Midas internally froze at what he just heard, even though it was easier to tell himself his tiredness was to blame—he already knew that the fact Alma merely saw him as another subject to test the rune on was much harsher for him to realize than he thought. Blankly staring at the wooden table in front of him, the youth's right hand began to tremble—he recalled his dreams that envisioned moments from places that definitely didn't belong to the world he found himself in, causing him to ask whether his life was more valuable than the hundred hands that were sacrificed in the process.
Bleaking at the reality of being lulled into a comfortable life by Alma, having trusted him the most as he was the only one showing sympathy to him during his time as a slave inside the Fort, Midas was forced to compose himself, as his real goal of finding out who brought him here in the first place still remained.
He now was almost completely able to use his right hand again; forming a fist only sent a mild sting through him, as every one of his fingers was able to be moved flawlessly. Possessing the rune might make him a target for high-ranking water kingdom officials, yet it also allowed him to use mana stones—ultimately, given his current circumstances, Midas had to rely on using it, as he was completely defenseless against the son of the water kingdom general without the ability to bend.
"I'm keeping the rune—plus... I'm also going to stop the sandstorm that is currently brewing on the east coast."
The youth had to know more; not only did he need information about the past and the rune, but he also needed an answer to the dreams he had and the reason he ended up in the middle of the desert to begin with. Only then, if he really was sure he even belonged here, would he be able to deny wearing the rune on him—if he were to do so now, all the effort and sacrifices would've been for nothing.
"Do you even know what you're saying...? Whole squadrons have already been lost to this storm—why go this far for a man you never knew to begin with...?"
"This isn't about Alma; if your words are true, I bear the worth of at least a hundred humans on me, and if I don't make the most out of it right now, all of the suffering caused by this would be in vain... We can't be sure that the next person holding onto this rune won't have good intentions as well... and if you're the one possessing it, I would be putting you at risk instead."
"We can just dispose of it... or give it to the joint states of the west... leave the mysteries surrounding this rune to them, and live your own life instead—"
"No. I refuse to give up wearing this rune... Without it, my existence would lose its entire meaning, especially if I'm really not a part of this world to begin with."
Ajans' expression darkened at Midas' answer, his eyes never leaving those of the youth, after he had spoken his last sentence—clearly not thinking about what the man in front of him had heard him say anymore.
"What do you mean by not being a part of this world...?"
"Tell me about the sandstorm instead... If I can, I want to help with finding out about the true use of this rune."
Shutting down the curiosity of Ajan, Midas leaned forward, both of their gazes stern. After a short while of suffocating silence, the man eventually sighed, leaning back at the stubbornness of the child. Lowering his gaze to think for a split moment, he raised his head again—his expression still serious.
"Instead, may I ask you what you know about the golden knight, the man named Ivan—who had slain the calamity that caused the great fracturing of the old world...?"
"Nothing actually..."
Midas muttered; the words he heard Ajan pronounce were familiar to him—yet put together to ask of the actual story behind them, they made the boy freeze up once more, never having been told about the mentioned calamity or golden knight. Alma wasn't able to tell him in time, even though he knew about the invasion—their actual arrival at the fort was something Alma seemed to have not been sure about; perhaps his own abduction to the quarry hadn't been foreseen by Alma, which forced him to implant the rune into the boy without him actually explaining the history behind the rock.
"Alma left you in the dark...? And you're really sure you want to commit to the same thing as my brother?"
Midas nodded, this time more insistent on finding out why this storm began brewing in the first place and why it was connected to the golden knight. The youth had already set his priorities; if his origins really were in the northern desert, then preserving it as best as he could would be the only option to find out about why he found himself suddenly stranded in the middle of it. Once the boy confirmed his choice, Ajan stood up from his chair, making space for Midas to look at the map that hung on the ceiling behind his desk.
"Currently, we have reached the latter half of the 403rd Trestempo after the great Fracture. 403 Trestempo have passed after the death of the golden knight and the calamity that caused this landmass here in front of you to split up into the map of the current age—the new world, as some say."
Midas widened his eyes as he looked at the map in front of him: no ocean that separated the lands from the east to the west, just a joint desert that warped around the body of water that surrounded the island in the center of the supercontinent. Having to believe that one singular battle had broken up this amount of land was barely fathomable—the sheer cost of mana unimaginable.
"From what is known today, this central island had been the epicenter of the battle—troops from all the surrounding kingdoms had been gathered to fight an almost godlike calamity that managed to bring up amounts of mana that were sheer unimaginable to most humans. A humanoid the size of three warriors—engulfed in a mass of energy capable of instantly degrading the flesh of any living being around it. We don't know anything about its origin or its intention—the only thing described in the texts I managed to decipher was the grave consequence of the last blow that ended both the knight's and the calamity's life."
