16 C16 Ancient Water Temple

Nathan, Kai and the three knights continued to make progress, the sun beating down on them as everyone looked worse for wear. Kai looked rather unhappy about the weather, and the three knights were all sweating horribly, taking drinks from pouches when they felt the need.

Kaye stared at Nathan, who still maintained the lead. His movement were fast, showing no signs of stopping or slowing down. Hatred continued to fill her soul. Her need for revenge rose as she continued to push on, her throat feeling dry and sore. Seething, she continued to stare at the man's back.

Nathan continued moving. He did not need to eat, sleep, or even drink. The sun was annoying, as he was used to the damp and mild climate of London. The climate here, however, felt like hell. After coming to this world, his form had also changed. He could no longer feel any of the issues that stumped him previously. His athletic skill was terrible before, and he usually had to stop after a few minutes of running. But now, he felt like he could keep going.

He could only attribute this to the system. Becoming an Arch-God had its benefits, though right now he had access to none of his abilities. So did he have the right to be called an Arch-God?

He felt a small tugging on his shoulder, his eyes turning to Kai, who nodded ahead. He stopped as he turned to look forward, seeing the strange carved stone building ahead that stuck out of the cliff

Two large sides of the structure had aqueducts and other areas that water could pour from. It was clear that this place was the origins of the river, a non-natural source of water.

"What is this place?" Kaye asked as she looked at the large stone building.

"I'm guessing it is a temple to Elnas. She is the goddess of water, the sea and travel."

The three knights looked at the man, wondering how he knew so much. Kai, on the other hand, just nodded her head, accepting it.

Nathan moved forward, not allowing any more questions. He had a mission. Water was necessary, and he needed to figure out what had happened to this place.

Stepping inside was a relief for everyone as they no longer had to suffer the ravages of the desert sun. The inner area felt cold to the touch, the stone keeping the temple cool, allowing everyone to rest for a moment.

Nathan and the group continued after a few moments, the room opening up after around one hundred meters. The size increased from a two person wide corridor to being so massive that one could not even see the sides. To the left and right could not be seen, but ahead was an enormous drop downwards, leading to a small shining liquid at the bottom that seemed to reflect some light.

"This is the water reservoir. It's a large one, and it seems sad that nearly no water is here. Normally this would be filled with rainwater or magic, though it seems no one has been here in some time."

He continued walking across this vast reservoir, leading to another corridor. After another five minutes of walking, Nathan stopped again as he saw two directions. One lead down, while the other lead forward. Nathan assumed that going down he would find the source of the water and maybe find the location to fix this mess. He figured he should do this alone, as he could not fully control his water power word.

"Okay, let's split up. I'll head downstairs and have a look for the source of water. You guys carry on ahead and see if you can find anything to carry the water."

Kaye stared at Nathan for a moment. She knew this was stupid. It was better to stick together. If anything happened, they could defend each other, though she figured in the case of that man, it was better for him just to run away. Maybe this was the best time for revenge. She hoped the man would find something scary and run away screaming.

"Sure... Nathan, was it?" she said. "You head downstairs, and we head forward. If you see anything too scary, please come back and get us. The big strong knights will protect you!" she smirked, but her smile was soon scraped from her face once more.

"Alright, Tin-can. Don't rust in here. Water is bad for your metal."

Kaye seethed with anger as Nathan started to walk down the stairs, almost wanting to shove him down so he might break his soft and weak neck.

Kaye had to satisfy herself with rolling her eyes as she headed on, the other two following behind as she walked forward. After several minutes they entered another room. This time it was smaller than the last, with a centre platform that held a dull round and slightly cracked crystal on a podium.

All around the room were shallow pools of water that seemed to shimmer, a soft blue light coming from them that looked magical. Each step they made echoed through the tall room.

"Look, in the walls, I can see small holes. It seems that the water starts here and drains into the big area. Seems Mr Know-it-all was wrong!" She laughed her head off as she stepped up to the podium, staring at the dull crystal as she nodded. "If we take this, maybe the Demigod can use it for water, draw out the energy!"

She touched the sphere with greed and pride as she attempted to lift it, but her smile was again pulled away as she saw blue water leak from the crystal and form into a solid fist, colliding with her and catapulting her back several meters. Her body crashed to the floor as she let out a hiss of pain, her suit shielding her slightly, but not to the blunt force.

In the centre, a giant water elemental formed, its figure slightly deformed as parts of it had holes. One of its fists was somewhat smaller than the other, and its entire body took on a shiny red colour once fully formed. It was weaker than a standard elemental, the crystal in its centre almost out of power.

"Who dares defile this temple? I will destroy you all and let the carrion feed on you!"

The giant elemental was eight feet tall, with hatred in its eyes as it looked at the four who intruded. It was no use talking to it, as it was ready to fight.

"DIE!"