The Regressed NoBody

Aurora Silverlight

My slumber fleeted away, feeling the accumulated fatigue release from my body as I felt my entire my entire body ease and relax after a long time—the soreness of my muscles, the stinging in my eyes, it truly felt good to be alive.

How long has it been since I last slept and relaxed like this? Not threatened and fighting for my life since I'd been trapped in those godforsaken dunes, with nowhere to go, and no hope for escape on my own. I thought as I shifted my position and took a more comfortable leaning side, feeling the cool breeze touch my skin as the humid atmosphere made the environment pleasant and moist.

And I guess the credit for that goes to Shun. If it hadn’t been for him appearing out of nowhere and helping me despite meeting again under such circumstances—where we could have turned out as enemies, given the situation, that made misunderstandings between us, but still, I was kind of relieved deep in my heart that it was Shun who had appeared there and not someone I'd regret seeing.

That sense of relief that had shrouded be when Shun had appeared before my eyes—his presence and strong will—, made me surprised, but more so relieved and comforted, knowing that everything would turn out okay—and in one way or another, I was yet again indebted to him.

I don’t know why, but despite our circumstances—him being a human, and I an elf—I had come to trust Shun even with my wariness for strangers, and he didn’t push me away when I needed help. I guess I’d started to trust him since I’d spent time with him in the inhabitant dungeon in his world. He was sincere and determined to see through to the end of whatever action he took, fully accepting the repercussions, unlike the fellows I’ve met so far in my journey; filled with greed, selfishness and bad character.

But despite claiming to know about this man, honestly on a personal scale, I didn’t know much about Shun more than he had shown me, or rather how he tries to conceal himself—like some edgy hero. His personality may cold sometimes had the hints of care and subtle empathy which showed genuine concern and caution for others' well-being.

And I liked that about Shun. He was awkward at times, which made him look out of sorts just like any normal teenager, catching me off guard at times—but he didn’t give off the same vibe which a teenager gives, almost all of the time.

If I had to say, it was a similar vibe I got when talking to an adult. But how could that be, Shun was still a teenager like me.

But I guess, that just went on to say that Shun was truly an interesting and incredible person, and since leaving his world, I was kind of disappointed that I wouldn’t be able to meet him again.

And honestly, I found comfort in his presence, knowing his strength and ability to handle situations which could drive any sane person to their knees.

He always tackled such trials with a straight face, not showing his pain and suffering to the others, taking such extreme measures to ensure his victory. But that was also the reason why I hated him, and I couldn’t seem to subdue my anger because I didn’t understand the true reason behind his actions. And I don’t think Shun would be eager enough to tell me everything; the puzzle which made him a whole in my mind, had many missing pieces.

But I sighed inwardly, holding back the urge to just wake up and move away from here, but considering the good weather and my own body doing one thing, despite my mind wanting to do another, I just kept to my spot and pondered.

To be honest, I was more awkward after our conversation—no, outburst would be the right word for what I did. I didn’t even fully understand his circumstances, and yet I criticised him for his extreme measures. I guess I was the hypocrite.

I felt like an idiot. What gave me the right to criticise others, when I was also taking decisions that were extreme to some degree, traveling to unfamiliar lands and doing it for my thirst for adventures from a young age, knowing fully well the risk and danger lying ahead.

I guess I need to apologise to him first thing, and hopefully he’ll forgive me.

My eyes moved, as I heard distant voices, conversing with one another as I focused on their conversation and listened keenly.

Shun and Mordian—a dragon I’d come to realize late—were talking about some topic over mana, which I was familiar with to some extent, having graduated and passing the preliminary mage test in my world, I was quite qualified in my understanding and manipulation of mana for my age, but the topic was over a technique which was merely theorized and not something practical, something I possibly couldn’t understand. Their conversation was concise and easy to understand, but unfortunately a topic I couldn’t seem to grasp.

My brows knitted as I peeked an eye open and saw Shun standing and Mordian sitting on a boulder.

“—that is to say, but what you did was something I couldn’t have expected.” Shun said, his voice filled with surprise.

