Lucien's breath caught.
The portrait—
It was familiar.
The face itself was indistinct as though the details refused to settle in the eye. And yet Lucien knew it with absolute certainty.
He had seen that presence before mutiple times in the Mural World.
The man without a face.
"…The Human Ancestor," Lucien whispered.
His throat tightened.
And it does not look like an altar of reverence.
It was mourning.
The realization made his heart race.
The Eternal of Stillness.
The Human Ancestor.
'What kind of bond could exist between them?'
Beside him, Eirene inhaled sharply then coughed, as if the air itself had turned heavy.
She turned her face away.
"…Sigh."
Lucien's gaze lowered to the altar itself.
And then he saw it.
Resting beside the framed image was...
A fossil.
It was placed carefully as though it were an offering.
Lucien activated INSPECT.
And his heart nearly stopped.
[ Dragon Progenitor Fossil ]
Lucien swallowed hard.
The energy radiating from it...
