Pillars of Ita

Seeing the expression on Fang Zheng's face, Sel said, "If you're interested in this thing, you can study it. In my opinion, it's just an ordinary little object. I've studied it for a long time, but I haven't come to any useful conclusions, except that it returns to me whenever this timeline is reset."

"You still remember that, Mr. Sel?" Fang Zheng couldn't help but ask. He saw the great explorer nod, which gave him a strange illusion, as if the characters in the story were speaking to the audience outside the story.

The characters in the story should not be aware of their situation—but Selgios is different; he can still remember everything about the star tracker.

Perhaps it was this point that allowed him to see through his own predicament, but this is somewhat difficult to explain. Just as the characters in the story are unaware that their own existence is merely an illusion, writing a few lines of text on parchment with a quill pen dipped in ink, their own fate is nothing more than that of a prisoner on a closed timeline.

Fang Zheng couldn't help but look at this great explorer with some curiosity. How would he view himself when he deciphered the 'story' itself? But Selgios seemed serious, not caring much about this fate that would inevitably cycle at some point. He simply placed the star tracker on the rock, then got up and walked towards the cave entrance, as if it were an insignificant object.

As the former passed by Fang Heng, Fang Heng couldn't help but look at him, but he immediately realized what was happening, turned back to look at the star tracker, hesitated for a moment, and then walked over and picked it up.

As Sel said, it was just an ordinary pocket-sized star tracker, no different from the ones Fang Zheng had seen in various artisan shops in Elpashin and Jeddah Port. It was much smaller and less precise than the tabletop star tracker currently installed on the Seven Seas Storm, but it was indeed a star tracker, with all the necessary functions.

Fang Zheng examined it for a long time, but couldn't figure it out. The structure of the star tracker was actually quite simple. It was driven by a principle similar to magnetic induction, except that its core was not a magnetic needle, but an ether crystal. Ordinary people could think of it as a compass or a compass used to sense ether fields.

Its second and fourth orbits lie on the cleavage line of the ether, changing periodically with the fluctuations of the ether. A professionally trained person can indeed read the cycle of time from the number of rotations of the orbits.

But apart from that, there was nothing else to see on this star tracker. The sensing crystal embedded in the core, the tiny ratchet used to drive the copper rails, the spring, the escapement mechanism—Fang Zheng held it in his magic glove, injected magic power, and examined it briefly. The structure of the star tracker was completely clear, and there were no secrets inside.

But he didn't believe that a star tracker that could travel through time loops would be an ordinary thing. Unable to reach a conclusion, Fang Zheng had no choice but to put the thing away for the time being and quickly catch up with Sel Gios, who was walking out of the cave. Since this great explorer could see through the fog of time, why was he wasting time talking to him like this? He should have realized that they were outsiders long ago, so why did he let them participate in this history?

Selgios stood outside the cave, silently watching the enormous creature in mid-air. Fang Zheng approached him and couldn't help but look up as well. From this angle, the giant shadow resembled the belly of a whale, reminding Fang Zheng of an adult floating island whale from the Second World, but much, much larger.

Its mountain-like belly blocks out the entire sky, and its shadow covers every inch of land, as if it were an equal blanket over the fate of every person.

Fang Zheng suddenly felt a little depressed. He turned his head and saw that Sel Gios, who was standing next to him, spoke up: "You must have a lot of questions, right?"

Fang Zheng nodded and immediately said, "Yes, what I wanted to ask was, when did you find out that we were from 'outsiders'? If I'm not mistaken, you should have known our identities long ago, Mr. Sel?"

Sel nodded. “Indeed, in that timeline, there were only members of the council on the island. Every unfamiliar face was immediately recognizable to me, including you and the pirate lady with you.”

"On that timeline?" Fang Zheng asked. "Could it be different on other timelines?"

Sel didn't answer, but simply pointed downwards. Fang Zheng was startled and looked in that direction, only to discover that there was actually a stretch of beach below the rocky cliffs. The shore there was lined with masts, and several huge sailing ships were moored there. Many small boats were being lowered from the large ships, and a group of people were landing and unloading things from the ships onto the shore—

At one end of the beach, a sizable camp had begun to take shape. Sailors erected fences, and a group of knights dressed in gold and red robes were going in and out of the camp.

The beach was quite far from the cave entrance and was in the opposite direction from the shadow of Vo-Salastiel, so Sel didn't point in that direction, and Fang Zheng didn't even realize that he had missed this scene.

However, this was also because the sudden appearance of Selgios had distracted him; otherwise, if he had simply released the Wind-Up Fairy, the situation below the sea cliff would have been completely clear.

However, at this moment, Fang Zheng frowned as he looked at the knights and found that he could actually recognize their identities - weren't they the Ancient Training Knights?