“You gave me your mana?” Shun said as I turned and looked at the golden-eyed dragon—Shun’s bond, whom I still wouldn’t believe was a real, living dragon, whom I’d only read about in books, and from my mother as bed time stories. “But I thought it was impossible for an individual to share their mana with others? You know, with the difference of their affinities and the reason for them only being able to influence and dominate a single or more elements—unless if they are quadra-elemental. I guess there is still much left for me to learn about the ash’ari.” He grunted as he took support against a tree, his face looking pained as I realised late that his severed hand and regrown like he had said; something that Shun could do despite being a human.

Mordian acknowledged his words and stirred in his position, breaking from his concentration. “Well yes, there are several conditions which need to be fulfilled even before the topic of transferring one's mana to another host is even considered.” Mordian elaborated as I took a breath, my eyes opened widely in astound as I finally started to grasp the true nature of their topic, something that was considered impossible in the world of magic.

The topic of mana transfer.

I composed myself as I continued feigning to be asleep, feeling an awkward air grow around me as I decided not to disturb them. I saw Shun pull something out of thin air, there was no push from his mana neither any empowerment of an dimensional artifact, as a flask like object appeared in his hand.

Taking a slow breath he chugged the contents inside as he seemed to relax as his breathing evened and body eased, his expression turning soft.

“I am fine now. You can continue.” He said as if trying to hide his pain and fatigue of the battle which seemed like a nightmare.

Mordian sighed, his facial expression barely changing as he observed Shun thoroughly, he had already recovered from the wounds of his battle against the Eldergrove, as he draped himself with the intricate looking cloak, looking ostentatious as his wheat blond hair slightly flutter in the cold breeze.

My curiosity was queued as I heard their conversation as Shun asked some question regarding mana transfer and Mordian answered, looking impassive as always.

“Mana transfer is a complex and largely theoretical concept among the minor races. The process is not feasible for most mana users due to several inherent challenges that you might be aware of.” Mordian’s golden eyes brimmed with knowledge as he elaborated. “As you know that mana exists in four distinct elements: fire, water, earth, and air—and if pushed further, their deviances can be wielded. But that's where the problem arouses; each person typically has a natural affinity for one or at most two elements, rarely three if they are born lucky, and even more rarely for all four elemental affinities. Their affinity determines the elements they can influence and manipulate effectively.”

Now I opened both eyes, my back straight as I curiously listened to the dragon as he explained, his tone had a scholarly vibe, reminding me of my time at the academy.

“To transfer mana to another person, the donor would need to match and maintain the flow and frequency of their mana with the recipient's. This is exceedingly difficult due to the varying nature of each element and the personal attunement each individual has with their elemental affinities.”

Shun’s hand reached for his chin as he pondered on Mordian’s each word carefully, as if he had grasped some key point from the dragon’s explanation, but I was still trying to make sense out of the topic.

Because, this concept was theorized quite often, because if it was proved practical, one could potentially be able to transfer their mana to someone else, which could be a big help during crucial moments. An emitter—who was able to heal wounds and use their own mana as a type of recovery method were different—was only able to move their mana and stimulate the wound which was pressed and then their mana worked as a conduit to heal the injuries and stich it close.

But it wasn’t similar to mana transfer, it was merely to an extension. Because, it has also been theorized that a person with a single affinity—let’s say fire—could be able to share their purified fire mana with another fire attribute mage. But alas, this was simply a theory and not something that could be done practically.

Because the refined mana and the natural affinity of one person was different from another. And the reason that mana had a total of four natural elements, also made this theory being less feasible. Because in order to transfer mana to someone one must have a complete grasp of mana and understand its frequencies, shape, natural affinity for each individual mage and its dominance.

But if I remembered correctly, some scholar among the elves had also issued a theory regarding this matter

And it was...

“Only a quadra-elemental mage, someone with mastery over all four elements, can theoretically perform mana transfer which is considered impossible. This is because their bodies can absorb, refine, and balance all types of elemental mana, but its just as rare and impossible to meet a quadra-elemental mage—having all four affinities for mana—as it is for someone to use mana transfer. Their profound connection with mana enables them to purify it and transfer it to someone else, because they understand the true nature of mana, able to use every attribute.”

