The Temple of God Serena: Part 2

Chapter 3: The Temple of God Serena: Part 2

They walked through the halls of this once glorious temple, weapons draw and their guards up higher than ever. As they walked through the temple, Brandish looked back at the two outlanders.

"We must be careful in these ruins." she forewarned "Traps can be anywhere, and there will likely be many. God Serena was trying to take power here, and protect himself in the process."

"No shit." Gajeel puled "Looks like we'll be in this fucking place forever."

"It does seem like it's going to be a while." Levy puffed "And I do admit, it's a lot like the ruins back home."

"Yeah, a fucking dump." they soon stopped in their tracks at the sight of a room they just entered.

In the center of the room, were large, human-sized cages with intact skeletons dangling inside the cages, holding onto the bars and had faces that made it look as if they're begging to be let out. Levy could feel her heart wretch at the state of these poor souls.

"I do not wish to imagine the kinds of things that happened in this chamber." Brandish solemly said "Who were the poor souls trapped in these cages? What tortures did they suffer at God Serena's hands? Was it in service to the dragons, or for his own purposes?"

"Ain't you a fucking bleeding heart." judged Gajeel. As they surveyed the temple's room, something came into Levy's view.

"H-hey!" she called out "I see something ahead!" just as she was about to look ahead, she spotted several coffins bursting open.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The sound repeated several times until out came several draugrs. A few that resembled the ones back home and some, that looked as if they had a little too much protein in their diets when they were alive..

"OH shit!" Levy squeaked.

"Fuck!" Gajeel vociferated "They got draugrs here too?!"

"Solsthiem was once a part of Skyrim! Of course there's draugur here!" the draugr looked to the direction Gajeel, Levy and Brandish were coming from and began to pull out their weapons.

"Aav Dilon!" one of them screamed. Just when he was about to strike Levy, Gajeel pulled out his sword and blocked the attack.

"Bolog aaz, mal lir!" it yelled at him.

"Got no clue what the fuck you're saying pal!" Gajeel hollered back. He swung his sword in a circle like fashion and then stabbed the draugr.

"Fus...RO DAH!" with Unrelenting Force, Gajeel sent the group of draugurs flying into the air and landing flat on their backs, killing one or two in the process. Brandish swung her twin axes in a ferocious manner and slaughtered the draugur. Levy decided to go against using weapons this time and went with a spell she learned during her time in the Dawnguard: Stendarr's Aura it was called. As she casted the spell a large aura surrounded her and just by walking by someone who was undead it would kill the draugur. Eventually, the draugr were dead again.

"I wish it didn't have to come to this." Brandish sighed at the now truly deceased draugr "But you left me no choice." she looked up at the two Outlanders with seriousness in her eyes "God Sernea obviously set this up to make sure intruders never entered his temple. I have a feeling we're on the right path. We must push forward." She marched ahead while Gajeel whispered to his wife:"Kinda makes ya miss Minerva huh?" Levy couldn't help but nod.

Hours had passed and they still were walking through the temple of this God Serena. Draugr and worshipers popped out of nowhere trying to delay their quest; but they didn't let it stop them, they needed to get to the bottom of this temple and find out what was going on. As they tirelessly made their way through another hall with now deceased draugrs, Brandish looked up and spotted something in the distance.

"What's that up ahead?" Brandish cross-examined. Unsure, the three made their way until they came across another room. Inside the room were blades swinging from the ceiling at a fast pace.

"I am not going down there." Brandish laughed "It would be foolish to attempt it. You have a much better chance than I to make it through these traps." she looked up and spotted a lever on the other side of the room that looked untouched, next to a gated doorway "I have no doubt that lever turns these blades off. I shall wait here for now." she then sat down on the ground and refused to move. The Nord couple looked at the Solsthiem native with distaste. They studied the trap right in front of them before Gajeel gently moved his wife aside.

"You stay here Levy," Gajeel told his wife "I'll handle this." he put his weapon away and got into the position he needed to be in. He then firmly planted his feet on the ground before taking a deep breath through his nose.

"Wuld...NAH KEST!" and with a blink of an eye, Gajeel was on the other side of the room unscathed. He made his way over to the lever and pulled it, turning the trap off and unlocking the door.

Brandish got out of her posture, joined Levy and made her way over to Gajeel.

"Thank you." she smiled "God Sernea took great pains to make it difficult to reach him, it seems. Let us hope that is the last of these traps."

"It fucking better be." kvetched Gajeel, now that the door was open they could get into the bowels of the temple even quicker and find out what's going on here.

They found themselves in a place deeper than they've ever been. Probably as deep as the Dwenmer ruins, if not deeper. They looked around the decaying ruins with curiosity and wonder.

"I do not know what it is God Serena learned that gave him reason to turn on his masters;" Levy commented "but his path seems to have been a cruel one. I wonder if we will find some answers to what happened so long ago?"

