"Hehehe, look at me! I am the king now!" Ares was playing around with two split halves of a cracked crown he'd found in another one of Sevorus' labs. After climbing a few more floors Ares happened across another lab and, after taking a peek inside, located the artifact meant for the Lighter Duo. There was a note next to this cracked crown that explained everything but, before reading it, Ares couldn't resist the urge to accomplish his life long destiny and take to the proverbial throne. "Aejaz! Come kneel for this regal ruler so that I may make a throne of my willing subjects!"
"Piss off you royal pain in the ass!" Aejaz refused to become a literal stool for his demonic older brother so hid behind Sandy who snorted and jokingly gave a courteous bow to go along with Ares' silliness.
"What's up with that crown anyway?" Though Sandy was roughly informed about the Kazaz prince situation there was a lot she didn't know regarding why it happened. Actually, this reminded Ares that he needed to inform her about a lot of background stuff involving the destruction pillar and the truth of this world... There was no easy way of breaking such news so he figured he would just hand over all his memories in one fell swoop and leave it at that. Ares glanced over at Aejaz but decided not to clue him in as well. Ares was only doing this, sharing around his memories on the matter, out of necessity and he had a very different relationship with his brother than he did with his wives and partners, obviously. There was occasional arguing and bickering but Aejaz and Ares were close and they were each more than willing to respect boundaries. That's not to say Enyo, Bellona, and Sandy weren't, it's just that they wanted to be within those boundaries and know the truth more than anything else because that had meaning to them. To Aejaz, Ares' secrets were just that and nothing more, secrets. He felt no need to be involved in that complicated stuff Ares was dealing with because he trusted Ares to act in a way that benefited him and not throw him or Allie and Trixie under the bus. He would have seriously misjudged Ares if that were the case. Long story short, Aejaz knew there was something going on there but he was also aware enough that it was something Ares only discussed when he found it absolutely necessary to do so and chose not to pry. Besides, if Aejaz lived long enough he would no doubt find out at some point anyway, he was in no rush to drag himself into trouble that could be easily avoided. It's not that he wasn't interested in this extremely important gossip, he was, it's just that he was also fully aware he would become integrated with world-shaping schemes and maybe have to get involved in Ares' mess which he refused to do! Ares' training him was hellish enough and Aejaz' gut instinct warned him things would not be pretty if Ares introduced him to whatever world of secrets he was currently living in. If nothing else, the training required to keep up would be enough to make Aejaz' skin crawl!
Sandy had asked Ares what was up with the crown but he sent her a mental message instead about something seemingly irrelevant. He told her that the memories he was about to send were highly confidential and that she could figure out why after. The Kazaz prince stuff was related to Argyle Kazaz and from there the link to Sevorus and his master was pretty implicit. Sure Ares could explain the crown without touching on those deeper matters but Sandy was in for a penny, in for a pound at this point. Ares refused to keep this secret from any of his lovers and he knew he could trust Sandy. She'd be less bothered by it than Enyo, actually, so it was easier to tell her because she was someone who understood the necessity of certain actions no matter how despicable they were. Putting her feelings on the matter aside and letting it happen would come easier to her, Ares understood that based on his previous interactions with her. Was she as uncaring about this as Bellona was? Nope. Bellona was kind of the stand out in that she might as well have not even been told everything as it would have made basically no difference to her. She did appreciate knowing, and Ares not hiding anything from her, but the actual contents weren't as disturbing for someone like her as it was for her sister. Rather Bellona's logic was that she would do the exact same thing in Ares' shoes so she was just glad she wasn't. No point worrying about an alternate world she didn't live in and an alternate life she didn't live.
What was a commonality amongst all three partners, though, regarding this secret was that they would be incredibly supportive of Ares during his most trying times because he didn't have it easy at all. It wouldn't be a surprise if he became pretty miserable as a result of what the future had in store for him. In fact, to some degree, Ares had certainly mellowed out a bit since becoming more and more knowledgeable about everything. He'd probably go back to normal eventually, and it's not like he walked around with a face like thunder, but even Aejaz had noticed some small discrepancies between Ares of today and Ares of a few months ago. Or maybe he was just more mature now. It's not like Xasca had been kind to him either as the shadow stepper incident was a sore spot still even if Ares didn't look too fussed by it now.
