Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 4: The Princess and the Key - Chapter 5

Feeling restless after having had his fill of food, the young god decided to try reaching out to her again. The servants had moved all of his belongings to this new room and he searched through them for the bag of crystals. After having gone through everything twice and not finding it, he paced frantically, wondering where he should look for it next. Sensing the ancient Lord coming closer to his room, he hurriedly went outside to meet the older god. "Where is it?" he demanded.

The ancient Lord blinked at the young god's unexpected appearance. "What is it? What are you looking for, child?"

The already agitated young god shook as he stopped himself from attacking the older god in front of him. "The bag. Where is the bag? I had it with me last time. What did you do to it? What did you do to her?" he growled.

"Her?"

"The crystals. Her crystal. Give her to me. Give her back."

The ancient Lord stared at the glowering god before him for a moment then calmly said, "Calm down, child. I have it with me. I'll take you to it."

The younger god silently maintained his distance from the older one as he simmered in anger and frustration. The ancient Lord didn't say anything and simply walked ahead in silence as he led the young god to where he had put the bag of crystals.

"Where is it?" the young god demanded again as soon as they entered the study.

"Take a seat while I get it. I want to talk with you afterwards," the ancient Lord said. He went to the back of the room and opened a small cabinet.

The young god took his usual seat and shifted impatiently as he watched the ancient Lord root around the cabinet. He snatched the bag from the ancient Lord's hand when the older god returned, and immediately searched for her crystal.

The ancient Lord took his own seat and watched the young god frantically sift through the crystals and decisively select one from the pile. "Have you found what you were looking for, child?" he asked curiously.

The young god clutched her crystal close to his chest and looked at the ancient Lord defiantly. "She's mine. I won't give her to you."

The ancient Lord nodded and gestured at the young god in a conceding manner. "Very well, child. You can have that. I won't take that from you." He paused before carefully asking, "How did you know that was hers?"

Distracted by the unexpected question, the young god momentarily forgot his anger and slowly answered, "I just know. I always know which one is hers."

The ancient Lord gestured at the bag of crystals. "Then what about the others? Do you know who they belong to? Can you distinguish between them?"

The young god blinked in confusion. "No. I don't know who they are. I can't sense anything in them."

"Then, what about her crystal? Can you sense anything in it?"

"No." The young god bit his lip to hold back his grief. "I can't sense anything. She won't talk to me." His voice cracked as he tearfully asked, "How do I talk to her?"

The ancient Lord gave the young god a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, child," he said gently. "I don't know. No one has ever done this before. You're the first one to distinguish between crystals."

The crystals jumped and scattered around when the young god kicked out of his seat and slammed his hands on the table. "Then what do you know? You said you would help me, that you would work with me through this. Tell me everything that you know!"

"Patience, child," the ancient Lord said calmly. "Rushing wouldn't help us in any way. This is also new to me. Let's work on this carefully, okay?"