Arc XChapter17
<strong><b>X</b></strong>
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<strong><b>Arc XChapter1</b></strong><strong><b>7</b></strong>
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A heavy sigh escaped Raiden<span style="text-decoration:line-through">,as his person guided Lady Asami andpany, her apparent sister and a little kitten through the lifeless ruins of Nara. An unexpected turn of eventsfor sure. The ways of fate were strange indeed.
Had he been told back in his youth that he would <span style="text-decoration:line-through">be one day be ordered around by a pubescent precocious girl, half his age, with fluffy cheeks and hair, he would have used the person in question of suffering from a serious case of delusion, ranging from clinically insane to mentally disabled. Yet here he was, scavengingsome long forgotten ruins while being ordered around bya pubescent precocious girl, more than half his age, withfluffy cheeks and hair, d in a kimono and armed with melodramatic theatrics of grace and elegance, reigning over Amegakure by marshalling the support of the ns and rich. Not to mention, speaking<span style="text-decoration:line-through">onon behalf of Pain, or rather instead of their dear, wise leader as some voicesmight say. How times had changed. How Amegakure had changed. The irony and absurdity of the circumstances of reality never failed to surprise him.
Yesterday, proud ninja and intelligence operator,<span style="text-decoration:line-through">but today<span style="text-decoration:line-through">,reduced to Lady Asami''s preciousckey. Quite a change in his profession, and yet despite resenting it, he was ultimately following hermands. For some strange reason<span style="text-decoration:line-through">s, despite all his misgivings, his doubts, his initial reluctance, he was now following themand of a little girl without question. Curious, wasn''t it? Perhaps blind obedience and unwavering loyalty were after all the true essence of being a ninja. They were often said to benothing but tools,disposable toolsdestined to fulfil the wishes of their lords and masters, and in his case, granting the wishes of his mistress.
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━━━━━━┛???┗━━━━━━
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Crumbled stoney sprawled as far as her eye reached. The ruins offered Asami an underwhelming view, as their little group was guided through thedeserted city that once was called Nara. Past cobbled courtyards, past crumbled walls, past<span style="text-decoration:line-through">fallen stone, they entered arge abandoned structure, impressive in size and dimension.“I gather we have made much progress.”
“That depends on your definition of progress. So far, we have excavated little here to justify our efforts. Nothing here to find but scrap and trinkets to pocket. Historical curiosity aside, I see little point in continuing this expedition”<span style="text-decoration:line-through">,he respondedwith a hint of pessimism.
Asami smiled, tilting her head. “No need to sell yourself short, Raiden.” She firmly patted him on his shoulder in a reassuring gesture. “<span style="text-decoration:line-through">Judging by your recent reports, you managed to stumble across a major find. So what exactly have you and your men unearthed, aside from these little trinkets?”
<span style="text-decoration:line-through">Her chief archaeologist merely grumbled. “Hmm… Come, and see for yourself.”
A pair of ninja guards moved aside<span style="text-decoration:line-through">,asAsami andpany entered a poorlylit corridor. Torches provided asemnce of lighting. An ancient stone staircase led their group underground, deeper and deeper into the realm of subterranean darkness beneathyer uponyerof earth and rock,until they reached a vast empty hall deep down. Gargantuan stone pirs carried the weighty ceiling and above floors.
An impressive sight, from a purely architectural perspective, butotherwise disappointing. Asami had expected more than just some ancient stone structures. “Is this everything?”
“Obviously not.” Their guide smirked, motioning forward. “Further me. Followme.”
They followed his lead through this interminable darkness before eventually hittinga dead end. Their passage was blocked by what appeared to be a mundane … wall.
Asami raised hereyebrow, amonsentiment this day. Her man in the field presented them <span style="text-decoration:line-through">with an admittedly ostentatious wall, adorned with borate patterns of inscriptions and gibberish symbols. A yin and yang circle was featured prominently in the middle. It was a circle of dark and light, unified and intertwined, despite their dualistic nature. Artistic considerations and Deidara''s appreciation aside, the wall exuded no sense of importance. Quite the contrary. The grey monstrosity looked like amon wall. It felt like amon wall. It was in fact amon wall.
“A wall?”Asami paid Raiden with a questioning gaze. He owed her an exnation.
