Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

The Dragonborn will become humanity's saviors!

—The Twilight Moon has arrived, and a fourth dragon is said to have appeared in the woodlands surrounding Windhelm, in the rebel territory. Meanwhile, Morthal, south of Morningstar, is attacked by vampires. The hero did not appear in Windhelm, but the rebels, after suffering heavy losses, still managed to repel the dragon. Conversely, Morthal's calamity was once again averted by an unnamed hero, believed by some to be the Dragonborn who previously slew several dragons. And her target may lie in the north.

Dragonborn, Dragonborn, swear by his glory,

banish evil forever!

Those brutal enemies will be shattered by the glorious roar.

Dragonborn, we pray for your blessings!

As the music ended, enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted. While the tavern was filled with merriment, the two strangers, having finished their meal and drinks, asked the owner for the key to their lodging and headed towards the back of the tavern.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Dragon's Descendant

Zheng Zha remembered the last time he ate ordinary food lacking concentrated energy and drank beverages that had no special effects and only quenched his thirst. That was the moment he ended the world of the Legend of Gods and Demons for the second time, escaped Anubis's trial grounds, and returned to the ground beneath the main god's sphere of light. He hadn't paid much attention to it before, but now this distant memory resurfaced in the upper layers of his consciousness.

That was the last time he enjoyed ordinary food like a mortal. From then on, all sorts of high-energy foods and special potions filled the personal storage space of every Central Continent Team reincarnator, including him.

Until now, until a certain war ended in the void an hour ago.

He wiped his lips; the succulent, exotic flavor of Skyrim's signature roasted three-tusked walrus steak still lingered in his mouth. The mingled aroma of spices and savory meat juices assaulted his taste buds, offering a small measure of comfort in his otherwise terrible state.

This is Morningstar, in the plane of Mondas, on the continent of Nirn, in the province of Skyrim. And he and another person are uninvited guests on this land.

—Based on the present, approximately three thousand years into the future, this was the battlefield where he and his companions clashed with the avatar of the North Wind Dragon. The final result was that he appeared in this form, while the avatar of the North Wind Dragon fell into a deep slumber, no longer able to interfere with this world.

It was truly a long, intense, and ambiguous battle—he closed his eyes, forcing himself not to think about those chaotic and fragmented things. The battle across timelines felt like a hazy nightmare to him now. The three-thousand-year span appeared in his sea of ​​consciousness as a fleeting moment, like watching a fast-forwarded recording. He had to ensure he didn't become absorbed in the bizarre, chaotic flow of time in this terrible state, and the best way to cope was to completely avoid thinking about it.

The chaotic thoughts vanished in an instant, and he heard his companion sit down in a chair.

"How are you feeling, Miss Sirin?" He reached out and closed the door beside him, gazing at his friend who had fought alongside him in the flow of time. The girl, still sporting her striking purple hair, lowered the cloak she used to conceal her face after finding a quiet place to rest. But her once lustrous hair now appeared dull and lifeless.

This is only natural. Because both he and she are now just mortals. Although they are thousands of times stronger than ordinary mortals, they have ultimately been knocked down from the boundary of that transcendent species, falling from the clouds into the mud.

"It's alright, it'll probably take a few months to recover to full strength." Sirin looked at her still slender and white hands. The emotions in her words were somewhat complex and difficult to understand. "Repelling that white dragon couldn't have been without a price, but this level is already a huge gain. Its main body can't interfere here for a while. But if it's just an avatar, we might have more time than it. So we must make good use of this opportunity."

Zheng Zha nodded, deeply agreeing. To arrive at this point in time, they had to infiltrate the era of Ismir the North Wind Dragon as uninvited guests. It was almost inevitable that they would confront Ismir's remaining forces in his own lair upon escaping the rewinding timeline.

According to Sirin's assessment, the one who triggered this time flow was the progenitor of the demon race, the Mother of All Demons, Aegedra from the original Greek mythology. Since its ritual had succeeded, regardless of who was sent to Ismir's era, there was a high probability that it would engage Ismir's main body in Disbod in the upper-level world, thus consuming most of the dragon spirit king's energy. And indeed, everything unfolded exactly as she had predicted.

As the two traveled back in time, what blocked their arrival at the end of this era was a pale, colossal dragon. It possessed immense power and a refined essence, yet its thoughts and actions were as rigid as a machine. Undoubtedly, it was the guardian incarnation left behind by Ismir's power. And Ismir seemed to lack expertise in the field of personality editing.

