A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"I never imagined this ring would have such a use." Hearing this, the scholar smiled sincerely.

This use is very gratifying.

“You haven’t answered my question yet.” Bray stared at the scholar with his dead fish eyes.

This guy veered off-topic, and Bray had to bring him back.

"..." The scholar was silent for a moment, and after staring at Bray's dead fish eyes for a while, he gave in.

Do you know about Aragami?

“I know.” Bray nodded.

"The Aragami are beings that will only ever end in tragedy," he said.

"It always ends in tragedy... You're absolutely right." The scholar had wanted to say something else, but after hearing Bray's words, he swallowed his words.

Bray's understanding was absolutely right; the Aragami are not something worth pursuing or longing for.

Tragedy can only accompany the Aragami.

"I am the God of Ara, and if things proceed normally, I will eventually collapse on my own."

"So you created a 'clone'?" Dorothea asked.

Bray glanced at Dorothea, then at the scholar.

“No.” The scholar slowly shook his head; Dorothea was wrong.

"When the Aragami collapses, all three elements will collapse."

"Whether it's the physical body, the spirit, or the will."

"Therefore, after they reach their end, they will not leave any trace in this world."

"Even the clones and consciousness left behind before the collapse will collapse along with it, without exception."

"Perhaps only faint concepts will remain in the world on their own."

If any Aragami (a type of deity) intends to leave behind something like a clone to allow itself to be reborn after a form of collapse, this scholar can only say—that's wishful thinking.

"So what's going on with you now?"

"This is not a clone of me, but a wisp of will, the will I left behind before I committed suicide."

"I cannot know about the outside world, nor can I interfere with it. This will will remain forever in this diary."

“Looking at the past, day after day, which has been repeated countless times.”

Everything the "prophet" prepared was done before his suicide.

He chose to commit suicide before he showed any signs of collapse.

He was determined not to let a broken spirit interfere with his correct judgment.

If he was going to die, he wouldn't allow himself to kill in such an ugly way.

So he committed suicide, leaving no trace of his body in the world.

And that is why the vestige of will he left behind did not dissipate.

The consciousness that lingers in his grave shares the same nature as that here.

“…” Bray fell silent.

While the "prophet" saved himself from a disastrous end, he found a different way to endure suffering.

He will remain forever in a virtual world.

There is no way to save them, and there is no possibility of a solution.

However, Bray finally understood why the stone tablet could calculate such a realistic history.

It was so realistic, so reasonable, that even Bray couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine.

If it was made by someone from the Black Iron Clan, then what kind of incredible technology was used?

However, if the slab was created by an ara god, then everything makes sense.

This "diary" was created by the "prophet" using his own "concept," that is, "belonging."

There are many ways to apply a concept, and as a scholar, the "prophet" has obviously studied a lot about how to use concepts.

He created some basic elements within the stone slab and then let them unfold according to fate.

The history of the stone tablet spans the entire Second Age.

It began with the creation of countless Iron race cities and ended with the Iron race defeating all the Bronze races, ushering in peace.

The trajectory of fate is predetermined; without external intervention, the same things will repeat themselves time and time again.

Of course, Bray and Dorothea are external forces that can alter the course of events.

However, it only changes the "history" within this context.

The real time has already passed and cannot be retrieved.

“Then, I’ll show you how the ring was created.” The scholar glanced at the two of them.

He knew that both Dorothea and Bray were men of the rites.

Putting aside the fact that they found this place, the scholars felt that they had the right, the qualification, and the need to know this long-forgotten story simply because of their identities.

The story of the ring is something that even the person reading this diary would find difficult to uncover.

Because this story is buried far, far too deep.

It is so deep that it cannot be unearthed without the guidance of a "prophet".

"The creation of the ring?" Bray pondered for a long time.

"Want to see?"

"Yes," Bray answered directly.

Hearing Bray's straightforward answer, the "prophet" smiled.

"Do you hate rings like that girl?"

“A ring? I don’t have a ring.” Bray shook his head.

"Really...no ring?" the scholar murmured, then a look of sudden realization dawned on him.

