voice interrupted their bickering before it escalated into a full fledged one-sided argument from Sylvia's part.

"Johan! There's a fork on the path ahead!" Cobalt Eagle informed.

"Sylvia, wait!" he tugged the rope, pulling her slightly back.

"Ugh, don't just-" she bit her lips, restraining herself from insulting him, he was quite strong.

He walked past her, shifting the whip's position to lead now, a concentrated, unwavering gleam in his eyes. He stopped facing the two ways to go, looking at Topaz Tiger on the side, who responded:

"He passed by here, it's definitely his smell."

"Wait, Andersen, there are two ways, we have to be careful if we go wrong…"

"Don't worry, I'm sure he went to the left. I still smell his cheap perfume."

"You what?" she raised a brow.

"I have been tailing him the whole day," he clenched his fists. "Trust me, this can't be wrong."

Turning around he walked ahead again, but Sylvia insisted:

"That's not the only problem, Andersen! If he came here more often he probably knows how to path himself but we aren't sure if there are any…" a click soared below their feet. "... traps."

Their eyes widened in horror as the flat cobblestone ground opened in two big, rocky doors clunking while splitting apart. They fell to a narrow corridor, their butts hitting solid rock ground while the ceiling enclosed them. Johan had his legs almost crossed While Sylvia fell on the opposite side, her legs stretched between his, she rubbed her back before snapping at him, yelling.

"For God's sake, Johan Andersen!" her face reddening from anger. "I've been to more tombs than you have cards! Was it too much to listen to me when I asked to wait?!"

"Ah, I'm sorry, I lowered my guard, I didn't think this place would have-"

The clunking noise of rocks shifting disrupted their altercation, this time the walls behind them began to come together, pushing them closer, Sylvia panicked, looking up, then, she kicked the wall behind him, making his shoulder bolt up, her boots close enough to almost make a scratch on his cheeks, he wondered if it was intentional.

"What are you waiting for, use your legs to push it away too, do you wanna become human juice?!"

He stretched his legs, trying to push the wall away too, his eyes squinting from the strenuous efforts, his hands supported on the ground.

"Johan!" His gem beasts shouted in distress from above.

"Guys, you gotta help me here," he said in a shaky voice as his legs trembled, starting to bend from the power of the moving walls, he put his hands back, trying to hold it off.

"Ugh, why do I have to deal with this, you better not be looking anywhere funny!" her legs also bent at this point, she closed her eyes, speaking in a forced voice.

"I don't think you're in a position to complain."

He retorted, his brows curling up in hopelessness as his torso was pushed forward behind her direction, coming uncomfortably close, her chest and face at a hand's distance.

"Don't you try to be funny, Andersen, you-"

She stomped the wall beside his face again, out of annoyance, then a click happened, the walls stopped moving momentarily before yet another trapdoor opened below them, this time, they plummeted down, a height big enough to break some bones, but the last second, he heard a trumpet soar.

Amber Mammoth manifested in the large room, blowing out air, causing a gust of wind that kept them afloat a second longer, enough to break the momentum, softening their fall.

Sylvia fell with her back flat on the ground, Johan plopped horizontally over her, their bellies united, his weight making her back crush against the uneven mound they fell onto. His head flopped down along with his arms, his face almost planting onto the ground if it wasn't for Sylvia's body acting as a raising stone.

"Johan!" Amber Mammoth exclaimed worriedly.

"Ugh… I'm fine," he raised a hand.

His other hand supporting on the ground, but instead of finding an even surface, his fingers got a hold of an object that gave him chills, a cold, hard piece of bone. His eyes broadened as he jerked back, so much he sat straight in an instant, Sylvia still recovered from the blow, mumbling curses under her breath while looking around, her oil lamp broken.

"There's a reason why a newbie like you should let me lead, Andersen!"

She leaned onwards, fetching a small lantern from inside her right boot and turning it on.

Johan gawked speechless, his gaze transfixed in whatever laid on her other side, like he was frozen. In fact, everything around him flickered, like interference on a cable TV channel, his mind took him back to the war in that dark dimension, this vision and smell, he remembered well, he squinted his eyes unwittingly, a bothered, afflicted glint flashing in them.

