"What do you mean?" Adrian asked in confusion. "I'm not sure of the details either. Even the Gost emperor himself didn’t know how Gostia came to be. It may have been built with a purpose and left behind by a celestial being. When the celestial left, others came to occupy the place and began living here."Adrian was surprised by what he heard. "You’re saying the Gosts weren’t the first people to live in this city?""In a way, yes. This city existed even before Gostia was founded. However, it wasn’t called Enigma City then. It was known as Elysian. A celestial left behind a mysterious magic circle capable of conjuring illusions. Anyone trapped within would have their senses confused.""What do you mean?" Adrian asked. "I mean that everything you've seen from the moment you entered the desert was an illusion, including its citizens.""You're saying Enigma City doesn't actually exist, and it’s all just an illusion?""Correct.” Rozi nodded. "The people here are real and so is every
Adrian nodded. The Heroes of Wyvern Peak was the strongest evidence.When Adrian nodded, Rozi said, "It's true. I saw all of it in a prophecy. The answer to your question is exactly what you’ve just said.""A prophecy?""A prophecy showed me that someone who looks exactly like Dragonking would show up in Enigma City, standing right at the spot where you were during my arrival. The prophecy was so accurate that it even showed me the street you were on and the people around you. It even showed that you’d be gazing at me. That is how I came to look in your direction on the second day I entered the city. I was going to tell you more, but the emperor noticed what I was doing.""Prophecies again… I feel like I've been living my whole life according to a prophecy someone foretold."Adrian clenched his fists, angered at how his life was playing out exactly as prophesied. Someone once prophesied that Juno would become Wyvern Peak's new legate, but Adrian broke that notion and chose Jerome
Adrian took a deep breath, thinking about how the world seemed to revolve around prophecies. Regardless of what happened and the flow of events, it all led back to this.Was there really no way for them to change things?The tower suddenly shook. Zombie guards were fervently rushing up the tower. They swarmed from the city to the tower as though a force was controlling them.Adrian gazed at the relentless horde and asked, "The emperor's already dead, so why haven't they stopped moving? Is it possible that he was never truly in control of them?”Rozi was the producer of the Revenant Elixir, so nobody knew better than her about its effects. “I told you this place is eerie. The emperor never gained full control over the zombies as it is the worms who hold the remote. We never figured out everything about them," she explained.She had studied this in the past, but the closer she got to the truth, the farther away she realized she was. "They're coming."Zombies were storming into th
That corner was where Dragonking's statue was. Adrian had seen a number of those statues before. They were placed throughout all of Enigma City. This statue had preserved Dragonking’s valiant aura while clad in his armor. And most importantly, he was looking in the direction of the lake that Dragonbane had been in. Adrian had not noticed this before. He now only realized that the statue had been a clue all along."Is this Dragonking?" Adrian asked as Rozi gently held the statue’s face.Rozi nodded. Dragonking had been the only Godking who stood up against the tyrant. The people of Enigma City had the utmost respect for him and followed him in his rebellion. He had brought them hope and lit the fires inside their hearts. Unfortunately, he had failed to complete his grand mission.Even so, his achievements were deserving of the people’s admiration. "As he watched the emperor oppress the people through fear and despair, he was angered and swore to overthrow the emperor and build a
‘The mage again?' Adrian frowned. He recalled that the mage was the Gost emperor's confidant who had given the latter many ideas. He also realized that Rozi was missing part of her memories, and she seemed unaware of what she could not remember.Rozi felt around the statue until she finally found a switch. Upon pressing it, a series of mechanisms came to life, and the statue raised its right arm. The statue’s hand was clenched in a way that suggested it could hold something."Your soul has suffered for over a thousand years. It's about time for you to be saved." Rozi looked at Adrian and said, "Insert Dragonbane into the statue’s hand. That will free Dragonking's soul and allow him to pass on." The people of the past believed in gods and life after death. Adrian then realized that Dragonking's raised right hand was meant to hold Dragonbane. And before he even moved, Dragonbane started vibrating. The sword had sensed the presence of its former master."Dragonbane is the only thing
Rozi seemed calm at seeing the mage again after more than a thousand years. "The emperor's dead. You're without a master now. You don't belong to this era, so why haven't you gone to hell yet?" Rozi asked."Hahaha! Hahaha!"The mage's piercing laugh sounded like an intense torture. "I’ve returned because hell refused to take me. You may have killed His Majesty, but you can't stop what's about to happen next. You’ll both suffer the moment his soul leaves this city."Rozi frowned. "Why would you do this, mage? What did the emperor give you to turn you into this inhuman thing? Don't you find it torturous to live like this? You may have sealed Dragonking’s soul, but you can't seal away his grand achievements. It’s time for you to move on."Her words seem to inflict some damage on the mage's psyche. "Silence. I think I'm living just fine. Thanks to the emperor, I've gained immortality and have even outlived him.”“The Rejuvenation Elixir and the Revenant Elixir don’t stop one fro
"You're lying!” the mage yelled in disbelief. Adrian figured out what was happening. The mage's body had died a long time ago, just like the zombie guards. But his consciousness was much stronger than the others, so the worms made use of this and took full control over his body. This had granted him some form of immortality. But in truth, such immortality was torture. No ordinary person would accept their body rotting away while their memories and knowledge remained intact.Rozi continued, "It's true. The emperor has always been wary of you. Your body was unable to withstand the effects of the Revenant Elixir, leading to the worms taking control of your consciousness and memories when you woke up. Though your body has not broken down completely, you died more than a thousand years ago.”"No… No, no, no, no!!! Impossible! That can't be true!" the mage yelled hysterically. "Rest. You don't have to fight anymore. I know you're in a lot of pain. Letting go will be the greatest reli
As Adrian’s blood filled the crevice, the statue started to glow red. It was absorbing his blood and sending it through the runes. Something shocking was happening to the statue! The runes that had blood flowing through it looked just like veins. The process was a continuous cycle. The blood would flow through the network of runes before returning to the crevice."Follow me." Rozi walked toward the outer parts of the tower.The pair arrived at the platform and looked out at Enigma City. The same light from the statue had emerged from nine different directions. The light produced from the ten statues shot toward the night sky and converged at a point. A stele had also appeared in the sky."That's the stele that holds Dragonking's soul. Dragonbane is trying to destroy it and allow Dragonking to pass on."Adrian silently watched as the lights in the sky gathered to form a giant sword. The sword made a clean strike, cleaving the stele in half as it dispersed into balls of lights.