Chapter 183 - Two Persons (1)
1
The rippling waves of light turned hazy within the darkness, and the silence continued.
Two people...no, one person and a being that used to be a human silently stared at each other. There were only 20 steps between the two of them. However, there was 220 years piled atop of them.
They looked at each other, and mixed emotions were exchanged between them. He couldn’t see Carlos’ face, but Azell was confident they were feeling the same emotions.
There was a maelstrom of words within his chest that he wanted to blurt out. However, when it came time to speak, he had no idea what he should say first.
“You…….”
In the end, Azell opened his mouth first.
“I heard you became bald.”
Carlos was dumbfounded as he laughed. Azell smirked.
“Your thought construct reacted a bit differently. He became angry.”
“You welcome it?”
“…….”
When he spoke those words, one could hear a deep loneliness in his voice. There was a bizarre ring to his voice, but there was also his emotions mixed within it. It made Azell’s heart ache to hear it.
Azell took a step closer as he asked a question.
“Did you purposely isolate me from my party?”
“I see…….”
A good amount of time had pa.s.sed, but Azell was the only one that had arrived at this place. There had been no news from his party members. This wouldn’t have happened unless this was Carlos’ intention.
Azell queried him.
“The Guardian Shadows acted as your eyes and ears.”
“I also know that they are your eyes and ears, but they cannot be your mouth. You would have conveyed your intentions at a much early date if you were capable of doing it.”
“The more you act in pursuit of your own convenience, it’ll allows your opponent to use it against you. You always used to say that.”
“I’m guessing a lot had occurred even after I went to sleep?”
“I don’t like long-winded stories. You should summarized it, and just tell me the fun parts.”
“I don’t know if you changed in your old age or not, but I just know that you went bald.”
“…….”
“…truthfully, I don’t. Let’s discuss that at a later time. Let’s talk about the fun stuff first.”
“Huh?”
“…….”
“Shall I?”
Azell followed his words. There was a suitable stone next to him, so Azell sat on it.
“I guess I don’t have to worry about where to start my story…….”
Azell started his story from the time he woke up within the Balan forest. He spoke about what he experienced when he was found by the Western Border Guards of the Rulain Kingdom. He spoke about the Dragon Demon princess Arrieta, and the encounter he had with Carlos’ thought construct, who had gotten angry at Azell for making fun of his baldness.
His story was long.
Was it really ok for them to speak in such laid back manner in such a situation? The question arose inside his mind, but he ignored it. At that moment, he wanted to forget all other problems.
Carlos listened to Azell’s story, and he had fun chiming in with his own words.
“Unfortunately, you are right.”
“I’ve read the recorded history books, yet I never read about such events. They did list your many achievements, but…..”
“I see…….”
Carlos’ current state might have had something to do with those incidents.
When Azell became silent, Carlos asked a question.
“Hmm. Let’s see…. How did Rogan lose his business?”
“You invested in his business?”
“I see.”
Rogan had made many friends in the Dragon Demon war, and these friends had helped Rogan, when he was in a tough spot. Carlos was one of those friends. Of course, he helped out.
Carlos spoke in a playful manner.
“What kind of story?”
“Oohk…….”
It looked as if Carlos had hit a sore spot. It was to be expected, since he had heard about the problem from the Keepers of Prophecy, who were his descendents. Even if he had ten mouths, Azell couldn’t say anything about the problem.
“C...can we not talk about that?”
“s.h.i.t. I’m all ears..”
Carlos seemed very delighted as he spoke about stories that had piled up within him.
2
While Azell met Carlos, his party was guided towards a different s.p.a.ce.
A Guardian Shadow appeared in front of the fl.u.s.tered party, and it spoke to them.
“What about Azell?”
Laura was facing the legendary Archmage, but surprisingly, she asked about Azell first. Carlos laughed as he answered her. He seemed amused.
Of course, the party had no grounds to refuse his request. They had no choice, but to wait until Azell finished talking with Carlos.
“Still, it is a reunion after 220 years. If they are planning to catch up with each other, 4 days and 4 nights won’t be enough. Are they going to leave us here for that long?”
Leticia grumbled.
They were in a communal s.p.a.ce with magic surrounding them. Faint magic lights floated through the air like fireflies. It lit the surrounding very dimly. The light only reached the vicinity of the party members. There was only complete darkness a short distance away..
Yuren looked at the darkness as he furrowed his brows.
“I’ve seen this darkness before…...”
“Darkness is darkness. How can a darkness look familiar to you?”
Leticia rebuked him.
However, she was feeling a similar sentiment as him at that moment. The darkness filling this place was infused with remarkable amount of power.
Laura spoke.
“I know what it is.”
“What?”
“This is the Great Darkness.”
Everyone startled in surprise.
The only one amongst them that had seen the heart of the Great Darkness was Laura. This was why her words held weight here.
Yuren queried her.
“It doesn’t look entirely similar, right?”
“I’m not sure. It does feel slightly different, but I cannot put my finger on it…..”
Laura narrowed her eyes as she observed the darkness with her magic. She started using all types of magic to see through to the true nature of the darkness.
‘I’m lost.’
However, she couldn’t see through it. The magical construct was too complex. She could only observe its surface. It was impossible for her to see through to its inner side.
Laura wasn’t familiar with such an experience. She wasn’t as good in battle, but she was one of the top magicians of this generation. The only time she found herself lacking was when she looked at the artifacts left behind by Atein.
‘The Archmage Carlos was a figure of this caliber? But…….’
One could just look at the records inside the Plain of Darkness to know how great Carlos was. He was like Azell. His abilities transcended the limits of humans.
However, she was having a hard time accepting this fact.
The magic within the Plain of Darkness had advanced much further compared to the days of the Dragon Demon war.
Atein, Aunsaurus and Baldazark had been transcendent beings, but they were exception to the rule. If one looked at the overall approach to magic and research, their descendants had advances past that era. For example, Azell had become surprised when she was able to disguise her Dragon Demon magic as regular magical energy.
‘Still, it had only been 200 years, yet he was able to recreate the Great Darkness by himself?’
Carlos had gained powers that rivalled the Dragon Demon generals in his 20s. It wasn’t ‘just’ 200 years. It might have been possible if it was him.
Still, a combat oriented magician weren’t comparable with other types of magicians. The Great Darkness wasn’t something that could be created just because one was outstanding in battle.
If Aunsaurus’ handwritten accounts were true, Atein was the only one that had been able to understand the true nature of the Great Darkness.
Those that were connected by the Great Darkness could transcend the limitations placed by distance. It was possible to speak in real time through the Great Darkness. This special property allowed one to gather an enormous amount of information.
Atein had created greater artifacts using the Great Darkness as basis. For example, he was able to create results like the Road of Darkness. He was able to achieve ridiculous results like being able to cause simultaneous magical effects several dozen kilometers away.
The Great Darkness encompa.s.sed the whole continent, but there was no burden in maintaining it. There were no magic circles needed, and no facilities were made. In fact, magical energy wasn’t needed to maintain the Great Darkness.
This wasn’t just something that transcended the common sense of magic. It defied logic of this world. Basically, he had creating something out of nothing.
‘I wonder what kind of person he is.’
She was really curious. She hadn’t been this curious since she had met Azell.
Suddenly, the party felt a chill.
Sss-oooooooh…….
“Who are you?”