"We should be able to." Brandish commented "But I admit this place disturbs me." as Levy walked through the temple, the strange aura that felt familliar to her just got stronger as she kept walking through the place. Her stomach teetered as she walked and she felt light-headed; the aura was intensely powerful.

Levy suddenly felt her husband's hand gently on her shoulder and he looked at her with concern.

"You ok Lev?" he asked. Her face was beginning to become drenched with sweat (well, it was humid in that place) and she looked at her husband, licking her lips for a moment and nodding.

"I'm fine." she antiphoned "The aura I sensed earlier is beginning to get stronger. It's literally making me nauesous."

"Don't worry wife, we'll be outta here soon. I promise." he slid his hand down to hers and held it tightly. Levy smiled at that before they spotted another staircase that lead downstairs.

"How much deeper can this be?" Brandish enjoined "I had been told that God Serena's power was great; but to have built so large a temple... It cannot be much farther now. I feel it in my bones."

"Better be." Gajeel opined "My wife's getting si-" he stopped himself and looked up ahead "Holy shit."

"What's wrong dear?" Levy questioned.

"I'm hearing chanting... think there's a Word Wall nearby." he raced down the stairs until he came into a room where the chanting grew louder and louder. He looked to his left and spotted the Word Wall. It had been close to five months since he had a single Word Wall and now he was so thrilled to have one! Since Gajeel did a lot of traveling, they were becoming scarce. He made his way over to it, feeling his vision darkening and the word on the wall glowing. Once he got close enough to the wall, an aura wrapped itself around Gajeel and a word kept reverberating in his head: Mul-Strength

"Damn. About time I get a new Shout." Gajeel smirked "Ain't that right Levy?" no answer "Levy?" still no answer. He looked behind himself and found both Levy and Brandish, staring at the ceiling, mouths a gape, eyes as wide as sweet-rolls "The fuck's with you two?" unable to say anything, Levy pointed at what her and Brandish were gawking at which made him look in curiousity. When he looked, he too looked in horror. There, above the Word Wall was the desecrated remains of a dragon. It was an intact skeleton, like the ones Gajeel knew oh-so well because of his Dragonborn abilities; but these remains were strung up as if God Serena meant to taunt his former allies.

"I had heard God Serena had turned against the Dragon Cult;" Brandish swallowed "but to display the remains in such a manner as this... It's no wonder the dragons razed his temple to the ground. Seeing the remains hung up like trophies must have enraged them to no end."

"I-I think I'm going to be sick." Levy gulped "We've slayed multiple dragons but... by the Gods this is horrifying."

Just as they said that, they heard the sounds of coffin lids bursting open as well as footsteps. Gajeel, Levy and Brandish look-seed and found several draugurs coming out o their coffins. One of them was heavily decorated which showed he was a powerful warrior in his day. The draugur began to attack the three intruders which started an all out battle, Gajeel pulled out his sword and blocked the attack made by the decorated draugr, he used this to swoop his leg underneath the feet of the draugr, causing it to fall on it's back and have Gajeel stab it square in the chest. Levy pulled out her twin blades and stabbed two draugrs in the throat, she then used it as leverage to kick another draugr in the face, crushing his skull and then beheading the other two. Brandish with her twin blades slashed away at vital areas and caused the embalming fluids inside the living corpses to bleed out like it was their blood.

Once every draugr in the room lied on the floor, bereft of life once again, Brandish began to search the room for an exit. Only to not find one.

"There has to be a way out." Levy reasoned "Maybe we just can't see it!"

"I think we should look at these corpses." Brandish suggested "Maybe we can find something on one of them." having a good idea of where a clue for the way out could be. He made his way over to the draugr that was decorated in the clothes that showed his status. He carefully searched the corpse (all while trying not to gag) and soon found a key for a door.

"Oi, I gotta key!" he called out "I got a good idea where that fucking door would be. You know where his coffin could be?"

"I think it's the one in the middle." Levy thought. Her husband made his way over to the coffin in the center and found a small keyhole on the coffin's back slab. He took the key he found and unlocked the coffin's secret door revealing another room.

"We're getting close." Brandish smiled "The end of this Godsforsaken temple should be here soon." with that said, they made their way through the secret entrance and into the next room.

They yet again went through more rooms and soon started descending multiple staircases, killing more draugrs and cultists until they arrived to a dead end where there was a pull chain. Gajeel pulled the chain in front of him which lead to another secret room. This room, was what they were looking for. The walls were green and had the exact same architecture that had been plaguing the island. However, there were the statues of a tentacled monster all over the room. Levy knew who this effigy was, but she couldn't really remember it. One thing that caught everyone's attention the most was a large black colored book with a figure that looked just like the statues. Levy was always one who loved to read (hence why her husband built a library in their home) but this was one book Levy never wanted to touch. The aura around this book made Levy sick to her stomach and run to the corner to evacuate her stomach contents. The aura she had been feeling all day was coming from this book.