“Yes, that’s right, you don’t have the ring.” He looked at the longsword and muttered to himself. “Don’t be surprised if you don’t see the final outcome.” The scholar stood to one side of the stone tablet and said to Bray and Dorothea.

The inscription on the stone tablet shone with the same blinding light as before.

"Because not everything in this world can be simulated." The scholar spoke in a gentle tone, his voice like sand in an hourglass, slow but crystal clear.

"So you didn't even say where you're taking us?" Bray said in a deep voice, looking at the flashing text.

Dorothea stared at the scholar without saying a word; she had no interest in talking to this guy.

"The place closest to the truth of this world." The scholar instantly arrived near Bray and Dorothea.

Before the two could even react, the scholar was approached.

However, the scholar did not make an attack gesture.

Instead, he pushed the two of them back.

Instead of pushing it towards the shimmering stone tablet, they pushed it in the opposite direction.

"Of course, you may not be able to see the true nature of that world." The scholar's voice became indistinct, growing further and further away from Bray and Dorothea.

Behind them should have been flat ground, as it should have been.

However, after the scholar gave them a push, they continued to fall downwards.

What should have been flat ground has unknowingly become a bottomless pit.

It was as if the surroundings changed the moment the scholars touched them.

Besides this metaphor, Bray couldn't think of a better one.

He was facing upwards, falling continuously.

Strangely enough, he couldn't feel any airflow; he only felt a downward sensation without any actual movement.

When it fell, the surroundings were not completely dark.

Against a black background, there are abstract patterns that seem to encapsulate a story.

The pattern emitted a faint light, making the space less lifeless and dull.

Countless patterns continued downwards, with no end in sight.

---

“Have we been like this for a long time?” Bray shifted his position in mid-air.

Although it's a bit difficult, it's not impossible to adjust your posture.

For example, previously people would lie on their backs, but now they have changed to lying face down when laying mines.

However, to be honest, many people would be terrified if they looked at the endless darkness.

After all, no one knows when they might suddenly land on the ground.

Falling from that height, besides dying instantly, I really can't imagine what other outcome there could be.

"I don't know, I didn't count the time," Dorothea said casually.

"I only know that I slept for a little while," she added.

Dorothea had no idea what their situation was.

It was a continuous descent, a descent that felt completely unreal.

There was no strong wind whistling in my ears, and I didn't feel any difficulty breathing.

It was a truly boring experience.

It would be better to just land directly, or at least let the wind blow around.

"Really? That seems like it's been a long time." Bray said dejectedly. Dorothea had been sleeping all day, how could it not have been a long time?

So how long until we reach the end? If we can't get down for days and nights, Bray should probably close his eyes and get some sleep.

You know what, there wasn't any strong airflow or anything, so it was quite convincing to sleep there, although it did feel a bit weightless.

But is it really okay to continue like this?

Although no matter how high you fall from, there is always a limit to the final landing speed.

That speed limit wasn't enough to kill Bray.

Of course, he would definitely get injured; his body wasn't strong enough to land on both feet straight and be completely unharmed.

However, no matter how Bray thought about it, this was not a normal descent. He could still feel the speed of his descent subtly increasing.

Who knows, after landing, I might just "plop" die.

"Breclas, do you trust that guy that much?" Dorothea crossed her arms in mid-air and glanced at Breclas.

Her tone was cold, suggesting that Bray was having a lively conversation with his senior, which displeased Dorothea.

It's no wonder people react this way when they see others chatting happily about someone they dislike.

Dorothea's question interrupted Bray's reverie.

"What did you say?" Bray was taken aback. He had been lost in thought and hadn't heard Dorothea's words clearly.

Why would you trust someone you just met?

"It's not so much about trust, but he said that this way he could see the hidden history."

"I gave it a try."

"Are you really that eager to know these things?"

"Don't you want to know what a person who observes the precepts really is?" Bray asked rhetorically.

"That guy just meant to let us see the ring's creation," Dorothea said, pursing her lips.

"He never said he would explain everything about the ring."

“Well, I’d still like to take a look,” Bray said.