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Tuben and Zen were grinning from ear to ear, staring at the two with a rather nervous gaze.
Their faces were filled with such anticipation that, although they looked like ghosts, Jin and Valeria could feel their hearts pounding.
"...We did it, but..."
[Woohoo! See? I told you! If we hadnât done that, we really wouldnât have been able to enter...]
[Ha, the golem and that damn monster werenât lying. Take it!]
It seemed the two had made a bet on whether the descendants coming to the succession temple would meet the entry conditions.
Zen was the loser. Zen pulled out a bundle of paper-like objects from his pocket and handed it to Tuben, making the golem sigh at the sight.
[Iâve told you a thousand times that those arenât your belongings; theyâre mine... Why did you bet with someone elseâs property?]
Whether it mattered to Zen or not, Tuben snatched the paper from him and expressed his 350-year victory.
[Hehehe!]
Zen and Tuben, the two geniuses who presumably created a long-distance communication device, were in an unstable mental state.
This was likely due to the fact that they had "recorded themselves in the succession temple" and the long period of 350 years.
Moreover, during that long period, Zen and Tuben had only each other and the golem for company.
Thinking that the style of the letter was very calm, the sight of the two laughing and giggling made Jin feel a sense of sadness.
"It seems Tuben Histor has won. Congratulations."
Instead of showing any sign of disappointment, Jin said this, trying to match the atmosphere.
It seemed better to go with the flow.
[Jaja, thank you! Your name is Jin Runcandel, right? For a Runcandel, you're quite adaptable.]
"Thank you. By the way, what is that paper used for? It doesnât seem like money."
[Oh, itâs paper for storing magical spells. The golem keeps insisting that they belong to him, but I wonder where he got the idea that it belongs to either him or me. Anyway! Iâd like to receive congratulations not only from an outsider but also from my descendant.]
"Congratulations, Ancestor Tuben."
[Yes, yes. Weâve been waiting for you for a long time.]
[Hmph, though until recently, we forgot we were even waiting for our descendants.]
[Well, considering the historical manipulation of the Histor clan, itâs an inevitable matter, Zen. Besides, weâre ghosts, so naturally, our memories are weak.]
[Oh, right! Hey, what happened to my clan? Lutberh! They didnât go extinct, did they?]
"Well..."
Valeria explained for a while how they had met Sael and come to the succession temple.
[...Now I remember more vividly. Itâs really fortunate! Zen, as we expected, those guys couldnât find your clan. And my clan didnât meet its end either. Hahaha!]
[But why do you look so good when youâve come all the way here? We wandered around for days and looked like beggars.]
[Thatâs because this time, the successor took a shortcut. They had the power to ignore the set difficulty. They had formidable abilities.]
The traps installed in Malietâs succession temple were originally designed based on Honka as a reference point. They were designed so that if one barely defeated Honka, they could reach the final point of the succession temple after enduring various hardships.
[Moreover, since they arenât enemies, I didnât apply First Class Hostility either. I only used 50% of my original combat power. It wouldnât have mattered even if I had used all my abilities.]
[Hmm, it feels unfair. If it were this easy, it feels like weâre giving away our creation too easily, doesnât it, Tuben?]
[Thatâs right! We really worked hard for it!]
"Is that creation by any chance a communication device?"
[Yes, exactly! Itâs a long-distance communication device!]
[Donât they have something like that outside now?]
"No, we donât. We can only send signals with objects like the Magic Tower Masterâs Staff from Zipple."
[Well, I canât just give it to you like that. Letâs have one more test.]
[Oh, great. What kind of test?]
[Weâll decide it while you explore the succession temple. Prepare yourselves! If you donât pass the test, we really wonât give you the communication device.]
Zen and Tuben ran off somewhere and disappeared.
[Now, although they may act like that, they were once great magicians and engineers. Donât worry too much about the test. It wonât be too difficult. Even if theyâve become fools, they havenât forgotten their duty and mission.]
The duty and mission of a Record Magician and a pioneering engineer.
It was to pass down their inventions to those qualified to receive them.
As the Record windows of Maliet floated in the air, the golem extended his hand, causing a pleasant vibration to spread throughout the succession temple.
[The Master foresaw a moment like this a long time ago.]
"Foreseen? What does that mean?"
[But fortunately, Valeria Histor, you donât seem too tired or lonely.]
Did Maliet already know Valeriaâs future?
Jin watched the golem with those questions in mind.
The golemâs touch activated the record windows.
[Please, lie down and watch the masterâs records.]
As the two lay down, the surroundings gradually darkened.
Soon, as it darkened completely, the record windows lit up like a blue galaxy on the ceiling.