Sylvia finally glanced over, there was a pile of human bones of many skeletons amalgamated together in a messy fashion, her eyes widened for a moment too, she shut her mouth. For a person as bright and happy-go-lucky as him to have such angered eyes, like he'd been shoved into a battle he had to fight bare fist, this was a side of Johan Andersen she did not expect to see.

"Never seen dead people, Andersen?"

The sound of her voice made him flinch out of his daydreaming, staring at her, his thoughts trapped somewhere else.

"Honestly, you're more sensitive than I thought," she mumbled, sighing heavily.

Bringing the back of her hand to her nose, to cover it from the heinous odor all over the chamber.

"You never forget it the first time you witness it," she said calmly, but earnestly. "The stench of death."

He knows it well, he saw it through Yubel's eyes when he was possessed and to this day he wished, from the bottom of his heart he would forget. That cruelty and suffering.

She stretched her hand over to him. "Don't worry, once we get out, I'll make sure to tell the team to give those a proper burial and respect if we're gonna study them, so they can rest in peace."

Accepting her help, he was bewildered for a moment, gaping in awe, those sharp, lilac orbs of hers had a kindled compassion abiding them. Was she trying to cheer him up?

He dazed off again with the sight of the many bones scattered over the room, it made him dizzy and queasy, he covered his mouth to restrain the urge to retch and puke right there.

"You get used to it with time," she tapped his shoulder. "Now, come on, Andersen, we must leave this place."

"You're quite collected for a girl," he forced himself to smirk, trying to lighten the mood.

"This isn't my first time seeing tombs or bones with unknown names. When we excavate stone tablets, there are always burial grounds and dead bones nearby, it's just the job."

"Johan, are you alright?!"

Topaz tiger rushed over to his side, and so did all the other beasts while Sylvia flashed the light around to find an exit.

"I'm good," he took a deep breath with his mouth, and exhaled, smiling at them.

"We're sorry this happened, if we were faster…"

"Nah, you did your best and you saved me," he looked up to the Mammoth, petting its trunk.

"Johan, it's unlike you to be so careless," Amethyst Cat's eyes gleaned, almost melting as tears formed. "Rushing ahead and getting caught in traps, that's not you!"

"She's right," Cobalt Eagle swooped down to match his eye's height. "You've not been yourself ever since we entered here, Johan."

"If there's something bothering you, tell us, please," Sapphire Pegasus snorted, his nostrils flaring. "We're here as a family, if you need help ro to talk, don't just ignore us, open your heart."

"I know, it's just…" he whispered, lowering his gaze to the skeletons around. "Frankly, this whole place bothers me, it brings back not so nice memories, it makes me uneasy."

"Johan, we-" Topaz Tiger started, a hoarse voice, but he was interrupted.

"I know, guys, let's leave this for later, right?"

He wanted to have this conversation, he really did and oh how his chest would feel relieved, but circumstances did not allow him, not here.

Sylvia's voice called him out loud. "Andersen."

She beamed the light right into his eyes, he winced, bringing an arm in front of his face as she raised a brow at him yet again.

"You can talk to your imaginary friends once we get out, I found an exit," she tilted her head to the right. "Now, do me a favor and actually listen to what I say, I'm no newbie in raiding ancient structures."

"Right you are, boss," he joked, chuckling and following her.

"Ugh, your sarcasm will not save you here!" she trudged to the exit, angrily stretching her whip and scowling at him while offering it so they would not get lost.

"I feel that no matter what I say, you'll be mad," he grabbed it again.

"Then, don't talk!"

There was a pause until the gem beasts all fell into a bustling conversation, all while Johan walked and seated aplenty at their insight.

"Somebody needs a chill pill," Cobalt Eagle commented.

"As if that would do anything! She's a burning furnace!" Topaz Tiger shook off his head in disapproval.

"Come on, you two, I bet it's just hormones," Amethyst Cat tried to shed light to their ignorance.

Out of the room, there was a dreadful corridor with chains and shackles attached to the walls, Sylvia zigzagged the flashlight around, there were dried bloodstains on the walls.

"It's some sort of dungeon," Sylvia analyzed. "But that's a strange room to exist in a temple, don't you agree?"

"Unless… This wasn't a temple."

There were thick metallic doors throughout the corridor, all of them closed. From the small windows with bars, they saw old bones, some shacked, some laying on the ground. At the end of it, there was a metal bar door.