Ares handed over a Past Present Polymerisation to Sandy and threw up a disintegration barrier around him and her just in case she blurted out anything she shouldn't after learning incredible truths. While this happened, Aejaz explored the rest of the lab and couldn't help but notice some weird, pure white jagged edges around the rest of the room. They were curved fangs of some sort and Aejaz figured they'd been severed from various monsters and animals here and there during Sevorus' Experiments. Why they were glued to the walls he didn't know but it was probably some kind science-y nonsense he didn't understand and chose not to pry lest he get smacked around by incomprehensible jargon and confused beyond measure. There were a few records here and there in the lab and Aejaz had to recoil his dumb head from each one he accidentally peeked at because the sheer amount of unreadable data and technical crap he didn't understand was frightening! Still, Aejaz was admittedly interested in these fangs because he himself had one! He still wore that one fang around his neck that he stole back when he was younger. It really did mean a lot to him and so seeing more fangs lying around like this was quite nostalgic.
Actually, though not an expert or anything, Aejaz was pretty confident he knew what the fangs of most monsters and animals looked like because his original goal in training, back when he was knee-high, was to steal fangs from all kinds of monsters. After he did it once, however, he sort of gave up because it had been a longer endeavour than he anticipated and he was satisfied the result. Until that point, though, he studied many sleeping monsters' mouths. Unfortunately whatever monster these fangs belonged to were probably Xascan-exclusive ss he didn't outright recognise them but he could still make out a few details and inferred guesses about the monster based on what he saw. What this monster regularly ate, roughly how many teeth it had overall, the shape of the monster's mouth etc... It was a bizarre image that formed in Aejaz' head but the truth laying before him wasn't something he was going to doubt. He had faith in his skills and his skills had deduced that these fangs belonged to!... A worm? A very big worm, a sand worm no doubt, but a worm nonetheless. The jagged rows of fangs would spiral inwards inside its mouth to create a vortex of teeth that it used to ambush prey from underneath the sand and swallow targets whole. It primarily ate meat but the fangs were also used to drill through tougher surfaces. That was Aejaz' professional analysis! He may be a conniving thief and a despicable assassin but he wasn't completely an idiot at everything else! Sure half of what Ares taught him went in one ear and out the other but even half of what Ares informed him about was still more than what a lot of other people knew in regards to cultivation. Ares was a dedicated bookworm in his earlier years, after all.
Speaking of Ares, he'd just finished reading the note from Sevorus about the cracked crown artifact... It was literally called the Cracked Crown! At least it was in this state, anyway... Ares would explain it to the others in the room properly once Sandy was done digesting all the information he just fed her. It was a full course meal with a history lesson that spanned many many years but it was worth learning. It didn't take her too long, though, and she opened her eyes with a sigh. She scrunched her face somewhat with a light grimace and shrugged her shoulders. "Well that sucks, huh? And I thought I had it rough..."
Ares snorted with a smile. "You do. It's not a competition. And yeah it sucks but, well, you know. What needs to be done needs to be done. As an aside, I think you can also grasp pretty clearly why I wanted the name 'Redhome' now, right?"
"Pft, you can say that again. You might be the most suitable person for that name just about ever, way more than me. You've more than earned the right to it. Ha, if you were a complete stranger and told me your story I might even give up the name to you anyway. I already knew you valued family above all but I never realised it was to that extent. I get it, though, and why you're doing all this... Well, uh, you know. If you ever need to talk about it then I'll do what I can even if I'm not really good at that sort of stuff. I'm not sure I can contribute much but don't hesitate to call if there actually is ever anything I can do for you. Even if it's that... What you're doing... I wouldn't like it, really, but I would do it for you."
Ares shook his head solemnly but looked happy to hear her encouragement. "Thank you but no. If I have no reason to subject you to it I won't. It's not like it would even make a dent in the numbers I'm going to have to eventually reach so there's really just no point... Ah crap, now I sound like tool... Well I guess the man had a point in his own way, whatever it was he was talking about. Look, what I'm trying to say is that I'm going through this specifically for the sake of you and all the others too; there would be no point if I dragged you into it. I'm only even telling you due to the nature of what I'm doing not exactly being something that can be swept underneath the rug. I just want you to know exactly what kind of person it is your getting involved with."
"I already do. What you've shown me doesn't change who you are, just what you must do. I normally judge people by the acts they commit, I'll be honest I do, but in this situation I think your intention is far more important. Somebody has to do it anyway so the label you'll inevitably receive isn't even tied directly to you, you're just the guy who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and got lumped with the responsibility. I'm many things but so fickle I would change my mind about you just because of something you had no say in isn't one of them... And, to be honest... I really do like you. Enough to ignore some things here and there I might even disagree with... Of course if you become some evil overlord of destruction who wants to obliterate the world for no apparent reason I'll change my tune, I'm not blind, but my acceptance of your fast and loose morals here and there is another matter entirely. I know you won't push things too far for no good reason, what you've just shown me makes that abundantly clear. Your secret is safe with me, my lips are sealed."
