Kishiar was not unaware of what being in a similar situation to Yuder meant. As his gaze rapidly shifted, Yuder continued to speak.
"Frankly, I was surprised only because the subject was His Majesty the First Emperor. Enon had been speculating for some time that there might have been someone like me in the past. If the hidden content in the journal is true, then that speculation is finally proven."
"If he has always thought so, was there some basis for this speculation?"
Yuder hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should reveal more, but his deliberation was brief.
He already knew from Enon himself that Enon was no ordinary human. To explain the situation, he felt the need to preemptively establish Enon's extensive knowledge about the Archmage Luma.
"Enon knows things about the Archmage Luma that others do not. According to him, Luma was secretly conducting some research before leaving the Empire."
"Just like the First Duke Tain, his disciple."
"Yes."
Kishiar did not ask why Enon knew so much about Luma. He was only interested in the core of Yuder's statement.
"What exactly was the research about? Was it on a similar theme to the Duke's?"
"No, what he studied was..."
Yuder murmured, gazing into the darkness unfolding before them.
"...a method to reverse time."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})It was an unprecedented feat, yet one that Yuder Aile had personally experienced.
Yuder recalled the words Enon had spoken after discovering his secret.
The Archmage Luma had long secretly studied magic to reverse time. Despite being a formidable mage who created beings like Enon, he failed to achieve results and eventually left the Empire.
Enon speculated that Luma might have started this bizarre research after encountering someone like Yuder who had traveled back in time. Finally, in the hidden last pages of the First Duke Tain's research journal, he found something to support this theory.
'If everything written here is based on fact, then the subject might have been the First Emperor of this nation.'
He couldn't be sure, but the important thing seemed to be that both the First Duke Tain and Luma believed it.
The legendary Archmage and his disciple, a Duke descended from the First Emperor, were intelligent and remarkable enough to believe such a tale. What could have happened to make them believe in such a story?
The time when both began their strange, secretive research coincided with the demise of the First Emperor. One sought to control the flow of time, researching the origins of monsters, while the other endeavored to create magic that could directly reverse time.
Though their approaches differed, both were linked by their research on time.
Could it be that the First Emperor of the empire, like Yuder, was someone who had returned by reversing time?
"To sum up... both the Archmage Luma and the First Duke Tain conducted secret research related to time, possibly because of the First Emperor who founded this Empire. If he was indeed a being like you, then surprisingly, everything makes sense."
"Yes."
Kishiar, not smiling as usual, seemed to weigh his thoughts in a long silence, indicating he did not take the situation lightly.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})As time passed, he finally spoke again.
"Though you might already know, records from that era are scarce," began Kishiar, with a hint of bitterness. "It was believed right to destroy the belongings of the deceased, and due to the limitations of technology, even proper paper was scarce. This led to the priests rigorously memorizing the scriptures of the Sun God to prevent loss, combining oral tradition with the little documentation that survived."
Most of the records that remained were reconstructions by later generations, mixing oral tales with scant historical evidence. Kishiar let out a brief, sardonic laugh.
"Even the artifacts from that time stored in the imperial palace are sometimes doubted for their authenticity, so no further explanation is necessary, I believe."
Yuder remained silent, contemplating.
"However, recently, quite coincidentally, I had the chance to delve into the few records of that era."
Following a dream about Yuder's death, Kishiar had borrowed numerous forbidden texts. Among them were diaries and records written by the Empress and court ladies during the time of the First Emperor.
'But there probably was nothing about the cause of the First Emperor's death or about reversing time. Otherwise, it would have been known long ago.'
While Yuder pondered this, Kishiar continued softly.
"Back then, I didn't consider looking into matters related to the First Emperor, focusing only on what seemed relevant to me. But I will revisit them once I return. There might be something hidden yet undiscovered."
"Understood," Yuder replied.
"For now, let's start by examining the traces of the First Duke Tain here."
Yuder restored the flow of air he had previously blocked. Nathan Zuckerman, who had been standing deliberately turned away, finally turned his head, his cautiousness to avoid overhearing anything inadvertently speaking of his trustworthiness.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"The conversation is over, Nathan. Let's go."
"Understood."
They continued along the stone-lined tunnel. When they reached the first branching path, they thought they had found what they were looking for. However, at its end, they found only a small chamber, a dead-end cave filled with scattered human bones.
The situation remained similar thereafter. Side paths branched off from the main tunnel, leading to what were clearly ancient bone fragments, half-buried in mounds of dirt, eerily peeking out.
'This must be what the child who guided us earlier was talking about.'
It was easy to imagine how a lord from a bygone era, digging into this land, must have shuddered at such a discovery. It made sense why they would reburied it and never looked back.
But the three present were too seasoned and experienced to be frightened by such things.
"Ancient communal graveyards often follow this ant-hill-like structure," Kishiar explained, with the same bright demeanor he had when guiding through the palace.
"The closer to the entrance, the older the graves, and as the number of the dead increased, deeper tunnels were dug for additional burial chambers. Judging by the scale, this might have originated before the Great Destruction."
"I thought it was more like a shelter," Yuder remarked.
"Indeed, it might have served that purpose too," Kishiar agreed nonchalantly.
A millennium had passed, yet the tunnel retained its formidable structure, prompting Kishiar to muse aloud. "It seems a waste to construct such durable tunnels solely for the purpose of storing corpses. They might have also served as shelters during disasters. In fact, in the communal graveyards from the founding era near the capital, artifacts of people who took refuge from monster invasions have been found."
"I see," Yuder acknowledged.
"By the way, what do you see? Is the flow of magic getting stronger?"
"Well, it's been fairly constant since we entered here."
"A new fork in the path has appeared ahead."
At that moment, Nathan Zuckerman, who had been silently following, brought attention to a new fork in their path. Unlike the previous paths, this one was not a mere offshoot; it was significantly larger.
Yuder calmly observed the two paths. His eyes, shining with a golden hue, sensed a stronger flow to the right.
"It seems to be the right path."
"Yes, the stones forming the wall are less worn on the right than the left, meaning it was excavated more recently."
They proceeded to the right, but what they encountered at the end defied their expectations.
"...It's a dead end."
"What do you see?"
"The same as before."
"Then, there's no reason to be deceived."
Kishiar rotated his wrist, casually scanning the surroundings. A surge of golden magic flowed from his red eyes, signaling his intention to use magic as an Awakener.
Yuder's eyes responded to Kishiar's magic, shining even more intensely.
"This place, unlike the Tainu's underground prison, is not an appropriate location for a protection mechanism that can only be opened by blood relatives. So, our options are quite straightforward. I've studied a bit to avoid the frustration of missing the way like before, even when it's right in front of us."
With a smile, Kishiar began to cast his spell.
