"Should we make more preparations?" Shin asked. "I can still wait."

He was actually nervous after taking into account that by reading the prophecy could lead into disaster.

"No, everything is set. You can now begin." Mortred said and nodded to Esbern who in turn, commanded other mages and scholars to leave the hall. Leaving only Fang, Esbern, the Dragon Priests, Shin and Mortred. The thirteen was stationed across the city in preparation for any worse case scenario should the reading bring some disaster.

Shin breathed in deeply several times. Then slapped his cheeks to force himself to focus. And finally walked towards the pillar. It had a towering height that reaches towards the ceiling of the hall. The tallest manmade structure he ever saw.

But he was then stopped by one of the floating beings in masks.

"Having you look directly into the sculpted scripts would probably burn your eyes or cause a major harm to your astral and physical body. So we had the scripts written here. Please do use this instrument during your reading and never directly look into the scripts."

The dragon priests led him to the giant spherical platform that houses several transparent glassworks and lenses. Shin immediately knew that they were probably similar to a telescope. On the altar like podium, there's a well crafted parchment that had some written lines. He walked towards the only seat inside the sphere and sat. Then the platform started moving or rather floated. And the lenses all moved into one place, towards the altar where the parchment rested.

He had two dragon priests beside him so he asked them with his confusion of the procedure.

"If reading the prophecy could melt someone's eyes or cause destruction on the reader's body... How come none of those mages and scholars suffered any damage during the study of this pillar? And how come many are still trying to translate it? Are they not afraid of such danger?"

The dragon priests replied.

"Reading the scripts as is, is not damaging as understanding the meaning behind it. If you were sent a letter that you can read but cannot understand such as, 'Ae Ga Dera Tuere' what would you do?"

"Uhhh? At first I would be dumbfounded then investigate on knowing the meaning of the line. Because I actually don't know what it means."

"And you would have no knowledge on what it was. But if a letter had a line that you can actually understand which reads 'I have killed your entire family' and somehow you knew that it came from the future... You would probably be struck with confusion, anger, grief, then sense of vengeance after knowing it's the truth." The dragon priest said. "Not only that, you would also be stricken with the knowledge of such... Crime."

Shin then immediately realized the danger.

"In reading this future knowledge, this plane of reality would tear you apart because you should not be able to get this knowledge that never came to pass yet. It's also considered as a contradiction of the present. At worse you would cease to exist. The master had explained this to you I'm sure."

Shin got confused at the mention of this master but the dragon priest continued.

"And to answer to the willingness of the scholars and mages to send themselves on this kind of danger... They are actually bound to the Master."

"Master? You mean Lord Mortred?"

"Yes. That's their payment to know the arcane knowledge." The dragon priest then turned it's masked head towards Shin. "But the further lecture about why and how the bondage of the mages and scholars happened is above your station and was not related to your current objective. This one persuades you to continue on your work now."

"Ah, yes. Thank you for the explanation." He bowed to the dragon priest and walked closer to the lens that was deployed to his comfort. He actually wanted to ask another question.

A situation where a scholar remembered a single sentence from the prophecy but cannot read it, then if at the time when he can finally read and remembered the prophecy, what will happen to the man?

He leaned closer to see clearer and saw the lines in the parchment. It was a language that he never thought to be the cause of his involvement on every strange events. He expected to feel some sort of power or negative effects upon laying his eyes on the patchment but felt relief and slight disappontment. He was also expecting to see archaic scripts but fortunately it was readable. He shook his head again to push out unnecessary thoughts and to focus on the task at hand.

And he started his first reading.

Stones of Cloud Temples melts on a Falling Star.

An Infernal Empire reigns for a Hundred Turns.

Daughter of the Earth wandered for centuries on her silent oath.

To find the lost Incarnate, she went to the East but fell for the North.

Morning light struck by an arrow from the Bloodbirth of the Coldharbour.

Hatred stirs as Domination found a new mantle, beloved by the Dragon, it kept.

The World Eater devours the embers of the Great Cycle's, Ending the Unending.

Lost knowledge was visited, the first Dragon’s Bane had fallen and banished.

The Advent saw the Phantasm’s End at the last hour of the Dreaming.

Hall of Souls shuts, Night's champion sentenced an Eternal Damnation.

Seat of Men rots of shame, Blood Faith was reborn, ashamed of their fall.

He who had eaten his fill, returned with the call of the Thirteen.

Circlet of Kings glowed, amidst Mists on a friend's Death was unseen and unkeen.

