This...The Second Epoch's subsidiary gods truly are hidden powers. There was Dragon of Wisdom, Herabergen，and there's God of the Dead, Salinger. They were all powerful figures that even reached the throne of Sequence 0. Of course, I can't be sure about the Dragon of Wisdom. It's just quite possible...
Yes, and there's the God of Dawn, Badheil, and the Goddess of Harvest, Omebella. I can't rule out the possibility that "They" have lived quite well all the way to the Fifth Epoch... I wonder if the God of Spiritual Creatures Tolzna and the Goddess of Misfortune Amanises managed to evade the authority retrieval operation by the City of Silver Creator at the end of the Second Epoch. If "They" managed to escape that fate, what roles did "They" play in the Third and Fourth Epoch? After a moment of shock, Klein began thinking poignantly.
Thinking back to the betrayal of the Kings of Angels in the Third Epoch, he couldn't help but lampoon:
You have to be careful of fire, theft, and subsidiary gods!
At that moment, Audrey, who didn't know much about the subsidiary gods' true names or authorities, didn't show any perturbations in her emotions. She acted as different female elves in Siatas's memories, and she constantly talked to her about her experiences and things she knew about the Second Epoch.
According to Siatas, in the history of the elves, there was no concept of the First Epoch or Second Epoch. In the beginning years that were unknown to her, it was chaotic, dark, and crazy, and it didn't leave behind any texts. After the supernatural races obtained a certain level of intelligence and had their own languages, creatures finally had some knowledge of history.
In that era, ancient gods appeared one after another. The sky, the land, the sea, and the underground world slowly changed from disorderliness to orderliness. However, other than the tyrannical and crazy ancient gods, no one knew how many years this stage lasted. She just knew that, very, very long ago, it was referred to by the major supernatural races as the "Sprouting Era."
After the "Sprouting Era" was the "Early Era of Fire" in which the eight ancient gods fought against each other in different camps. This was also a long time before Siatas's birth, so she could only understand this from the elven historical records that it was a time when quasi-humans fought non-humans, resisting the corruption and intrusion from the devils and demonic wolves. Amongst them, the humanoids were the giants, elves, Sanguine, as well as their slaves.
The "Early Era of Fire" lasted different periods of time according to the different records. However, a common point was that it lasted less than a thousand years, as the essence of the ancient gods was madness, tyranny, cruel, and cold. They were often driven by their instinct.
After the Sanguine Ancestor Lilith, Mutant King Kvastir, and Annihilation Demonic Wolf Flegrea perished during the betrayal, the "E3rly Elm of Fire" ended, and the war broke out "The world was damaged, and it didiVt stop for centuries.
Due to the fact that the giants and dragons were relatively strong in this period of time, they were known as the "Dual Era."
By the time the five races formed a new balance of powers, the Northern Continent, the Southern Continent, the East Continent, and the Five Seas had recovered some level of peace. This was when Siatas was born and had grown up in until she entered Groselle's Travels.
In the history that she described, there were two important points. First of all, it proved the existence of the East Continent, a place where the Giant King's Court was. Second, after the "Sprouting Era," the supernatural races had their own kind of civilization. They weren't completely irrational as their descendants believed them to be. Of course, the inclination towards tyranny, cruelty, coldness, and slaughtering still existed, as though they were all in a half-state of losing control. It was only after the "Dual Era" that the new generation of elves and giants gained some level of rationality. They had feelings just like Siatas and Groselle.
The East Continent seems to be the Forsaken Land of the Gods... It was abandoned during the Cataclysm? Similar thoughts surfaced in Klein's, Leonard's, and Audrey's minds.
They were very interested in this, but it was a pity that Siatas had always lived in the Elf King's court. Their occasional forays outside were limited to parades at sea. She had never been to the East Continent, and she lacked the required knowledge.
Under Audrey's influence, Siatas's dream began to show the traditions and language of the elves.
According to the legends that the Queen's attendant had heard of, Elvish was created by the king in the "Sprouting Era." Every word was produced with the birth of a first-generation elf. The number of Elvish words meant the number of first-generation elves.
However, the traditions of the elves weren't too unified. They relied heavily on their surroundings—the elves in the forests and the sea were undoubtedly different in all kinds of customs.
What they shared in common was that they believed in the king, who was an ancient god, and "His" queen. They liked to make food with the blood of their prey. Many of them had culinary methods such as roasting. Even sea elves often came up to the reefs for a bonfire party. They were close to nature and were good at using all kinds of spices. They idolized the strong, and they were proud of being quick to act before thinking...
With myths and reality mixed together, it's hard to tell what's real and what's fake... Their traditions have destroyed my previous theories... Klein listened with a stoic expression as he quickly analyzed every word Siatas said.
After figuring out the relevant matters, Audrey circled around the keyword of the West Continent and made Siatas's dream change. It reflected some of her subconscious memories.
The coral palace appeared before Klein and company again. Siatas followed behind Queen of Calamity Cohinem and walked to a crystal window.
She glanced at the Queen's exquisite and complicated dress, and she stole a glance at the "deity" who controlled calamities. She asked curiously, "Your Highness, are you looking west?"
