The other Young Gods exchanged uncertain glances, torn between their loyalty to Caen and their desire to explore the potential power of the mysterious gemstone. Fortunay's words resonated with them, and they couldn't deny the allure of possessing such an ancient artifact.
Elysia spoke up, her voice tinged with concern, "I understand your curiosity, but we shouldn't be too hasty. This gemstone might be connected to the temple, and taking it without proper understanding could bring unforeseen consequences."
Another Young God chimed in, "She's right. We should be cautious. Remember what happened when I touched it? We don't even know how it works or what it can do."
"Are you all crazy?" Eris scoffed in disbelief. "This isn't an opportunity that we get often. Don't you want to get stronger? Do you always want to be treated like a weakling. Why did we find it? Why wasn't Caen with us when we did? It was because this was our fate!"
"Our fate led us here without Caen, before it wanted us to possess this and get stronger!" She further exclaimed. "Don't be stupid and think about returning it! You would be wasting such a precious opportunity!"
"I agree. So far, Caen doesn't know what we found. Moreover, the laws of this world are weak so he can't sense it either, at least not in his current condition. We should take this opportunity. You all would be too dumb if you disagree."
The other young gods exchanged glances. Most of them were already agreeing with Fortunay. And the rest were still torn between loyalty and greed.
In the end, their greed took over. However, they didn't want to think of it as betrayal. To justify it to their conscience, they gave themselves a different reason.
They started to convince themselves that if they went back to Caen without concrete answers, it might just stir more trouble and distract him from his current mission of healing and revenge.
In the end, all of the Young Gods agreed to keeping it a secret. Moreover, it was decided that the gem was going to stay in Fortunay's possession since he was the one who brought it. However, all of them were allowed to study it.
After coming to a basic agreement of cooperation, things calmed down for the moment.
Fortunay stood up, and observed the rubble of the temple. Just for the sake of it, he kept a small piece of the rubble in his storage as well, but sure if he was ever going to need it. He kept the piece which had one of the words from that ancient language.
After everything was settled, they once again resumed their search of the Desolate Land for a place to stay.
****
As they continued to explore the desolate Lower World, they eventually found a hidden cave that seemed good enough to rest in.
The hidden cave wasn't easy to find unless one was lucky. In fact, it was a complete coincidence for them to discover it.
They all wondered if they were going to find something good inside the cave like the temple, since it was certainly that one of the Ancient Gods had come here in the era that was forgotten.
Even after they searched the entire place, they couldn't find anything at all. This cane was as empty as it could be.
The only thing that was peculiar were the marks on the floor, as if something heavy was kept there, or moved from place to place. Unfortunately, they couldn't guess what that was.
It was long in the past after all, and no signs other than the marks on the ground were left behind. Only one thing was certain. It was that once upon a time, someone lived here.
Fortunay carefully took out the gemstone and laid it on the ground before the Young Gods. They all gathered around it, their divine senses trying to glean any information they could.
"It's like nothing I've ever felt before," Eris whispered, her eyes fixed on the gemstone. "It's as if it contains a vast reservoir of energy, but it's dormant."
Fortunay nodded. "Indeed. I appears like it's sleeping, waiting for the right trigger or condition to awaken its power."
Elysia fingers hovered over the inscriptions on the gemstone. She didn't touch the gemstone, feeling as if it was dangerous.
"These symbols... I can't fully comprehend them, but I remember seeing something similar in the Realm of Gods."
"You saw the symbols on this gemstone? Where?" Fortunay asked, taken aback. Even Elysia shifted her attention to Eris.
"Not these exact symbols, but something very close," Eris replied.
"Doesn't matter!" Fortunay exclaimed, getting eager. "Tell us where you saw it. If we can establish a proper link, we might be able to understand it more."
Their collective curiosity was now a burning desire to unlock the secrets hidden within the gemstone. They knew that studying it in-depth and unlocking the mysteries of this gem could yield something unimaginable.
"It was in the Palace, when I visited with my father," the woman answered.
"Caen's house?" Fortunay frowned. That was the place they all collectively called the palace. "Where in the Palace?"
"In the throne room," Eris replied. "There is a portrait near the throne."
"The Portrait of Lord Chaos," Elysia stated. That was the only portrait they had seen that belonged to Caen's father. Other than that, no known portraits were available publicly.
Curiosity piqued, Fortunay and Elysia exchanged intrigued glances before urging Eris to elaborate on the portrait further.
Eris hesitated for a moment, before explaining, "In the Portrait, Lord Chaos has a sword as well. Symbols similar to this were on the Sword."
"The sword?" Fortunay frowned. He had also been to the Palace, but he never really paid attention to the Sword in the portrait. Let alone him, almost no one paid attention to the Sword since anyone who saw the portrait was only focused on the man in the portrait.
"Are you sure that's what you saw?" One of the Young Gods asked, realizing the gravity of the situation. If her words were true, that meant that Chaos and these Gemstones had some connection.