Driving away a passing nightmare, as the Slumbering Fool blinked.

The Head turned over, hair coiled as Countless Towers' chained.

Ruby will stand with Space and Time. Lust grew within him.

Oblivion breaks with the coming of the Drifters with lost aim in snow.

Winter blooms as the Child of Magnus was found sleeping.

Riders of Frost visits in pursuit, but flees the Undying of the Bound from mounds.

A White Cub was led by the Moon Spawn in their search of their fathers.

Five Blue Drops trickles in their Winter heading together for new hope.

Revival of the Hare begins with the eyes of the Lost awakens in darkness.

Led by the Last, the exiled steps forth, restoring his All-Seeing.

The unblind saw through the Article of Unseen, Future of East was grim.

Swallow and the Songstress meets with their Siblings with the hunters.

Paladin of Light falls to deceit, with vengeance in mind, her road is corrupted.

The Blood Moon arises with the Huntress, with waking of the Drowning

Drops in Despair, Bastards of time, Siblings of Magnus, ends the Wild Hunt.

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New Era begins in the first step to the Waves were met with Greed and Ruin.

Child of the Snow stood with the Demon of the Mists, against the Fox of the Leaf.

Abandoned and in death, the Devil appeared, the two accepted His bondage.

The Pearl rises in the white sands, as the Ancient had Promised.

Gold pours into the rising beaches of the Easts of his reach.

One of the Many, faces the Thousands, in the return of the Lost Eyes.

Arena under the Leaves begins, a proving ground for younglings from two Lands.

The Union of the Sand and Grass stabs the Leaf, deceived by the dead.

A Serpent bites the loving hand that reached as it devoured it's saplings.

The Dragon revealed itself, sealing its shedding, but stirring another godling.

Two Black of Red Clouds enters, stirring the Last and the Fox.

The Third requests for the return of the Fifth, as the Three Sages awakens.

Sibling of the Exile struck deal with the Serpent, led the Dragon to its prey.

Another left it's home, another licks it wounds. Both desires power in change.

Veil of Lost Land breaks, the Last returns to the West with the All-Seeing.

Summer was set in lost through Time, Hammer, War and Chaos.

Empire stands to the return of Drowning, the Dragon and the Ruby in a Final Union.

Another Tower falls, as constellations had finally arranged with the stars.

War and famine falls to the poisoned Grass that never bowed.

In the Waterfall, the Seventh is saved. But the Forbidden spell was threatened.

A great Slug faces the Serpent and the Dragon. In time for Rain to come.

A Change in Space stirs the Great Abomination in its seals.

Insatiable Spawns received the cursed chains and words.

Prophecy of the Toads spins, as they found the worthy Heir of Whirlpools.

Fox of Hatred awakens as a Red Sand returns to take the Raccoon of the Gourd.

A death of the Dying strings breathes life to the dead shell.

As the Nine were warned, a Cloud of Red Blood starts the Hunting for the rest.

The mountain trembles with the clash of Ape and Horse with the Dragon at bay.

With danger at hand, the Lightning Bolt and Feline of Fire races to Dying Oxen.

The Rage of the Rain visits and pours on the Hidden Leaf, a Tortoise in heading.

Students of the Toad faces one another, only one will be standing once it's over.

Child of the Wind, returns from cold sleep, awakened by the tribe of the South.

Son of Vainglory meets the Lastborn of Time in a Golden Palace.

A false Dragon rises with the Mask of Lies and Lied.

The Nine was gathered, pursued for the Tenth's return and the Queen Mother.

Old Gods of the East awakens as all nations prepares for war.

Empyrean Tiger arose after the loss of the Twin Serpents.

A Demon of Nine awakens, defending its Siblings and a promise.

The Tree of Power grows, the veils that hid them had finally fallen.

Second fruit falls as nourishment, with Tigress sees with rage.

On the Gate of Death's release, the daughter of the Maw answers.

In the Lost Garden, the Tenth grows and blooms as the unsealing of the Usurper.

Power and Desperation clashes with the rousing sleeping Queen Mother.

The Emperor and the Mother met on every worlds on every glimpse.

A Lie of an End, the Two Incarnates disagreed for the resolution.

One to be the vision and vessel of Evil, One to be the hope and reason of Peace.

For the the advent of her sons, battles through the great Delusion.

They awakened as the Eastern Gods returned. With Abomination disturbed.

The World Eater in form stares on the Insatiable, versing with Time and Music.

And the Parasite was revealed but a chance and change was given.

A deal was offered, to live with or leave it barren, with the promise of Dominion.