That was a True God-level powerhouse at the mid-fourth tier. However, this inherent advantage was insufficient to subdue two reincarnated beings possessing the mimicry of the Light of the Mind, despite his own inherent weaknesses. In the reversed flow of time, Zheng Zha effectively served as a tank, successfully withstanding the various extraordinary abilities of Ismir's avatar. Meanwhile, Sirin, relying on the numerous secret techniques she had learned while serving under Kororos, severely weakened her opponent with powerful spells capable of threatening the Light of the Mind.

The final result was one death and two injuries. Ismir's avatar shattered, falling into a slumber that would eventually awaken, but certainly not in its current form. The two reincarnators, meanwhile, were banished to the mortal realm by the Pale Dragon's final strike. As they fell from the flow of time, they temporarily lost the essential power of their extraordinary lives.

For the reincarnators, this wasn't exactly a losing proposition. Retracing a path they'd already walked wasn't particularly difficult. What was more valuable was the several months, even half a year, they gained with minimal disruption to their investigation. Once they uncovered the secret of Dragon Break, the operation would be considered over 80% successful.

Sirin raised this point, and Zheng Zha agreed. They had emerged from the reversed time flow about an hour earlier and adjusted their condition slightly. They had obtained some necessary currency and a cloak for concealing their identities from a passing 'kind-hearted swordsman and axe-wielder.' Thanks to the Supreme God, the automatic translation was still working even at this point in time. At Sirin's suggestion, the two headed to the nearest town and replenished their bodies using mortal methods.

—That is, what they did in the hotel lobby not long ago.

Zheng Zha didn't do anything; he simply filled his stomach and made sure no one noticed what was happening on his end. While the group of drunkards were busy drinking and making a ruckus, probably no one noticed that the tavern's food supplies had been inexplicably reduced significantly. Perhaps the tavern owner, who was in charge of keeping the accounts, would have a terrible headache afterward, but that wasn't something Zheng Zha and Xilin, who had been charged three times the usual price, were even considering.

He was merely there for show, while Sirin believed that some valuable information could be obtained in the tavern. To attempt large-scale spellcasting to gather intelligence without understanding the current era was an unwise strategy—a point both Alice and Chu Xuan had emphasized—therefore Zheng Zha fully agreed with Sirin's approach.

So the two sat in Morning Star's hotel for almost an hour. And when one of them felt that his mortal body was almost full, his collaborator gave the signal that the 'action phase' was over.

And then—

“There are a few pieces of information that we can confirm at the moment, and that we must keep an eye on.” Sirin reached out and brushed aside the clutter on the central dining table in the large apartment where the two were. She made a gesture as if to say, ‘I’m about to start my lecture!’ Zheng, the only listener, obediently sat down in his seat, waiting for Teacher Sirin to begin.

"First, this world can actually be seen as a variant of the Lord of the Rings universe. There are many holy spirits and demons with real power here. But they lack the ability to interfere with this world. They can be seen as special, limited holders of the Light of the Mind. Their combat power may be less than the fourth level, but we'd better not attract their attention and get into some problems that we don't need to deal with."

Zheng Zha nodded repeatedly, indicating that he fully understood.

"Secondly, the so-called 'Dragon Break' is undoubtedly related to the dragons of this world. The mortals of this world worship a being called... well, I won't say the name. In short, they worship a Lord of Time who appears as a dragon god. And this dragon god did indeed bestow blessings upon the mortal kingdoms. The mortals who received this blessing were called Dragonborn, the royal family of the kingdoms. However, the last member of them died in a catastrophe many years ago. As a result, the mortals lost the ruling power bestowed upon them by the Lord of Time, which is why the many non-human races on this continent dared to start a war."

"Of course, that's not important to us. What's important is the dragons that have revived on this continent called Skyrim, and the 'Dragonborn' that are destined to defeat these dragons in the prophetic poems, which should be a different kind of 'Dragonborn' from the royal family of the mortal empire. To obtain the secret of Dragonbreak, we must focus on the dragons or the Dragonborn, and I personally lean towards the latter."

Zheng Zha thought for a moment, then nodded, indicating that he roughly understood.

"Third, the Dragonborn has appeared. The nameless hero mentioned in the tavern should be referring to her. I've pieced together a timeline. It's roughly certain that she first appeared about four months ago, around the time the black dragon destroyed the fortress called Helgen. And after that, she should have passed through several places along the way."

