Immortal Poison (FFXV)

Chapter 18

Present day...

The lowest level of Tenebrae's library was so old that the door fell off the hinges just seconds after Jasper opened it. They stepped into the room and found everything smothered in dust. Not a very pleasant sight, but they began to browse through the books, brushing off the dust to read their spines.
Calix glanced at his phone, and after seeing several missed calls from Celio, he deleted his number and then tucked the phone back into his pocket. He never cared about him and often felt that working with him was a waste of time.
"All I want is a hot shower after spending more than a second in this room." Jasper said as he flipped through the pages of a book.
"Same. It smells horrible, and I feel like my lungs are clogged." Ruby turned away and coughed.
"I found something." Cor waved for them to come closer. He proceeded to explain his findings once they joined
him. "Apparently there were three crystals in existence long before the starscourge. They were a source of magic to Solheim and a gift from the astral, Ifrit. They were lost during the astral war. The Lucian bloodline was to protect a more powerful crystal that would one day choose the prophesied King of Light. The original three crystals resurfaced around the tempering grounds, during the development of the four nations: Lucis, Niflheim, Tenebrae, and Accordo. To keep the peace, none of those crystals reside in Lucis, and were instead divided among the other three nations."
     "Sounds fair to me." Jasper shrugged.
      "If only it were that easy." Cor continued. "Due to an abuse of power, and hunger for more power, the three original crystals were lost to warfare. Lucis was the only nation left with a crystal."
      Calix sighed. "So rather than keep the peace, they tried to steal from each other."
     "If one or more nations are abusing their power, it's understandable that the peaceful ones would try to stop them." Drusilla added.
"Now, is it safe to assume there's another crystal somewhere in Lucis? Ruby, you have those coordinates, and there was that attack on Insomnia. Do you think Ifrit has returned to take back those crystals?" Jasper wondered.
"I don't know if there's another crystal in Lucis, but that attack was led by Adagium. He somehow has control over Ifrit." Cor answered.
"Which means the astral's motives had nothing to do with the crystals. Adagium, on the other hand, I'm not so sure what his true motive was." Calix added.
     "So how do we know where to look? Or rather, who left these coordinates behind? Who figured it out?" Jasper questioned.
     Ruby folded her arms. "My guess is that people have searched for them. At this point in time, Lucis is still the only nation with a crystal. So the other three are either completely lost, or they were found and are currently in safe places. Or this second set of coordinates is for something completely unrelated to the crystals."
    Noticing the edge of a cloth sticking out of the back page, Cor pulled it out and laid it flat on the desk. There were a couple of spots marked down on it, and it had clearly been torn. Ruby attached it to the cloth map she had, and it was a perfect fit.
    "Sooo, option one or two?" Jasper questioned.
     Ruby stared at the map in complete silence before she picked it up and left.

      It was a quiet walk back to the airship that Drusilla had stolen to bring their group to Tenebrae. It was a cloudy, breezy day. Ruby paced back and forth with the cloth map gripped tightly in her hand.
    "...One thing at a time, Ruby." Cor reminded her while standing beside the airship. She ended her pacing when she stood in front of him. She kept her tone low enough for only him to hear.
    "What the hell do we do? Should we keep looking? Should we stop? If they're protected, it'd be best to leave them alone, right?"
    "Yes. What has you so worked up?" He mirrored her low tone. "Isn't this what you wanted?"
     "Yes, but...I don't know. Something doesn't feel right..."
     "You need a break, Ruby. If the map and key lead to one of the crystals, or all three of them, then we have the upper hand. It's time to go home."
     She let out a heavy, relieving sigh, and agreed with him. Her body and mind were more exhausted than she wanted to admit. He folded his arms and studied her. Her face was flushed and she was swaying, just slightly, side to side. She looked like she was ready to either vomit or pass out. Or both.
    Ruby glanced back, hoping that he was actually looking at something else.   
    "...What?"
     "...There's something you're not telling me. You haven't really been yourself lately, and I'm pretty sure that's not because of this crystal mission."
     "To be honest, I don't even know what's wrong with me. I feel like shit, and I'm tired." She snapped before walking around to get on the ship.
      Cor waited a couple minutes before following. The sudden change in her tone forced him to believe she was letting her claws out. Still, he sat beside her, and in an instant, she curled up and snuggled beside him. He wrapped an arm around her, and her tense body relaxed.