I stood from spot and walked a slow stride to where Mordian and Shun were as I finished for the dragon. Mordian looked at me nonchalantly as his eyes glowed just as impassively as earlier, as Shun turned his head my way, a concerned expression on his face, and added with a : “You’re up.”

I acknowledged with a nod and allowed the dragon to finish, hoping I didn’t offend him by cutting between his explanation.

“And one more problem about mana transfer is that, the mana can only be ushered from where the clusters of mana channels get blocked. They are openings and exists where mana moves through a mage's body, allowing them to either augment or conjure magic.”

“But these spots are supposedly naturally protected when a person augments their body with mana, right?” I asked, feeling an urge to learn more about his interesting topic from Mordian, who was generous enough to tell us. “And they are so small that they are almost impossible to target, even if a person has studied about them.”

“It is possible with years worth of hard training to grasp the foundation of the body and feeling the natural fluctuations that occur around a mage’s physique. We ash’ari grasped his technique a very long time ago, but due to its biggest flaw of only being able to be used by someone who is a quadra-elemental mage, its almost useless to the minor races. So we didn’t pass on this technique, knowing fully well its challenges and flaws. But it was still theorized."

I gulped hard as I heard the word ash’ari from Mordian’s mouth.

I had heard this from my grandfather when I was still yet a child, that there are creatures who held so much knowledge and power, that our people used to revere them as deities, and grandfather told me this story which was more of a myth, that the knowledge we make use of and the ability to use mana—all this knowledge—was all passed down on to our ancestors by a race of people which called themselves the ash’ari.

But back then, I’d thought that it was simply a children’s story and nothing more. Many people knew about this myth, but had their skepticism over the topic.

But now, seeing an ash’ari, no less a real dragon sitting in front of me, I was left dumbfounded, unable to fully grasp this truth.

So Mordian had used mana tranfer earlier to share his mana with Shun.

“So you really are one, aren’t you, Shun?” I asked, as Shun’s brows rose a fraction of an inch. “A real quadra-elemental mage. A being who is able to wield all four elemental affinities of mana.”

Shun simply replied, without trying to sugar-coat his words or hide behind his facade. He answered genuinely. “Yes. I’m a quadra-elemental mage with the deviances of lightning and ice.”

“I wanted to ask earlier but with the air between us and the sudden attack from the Eldergrove...” I halted, feeling guilt rise from the pit of my stomach as I remembered the awful things I’d said to Shun in the pit of rage.

But trying to change the topic, I quickly added. “When you were fighting those worm mana beasts, you used the attributes of fire and wind, those I was familiar with, but after we came here, you used earth mana to conjure those slabs, and afterwards used the deviant of ice.” I was trying to hide my surprise from bleeding out, but in the end I just couldn’t hide my curiosity and interest.

“Seriously, it’s just as rare as seeing a living quadra-elemental than it is a real dragon.” I said, my voice sounding like a child who had just learned some awesome fact for the first time.

“Not just any dragon.” Shun suddenly said, his arms crossed as he smirked, looking at Mordian. “Mordian isn’t just a simple dragon, he is the direct descendent of the Astrionyx clan among the dragons.”

I didn’t know why, but I felt like Shun took pride in telling me about his companion, and I found it very amusing. Despite experiencing his cold and indifferent personality, when he opens up he was quite cheerful and likable.

A confused frown played on my brows as I looked at Shun for an answer. “'Astrionyx'? Is that supposed to be some really great and influential clan among the dragons?” I turned to Mordian, looking impassive even now, as if he had no interest in our conversation.

Shun’s smirk widened as he leaned a little toward Mordian. “The Astrionyx clan is the one ruling the dragons for millennials, and the most respected clan among all the ash’ari races and clans.” Mordian looked at shun without any change in his stoic features, but seeing Shun have fun, unlike his earlier cold self, made me a little assured that he had a good companion by his side.

