"Can you understand me??"

The guy shakes his head and then I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my head. From the reactions of the others it looks like they are feeling the same pain. The pain only lasts for a few seconds and then it fades away as quickly as it arrived.

??? says "My apologies for the pain. It was the only way for me to learn your language. I didn't expect your minds to be so fragile. If the pain doesn't fade, let me know and I can heal you."

"It's alright, we are fine. I am just glad that you are not trying to attack us."

??? says "I may not have been conscious, but I am aware I couldn't have woken up without outside help. That means that you are the ones who have undone the seal. It would be truly ungrateful of me to attack my saviors."

"That's a relief."

??? says "Besides, while I don't know how long I was sealed, I feel that it was a very, very long time. I know nothing about the current world."

"Well, I am fine with telling you what we know, but you probably won't like it much."

??? says "What do you mean?"

"For starters I don't recognize your race. So, either they are in hiding, are on a different continent, or are no longer around."

??? says "That is bad news. My people ruled this world, if you don't know them then they are likely gone. I will check once I have recovered more. One thing I know for sure, my god is dead."

"How do you know that?"

??? says "Because, the only reason I was sealed was that I lost my god granted powers in the middle of a fight. That wouldn't have happened unless my god was heavily injured or killed. The fact that you are the ones to unseal me means that he is dead. He would have freed me long ago if he was still alive."

"Yeah, that makes sense. My condolences."

??? says "Thank you. It is what it is, but if my people are gone too, I really have nothing left to live for."

"I'm sorry to give you such bad news. Oh, by the way, my name is Ash. This is Lin and Brightfire, and over there is Nala and Albion. What is your name?"

??? says "My name doesn't translate well into your language. My nickname was based on a very hard headed creature. The closest creature in your memories will have to do. You can call me Bull."

"Alright, Bull. I know you don't know how long you were sealed, but do you recognize Brightfire's race?"

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Bull says "Yes, she is of one of the servant races. It is good to know that they at least survived."

Brightfire says "Servant race? What does that mean?"

Bull says "Your race and those that Ash calls dwarves were our servants."

"The elves used to believe that your race made their race. Is that true?"

Bull says "No. Although, we did tell them that in order to make them loyal. In truth, we found both races in another world and admired their crafting abilities. So we abducted a large number of them, wiped their memories, and then told them that we created them."

"Alright, that tells me a lot. I have been referring to your people as the First Ones. You have been sealed for thousands of years at least. You people created four temples to try and hide this world, were you around for that?"

Bull says "No. That must have happened after I was sealed. How long ago were these temples built?"

"From what I have learned, my best guess is between fifteen and twenty thousand years ago."

Bull says "That long?!"

"I'm afraid so. However, that is just my guess. Even my goddesses weren't around that long ago."

Bull says "It's alright. The exact time frame doesn't really matter. After it passes a few thousand years, it is just numbers."

"Ever since I learned about the purpose of the temples, I have been curious about what would make your people try to hide this world. Any ideas?"

Bull says "Actually, it was probably related to me being sealed and the defeat of our god."

"That makes sense. The death of their god would certainly make a race fearful enough to want to hide."

Bull says "That isn't the case. You see, our god was an outsider. Originally, my people had no gods."

"Do you mind explaining that?"

Bull says "Sure. In the early days of our race we only ruled one continent and had no knowledge about other worlds. Then, one day, a god from the outside arrived. He was the last survivor of his pantheon after they lost a war against a dark pantheon. In exchange for our worship he granted us all of his knowledge."

"That sounds like a good deal, if he was honest about it."

Bull says "He was, He even told us that accepting him would make them a lot of enemies. If the dark pantheon ever found us we would end up wiped out completely."

"Is that what you think happened to your people?"

Bull says "The god that sealed me was from the dark pantheon, but I don't think they wiped out my people."

"How come?"

Bull says "If they had invaded this world then they would still be here. However, fear of them is probably behind the construction of the temples. As for what happened after that, your guess is as good as mine."

"My guess would be that they sealed themselves in this world and then stagnated and fell."

Bull says "That is entirely possible. We were one race, but we were never fully united. There were several factions and some wars between them."

"I once heard about several ruins that should be from your time. The most dangerous beasts ever seen inhabit them. From the little that I heard, those beasts should not be native to this world. That might give some hints about what happened to your people."

Bull says "Alright, I will check once I am recovered."

"Will you be able to handle yourself without your god granted powers?"

Bull says "I should be fine. I became my god's champion because I was already the best warrior among my people. While I was the champion I also gained a lot of benefits that are permanent."

"Yeah, I have gained a lot from being the goddesses' champion. Is there anything we can do that will help you recover?"

Bull says "Well, I could use some food and drink to let my body recover naturally."

Lin says "Oh, sorry. I should have thought of that! Here you go."

Bull says "Thank you."

While Bull is eating I go back to telling him about the current world and the various races. I make sure to warn him about the humans, since they might try to kill him on sight. I keep talking and avoid asking questions until he has eaten his fill.