Altruen walked through the bustling streets of the wooden metropolis, feeling a sense of undeniable melancholy. Ordinarily he wouldn't have had to debase himself on this sort of assignment, but a recent screw-up had put him in a tight spot that left him few options for redemption.

Walking along beside him through the crowds was his temporary partner, Eun. She was more used to this work than he, so he had stuck to her guidelines when creating his guise for the day.

These forms were a bit odd, but nothing he couldn't manage. She had tried to dress him in rags as well, but he wouldn't have it. For so long as he was a representative of his glorious home they would clothe befitting of their class, Though none of the inhabitants around them would recognize its significance.

Their purpose was to measure readings from beneath the city, to see if the Flame's location could be verified. Neither they nor their homeland had any use for it themselves, but it was simply protocol that information of potential Events be updated. According to the one who debriefed him, the Flame had been missing for a very long time, so even the faint readings they had recently picked up were treated as a huge lead.

He sighed, and Eun hesitantly asked, "Is something the matter, sir?"

"No, I simply dislike having to… mingle with this sort," He said as he skirted around an obnoxious child swinging a frozen treat, "What do the readings indicate?"

"It's a 67% match so far. Estimated time to completion… about another hour, sir."

He sighed again, "Couldn't we have gone somewhere less busy for this? It's tiresome."

"Sir… it is our duty to observe and report any potential disturbances, and we cannot discover anything without… mingling, as you say." The woman was clearly hesitant around him, unsure of how far up the ladder he had come from.

"Yes, yes, I know the idea." He sighed again. Today was turning out to be as tiresome as expected.

"Sir."

"Hm?" he replied, not bothering to look away from a vendor's wares.

"That boy, isn't he the one…" She looked through the crowd toward a small group of people.

Unlike most of the crowd, this small group was armed, which made the surrounding throng of people part a little, making it easy to pick them out. He immediately recognized the one she indicated.

"Ah, yes. The marked boy, right? How funny that he should show up here. I suppose if nothing else this gives us a chance to verify that report. File the report when we return."

"Yes sir. Shall we… do anything? His soul, it's so pure. I've never seen anything like it before. It may be beneficial to bring back and study."

"No. It wouldn't do to cause trouble with that thing, even if he did mark something of an anomaly." He smirked, seeing the boy notice their attention, "Come, we're being a bother."

He led his partner aimlessly through the streets, looking for something that could remotely pass as entertaining. Eventually he heard an advertiser call out that there would soon be an event at a nearby theatre. Curious, he asked for details and wandered off in the direction that the advertiser pointed toward.

"We're going to listen to… a story, sir?" Eun's face was a mix of hesitation and puzzlement.

"Oh come, it should be fascinating to learn what these locals tell stories of, shouldn't it? All we get back home is the same old spiel, over and over again. How else am I supposed to look for disturbances in a culture I'm unfamiliar with?" He throws her words back at her, really just justifying his bored wanderings and the urge to escape the ceaseless crowd.

"If you say so, sir." Despite the look of reluctance on her face, she didn't offer any further words of protest.

They arrived at the theatre minutes before the show was set to start and managed to secure spots near the front of the crowd waiting to get in. Though he'd never admit it to anybody, Altruen was starting to have a little fun pretending to be one of these land dwellers.

They're herded inside and picked out some seats for themselves. Despite his small streak of amusement, Altruen couldn't help feeling his mood sour a little at the wooden benches that consist of the only form of seating available. Well, it's not like he could expect luxury from some land dwelling theatre marketed towards commoners.

After a while of waiting for everyone to settle in, the theatre owner came out to say a few words Altruen didn’t really pay any attention to before introducing their speaker for the day.

"Sir…" He heard a hushed voice from beside him and could only nod in understanding, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere.

The man on stage was almost jarringly ordinary, dressed in normal clothing and looking every bit like any one of the commoners he'd seen around the city of wooden scaffolding. The things that had immediately drawn both his and his attendant's attention were the blades on his hip.

That metal… there's no mistaking that it's ours. Which means this man is the B grade apex of this biosphere. What a fascinating turn of events that I would get to see with my own eyes both the marked boy and the apex.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Still, I can't believe he was actually able to warp skysteel with the crude smithing techniques of this region. The crudeness of the craftmanship on both reveal how inadequate his techniques were. I sense a presence from the sheathed one too, did he mana infuse it? From the weak aura I detect I can only assume he didn't make it very well.

"Welcome one and all," the man said with a bow, "I'll be your storyteller today. My name is Isao, and though I am called many things by many people, my preferred occupation is that of a wandering historian."

Why? How could this man, this seemingly ordinary human be considered an apex? True I can see his strength is beyond any of his kin that I have come across today, but it hardly reaches B tier. I have seen beasts more deserving of the title. I can see there's something behind his might that defies the natural order, but such a small increase in strength could never make one an apex. Perhaps he's a mage type, though I cannot sense the wellspring of mana reserves that usually accompany that sort. B grade is reserved for those capable of reshaping an environment through power alone. I fail to see this man even being able to stand against an army alone.

