Timeless Prominence

After blockading the entrance to the library within the topmost level of the ancient dwarven ruins, Suey attempted to enter the book that Rein’s voice had sounded from. Yet try as she might, she could not enter said book. She was filled with worry-- she had taken great risk to approach Rein, possibly completely subverting all those future timelines that she had seen.

The members of the Iron Ant Team have heard of worlds existing in books, paintings, treasures and more, so they understood Suey’s actions.

“Stay calm,” Xeeseir patted the woman’s shoulder. “I’ve always felt a connection to Rein because through his actions, I can see that he is not one who would voluntarily harm or treat others unfairly. If so, he would have rejected your inclusion during our team formation due to your rejection of a Supreme.”

Luckily, so far, Supreme Guihnes seemed to have his eyes set on something else far more important.

“Unlike me, he is less reckless. And I daresay, sometimes unpredictable. He should be fine. All advancers have their own secrets.”

Suey bit her lips and nodded. Indeed, her own situation was unique. She felt a closeness to Rein primarily because he was the figure that appeared in every single one of her future timelines where she survived her home’s destruction and was carted about as a slave.

The reverse was obviously different. Rein had known her for no more than over a month.

Within the flat-topped pyramid inside the book’s unique space.

Rein and the ghostly form of Dragonknight Zelli gazed in anticipation at one another.

“How did you know that I would be here?” Rein questioned, somewhat uneasy at heart. He would be a fool to not sense that forces unknown to him had led him to this point. Naturally, he absolutely detested the idea that the Golden Desert Town was meant to be destroyed, and his younger brother, his end unknown.

“I never did,” Dragonknight Zelli replied. “I am but a remnant will. I left echoes of myself behind in countless locations to guarantee an eventual meeting-- with the one who awakens the very same echo of fallen gods that I wielded.”

Rein widened his eyes. It was all…an excessive level of preparation?

“Fate is but a result of cause and effect,” Dragonknight Zelli explained upon seeing Rein’s bewildered expression. “It is fate for water to form a river and flow down mountains to the seas… if it rains in the mountains.”

“Just as it was my fate to hunt dragons in an age when they erected themselves upon the fallen god’s heavenly thrones, enslaving and hunting the intelligent humanoids bereft of the divine’s protections.”

“And if you decide to find all the dwarven ruins and speak the same words to all my remnant wills… it would be the fate of my remnant wills to repeat the same conversation, having a gargantuan joke played upon them!” Dragonknight Zelli’s deep melodious voice guffawed in amusement.

The corners of Rein’s lips twitched, but he was far too tense to participate in Zelli’s mirth.

“Then…what is it that you wish to tell me?” he wondered. For Dragonknight Zelli to leave so many remnant wills just to pass on a message to the possible eventual appearance of ‘him’ must be rather important.

“What is the current age?” she asked.

“The Age of Humanity…” muttered Rein. A heartbeat later, he realized that Dragonknight Zelli was likely deceased. “You… are you still alive?”

“No. Else that echo of Hundun would not have awakened in you,” Dragonknight Zelli sighed as she organized her thoughts.

“I was born at the start of the Age of Demons. The world descended into an Age of Darkness when the gods fell, and out of that abyss sprung the dragons, believing themselves to be the rightful heir to the heavens due to their control over the many elements of nature.”

“Us humanoid races, despite our intelligence, struggled to contend against their inborn physical capabilities and talents. They also believed that consuming us humanoids to be critical to the growth of their own mind.”

“So it was that we humanoid races were reduced to a critical state. It was here in this very realm that the last hope of humanoids rested. The final bastion.”

“And the Allfather?” Dragonknight Zelli examined the Hall of Heroes robe that Rein was wearing. “He was born at the tailend of the Age of Darkness. Xane was the best of all of us.”

“His conviction and determination had no match. For a long time, I thought I was the very same. It was only later that I realized his to be a relentless obsession, far greater than mine.”

“Yet it was precisely his obsession that rallied all the humanoid races under one banner. Together, we created a path. The path of the advancer!”

“Prior to Xane’s efforts, magics were a jumbled collection of talents and half-tested methods. It was Xane who gathered the best of the best and created the orthodox path that most advancers now tread. His efforts kickstarted the very rise of humanity!”

