Chapter 149 Great Descen (1/2)
CHAPTER 149
GREAT DESCENT
Lino remained seated, leaning against the cooling wall, as he watched Ella stretch and enter the house, smiling at him faintly. His eyes quickly veered off into the horizon, beyond the now flat stretch of earth and over to the hills in the distance. After a short silence, he got up with a grunt and began walking briskly, his hands in his pockets.
Though quite a lot weighed on his mind in regards to what had transpired in such a short period of time, one which confused him the most was the presence of Prince Relish - or whatever his actual name was. The last time the two met was very close to the Necropolis, almost ten years ago. Lino, while taking a brief glance at him, was still unable to determine his actual strength. For someone so strong, it felt odd to remain on the Western Continent for so long.
As he walked ever further away from the house, he could feel more and more eyes pierce toward him from the distance, as well as hundreds of Divine Senses trying to feel him out. Even he felt somewhat shocked over the sheer number, as it far surpassed his initial estimates. However, he quickly shrugged the thoughts and ignored them, as he knew none stood a chance of figuring out that he was a measly Early Purity Realm kid in the belly of the Exalted and the Imperials and even those above.
He reached the dried, wavy dunes quickly and climbed over one, looking around for a moment. Atop a small ledge, not too far away from him, overlooking a set of ruins beneath, he spotted a young-looking man sitting casually and reading a book. Lino turned toward him and began walking, realizing that the scrutiny dropped and outright stopped when he reached the man. The latter seemed to be unaware of his presence and continued reading the book. Lino leaned over and realized he couldn't read the characters as it was a language he didn't understand.
”It's a compilation of the Empyrion Folklore,” the man suddenly said, startling Lino who immediately began looking around. ”Relax, even if they had ten billion times the courage, they wouldn't dare listen in.”
”...” Lino gulped and looked again at the man, who didn't seem all that out of ordinary - especially not so much that he'd inspire so much fear in so many. ”Long time no see.” he recovered quickly, however, and decided to go with the flow.
”What do you mean? We saw each other not even two hours ago.” the man said, still reading.
”Funny. Is the folklore that interesting?” Lino sat down next to the man and took out a gourd of ale.
”It is quite fascinating,” the man said, closing the book suddenly and glancing at Lino from the corner of his eyes. ”It is one of the few Western Cultures to ever mention the Lineage of Dragons. Apparently, the far northern peninsula used to be a home of a Dragon named Ok'tah. He was reportedly over two miles in length and half that in height, his wingspan blanketing the sun itself. In folklore, he would feast on human sacrifices that the nearby tribes would bring annually. One day, though, a young man came forth with a sword and a shield and challenged Ok'tah, saying that he didn't wish to see his sister be given off as a sacrifice.”
”...” Lino listened while drinking, as he was quite curious himself. Though he knew quite a bit of history of Oreb Kingdom, he hardly knew their customs, traditions and myths, if at all.
”Ok'tah found him rather silly, the story goes, but also courageous. He granted the young man a Primordial Fire, and the first forefather of the Oreb Kingdom was born.”
”... children of a Dragon, huh? Well, they certainly weren't humble.” Lino commented.
”Can you blame them?” the man asked, smiling lightly. ”They've risen from the ashes of this cursed land and united it, even going as far as to become the quasi-Holy Ground for the Bearer of a Writ. No matter where, that feat ought to be celebrated in and of itself.”
”... who are you?” Lino asked. It was clear that the man knew Lino was an Empyrean - probably having learned the very first time they met - yet he also didn't seem to care much about it.
”My name's Ethwart,” the man said, extending his arm for a handshake. ”It's an honor to meet you - again - little Empyrean.”
”...” Lino returned the handshake with an odd smile. ”Nice psychological warfare right there.”
”I merely believe roles ought to be established immediately if a relationship is to sprout in the future.”
”... well, you won me over,” Lino shrugged, withdrawing his hand. ”Want a drink?”
”If I did, I certainly wouldn't be drinking that filth. No offense.” Ethwart replied, still smiling.
”Haii... what can I say? This is all a lowly guy like me can afford.”
”... years have chiseled you well.” Ethwart said. ”Better than I expected, at the very least.”
”... uh, thanks?”
”I've found out why I let the invasion happen, by the way,” the tone in his voice suddenly shifted, darkening considerably, surprising Lino. ”Are you still interested in knowing?”
”... yes.”
”It's because of power,” Ethwart said. ”As is often the case with people. Two years ago, I learned the unfortunate truth that sixteen of my brethren were colluding with the Holy Grounds over your situation.”
”... I feel like I need a lot of background info to understand what the hell do you mean.” Lino commented.
”The relic that I had given you. Where is it?” Ethwart suddenly asked, surprising Lino. The latter mulled over it for a second before withdrawing a strange, star-shaped wooden object from his void world.
”This?”
”Ah... as I suspected.” Ethwart sighed. ”It's one of the corrupted ones. Apologies.”
”I wanna say you're losing me, but you've lost me a long time ago.”
”... I'm part of the sect of sort; it's really more of a community, or perhaps a collective enforcer.” Ethwart explained, taking the object form Lino's hand and fiddling with it. ”We go by many names, depending on where you ask. This relic would have acted as an invitation when you reached Mythic Realm, sending you toward one of our recruitment grounds.”
”... eh? What?” Lino was quite startled, as it truly came out of left field.
”Ha ha, don't be surprised,” Ethwart suddenly laughed, flicking the relic and throwing it into the stretch of darkness. ”A few billion years ago, it was quite a custom for Empyreans to have honorary seat next to us, or even become full-fledged members. After all, it was one of the few places in the world where nobody dared to bother you guys, no matter how great a grudge they bore. Have you ever heard of Great Descent?”
”...” Lino thought for a second but then shook his head.