"One final question. You said it’s been four hundred years since Pathan fell and you also fought Cain. How is that possible? It’s been a little over a century since mana came."
The Chief Alchemist nodded when Godfrey asked the question. "There is a time balance to all worlds. A thousand-year-old elf is no different from a hundred-year-old human on Earth if they stay in their respective worlds. If the elf es here, however, she or he will surely outlive you all by a large margin, and the man will live a very short life in the elven world..."
"... However, when a world fails at the Ruination Stage, it falls away from that timeline and begins a fast run in order to rebuild and restore another civilization. In other worlds, four hundred years was just forty years in Earth’s timeline. Although now, our timelines have matched."
"So what about Pathans? They were already over two hundred years old before they became summons. What will happen to them once they hit four hundred?"
"We work like the stars. We are the brightest at the end of our lives, but there is an end." Zaun replied calmly.
"Right now, I can live for as long as my summons can. So that means I can live for four hundred years."
"Some of your summons will all be dead before then. They are immortal for as long as they haven’t reached four hundred, but once they get there, it is the end."
Hearing this, Godfrey lowered his hand. "So I have about two hundred years or close to that. What about Toria, Lysander, Isolde? They have longer lifespans."
"They do, but Isolde isn’t a Pathan. You forget, your summon isn’t here but the castle. She is simply tied to it like the rest of us, and the castle, in its making as a summon, has been granted a lifespan of four hundred years, so you will get to that age."
"Will being a God change it?"
"Why do you yearn to live forever in this world?" Zaun inquired.
That question made Godfrey pause.
"I guess as a human, it’s in our nature to avoid death."
"Isn’t four hundred years long enough? You’ve lived just three since you awakened the castle. I believe four hundred is too long. Before a decade passes, you would have carved your name so deep into the annals of time that it will echo your very existence. Living long isn’t the gain, Your Majesty. It’s what you did while alive that matters. We all die, so my remendation to you is this..."
"Live like what you are. A king, and die as one."
"That’s a hard pill to swallow, but I understand you." Godfrey rose to his feet.
"One more core it is then, my Chief Alchemist. The next time we meet might be the last."
"It shall be a new beginning, Your Majesty."
Smiling, Godfrey turned, tucked his hands into his pockets, and walked away. "Wish me luck then."
He vanished.
An Alchemist faced Zaun. "You’ve grown quite fond of him."
"You always had a soft spot for the young ones. He’s a king, not a Young King." Another stated.
Zaun glanced at them from behind his hood. "He wants to be close to us. He wants to learn. I can see that, and so can you. Revere him, but also understand that he is still young and is in need of guidance to lead a race."
There was silence.
"He will bee the Unknown King after you receive the core." One of the Alchemists said, then tilted his head toward Zaun.
"We created that being with lies. How do we know exactly what it’s like?"
"It’s like what we made him to be. An unfathomable and undeniably powerful being. A ruler, a king yearning to amass power and forge the throne for his imperial rule." Another replied.
"And who exactly can advise or stop a being like that?" The Alchemist that asked the first question asked another.
"There is no need to worry. In the end, the Unknown King and the man we spoke to are no different. The only difference is one has the ability to be afraid and limited strength, and the other doesn’t have the capacity to fear and possesses power created by our imagination. The Era of the Unknown King will e. It can only be stopped if our king decides he will hide until someone else clears the trial." Zaun spoke up.
"Earth would be piling up with corpses before then." One responded.
Zaun looked at him. "And for that reason alone, he must clear the trial."
One of them cleared his throat. "Since that has been decided, what about the Dragon Mother? She and our king have decided to be together. Isn’t it time we officiate a marriage and lift her from the rank of a general to a Queen?"
"Does she really need it? She is the Mother of Dragons, a status higher than any queen or empress."
"And she’s also the wife of the king. She also has a place in our civilization. It’s best if we speak to the blacksmith and forge something for a queen." Another suggested.
Zaun lifted up his hand, and every other Alchemist who wanted to speak stopped.
"We shall make something befitting a queen, a dragon, and a fighter. Then we shall create a new spear for her. But when are we going to tell her that she’s almost like us, but blessed with the mana tree’s new leaf?"
"I do not think she should know that the reason for the mana tree’s questions is what made her special." An Alchemist sitting by Zaun’s right shook his head slowly.
"We should focus on preparing the ceremony and hope that not only do they pass the Ruination Stage, but the king regains himself after the Era of the Unknown King."
"Well then." Zaun stretched his hand to the Alchemist sitting farthest from him. "Shall we continue?"
"We have good knowledge about this world called Earth. Their technology is unique, but beyond that detail, I do find this world’s Favoured Ones to be quite special. The mana tree surpassed what it had done in the past. Cain and Adam. A destroyer of worlds and a ruler of one."
The Alchemist’s low tone fell into their ears. "What fascinates me is, our King seems to be both. The end seems to have been predetermined since the beginning."
Zaun grunted.
"There are parallel ends, and neither looks kind. They’re all trying to break control, yet all of them are more perfect in control. In fact, the mon man has more control over himself than these three."
"What is the mana tree planning?"
There was silence, then Zaun spoke grimly.
"It’s bringing the end to all life. If life can’t fulfil its goals, it will end it all and let something new e. Earth is the last Chosen World. No wonder I have never seen such madness in any other world, and the Ruination seems to be the entry into the actual plot."
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