On the smooth desktop, Sirin used her telekinesis to draw a complete topographical map of Skyrim Province. Then she stretched out her hand and used her fingertips to draw a complete line on the map.

"She first appeared at Helgen Keep, and she should have been one of those who escaped through the secret passage. She first arrived at Riverwood. Then she followed the streams and mountains, crossing the hills known as 'Winterfall' to reach Whiterun in the center of Skyrim."

Starting from the south side of the map, move up one space, cross the river, and enter the mountain range marker. Then, from inside the mountains, point towards the center of the province.

"She must have been very weak at first, and it probably took her a lot of effort just to deal with those bandits. A one-hit kill not only means overwhelming strength, but it could also be a treacherous assassination or ambush. The evidence is the collapse inside the Coldfall Ruins. Either she did it, or those bandits did it. And either way, it means that this battle was not smooth sailing."

The finger continued to move, pointing towards the main city of the central territory.

"She slew a dragon here, but the lord didn't publicize her name. Instead, she remains an unknown hero to this day. So we can infer that she must have had some conflict with the nobles here, possibly even a bloody confrontation. Her departure from Whiterun was probably due to a defeat or a pursuit. Loristad is likely another battleground."

From the main city of the central territory, point to a town to the west of the territory.

"The Dragonborn, dragons, and potential pursuers. The three collided in this town. Then came another battle. From the legends of the Dragonborn, we know that she should possess special abilities against dragons and the capacity to devour dragon souls for her own use. Therefore, she should still be the ultimate victor, but it should be a narrow or pyrrhic victory. The evidence is that her name has not yet spread, and she left Whiterun afterward."

A general character profile has been established. She is likely a cold and taciturn woman. Her weapon is most likely a slender sword. She acts alone, and even when she does, she rarely has many companions. Her emotions or memories may be flawed to some extent. She rejects both kindness and malice from outsiders.

Otherwise, a hero with the power to slay dragons and no real background wouldn't have been suspected and feared by mortal lords and nobles before even completing her mission. She must have possessed a unique self-awareness and style of behavior, completely out of step with the rest of the world. So much so that even on her path as a hero, she remained indifferent to the world.

Zheng Zha frowned. He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. This kind of person, this way of behaving, gave him a strange sense of familiarity. But he knew perfectly well that none of the people he knew fit this description.

Is it just my imagination? Or... am I subconsciously aware of something?

His mind raced briefly. And while he was distracted, Sirin's explanation had already skipped the part about the Dragonborn leaving Loristed and entering Morthal, the city above Whiterun.

"...Based on a combination of information, I can basically conclude that the final resolution of the vampire incident in Morsal City is closely related to the Dragonborn. She was like a passing knight-errant—and she truly was—who dealt with the vampires of Morsal City. Then she went to her next destination alone."

"Based on the nearby topographical map and my summary of this person's behavior pattern, she seems to be the passive protagonist type who goes wherever trouble arises. And just now, from some conversations in the tavern downstairs, I sensed that some kind of disaster is probably lurking beneath the calm of this city. In other words..."

Celine gave a concluding statement.

"That woman, known as the Dragonborn, who undoubtedly carries clues to the Dragon's Demise, has arrived here. And she's currently in this city. Perhaps she's even nearby!"

Section 39. Planning Before Acting

The patterns on the table disappeared, replaced by a hand-drawn map roughly outlining the main city. The two were currently located roughly in the right-center part of Morningstar City. She then pointed to three different points on the map.

"Based on the summary of some intelligence information, I have roughly determined that there are three points worth considering in and around this city, and each of them could be the trigger for a major event. Once that dragonborn arrives in this city and gets involved, these three places will be areas that deserve close attention."

She first pointed to a location slightly above the city center.

"First, the museum in Morningstar City. This museum is said to be the legacy of a long-extinct cult called the Mythical Dawn. According to some well-known intelligence, this cult was responsible for the extinction of the imperial dragon bloodline two hundred years ago. A demon god was hidden behind them, but he was defeated two hundred years ago. Although this cult has long been abandoned, its legacy may contain something extraordinary."

"The Demon God's sacred artifact... Wait, after the organization that assassinated the emperor was wiped out, would anyone dare to use their name? Aren't they afraid of being killed by a passing righteous ally?" Zheng Zha nodded, then asked in confusion.