“I myself contributed to the exploration of shapeshifting. Ancient texts recorded the fallen gods’ ability to change into various forms given their mastery of the world’s laws and beings.”

“So it was that we soon regained majority control of this very realm. Then we invaded one realm after another. It was no longer the Age of Demons. We had initiated the Age of Chaos!”

“I was enamored with Xane, of course. Many were. He had many theories on the fallen gods and their creations. One such thought was that we humanoid creations are the gods’ explorations at recreating different aspects of themselves. Our combined genes would then create a being equal to the fallen gods!”

“I was more than happy to bear a child for him. Xune, we named him. Xane was proven correct. Xune had the talent in crafting as the best of dwarven smiths. Yet, he also had the highly adaptable and devious mind of a human.”

The echo of Dragonknight Zelli now paused and she was filled with sorrow.

“Alas…” she lamented. “I began to grow tired of it all. As did my dwarven brethren. We had already carved out a third of the myriad of realms for our people. It was more than we could dream of.”

“My thoughts lingered on the future. What would come after if I slayed every single living dragon? Eternal peace? Ridiculous. Many of my dwarven brethren began to seclude themselves to their crafts.”

“Now, the elves…” Dragonknight Zelli shook her head in despair. “Their minds became warped by our success. Their role was to contend against the plant demons. A madness overtook their minds-- they began to entertain the very idea that they could nurture and guide the very growth of plant demons.”

“Their demise came soon enough-- the plant demons, quite obviously, would not accept their own children’s growth being guided by the elves. Who would accept their own race’s growth to be controlled by another? The elves’ arrogance was their downfall. They assumed themselves to be some superior nurturers of nature.”

“I wished to provide assistance when the plant demons razed their western woodlands to the ground, but Xane blocked my path. He said that the elves had forgotten their duty to the humanoid races, and needed to be reminded of their enemy. Not unreasonable.”

“But the elves never recovered. Their minds were lost to the insidious idea. They remained hellbent on nurturing and controlling plant demons through their song magic. As such, the World Tree itself sacrificed all to destroy the elves. Eventually, their remnants melded with the human race.”

“We dwarves soon had our day of reckoning,” the ghostly Zelli sighed again. “It was my sin. I am titled dragonknight precisely because of my prowess in hunting dragons. So many famed dragons skewered and split upon my lance. So many lifetime grudges.”

“Have you heard of Gent?”

Dragonknight Zelli’s question caught Rein off guard. It was rare to see any mention of Gent even within the Halls’ immaculate Hall of Knowledge. Rein was, of course, concerned about revealing his knowledge of Gent after the many visions he experienced. Such display of past hidden events would draw much attention.

Rein’s hesitancy was enough to draw Zelli’s suspicion. Goosebumps rose on his skin as he felt a tingling force examine his body.

The ghostly Dragonknight Zelli’s downhearted mood was dispelled upon examining Rein’s body. Despite the protection of the hidden necklace provided by Master Yirn, Zelli was once an advancer on top of the world, and bypassed the necklace’s protection!

The echo of the female dwarf began laughing hysterically as if she had lost her mind.

“Not even I could have foreseen this fate!” Ghost Zelli chortled melodiously. “For you to not only share the same inheritance as me, but also to carry Gent’s will!” Her mood rose to the heavens as she continued with renewed vigor.

“In my younger years, I once dreamed of slaying the legendary Gent, of the noblest reputation since the Age of Gods. Yet, he chose not to attack, even bidding the other dragons to leave when I gave birth to Xune, my dearest child…”

“The Allfather hated Gent despite that incident. He obsessed and conspired to take Gent’s life. All failures. Prior to that incident, I shared that sentiment. Yet even for us who have become gods and gained immortality… we tire over the years of endless slaughter. The Allfather’s obsession was an immortal fire. Not mine…. not mine… That incident awakened a unique hope for the future in me.”

“In time, I came to understand that Gent wasn’t necessarily noble. He just had his eyes wide open.”

“It is said that in his early years, he was ridiculed by the other dragons for being born of malformed elements. Perhaps… that was why he was always able to maintain a clear mind. Of his own people and of others.”

