"We wish you a great continuation in the world of adultery!"

"HOORAY!!!"

A loud chant was heard when all of the students on the great platform hurled their graduation caps in the air to commemorate the end of their adolescent years.

The kids walked down the aisle and greeted their parents in their graduation gowns, and one couple in their 50s, accompanied by Lizz, waited for Caleb to join them. Lizz was standing nearby as the tiny father with white hair held his wife with grey hair.

"My baby is there!" the wife shouted as soon as she sighted Caleb.

Caleb had a large smile on his face when he saw them, and he walked up to them, opening his arms wide to hug them.

"Collective hug!" Lizz gripped her parents and Caleb and hugged them as hard as she could.

"I'm so proud of you love," Caleb's mother said holding his cheeks.

Her eyes were moist, and she was trying hard not to cry in front of Caleb.

"Now we have two grown adults in our family!" Caleb's dad said patting him on the back.

Caleb's equilibrium was somewhat thrown off by the touch on the back, and his father began laughing at how frail his son was.

"Something we have to work on is your body now, you're way too weak!" The father replied cheekily.

"Stop teasing him, Mark," Caleb's mum pulled him away from Mark, "To celebrate, let's go home so I can start cooking a feast worthy of the occasion!"

Mark lifted his fist in the air excited by what his wife just said, "That's what we're talking about May, a good feast worthy of the alpha male of the house!"

Caleb and Lizz were walking to the car as his parents were nearby. They were debating what Caleb intended to do now that he had graduated.

"Are you ready for your Ether test?" Lizz asked Caleb who unambiguously shrugged at the question, "Don't you feel stressed that your Ether test would turn out negative?"

"Not really, I am not expecting it to be positive anyways, plus, I want to pursue a career in historic exploration, so I don't find any loss in the results," Caleb replied in an uninterested tone which made Lizz smile in him.

"You may be a little pussy, but at least you aren't lost in life like all those idiots that claim to be tough," Lizz placed her arm over his shoulder and drew him in, leading him to make contact with the side of her breast.

"Oh and by the way, what's going on between you and professor Grant, I always see you guys laughing together," Caleb trying to tease his sister.

She looked away and answered, "He's just become a good friend and colleague,"

"PFF... Friends with benefits, that's how I see it..." Caleb whispered

Lizz heard what Caleb said and began choking him with her hand around his neck.

"Sorry... I didn't mean it!" Caleb groaned while still in the headlock.

It had been a week since the event at the museum, and Caleb had been trying in vain to read the writings on the ring and the artefact.

Because there are no records in any of the languages on the relic or his ring, he has no method of interpreting the language. Caleb, on the other hand, is certain that the rings left by his birth parents are inextricably linked to humanity's past.

As his investigation progressed, he saw that many of the artefacts, scrolls, and relics had the same language, but not in the same pattern.

After extensive investigation, he discovered a relationship between all relics, a similar pattern that all relics shared.

"Galorwy tolorn tolhoe doemoan llorad,"

Even if he doesn't comprehend the significance, it is obvious that all of these artefacts are connected to the same history. The main question he was considering was whether these artefacts revealed a dark or bright past.

May began cooking as soon as they arrived home, and Caleb was about to depart. He was set to see his one and only mate, Roy, who was assisting him with his studies.

He was carrying his dairy in his bag and his jewellery when he left the house. The more he dug into his investigation, the more he wondered how his parents got their hands on an artefact, and, more importantly, who his parents were.

"I'm having the feeling that the answer to all this won't be a happy one,"

Caleb entered a café and walked to a table with a brown-haired athletic stunning man and a blonde-haired girl with blue eyes wearing a white shirt and black pants that were tight at the waist, exposing her physical shape beautifully.

The brown-haired man was Roy, but Caleb was not delighted to see the gorgeous lady.

"What is Maya doing here?" Caleb whispered in a disappointed tone, making his way to the table "the only thing she brings with her every time is problems and her boyfriend Trent..."

"Caleb, guess who we've got here to help us!" Roy exclaimed as soon as he saw his friend.

Caleb walked near Roy and leaned to his ear, "It's Maya... are you sure she's not here to set you up, you know how crazy her boyfriend is,"

The two friends looked at each other for a second and turned their heads to Maya before Roy said, "I'm sure it's gonna be fine, you're just overreacting,"

"You are way too kind sometimes-"

"Hey Caleb, I've seen your work and I'd like to say I'm interested in it," Caleb was interrupted by Maya's soft voice and her bright smile.

Seeing her this manner nearly made her seem like a pleasant and charming person, but Caleb always regarded her as a problem, largely because of her boyfriend Trent.

