COTE X Re: Zero: A Demon's Isekai

Relic Hunting we go.

"Dude, I just realized something." Ryuuen began our conversation anew, after it had taken a break. "Pokémon, is technically just animal slavery and gladiator fights."

Shit, dude has a point. 

"What's Pokémon?" I asked, confused. 

"Dude, not even Pokémon?" Ryuuen shook his head. "I swear, your dad should be shot dead just for that alone."

Wait, how do you not know what Pokémon is?

Wait, if you're me, how do you know about Pokémon when I don't?

...

...

...No comment.

And just like that, the telepathic link between us had been severed once more, and I was left alone with my thoughts. 

So...Hornykouji, is in fact not me at all? Or at the very least, not completely? At least, that is what seems to be the case. I wonder how that came to be. I haven't come into contact with any other relics, that is certain. Which leaves out only my initial descent into this world. 

Then does that mean my initial descent somehow split my consciousness in two? Or maybe even more parts that are far suppressed within me? The more I learn about this world, the more confusing it gets. There does not seem to be any limit of what magic can accomplish here, and it seems quite malleable as well. 

"Are we there yet?" 

"No Ryuuen we are not." I said, dodging a falling icicle. 

"Aw come on man, we've been walking here for 3 fucking hours!" 

"My my how impatient you are." Elsa giggled. "But I must say, I'm starting to doubt the fruitfulness of this as well. The Ancient Relics have been nigh impossible to find for a reason."

"Damn straight." Ryuuen nodded in agreement. "Why can't I just go box with someone? Instead I'm out here on a fucking treasure hunt."

"The odds of us finding an Ancient Relic are quite slim, Partner." Elsa placed her hand on my cheek. "Are you certain this will yield results?" 

"I've been following the trail they had at the castle, and this is as far as they could go." I told them both. "That means the relic has to be ahead." 

"I call plot bullshit on this." Ryuuen said. "No way we just stumble on the relic like that."

We made it to the edge of the cave, as a wave of heat struck us in the face. Heat..in the middle of a glacier? I stepped out through the exit of the cave, and arrived at a chasm of lava below me. We had ended up inside a volcano, and one that was certainly not dormant, if the bubbling of the lava was an indicator. 

"A temple." Ryuuen pointed ahead of us, the lava basking him in a fiery glow. "It just had to be a temple."

And right he was. At the end of a narrow pathway over the daunting chasm of lava stood a towering temple of heated stone. Even now the stone glowed faintly, heated to the point of luminescence. Lava dripped from the walls of the volcano, and the air was filled with the sounds of sizzling stone. 

I stepped forward, placing my foot on the rock bridge separating us from the temple. I was ready to step back instantly should the bridge not hold, or jump all the way across as it was within my capabilities. The bridge held my weight. I stepped forward, seeing its uniformity in density as I walked till halfway across the bridge. 

"It is stable enough for all 3 of us." I informed my companions, who followed behind me. Ryuuen walked behind Elsa, holding up our rear as he scanned the lava dripping down all around us. "Do you see something?" I asked him.