It had been days since Morgan last spoke to Atlantis. After the merman had confessed what had plagued him so much, Atlantis had secluded himself in the room, allowing no one to enter but the servant that had brought food. Morgan would've tried to push down his lover's barriers but the stress of helping Scarlet continued to be a burden on his on him.  Time was of the essence, and by the gods he wasn't going to let the woman die.

"Shit," Morgan hissed when he nicked his finger on the blade he was using, his dark blood fading into the water around him. 

"You alright there?" Rubyn said as he peered over his shoulder. Morgan pressed his finger against his lips, gently suckling the blood as he nodded at Rubyn's question. He glanced at the prince, "Just a cut." The prince look haggard, with his red hair unkempt, the dark circles faint under his eyes. A shadow had begun to grow on his jaw, and for a moment, he reminded Morgan of Atlantis's current state. "You should rest Rubyn, you look like you haven't slept in days."

Rubyn ran his hand through his hair, "How can I? Scarlet is unconscious, and she hasn't woken up."

Morgan nodded, "I know and it's nothing we've never seen before. The other hosts had it easy," Morgan murmured as he thought back to the others and how they bonded to their gods.  "Ren had the column, Aceso had the ceremony, Markus had his blades, Jonas had  the sphere, and Dimitri had the cave blessed by the Sapphire god."

Rubyn frowned, "Each one had something that belonged to the gods."

Morgan pondered over Rubyn's statement, "You're right," he glanced at the potions around him, almost as if he were looking for the answers around him. A red bottle caught his eye, the liquid glittering like that of a gem. 

A gem.

Morgan recalled something from a tale he had heard when he was barely a child, a tale that a few merman had told when they passed by the cave he once lived.

A legend of the Ruby gem and how it came be.

"Tell me Rubyn," Morgan murmured, holding the vial between them, "What is red and belongs to the goddess?"

Rubyn frowned for a moment before his eyes lit up, "Of course! There is a book in the royal library, but it's only full of myths and legends," he ended with a murmur.

Morgan curled his lips into a grin, "Even better."

******

Atlantis rubbed his chest, the pain inside clenching around his heart. He thought that by confessing his thoughts to Morgan would help alleviate the guilt, but for some reason the pain remained.

He glanced down, expecting to see redness from the constant rubbing but what he saw shocked him to the core. Glowing red veins pulsed beneath his pale skin, the center of it starting from the left side of his chest, just above his beating heart. With each beat the light grew brighter, before dulling and glowing again.

Atlantis inhaled sharply and covered the odd mark with the silk covers.

What is this? Why is this happening? Atlantis thought. He glanced about, seeing a chest piece tucked away in the corner. Without hesitation he strapped it on, the red glow hidden beneath it. He let out a frustrated sigh, running his fingers through his red hair.

This was something he shouldn't worry about, especially now when Scarlet was in her death like sleep. To bring this to Morgan it would add more burden to his shoulders.

"That's enough," he growled to himself, determination set in his eyes, attaching his spear to his back before setting off to find Morgan.

*******

Morgan rubbed his tired eyes as he poured over the books, flipping through the pages in search for any clues that gave the whereabouts of the  gem.

"This book of myths that you gave me is very vague on the gem," Morgan muttered.

Rubyn groaned rubbed his hand over his face, "And I have no luck."

Morgan furrowed his brow as he leaned back in the chair, "What if its a royal secret?"

Rubyn shook his head, "Impossible. My father would have told me."

"I wouldn't have," a low voice said from the entrance. Their heads swirled, eyes falling on the ageing king, his reddish brown eyes glaring at his son, "With a son like you, a son who can't control his temper, how do you expect me to divulge such a secret?"

Rubyn's lips parted in surprise, before his cheeks tinted in anger, the vein in his neck standing out against his skin, "Then tell me father, why won't you do anything to kill off the Amythyst?! We have the power to do so! I have done what you couldn't do!"

Morgan drifted towards the wall, watching, the tension between the son and father, unable to leave the room.

The king said held back his anger as he spoke, "I have tried negotiating peace with the Amythyst but everytime you come in and destroy it! You made me a fool and a liar!"

Rubyn let out a roar of frustration, his fist hitting the wall as his,temper got the better of him before leaving the room.

The king's shoulders sagged as his fingers slid down his face and sighed in frustration.

"Your Majesty," Morgan began, his green ones meeting the tired eyes of the king, "I don't know what it's like to have a son, but I do know what it feels not being able to do anything for the one you love. And I beg of you to think of your son. The woman he loves is unable to rise from her death sleep, and without the gem, she would die."

The king let out a soft sigh, "The gem is a life of it's own. It is only passed on from host to host."

Morgan's brows rose, tucking in that particular confession into the back of his mind, "And who is the host?"

Sorrow passed over the man's features, "It was his mother, but after her death, it was passed down to Ra."

A/N: Sorry for the long breaks between updates.