“We thought the sameinitially<span style="text-decoration:line-through">, but appearances are often deceiving. This is not a wall, but a gate.”
Asami paidRaiden a questioning gaze.
“ording to our linguists, the hall here is a treasurevault. The inscriptions mentionancient treasures, three sacred regalia,valour, wisdom, and benevolence in some way. Unfortunately, the inscriptions appear to be iplete. Parts are missing<span style="text-decoration:line-through">., but we suspect that whatever these treasures might be, they must lie beyondthegate, inside thevaulty. The only problem is that ... ... ...”
Asami stepped forward<span style="text-decoration:line-through">sto study the gate herself. “Let me guess, you have no idea how to open it, correct?”
“... ... … So far, all our attempts to find the seams of the doors to open the passage have failed. The gate won''t move.”
Her hand touched the dusty, gritty surface. A faint puff of the substance drifted through the air. The grey stone felt cold, dense. “Are you absolutely certain the gate canbe opened?”
“Very much so. The inscriptions leave little doubtabout the matter<span style="text-decoration:line-through">,and I have never heard about an inessible treasure vault. That would be rather stupid, not to say counterproductive. Judging by the slits and the seals, there must be a way.You don’t putseals on somethingthat can''t be opened. In fact, we suspect the vault had been opened recently.”
Asami was listening. “How so?”
Raiden borated, “When we arrived, the entire area was covered in rubble and debris; yet ... yet this underground passage has survived the times remarkably unscathed. No debris. No rubble<span style="text-decoration:line-through">.Little sign of erosion and age… As it turns out, wehave found a stone te lying right next to the staircase. It fits perfectly. The te must have once covered the entrance, but it was<span style="text-decoration:line-through">lifted and moved… Someone came here before us.”
Asami processed this new piece of information. So they weren''t the first to discover this ce. How disappointing, but a predictable oue. “Just about how long ago are wetalking about?”
“That is unfortunately impossible to tell at this point. Maybe years, perhaps decades, but we assume a more recent date.”
“I see.” Asami studied the gate andthe engraved seals. Her hand touched the cold grey surface<span style="text-decoration:line-through">once more. This type of stone ... This typeof sealing ... A nagging feeling insisted that she had seen all of this somewhere before. “And what about explosives? Have you tried those? Can''t we force our way inside?”
“We have already tried ... It''s impossible. Personally, I have nothing against the destructionof historicsites ...,but the problem that we face is the structural integrity of this ce. If we try to st our way through, thechances aregood that we all are going to be buried alive.”
Asami clicked her tongue in slight annoyance.“Have you any other ideas, Raiden? As you have said, there must be a way. Our ancestors must have left us some hints here.”
“... They have,<span style="text-decoration:line-through">but the inscriptions mostlyconsist of cryptic messages...
Iplete.The word iplete upiedAsami''s mind. Ithad a familiar touch.
Raiden straightened his back. “They saythat ‘passage will only be granted to those worthy, to those who carry the blood Ashura, or those who wield the eyes of Indra’. The inscriptions undoubtedly refer to the legendary progenitors of the two imperial lines, but<span style="text-decoration:line-through">since both have long since gone extinct, weare with few optionsleft…Lady Asami?”
A subdued giggle filled the darkness, originating from a single girl. An amused smirk adorned Asami''s lips. She finally ... remembered. This stone ... This seal strongly resembled ... A certain ancient shrine on a rainy night, a certain stone tablet from the past, came to mind. “Extinct. Extinct is such a harsh word, Raiden, don''t you agree? While I can''t speak for the children of Ashura, Raiden, I can assure you that the descendants of Indra, thest heirs of the imperial throne, are still very much among us. His blood hasn''t yet waned.”
The gate opened as ancient stone began to move, parting before Raiden''s very eyes, Incredulity gripped his mind, as his lips fell silent.
How ... How was this possible ... The gate had opened itself ... But who ...
His gaze fell on a certain girl who returned a secretive smile, yet all of his attention was drawn to her eyes ...<span style="text-decoration:line-through">,to a purple abyssof endless power.
In an instant, his blood froze<span style="text-decoration:line-through">,as everything suddenly fell into ce ... His mission ... All the ancient history ... This ce ... The imperial regalia ... Her eyes ... Her blood ... Her legacy ... The destiny of a girl born to rule.
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