“Oh, that’s amazing. Then I’m in the presence of an ancient existence whose clan holds so much power.” I gasped in surprise, playing along Shun as Mordian heaved a dismissive sigh.

“And that’s not all,” Shun added, his facial expression taking a more mischievous effect. “Mordian here isn’t just some simple dragon, but the prince of all dragons and heir of the Astrionyx clan.”

“That’s honestly quite a rare match up, don’t you think so. A dragon prince from an ancient race, and a quadra-elemental mage who is a human.” I said with a thin smile over my features, as I tried hard to suppress my excitement and rush for these kind of scenarios.

But Shun’s expression took a turn as he looked slightly serious as he spoke. “Aurora, I think you have the right to learn this. From now on, we will be moving forward as companions, so it’s best if we remove any misunderstandings that might form in the future.” Shun said, taking a seat on a jutted root of a tree protruding from the soil.

I nodded, but before Shun began, I first turned to Mordian and bowed my head respectfully—as I held back my hands from trying to imitate lifting my skirt up slightly out of force of habit—to show my gratitude from earlier.

“Thank you very much for helping me absorb and refine the mana from the Eldergrove’s core, Lord Mordian Astrionyx. Thanks to your help I was able to refine every last drop of the beast’s mana without any complications. For your help you have my heart felt gratitude.” I placed my hand over my chest instead, as the dragon nodded his head in acknowledgement and I unbent right next second.

Afterward, Shun began to explain the things that I was currently most curious about, regarding him, Mordian and why he was here.

But, now that I think about it. Humans didn’t have access to the compass artifact, and even if Shun was able to acquire one, there was no way he would be able to navigate with it without knowing exactly how to use the device, but so far, neither Mordian or Jiwoo had a compass, because if they did, they would have used the device to escape rather than fight the Eldergrove head-on, a fight which almost caused us our lives.

As if there was another reason that I wasn’t aware of. But if they really didn’t have a compass, then how come they are able to move through the bounds of the worlds, only possible with the help of a compass?

Shun continued his explanation as he started from where he had been in an academy in his world, where he said everything started.

My eyes opened widely as I heard the next words come out of Shun’s mouth, leaving me completely confused and bewildered.

What was he talking about? Huh... what...system, what is he saying, level up...

My expression grew more confused as I avidly listened to Shun’s explanation, not willing to miss out on one word as I placed the information together to form the puzzle of this man named Shun.

Afterward, he told me about the many challenges he had faced, how this system worked, what features and advantages did this peculiar power granted him—he described this system as a screen like window that only he could see, and use, which allowed him to become stronger.

Was it similar to that object that humans used to communicate and take pictures of things. That slim rectangular looking box...

If it was anyone else telling me all this, I definitely would have thought that they were delirious and out of their mind, but Shun told me all of these things with a straight face, not one semblance of lie mixed in any of his words. But I felt like he wasn’t telling me the whole truth, but only pieces which made sense to me and allowed me to only know him the way he wanted me to.

I felt confused, astound, excited and relieved as Shun covered the battles he had fought, and my face arched with a flummoxed expression as he told me about his battle against a basilisk.

Wait, aren’t basilisks also supposed to be mythical creatures like dragons? Then he’s saying that he fought and won against a basilisk when he was injured and not even as strong as he is now. That was unbelievable...

He continued forward, his words thorough and holding so much confidence and detail that I couldn’t seem to tell whether they were all a lie; a fantastical epic Shun had came up with, or really the truth.

All this information just felt so overwhelming that I needed time to shallow and make up my mind.

He trailed off and explained that the system gave him quests and trials to complete to help him grow stronger, and with its egnamtic abilities, once he cleared a trial a portal conjured to take him to the next one, as he explained in detail about the structure he had built for describing the trials and their different approaches.

But suddenly his face took a saddened tinge as he took a moment to calm himself.