Tapping his finger on the central island mass on the map, Midas watched in awe as Ajan sweptthe stacked books and papers that littered his table to the side, making them fall to the ground as he spread another world map out onto the table right in front of the boys' eyes. What once was a joint ring had been split apart—two great landmasses were depicted on the east and west, and in the middle was a vast ocean—a split-off island barely larger than those around it in between. Beneath the two large continents were four slightly tinier pieces of land—seemingly all scattered parts of the supercontinent. In the dead center, where once was the giant island, was now a depiction of a giant whirlpool.
"The last clash between these two forces was also known as the great Fracturing. Happening at the climax of the battle, this event completely reshaped our world—splitting continents, spreading them out as other new land masses sunk, and creating new rivers and seas never before seen. The sheer amount of energy of the last blow caused the lands surrounding it to rise high into the sky—even though there aren't any details, some texts depict the island as floating to the other end of the known world, leaving behind only this crater in the center of the now much broader ocean."
"No wonder why they would start a new counting system after such an event..."
"Luckily for us, life as we know it still survived. A lot of cities and ancient kingdoms fell apart and are now separated—yet, most animals and plants survived this event. The only ones seemingly vanishing were a race of humans that were building the same underground walkways and rooms you have most likely seen already... Also most likely being the creator of the rune you now wear."
"Yet, even before this event they kept to themselves—barely emerging from their layers, even though the volk of the past were allowed to live there in coexistence, an effort that worked in some regions but miserably failed in others—at least so the books say that were found in the remains of these settlements. One of these settlements was exactly built on the same grounds on which the center of the sandstorm now lies—its position perfectly overlapping with the living quarters of the golden knight."
Midas listened to the rumblings of Ajan, his voice determined as the youth compared the position of the circles drawn on the old and new maps—the mountain chain north of it having the exact same shape and distance from it on both depictions. With wide eyes the youth watched the stern expression of the mapmaker, both of them drawn into the pieces of paper laid out in front of them.
"But why would a storm just appear there out of nowhere...?"
"I don't think it just appeared there—something, someone...must be there, possibly angered perhaps. This rune you hold was also worn in the exact same position by the golden knight—capable of somehow transforming him, allowing his body to withstand the blows of the calamity. After the death of this man, reports of one belonging to the now lost race of humans had carried the knight's body into the very same temple. His rune was eventually held somewhere else, however, possibly to be reused again some day, just in case..."
"There is so much I have never heard about... so this rune is somehow capable of altering one's body...?"
"Perhaps, even though there aren't any texts describing the changes... some say the knight was able to move and react much faster than usual after possibly using it during their fight."
Midas slightly began to feel dread creeping up his back; something capable of summoning a storm capable of engulfing parts of a continent was now possibly calling out for someone—perhaps for the one who held onto the same rune the golden knight used. Was the anger of this knight now manifesting to get to him...? Clutching his teeth, the youth glanced down at the modern map again, staring down onto the circle drawn onto it.
"How do I get there...?"
"Good question—using a boat is out of option; the storm is creating high tides in the gulf, which restricts you to going over the mountain range... However, the snowy peaks aren't any better—Oise'cracher are huge birds that can easily pierce through your body. Then there's, of course, the stationed water kingdom troops and the heat of the sun season, as well as brawlers that linger on the east coast... that is, if they want to remain in the storm. I'm sure the closer you get to the center of it, the less you'll see as well... which is going to be your biggest problem since getting lost is quite easy."
"At least I'm familiar with that mountain—I need some sort of ride though..."
Holding his chin in thought, Midas leaned back in the squeaking wooden chair. Ajan turned to a bunch of dusty vases that stood in the corner of his room, opening their lids to rummage through the inside of the one he selected, eventually retrieving another glass flask filled with another lump of gold. Seeing it placed right before him, Midas snapped back forward—his hand clutched around it swiftly as it dared to fall due to his instantaneous motion.
"You see... we found these lying around in a submerged chamber close to where the Northern Fort was built. It was the only room intact; besides, there were a lot of rotten books and papers... we had to use a sun shard to open the room's door. I'm not sure about you, but I feel like the longer I stare into it, the more I get a feeling of it deliberately shining in a specific direction. Since you have two of them now... perhaps it will help you find your way through the storm..."
The youth's expression softened, having realized Ajan began to support his cause instead of doubting his effort—Midas felt a sense of guilt as he now held onto both of these flasks, eventually unable to help himself but yawn. Returning another drawn-out yawn at the youth, Ajan rubbed his eyelids—a sigh escaping him as he leaned back in his chair.
"Don't worry... spend the night; you can set off tomorrow. Having to force yourself to go out right now will only hinder you in the end of your journey..."