Join Iah, Lei, Nyima, Adela and their friends as they embark on a treasure hunt to uncover the secrets of the map found in the ancient ruins of Rios. But what they discover in Mina may lead them to regret ever finding the ancient tablet in the first...
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I stared at the frightened Elliot. Did he really think that I would say yes? Well, I had fallen captive to the lure of power from the sword currently in my hands. But, I couldn't fall for such a thing again. On the other hand, it was clear that none of the others could take this guy down other than me. Even Hideo couldn't, especially not after having healed my uncle.
Plus, dragging this fight on would mean further eroding the seal that my friends made and Yanyu strengthened. With Yanyu out of commission for the time being, I couldn't count on her to stop Ratmir again.
I scoffed. "Once again, how can I be sure that what you're saying is true?" I asked, glancing at the enemy.
Uncle sighed and snapped his fingers, reverting the space around us back to normal. "There, a peace offering."
"Iah!" Elliot yelled.
I smiled weakly at him. What I was doing was likely not good, but we had few good options. If Kagutsuchi-Jianguo didn't kill them, it would be a Ratmir possessed me.
"Sorry, Eli," I said, turning back to normal.
Uncle smirked and put his hands on my shoulders. "You made the right choice, nephew."
"Iah!" Eli yelled, rushing at us.
I held my hand out to him, sending out a blast of earth prana, trapping him in rock. "Tell Adela and the others than I'll be fine," I said, forcing a smile.
Elliot crushed the rock. "Like I'll let him take you!"
"Too late!" my paternal uncle said as flames swirled around us. We appeared in the middle of the same hill where I'd seen the Hierarchians attack those child protesters on the device Uncle Huang had given Hal. That was earlier today, yet it felt like an eternity ago.
"Chin up, sport!" Kagutsuchi said, patting my shoulders. He let go of me and walked downhill. Jianguo's wife, Lithdia, Delphine, Ethan, and two others I hadn't met waited for him.
"That boy," Lithdia said, furrowing her brow at Jianguo.
"Relax, he's with us. He's the nephew of my benefactor. That said, I think that my time as Uracil has come to an end."
"What?" the older woman of the two I didn't know said.
He smiled. "I plan to retire and focus on my personal goals. Iah will assist me with those."
Like I would. I was merely doing this to save my friends. If he wanted help with his goal, he was better off trying to continue to draw Ratmir out. That guy had the same goal as Kagutsuchi, to destroy this world and rebuild it anew.
"Don't you mean 'us'?" Ratmir's voice echoed in my head.
I clenched my teeth. "What do you know?" I mumbled.
His laughter echoed in my head. "I looked into your heart, Iah, you can't hide it from me. You also wish to destroy this world. If not physically, than the current world order that governs it."