To the elves, as long as they didn't feel the pressure of violence, they would ask questions on the spot.
"Why do you think so?" Cohinem didn't turn back as "She" asked with an indifferent expression.
"I just learned of a legend that our elves originated from the Western Continent," Siatas replied. "Your Highness, does the Western Continent really exist? Is that really where the first-generation elves were born?"
Cohinem's lips curled slightly as she said with a slightly ethereal voice, "The Western Continent may exist, but it may not exist either. Every race needs to give themselves an illustrious origin, a home for the mind.
"Siatas, where is your home to you?"
"My home?" Siatas repeated the question as she replied blankly, "It's where His Majesty and Your Highness are. It's this palace that can lead to the forest where my parents live..."
As she said this, Siatas's emotions gradually turned heavy, lost, and melancholic.
It was obvious that she was influenced by her subconscious's corresponding memories.
She had entered Groselle's Travels and had been away from home for two to three thousand years.
"Therefore, to elves like you, the Western Continent doesn't exist, but to some elves, it definitely exists." Queen of Calamity Cohinem calmly gave her final answer.
Siatas didn't ask further, because she suddenly remembered that the Queen wasn't a first-generation elf.
Such a response made Klein increasingly confused and puzzled. Thankfully, from the Second Epoch to the Fifth Epoch, the Western Continent had zero presence, so it didn't have any important secrets related to him. He was just trying to find out more about it and hadn't held out much hope.
After ending the guiding of Siatas's subconscious and since it was almost noon, without any other nearby dreams that they could leap into, Audrey left with Klein and Leonard, and they appeared in Mobet and Siatas's bedroom.
Looking at the Fourth Epoch viscount whose body had been tightly bound by the elf, Audrey's expression suddenly turned gentle as she said with a laugh, "They seem to be doing pretty well..."
"No, no, no, it's terrifying to have such a violent, direct, and imaginative wife who dares to take action! Only a person like Mobet would like and enjoy being with her..." Leonard, who didn't have a poet's talent but had the liberal inclinations of a poet, shook his head as he kept his hands in his pockets.
At this point, he muttered in thought, On the contrary, it's true that an experienced thief needs a woman like Siatas to rein him in. Hmm... I wonder what kind of members of the opposite sex Old Man's other family members like...
"Sigh, they don't need our envy or objections. This is how they live together. Emperor Roselle once wrote a poem, saying ‘for my love I'll sacrifice my life[l]'..."
As Klein listened to their discussion, he opened his mouth and closed it again. He didn't tell them that Siatas and Mobet had actually died. It was only when they died that they truly felt their love for one another. The ones living in the book were just copies created by the book world.
After leaving the couple's house, the trio headed to Groselle's blacksmith shop.
Along the way, when they went past a street, Klein saw Frunziar, who was known as a philosopher, and Audrey recognized him to be Loenese a glance.
"Is that the soldier from a hundred years ago?" Audrey slowed down her pace and asked.
Klein recalled Frunziar's longing for his hometown, and the ashes he had placed in Backlund's cemetery. He fell silent for two seconds before nodding gently.
"Yes."
Mr. World is feeling a little emotional... He's like a calm river on the surface, with a lot of undercurrents and eddies underneath... Audrey nodded indiscernibly and asked, "Can we enter his dream? I want to get the Judge and Disciplinary Paladin's potion formula."
"No problem," Klein replied as he glanced at Leonard.
Leonard continued having his hands in his pockets, but his eyes instantly darkened.
Sitting on the bench, Frunziar fell asleep.
Right on the heels of that, three people appeared in his dream.
This was a bustling city with buildings made from wood. The pedestrians who came and went were mostly Loenese.
The black-haired, blue-eyed Frunziar stood outside a house as he looked in without daring to approach. Only when a woman wearing an old long dress came out from inside did he excitedly go forward and attempt to hug her.
His hug went through the woman without them making contact at all.
Frunziar stood rooted to the ground as he blankly shouted, "Mother..."
Audrey, who wanted to guide the dream, quietly watched this scene. Then, she looked around and discovered the iconic clock.
"Backlund..." Audrey pursed her lips and turned her head. She looked at Klein and asked, "Can't they leave the book world?"
"It's been too long. If they leave, they will grow old, die, or even be reduced to dust." Klein's voice was like a serene river. "I delivered one of Frunziar's items to Backlund."
This... As a Spectator, Audrey acutely sensed the cruel reality behind those words. She couldn't help but raise her head and look out of the dream, looking at the location where Mobet and Siatas were.
Leonard wanted to ask what it was, but after looking around, he maintained his silence.
Following that, Audrey seriously guided his dream. Outside of obtaining two potion formulas, she made Frunziar return home and live happily with his parents, brothers, and sisters.
It was a beautiful dream.
After leaving Frunziar, Klein, Leonard, and Audrey quickly saw Groselle's home.
This was the last stop of their exploration. After obtaining information from Groselle's subconscious, they would enter the book world's sea of collective subconscious and seek out the secrets that might exist in this book.
[1] Adapted from a Hungarian poet, Sandor Petofi's Liberty and Love.