Ares breathed a sigh of relief. he knew she would tolerate what he showed her but that didn't mean it wasn't anxiety inducing each and every single time he had to share this knowledge. Ares had a fair few relationships in store and if he ever messed up even once, telling someone he shouldn't about all this... He didn't even dare consider the repercussions, it would be horrifying. Still, given the nature of what he was sharing the person would need to have a death wish so unbelievably monumental they were willing to take the entire universe with them. There were easier ways to die so the chances were low but that didn't mean they were non-existent either. Long story short, Ares had to be mindful and maybe it was for the best if he let Enyo decide who could and could not know in the future. He didn't want to burden her like that but she had a sixth sense for this kind of thing and would make far more clear-minded decisions than Ares would as she wasn't blinded by whatever he felt for the person in question. He said he wouldn't drag any of his partners into this but maybe that much would be ok? It was only because it was important and Ares didn't want to screw it up, and Enyo was the best person for the job, otherwise he wouldn't have even considered it... Of course when it came to someone like Sandy, of whom Ares was dead certain betrayal was out of the question, then he would just do it himself. At the very least, any wife candidate, one of the prophesised nine, ought to be ok as their lives were supposedly quite intertwined with his own. As long as Ares was sure he was dealing with the prophesised group he wouldn't need to deliberate. It was all somewhat treacherous, like walking a tightrope, but Ares viewed this entire step in the relationship as mandatory. He couldn't bare the thought of keeping such a thing secret from someone as the bloodshed he was going to partake in was not trivial and it was definitely not pretty either. Revealing that late into a relationship would definitely be cause for a major breakup that left a bad taste in both side's mouths and Ares would be 100% to blame.
"... Thanks. I know I don't need to thank you but it means a lot to me so I'll say it anyway..." Ares took a deep breath and dispelled the disintegration field. He couldn't know if Astraeus was watching or not so it was for the best he put some disintegration up every time anything sensitive was discussed. Then again, Astraeus was almost definitely busy with Xhilihx right now. He wouldn't have beaten it back so quickly, there was no chance. Rather, Astraeus was underestimating Xhilihx because it wasn't even really trying to kill him. Whenever Astraeus 'beat it back', chances are Xhilihx was just hungry and bored. It left because it wanted food, not because it was scared of Astraeus. Not in the slightest. If Xhilihx really went on a rampage Astraeus would get chomped on and, even if he didn't die, he'd get seriously bullied. That much Ares could tell. How could he tell that when Astraeus himself couldn't? Well it was a secret! Regardless, the point was that Astraeus was just being a nuisance to Xhilihx who would go and devour worlds when he got fed up with the persistent robo. Until that happened Astraeus' attention was elsewhere and Ares didn't have to feel like he was being stalked twenty four seven!
"Don't sweat it. So what's up with the crown then?" Sandy changed the subject back to the artifact on Ares' head.
Ares took off the crown halves and held them aloft side by side. "Originally these two crown pieces were whole and formed a personal treasure called the Crown Of Kazaz. It amplified arts and gave the wearer the interesting ability to cast two arts simultaneously. You can dual cast arts at the exact same time while wearing the Crown Of Kazaz and that's quite a unique treasure I think. If you know support magic you can increase the strength of every single art you cast or, in the case of Kazaz, you can combine two different synergistic pillars like lightning and water. If the Lighter Duo wore this crown a lot before splitting it would make sense they work so well together, they quite literally have buried memories of doing it all the time via this crown. Ah but that's the whole version, the treasure. It can still be recombined into the Crown Of Kazaz but right now its broken down into an artifact called the Cracked Crown. What it does is simple, it lets the wearers of both halves locate the other half of the crown as they both point towards each other like a homing beacon. It also allows the two wearers to be combined into a single person though its quite finicky if used on two people who aren't supposed to be merged together. Apparently the Crown Of Kazaz can also allow the prince of Kazaz, specifically, to split back into two people at will so, as long as the Duo have this artifact, they can recombine at any point and regain their birthright treasure. If this situation calls for it they may also split back up at will and locate each other from long distances with the Cracked Crown. Quite useful and will no doubt aid them greatly."