“That’s precisely why I think it might cause trouble,” Sirin explained calmly and quickly. “The true name of the demon god worshipped by the Mythical Dawn is hard to say directly. But it should be a demon god who controls the realms of change, ambition, and destruction. And if His followers really exist, then announcing the name of the Mythical Dawn, inciting the covetousness of those with ulterior motives, and the ensuing chaos and ambition should be considered a form of sacrifice. That could become very troublesome.”

"I see... And what's the second point?"

Sirin's finger veered to the right of the map, pointing to another location outside the town. There appeared to be a temple there, not far from Morningstar City.

"The Temple of Nightshade, the mortal abode of a Daedric Prince who governs dreams and nightmares and is considered the most evil Daedric Prince in all of Tamriel. It is said that it was abandoned long ago, and the heroes of old destroyed the altar of that evil god and then sealed the temple. And I suspect that there is something bad in this temple."

"Did you notice how few pedestrians were on the streets when you came here? Yet the city itself is very prosperous and peaceful. This is a safe zone during the war, and theoretically, the number of immigrants is huge. At the same time, this city has a long history on the land of Sky Province. Logically speaking, even during the night of the starry moon, the residents, who should have long since adapted to the cold weather, should be out and about. After all, the winter in this northern land is only comparable to that of Siberia. But the residents here are much more physically robust than ordinary people on Earth."

She held up one finger, emphasizing it.

"The absence of signs of disease can only mean that the mortals here are lacking in mobility for some reason that won't affect others. Combined with the snippets of conversation I overheard in the inn, I've learned that most of the inhabitants of Dawnstar City are plagued by poor sleep and nightmares—plus, there's such a large Temple of Nightcall right outside Dawnstar City. I don't need to elaborate on what's going on, do I?"

"Another demon god... Sirin, I remember you said we'd better not get involved with demon gods?"

“It’s best not to attract their attention,” Miss Sirin corrected. “A Dragonborn is clearly a protagonist destined for greatness; it’s impossible for her not to have several demon gods or holy spirits watching over her. If we contact her, we will inevitably be exposed to the gods’ watchful eyes. But we can choose to observe her first, and then consider how to communicate with her.”

"As long as she appears in Morning Star, she will definitely get into all sorts of strange things. There is no doubt about this, because this is the fate of the protagonist of destiny."

The purple-haired girl exhaled softly, seemingly feeling a slight improvement in her mental and physical state after her explanation. Her previously dull and lifeless hair gradually regained its shine. Then, at her own will, it transformed into an inconspicuous form.

Her finger then moved down, pointing to the south of Morning Star. There was a sign for a small hut there, located in the hilly area between Morning Star and Mosar.

"On this continent, there are not only demon gods, but also nine righteous gods known as Holy Spirits. Although they, like the demon gods, cannot directly interfere with the real world, they are, after all, the orthodox victors on this continent... Their authority is not great, but they have many followers who follow their path. Among them, one follower of the Holy Spirit calls himself the Vigilant and takes it upon himself to hunt down all demons that descend from the demon god's realm into the real world."

"Vampires are also their prey; they target and kill each other. This makes me suspect that there might be a demon god behind the vampires, but without evidence, let's leave that aside for now—before we arrived in this world, Morthal, the former capital city of the Dragonborn, was attacked by vampires. Of course, the final result was the complete or near-total annihilation of the vampires. And this means that they are connected to the Dragonborn."

"The situation in Morningstar City is not right. The vampires are clearly not afraid of the cold, but they have disappeared on this auspicious day when Morningstar's population is booming. There is only one possibility for this, and that is that these vampires are planning a big operation around Morningstar. And their target is two possible."

“First,” she pointed to the line connecting Morthal and Morning Star, “they intend to ambush the Dragonborn and teach this madman who wiped out the vampires of Morthal a lesson. I think that’s unlikely, since with the Dragonborn anthem being sung all over Skyrim, the vampires, who don’t have much of a home-field advantage, are more likely to choose to retreat.”

"The second possibility is more likely. They might target this force called the Vigilant. They want to demonstrate their power by eliminating a hostile force without involving the protagonist, the Dragonborn. Although they might eventually go into hiding, until then..." She tapped on the small house icon on the map.

"This semi-public headquarters of the Vigilant, which even the drunks in the taverns have heard of, will be the most likely target for an attack. And I suspect that the Dragonborn will eventually get involved in this, so if we rush there now, there is a good chance that we will be able to get there in time for the conflict and make contact with our target before the Demon God's gaze falls upon us."

She exhaled and blew the map off the table. The messy room returned to how it was when the two of them had first entered. Then she looked forward to the path Zheng Zha would choose.