“The Allfather offered me the chance to wage an all-out war against the dragons. At that time… It was not only us dwarves that had grown exhausted. The other humanoid factions’ enthusiasm for continuous battle had dulled as well. Even within the factions of the humans.”

“The Allfather was incensed by our response. That was the last time I had any semblance of cordial discussion with Xane.”

“Eventually, the dragons opted to wipe out us dwarves. Our treasures have a strange effect on the dragons’ minds. The dragons blamed us, but we are only crafters. The reality is that some dragons have a belief in the deepest corner of their hearts to present themselves as the rightful heirs to the gods. Some succumb to this desire and surround themselves with treasures they believe to befit a king.”

“That is the last memory of mine. Meaning, that I must have fallen shortly afterwards, and never had the chance to add new memories into the various placed remnant wills.”

Rein was combining this new information with the various bits and pieces he had obtained from the visions provided by Gent’s remnant in his mind.

Still, “what exactly is your intention to inform me of this… history?” Rein asked. 

“That is for you to decide,” Dragonknight Zelli cryptically replied.

“I only entered the advancer world to search for my kidnapped younger brother.” Rein might have some intention to seek revenge on the Dingien Clan for the Golden Desert Town’s destruction. How he was to achieve that… he wasn’t sure.

He naturally had developed some desire to provide assistance to Suey’s mysterious home. That little minx had thrown herself at him based on supposed mysterious visions of the future. He wasn’t one to take another's' dedication for granted, even if that dedication might be of a questionable source. Since young, his father had emphasized to him the importance of an equal deal for long-term mutual benefits.

Yet to involve himself in the grand fate of the myriad of realms… that he was not prepared for. At least, that grand tale is clearly etched in Dragonknight Zelli’s tale.

“When the horn sounds, you cannot reject its summons. You only ignore it at your own peril, and those around you. Destiny calls, young one. I know its song all too well.”

Rein discovered that the world within the book was forcefully rejecting him-- a familiar warping force had taken hold of his body.

“Wait! Who is the enemy then?” He yelled out in confusion.

“That, too, is for you to decide, is it not?” Dragonknight Zelli maintained her cryptic position.

Rein could only sigh inwardly as he landed back inside the dwarven library. Dragonknight Zelli spoke much of the Allfather’s role in setting humans upon their course. Rein could not deny that the Halls had impressive rules. Rules that limited nobles such as Beincen of House Larne from overly abusing his family’s power.

And of what he knew of the sects so far… much of his impressions were formed from his distasteful encounter with the members of Convergence Sect. Yet the Harmony Sect was friendly to Rein and Suey.

The Minhr Nation, for years, had rejected and fought the Zoh Empire to the east, who built its eternal seven sects upon the Halls’ influence.

Rein’s thoughts turned to his own situation. It was the succession struggle between the Dingien princes that wiped Golden Desert Town off the map. The fallen devils certainly played a row, but they weren’t the cause.

There was simply too much that he didn’t know. He was now ever more confused concerning the demons-- the beastkin, they called themselves. Afterall, Gent and that Mystrygon seemed mostly ‘normal’...

As Rein’s head spun, he could only conclude that Dragonnknight Zelli intentionally avoided any clear instruction, perhaps fearful of causing unintentional consequences in an age beyond her knowledge and understanding.

A loud boom suddenly sounded in the library as the blockade of smooth stone slabs that the Iron Ant Team had used to obstruct the entrance were blasted apart. Though those slabs were sent flying, none of them suffered a single crack, proving the wonder of the dwarven’s mysterious material treatment methods.

Ailehr’s form flitted in and completely disregarded the inner realmed ants in the library. Not seeing any exit, she immediately left to search elsewhere.

She had to admit that the stone material of the ancient ruins was unique beyond comprehension. Having taken a pill to temporarily raise her strength into the telekinetic realm, she discovered that her divine sense became muddled when it came into contact with these treated dwarven gray stone material of a long past age.

“Hah! Fool!” Bienze’s divine voice rang in everyone’s mind. “Though you may be on the cusp of the telekinetic realm, your knowledge of dwarven design is non-existent. Else you would know that the uppermost floor is but a deadend!”