I Am The Truth II

Chapter IX: A New Objective

"Ria specifically told me that we would do this after voting day," Val replied.

"It doesn't hurt to find the location of the Prime, does it?" Almrak persisted. 

"I don't know how to do that either," Val said, impatience creeping in.

"We'll show you."

Val stood with her arms folded, looking around at the laboratory environment.

"With all this?"

"Oh not at all," Hubris said this time. "We'll do it at the shrine."

After another awfully slow walk, even slower now that Val had to keep track of two one-legged Ardoni, the three were at the shrine of Ataraxia, situated most inconveniently on the tallest hill that there was in the city.

Both the Voltaris and the Nestoris were on the nearby bench, quite exhausted. Val meanwhile, was in the center of the shrine, kneeling on the stone floor. Her eyes were closer, her face pointing straight at the ground.

Val waited in silence. She could hear a faint ringing, but that was about all she could do.

"You can't see anything, right?" A voice said, and Val opened her eyes.

Hubris had called out to her, and she shook her head in response. The Mendoris wordlessly stood up and made her way to the bench, sitting down right next to Hubris.

"Comes with practice," Almrak said. "Most Ardoni learn to communicate best with their songs after having wielded them, so it's understandable."

Val didn't say anything for a few moments.

"When we find the Prime, what are we going to do with it?" She asked finally.

"Deltheus and I plan on harvesting its power," Almrak answered.

"Ria appears as if she's gonna just wield it herself," Val replied. "Did she ever tell you why she wanted it?"

"All she said was that it was dangerous in the hands of Diamond Heights."

"But it's not dangerous in her own," Val said, a distinct sour note in her voice.

Almrak gave her an odd look.

"You two have been fighting some, huh?" He guessed.

"No, not exactly that," Val replied. "More like her simply not confiding in me on anything whatsoever. We were close for a few years, and she forgot all that within four months? She won't let me help with anything now, and I'm just stuck here. I don't know what happened to all that about me being needed for this."

"Okay, you are actually obsessed at this point," Hubris began, shaking his head."The both of you are adults now. She doesn't have to confide everything."

"Openly defying the government to the point where you could easily get erased within hours is not something you keep from other people Hubris," Val responded. "She literally said that the two of us were going to go on a treasure hunt for the Mobilium Prime. I ask about backup, and she says that she is the backup. Does that not strike you as a tad bit overconfident?"

"I mean, she's been doing something along the lines of solo work for a few months now, hasn't she?" Hubris said.

"Her opponents aren't the same as they were a few months ago," Val countered. "Diamond Heights, or whatever, they'll adapt to match her style with time. Sometimes, you let your opponents become overconfident to learn about their weakness."

"Have you ever imagined that Ria is doing just that?" Hubris asked, but Val shook her head.

"Give it a break," Almrak said suddenly. "All this paranoia does no good for anyone. Beside Val, I'm quite sure you are still quite useful. After all, you still possess that link to the Mobilium from what Ria told me."