“You should know what I’m waiting for, Zheng Zha.” The girl in purple blinked. “Three possibilities, three paths. Which one will you choose first? You should know that all three points have the potential to trigger an explosion, but it’s also possible that nothing will happen. Perhaps the museum only contains simple artifacts, perhaps there’s more to the nightmare than meets the eye, perhaps the vampires are simply cowering in their dens. Perhaps… perhaps in five minutes, a dragon will descend directly into this city.”

"Come on, I look forward to your choice."

..............................

Zheng Zha felt a strong sense of déjà vu about the scene before him. It was as if, long, long ago, someone had often spoken to him in this way, asking him to choose the right option from several choices. And in every single time, his choice was always—

Can I select all?

“No.” Sirin made a huge X. “We have limited time and manpower, and although we cooperated well when we fought Ismir’s avatar on the outside, we still lack a deep enough understanding of each other. So I can’t devise a risky plan; I must leave room for maneuver.”

A subtle light flickered in Celine's tilted cross-shaped pupils.

“I did a quick calculation of the time and distance. Although this map is just a hypothetical one based on scattered information, I judge that the distances between the three points are not that different. It’s not a very standard equilateral triangle, so naturally we can’t cover them all at the same time. But that doesn’t mean I’m helpless against them—Morningstar City is a mixed bag right now, full of mercenaries who want to make money. Using money and simple hypnosis techniques, I can monitor the other two areas while we go to one of them.”

She shrugged. "Of course, this is only a temporary measure. The biggest problem right now is that the power we can exert at this stage is simply too weak. If we could restore our full fighting strength right now, we could just use wide-area spells to find the person and figure everything out. Instead of what we are doing now... You should know what I mean."

Zheng Zha's imposing aura faltered slightly, and he nodded. He certainly knew what Xilin meant. In the story world, powerful beings possessing the Light of the Mind were already rare. Even if one encountered one, a wild, untrained powerhouse would inevitably be a level weaker than a reincarnator using the orthodox genetic lock. Using a simulated Light of the Mind to deal with a holder of the Light of the Mind who hadn't activated their genetic lock wouldn't be particularly difficult—although he hadn't done it before, he felt it should be feasible.

Given that the North Wind Dragon's incarnation is from Flaw Four, the demons and holy spirits of this era are undoubtedly at the stage described by Sirin. Perhaps there might be some differences in the original world, but at least on this land, they are all at the level where they can be easily beaten down if the two of them recover to their full strength.

Lacking sufficient strength, one can only bide one's time and endure in silence. After gaining a clear understanding of the current situation, Zheng Zha finally abandoned the unrealistic idea of ​​"wanting it all".

[As expected... Although she's a reliable companion, she's ultimately different from Margot Lloyd. If Margot Lloyd were here...]

Thoughts of longing flashed through his mind. His brain worked unusually quickly, and he made a choice before Celine could utter a sentence like, "I think you're talking badly about me." He swiftly assessed three coordinates, analyzing the level of threat as high or low. Then he drew a conclusion.

“…We’re going to the vampires’ side.” He made the decision. “It’s foolish to wage war against the whole world at the same time. We’d better choose a side. While the Dragonborn may be hiding the secrets of Dragonbreak, judging from her behavior, she probably doesn’t understand the intricacies of such secret arts that involve multiple worldviews. So there’s no need to be her enemy; joining her side is the right choice.”

"Based on the prophetic poems and the information you provided earlier, it can be determined that the Dragonborn belong to the Holy Spirit's camp and are unlikely to turn against it. Therefore, the Demon God is the destined enemy... However, it is not a wise decision to confront the Demon God directly before establishing a certain connection with her. So let's go to the vampires first—after all, she has already made enemies with the vampires in another main city. So even if the vampires don't intend to do anything in Dawnstar, as long as we have a common enemy with her, we can gain an opportunity to become allies."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xilin clapped her hands in agreement.

"Given your rational choice, I thought you would be even more greedy. But since this is the decision, I can save myself a little trouble later—I will be making some arrangements in some places in Morning Star. I will hire mercenaries to act as spies and leave no trace. All you need to do is prepare a carriage for the journey, and purchase the necessary maps and sufficient supplies in the carriage—the spatial structure of this world is a bit strange, so it's best to avoid using tricks like spatial jumps."

She paused for a moment, then asked, "Is there anything else you don't understand?"

She immediately received a "I'll take care of everything" gesture.