Mysteries & Legends

Straxus was making his way through the hallways to his office, yet as he made his way, Straxus felt uneased oddly. Like the presence of a stalking shadow was always around him, watching him and studying his actions as well as words. However, for every time Straxus attempted to uncover this shadow. He was always left empty-handed as it would not allow the CEO to solve the riddle of what it was. As if it did not want him to and compelled Staxus to focus on the development of Arcane Technology, leaving anything else seem to be a waste of time. It felt like he was being infected by his obsession, almost as if Obsession was like an infection clawing its way into his mind and body. Pushing Straxus to learn the full nature and power of Arcane Crystals to apply that to modern-day technology. Straxus shook his head to alleviate 6 his paranoia as he rubbed the bridge of his nose to relax his mind. 'I may need to get some rest... These thoughts are just getting in the way of our research. Plus, I am not the only one who is doing what they can to understand the nature of these Magical Gems.' He went on within his mind, trying to rationalize these thoughts of Obsession and Paranoia. 'Plus... That Burton woman is already indulging herself with the capabilities of Arcane through experimentation. She knows how to use her words as well as her fortune to their fullest to get what she needs to accomplish her goals. Even if Bethany's methods are less than humane in the eyes of the public. Yet, with any form of progress, experimentation is always a necessary step and we all must have the will strong enough to make those hard choices.' Straxus finished as he entered his office to retrieve some medication to tone down his arising headache. "You are right about that Mister Lithson. We all must be willing to break some eggs to make an omelet. As you Midgardians like to say from time to time." Spoke aloud a woman adorning an Indian Accent etched within a powerful demonic tone, yet her words created a voice that seemed to be always scheming. Ensuring that she was always five steps ahead of everyone else. Without hesitation, Straxus drew out a sword designed for an imperial general with blinding speeds as a way to strike before the attacker could. Yet, there was no one present in the room. "Yet, you are quite a confusing individual. You pose as another Midgardian, but you're akin to humans. But that is less of an importance in comparison to what is sinking into your mind. What is most intriguing is how your company has found many powerful relics belonging to many figures of Myth. Though, I wonder why you and your company have looked over a particular stone which had fractured roughly over two years now." The voice spoke once again, but Straxus recognized what it wanted as he turned to his computer. To his surprise, the monitor was showing an article belonging to The New York Times which was published on March 18th of 2022, discussing an object called a Sessho-Seki within the country of Japan. A stone believed to be tied to a Legend that both China and Japan shared regarding one of the most dangerous Kitsunes who used to roam the Earth. The Nine-Tailed Fox, Da Ji.Elsewhere, Han and Penelope were overseeing the efforts of Tyrik and those who came along with him as they investigated The Wraith that killed Rutilo Lumia. Oddly enough, Tyrik had made things far easier for everyone with the case as Tyrik showed one of his natural talents, observation. In a way, his observation skills were akin to Sherlock Holmes's detective novelities. He was able to narrow down that Rutilo was a member of a gang group, but he was not able to figure out which one. Taking this further, Tyrik reasoned that the reason why Rutilo had killed Bert before returning the favor was most likely due to the two having found the infamous Dutchman Mine yet Rutilo desired to keep the fortune for himself. After all, some of the items that Rutilo had with him were very expensive such as a pair of Raycon Fitness Bluetooth Earbuds, which were roughly a hundred and twenty dollars in price. A new Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra with the fifth-gen mobile network, which was a total of around eight hundred ninety-five dollars. Taking these details into account, it was reasonable to say he came into a large amount of money in some way. "So the question is how did he and Bert found The Mine in the first place..." Tyrik pondered as he went through his mind to figure out a possible way this was achieved.Han perked up to this sentiment, not expecting Tyrik to bring up the legend regarding the nearby mountain range. "How do you figure that is the reason for the murder?" The Demon Prince questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Simply due to the electronics Rutilo has currently. There is no way an average person could afford pricey items like those." He explained simply as Tyrik. "From what we know about him so far he was a car mechanic, which has a pay grade of twenty-two dollars and sixty-eight cents per hour. Adding on this, Penelope had uncovered a lot of spending on expensive items ranging from a Playstation Five, a Razer CPU, and many with large price tags. How would he have the money to buy all of that in a short timeframe without sacrificing his financial status?" Tyrik finished off with a small twirl of his left hand. Thinking this over, these details and the conclusions made by Tyrik did make logical sense. From the financial records belonging to Rutilo, he was able to buy all of these items with no effort and was still able to cover his bills. Especially with rent and utility bills are somewhat absurd currently within The United States for one reason or another. Rutilo to have been able to discover a large amount of money, or at least some materials which can be used as such was the only way this could be achieved. Penelope was quite impressed by Tyrik's level of observation and logical way of thinking. Evidence through her small smirk which began to form on her face, though she doubted that Tyrik was able to match her level of intelligence. 