"There are dark magics at work here." Brandish commented "Ready yourself. This book... It seems wrong, somehow. Here, yet... not. It may be what we seek." Gajeel made his way over to the book and placed his hand over the cover.

"Gajeel..." Levy warned.

"I'll be fine Levy." he reassured "Promise." hesitantly, Levy just stood still as Gajeel opened the book. The moment he opened it, a green light omitted from the book's pages and black tentacles bursted from the pages, wrapping around Gajeel and before he could mutter a single word, his vision faded.

His vision began to return and soon, he found himself in a world he was not familiar with. The skies were a bright green and the seas were an odd black ooze. The surrounding land was the same architecture that was plauging Solsthiem. In front of Gajeel was a light-skinned man with long orange hair held in a high up pony-tail that was split side to side, a disc like weapon that was attacthed to his back. He was surrounded by odd, floating octopus like creatures that looked demonic. The man was God Serena.

"The time comes soon when-" God Serena began.

"The fuck is this place?" Gajeel muttered to himself.

"What?!" God Serena suddenly conjured up lightning from his bare hands and attacked Gajeel, causing our hero to fall on his hands and knees. The man then made his way over to Gajeel to examine him. His eyes were light in color and he had a large scar over his nose. What caught Gajeel's attention the most, was a mask hanging off his neck. It was gold plated and looked like a tentacled face, it was a Dragon Priest mask.

"Who are you to dare set foot here?" hissed God Serena. Suddenly, his eyes widened at realization "Ahh... You are Dragonborn. I can feel it. And yet..." he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before looking at Gajeel with a devilish grin "So you have slain Acnologia... Well done. I could have slain him myself back when I walked the earth; but I chose a different path."

"Says the guy who's temple was burnt to shit." Gajeel shot back "And seriously, your fucking taste in arcitecture is terrible. I can make better-"

"ENOUGH of this!" God Serena hollered "I'm sick of all this!"

"You didn't even let me fucking talk ya piece of-" Gajeel pointed out.

"You have no idea of the true power a Dragonborn can wield!" It was obvious to Gajeel this guy couldn't take a hit to his big ego. Suddenly, he did something that made Gajeel look in utter shock. God Serena Shouted "Mul...QUH DIIV!" an aura suddenly surrounded God Serena and took the form of a dragon. Gajeel was stunned.

"He-he's a fucking Dragonborn too?!" Gajeel thought to himself.

"This realm is beyond you, you have no power here! And it is only a matter of time before Solstheim is also mine! I already control the minds of its people. Soon they will finish building my temple, and I can return home." he then looked at the two tentacle like creatures "Send him back where he came from! He can await my arrival with the rest of Tamriel." when he finished his orders, he made his way over to a dragon that was nearby. The two tentacled monsters made their way over to Gajeel and began to throw green orbs at Gajeel. Searing pain ripped through his body as he watched God Serena fly away on the dragon he hitched a ride on. As Gajeel watched this scene, the pain became too unbearable that he blacked out.

"Gajeel!" he heard his wife's voice call out. He regained his vision and soon saw the face of his loving wife, looking at him with concern "Are you alright?!" he looked around the area he was in and realized he was back at the Temple with his wife and Brandish. The mysterious book that took him to that unknown place was lying on the pedestal they found it on, looking so sweet and innocent. Brandish made her way over to Gajeel, concerned about what he went through.

"What happened to you?" she cross-examined "You read the book and then... It seemed as though you were not really here. I could see you, but also see through you!"

"I don't know what the fuck that book is capable of;" Gajeel hoarsely said "but it's able to do some crazy shit. I just saw God Serena." the girls looked at Gajeel in complete distress.

"Y-you saw him?!" Levy swallowed.

"Where?" asked Brandish "Where is he? Can we reach him? Can we kill him?" that last one made the two outlanders look at her as if she was insane.

"This book took me to where he was." Gajeel explained "Where ever the hell that was. But there's more to it; he's alive and Levy, what's worse is he's like me: Dragonborn." Levy's complexion paled hearing her husband's words.

"H-he's Dragonborn?!" she squeaked "B-but that's impossible! You're the only Dragonborn in Tamriel!"

"That's what scaring the shit outta me right now. He's trying to come back to this fucking world. He also said he's the one controlling the minds of everyone on this Godsforsaken wasteland. I'm now 100 per-fucking-cent he sent those cultists to kill me." this couldn't seriously be happening. Another Dragonborn?! If God Serena was Dragonborn like Gajeel and was causing trouble in this world while he was in another... then this was a situation out of their control. If they get out alive it would be a miracle.

"This is a dangerous thing, then." Brandish confirmed about the book "We should return to my village, and show this to my father. Perhaps August can make sense of what is going on."

"Do you really think he can?" Levy asked.

"My father is an amazing shaman. If anyone can figure it out, it's him." with that said, the three took the book, soon found an exit and left the Godsforsaken temple once and for all