After listening carefully to Hazel's words, which Zyric immediately took as nothing but unnecessary words of flattery directed towards Diana, his expression darkened and his voice rose as he replied, "You want me to talk to her? What do you even know about her that makes you praise her so much again and again, huh? Do you even know that my mom and dad are not in this world anymore because of that very girl, and you...ah, leave it, I don't want to speak further on this! And listen, I am never going to talk to her again ever. I hate her with all my heart. And as information, I do not even think of her as my sister. The tone that Zyric used was bordering on angry and sounded so bitter that it brought a solemn silence in the room.
After hearing these words, Hazel responded in kind with equal firmness, "If it were not through your sister, I would not know you much less consider you my friend and had it not been otherwise you would have been living all alone with no one at all to be beside you." And she went on, still quite calm but with a touch of truth in her, "I am your only friend, Zyric, and that is the reason because of your sister Diana."
Hazel, however, deep down in her heart, could not help but dislike the situation. She hated the fact that Dr. Diana was quietly doing so much for Zyric, taking care of him in ways he never noticed, yet all he could feel towards her was pure hatred, bitterness, and rejection.
Zyric's anger only increased after hearing Hazel's reasoning. "Alright then," he said harshly, "if you have become my friend only because of her, then fine. From now onwards I will never come to you, not even if I am dying, but I will not come to you." With these said heavy words, Zyric stormed out of the cabin of Hazel and his steps were macho-like against the floor, but Hazel did not leave the room where he left, but continued to watch him go in frustration.
"Dang it, what have I done?" Hazel thought to herself, clenching her fists in regret. "It is true that I made his friend because of Dr. Diana but he is a good boy and now I would have to find some way to persuade him." Troubled with this thought Hazel settled back her eyes still fixed on the door through which Zyric had just emerged.
Meanwhile, Zyric returned to his class and took his usual place, his mind still heavy with anger and confusion. Still, in spite of all this he sat waiting patiently until Raven came, as he wished to thank her. As Raven stepped through at last, Zyric turned and took a look at her, but Raven continued to keep her eyes straight before her, never once looking back at and at him.
Meanwhile in another corner of the city beautiful young lady was sleeping in her room and the phone rang loud. "Tring… Tring…" The ringing interrupted her sleep and she grabbed the phone with a half-closed eye.
"Hello… is this Dr. Diana speaking?" the voice of a man asked from the other side.
"Yes, this is Dr. Diana speaking. What happened?" Diana replied in a calm yet alert tone.
"Dr. Diana, you have to come here as soon as possible! We have found something incredible. I am sending you the location right now," another doctor spoke excitedly on the call, his voice full of urgency and joy.
Recognizing the voice, Diana asked, "Dr. Edwin, can you not at least tell me something clearly first, or should I rush there blindly like this?"
"Just come as quickly as you can, Diana! I think we have found something that is probably related to deities," Dr. Edwin said breathlessly, hardly able to control his excitement.
The moment she heard this, Diana immediately cut the call, quickly freshened up, and rushed out with all possible speed towards the location that Dr. Edwin had sent her.
The location turned out to be deep inside a dense forest, where many skilled Monster Tamers were already gathered, waiting for her arrival. They followed very quickly and led her into it. As Diana entered a little farther, she was greeted with a scene of utter confusion- there was something weirdly wrong with the atmosphere, and dead in the midst of it lay a dead stone like meteor, which had fallen with great violence.
The meteor was something of a novelty to her eyes It had two weird red eyes embedded in it and this glow was faint, but it appeared weak as though about to disappear altogether. Summing it up it looked like, it must be a sort of lantern inside the stone, but that light was flickering and about to die away.
Just as she arrived at the site, Dr. Edwin came rushing forward. "Finally, you came! Everything is on hold until you give the word, and we have all been waiting for you," he said with relief, before gesturing towards the mysterious stone.
Diana looked first at Edwin and then at the object lying in front of them. "Are you really sure this has something to do with a deity? To me, it looks nothing more than a normal meteor," she said, voicing her doubts.
The other doctors present immediately turned their eyes towards Edwin, their expressions filled with suspicion, because he had summoned them all here in a hurry, making them abandon their important work, under the claim that it was a matter related to deities.
Sensing the tension, Dr. Edwin quickly tried to clear the confusion. "Uh, yes, yes, I know what you all must be thinking, that this is just a meteor. However, do not forget that our planet has a shield around it, and yet no meteor penetrated it during the past centuries since the time, it was formed. and that which thou now seest before thine eyes, was made able to pierce through this shield with alacrity. Yes, the shield was already repaired and so now you will not be able to see any sign of breach. The fact still remains--this thing broke through a barrier that nothing ever broke before. There is only one conclusion: this object is definitely related to something far more powerful than us. Think carefully about it, Diana."
At these words Diana looked up in the sky. Even then one could see within the radiance of distance the cushioning protection of the blue bulk of the planet Earth that was transparent like glass, though invulnerable, and that ever guarded the planet against touchdown by the meteors that might have hurled destruction upon it.
Edwin interrupted her thoughts again, his voice firm. "Diana, do one thing. Don't waste any more time in doubts. Go and research it thoroughly, because none of us here are experienced enough to examine such a thing. And if it really is connected to something that can cause even more havoc to Earth, then delaying it will only make things worse. So go quickly- you are the highest-ranked doctor among us, and you will definitely understand it better than any of us."
Diana nodded in agreement, without saying another word. She immediately picked up her equipment and began to inspect the stone carefully, researching and examining every detail of its surface. Finally, she stooped and picked it up in her hands. To her surprise, it did not weigh much- it weighed about as much as a school bag and she was able to lift it up. With utmost care, she began to walk back towards Dr. Edwin to enable them to carry it to the lab to conduct more investigations on it.
But in the very next moment, one of the red eyes on the stone suddenly gleamed brightly. A strange, whispering voice echoed faintly from within the object, "This girl… she is very close to me. Yes, she should become my host. If she becomes mine, then I will survive. I will not perish. And through her, I can also prepare a backup plan."
The stone glowed faintly again, and then, with an almost invisible movement, it pierced Diana's hand. A sudden stab of pain went through her skin, but Diana, not noticing anything unusual, assumed it was only a sharp edge of this stone that was scratching her palm. She paid it no further attention and continued holding the meteor tightly, unaware of what had just begun.