But the Ancient Knights on the beach were different from the knights under González's command whom he knew, and from Miss May beside him—since the Ancient Knights separated from the Temple of Miro two hundred years ago, the Ancient Knights no longer wore this attire, but instead put on a much simpler bronze battle robe.

The reason he knew about the gold and red battle robe was because the bishop left behind by Gonzalez had taught him a lot about the history and traditions of the Knights Order—after all, although he had not fully accepted this new identity, the Ancient Knights Order had already seriously regarded him as the next successor of the Knights Order.

In fact, before Gonzalez left, he told him that the Temple of Myro would also send a person of high status to examine him, but this matter was still controversial within the Pillars of the Stars Holy Land, so the important person had not yet been able to make the trip.

But before he left Silverwind Harbor, the Grand Master sent a letter to tell him to prepare for it in advance.

This matter had Fang Zheng quite overwhelmed, but fortunately he soon left Silverwind Harbor for the Gulf region, which allowed him to temporarily put these trivial matters aside.

But he never expected that this serendipitous knowledge would come in handy at this moment, and he seemed to recognize the priests who were with the ancient knights—

The other party's attire was somewhat similar to that of the Seven Seas Brigade, whose name was only known but whose person had never been seen in recent days.

He then looked at the large ships moored on the shore. The decorations, the flags, and the emblems on the sails all belonged to the Oath Court, but Fang Zheng still noticed some clues.

At first, he thought that the Flamebringer's Court had found Vol-Salastir before them. But upon closer inspection, he realized something was amiss; they were still in the past.

Fang Zheng realized that the style of the windships below was somewhat outdated, and upon closer inspection, they did not seem to be products of this era.

In fact, due to the magical technology revolution brought about by the Empire, the shipbuilding industry in Aetaria has been updated at least two or three times over the centuries. The old windships on the coast look like antiques from centuries ago, and no one would reproduce them from museums for use now.

So the people he saw weren't actually the current Flamebringer's Oath? But were they phantoms trapped in this timeline from centuries ago?

But wait! Fang Zheng suddenly looked at Sel Gios beside him. There was no record in history of this great explorer ever dealing with the Oath Court. If the Oath Court or even the Ancient Order of Knights were here at this moment, why is there no trace of them in the records about Vo-Sarastiel?

“That’s exactly why we brought you here,” Selgios replied, as if knowing what he was thinking.

"you?"

"To be precise, it was me, because they are merely figures within this illusion and are unaware of your existence."

"Wait, Mr. Sel, I don't quite understand. What is the reason you sent me here, and what is your relationship with them?"

“We wouldn’t call ourselves allies, but at least we share the same goal,” Sel turned around, his gray-brown gaze falling on Fang Zheng, appearing calm and composed. “How is our story recorded in your history?”

Fang Zheng was speechless for a moment.

Because this feeling is so strange, he would tell a vision of the past about a future that has not yet happened to him, but is already a foregone conclusion.

If it were him, he would have been at a loss for words, but the great explorer beside him seemed quite calm. Sel even interrupted him, saying, "Actually, I already knew that the Bronze Bell Council's verdict against me, my fate, and even the council itself had all vanished in the long passage of time." "The people of the Gulf have built a new era on the old ruins, erecting a new square on the site of the old council. Our era has ended, but the new era continues."

He looked at Fang Zheng and said, "That's not surprising, is it? As I said, you weren't the first guests to arrive. I learned all this from them. But compared to those people, you are indeed the first person I invited here on my own initiative."

Fang Zheng opened his mouth slightly: "Why?"

“Because from you I know that the stench of Lebos’s rotting blood still lingers on the land,” Sel began. “The people of the Gulf can smash an old era, but they cannot break the eternal shackles binding them. And all of this stems from this defeat three hundred years ago—”

He shook his head slightly. "The parliament's verdict may not be entirely without basis—because someone does need to be held accountable, but no one knows for whom the evening bell will toll that day. Perhaps it will be for each and every one of us, or perhaps it will be for the parliament itself."

"...The collapse of the bronze bell may have been its own fault, and the spreading suffering could not save the corrupt parliament. From Elaine... from the moment I set off from Thousand Pillars Harbor, we actually foresaw this... It's just a pity, it's just a pity that history has collapsed into the dust, and the future is no longer known."

Sel sighed. For a moment, Fang Zheng almost thought that the other party was not a dragon knight, but just an old man in his twilight years. In this timeline, he might still be in his prime, and in future history, he would venture into this sea many more times, but those were just stories that happened outside of illusion.

Here, he had grown accustomed to the long waits, during which he learned about his future fate from the outsiders. Fang Zheng heard an unfamiliar name from Sel, but the name vanished in an instant. Compared to that, he was more concerned about the 'Rotting Blood of Lebos' mentioned by the great explorer.