'And he probably is far more humble than that Aker Prick, Thoth... He is so damn annoying...' Athena thought to herself with clear disdain for the Egostical Scribe of Knowledge and History of the Egyptian Gods. "Okay... How do we find a mine that no one has been able to find, Ty?" Questioned Ricky as he smoked from his pipe with a raised eyebrow. "Because it doesn't seem like we have any better chance of locating it when everyone else has died to find it based on what I have been told by the Fire Bull..." The Kapre went on as Red Son glared at him with a bit of anger for the little nickname. Esmeralda had already started to search for any clues to the mine's location on her smartphone the second it was brought up. It was easy for her to find some kind of information that would help as The Dark Elven Princess began to read a quote from the original owner: "From my mine, you can see the military trail, but from the military trail you cannot see my mine. The rays of the setting sun shine into the entrance of my mine. My mine is located in a north-trending canyon. There is a rock face on the trail to my mine. That seems to be the only hint that Jacob Waltz gave to the location of the mine." However, the little riddle didn't help narrow anything down on how to locate the mine and only brought up more questions..."Well, maybe the Olympian of Wisdom may have some ideas. So, let's hear them, Athena." Judy snarkily remarked to the goddess, who was quick to make her aware that the Kitsune needed to tread carefully with her attitude. With a small sigh, The Olympian began to think over the information and tried to figure out a way for them to locate this elusive mine. However, the available information wasn't exactly helpful in disclosing its location. "It will take me some time to figure out something, but I think that I can figure out such a simple riddle." Athena boosted with those present debating if she was able to figure it out as her words sounded more like her bragging about her intelligence rather than reassuring that she could figure it out. Upon seeing this expression, Athena twitched in a bit of rage towards them for doubting her abilities. "What!? Think I can't figure this out!?" She yelled with gritted teeth while aggressively pointing at the group."Well, now I do..." Tyrik said aloud without realizing it, making Athena grow enraged that he had the nerve to question her knowledge before she was stopped by Red Son. "Don't let your ego get the better of you, Penelope... Just suck it up and help us figure out where the mine is before you blow a blood vessel." Red Son told her with a threatening tone as he was able to contend with her thanks to the power of The Samadhi Fire within his control. However, Penelope just groaned aloud before she stormed off to calm herself. Washta was a bit confused by this exchange, believing that Athena would be able to defeat Red Son with little effort yet the Demon Prince was quick to pick up on this. "I know what you're thinking, but Olympians aren't as powerful as they are believed to be. When you compare Zeus, the strongest among them, to beings like Khonsu, Ishtar, and Amaterasu for example. Zeus is very quickly outclassed by the others. At best, Olympians are mid-tier in their level of power among everyone else." He explained nonchalantly. The Shawnee woman was stunned to hear this info as Washta was expecting to see the Olympians being more powerful and not at the average level."Either way, we have a lot of research to do... Not looking forward to determining a location on a map with no clue where to even start..." Lamented Esmeralda with a loud groan of irritation for the task ahead.The scene changes to a young girl around a younger teenage range who begins to awake from a medical-induced slumber. Rubbing her forehead, the young blonde teen tried to determine where was currently. Yet, she had only found herself within an enclosed room with no means to peer outside. She grew somewhat panicked due to the new surroundings as the girl tried to recall how she got there. However, her memories did not give her any context as she only remembered being promised a new life thanks to... "What the hell... Why can't I remember anything?" She said aloud as her mind tried to piece together the context of her situation. Scrambling for something to give her some kind of information about her location, or even about herself, a name was able to come to the surface. "Right... My name is Ashely..." Ashely announced aloud as she got off of the bed she was resting in. The room in which she had found herself seemed to act akin to a small room and gave her the necessities she would need. Such as a bathing area and similar facilities to help maintain her hygiene, yet leaving her even more confused regarding what was happening. Abruptly, Ashely felt an aggressive form of sharp pain clawing at her body as it forced her onto the floor as briefly screamed out in pain. Ashely felt something within her body changing unnaturally, but it swiftly disappeared as it came. "The fuck?" Ashely questioned aloud as she struggled to reach out to the sink to lift herself upwards. However she was not expecting to see her eyes taking on a more reptilian appearance upon looking at herself in the mirror above the sink. It was not the only thing that was bizarre as she saw her nails transfigured into a claw-like appearance as crystal white scales formed around her hands. She let out a terrified scream as unknown to her, researchers were documenting these slow-paced changes.As the researchers went about their work, there were multiple subjects within their rooms on monitors. Each one showed the different rates of their metamorphosis yet most were around the ages of five to sixteen of age. The project that was being conducted had one thing in mind as it seemed to test some kind of enhancement serums. Each one is given labels of certain mythical creatures such as Garudas, Dragons, Kitsunes, and Elemental Monkeys. Overseeing all of this was another enhanced human, adoring Orange Eyes and Silver hair. A man in his mid-twenties yet possessing the crimson scales of a dragon-like they were armor with the wings and tail to match. "Can't believe that this stunt actually managed to provide us enough test subjects for this little project." He declared with a sinister chuckle as the dragon hybrid smiled at the progress of the experimentations. "Thankfully not many people give a damn about orphans, especially with the growth of apathy and hatred these days." The draconic-enhanced man declared while his twin sister looked indifferent to what was happening. Yet, what she was seeing disgusted her to her very core as she and her brother were also treated as test subjects for their mother's sick and twisted experiments.