Chapter 27, We love Arata

"Hey, isn't this a strange rock?" Zhen asked as we were about to enter the castle.

The rock he refered to was a pink rock, I think it's a Morganite gem that was on a pedestal. Two of them.

"It is but we probably shouldn't touch it." Andrew said and dragged him in.

We descended deeper into the castle, everyone is keeping their eyes out for anything suspicious. And as we go deeper the castle begins to grow darker.

"It's pretty dark huh." Angie said.

"Theo." I called out to him and after a few seconds light emerged. Laterns.

"So, where do we go?" Leon asked as we arrived at a fork.

"William, where do you want to go?" I asked him.

"Eh? Me?" He asked and I nodded.

"Follow your heart." I told him.

"Then, to the right." He said and we went right.

We continued on and we had William direct our path. Not long we arrived at a sealed door made of strong unbreakable steal.

"There doesn't seem to be any king of key hole." Reinhardt reported.

"William, shoot it." I told him.

"Okay then." William answered and aimed his gun at the door. He pulled the trigger and the door opened and then staircases began to rise. They lead down into the depths of this castle.

"From here, everyone else wait here." I told them. "William, follow me."

"Okay." He answered and we entered the room together.

It's dark and as we go deeper the laterns begin to lose light. I nodded to William who then shot a bullet into the dark. The darkness was soon removed.

"So, where do we go now?" He asked.

"Forward, to the Rose Stage." I answered.

We went deeper till we reached the very bottom. At the very bottom, a large shrine. In front of the shrine a small stage.

I turn to the area beside the shrine and toss the latern into it. The fleeting flames begin to glow and the area around us lit filling the room with light.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked.

"On the Rose Stage, let the flower bloom." I answered and suddenly at the center of the stage a pedestal rose.

We approached it carefully and when we arrived I read the words written on the pedestal. 'Initium is Finis, Finis is Initium.'

"What does it mean?" William asked.

"Initium is Finis." I repeated.

Just then, the staircase retracted and the way back was sealed. Then, slowly, water began to fill the room. Tch. Another trap. William aimed his gun but when he fired it the trap didn't stop.

Calm down. Think. There should be a key to stopping thi somewhere here. It's just been hidden. Initium is Finis. That's it!

I immediately take out my mirror and contact Andrew.

-----

Without Arata here it gets really awkward between everyone. Though we don't want to call each other enemues we can't exactly call each other friends either. Loving Arata is the only thing we have in common after all.

Suddenly the ground suddenly begins to quake and the the staircase Arata and William took suddenly retracts, the door shuts soon after. We begin to worry and at some point Reinhardt says he'll blast the door open.

My mirror suddenly begins to vibrate and I take it out to see Arata is calling. I answer it and Arata immediately get outs.

"We're trapped at the bottom and water is flowing in. I need you to listen carefully and do as I say." He says.

"Do you want us to blast the door open?" Theo asked.

"No. Go back outside. Remember that morganite stone Zhen found earlier?" He said.

"Yeah. What about?" Angie asked.

"Go back and get it, then on the slot in the door slide it in." He said.

"Okay then." I answered. "I'll go simce I'm one of the fastest."

"I'll go with you." Adonis said.

We ran as fast as we could but it's dangerous to run on the stairs. It's slipper.

"Andrew, have you and Argent known each other for lomg?" He asked as we ran up the stairs.

"Kinda, I don't think it's been half a year since I met him." I answered. "Why?"

"You remind me of me." He answered. "When I first met Argent, I only wanted to help him because he was friends with Theo. But... he suddenly began to be someone who fascinated me."

"I get it. That was how it was for me too." I answered. "I wanted to help him because he was William's brother but... as I spent time with him I became enchanted by his bright and sunny personality."

"To me, Argent was always bright, like a light of hope." He answered.

"I get you." I answered. "Sometimes he can be too bright though."

"Yeah." He answered. "We're nearing the entrance."

We emerge at the entrance and I take one ofbthe stones and rush back into the depths of the castle. We need to hurry, Arata and William will be having a having time by now.

-----

It'll be fine. I have faith in Andrew and Adonis. The thing that worries me is our oxygen supply. The water has already reached my knee. In a couple more minutes it'll reach my waist.

"Arata, you alright?" William asked and I nodded.

"William, thanks for always comforting me." I told him.

"He~, where's this coming from?" He smiled.

"Can't I be thankful for my brother?" I asked and suddenly he hugs me.

"If you really are thankful, call me Will again, like you used to when you were young." He said. "When you spent a year with us you stopped calling me Will and started using my full name."

"T-then... Will, thank you." I told him and he smiles and suddenly, he plants a kiss on my forehead. That's when I notice the water subside.

----

I toss the stone to Ophelia who places the stone into the slot. Adonis and I are panting but the door opens and the case reemerged. We nod to each other and enter the room in a rush.

At the bottom we find the two hugging each other. We give them reassuring slaps and go up the staircase again. We head for the outside and breathe in the fresh air and natural light.

"So, did you get the first piece?" I asked.

"It's right here." Arata answered and took the last morganite stone on the pedestal.

"That's the first key?" Theo asked.

"Yup." He answered. "Initium is Finis. The beginning is the end."

"I see. So the key was here all along?" Alistar sighed. "What a troublesone key."

"Well, I suppose we grew closer thanks to it though." Adonis smiled at me.

"Let's head back." Arata said and we nodded.