Trent had black spiky hair and a lean strong figure, but his personality was rotten to the core. He would not hesitate to wreck someone's life if it would profit him, and this aspect of his nature earned him a negative reputation amongst others.

As a result, anyone regarded a friend, or worse, Trent's girlfriend, cannot be trusted; yet, Roy didn't care as long as he recognised that a person was legitimate in his book.

"Thanks..." Caleb answered with a forced smile.

Even though he didn't like her, he had to play nice to not get on Trent's bad side.

"You might not believe me, but my parents are explorers and have come up with similar results, but the only problem is the language, they can't translate the language because there are no records at all of it,"

'Her parents are explorers... maybe she may be of some use after all,' Caleb said, looking at Maya.

Caleb then dug into his backpack and pulled out all of the 2D prints he discovered on the artefacts he was studying, displaying them on the table.

"Did they come to the same conclusion that the artefacts have only one similar pattern too?"

Maya scanned over the readings before beginning to strangely arrange the prints. She layered one print on top of another, then another beside it, until the pattern became clearer to Caleb.

When Maya was finished, the prints displayed inscriptions in two-circle designs. The inscriptions were written in the same language as the relics.

'Those inscriptions... they're the ones in my rings,' Caleb thought.

"My parents say that the rings are the openings to their mystery. It seems like the ring is like a key that can open unanswered questions about the past. However, they've been searching for it for the last few years in vain. They have no clue where the rings are, and they assumed that they were kept hidden this well for a reason. Someone, or maybe our ancestors were hiding something they do not want us to know," Maya said pointing at the pattern she had made.

Caleb listened attentively to what Maya said, and made a hypothesis of his own through that.

'Her parents may be correct, but not entirely, it's not that the rings were hidden, I have them, but what she said earlier about the key might be a valid statement. Just like what happened in the museum, it might be that each artefact has its own story... that's why the inscriptions are all different, and maybe, those inscriptions are just directions guiding us to something, and the rings are the key to unlocking that thing,'

"So do you think the inscriptions are trying to tell us something?" Caleb asked Maya intriguingly.

"I'm not an expert, and I couldn't tell you what the inscriptions mean, but it would be impossible to do any further research without the rings, and this is probably why no one has discovered the meaning of the gibberish language,"

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

While they were debating the artefact and the significance of the inscriptions, a news story piqued Caleb's interest, leading him to interrupt their chat to listen to the news.

"Please could you turn the volume up?"

On the news, a young reporter was giving detail about a robbery in the Great museum.

"Breaking news, Last night in the great museum at the centre of the city, only a few minutes after the museum closed, it was claimed that a demon, specifically a gas demon, broke into the museum and successfully took the Nirvana relic. Because this is the first occurrence of a gas demon with cognition in Tyggstral, the police are unaware of the demon's goals. To add to it, there isn't much known about the Nirvana relic, so many people question if the demon knows anything about it that we don't, and, more significantly, how harmful the information the demon possesses is."

Caleb's cheeks flushed as soon as he heard the news. He considered the possibility of devils being involved, but he didn't believe it.

'A demon stole the relic right after the inscriptions on it disappeared, and apparently, the demon has an intellect... Would this mean the relic is bad news for demons?

No, if it was bad news, then the demon would have stolen the relic way before to make sure this type of situation doesn't happen. This would surely mean that the relic and the disappearance of the inscriptions are good news for the demons, and the fact the demon only stole the Nirvana relic and waited for the inscriptions to disappear also asserts that the rings are the key to unlocking whatever the relic kept.

As for what is inside the relic, now that I think of it, my stupid ass never thought of the whispers that caused this. Those whispers were attracting me to the relic as if it sensed the rings. Those whispers, they were something demonic, surely a sort of demon or spirit persuading me to transfer whatever was in the relic into my rings,

Everything's becoming clearer now, but, this could get very dangerous. The demon is surely going to come for me and the rings, so what should I do now?

At this point there is only one answer, get rid of the rings before something bad happens to me...'

Caleb was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't realise his friend had been attempting to catch his attention for a few seconds.

"Caleb... Caleb!" Roy shouted waving his hand in front of him.

Caleb recovered his composure and looked towards Roy and Maya to see if they'd noticed anything suspicious about what had been mentioned on the television. However, t hey were more concerned about his small trip to the world of the spirits.

Caleb would have informed Roy if he was alone, but he didn't really trust Maya since, after all, she was still Trent's boyfriend.

"I'm sorry, I'm just getting a bit tired, I should probably head home," Caleb said scratching the back of his head with a smile.