"Tonight I bring you a tale I myself discovered among a ruin to the north, and I assure you it is like none you have ever heard before. This tale, and the civilization that birthed it, predate that terrible calamity that we know as The Summoning by several hundred, or maybe even thousand, years. I confess I know not what the meaning or purpose of this tale is, but they preserved it against the ravages of time, therefore I see it as my solemn duty as a scholar to convey it into the future. This rendition is my interpretation of surviving texts, and may not even be fully accurate, but I digress."

Some assistants brought out storyboards from beyond the stage to assist with the retelling. With a proper background, the man began.

"In a time long past there was a kingdom that stretched the length and breadth of this continent, and their rule was absolute and their days were peaceful. They had two deities, the Bymos we all know and love, and one that no longer exists. Its name was not recorded so I shall give it one of my own, one fitting of what it is so you may understand. This entity was the Ultima Star, a star in the sky that dwarfed all others by unfathomable measures.

"The light of the Ultima Star was seen as a light of goodness across the land, and the places its light reached the greatest were considered holy and sacred. And the places its light did not reach were cursed, and forsaken.

"It was in this glorious light the kingdom thrived, what of those people in the forsaken lands? They faced starvation and poverty, inequity, and despair. For their lot was ever to be overshadowed by those of the light. They wept and cried out for justice, for though they had done nothing wrong they were forsaken, abandoned to stagnation and desolation.

"However, there one day came a change, subtle at first, but unmistakable as time went on. Those who dwelt in the highest reaches of the empire, atop the highest peaks of what we now know as the Mountain Home I believe, a sickness began to spread. The symptoms of common diseases were followed by a reddening of the skin before eventual demise. The greatest minds of the realm were powerless against such an affliction, and the nation trembled as its foundations were shaken.

"Those who dwelt in the dark saw these happenings and believed it was a sign from the Heavens that the time had come for their oppressors to fall. A war began from which there was no end. Those who dwelt in the dark became as ravenous beasts, animals that had been caged for far too long, and those who dwelt in the light, even with their superior resources and military might found themselves drained and withered by the nameless disease that ran amok among the populace.

"There was one who looked upon the fields of death and despaired. They were one who had dwelt in the dark but loved all, regardless of whether they had lived their lives in the light or the shade, and so they felt an all-encompassing sadness looking upon this great war. In their heart they knew that what those who dwelt in the light had done to the other was irredeemable, and yet they still wished for their salvation, and looked for a way to resolve the conflict without the complete annihilation of either force.

"They journeyed across the land, looking for a cure, or even a cause, of the sickness that plagued the light dwellers but found nothing at all. They turned to Bymos, but even He, great as he is, was powerless to help his people stave off the terrible sickness. Bereft of options they turned their attention to that force that was given credit for the sickness, improbable though it was. They beseeched the Heavens to rescind their wrath, that his home may learn how to heal. The Heavens responded they knew not and cared not for the struggles of man.

"Confused, the man inquired as to whereto the sickness had originated, and described the symptoms of the dead and dying. The Heavens went silent, and they who sought answers waited patiently. They waited a month, several, a year all while the fires of war consumed the land he loved. As he waited he shed tears beyond number feeling powerless to combat the chaos that engulfed his home. And yet he waited. Having exhausted all other options he waited.

"After a long length of time, the Heavens answered with a question 'Which do you love more, the world or the Ultima Star?' Without hesitation, they answered the world, and they, the nation, and the world watched as one as the Ultima Star was shattered above their heads. The fragments of the great star spread all over the sky, and at the peak of day, night fell. A night full of stars more radiant and shining than any they had ever known. The light of the scattered pieces of the Ultima star drowned out that of the lesser stars they had known before, leaving only those remnants of the largest and greatest.

"That one who communed with the Heavens descended upon the battlefield as the people stood in stunned silence, the clamor and chaos of war an already fading echo. They declared that never again would sickness come from the light, and never again would there be those who dwelt in the dark or those who dwelt in the light. There was only a people, once divided by suffering that would now be united by that selfsame sorrow. That hero led their people away from the brink, away from sickness and war, and led them to a future lit not with contempt and arrogance, depravity and disparity, but starlight and hope."

The storyteller snapped his finger, and the darkened air above the crowd was filled with hundreds of tiny balls of light, imitation stars added for effect. The crowd burst into applause, people standing and cheering around them.

"Sir, scan has finished. Shall we depart?" Eun whispered to him, avoiding the attention of the crowd.

Altruen took a moment to respond, "Eun, if someone was able to collect a story that old, do you think it inconceivable they perhaps have tales from a time even further back? I wonder if perhaps there existed any records of this world's creation we missed, and whether they may have survived until now, beyond our limited sight."

His partner stayed silent, not enjoying the direction his musing was going, but powerless to stop its conclusion.

"Because if such a record existed, even if it was just a potential record, wouldn't it be our duty to expunge it?"

"...It would."

Altruen gave a ruthless smile, "Then I suppose you should gather the rest. Our work here is not yet finished."

Time to measure the strength of an apex for myself.