In fact, he had a premonition. Although their journey originated from Catherine's pursuit, their entry into the Fault Sea began with the request from the Son of the Bay, which concerned the curse of the ancient blood and the Fountain of Youth.

Eleusis—the duchess—told him that the curse spreading in the bay actually originated from the golden blood of the dragon that the Oathkeepers drank. The deep suffering of the people of the bay stemmed from the fact that their ancestors had drunk dragon blood to protect the holy sword and slay the evil dragon.

When they set foot on the island, they told Selgios that they had come to find the Fountain of Youth to lift the curse. If the curse had existed since the time of this great explorer, then they had indeed revealed their identity back then.

The question is, who exactly is Lebos?

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng suddenly realized that the noisy and arrogant duchess seemed to have disappeared since they entered this spacetime turbulence again.

Thinking of this, he quickly checked the contract and found that it was still intact. Could it be that Eliusis had been separated from them, or was she with Elisa at the moment?
However, since the contract was still in effect, he felt relieved and looked at Sel Gios again. At that moment, the other man's gaze fell upon him, and seeing his expression, he nodded slightly.

"It seems you guessed it."

“…I’ve guessed something, Mr. Sel,” Fang Zheng countered. “So all of this is related to the curse spreading throughout the Gulf region?” He looked at the enormous shadow floating in mid-air. “But what does this curse have to do with this timeline and with Vo-Salastiel?”

“Do you remember a question I asked you not long ago?” Sel asked.

Fang Zheng frowned. Selgios had been asking him questions all this time, but he couldn't really remember any of the previous questions that were related to all of this.

"I ask you, why did you set out?" Sel replied, "What is the purpose of your journey, young man?"

Fang Zheng was slightly startled.

Sel continued, seemingly oblivious, "I think you've already guessed it. The Sons of Saltbone's fleet isn't heading to this unfamiliar sea area in search of any new sea route."

"That's what the parliament says publicly. Of course, at this point in time, I don't know how it will be perceived in the future. And we've come to this place—"

His gaze fell upon the camp of the Flamewondria on the distant coast, and upon those enormous ships, "for one purpose only, that is, for it."

The great explorer withdrew his gaze and turned his attention back to the colossal object in mid-air, “—for the Vor-Salastir you speak of, the floating fortress, the ancient legacy of the elves, or the symbol of the overlord of the Silver Sea that the pirates speak of.”

"This is why I set out."

He turned back, his grey-brown eyes looking at Fang Zheng with deep meaning, "When I was very young, I once boarded a ship bound for Colin-Ishri, and it was then that I realized the vastness of the sky sea."

"But my vastness is not for finding the edge of this world, but for finding that legendary island on that vast, empty sea that can end all our suffering."

"Legend has it that Lebos died here, one of the Dragon Slayer Swords piercing his heart, severing his head, and finally shattering into pieces, which scattered into the foul-smelling blood, flowing across the island and becoming the source of all the suffering of the Sons of the Bay."

"The power it wielded dragged the entire fortress into the turbulent currents of time and space. From then on, Vo-Salastiel ceased to exist above the sky and sea, becoming only a shadow drifting through many points in time."

"And in one of the shadows, we arrived here."

After listening to Selgios speak slowly and deliberately, Fang Zheng finally understood what the great explorer wanted to do and the true origin of this spacetime turbulence.

No wonder, he suddenly realized. No wonder he had ventured into this sea area many times after that and claimed to have seen Vo-Sarastil again more than once.

They previously analyzed that it was the shadow of a spacetime turbulence, but what if Selgios's original goal was to find this spacetime turbulence?
That explains everything. No wonder the sailors claimed that everything they saw afterward was an illusion, because it was an illusion. If Vo-Salastiel was drifting through time and space, then even in the same place, the sights they saw would have been completely different.

Just as if they were to leave this temporal turbulence, they would also never see Vol-Salasti again on that island three hundred years later.

But if Vol-Salastiel is adrift in a time-space node, what is the point of them finding this fortress in this shadow?

This point in time was fixed three hundred years ago, so within this shadow it will only repeat its past fate. Therefore, no matter how many times Selgios finds it after that, it can only repeat its fate again and again.

This is destined to be nothing but an illusion, so what use is there for the great explorer to leave them behind? At the moment the timeline ends, everything will return to its original state.

The people and things within this illusion can only repeat everything from three hundred years ago, over and over again.

He pondered for a moment, then looked at Sergio Gios again. But the great explorer shook his head, and his first words sent a chill down Fang Zheng's spine:

“We are just illusions, but it is real, young man.”

...(End of chapter)