The night dawned on the forest and it gave off an eerie atmosphere, illuminated by the ethereal glow of the moonlight. The tall trees swaying in the wind seemed to whisper among themselves and the glowing eyes of the monsters beyond the veil of trees, filled us with dread. They looked ready to pounce at the slightest chance. I looked around and Herbert was almost shivering even though he was the closest to the fire.

As I glanced at the watch strapped to my wrist, I saw that midnight wasn't that far away. I slowly looked up at the sky, but couldn't make out the constellation mentioned in the strange writings on the pillar. Herbert saw me looking at the sky and he pointed at the focal points I should concentrate on to find the arrow. Sure enough, it looked like an arrow with a red star that shone at the tip and many glowing stars forming the body of the arrow.

As we waited with bated breath, the clock finally struck midnight. A change seemed to come to the area and I could hear monsters screaming and yelping beyond the trees. I looked at the trees beyond the clearing and the red eyes had disappeared, replaced by an eerie silence. The yard with the contraption began to shine faintly and the floor leading up to the building glowed green as a green road was formed leading to the large door.

"It's time," Herbert said getting up.

We got up and after putting out the fire, cautiously made our way to the door. Two symbols glowed green on either side of the door. One was a circular symbol and another was a triangular symbol. Herbert placed his hand on the circular symbol and the door began to open with a sound like two stones rubbing vigorously against each other. Once the sound subsided, we got into formation and slowly walked inside. The door began to move again and it shut itself behind us.

The inside was dark. Ashryn quickly used her spirit magic to summon the light orbs and we could see that we were standing in a vast hallway with large statues lined up along one wall and large murals drawn on the other wall. Most of the statues were broken. I created a small fire in my hand and slowly walked to the murals. Large black colored beasts could be seen devouring humans and a small black orb floated in the sky that was absorbing the beasts. The wall depicted meteors falling from the sky and black colored monsters flooding the land. There were writings describing the situation and even though some of the letters had eroded, I was able to read them.

"Year 3067 of the Agniv civilization. The invaders from the sky surrounded us. With nowhere to go ........ was up. Some fled the planet while we holed up inside ........ We wait with the hope ......... return .... us."

Another mural depicted a spaceship taking off. It was a crude drawing but I wonder if they were successful in escaping the planet.

"It .......... forty years. We don't know the situation outside. People are growing ......... The younger ones want to go outside. We wait for a decision from .......... The golems have been diligently ......... us stay alive. Without them ......... perished long ago."

"A decision has been ....... We are finally going ....... The readings from the .......... have been positive. With hopes that those creatures had disappeared we take our first steps outside tomorrow."

It was the last record of the people who had been living here. There were no more writings on this side of the wall.

"This seems horrible. Maybe, these were drawn from imaginations," Ashryn said, running her hand over the murals.

"No, it looks like the history of the people who had once a thriving civilization in this land," I said.

"Wa-wait, you can read those symbols?" Ashryn asked, shocked.

"Ye-yeah, it seems so."

Herbert came running to me after hearing that.

"P-please translate the writings. I can only decipher parts of it and it might take years and years of research to decipher everything."

I consented and told them what was written. They looked shocked after hearing it.

"Does that mean the monsters in this world are from that time?" Ian asked.

"No, these looked different. Moreover, this mural shows the monsters being absorbed by that black orb. I don't think those monsters remain in this world anymore." I replied, pointing at the drawing of the black orb.

"Hmm," Herbert seemed lost in thought. He took out a portable tablet from his backpack and began to type on it.

I moved on towards the statues on the other side. They were of humans wearing colorful clothes that looked like advanced armours. Though most of the colors had faded, the remaining colors gave off the vibe of an advanced civilization. I wonder what could have happened to bring such a civilization to the brink of annihilation. A statue of a beast was also carved among them. It was colored in black and had the features of a lion but was strangely bipedal, with teeth longer than normal lions. Parts of the statue were broken and it looked like where the tail would have been. The creature looked imposing, hovering above us and it gave me chills. The word written next to the creature mentioned its name as "Krigu".

Herbert came close to me as I was inspecting the statues, with the tablet in hand. I informed him about the name of the creature.

"Thank you. You have been very helpful. It seems you have an interest in the past like me."

It looked like he had more questions probably about how I knew the language of this old civilization but he didn't pry any further.

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"Ahaha, you think so."

"We have uncovered a few more ruins like these around Frithrin forest. They usually depict a calamity happening and most people getting wiped out and restarting in another part of the world. We could only make out the general story from the drawing since we couldn't decipher these writings. But thanks to you, we are now able to know more about the old civilization. You don't know how helpful you've been!"

"No worries. But a calamity, huh."

This damn word keeps following me. Airi seemed quiet so I couldn't get any response from her either.

"Yeah, there is strong evidence that these people migrated to where the Antelopea kingdom is now, after getting out of these shelters. Similar ruins have also been found in those areas."

"I see."

Everyone was fascinated and were looking at the drawing and statues with interest. Ian was engrossed in the stories at first but he soon looked bored.

"Ahem, I think we should proceed inside," I interrupted everyone and pointed at the way inside.

"Ah..yes." Herbert said and put away his tablet.

We slowly made our way through the hall.