"Tsk," Sylvia clicked her tongue, pulling and banging the metal lock onto the metal poles forming the door. "It's locked."

Then, she kicked it with a clang, startling Johan. She repeated the kicks a few times, unsuccessful in breaking it.

"Ok, we have to think," she put a hand to her forehead, closing her eyes and striking her head lightly with the handle of her flashlight. "Think, Sylvia, do we lockpick? Do we try to find secret passageways?"

While she talked to herself, Johan looked at Amethyst cat who easily trespassed her paw through the metal bars, a purple aura donning her limb as she hit the lock, breaking it.

Sylvia almost jumped when the lock suddenly cracked on its own, glancing over to Johan who shrugged off, laughing in a low tone like it was sheer luck. Barging through the exit, they found a staircase.

"We have to be quick, it's possible professor Melchior escaped already."

"I doubt it, but I'm really curious to know what he is doing here."

"Or what he is after. I bet he's in to steal something, but this is currently all under Industrial Illusions ownership, so he will have to answer if he takes anything improperly!"

They rushed through the corridors, avoiding some other traps until they reached yet another staircase, a shorter one whose end was in sight when they flashed the lantern.

"Johan, there is someone ahead," Sapphire Pegasus warned. "Eyes peeled."

"Wait."

Johan tugged at the whip again, Sylvias was about to burst into a raging complaint, but stopped herself when he put a finger to his lips, his sharp gaze quickly switching to the end of that stairway.

He walked closer, hugging the wall, peeking to the corridor from a safe distance. Sylvia flipped off the switch of her flashlight, hugging the opposite wall. Then, the small flame of an oil lamp, oscillated in the darkness, swinging with a rusty clink.

Professor Melchior's glasses reflected the faint light, his hand shook at each step, he wiped his sweat with a handkerchief with his other hand, gulping soundly.

Johand and Sylvia exchanged a glance, it made no sense that they'd meet him here, he entered before them and they lost him, how come he was so slow and the paths converged? Unless… he stopped to do something else and that all paths lead to the same place, but through different ways.

The man never noticed them, so distracted, mumbling something to himself, both the youngsters swung their heads in unison, tagging behind him. For a moment, he halted his steps, turning around brusquely and swinging his oil lamp left and right, but no sign of life.

"Hm... I thought I heard steps," he squeezed his eyes.

Silently tailing him, they arrived at a room so large all they identified was the huge metal gate with thick double doors that awaited. Strange carvings were written in an ancient language, Sylvia's lips blabbered some rough translations of a few words as she squinted her eyes to see it.

At the middle of the gate, there was a hole, similar to the ones in the coffin, Melchior took out an Emerald from the inner pocket of his archeologist's jacket. Johan's brows furrowed, was this why he wanted a gem from the coffin?

Melchior's arm quivered, a fearful reluctant move as he lifted the gem, right there and then, the Emerald floated up and fit into the concave hole in the gate, a green light shone between the crevices of the doors, the gates opening with the egregious rumble of the stuck metal separating.

Johan covered his ears, Sylvia, on the other hand, didn't seem all that affected. They watched Melchior cross the threshold, and got up as fast as they could to enter it too, but the gates closed fast, the Emerald in the middle exploding into powder, its green, sparkling dust falling over the ground.

"I can't believe it! It closed on us!" Sylvia gritted her teeth, grunting annoyedly.

"Let's think for a bit… He used a gem he stole from the coffin. Does that mean we need one of those too?"

"How did he know about the system to open this door?"

"I don't think the 'how' is important right now, we can question him later. We have to open the door first, but how do we do this?"

Glancing at his gem beasts, they shook their heads off, distressed. They tried to use their powers again like they did with the coffin, but it failed.

"We need a catalyst," Sapphire Pegasus told Johan.

"So we do need a gem after all," he whispered, a hand covering his mouth so Sylvia wouldn't see his lips moving.

"I'm sorry Johan, somehow the seal here is much stronger than in that coffin," Amethyst Cat lamented.

"It's alright, guys, I'll figure something out," he declared, a gleam of determination shining deep in his eyes.

In the tense, silent moment, Sylvia pinched her opal between her fingers, calling out loud:

"Johan, do you think we could use this?"

She took off her necklace, her hair sliding out of the golden chain as she pulled it up.

"But isn't this important for you?"

