Looking at the message Vlrvadh had sent to him after his actions, Valyr looked back at the being before nodding as the two of them passed through the entrance, leaving the passersby in the vicinity behind.
"Are you taking me to the Sapient One?" Moving past the curtain that blocked the entrance, the two of them were greeted by the sight of a considerably sized corridor that was sparsely lit with torches.
Seeing as it would take a while for the two of them to arrive at the end of the corridor, the young man decided to ask Vlrvadh a question, even though he already had a feeling that his hunch was correct.
Unfortunately, rather than respond to the question the very moment it got it, Vlrvadh instead briefly stared at the message for a bit before moving the screen to the side. After that, he continued walking through the corridor.
At this sight, Valyr inwardly let out a sigh as he prepared himself for what was to come. 'I really hope the Sapient One doesn't force something like this on me once we meet.'
'Then again, that doesn't mean I won't blatantly disrespect the Sapient One either,' thought the young man as he stared at the corridor walls after some time.
Though the corridor near the entrance only had torches affixed to the walls every once in a while, the deeper the two of them got, the more vibrant the walls appeared in their eyes.
"Murals," muttered the young man, staring at the rough drawings that gradually filled the corridor walls.
From what he could infer from the rough drawings, Valyr felt that the drawings were portraying a story about the Sapient One, showing how the world seemed to have gotten a bit brighter after he was born in the Land of Origin.
Then, during the Sapient One's early years, it seemed to have astounded many people as it showed a level of intellect that would normally be impossible for their age.
Though, rather than fear the young Sapient One for it, they instead began to cherish the Sapient One even more, thinking that the future of their people would become brighter under the Sapient One's rule.
Continuing to infer the entire story from the rough drawings, Valyr and Vlrvadh eventually crossed a point in the corridor where the Sapient One on the walls had witnessed some of the most important problems their people faced, such as famine, sickness, and death.
Hoping to find a solution to these problems, the Sapient One sat down under a large pillar that was in a space that used to be part of the Land of Origin and closed its eyes.
For a while, many of the people supported the Sapient One in their endeavor, thinking that a being as bright as the Sapient One would eventually find a solution.
However, with no results after a decade, the people gradually abandoned the Sapient One, leaving the being alone under the pillar as it continued to ponder over solutions to their problems.
Eventually, by the time the Sapient One had sat down under the pillar for over a century, the being opened its eyes as it seemed to have been enlightened to a higher state of being.
At that moment, if one looked through the Sapient One's eyes, a single gaze would be more than enough to inundate one's mind with vast amounts of knowledge.
Armed with this knowledge, the Sapient One returned to the Land of Origin and gradually solved the problems their people faced, eventually leading the people to an age of prosperity.
Reaching this point of the story through the rough drawings on the corridor walls, Valyr felt like he had gained a newfound understanding of the being as the Sapient One, initially thinking that the being was just a normal leader.
After all, from what the system had told him regarding Vlrvadh, their semblance of humanity had regressed thanks to the passage of time.
However, if what he had inferred from the rough drawings turned out to be true, then Valyr was going to meet the being that had given its people a bit of their humanity back.
…
"Tlah." After walking through the sparsely lit corridor some more, Valyr and Vlrvadh eventually arrived in front of what looked to be an entrance similar to the one they entered earlier.
However, unlike before, Vlrvadh did not hesitate in moving the curtain to the side as it headed into the space blocked by the entrance.
Seeing that the being was holding the curtain to the side for him, Valyr faintly nodded as he entered the space, being left at a slight loss for words after getting a glimpse of what was before him.
If one were to compare the Land of Origin to the space he was currently in, aside from the difference in space, one would quickly notice that the area looked to contain technology that reminded one of the city ruins on the surface.
Naturally, as someone who had come from the surface, and as someone who had an idea of what technology at that level was capable of, such a detail was more glaring to Valyr as he took a look at his surroundings.
Eventually, his gaze stopped towards a being that sat on a modestly sized chair made out of what looked to be scrap parts, staring at the two of them with a calm expression.
From the young man's perspective, the being in front of him looked the closest to an actual human among the beings he had come across so far.
After all, the being was not hunched over unlike Vlrvadh, while the complexion of its skin was closer to what Valyr's complexion was, albeit still incredibly pale in comparison.
Aside from that, it wore a set of clothes that, even though they were dirty and torn beyond belief, made the being look more like a homeless man rather than a tribal chief.
"I teerg eht Tneipas Eno!" Whilst Valyr was engrossed in looking at the being that sat in front of them, Vlrvadh slammed its hands to the ground once more, snapping the young man out of his stupor.
Looking at the being called the Sapient One for a bit, the young man decided to slam his hands to the ground as well, eliciting a faint smile to appear on the Sapient One's face.
"Uoy yam evael em enola htiw eht ecafrus namuh rof won, Vlrvadh." Nodding in satisfaction at the actions both he and Vlrvadh had done, the Sapient One opened its mouth and spoke with a deep voice. "Dnats yb eht tsrif ecnartne dna tiaw rof eht ecafrus namuh."
"Dootsrednu, Tneipas Eno." In response to the Sapient One's words, Vlrvadh intertwined its hands together before turning around, leaving the young man alone with the former soon after.
"Uh… hi there. Can you understand me?" Having watched the entire scene unfold in front of him, it went without saying that Valyr did not understand what was going on due to the language barrier.
Nevertheless, as Vlrvadh had left him alone with the being called the Sapient One, it did not take long for him to put two and two together in his mind as he decided to greet the being in front of him.
In response to Valyr's words, the being went silent for a bit, prompting the young man to think that the being did not understand his words, just like Vlrvadh did.
But against all odds, the Sapient One soon responded in words that he actually understood.
"Hello."
"Yes, I can."