"Wait, but you said the cracked crown could combine any two people, right? What's up with that?" Sandy wasn't interested in trying but it was definitely a fascinating tool.
"I'm not sure on the specifics but, if anyone other than the Lighter Duo join, it will only last for a few minutes at most. That duration can maybe go up if the cultivation of the two individuals is higher but without two compatible souls it will always split apart the two users eventually. As for who's in control afterwards, or how the magic / weapon mastery and auras etc... Work... I have no clue! You'd probably have to just try it to find out. Actually, if the magic of the two users is combined then that poses an interesting experiment with fundamental magic as I may be able to borrow it out to other people that way. I'm tempted to try this at some point in the future, as combining with Bellona would be incredible I think, but I'll leave it for now and try to get the Crown back to the Lighter Duo. It is theirs after all." The Lighter Duo were probably still on a lower floor so Ares was going to have to ask Tom Tom to spit it out at them the next time they entered the Riddlemyd. Most likely they were waiting on a new group of experts to form to take on the Anubis room so they could join in and clear that floor to keep exploring. Luckily for them their oh-so gracious sect master had done the hard work for them so they could kick back and relax with their fancy new toy. Though if Ares ever wanted to borrow it he would ask hem to cough it up for him, it was way too fascinating an artifact / treasure to just leave in their possession and never experiment with.
"Um, are you sure giving this artifact to Tom Tom is a good idea?" Sandy raised a good point but her intention went over Ares' head.
"Of course? He's a bit of a silly cat sometimes but he wouldn't dare steal openly like that. It's his own master's orders that the Lighter Duo get their hands on this anyway so there's zero chance he makes a run for it with the goods."
"That's... Not entirely what I meant... I mean don't you think he might dangle it in front of them and ask for some kind of payment? You remember that monetary stunt he tried pulling earlier... We know he can be a bit manipulative when it comes to stardust..."
"... Ah... That's... Yeah, you may be right... Tsk, what a pain in the neck. I guess I can have Rox wait outside the Riddlemyd with it but leaving him to just stand around like that all day feels wrong as there's no guarantee the Duo even show up any time soon."
"Do you know where they're staying? I can go drop it off and come back. Tom Tom will just teleport me to whatever floor and room you're on when I return anyway so I can take a quick break from exploring this place with you to go do that."
"Oh really? Thanks, that would be a real help.... How much food do you want in return?"
"Aha, now you're speaking my language!" A bellowing laugh meant Ares had hit the nail on the head with the bribe. "It's good that you know me so well. I'll take a feast of literally anything!" Sandy hugged Ares and took the Cracked Crown off his person while he gave her directions to the Lighter Duo's inn back in Xasca city. They'd mentioned it last time Ares was with them precisely in case he discovered more labs, with stuff for them tucked away inside, while he was climbing ahead of them. Ares was about to bid Sandy goodbye for now, not that it'd take her too long to get this task over and done with as she could shift through the sands at a rapid rate, but there was a strange rumbling noise that caught his attention and distracted him.
rumble
It started off quiet and unassuming, so Ares thought maybe some expert was brawling it out in a nearby room on this floor or perhaps even coming down the corridor outside the lab, but the rumbling only grew louder with time.
rumble
It sounded like it was originating from this very room so Ares took a look around with his Omniscience and realised this was no ordinary room! Or at least, it was supposed to be a lab like any other but there was something very wrong it! "Aejaz! get away from those fangs!"
RUMBLE
"Huh? What's..." Aejaz was wondering what Ares was warning him about but his inane and time consuming question was shut down by Ares who sounded like he was going to beat up Aejaz and drag him away by force if he didn't listen.
RUMBLE
"MOVE YOU DAMN IDIOT!"
Thankfully the fierce tone of voice, and gradually worsening rumbling, was enough to kick Aejaz' rear into gear and he bolted over towards the exit alongside Ares and Sandy. Only one of them knew what was happening but the lab behind them was crushed in the blink of an eye so it became apparent there was more than met the eye here!
"It's the corridor creeper! It's a giant sand worm that can blend in with the walls! Those fangs were real and they were a part of the monster! It lives in the walls and these hallways are a perfect hunting ground for it!" Ares yelled as he ran and was proven correct because the hallway behind the trio begun sprouting multiple jagged teeth one by one. It was less like they were being chased by a monster and more so like the entire Riddlemyd had come alive and was trying to eat them! The walls were closing in and, unless these three wanted to be bitten to death and swallowed in these halls, never to be seen again, it was in their best interest to run!