Chapter 648 - Creator’s Temple (1) (2/2)

Link turned away from the two demons and said, “The demon that we encountered is called Nozama, Lord of the Deep. Did you notice back then that he looked no more different from you and me, at least on the outside?

“Yes, if it weren’t for his eyes and aura, I would have assumed he was just an ordinary man,” said Romeon with a nod.

“He still has another form. When he loses his temper, he will take on the form of a burning seraphim. His combat capacity will receive a huge boost, and he will even be able to travel between realms. At a price, he may even gain the ability to travel through time. Nozama had once revealed his seraphim form in recorded history, back in my realm. In the aftermath of the battle, he had managed to slaughter almost all of the masters in my realm. Even though he too sustained heavy damage, he was able to travel back to the point before the battle even began, essentially negating all the damage he had taken and making it seem as if nothing had ever happened.”

Romeon frowned upon hearing this. “If it had never even happened, how on earth was it recorded in your history books in the first place?”

“I came across a record of the event in a Time Magician’s manuscript. Spells that disrupt the flow of time would always trigger some form of ripple effect on the realm, especially time-reversing spells, whose effects are usually of a more acute nature. Through these ripples, the Time Magician was able to witness past catastrophes that had escaped the notice of historians in the past. He then left coded entries of these events in the library of the dragon valley for safekeeping.”

In truth, he had received this information back in the previous game world. The Time Magician’s manuscript had been key to ending Nozama. With it, the player would be able to seal up all his escape routes through time together with the aid of any accompanying NPCs in order to put a definitive end to the Lord of the Deep’s tyranny. Otherwise, he would be able to simply slip back in time, smooth out all the kinks in his plans and storm the Firuman realm once more with renewed effort.

At that moment, Link realized that such a catastrophe might have happened before in Firuman. Maybe, just maybe, the dragons were not the only ones capable of navigating the Sea of Void… Of course, this was all just conjecture. He still needed to prove it somehow.

This had all come as a complete shock to Romeon. He stammered, “Is… is there really someone this powerful? So that’s why he’s also called the Nightmare Demon…”

“What Nightmare Demon?” asked Link suddenly.

“Ah?” Romeon jolted. He did not expect Link to be able to hear him. Composing himself, he then said, “Oh, I was just thinking to myself that Nozama’s power is truly terrifying, like something out of a nightmare.”

Link could tell that Romeon was hiding something from him. However, he did not press him for answers.

After a while, Romeon asked, “Dragon, do you think your realm will be able to best this Nozama?”

“I don’t know, but I will do everything in my power to defeat him.”

“He seems to hate you a lot. I guess you’ve been a hindrance to his plans for quite some time.”

“Nozama’s not the only enemy the Firuman realm has. The dark red vortex that transported Nozama into your realm back then, did you see it? That’s the work of the God of Destruction. He too sees me as a threat.”

Romeon smiled bitterly. “Are you saying that you’re being hunted by a god and a Legendary-level Lord of the Deep at the same time? Looks to me you’ve got a lot on your plate at the moment.”

Link laughed out loud. “Well, on the bright side, I’m still alive.”

Romeon then fell silent. However, Link could see that he was deep in thought, trying to process everything that he had told him. He also had a feeling that when the time was right, Romeon would speak to him again.

Three hours passed in silence. Suddenly, a massive column of clouds appeared in front of them, stretching as far as the eye could see into the high heavens.

“What’s that supposed to be?” Link was stunned by the sight of the cloud wall. His 100-feet-long dragon form was but a speck of dust before it.

The two demons were gaping at it as well, amazed that something so majestic existed in this realm.

Romeon said with a hint of pride, “Don’t just look at part of it. Really take in everything. What do you notice?”

Following Romeon’s advice, Link tilted his head back in order to get a better look at the entire cloud wall. “Wait, is this…”

A six-toothed gear pattern was impressed upon the cloud wall. Its design echoed every engraving on the surface of the actual thing in the Sea of Void. It looked exactly like the sketch that the Omirian Piasce had provided Link with.

There must be a connection between the two gears existing simultaneously in the Sea of Void and in the Fedaro realm.

Then, Link heard Romeon’s voice close to his ear. “Can you see it? Behind the cloud lies the Creator’s temple. The marking you see before you is the Creator’s Insignia!”