The hours passed slowly as more and more of the book was consumed. He resorted not to using [Eyes of the Fairy]—the exhaustion from the night before was still lingering in his mind.

And yet, his focus was as sharp as ever. Every paragraph read was far more interesting than the one before it. It was completely surprising. After all, history wasn't exactly his strong suit back on Earth.

Usually, it was Julie who would nag him about this civilization or that historical event. Occasionally, he found them interesting, but under most circumstances, they almost always devolved into the same talking points regardless of the era mentioned.

Perhaps this was a part of the reason behind his hate for humanity—their sheer boringness when it comes to living their lives in societies. Hierarchies form, the impoverished suffer, imperialists hunger for war… There was never an end to the repeating patterns.

And in most cases, Yarian was no different. Its history was arguably far more bloody and catastrophic compared to Earth's. Not only are there forces and factions with supernatural powers acting out their agendas, but the level of destruction that could occur through the actions of a few was… disastrous.

The Crimson Ritual Incident was one such scenario. The perpetrator—a 6th Circle magister with a Mystic Grade Soul Weapon—manipulated countless individuals throughout the city to orchestrate the massacre of hundreds…

It was then not a surprise that the Avalon Empire fell… A civilization so vast and powerful, it had conquered most of Yarian—the only ones posing a threat to their sovereignty were the dragons in the North.

With such powerful armies, it might have been inevitable that such power turned against them in the end…

And such signs were seen all over this ruined city. Caelivora as it was called in ancient Duvali, was a central town that seems to hold importance on trade routes going south. Likely, it was seen as a last stop before heading into the Feylith Forest or the Eclipse Moor.

Curiously, there was no mention of it being underground. The book seemed to outline how the weather impacted trade and commerce within this city, as well as how hot the summers were… It made him wonder if it had a connection to ancient Celestine which also contains massive ruins on the mountain.

How did it ever manage to find itself underground? This was not a question the book answered. Though, he did have a theory.

From what he has observed so far, the dungeon seems to continue surviving in perpetual ruinness. While all the buildings seem to repair themselves through the powers of the Dungeon Shroud, their original architecture was already worn and ruined from the getgo… Countless murals were found defaced—both purposefully and through normal erosion. This was clearly a sign that a majority of these structures were not always a part of the dungeon. At some point in time, the Avalon Ruins were formed, either through the powers of a Mystery or something even more outlandish…

And through that power, the once independent parts of this ancient empire somehow coalesced into a labyrinth of hidden truths and endless traps… All to hide the past… The forgotten whispers of history.

What was a bit less surprising, however, was the fact that the Safe Zone was never actually a Safe Zone to begin with…

This city—at one point in time housed its own Floor Guardian. One that perished many millennia ago. He had already observed countless signs of such a battle occurring during his time mapping out everything in the city. Clearly, it was only really able to gain its peace now due to Tazzith's Blood Amulet—an item which was placed there roughly a thousand years ago.

The old demon never really mentioned the story of how it got there—he didn't know if it was simply out of embarrassment or whether that information was extremely valuable. It seemed that the Demon of Knowledge was reluctant to share… For now.

He did have his own speculations, however. Tazzith mentioned that it was left there after a battle. Since HIs Spirit Body had become fragmented in the process, it was fair to assume that the battle He fought was rather grandiose—if not catastrophic. The damage He received was so great, that enough of His powers were lost for the elves to take advantage of it and seal Him forever inside the Subterranean Shunning Grounds.

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I wonder if he plans on getting revenge? That poor Saintess of Dreams… Not only does She now have to face the reality of her brother's treachery, but also one of their most famed prisoners escaping… Not to mention the Vynasian threat from the Endless Sea.

He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. It was beyond ridiculous.

The book continued on and on. From the history of its founding as an agricultural hub to a city that exports raw minerals out of Mount Celestine… Its past was rather long and arduous. But still interesting none-the-less.

There were a few key points, however.

For one, it seems that its connection to Celestine was rather deep. Back then, the mountain was once called the Holy Summit. Mentions of a religious cult deeply ingrained in Avalon's politics was mentioned several times. He couldn't tell which religion this was—whether they were worshippers of the Serpent of Untruths, the Heavenly Loop or the Tower of Runes seemed impossible to recognize. Either way, Caelivora seemed to be a center for pilgrims to begin their march up the mountain.

Funnily enough, there were also mentions of a Holy Maiden. This was likely mentioning the Shepherd of the Nameless Fold. The woman who was once honored a jewel of the empire had somehow become imprisoned deep within the Avalon Ruins… Sealed away from history itself.

Mentions of Her name seemed to come with colossal reverence. There were depictions of illustrations in the book showing Her standing before crowds of worshippers, awaiting salvation… Eerily enough, a few shadowy depictions were also seen beside Her as well as Her face remaining covered beneath a dark veil—an exact image of the woman he had personally seen in the Hall of Death...

The scythe She held commanded power… Even now, after witnessing it first hand, Soren could not believe his eyes. Monarchs were truly powerful existences. Even their illustrations seemed to exude a level of honor that the Beyond could recognize…

This also raised some suspicion in his mind… For one, he had always operated under the assumption that the Nameless Mist was a foreign agent—a Forgotten Rune that was once discovered by the Avalon Empire and brought disaster and pain to their civilization. One could even assume that it was the reason behind their inevitable fall…

But this illustrated depiction as well as the description provided seemed to go against this notion. The Nameless Mist… it was always a part of Avalonian society. Their Holy Maiden wasn't 'Corrupted' by its presence—She commanded and wielded it…

The powers of a Forgotten Rune… He thought to himself quietly as the candle sitting on his desk continued to melt.

Could it be that the Holy Maiden was given her powers by Her father? He was said to be the king of the empire… An Empyrean.

In a way, it would make a lot of sense. After all, his very own Faerie Court forgotten rune fragment gave him the ability to create anchors within others… Was that not in its own way a transfer of power?

This could also connect even further with my theory on Divine Authorities… Perhaps all Forgotten Runes share this unique feature…

There was also the fact that the Avalon Ruin's Dungeon Core utilizes a key that was entirely powered by the Nameless Mist. It was so powerful, The Whispering Dream was able to steal it and use it to spread corruption across the Feylith Forest…

It did get him to wonder… If just the key to the Dungeon Core's room could house that much power, then what exactly lies beyond the door itself?

A shiver ran up his spine the more he thought about it. That key… If the Whispering Dream were to return to the Avalon Ruins one day and use it to reclaim the prize that many explorers have salivated over for centuries, would that too factor into his plans of ending the world?

In a way, he finally understood Hurion's words… The War of Swords—while it did have its traces with the Spirit Blossom seed's discovery, the history of what led to it might have already been firmly planted from the very first Age of Fantasia…

After all, both the Spirit Blossom Seed and the Nameless Mist were connected through their shared identity of being Forgotten Runes… Tazzith Himself also mentioned how many Foolish Ones of History have existed since the first age:

Three in total.

Himself, another during the Third Age that resulted in the freezing of Yarian's Celestial Fate, and the final one was the most mysterious of them all… A person that lived during the First Age and somehow caused the entire empire's people to disappear because of his actions…

What did all three of them have in common? The possession or the interaction with a Forgotten Rune…

The Faerie Court, The Spirit Blossom Seed, The Nameless Mist…

"Fate… is truly a powerful entity…" He couldn't help but chuckle in despair as he leaned back against his wooden chair. The light of the candle flickering in sync with the maddening flames within his eyes.

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