Zephyr: The Elemental Clans

62 - The Rise Of Blaze / 63 - Exile / 64 - A New Ally

"Duran!!!"

"God damn it. What is it Rachel?!" he roared, annoyed by her sudden pestering.

"Hmm? What's with your attitude Mister?" she asked as she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him.

"Uh. Grr. Sorry... I'm a bit stressed," he sighed in an almost frightened tone. Despite Being four years older than the twenty one year old girl, he knew the extent of her wrath when provoked was not something he could deal with.

"I just spoke to some of the others and it seems that Rex and the guys down at the dig site have found something extraordinary. They believe that it has something to do with your research! This could be it!" Rachel announced.

"W-what?!" Duran squealed excitedly, "No way!" With those words he dashed out of the makeshift base and with no hesitation he dove into the massive half kilometer wide pit left in wake of the excavations that they had been undertaking. He entered a free fall for a long four or so hundred metres before assuming his flaming form and entering a controlled state of flight. He carefully but quickly navigated the smaller, narrow tunnels which had been created from digging into various points of the central pit and which led even deeper into the Earth.

"What is it?!" he questioned his accomplices excitedly.

"You should see for yourself," Rex grinned wiping the sweat off of his slightly tanned face as he spun a pickaxe in his other hand.

"Don't tell me. Is it the book?" Duran gasped.

"Not quite. Although it may be of interest nonetheless," Rex pointed to the shimmering golden door. I took a second to examine its splendour. Engraved on its face were symbols representing the elements, each with its own distinct shape and colour.

"Look at this Rex! Here and here! Darkness and the Taijitu of Yin and Yang! Surely this proves their existance! My work was pointing to this all along and yet they called me a fool," Duran laughed. He grabbed the handle with shivering arms and pulled it open to step inside the room built deep within the Earth. Pebbles and small rocks tumbled down in a shower as it opened, covering Duran's arm but in his excitement he shrugged it off.

"Woah!" Rachel exclaimed stepping alongside her superior as her body shifted from a flaming silhouette back to her original form. The room inside consisted of embossed Golden walls and a striking Platinum floor. In the centre lay a large silver chest neatly positioned atop a short diamond pedestal. Duran rushed towards it and with bated breath, he cracked it open. He paused suddenly as he stared at the contents, piquing the interests of the others.

"A vial of blood?" Rachel pondered as she peered around Duran's shoulder, "Wait.... what's that note stuck on the underside of the cover?"

"Perhaps the words of a thief," Duran grunted angrily as he peeled it off and began to recite the message, "*You have done well to find this place. I am impressed. Unfortunately the text you undoubtedly seek now sleeps where this room's twin has been erected. If you seek my knowledge, then accept the challenge to find it. In the meantime, I hope you find the blood of the Deities' first Scion to be useful.* No..... this couldn't be."

"Huh? What's that?" Rex inquired curiously.

"Y-you don't know?!!" Rachel screamed unintentionally.

"Hey, I'm just the muscle here. You two are the brains Mr. Genius and Ms. Prodigy," Rex barked.

"The Deities' first scion; the child birthed by Wind Deity Ventus and his human companion, then blessed with the power of the Elemental Gods; a demon born habouring the hatred and prowess initially owned by the Elemental Deities and who sought to finish his parents' work by bringing this world to its knees; Zephyrus, the Primordial Vessel," Rachel explained, "If this is his blood, then we can be brought so much closer to learning the truth of this era's birth by studying it!! This is the greatest discovery of the past few centuries!"