"Oh... well I'll come with you, just give me a minute, I have to go to the toilet," Roy said.

Roy rose up and went to the restroom, leaving Caleb and Maya alone. The mood was strange at first, with Caleb poring through his 2d prints and Maya nervously looking about for a topic to chat.

"So, I heard you aced all of your exams, you must feel confident for uni I guess,"

"Yeah, I wanna become an explorer just like your parents, and I've already started searching for the best universities,"

"You're lucky," Maya smiled at him, "You've got everything to succeed, and if your Ether test turns out positive, nothing will stop you from becoming what you aspire to be except yourself,"

Caleb returned the young lady's smile discreetly. He realised what a gorgeous lady she was as he looked at her, and if she was truly this sweet, everyone would want to be her friend if it weren't for her boyfriend's reputation.

However, after hearing a familiar voice, his happiness quickly transformed to a dejected and pallid countenance.

"Maya, what are you doing with mushroom head here?"

Caleb turned around to see who was speaking behind him: Trent and two men his size. They took a seat at the table, the two guys aiding Trent seated on both sides close to Caleb.

Maya, who tried not to exhibit her alarm, knew Trent's appearance at this time would generate complications when Roy returned from the restroom.

"Trent you don't have to cause any commotion, we were just talking,"

"Babe, don't worry," Trent replied in a reassuring tone, "we are just here to talk that's all,"

"I was about to leave anyway... hehe," Caleb said as he attempted to stand up and pack his things, however, the two guys next to him slammed him back on his seat.

"What's the rush for?" Trent said with a cynical smile on his face, "we're just trying to be friends here!"

He then looked at the 2d prints on the table and lifted two of the papers.

"Aren't those the artefacts we saw in the museum during the field trip?" Trent said looking at the prints, "Why do you have them mushroom head?"

Caleb wanted to avoid any damage to the prints at this time, so he agreed to go along with Trent until Roy returned.

"I was just conducting some research, I want to be an explorer, and this is a great way to train my skills-"

"I really don't care," Trent replied coldly cutting Caleb off.

He gave Caleb a frigid look, almost as if he had done something wrong, and then abruptly tore the two prints in half.

"Boys, tear the papers," Trent said, and suddenly, the two guys started to grab all the papers and tear them one by one.

"Please, could you just stop...", Caleb said with his hands on his lap and his head down.

Trent approached Caleb with a grin on his face, looking up and down at him.

"If you want us to stop, do something," Trent said waiting for Caleb to react.

Caleb, on the other hand, just did not move and kept his head down. He clinched his hands, frustrated by his inability to say anything, but he wasn't seeking to join Trent's bully list.

"Back off before something bad happens to you", A strong hand fell on Trent's shoulder, forcing him away from Caleb.

At that moment, all of the prints had been ripped up, and Trent and his two subordinates were confronting Roy.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Trent said clenching his fists, "it's a three against one,"

Roy then raised his fists in a defensive stance, ready to fight. However, Maya intervened and sought to defuse the situation.

"Trent, let's just go and leave these two dumbasses alone," Maya said holding his hand and leaning her head on his shoulder.

Trent glanced at his girlfriend's lovely face, and her allure was enough to persuade him. He smiled at her and moved his gaze to Roy.

"Your lucky I'm in a good mood Roy," He said before walking out of the cafe with Maya and the two other dudes.

"But next time, don't expect things to go this smoothly!" He said walking out of the cafe.

Roy watched as they left the cafe and soon after turned to contemplate the damages.

"Shit... I'm sorry Caleb, I should've been there earlier,"

Caleb grinned at Roy as he lifted his head "Don't feel like you're at fault here... At some time, I should learn to fight for myself."

"Don't feel like you should fight if you're not strong enough, it won't benefit you or your opponent,"

"Yeah..." Caleb sighed, and a brief moment of silence went by before Caleb decided to explain to Roy of his discovery.

"So how are you gonna get rid of the rings," Roy asked.

"I don't know, but it must be a quiet place where no one will be,"

Roy bowed his head and began to consider a spot. Tyggstral was mostly alive thanks to tourists visiting museums and historic sites.

If they wanted to be sure the ring was gone for good, they had to find a spot that was not in town but a little further out.

"Oh, I know, if we bury the ring in the Male forest, there would be low chances someone finds it!"

The idea was a nice one, however, burying it in a forest would be way too simple.

"Are you sure about it, it sounds about cliche to me..."