(Airi, are you there?)

(Y-yes, Master.)

(Is there a way to save those murals?)

(Yes, you can use imprint magic to imprint those to paper from memory.)

(I see. Do you think the calamity that those ancient people faced and what I was warned about are the same?)

(Master, you still need to get stronger. It might be the same or it might not be.)

(Airi!!)

(...........)

I still thought it would be advantageous to learn more about the history depicted in the murals. So, I promised myself to search for more murals whenever I get the chance.

We soon reached the end of the hallway and it opened to an even bigger room. The room was a circular hall with a high ceiling and walls depicting various murals. At the center of the room was an orb sitting on a pedestal. The orb had lost its shine and it looked like a big fractured marble. Most of the walls had broken off and were strewn about on the floor. As we went around examining the room and the murals, I heard a scream. I looked back and saw Rina covering her mouth looking at something. I went near her and there were three skeletons lying side by side resting their backs on the wall. Only their tattered clothes remained. The clothes were strange and it didn't resemble anything from Astrya or from Earth. When I touched the clothes, it disintegrated into dust.

The murals depicted the same story as we saw in the hallway so there was no further progress regarding the ancient's story. Herbert informed us that they will come with a bigger expedition party from the magic tower to examine the ruins later.

As I was looking around, my eyes were drawn to the orb. It was the same feeling I had when I was looking at the dagger. The orb seemed to call out to me. I quickly made my way to the orb and saw that most parts of it were broken but it still somehow sat on the pedestal. Even the pedestal holding it up was eroded by time. A slit was visible in the pedestal just below the orb and a small inscription was visible just below it.

"Drive in the dagger to open the gateway to memories."

"Wait. Don't tell me." I murmured.

I quickly took out the dagger I had bought from Mathilda's shop and it began to glow faintly. Since my body covered the pedestal, the others weren't able to notice the dagger or what I was doing. I slowly slid it into the empty space. A subtle click resonated and I felt my conciousness drifting away.

"Rayce!" I heard Ashryn shout.

That was the last thing I heard.

Darkness. Everywhere I looked there was only darkness. I couldn't feel any sensations in my body. I gave time for my eyes to adjust but there was no escaping the darkness. It shrouded me, making me feel like a tiny speck in the vast immeasurable space. I called out to Airi, but there was no answer. Was I truly alone.

As the sensations returned, I could feel my hand still holding onto the dagger. It slowly began to glow trying to push back the darkness. I remembered the letters engraved on the dagger and clenched it tighter. Suddenly, I was pushed forward like being sucked into a vortex.

As the darkness gave away to light, I saw that I was standing in the middle of the street in a city full of people wearing strange clothes. I looked up and the sun was shining brightly. The people were going about their business without looking at me but it was a calm and happy atmosphere. I thought I would be noticed because of my clothes but they just walked past me without even looking at me. Tall buildings with strange holes on them were standing towering above the city and they filled the horizon. The holes had strange inscriptions and made sounds like something turning as light pulsated out of them from time to time. I slowly walked through the crowd. The streets were paved with beautiful white marbles and I could see countless vehicles flying in the air. I soon came to a parking space where vehicles were parked and many people were waiting. Vehicles were coming down from the sky and picking people up and moving away. I could see soldiers holding what looked like rods standing guard and patrolling. They had helmets covering their head and a symbol I had never seen before engraved in the chest area of their uniform. It depicted a half circle enclosed by a slanted ring.

As I looked around, I sensed a commotion and saw a crowded square filled to the brim with people. I slowly made my way towards it. As I got nearer, I could see a holographic image of letters floating in the air with a video running. The people were intently watching and listening to the voice coming out from the hologram. It looked like news.

"......... an attack on the Eopia continent. The images had just come in and it looks like the same creatures that were sighted last year near the Volian pass. The creatures have invaded the country of Athea in droves and the royal family of Athea has requested assistance from the United Federation of Nations. A spokesperson from the UFN has said that they will do everything in their power to help Athea and are gathering the nations as we speak. In other news, as the threats from the creatures grow, Chancellor Gilbert has convened the ruling factions and promised to close the border if approval is given as cries from the citizens reaches its peak."

The video accompanying the news showed a black creature that had the resemblance to the creature drawn on the mural in the ruins. They were slaughtering humans left and right. Small missiles were being fired from large machines and projectiles of what looked like magic were raining down on them, but they seemed unaffected and continued advancing. As the camera shook and the images got cut off, a nervous murmur spread throughout the crowd.

"Are we next?" A person next to me spoke to someone.

"I hope not. Hopefully, the UFN can contain those creatures."

"But where did they come from? I have travelled most of the continents but I've never seen creatures like those."

"Some are saying that they came from the sky. It all started after a meteor fell on the Volian pass. The area had been sealed by the government and was very hush hush."

"God help us." The murmurs began to grow louder and I could feel the nervousness spreading among the people.

There was another group of people near the square holding placards. They seemed like fanatics and were shouting slogans.

"Repent for your sins. The cleansing has come. Accept it and you'll be reborn."

They had amassed a gathering as well and many people were holding hands and praying, looking up at the sky.

I shook my head. There's always a group of fanatics in every situation who takes it too far.