"My personal feelings don't matter," she flashed her gaze away, her voice sounding disheartened. "I don't see another way to get in."

"Tell her to try it, we will imbue the opal with our powers to open the way!" Topaz tiger suggested.

"Are you sure about this, Sylvia?"

Sighing heavily, she lifted her gem exactly as Melchior did, the chain strapped to it burst open, its pieces raining onto the ground with short, small clinks while the gem floated to the hole, the gem beasts were enveloped each in their own color of aura, joining it together in a rainbow when imbuing the opal, a spectacle of bright hues.

The gates gawked open, Johan and Sylvia darted into the next stage, startling Melchior who stood in front of what looked like an altar, pillars with statues of the Rainbow Dark Dragon on the sides, and in between them a dark, circular rift in the air, akin to a black hole.

On the other side of the rift, there was an image of a world made of grey sand, a colorless, lifeless view, clouds of smoke and dead branches, Johan's eyes broadened, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek, he recognized the place.

Melchior swerved back, gasping at the sight of the teens, his jaw dropping as he stammered.

"Y-you two?!"

"What are you doing?!" Sylvia slid her foot forward, brandishing her whip.

Johan's voice came out hoarsely. "Professor Melchior, you don't know what you're dealing with! you shouldn't play with opening portals to other dimensions!"

"Y-you know what this is?" he asked in a dreaded tone. "Hah… hahaha, It's too late now…"

A gust of wind blew from behind, past all the present in the room, strong like a whirlwind, Johan defended his face with arms, from the small rocks and grains of sand being sucked into the rift.

"I thought I could make it big," he crumbled some rolled paper sheets on his hand, crying as his eyes twitched. "But I failed… I failed to get it for them, the dragon was not there, it was not there anymore… They won't give me what I was promised…"

"Andersen, do you know anything about what is happening here?!"

Johan ignored her question, shouting at the man ahead. "Who were you talking to?! Why did you open a portal?! Who told you to do this?!"

"I- no, it's right, I did as you told, I-"

Melchior mumbled to himself something, looking around as if someone talked to him, then he turned his back at them, guffawing to himself, turning his profile slightly, a smirk of desperation stamped on his face, he spoke, his empty gaze piercing into Johan's:

"Yubel says 'hi'."

A chill ran down Johan's spine at the mention. What does this mean? That is all past and left behind, Yubel is within Judai now, there's no more enmity among them, it's impossible something was left unsolved. Yet, that man stepped ahead, willingly waltzing into his demise.

Sylvia screamed nervously. "Melchior! Where do you think you're going?!"

The professor's body was warped into another dimension as the rift sucked him in, growing, Johan's feet slipped, dragged with crackling form the small sand grains as he was pulled into the portal. The gem beasts gathered around him, preventing his body from being swallowed.

Sylvia kept sliding, Johan looked at Topaz Tiger and Cobalt Eagle, asking them to go help her, but the moment they set course, she flew towards the portal, lacing her whip around one of the pillars firmly before the rift engulfed her.

Holding herself by literally a thread, her body swayed in the air, she clenched her fists and squeezed her eyes together, her grip loosening.

"Guys, you have to close that portal!"

Johan yelled from his lungs, disregarding whether the woman heard him or not. The gem beasts nodded, gathering their energy again and he slowly started pushing his feet forward, against the force of the portal supporting his hand on Sapphire Pegasus who helped him walk and having the aid of Amber Mammoth who prevented him from flying away by holding his back with the trumpet.

Sylvia's hand slipped, in slow motion, she was drawn to the rift, her eyes wide-open, her expression petrified in shock. From behind her an unnerving shrill echoed, she remembered who it belonged to, the images of that day she died surfaced in her mind.

A serpent-like, dark silhouette formed loops around the room, Johan stopped dead in his tracks, he had to look up to witness it: Rainbow Dark Dragon, in its full, real size.

All his gem beasts followed its movement with their eyes as the Dragon's teeth grew apart, a beam forming and shooting directly at the portal, a thunderous noise echoed, an explosion of forces ensuing, the after impact generated an obfuscating light and a storming wind.

As the light engulfed them, Johan leaped forward, swooping Sylvia between his arms, the gale blowing them both away, knocking them against a wall, their bodies plopping to the ground and rolling until the momentum was lost.

