Cold water dripped from a crack in the ceiling of a dank, abysmal cave. Hidden within the confines of this cavern was the entrance to an old temple, one Raijin had heard about from a few travelers he had encountered. The merchants told him what he would find here, but that there was a room none had managed to open. They spoke of a curse that sealed the door shut, and of the treasures that lied on the other side. Nobody has been capable of opening the door by any means, despite drilling, explosives... Everything. Earth held many secrets, it seemed. The dark-haired youth made his way through the wet cave, extending his senses to detect both ki and magical signatures. He could barely detect a hint of magic down below, but it felt... Distant. This compelled him to investigate, his traditional greedy smile crossing his lips. Even if it was just riches on the other side of this door, Raijin could use it. He had been traveling, fighting, and destroying many things on his journey across the universe. This had left his coin purse hurting, to say in the least. Despite having taken up a position in the Empire's military, he had yet to receive any official orders. Atop of this, he had about half of a month remaining until he was to meet Lute. This left him feeling anxious to gain some strength, or some sort of impressive edge to utilize to prove his worth. Rai felt alarmed as he went through the entry-way to the temple, something strange washing over him.

Not a curse. Or something even tangible. Just a feeling, simple as that. Enough of a pressure to put him on edge for a moment. “This...” he said, looking around, getting a feel for the room. It was ornate, walls carved with strange symbols. Recently, Raijin had discovered a little more about his heritage. He was borne 'of the fruit'. Shinjin, or something of the sort. Kaio. He hadn't done more research- he hesitated to learn about his parents. Something about not wanting to repeat whatever mistakes had led to them abandoning him. Rai preferred to picture them both dead, but he didn't really know either way. He had just grown up alone. The temple stretched on for a good length as he made his way through different weaving hallways, magically marking his path with a simple tracking spell. Each room led to another, and to another, some halls broad and incredulous, others narrow and claustrophobic. Raijin hadn't been warned of the depth of the place, but it made sense. The strange, dull power he felt beneath him began throbbing in his head like a migraine. The ache of something old, crying out for liberation. He proceeded towards it, stepping softly. The stone was old, and crumbling. As he got deeper, it crumbled more, the last few steps simply rubble. He floated over them effortlessly, arriving at a massive door.

Two stone doors, monolithic in nature sat in front of him. The massive face of an Oni, grinning with snarled teeth stretched over both of them. On his tongue there was the shape carved for a hand, and upon further inspection Rai found large gears made of the same rock connected to the doors. Behind the door he felt the presence, humming and buzzing in the front of his head. Raijin had noticed that wherever he faced, the buzzing would only come from the direction that the power was in. This was odd. The halfling searched the area further, wary of traps and wards put in place that could harm him. He placed his hand on the stone outline, and felt it shift as it matched his hand.

No gears moved. It was very odd. Had it reacted to his own, latent magic? His heart began to race and his eyes gleamed with greed. The avarice of man? That was what he wondered, in this moment. Was he this way because he had been borne of something other than human? The ethereal lightning that he found himself bathed in burst around him with a crackling intensity. It was as if a storm had gathered around Raijin, as he poured magical energy into the locks. He felt the gears turn and twist, and felt the door began to shift. The doors didn't creak open yet- they took quite a bit of power. The knife-ear pumped more and more of his strength into the magical lock, until it quite literally released his hand. It swung open, and a room that was too dark to see into came into view. The shadows seemed thick, and heavy. The buzzing in Rai's head intensified.

A voice entered the youth's head. “Ah, ah, ah. What have we here? One of the Shinjin? Ah, ah, no, no, you're but a halfling. A whelp, too!” the voice inquired, and answered. There was no physical source for the words, and Rai felt himself offput by the presence. He couldn't sense anything more than what he had before, either, but nonetheless a pressure had entered his head. “Raijin. I'm an open book, ask me anything.” he stated, his eyes characteristically narrowing. His elegant features seemed wrack with confusion. What was this entity? As he wondered this, he heard a booming laugh in his head. The darkness swirled and shifted, clearing. In the center of the room lied an altar. On it, was an ornate book, covered in strange symbols.

“An open book, you say? Ironic. I'm a closed one!” the voice said. Closed... book? As in, the book in front of him? Blasted thing. He had come all the way down here for a book? The voice spoke again, a bit of its' personality coming out:

“You've got quite a bit of magic bubbling around in that blood of yours! Seems the combination of the two might be more potent than I would've thought... Add a little mortality to that godly blood and you get something rather shocking, eh? That one was a pun! But there's something else about you I can't quite place. See, I'm actually specifically imbued with the inability to be sought after by a pure-heart. You're... Twisted. Usually the Shinjin goodiness would've outweighed your shitty human traits. Your daddy must've been a bad apple! More puns! Apple? Shinjin came from the fruit? C'mon. I'm on a roll! Yeah, you''ll do. You'll work out nicely.”

Rai was growing frustrated. This book seemed to have some sort of preternatural insight into his bloodline- even went so far as to tell him his father was not your typical Shinjin. “What do you mean, 'I'll do'?” he asked, “And what do you know about my father?” For a moment there was silence. The book clicked, and opened and the voice began again, it speaking slowly so the youth would understand. “I am an old spellbook from a lesser Greed demon who amassed a cult and fortune. Over the years, my essence devoured the fortune here and, uh, well... I've been waiting for someone to take over. My master died years ago, eaten by a bigger fish so to speak. I think you're already even stronger than he was! So, if you want to read from me, you can learn some things. Every good magician needs a spell-book. What do you say, Elf-boy?”

Most people would think more when offered something like this. Demonic talking book offers you an edge, do you take it? Nine people out of ten say no. Maybe even ten out of ten. But Raijin was not like most. He almost began to salivate as the book explained its' uses- Raijin intended to read every page and memorize it. He rushed the book, grabbing it hungrily as he did so. As he grabbed it, a few stray coins spilled from it, half-eaten. Odd. The moment he began reading from the book he heard it introduce itself. “I am the Book of Avarice. Keep feeding me treasure, I'll keep feeding you knowledge! So hurry up and get me something of value, huh?”

Feed it? It literally wanted to eat anything of value. Rai withdrew a small silver ring he had picked up, intending to enchant it. Right now it was just precious metal. He felt that pressure in his head increase as he eyed the glimmering piece of metal. Raijin fed the book and laughed, it greedily devouring the small piece of metal. The process was hard to understand. Raijin grabbed the book and made his way to the exit of the temple, feeling accomplished. The book had quieted down, apparently napping after being sated. “This is a little bizarre.”