“And until I finish all of these trials I can’t go home, that’s what the system told me. This war and fight against the demons has cost me more than I could’ve thought, so that’s why, by the time I’m able to complete all of these trials and finally go back to my own world—to the people I care about—, until I’m able to acquire enough power to defeat any kind of enemy standing in my path, I can’t back away from the challenges thrown my way.”

I felt my face contort with a frown full of guilt as I felt like I'd started to understand Shun, even if by the least, but I think I kind of now understood the reason behind his unbelievable and extreme actions, just why did he do things so recklessly, to the point that even losing limbs doesn’t affect him no more.

He was desperate and anxious to protect his loved ones, and I knew and understood just how the world treats those with power and those without it. The circumstances of an individual born with a silver spoon and one without it are completely different. Its like the distance between the heavens and the earth.

I pivoted as I took Shun’s hand in mine and I looked into his clear obsidian black eyes—supposedly, remembering when I’d seen his indifferent eyes earlier, which had taken a tinge of amethyst, looking dreadful and cold—which seemed to hold all the misfortune and despair of this world, some loss I wasn’t able to grasp.

“I’m sorry. Sorry that I said those awful things to you. I didn’t even understand your true circumstances and spoke whatever came into my mouth.” I earnestly apologised as Shun’s grip tightened around my hand, but not enough to hurt or cause discomfort, his grip was gentle and reassuring.

And to become his true companion, someone he can fully trust and leave his back to, I would try my best to fulfil that, so that Shun can truly trust me and tell me everything about him one day.

“And earlier what I said, I wasn’t trying to degrade you or your purpose in any way possible. But what I really wanted to say was...” I paused for a moment trying to steady my mind and speak rationally without letting my emotions sway me. “I’m not saying that you shouldn’t. Just...try to think about yourself more while you also worry about them. You have your own life to live and they have their own, would they able to protect themselves at times when you wouldn’t be there to protect them?” I settled a few feet beside him, my gunmetal hair tucked behind my long pointy ears.

“I’m telling you this as a friend and companion. Even if you can heal wounds, grow back severed limbs, you can’t just heal the pain and suffering inflicted on to your heart. The pain which leaves a strain on your mind can’t go away that easily, it remains like a scar which makes a person sore.” My words turned gentle as I saw an unexpected expression on Shun’s face. He was happy, sad, relieved, anxious...but most of all determined.

A smile replaced his stern face from earlier as he relaxed and took in the cool air.

A thin smile working its way up my face.

“Yeah. I’ll keep that in mind. And thanks.” He said with a tone filled with gratitude.

“Well, if you need me to whack some sense into you, ask away anytime, I'll do it free of charge.” I said with sarcasm lacing my words as my lips curved into a grin, as I tried flexing the muscles of my bicep as Shun laughed.

“Yeah, sure.” He replied.

***

Seo Jiwoo

After having that conversation with Aurora, I felt a sense of relief wash over me, but I hadn’t told her the entire truth.

I had omitted several things from her, about my regression, my past life, about my sister and many other things, and probably, Aurora must have felt it to, but she was accepting of my circumstances and didn’t pry further.

I took a breath, as I looked around the serene scenery of the glowing lake and the forest around me adorning the environment.

After recovering my mana and recuperating completing, it was about time that we moved forward, but before that I decided to check my stats and all the rewards I’d piled up since clearing Vetustima’s trial.

And to be honest, I’d levelled up quite a lot since I came to the trials. My progress has been good and steady, but I needed to make leaps by the way things were going.

And our fight against the Eldergrove simply proved that. The odds were held against us, and if we didn’t risk our lives, we wouldn’t have been able to win.

The growing difficulty and challenges of these trials were becoming harder to clear as we moved forward. So, all three of us needed to become as strong as we could.

I waved the window away as it vanished and realised that Aurora was keenly observing me with her lips pursed, as her feet were submerged in the lake's water, wearing a new set of battle-robes that I’d given her.

“What?” I asked, my brows rising as my eyes squinted from the reflective light from the surface of the lake’s water.

Aurora inclined her head amusingly, her teal eyes looking curiously at me. “Heh, its just weird seeing you poke the empty air.” A gentle and graceful smile played on her plum lips.