Union of the Undying lands is all she can tell. Return of her Clan is her fear.

Dragon returns with the East restored, its gods ascended on the new Pantheon.

In the South, a star fell. A new sanctuary for the the Daughter of Hatred.

There's actually more scripts but he couldn't read the rest. They were still written in Akaviri script but for some reason... he couldn't just read it.

It's as if his mind was refusing to read it.

He tried to force his brain to read. And instead he felt like he was flying and floating freely, everything felt like a stupid dream before waking up. But he paused for moment to think if he was actually dreaming but the sensation that he felt made him acknowledge that he was inside of a dream and decided to wake up.

But then he heard a loud booming voice and was sent across the hall, flying through the air until he felt like he was pinned on something soft then he entered something similar to a giant blob of water.

Shin suddenly went tired to everything that his body surrendered to the cold water and darkness overtook him.

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Mortred was just in time to dodge a major disaster on his hands.

He was consistent in his guard for Shin during the reading but all of the sudden, space around Shin started bending. He quickly realized in an instant the gravity of the situation for Shin. He didn't hesitate to use one of his most powerful Thuum to freeze time and space. Then he simultaneously gripped the space that was now locked on Shin's existence and pushed it back, and also dragging Shin's existence away from the center of the anomaly.

Shit his Phantasm is much weaker! How the hell! This is no time to be indecisive! MUL! He yelled on his mind and transformed into what he considered to be grotesque. With his tentacles he wrapped the Shin inside and sent him to a pocket space at a distance to make him whole again. Then the ripped space that tried to take Shin, and closed it like healing an opened wound. These all happened in less than half of a second.

Then Mortred cast a large barrier that enclosed the entire hall. Separating it from the external structure and elements. It would be visible to the people outside but due to freezing of time, none did. And knowing that he had done enough, he undid the shout. With that, time and space returned but not without massive consequences. As it tried to stabilize itself, the disturbance in space where Mortred trekked caused a destructive wave faster than the speed of light.

A loud echoing boom shocked the entire hall. It caused every one of them to fly after being hit by the wave. The dragon priests used their ancient powers to stay anchored against the destruction. While the rest had received much of the damage. Lydia and Fang was among the humans inside the hall and both were struck squarely in their bodies that they created a deep crater on the wall where they landed. Their bones and organs were crushed. But in an instant, a fracture in reality occurred and fixed itself just on their brink of death. It's as if the damage was never received in the first place. But the bloodied crater where they landed on their backs was a reminder that it really happened. They also realized after gathering their thoughts that something bad just happened and they lost sight of Mortred that was standing beside them before the blast occurred.

It could have destroyed the entire hall and killed everyone inside including even the immortal dragon priests. But thanks to the restriction barrier that he casted, Mortred was able to mitigate the damage to a minimum.

"M-master... What-" the dragon priests who felt the shocks was surprised at the events that unfolded, in just a fraction of a second they lost sight of Shin and Mortred and found their master panting near them in his dragon form. They quickly floated towards him to help.

"Haaaaaaa... A near Zero Sum nearly occured..." He held their hands that they offered with his tentacles to calm then down. "I didn't expect... haaaaaa... that to happen."

Those eyes... They are not fucking normal. He thought in gritting teeth. This was not supposed to happen. Mortred could only make one conclusion, Shin's eyes have the power to read the abyss of Reality, or worse case scenario, even capable to manipulate it. That's it. I'm asking him about it later.

It should have never happened on a normal reading. Most dragon priests would use the instrument as a safe process to avoid a country sized disaster.

"Are you fine my Thane?" Lydia asked in worry. Fang had the same expression. He just smiled in his form and patted her head with one of his tentacles.

"I am fine. This much is nothing to me."

Although he was fine, they didn't realize that the degree of disaster they just avoided. He remembered when he read the Elder Scrolls and compared it to their current situation. Which obviously the latter had a far worse result if he wasn't quick enough.

He also thought about transforming to his true form to easily stop the flow of time and fluctuations in space but the cost would be the entire city of Skyhaven.

"How about the akaviri?" Lydia asked.

"He is safe. He just need some rest." He willed an opening of space beside him and Shin floated gently exiting the rift before it closes. "Get him back to his room.”

Although he was trying to persuade them that he was fine, all of them knew otherwise. Fang and Lydia looked around the place and saw the destruction that happened in just a second. But they also realized another thing.

The structural integrity of the pillar.

The rest of the place was littered with cracks or even broken walls. But the monument itself had no damage.