Returning to the Pure Land, Simon walked to the guest room and looked at Septimus Signus on the bed. Comfortable, warm sunlight streamed through the large, colorful stained-glass window, casting a vibrant deer head shape on the floor beside the bed.
The Troll removed the five-link chain. "How are you, my mage friend? Still awake? I hope I didn't disturb your sleep."
The miserable Septimus Signus opened his eyes, coughed twice, his blood vessels clotted, his muscles and bones numb. He still had no strength to get up from the bed, only managing to hiss, "You cannot treat me this way! You are obstructing a great Revelation! Fate will bring disaster upon you!"
Simon walked to the head of the bed, opened the window, and gazed outside. His clothes were bathed in light, but his face remained hidden in the shadow of his hood. Septimus Signus turned his head to look at him, scrutinizing him—apart from his remarkably imposing physique, only his clean, fragrant clothes gave a good impression. Such a large fellow, yet capable of such simple, brutal, and inhumane acts: kidnapping, robbery, imprisonment—a complete villain.
Simon was unfazed by the old mage's harsh words. "I know you, Septimus Signus, servant of Hermaeus Mora, the Daedric Prince of Fate."
"...You, oh! You, you also know..." Septimus Signus struggled, turned on his side, and propped himself up with his elbow to sit halfway. "Are you sent by the Master? Then it makes sense, it makes sense..."
"No, no, no, you're flattering yourself. That fish-head doesn't care that much about you. He doesn't care if you live or die. Come, translate for me what this lexicon says." Simon tossed the information-storing lexicon to Septimus Signus.
"Ah! This is... my lexicon! The miracle of the Dwemer is in my hand! Oh, you went to that place, didn't you? It's amazing, isn't it? I wanted to go when I was young, but all my companions died, and I only found the key, but I couldn't find—that person."
"That person?"
"Yes, the one who successfully entered the Tower of Mzark. I found his satchel in the Elven Tooth ruins above Blackreach. It contained a tuning fork and a lexicon, and a diary. That mysterious explorer, I think he met with misfortune, what a pity. He didn't understand anything, perhaps he was just a lucky..." The old mage picked up the lexicon and examined it carefully. "Let me see what the elder scrolls recorded, oh! No! It's not what I wanted!"
Simon asked, "What does it say?"
"Dragons... the Dragons are returning, soon. The black Dragon—Alduin! The World-Eater. The skies and lands of Skyrim will be engulfed in war. And, and what else... the fated Dragonborn will appear, to prevent the world's destruction, but, what is the outcome? A dark cloud hangs over the Dragonborn, so thick, I feel the breath of fate..."
While observing the lexicon, Septimus Signus entered a strange hallucination, his body trembling slightly and involuntarily. Simon watched this scene with surprise, as if watching someone having a fit. He himself was not unfamiliar with this state, but he felt nothing when he had fits; seeing others make strange movements, however, struck him as comically absurd.
"Old mage, is there anything else?"
"No..." Septimus Signus suddenly cried out in despair, "Why, is this the end?"
Simon frowned; the situation was somewhat unexpected.
"You must stop him, stop him from killing... No!" Septimus Signus wailed and fainted.
At this point, the contents of the lexicon had completely disappeared, becoming blank once again.
Simon checked the old mage's condition, which was not good. He quickly used restoration magic to heal him, but the old mage's injuries were spiritual and psychological. In short, he had shut down, and no one knew when he would wake up.
Simon was silent for a moment, then manipulated the Pure Land to draw off the magical energy from this room. Darkness descended in an instant, and external light could not enter, leaving it pitch black. He then cast a Candlelight spell, and a ball of light floated on the ceiling as the only light source. Here, once a mage exhausted the energy in his magical core, he would become an ordinary mortal, unable to draw in even a trace of external energy.
A mage's prison, temporarily set up.
From then on, numbered undead would come daily to feed and clean the old mage. Life Essence would constantly monitor his health, only hoping he wouldn't die in bed.
What exactly did Septimus Signus see?
Simon took the lexicon and left the Pure Land, returning to the Tower of Mzark.
He needed to interpret the elder scrolls once more.
At this time, Jonas was idly wandering on the platform at the edge of the brass sphere. There was a circle of stone tables and chairs here, and many tattered books, which appeared to be the Dwemer's research records.
He put the elder scrolls back into the crystal. After some manipulation, the lens directed light into the brass sphere, and the lexicon was once again filled with information.
Without Septimus Signus, Simon needed to figure out the method of interpretation himself.
Living in a true game world, one must note that not everything fated is predestined.
the elder scrolls conceal infinite mysteries, containing all history, both past and future. Such a vast amount of information, of course, cannot be fully recorded by a single lexicon. The Dwemer's research involved shining light through an aperture in the elder scrolls, illuminating only a tiny portion of its contents, making it fragmented and incomplete. To obtain useful information from it was like a blind man trying to catch fish—it required not only hard work but also luck.
Since it required luck, and a brute-force approach, then there was no other way. Simon took the lift from a side exit beneath the high platform, leaving the Tower of Mzark. Opening the gate in front of him, he could return to snowy Skyrim in a few steps. This was already in the Pale, whose capital was Dawnstar, a busy port city.
The Tower of Mzark only revealed a small, inconspicuous platform on the mountainside, but three of its four sides were solid brass walls, with only one side being a mechanical door. There was a baffle in front of the lever, making it difficult to notice if one wasn't careful. On the half-slope clearing in front of the door, there was a small tent, suggesting that travelers had been here.
Skyrim held many secrets, undoubtedly. A short walk could lead to a treasure-filled place, and the Tower of Mzark even contained a marvel like the elder scrolls. Unfortunately, too few people had the ability to obtain it.
Simon looked down at his surroundings; there were no human traces anywhere, so he relaxed and turned to place his right palm on the tower's body.
The epiphyllum pattern rapidly expanded and shimmered, a clear, stream-like flow of light sweeping across the entire Tower of Mzark. The next instant, the tower embedded in the rock formation disappeared, leaving behind a huge, bottomless void that led directly to Blackreach.
The moment the tower vanished, the stress structure of the rock formation drastically changed, and a massive collapse was imminent.
Simon frowned and quickly ran down the mountain.
What was a landslide like?
The earth's rock layers were like a thousand-layer cookie. Once a wormhole appeared, some parts could no longer support themselves. The brittle stone would crack little by little, crumbling into tiny cookie crumbs, filling the wormhole.
These analogies made it sound understated.
But when magnified to a mountain collapse of tens of millions of tons, the scene was exceptionally terrifying.
Intermittent muffled sounds came from underground, like the world's suppressed cries of pain, causing the ants on the surface to tremble along with it.
The dense shattering sound continued for a while, then stopped. Simon did not relax, continuing to run wildly. He couldn't stop. He needed to find a safe place before he could hide in the Pure Land, otherwise, he would emerge inside the rock layers next time!
Boom—
A sudden sound.
Profound like a bell in a hollow valley.
The earth—collapsed!
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"