"The Temple of Time?" Gabriel repeated. It was his first time hearing about something like that, but he certainly found it intriguing that the Temple also had a reference to 'Time' in their name, like the Orbs of a Time.
If he were to guess based on the name itself, he would've been sure that the Temple had something to do with 'Time' but at the same time, it didn't make sense. They couldn't be like the Churches of Elements. All the Elements that the Churches were named after... They were indeed elements that were inherited by people.
He was sure there was no Element of Time. Even Lambard had confirmed before that there were only a limited number of Elements, and all but one of them had been prominent in this world.
"What is that?" he asked to get a clarification. "And why were they unknown by most of the world?"
"They weren't unknown in our time... At least not initially. Everyone who had even the slightest bit of knowledge about the World knew about them. They were like the Ghosts of this World," Cylix answered before further clarifying what he meant by that. "Everyone knew that they existed, but no one knew who they were or where they were situated."
As he talked about the Temple of Time, he couldn't help but remember his own interaction with them. He was only fifteen years old at that time and hadn't even awakened his Element of Light.
"It feels like it was just yesterday when I saw them..." he muttered.
***************
***************
[Years ago]
The City of Roise was full of life as many influencing, and wealthy people had arrived in the city from all over the country.
A carriage moved closer to the city, supporting the Insignia of the Hale Merchant Group. It was one of the most well known merchant organizations in the country, which had its business spread in many major cities.
Inside the luxurious green carriage, a middle-aged man was sitting quite comfortably.
The dark haired middle aged man was none other than the Owner of Hale Merchant Union, Bastion Hale. Bastion was holding onto some papers, going through them.
Right in front of him, there sat a young boy who appeared to be fifteen years old. The young boy also had a darker shade of hair, just like the middle-aged man. However, unlike Bastion, the young boy was looking quite bored.
"Father, did we really have to come here ourselves? What's even so special about this auction? It's just some stupid items!" The young boy exclaimed.
He seemed quite frustrated that they had to come here. He was also upset that he was forced to come with his father since his father wanted him to start taking an interest in the family business from an early age.
Bastion kept the papers down, raising his eyes to focus on the young boy.
"Cylix, do you really think the entire country would be talking about this if it was just a bunch of stupid items?" The middle man asked, smiling. "This isn't a normal Auction as many important Artifacts are going to be sold there. Of course, we also need to get our hands in the action as well."
"Even if we can't buy anything, it would still be a good experience to see these things from closer and to know more about them. That's why I also brought you with me," he explained as he glanced out the window.
Their carriage had already entered the city, which was under heavy security because of the big event that was taking place.
"I still can't believe they managed to find it," he glanced at the piece of paper before him.
The paper contained a list of all the items that were going to be sold in the Auction. It was a list that was sent to all the potential buyers throughout the country.
Even though the Merchant Union that was holding this auction was a competition of Bastion's Merchant Union, he was still impressed at their ability to find these items that even he failed to find.
"The Items that were only mentioned in the Myths and legends... Even I had lost hope and started doubting their existence. I am sure we are going to see some big spending in the auction."
The carriage didn't take long to reach the Auction Hall after gaining an entrance into the city. There was also no obstruction along the way other than the basic checking to see how many people were inside the carriages since each person who received an invitation was only allowed to bring one person with them.
Bastion's carriage driver opened the door for him after stopping the carriage before the Auction Hall. Bastion stepped out as well, leaving the papers behind. He only carried the invitation with him.
Cylix also stepped out after his father, but not before taking a glance at the name on the list his father was reading.
"Mythical Orbs of Time."
His father showed the invitation to the powerful mages that were hired to protect the place. After verifying the invitation, the guards allowed Bastion and Cylix to enter.
"They definitely spent quite a lot of money in arranging all this. They even hired Advanced Mages for security." Bastion seemed a bit impressed at all the arrangements. "I'm sure they would recover more than they are investing with this auction."
By now, most of the guards were already inside the Hall, in their seats.
"Ah, Bastion... You came. I didn't expect you to accept the invitation." A middle-aged man noticed Bastion from a distance. She walked to Bastion, laughing. "I see you brought your son as well."
"Jill, I see you're quite happy today."
"Hahaha, don't tell me you wouldn't be happy if it were your merchant union holding this auction instead of mine?" Jill smirked. She had competed with Bastion all her life to make her Merchant Union the top in the country. And with this auction, she was sure she had achieved that goal. She couldn't be any happier.
"Anyway, I've saved one of the best seats in the Hall for you. Come..."
****
After all the Guests were inside the city, the Auction Hall was closed, and no one else was allowed to enter. However, when one door closed, another one opened... A door that didn't belong to the Auction House.
Outside the city, a strange door suddenly appeared in the middle of nowhere, out of thin air, accompanied by a peculiar aura.
Spatial cracks started developing around the mysterious door as if the door was breaking the boundaries of space just to exist in this place…
