(Jason's POV)
"No sign of anything, Anna." I said as I had a flashlight on my hand, "I searched everywhere, Felicity currently has dozens of drones scouring every nook and cranny in the Temple. Even the secret and hidden rooms had nothing but treasures. No sign of Irene and the source of the Ravine's power usage."
I walked up to her and Heine as they stood next to a broken statue.
"Oh dear...." Anna said, "No luck with us either, Jason."
Heine scowled at me, "All this was for nothing, Jason?!" She growled, "You SAID Lady Irene was here!!"
I sighed, "The Cultist's letter and map said she was here." I said, "It was a message to some Therion guy or whatever. Or was it from him? I don't know. Point is, it was a good lead."
"Futile." Heine said seriously, "All this was futile."
Anna nodded, "I agree." She said, "We've searched everywhere and nothing. Your technological scanning abilities also failed to find something. There is nothing here, Jason."
I rubbed my hair, "Ain't that a bitch...." I said, "What now?"
Heine walked past me, "I'm leaving." She said, "I'll go back to Ishgar. There are some Cultists near Bosco that might know something."
I looked at her, "Don't you think you should stay with us?" I asked
She stopped and glanced at me, "No." she said with anger in her voice, "Leave me alone, you fiend."
She then walked away.
I looked at Anna, "Well, damn." I said, "She's not happy."
Anna nodded, "It appears so." She said, "She was so tense."
"What now?" I asked her again
"I'm not sure...." she said, "I could always wait to see if I feel the resurgence of the power again. We're at a dead trail, Jason."
I nodded, "Alright." I said, "I guess we head home then. Wanna come and have dinner with us? I have to pick Kagura up."
She gave me a look of surprise, "D-Dinner?" she asked
"Yea, Mavis told me to invite you." I said, "Unless you don't wanna, that's cool."
She shook her head, "N-No, it's okay!" she said, "I'm just taken aback, I'm sorry."
I chuckled, "Is that so?" I said, "Come, let's get out of here. I'll have Felicity and her drones scan the temple after we leave just in case."
"Okay!" She said
I turned to walk when I felt an odd but powerful presence all around me.
"Where do you think you're going?" I heard a whisper inside my head
It was almost as if someone was communicating telepathically to me.
I turned around, "What?" I said, "Who's there?"
Anna frowned, "What's wrong, Jason?" She asked
I didn't say anything, almost confused. I didn't know how to explain what just happened, it was weird.
*******************************************************
"No luck in finding anything, Sir." Felicity told me through the speaker
"I figured." I said, "Set a course for Kagura's location. We're picking her and Arania up."
"Roger." She said
We were inside the airship, already in the air and making our way out of the eastern continent.
"I wonder what actually happened..." Anna said as she sat across from me
I nodded, "Same." I said, "Something is off, I can feel it...."
"This will take time to figure out, Jason." She said seriously
I looked at her, "Don't worry." I said, "We'll figure it out. In the meantime, we'll have dinner and you'll confirm your suspicions about Erion."
She gave me a serious look, "I hope it's not the case, Jason." She said, "The Stories I heard of that Dragon...."
"They must not be worse than Acnologia or the other Dragon Gods...." I said
"They are." She said with a serious tone, "I have something to confess...."
I frowned, "What is it?"
"I...." She said as she fidgeted with her hands, "I knew Acnologia.....personally....when he was human...."
"What?" I said, "You're serious??"
She nodded, "Yes..." She said, "That's why I know; the things he did, while terrible and horrifying, they're nowhere near That Dragon's level.....His name was forbidden to even say. The Dragons feared him. If you wish, ask Igneel....He'll tell you more...."
I leaned back, "Is that so?" I said, "I just might..."
"Yes...." Anna said, "All the other dragons, what they've done.....I've seen it firsthand.....even Jason Glory, he knew Acnologia as well.....But even they knew..."
"The Dragon Eater was a true monster."
***********************************************************
"Oh, Hello there, beautiful." I smiled at Kagura as she entered the airship through the ramp
"Hello, My Love." Kagura said as Arania walked behind her, "How was your trip?"
I shrugged, "Pointless." I said, "We found nothing."
As the ramp closed and the airship began to take flight, Kagura walked over to me and sat on my lap, giving me a kiss on the cheek.
"Interesting." She said, "I'm glad you're not hurt."
"Same." I said, "But what's this? You never engage in this kind of stuff."
She blushed as she caressed my cheek, "I'm feeling romantic..." She said before leaning into my ear, "I want you when we get home~"
I smiled, "Okay." I said, "But Anna is having dinner with us, I called Mavis already."
She crawled off of me and faced Anna who was sitting down.
"Hello, Anna-san." She bowed, "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Anna smiled, "The pleasure is all mine!" She said joyfully, "I'm always happy to meet anyone dear to Jason."
Arania crossed her arms and looked at me, "So....am I not invited to your dinner, Jason?" She asked
I shrugged, "It's up to you if you want to join." I said
"She can join us." Kagura said, "We're exhausted."
"Well, after dinner, you can stay the night Arania." I said, "Take a bath in the open air bath I built last month. It's really nice."
Arania sat down, "Thank you"
Kagura then looked at me, "All that said." She said,
"I got news for you."