The structure shook, dust cascading and forming clouds that dissipated quickly on the ground, Johan squinted his eyes before opening them his arm over Sylvia's shoulder, she grimaced before coming back to her senses.

He was struck in awe for a moment when their eyes met, for once, those pretty eyes of hers were befuddled rather than sharp and angry, he smiled at her, to assure her everything was fine.

He sat down supporting his hands on the ground, accessing the surroundings, his gem beasts were fine, but they hurried worriedly to his side.

"Johan! You scared me!" Topaz Tiger snarled. "Don't just jump like that!"

"I thought you'd die!" Cobalt Eagle cried.

"I knew you guys wouldn't let it happen,"

His smiling, carefree expression as he scratched his head unfazed by the almost death situation stirred her in the wrong ways to the core. She sat down in a jolt, shouting at him.

"Why did you do that?! Are you crazy?! Did you want us both to die?"

"But if I hadn't jumped you'd be gone… Can't you cut me some slack?" he asked while laughing.

"I wasn't even nice to you, how can you just jump to save a person like that?!"

"If I was saving people based on whether we like or dislike each other, that wouldn't be very proper of me, right?"

She snorted, exasperated. "I'll tell you, Johan Andersen, you are a doormat!" she repeated while balling her fists up, her face red, boiling like a kettle. "A doormat! Have some pride! At least scold me for being mean to you or something!"

He retorted with clear eyes and a confident smile. "I'm not a doormat, I just don't see a reason to antagonize you."

She paused momentarily, her lips sealing, stunned by his bold words and the absolute resolution he had to say it.

His mind drifted from the exchange as he concocted theories, more worried about how the situation turned out to be.

So she didn't see it. Dark Rainbow Dragon… How did he appear here?

While she shouted at him, he glanced over to his gem beasts, they had furrowed brows, considering how serious it was that the Dragon appeared and disappeared in a second, to the point they could not sense its presence anymore.

Pondering hard about it, his eyelids felt heavy, his eyes threatening to close, when he blinked, Sylvia's expression changed, she gaped, her brows coming together in concern.

"Andersen, you have a wound on your head."

"Huh?"

He touched his forehead, his fingers smeared with a bit of blood, a thin line descending from a small cut that opened.

"This isn't that ba-"

Before he finished that sentence, his body swayed back and forth, he collapsed onto his back. She bolted up to her knees, inspecting him from above. The gem beasts were also gathered around, looking at him, and exchanging glances, calling him out firmly to no avail.

"H-hey, Andersen!"

Grabbing him by the collar, she shook him meekly, afraid of aggravating his injury, her hand sliding on the soft cloth covering his chest. Her mouth curved down, fighting to resort to this, but she shouted even louder with the intent to wake him up:

"Johan! Johan!"

It was fruitless and she felt silly for calling his name like that. Her fingers wrapped tighter, wrinkling his shirt. This is exactly why she told him to stop, to consider himself first, he overexerted himself and the concussion to his head didn't look pretty, a bump formed in the meantime.

Gleaning over the vicinity, she clicked her tongue. How is she supposed to take them both out of here? Taking a deep breath, she slapped herself, the beasts around her flinched, watching her every move as she put his arm around her shoulder and got up as if she was carrying a lifting weight on her slim shoulders.

"You better not die on me or I'll kill you."

Saying that, she set off on a long, arduous walk back while dragging him along, he was much heavier than his looks let on, much to her torture.

The crystal beasts nodded in agreement, Sapphire Pegasus came around to the other side of Johan, putting his head underneath his arm, sliding it around his neck and using it to lift him too. Sylvia stared at the side, having the impression he suddenly got lighter, but she shot that thought out of her head for a million other thoughts seized her priority.

She saw it again, Rainbow Dark Dragon, a monster that served as counterpart for Johan's Rainbow Dragon, this time it broke whatever that strange rift was. But what happened to Melchior? How did the rift open in their world? How did Johan know about something regarding it? And who was the "Yubel" person he mentioned that got Johan with such disturbed look in his eyes.

She had a lot of questioning and investigating to do once they return to the excavation site. As she glanced over to his peaceful, sleeping face, with a distrustful twirl of her brows, she huffed.

To bang his head in an accident while saving somebody… One thing she will have to begrudgingly concede.

Johan is really something else.