Roy patted Caleb on the back and smiled "Don't worry if we bury it deep enough, no one would think of it for the exact reason that it would be too obvious. They'll think of another impossible location, while the rings are right under their nose,"

For a moment, Caleb thought of it, but then, he reckoned that his objective wasn't to hide the rings from everyone but just to get rid of them so he wouldn't encounter any life-threatening situation,"

Caleb nodded his head and stood from his chair, "Alright, this night, we go to the forest to get rid of the rings,"

*A few hours later*

"This dinner is to Caleb's success and his bright future!" Mark exclaimed raising his cup high.

Caleb was at the dining table with his mother, father, and even his sister Lizz who doesn't live with them came by.

"Thanks, dad, it's a real honour," Caleb said with a smile on his face, "I really appreciate everything you have done for me since a child,"

"Don't make things so sad," Lizz responded, "this moment is supposed to be a festive one!"

"Well said Lizz, plus we are your family, why wouldn't we help you succeed?" May added.

Caleb looked at his family and felt a warmth in his heart, for, not only did he feel like he was supported by the best people on earth, but he felt like nothing could stop him at this point, not even a demon!

"Thanks, everyone..." Caleb said warmly.

Lizz grabbed his head and moved closer to her till his head met the top portion of her breast.

"You'll always be part of the family, never forget that..." Lizz whispered to Caleb.

Caleb responded calmly trying not to let any tears out, "Yah I know Lizz..."

As time went by, Caleb realised that it was nearly time for him to meet with Roy.

"Oh, I have to get going soon," Caleb said eating faster than before.

"Where are you going?" Lizz asked realizing Caleb was in a hurry.

"Why would you want to know, I thought you didn't care about the shit I did unless it was related to education,"

"Oh, so you're not gonna tell me?" Lizz said feeling her anger boiling inside.

Caleb realised he was about to get hit in the face if he didn't respond, "OK, I'm going to the Nimbus coast with Roy, are you satisfied now?"

Caleb decided to lie about where he was going to Lizz.

"What are you going to do there?"

"I'd like to tell you," Caleb responded, "unfortunately, it's none of your business,"

"You're starting to get cocky," Lizz grinned, "at least you're becoming a full-grown man, not a little pussy that lets everything slide,"

Caleb rose from his chair, ignoring Lizz's remark as he made his way to the door.

"I'll see you later!" Caleb exclaimed before shutting the door behind him.

He retrieved his bike from the garage and rode to the spot after closing the door behind him. His weakened arms and legs made cycling more difficult for him, especially after eating. As a result, he took longer to get at the rendezvous spot.

Roy was waiting for Caleb with a shovel on a dark path with only a lamp post as a light source, facing a row of tall and thin trees. Roy's head would spin in all directions every time he heard animal noises coming from deep within the dark forest.

"What took you so freaking long!" Roy shouted as soon as he saw Caleb in the distance.

"My bad, I had a family dinner this night," Caleb said removing his necklace from around his neck, "we should get going, I don't wanna stay here any longer,"

The two youngsters entered the woodland and began to make their way further into it. The only light source they had at the time was the flashlight on their phone. Every thing they heard made them jump, and they walked closely together.

"This was maybe a bad idea..." Caleb whispered.

He was fed up with walking for so long, and his feet were feeling sore.

"That's an even better reason to keep going, if you wouldn't want to come in the forest, what are the chances someone else does and finds the ring?" Roy said encouraging Caleb to keep going.

After about 30 minutes of walking, they came to a glade. The glade was illuminated by the full moon's natural light. Caleb, on the other hand, saw this as a spooky area where something was waiting for them to materialise out of nowhere.

"I think this place would be a good one," Roy said in a tired tone, "plus, I dont wanna get any deeper in this place..."

Caleb nodded and took the necklace out while Roy was getting ready to start digging.

"Are you sure about this, I mean what if you are wrong and just you're just getting rid of the only item your parents left you?"

"I dont really care," Caleb said, "I don't have any interest in my parents, so I don't feel any sort of emotions for the rings,"

"Oh well," Roy said just as he was done digging, "if that's what you think..."

Caleb looked at the necklace for a moment, and read the inscriptions once again.

"If only I could read what is written on th-"

...

It was too sudden, and none of them had anticipated it. Roy was stunned for a minute, speechless and paralysed by the incident, but he eventually recovered and yelled., "CALEB!!!!"

Everything that was going well vanished in a couple of seconds. Before one of them could react, a hand went for the necklace behind Caleb, piercing his chest to retrieve the rings.

Roy, still stunned, yelled Caleb's name and took a careful look behind Caleb to see it was the gas demon. His crimson eyes were staring down at Caleb, and he was smiling cynically, exactly as at the museum.

"The ring to unleash the powers of the dark demon is now mine!"