“But I guess that system really does exist.” Aurora slowly moved, her feet splashing the water as I realised that there was a beauty mark right under the edge of her left eye’s.

‘I think we should move on now.’ Mordian said in my mind, as I saw him meditating on the boulder, the intricate cloak draped around him. During our fight, he had pushed himself and the curse had taking quite the effect of him, making it harder for him to control his mana and suppress the curse.

I acknowledged as Aurora walked over to our side and we finally decided to leave.

I tapped over the window and soon enough the glowing oily surface of the portal appeared in front of us, as the space distorted and tore open.

Aurora seemed surprised, knowing that I didn’t have a compass, made it quite an astounding sight.

With a nod we all moved through the conjured portal and I felt the space usher us forward.

I stepped foot over soft soil right after as my eyes took to time to adjust to the new scenery which was quite similar to the previous one.

Without much of a word, all three of us started to move through the thick forest, with overgrown bushes and tall trees which seemed to touch the sky with its canopies.

We decided to walk on foot, our guard up for any unwanted presences.

We continued on for several hours, as we explored the thick forest, the sun had just risen and the light perfectly illuminated the surroundings.

But as I stepped through an overgrown brush, a pagoda emerged before me, a ghost of its former grandeur. The stone facade, once resplendent, now lay in ruin, its carvings barely discernible through the layers of moss and creeping vines. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decay, mingling with the faint aroma of incense that had somehow persisted through the ages.

Each step forward felt like an intrusion, the ground beneath my feet uneven and treacherous with fallen debris. Ancient columns, once majestic, leaned precariously, their surfaces pitted and scarred by time and weather. In the dim light filtering through the canopy above, the intricate runic patterns etched into the stone seemed to come alive, whispering stories of forgotten rituals and a history that seemed forgotten by the unbelievable passage of time.

“What is this place?” Aurora gasped in surprise beside me, her eyes wide up as she studied the dilapidated ruins with curious and keen eyes.

I shared her intrigue, as Mordian also observed the ruined carvings on the stone pedestals and broken debris.

A flight of stairs greeted shortly after, as we reached the top and the full view of the dilapidated pagoda came to view.

“Let’s be careful. Anything could happen, so be on guard.” I told to my companions as we made way forward to the entrance, observing the path each step taken in caution.

As we ventured inside, the shadows deepened, and the air grew cooler. The ceiling, once high and vaulted, had partially collapsed, allowing shafts of sunlight to pierce the gloom and illuminate the dust motes that danced in the air.

The interior revealed itself as a sombre testament to a place once dedicated to study and knowledge. The grand hall, now dim and shadowed, was lined with destroyed bookshelves that stretched up towards the crumbling ceiling. These shelves held charred and decayed remnants of books, their pages blackened and brittle.

The scent of burnt paper lingered in the air, mingling with the musty odour of decay. Scattered across the floor were fragments of ancient texts, their words lost to time but still hinting at the knowledge they once contained. The once orderly rows of seating now lay in disarray in the debris, testament to the chaos that must have ensued during the pagoda’s fall.

What could have happened to cause the destruction of this place? I thought in my mind as my eyes moved from one thing to another.

Nearby, broken clay jars and pots, once used to store scrolls and manuscripts, lay shattered, their contents spilled and ruined. The walls, adorned with faded murals and tapestries, depicted scenes of scholars deep in study, a stark contrast to the current desolation.

Occasionally, an object of interest would catch my eye—a rusted inkwell, a quill still protruding from its opening, or a brass astrolabe, its once-precise mechanisms now frozen and tarnished. These several artifacts lay in ruin.

I breathed in the air mixed with all kinds of smells. My brows knitted as I had mixed feelings since coming here. I didn’t know why, but I felt conflicted since the moment I’d entered this ruin.

But I had never experienced something like this before in any of the trials. So why now? Did this place held some deeper meaning.

My eyes moved through the destroyed pagoda, and I saw an altar mounted in the centre of the pagoda, its surface marred but I realised it had several intricate runes running along its surface and the floor below in a loop, with decayed parchment and papers scattered atop and on the floor.