[You might feel a little confused. Please donât resist.]
Following those words, after a while, the two were able to immerse themselves in the stories of the past, just like when they consumed the Royal Hymn Drink in the Wantaramo Forest.
--------------------
Jin and Valeria became translucent observers inside the video.
April 1, 1391, Honka Island.
âIt seems to be a record of the day Ancestor Maliet and Honka met.â
âIt looks like the fight has just ended.â
Jin and Valeria observed Honka, panting and half-frozen in front of them.
This was before Honka even had a name.
Maliet was a woman of extraordinary beauty.
She had a colossal physique, not much smaller than Honkaâs, with fiery red hair that covered more than half of her body and mischievously twinkling eyes.
Jin and Valeria were left speechless. It was the first time they had seen someone so large.
Not even Hedo would seem so big next to Maliet.
"Why do you torment the people who approach this island and make their lives miserable? Iâve lost count of how many times Iâve scolded you."
[Hmph, no reason. If you want to kill me, go ahead!]
"If you had killed even one person, I would have. But you just pretended to be a current in the sea and scared people away. I find it endearing, so Iâm being lenient with you. If you keep this up, soon the Empire or Zipple will come and subjugate you. So, confess your sins through me and regain enlightenment."
[And if I refuse?]
"Then thereâs nothing I can do. There are some issues with invading privacy, so I try to refrain from doing so as much as possible, but I can only examine your records one by one. I need to understand why youâre doing this. If I wait too long to hear from you directly, you might end up dead."
[What is this... Eh? Whatâs happening? Why are my memories suddenly being projected into the air?]
"Well, yes. As I suspected, when you sought enlightenment to overcome the torment inflicted on you by humans and other creatures, that was the moment you gained your inner core."
[Ugh, stop it!]
"But usually, when someone gains power, they fill themselves with hatred and seek to massacre weaker beings. But instead, you chose perfect seclusion. What does that mean? It means you deserve a reward, thatâs what it means. Come here, let me give you a hug. Are you frozen and unable to move? Then Iâll hug you. How about that?"
Honka protested with a shout, but once Malietâs enormous body enveloped him, he couldnât resist the comforting sensation.
Thatâs how Maliet and the inner-core toad monster became friends. Maliet named him Honka, derived from the islandâs name.
For a moment, memories of the touching story of Maliet and Honka played out.
The two sat by the campfire, shared meals, or Maliet told Honka stories of the outside world.
Honka never opened his heart to anyone but Maliet, but there were no longer any threats to anyone passing near the island.
"Right now, many Histors are coming to this place Iâm creating, but over time, my clan will decline and be defeated by Zipple. The number of Histors coming to this island will gradually decrease."
[Even though youâre so strong, canât you defeat Zipple? You said Histor magic is the best.]
"They have much more power than we do, and besides, theyâre despicable. I canât do anything. In any case, within a few hundred years... No, even less, within a hundred years, my clan will be on the brink of extinction. I wonder how many people will survive, ten? Five? Maybe only one."
[Why do you talk about it as if itâs already happening, like someone whoâs about to leave?]
"I donât have much time left. By then, I need to complete a succession temple that will provide strength to the Histors who will come when my clan weakens."
[What are you talking about? Are you seriously ill or something?]
"Itâs not an illness; itâs a curse. It affected me during the battle against the Zipple Spectres. Itâs a curse called Kianâs blood, and if youâre cursed, you gradually suffer and die in agony. My progress is currently at about 50%. If I manage to hold on, I have about three years left."
Honka didnât know how to react to the sudden and imminent separation.
Maliet smiled as she looked at Honka.
"When I die, you should leave this place and make friends with new people. I can entrust the protection of the succession to the golem Iâm creating."
[I donât want to.]
"Someday, when itâs time for you to go, youâll regret it. Itâs too lonely to live a life where you only miss me. Do I have to keep worrying about you even after I die?"
[Stop talking about dying all the time and find a way to lift the curse. If you do that, Iâll leave the island with you and help you.]
"Finding a way to break the curse that may not even exist or completing a task for the future. Naturally, the remaining time should be devoted to the latter. For the sake of the clan, for my sake, and for the world."
[Even without you, many Histors are already creating succession temples. Isnât that enough?]
"Most of those companions are too naĂŻve, leaving only a sense of duty for the exhausted future generations. My succession temple will be a more special sanctuary than that."
With that said, Maliet suddenly turned her head towards Jin and Valeria.
It was an action meant to give the feeling of speaking directly to future generations who would peer into this record as observers.
"So enjoy the time you have left.. I hope it serves as comfort in your lonely and difficult lives."
/SHADOWK
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