On Cassandra's side, Dred and Greg stood at the front to lead the group, while Cassandra was kept safe in the middle. Despite the conflict that had broken out between them a few days ago, they looked cooperative and professional now.
They spent their time rummaging through the debris and junk scattered across the ground. As they moved slowly through the wreckage, they stopped in front of a massive structure. It was a T-shaped building that rose three stories high, its sections branching out into the surrounding ruins. The group stood before a wide stone archway that marked the entrance.
Just past the archway stood a familiar sight. It was another statue of the man they had seen on the main road, though this one was much smaller, standing only three meters tall. He had the same short, cropped hair and flowing robe, holding a staff that pointed directly toward the sky. Even with the weathered stone and missing pieces, the figure still felt like a majestic, silent guardian watching the path. Behind the statue sat a large, broken fountain. The stone marble road surrounding it was once lined with beautiful flowerbeds, but they were now broken and overgrown with thick vines and wild shrubs.
From the outside, deep cracks were visible along the walls of the large building. The glass in the windows had long since shattered, leaving behind jagged frames covered in thick spiderwebs. The massive wooden front door was no longer on its hinges. Instead, the rotted debris of the wood lay in a pile on the ground, blocking the way into the dark interior.
"I wonder who he is," Dred suddenly said as they walked past the stone figure.
"Well, he must have been someone important since we have seen his statue twice now," Greg replied, giving his companion a dry look that said as much.
"Whoever he was, we should discover his identity once we finish searching this entire building," Cassandra said with confidence. She suspected that this structure was once a mage academy or a library, perhaps even both. It was the most likely place to hold information about the man on the statue, provided the books and scrolls were still in a condition to be read.
Cassandra walked slowly into a room that looked like a main office. The space was quite spacious, though the air felt heavy with the scent of ancient dust. A massive wardrobe stood at one end of the room, while a large wooden desk occupied the opposite side. A wooden chair sat before the desk, and several rugged papers and books that had been weathered by time sat scattered across the surface. A small candlestick rested on the wood, though the candle itself was long gone.
On each side of the room, many bookshelves lined the walls. Some of the shelves were completely empty, but others still held a few remaining volumes. Cassandra spent her time rummaging through the room, carefully checking for anything that had survived the decay. As she sorted through her findings, she spotted an old book with a brown cover. The paper was brownish and stained with dust, a clear testament to how old it was, yet the writing was still readable.
She carefully opened the first page and read the title: The Diary of Clayton Flamme.
'Finally, something that counts as real information. The prince should like this,' she whispered to herself. She smiled and began to read through the diary.
The Dark Era, Year 11345, third month of the year. The war against the Dark Prince is reaching its peak. Even the rival empires of Kyros and Solaris have banded together to fight him. The elves, the beast tribes, the Immortal Academy, and even the chaotic factions in Gorgoloth have signed the Primordial Accord. We are all united to save our world from his shadow. As part of the Solaris Divine Empire, the Emperor has commanded us to follow Grand Marshal Rexx Solaris to the Eastern Region.
Cassandra stopped for a second, her mind racing as she processed the words. 'Crazy,' she whispered to herself. 'So these ruins are at least a hundred thousand years old? ' The era of the Dark Prince happened roughly that long ago. The war had lasted for thousands of years and completely changed the balance of power across all of Primordia. She turned the page to a later entry.
The Dark Era, Year 12111, sixth month of the year. Our expedition to the Eastern Region has finally yielded results. The alliance managed to kill half of the Dark Prince's generals, though the cost was terrible. We have lost at least a fifth of our entire army. According to Principal Mythralis Arcanum, if the war continues as planned, we will be able to reach the Dark Prince's citadel in a century.
Cassandra kept flipping through the pages, completely fascinated by the world history unfolding in front of her. She had grown up in a small village, after all. Even though she was a talented mage, there had been no formal education or grand institutions in her life to teach her about the past. Because of that, learning about these ancient events made her feel a surge of pure excitement. Every sentence she read felt like she was uncovering a secret that had been buried for a hundred thousand years.
The Dark Era, Year 12355, seventh month of the year. The alliance's calculations were a mistake. The Dark Prince purposely lost the frontline to invite our army toward the citadel. He then sacrificed half of his own forces and two of his undead generals to the King of the Dead, opening a portal to Terminus. An army of the dead stormed out of the portal and massacred the alliance. Our losses were staggering. On our side, the son of Grand Marshal Rexx was killed, and the Marshal himself was heavily injured. Fortunately, we were only tasked with keeping the Eastern Region mountain ranges safe to prevent a counterattack from the Dark Prince's forces.
'The King of the Dead? Terminus?' Cassandra whispered to herself. The names meant nothing to her, and she realized she would have to ask the prince for an explanation later. As she flipped through the following pages, she noticed the paper was either torn out or the writing had faded until it was impossible to read.
She gripped the spine of the book, her heart sinking. It was maddening to be so close to the truth only to have the rest of the story snatched away by time. She wanted to know how they survived, who fell next, and how the war ended, but the pages refused to reveal anything more.
She kept reading, sometimes finding a major historical event and other times just a small detail about the writer's life. The name of the city still had not appeared in the text, but she refused to skip anything. She stayed focused on every word, worried that she might miss a single important detail about the past.
Elyndel Era, Year 2356, second month of the year. I, Clayton Flamme, have finally reached the Supreme Mage realm. The Emperor sent an envoy to congratulate me, and the city lord threw a party for three days straight to celebrate my breakthrough. Finally, my school of magic, the Flame Dragon Academy, can be considered a second-grade magic academy.
'So this entire structure was once the home ground of the Flame Dragon Academy,' Cassandra mused. She felt a growing sense of unease. 'How could a place run by a Supreme Mage fall? What actually happened here?'
The mystery made her even more curious about the history of the ruins. Ever since Luceran had explained the power hierarchy of Primordia to her, her understanding of the world had grown significantly. She had never met a Supreme Mage or even seen one from a distance, but she knew they were legendary figures with power that was staggering to imagine. To see their legacy reduced to these broken walls and piles of dust made her realize how dangerous the past must have been. She wanted to know what kind of force could tear down such a powerful institution.
Elyndel Era, Year 2425, third month of the year. Grand Marshal Rex and Grand Duke Arcturus came to visit for the third time today. They keep talking about the same thing over and over. I am starting to feel that this is no longer a request but an order.
"Hmm... interesting," Cassandra hummed softly, her fingers tracing the edge of the paper as she continued to flip through the pages.
Elyndel Era, Year 2440, eleventh month of the year. Grand Duke Arcturus is personally supervising the creation of what they call the perfect golem. The cost of a single unit is staggering. They claim it will be the ultimate weapon of war in the future. They have even promised to let the academy keep one once the first is complete.
Elyndel Era, Year 2445, first month of the year. It took five long years just to build one golem. But there is something wrong with it. There is an ominous feeling whenever I stand near the machine.
Elyndel Era, Year 2450, second month of the year. This is a conspiracy. This is not a golem at all. It is a vessel meant to contain something, or perhaps someone.
Elyndel Era, Year 2452, twelfth month of the year. We are doomed. We know too much about this dark secret, and there is no way they will let us live. Mylantris is finished.