Realm Wars

"You agreed to what?" Cecily might have misheard Lucian. But the way his down curved mouth remained plastered on his lips said that she didn't.

"I agreed to get her the lost jewel of Tethy's," Lucian replied, dragging each letter like he didn't want to repeat himself.

Rosa clutched her head. "Lucian, love. I know that you're the leader of this group, but how can you not consult me first about this before you made the Seal of Promise with that ugly pirate?"

Cecily didn't have time to pick on what Rosa said as she was stuck in their current predicament. 

Lucian paced towards the window and sighed. "We don't have any choice. It's either that or being a pirate slave."

Cecily folded her arms. "I'd rather take our chanced into the Nightmare Sea. We don't even know what this lost Jewel is."

"Well, with the number of pirates roaming the seas, I doubt we'll get to Imoana islets with our group still intact." Lucian was becoming annoyed as well.

Rosa gave a half shrug. "It's easy. We should kill every pirate and destroy every ship that gets in our way."

Lucian shook his head. "Unless you want the whole pirates after us, I don't think that's a good idea."

"And the only idea is to find this lost treasure? Whatever it is?" Cecily spat.

Lucian faced the two discontented women. He didn't know why he was annoyed at them all of a sudden. "It's just going to be a one-day search. Skull already knew where it is."

"Then why don't she go?" Rosa asked.

"Because she's bound on this hip. She can't go far." Lucian then contemplated whether to say his following words but said it anyway, "And the mercenaries she hired didn't return."

".. ."

".. ."

"Does that mean that it's dangerous?" Cecily exhaled in the ceiling.

Lucian immediately pacified the two girls. "As I said, it's just going to be a one-day search. If it's dangerous, then well abort the mission."

Rosa tilted her hips. "And what if we don't find it within a day?"

Lucian took in a mouthful of air and released it thru his nose. "Then the deal is off."

".. ."

".. ."

Cecily couldn't believe that Lucian agreed to such an underside deal. "Then we don't have a choice but to find this jewel."

Lucian went to Cecily's side and squeezed her shoulder in reassurance. "I'm sorry. I just want to see if we can find this Jewel or not. If we can't, then we'll plan our next move."

At the determination in Lucian's eyes, Cecily found her resistance crumbling bit by bit. Ever since young, Lucian was always like this. Always wanted to try things first. He never did give up on anything he set his mind into.

"Fine," Cecily said under her breathe and added, "But do you know anything about this Jewel? It's the first time that I heard of it."

"Skull said that it's located in Deadman's Rock. At the center of the Island of Bloody Lagoon, there we will find the Jewel. She also said that well know it's the one when we laid eyes on it," Lucian explained.

Cecily didn't know to laugh or cry. "That's rather vague. Does anyone saw this Jewel or at least describe some feature of it?"

Rosa chuckled at the side, and all eyes went to her as she swayed between Lucian and Cecily, and the latter staggered back a little when Rosa pushed her away from Lucian.

"You really don't know anything, huh?" Rosa said. 

Cecily frowned. Lucian didn't know anything too, but why was she the only one made like an ignorant fool?

Rosa walked towards the empty wall of the room, and not before long, a fire erupted, showing shadows as it sparks. 

"Long ago," Rosa began, "before the deferent races could set dominion over this planet, it said that the Gods controlled this world. It was a tale forgotten. A lore that was told in ancient books and burned history."

Lucian and Cecily looked at each other, but Rosa just continued her tale.

"There were seven Gods, and it said that all beings were in harmony under their rule and wisdom. Ultima, the God of eternal life. Chaos, the God of the lost souls. Iduna, the God where wisdom lies. Yamal, the God of illusions and trickery. Cronus, the God of time and space. Hauros, the God of strength and agility and finally. .. Tethyt. She was the youngest, and she was the only God that didn't have a title."

"It's said the all the gods love Tethyt and gifted her so many jewels and items. And records said that Tethyt combined all these Jewels and made the Jewel of Tethy's. When these Gods disappeared, that's when war broke out. With them out of the way, every race fought for dominion over this world."

Rosa flicked her hand, and the fire vanished together with the shadows and silhouettes.

Cecily gazed over at Lucian and said, "If that tale is true, then I don't see anything special about this Jewel except maybe its value being a lost treasure."

Rosa giggled, and Cecily didn't like the mockery that came with her laugh.

"Tethyt is born from water. It said that though she didn't have a title, she could heal any injury and. .. she made the Jewel of Tethy's to bring the dead back to life."

"The angels could do that." Lucian knew since Raphael told them.

"True that the angels could revive the dead but only for a time. Once you're dead, even the angels can't revive your soul. But this Jewel can. It can also make you immortal."

"Raphael, is it true?" Lucian called.

Raphael appeared before them in all seriousness. "Yes. We can't bring the soul back to life. Regarding the tale, we heard it, but the higher rank Angels were the only ones who kept records. Our generation only knew one God."

Rosa raised a brow. "You mean, Metatreal? He's still an angel. I guess he is the only elder left."

Raphael glared at Rosa, eyes white and intimidating. "Careful when you address our God, mortal. Your filthy mouth isn't deserving to even say a single letter of his name."

Rosa just smirked, and the air in the room turned tense.

Lucian broke the invincible hostility between the two and said, "So in short Skull is after this jewel for immortality?"

"How fetching," Rosa mocked, "The weak always wanted to crave something that is out of their reach. She had her wish fulfilled, going into different realms through the Nightmare Sea by binding her soul into her boat to escape the dangers in the ocean. But now, she wanted immortality so she could finally be free from the prison of her ship."

Rosa puffed a laugh. "What's next? Dominion over the world? Or space travel, perhaps?"

"Whatever her reason, we have to find the jewel first," Cecily said, "but acquiring such precious jewel is another matter altogether."

".. ."

".. ."

Now that they knew what the Jewel cold do, the danger became inevitable. No wonder the other mercenaries didn't return. They either stole it because they knew what it could do, or they were dead. It was most likely the latter since no one knew of this forgotten lore. Not even Lucian.

Rosa knew because she had access to multiple tomes and relics as she studied magic. But still, no one could really say that it was true. Not even Raphael.

"I guess there is only one way to find out." Lucian looked over the window as they neared a small gloomy island.

Deadman's Rock.