The silence inside the pagoda was profound, broken only by the occasional drip of water seeping through the cracks in the stone.

“I’m not getting a good feeling about this place.” Aurora announced, her face looking frightened as she didn’t dare lower her guard. “Its just like those horror stories, where a ghost unexpectedly appears at an inconvenient time from a corner.”

“You read too many books, you know that ghosts aren’t a thing.” I said, my lips pursed into a smirk. “And despite fighting an Eldergrove Sentinel, you are scared of some ghosts.” I laughed as Aurora smacked my arm lightly in fun.

“Let’s split up look for clue here.” I said as my companions nodded—Aurora looking a bit hesitant—and started to search the inside of the pagoda on the first floor, as I reached the altar in the middle of the pagoda and wiped the moss off of the altar and studied the intricate runes.

It looks similar to the altar that I saw when I met Indra Arudecarus. I thought as I tried to release my mana into the altar to see some reaction, I tried a few times, curious if it might have some reaction I expected, keeping the out-put low and high as I released my mana a few times.

But nothing happened. The runes over the altar looked lifeless as the moss and cracks over it made it impossible to completely study what could be on it.

‘Did you find anything?’ Suddenly I heard my bond’s voice in my head, as I answered immediately.

I walked forward, leaving the altar behind and moving to the end of this floor of the pagoda. There was a stone blocking the wall and I realized there was something written on the wall, but blocked by the broken piece.

I circulated my mana and tried to move the broken piece. It took quite an effort alone, but with a heavy noise the stone grinded against the floor and moved aside.

I laid eyes on the words, but they were written in a language I was unable to understand.

Could Mordian know this language? I thought as I reached out to my dragon bond. He was an ash’ari, a being who has lived a long life, so there was a chance he might understood this language.

He reached where I was quickly and started to study the rune like words.

“Can you understand what’s written here?” I asked as I waited for him to reply.

But his brows knitted for some reason as he looked at the ancient writing with surprise and curiosity.

“I can,” he said as I felt relieved. “But this language...” he added as he reached out and touched the intricate words etched on the surface of the wall.

But if one looked closely, they looked rushed and quite unsophisticated. Like the one who had written them had done so in a hurry, and tried to tell and leave behind something for someone.

“This language is quite similar to the ancient language that the ash’ari used, which was changed after the ancient war. Too similar if I have to say.”

“Then what does it say?” I asked him as I looked at the words, crevices and cracks all around them, as I tried to imagine the desperation of the person who could have worte this.

“In the face of time that is more ancient than ancientness, even death itself will disappear; a truth etched in shadows and veiled by those in the shadows, whispered through the ages, meant only for those who dare unravel the enigma beneath.”

My bond read the words as I felt a sense of dread projected through them. The words trying to convey and hint on something, as the conflict within me made me slightly vulnerable the longer I stayed in this place.

But suddenly, a scream echoed throughout the pagoda, as I rushed in the direction where Aurora had gone to search, my breathing growing heavy as I expected the worse.

My bond beside me as I saw Aurora rush to the middle of the pagoda, her face pale and mana dispersing as she staggered and looked frightened, as if seen some ghost.

“Aurora, what’s wrong?” I quickly asked as he slumped on the floor and looked at me whilst pointing behind.

“I-It w-was something....there was something there...” She said her voice and breathing uneven, her eyes displaying fear. “When I was searching through the shelves, I sensed something, as if someone was beside me, observing me, but when I turned around there was no one.” She swallowed hard as I gave her time to calm down.

“But when I tried to confront it, it appeared in front of me like a black shadow and then disappeared without a trace.” She added as I looked at the broken bookshelves in the left corner of the pagoda. “But it didn’t harm me.”

I snapped my head at the entrance of the pagoda just as I heard Aurora, my face contorted with a frown as I looked upon the entity that Aurora had spoken about.

But it looked different from her description.

“Are you the remnant left behind to test me?” I asked, my voicing booming across the hall as I waited for the entity to reply.